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"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson family rescues a diving horse named Duncan from the abuse of his owner and keeps him as a pet. When the cost of keeping Duncan rises, Homer and Bart train him to be a racehorse. Duncan wins several races and, as a result, Homer is threatened with death by a group of jockeys. Meanwhile, Lisa is upset over her school unfairly losing the musical band competition at a state fair and writes a letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton in protest. The episode features several guest appearances; horse race caller Trevor Denman stars as himself, commentating the races in the episode, and voice artist Jim Cummings provides the animal sounds made by Duncan. Randy Bachman and Fred Turner appear as themselves as their rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive performs at the state fair. "Saddlesore Galactica" was written by Tim Long and directed by Lance Kramer. A number of meta-references are included in the episode, such as the character Comic Book Guy telling the Simpsons that they have owned a horse before in the episode "Lisa's Pony". Around 9.6 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing. In 2008, it was released on DVD, along with the rest of the episodes of the eleventh season. "Saddlesore Galactica" is despised by many television critics and fans according to Long. It has been cited by About.com's Nancy Basile as one of the season's worst episodes, and by Marco Ursi of ''Maclean's'' as the worst episode of the series. Criticism has been directed at its outlandish plot, which, among other things, features elf-like jockeys who lure Homer into their secret lair where they threaten him to stop Duncan from winning. ==Plot== Lisa and the other members of Springfield Elementary's school band enter a music competition together at a state fair, performing James Brown's "Living in America". However, they lose to the Ogdenville Elementary band, which performs John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" and uses red, white, and blue glowsticks to form a flag. Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating as the use of visual aids is against the rules of the competition. She later writes a letter to President Clinton, complaining about the situation. At the fair, Homer and Bart see a horse named Duncan that can dive into pools. The Simpsons take Duncan home after his sleazy owner is accused of animal cruelty and flees. However, they end up having financial issues because of Duncan; it costs them US$500 a week to keep him. Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Bart discovers that Duncan is a fast runner and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at the Springfield Downs race track, with Bart as the jockey. However, a frightened Duncan loses his first race as he refuses to leave the stall until all other horses have finished. Homer and Bart find a strategy for Duncan to win by turning him into a frightening horse named "Furious D", complete with dyed hair and one of Lisa's bracelets for a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses and wins several races. Homer is soon invited by the losing jockeys to have a beer in their lounge, which turns out to be a secret lair. The jockeys reveal themselves to be murderous elf-like creatures who want Homer to have Duncan lose the upcoming race. They threaten to eat Homer's brain if he does not comply. Though intimidated at first, Homer later vows to deal with those "murderous trolls". At the Springfield Derby, Duncan wins the race, and the furious jockeys chase after Homer and Bart. With the help of Marge and Lisa, who spray water on the jockeys with a hose, Homer is able to put the jockeys into a garbage bag and get them sent to the dump. Afterwards, Homer and Bart prepare for Duncan's retirement from racing to start a new life as a stud. President Clinton then shows up at the Simpsons's house to see Lisa, presenting her with a plaque. Clinton says that Ogdenville was wrong to use glowsticks and that Springfield Elementary's band is the true champion. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Saddlesore Galactica」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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