Realty Bites
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Realty Bites" | |
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| Episode no. | 187 |
| Prod. code | 5F06 |
| Orig. Airdate | December 7, 1997 |
| Show Runner(s) | Mike Scully |
| Written by | Dan Greaney |
| Directed by | Swinton O. Scott III |
| Chalkboard | "There was no Roman god named 'Fartacus'. |
| Couch gag | A live-action hand spins the family around. |
| Guest star | Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz |
| DVD commentary by | Mike Scully Dan Greaney Richard Appel Swinton O. Scott III |
| Season 9 September 21, 1997 – May 17, 1998 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Realty Bites" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons.
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[edit] Synopsis
When Homer purchases Snake's former car at a police auction, Snake learns about the purchase and is so upset that he breaks out of prison, vowing to get his car back.
Meanwhile, Marge encounters Lionel Hutz, and seeing he has become a realtor, she chooses this as a career for herself. She begins working for Hutz, but he finds her honesty sells no houses and threatens to fire her, while urging her to think of more positive descriptions for whatever she tries to sell. Thus, Marge does not disclose the entire truth about one house she sells to the Flanders family. As she knows, this dwelling had been the site of a famous brutal murder. Feeling guilty about her deception and concerned for the Flanders' safety, Marge eventually tells them the truth, but they are not angry. Nevertheless, the house is destroyed by Homer and Snake, after they battle over the car. Marge loses her job but soon turns to government welfare.
[edit] Trivia
- The episode marks the first appearance of:
- The episode title is a play on the popular cult classic film Reality Bites (1994), starring Winona Ryder.
- This episode has the final speaking appearance of Lionel Hutz prior to the death of voice actor Phil Hartman.
- This episode also marks the first appearance of Gil. Gil is based on Jack Lemmon's character from the film Glengarry Glen Ross, which like this episode, revolved around real estate agents.
- According to Simpsons writer Mike Scully, the piano wire scene was meant to end with Kirk's sandwich being sliced just the way he wanted, until fellow writer George Meyer asked "what if the wire cuts off his arm?" Scully described the ensuing laughter as the most intense he had ever heard from the staff: "They were literally choking because the joke was so unexpected. It was a shocked kind of laugh, and it just started rolling, one of those laughs that build the more they reverberate through you." [1] However, the unusually cruel, violent gag met with mixed reactions from viewers, and was cut altogether in syndication. At the end of the episode, when Marge collects her unemployment cheque, Kirk can be seen standing behind the family with his reattached arm in a sling and wrapped in a cast.
- At the end of this episode, Mr. Burns' son Larry, last seen in the episode "Burns, Baby Burns" (season eight), makes a cameo appearance at the Springfield Unemployment Office in line with Lureen Lumpkin, Kirk, and the fired writer of 'Itchy and Scratchy' (George Meyer).
- Snake Jailbird's prison number (7F20) is the episode where he made his first appearance in War of the Simpsons, while the number for his cellmate, Johnny D, corresponds to this episode (5F06).
[edit] Cultural references
- Snake sets up a wire across a road to decapitate Homer as he drives by. The wire is supplied by "Acme", after the brand of equipment used by Wile E Coyote to try and stop Road Runner in the Looney Tunes cartoons.
- When Ned Flanders explains to Marge that they were painting Todd's room red, the boy starts saying "Red room, red room" and moves his finger, like the character of Danny does in The Shining (referencing the line "Redrum").
- Homer sings the song Luka by Suzanne Vega while driving "Lil Bandit".
[edit] External links
