Brawl in the Family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Brawl in the Family" | |
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| Episode no. | 276 |
| Prod. code | DABF01 |
| Orig. Airdate | January 6, 2002 |
| Show Runner(s) | Al Jean |
| Writer(s) | Joel H. Cohen |
| Director | Matthew Nastuk |
| Couch gag | A large bush sits where the family should be on the couch. A landscape worker comes by and quickly shapes the bush into a topiary version of the Simpsons. |
| Guest star(s) | Delroy Lindo as Gabriel |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 13 November 6, 2001 – May 22, 2002 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Brawl in the Family" is an episode in the thirteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons. Delroy Lindo is one of the episode's guest stars. The episode's title is an allusion to the TV series All in the Family.
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[edit] Synopsis
The show begins with a meeting of Springfield's Republican Party, chaired by Mr. Burns, plotting what evil to undertake for the week. After a few suggestions, they decide to destroy the environment and scrap all anti-pollution laws. From the next day onwards, recycling becomes a felony offense. Owl habitats are destroyed. Mayor Quimby pulls the plug, literally, on the Springfield wetlands, sending them swirling down a huge drain. All factories and industries generate vast amounts of pollution, which produces acid rain.
Marge advices the family to stay indoors. Homer's OK with that idea, as long as there is TV to watch. Unfortunately for Homer, the acid rain melts the antenna thereby killing the signal. Homer can't fix it, due to the acid rain. Marge suggests that they play Monopoly to pass the time. Lisa picks out many different variants of Monopoly, until Marge decides upon the original version.
The game starts and Bart catches Homer on his lot and Homer, who's pretty much busted, has to pay up. Lisa realizes that Bart is using Lego pieces as hotels. Since Bart bought her a house, Marge takes his side. Bart asks: "who's going to take care of her, Homer?" Homer throttles Bart, with Marge and Lisa arguing about and demonstrating how to pull them off. The whole fracas upsets Maggie, who speed-dials the cops. The cops arrive and see the brawl and decide to send in a Negotia-bot, a policewoman robot, used to break up fights. She tries to break up the fight, but the family keeps on fighting. So she envelopes them in taffy, to subdue them. They are placed in a jail cell, where Lisa complains that she will never get into an Ivy League school, because of this. Marge sighs that the family has hit rock bottom.
At that moment, a choral note plays and in walks a guy, Gabriel, wearing a white suit. Homer, hearing the choral note, assumes Gabriel is an angel, but Gabriel assures him that he is not, it is just his pager going off. He introduces himself as a social worker, who wishes to help them become a family again. However, Homer still believes that he is an angel.
Gabriel begins to trail the Simpsons. He starts off with Lisa, who declares her room is her sanctuary and her family respects this. Just then, Bart, sprayed by a skunk, runs in and uses her sweaters to clean up. Next up is Bart and Bart feels proud that Gabriel is following him around. When it's Marge's turn, she tells him how she loves to cook, although a little creepily. In Moe's Tavern, Homer introduces "Gabriel the angel" to beer and gets drunk and verbally dumps on his family, especially himself. Gabriel has his work cut out for him.
The next day, he takes the Simpsons to a picturesque clearing in the woods (which Homer thinks is Heaven). He then starts to give his appraisals on the family. Marge medicates the family with food. Bart does everything to get attention (at that moment, he has a beard of bees). Homer is, quite simply, a drunken, childish buffoon. Then he tells them that he has hung up their lunch (roast beef sandwiches, a falafel for Lisa, and beer) on top of a tree.
When Homer hears there's beer on top of the tree, instead of climbing it, he gets in the car and rams it into the tree. The tree falls over and slides over a canyon, taking Gabriel along with it. It gets wedged between two canyon walls. Gabriel manages to hold on to a branch. Unfortunately, a pack of wolves has scented the lunch and they gather under the tree. The Simpsons try to devise a rescue plan, as a family. Homer climbs down, as the rest of the family, steadies his descent. Giving the wolves the lunch and beer (not Duff), they manage to climb to safety. They all go home, happily singing "We are family".
As they pull up to the house, they see Amber and Ginger, the two ladies who Homer and Ned married in Vegas, while drunk. Gabriel, in disgust, walks off. Marge, on being introduced to Amber, gets mad at Homer. Ginger goes to the Flanders' residence and is reluctantly accepted by Ned. Homer tries to get an annulment to placate Marge, but Judge Constance Harm denies it and orders him to take care of both wives. Marge throws Homer out, so he moves into the treehouse with Amber, who makes him a sandwich, arousing Marge's jealousy.
The next morning, Ned, along with Rod and Todd, wakes up Ginger. His extremely nice, religious and pious outlook almost sickens her. At the Simpsons place, "Vegas Mom" tries to warm up to the kids, but they blow her off. That night, Homer can't sleep with Marge and doesn't want to sleep with his Vegas wife, so he tries to sleep in the doghouse, but he wrecks it. The next morning, Marge has a word with him and they come up with a plan. They act as if they have fought and Homer goes to Moe's Tavern with Amber and gets her drunk. The next morning, Amber wakes up to find that she has married Grampa, forsaking all others, thanks to a videotape of the marriage. She runs off, along with Ginger (who has had enough of Ned's sugary sweetness), and go back to Vegas. The Simpsons celebrate their victory as a family.
[edit] Trivia
- Springfield Republican Party members are: Mr. Burns (chairman), Mr. Smithers, Krusty the Clown, Rainier Wolfcastle, the Rich Texan, Bob Dole and Dracula.
- Lisa breaks the fourth wall by saying "Is the end of our series?" and then follows by saying, "Of events?"
- The Monopoly clones are "Star Wars Monopoly" "Rastamonopoly" "Gallipolopoly" and "Edna Krabapoly".
- There is an emergency "Homer Strangling Bart" silhouette button on the Simpson family phone, which when pressed upon speed-dials the Springfield Police.
- Marge claims that The Simpsons have been through 280 adventures, presumebly a reference to the episode number, but by the time this episode was aired that had only been 276 episodes aired.
[edit] Quotes
- Hearing Homer scream after the TV broke:
Marge: Quit screaming, Homer.
Homer: Quit trying to control me! - Marge: Why don't we play Monopoly?
Lisa: Which version? We've got "Star Wars" Monopoly, Rasta-Mon-Opoly, Galip-Olopoly, Edna Krabappoly...
Marge: Let's stick to original Monopoly. The game's crazy enough as it is. How can an iron be a landlord? - Simpsons playing Monopoly with Homer losing money to Bart
Bart: You're a little light here, dad.
Homer: I'm good for the rest, you know I am!
Bart: Well I'd like to trust you, Homer, but you've been in jail three times.
Homer: They told me it would be like this on the outside. - Homer at Moe's, talking drunk-talk to Gabriel:
Homer: Look, the thing about my family is that there's five of us: Marge, Bart, Girl-Bart, the one who doesn't talk, and the fat guy. How I loathe him! - Ginger: Hey stud, where do you keep your wet ones? I need a shower.
Flanders: Oh, we've got a real shower upstairs.
Ginger: Upstairs? I hit the jackpot! - Amber: You know.. I bet you and me could be friends. I could show you how to put on makeup!
Lisa: I'm eight years old!
Amber: You could look seven! And I could teach you to count cards!
Bart: Nah, I already got a system. - Marge: Homer?
Homer: Marge? You're speaking to me!?
Marge: Why don't you come inside and we'll talk?
Homer: Talk about what? Sports? Bigamy?
Marge: Bigamy.
Homer: Not a sports fan, huh? - Abe: You wanna give Honest Abe four more years in the Oval Office?
Amber: No!
Abe (relieved): Oh, thank God! (falls asleep) - Moe (on TV's "Blind Date"): Oh, I really felt there was a connection. And I would definitely like to go out with her again.
Moe's Date: He smelled like puke! - Wiggum (to an inmate line-up): Now, everyone turn to the right. (some of the inmates turn to their right, others turn to their left) Oh, come on, people! The Prison Nutcracker Suite is in one week and I don't see five Sugar Plums. I see five guys who don't know their moves and don't seem to care! There, I've said it!
