Ep. 10 - My Fair Lady with Michael Price

Season 2
Written By Bart Simpson

Adam and Nate are joined by Simpsons writer and co-executive producer Michael Price to talk My Fair Lady (1964) and the parody episode he wrote, “My Fair Laddy” (S17E12). It’s a loverly musical transformation tale with theatrical flair, speak-singing, and questionable Cockney accents.

Also in this episode:

  • How Michael brought his background in musical theater to the Simpsons writer’s room

  • Michael walks us through “Wouldn’t It Be Adequate,” his parody of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” featuring Groundskeeper Willie

  • Can a film adaptation be too faithful to the source material?

  • The legendary musical throwdown between Audrey Hepburn and Julie Andrews

  • Is the relationship between Eliza and Henry Higgins a romance… or something else?

Next time, Adam and Nate check out Mary Poppins (1964) with ThatShelf.com Senior Critic Rachel West!

Every Reference to My Fair Lady on The Simpsons

By our count in The Simpsons Movie Reference Database, My Fair Lady has been directly referenced in 3 episodes of the first 13 seasons of The Simpsons, including 1 scene parody and 2 smaller references. The first reference appears in “Bart's Friend Falls in Love” (S3E23) from 1992, 28 years after the release of the movie. Later, the movie also received the full plot parody treatment in “My Fair Laddy” (S17E12), written by Mike Price.

Scene & Plot Parodies

The Sweetest Apu (S13E19): Manjula’s final task for Apu to make amends is to perform My Fair Lady with an all-octuplet cast.

My Fair Laddy (S17E12): In a full-length parody of My Fair Lady, Lisa bets Bart that she can transform Groundskeeper Willie into a proper gentleman. The episode features parodies of many numbers from the show, including “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “The Rain in Spain,” “I Could Have Danced All Night,“ and “On the Street Where You Live.”

Small References

Bart’s Friend Falls in Love (S3E23): The kids watch an Itchy & Scratchy episode called “I’m Getting Buried in the Morning,” a play on a line from the musical number, "Get Me to the Church on Time."

The Last Temptation of Homer (S5E9): When Bart finds out that his poor performance in school may be due to eyesight, he mimics Eliza Doolittle saying, "You mean it ain’t me noggin’, it’s me peepers? Oh, well, that's just loverly!"

Extra Credit

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Further Reading & Viewing

Bart Simpson
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Ep. 9 - On the Town