The Simpsons has been shaking up the long running animated series in some big ways this season, and the newest episode took that to new heights with the return of a character we haven’t seen in nearly ten years or heard from for even longer. The Simpsons has been experimenting quite a bit with its episodes in the last few seasons specifically, and Season 36 continued through this trend with faces we haven’t seen in a while. Or if we had gotten to see them, new takes on their characters that are still being found even after all this time spent with them.
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The Simpsons Season 36’s newest episode took to this trend once more as it told a fun new story as Homer and Grampa Simpson end up inventing a new sport together, and it involves using pool noodles to hit balls around. But when the neighborhood lifeguards and kids want to use the swimming pools that Homer and Grampa had been using, they get pushed out and forced somewhere else. One of the characters waiting to use the pool was surprisingly Ian, the Very Tall Man, who we haven’t heard from in a very long time.
Very Tall Man Returns in The Simpsons Season 36
The Simpsons Season 36 Episode 17 is titled “Full Heart, Empty Pool” and sees Homer questioning the legacy he’ll leave behind after he dies. After he’s barred from building a pool in his backyard after digging a hole that damages the rest of the town, Homer ends up figuring out a fun new game where he hit a ball around an empty pool. After his father ends up getting into the game as well, the two of them develop it into a full game (called “Noodleball”) that the seniors in town all quickly fall in love with as it’s easy on their bodies.
Very Tall Man makes a return together with the rest of the neighborhood as they want to use the pools that the seniors had been hogging. When Homer tells them to go jump in a shallow pool instead, Very Tall Man retorts with “Even the very tall need a place to swim.” It’s the first time we’ve seen him since he was in the background of Season 28’s “Looking for Mr. Goodbart” but even longer since we had heard from him with Season 9’s “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.” This joke even calls back to his very first appearance in the series.
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Who Is the Very Tall Man?
Very Tall Man first made his debut as a one-off character in the famous Season 7 episode, “22 Short Films About Springfield.” This episode has become huge among fans in the years since thanks to the “Steamed Hams” scene, but it also had some great character debuts. The Very Tall Man was seen when Nelson was making fun of everyone who went by, and Nelson realized that this was actually a giant man within a tiny car. It was the only automobile he could afford, and didn’t appreciate someone like Nelson making fun of him for it.
It was such an iconic appearance that The Simpsons has been bringing him back in background gags over the years, with his last really notable spoken appearance coming during Season 9 when Homer mistakes the Very Tall Man’s very long legs for his own sleeping ones. Now that he’s returned, it’s a fun callback to the moment fans might remember the most all those years ago.
