Norwegians Overrun The Simpsons

Well, Ogdenvillians, actually.  Residents of Springfield’s neighbor town of Ognedville, which was settled by Norwegians.  In the final episode of the 21^st season titled Coming to Homerica (which you can watch for free on Hulu.com), Ogdenvillians move into Springfield after their barley market dries up.  They quickly become local heroes due to their hard work ethic and extensive knowledge.  But nothing is ever that easy with The Simpsons.  Soon the town turns on the immigrants and demands that they be removed from Springfield.

Of course, the plot is not nearly as exciting as the Norwegian references throughout.  From the nanny using Lingonberry oil to soothe baby Maggie’s gas to the skater boy dropping an “Uff da” on Bart before subtly commenting on distance in meters, the episode is replete with a knowledge of and respect for Norwegian culture.  At one point Moe even explains that he’s happy to have the Ogdenvillians as customers in no small part because “their mythology is rich and enchanting”. And to clarify, he gives a nice little head nod to Capitalism by saying “It’s all about the King Haralds” and even showed a Krone.  Now that is good publicity.

The show if full of references to the “Norwads” being stupid or incompetent, but at every turn they are the hardest workers, the friendliest people, and the ones with all the knowledge.  They even have more alcohol tolerance.  When Homer sees a group of Ogdenvillians drinking Aquavit, akevitt in Norwegian, he quickly drinks a bottle then falls face down on the bar, a pale comparison to the “Barleyjack” trying to warn him of the drink’s power.  This take on Scandinavians is not really surprising seeing as how creator Matt Groening’s mother, Margaret Wiggum, is Norwegian.  In fact, it was most likely meant to be a salute to his Norwegian heritage since the show ends with a large Norwegian flag and the original air date was 17 May 2009.