153 replies to this topic

[XMark]

I always thought it was the first interpretation. I know that people typically don't use "I'm a viking" to mean that they excel at something, but I thought that was the joke because Ralph talks weird.

[Hale-Bopp]

I don't know that there's a right or wrong answer here, but option B seems to make the most sense. But how much credit can we give Ralph anyways? Maybe that's the question we should be asking ourselves first.

[raubhimself]

I mean Ralph also says things like "My cat's breath smells like cat food." and "Dear Miss Hoover. You have Lyme disease. We miss you. Kevin's biting me, come back soon. Here is a drawing of a spyrokeet. Love Ralph." I don't usually look for anything past surface meaning and general inanity.

[Klatrymadon]

He's still talking weirdly if you take the second option, though.

What a thread! 2000 bananas.

[Moldilox]

Much like Ralph himself, I find this thread... fascinating.

[raubhimself]

If I was still in college and had hours between classes I guarantee I'd turn this into another Which Is Your Favorite Letter In Coors? discussion.

[Daemon9623]

I will 6 more opinions on this matter later...

edit: chalk one up for option B.

[cetera]

i can see why this would be a raging debate.

its hard for me to understand why people would not consider dreams first in the context of 'being people other than yourself whilst sleeping'

[JKT]

" Ralph: My worm went in my mouth and then I ate it...can I have another
one?
Hoover: No Ralph, there are no other worms...[shaking her head] just try to
sleep while the other children are learning.
Ralph: Oh boy...sleep! That's where I'm a viking!"

I tried to look at it in context. Ralph was supposed to be dissecting the worm, but he ate his subject, thus rendering him unable to complete the assignment. Ralph has failed by default, even he must recognize this. Note the change in his mood as she breaks the sobering news (when viewing the episode).

Miss Hoover then tells him to sleep while the other children are learning. She excludes Ralph in this statement because she believes him incapable of doing so.

Suddenly Ralph excitedly exclaims "Oh boy sleep, that's where I'm a Viking!" because this is something he is proficient at. A direct contrast to his earlier failures, which justifies his change in mood. True that this is not a commonly used adage, but that doesn't refute its meaning. The Simpsons TV show more than likely coined it. This is not uncommon practice for them, as they are already responsible for popularizing "Meh" and "D'oh" in the English language among others.

Option A seems the most logical choice.

[raubhimself]

Short and sweet but I'd like to expound later:

Given the history of Ralph's sleeping and sleeping related activities, I posit that it cannot mean that he is good at sleep unless he is not telling the truth.

He has claimed "I dress myself." but that evidence has proven he is not good at that. He has a history of being frightened of things like pointy kitties and such, and I imagine his simple mind would also be often frightened of shadows and ambiguous light play within his bedroom. Being a handful in nearly every other aspect of life, I cannot imagine bedtime activities are any easier for Clancy and Sarah.

Ralph has quite an imagination and often has a misunderstanding of life. He took Lisa's kindness for much more than it actually was and was heartbroken as a result. He is known to have an imaginary friend "Wiggle Puppy" and he does not understand the basics of human anatomy ("She's touching my special area"). He is not afraid to share matters of his personal life, as evidenced by telling about the doctor and his nosebleeds and keeping his finger outta there.

So I can only conclude that he is either telling a lie about being good at sleep or he, in his simple way, is sharing part of his personal life.

+1 JKT. Good explanation on an opposing view. I think that could fit into my fibbing explanation.

[Moldilox]

I suppose it might be a little too self-aware for Ralph, but I just imagined him excited that he's REALLY good at sleeping, and jumping at the opportunity to do so right away.

[cetera]

jkt,

but the joke is that he is so ADD, no matter what was happening before, it is completely forgotten in an instant when something more interesting pops up

the only way this joke could miss is if the audience was identifying with ralph too much

[XMark]

Here's a hypothesis:

Ralph is afraid of the dark, so he can't go to sleep unless he puts on a viking helmet and pretends to be a viking who can defeat the monsters in the dark.

[Tom Guycot II]

jkt nailed it

[JKT]

jkt,

but the joke is that he is so ADD, no matter what was happening before, it is completely forgotten in an instant when something more interesting pops up

I'm not going to deny that Ralph has a difficult time paying attention, and he certainly does have an overactive imagination. Also Raub, he does often stretch the truth or tell outright lies.

If I remember the episode correctly, Ralph does appear to fall asleep shortly after; which accomplishes three things:
1)Proves his proficiency at it
2)Shows that he wasn't lying
3)establishes continuity with the conversation he and Miss Hoover were having previously


Again I could be wrong about that and would have to see the show again to know for sure. So far youtube and hulu have both turned up nothing, so I'll have to bust it out when I get home (Season 7, ep 5)

as for the actual "viking" verbage, I could also easily see it as something Clancy or Sarah would use to motivate the boy to be well behaved (ie: How does my little viking get ready for bed?, etc.) but that's purely speculation.