Co-Dependent's Day
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"Co-Dependent's Day" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. The episode aired on March 21, 2004.
[edit] Plot
Homer, Bart, and Lisa see the newest Cosmic Wars film, The Gathering Shadow, and the movie turns out to be less than what they expected. At home, Marge suggests that Bart and Lisa write a letter to Cosmic Wars creator Randall Curtis. Two weeks later, they get a reply from Curtis, which completely ignores their criticism, having sent them Jim-Jam merchandise. This forces the Simpsons to go on a trip to California, where Homer and Marge go to wineries, and Bart and Lisa go to the Cosmic Wars Ranch, which was previously called Fresno. Bart and Lisa visit Randall Curtis and tell him that his Cosmic Wars movies have lost their way. He does not like what they are saying until Lisa points out that better technology is no way to make the story better. Curtis agrees, and he decides to go back to his storytelling roots. (For inspiration he decides to go to the video store, and rides there on a tauntaun.)
Bart and Lisa rejoin Homer and Marge, who are both drunk from free samples of the wine. Back in Springfield, Homer and Marge go to Moe's Tavern and drink more wine. Moe opens a bottle of Chateau Latour 1886 vintage wine, clearly unaware of its value. Homer and Marge then continue to drink heavily for several days, until Marge suffers a particularly painful hangover. She tells Homer that they should not be drinking, and he agrees. Unfortunately, when they go to an Oktoberfest featuring Grammy-winning nuclear polka band Brave Combo, Marge, who tries to go through the night without drinking, gives in and ends up drunk along with Homer. He tries to drive them home, but in a drunken stupor overturns the car.
In order to avoid an arrest, Homer makes things look like Marge (who is more drunk than him) was the driver. She is arrested, but he bails her out. Later, Barney suggests that Marge go to a rehab clinic for a month, and when Marge is gone, Homer lets Flanders take care of the kids. When he sees her at the clinic, he confesses, but Marge is angry and drinks again. Later on, the other rehab patients help her discover that she likes being with Homer more than drinking, and forgives him and returns home.
[edit] Production notes
- The scene where Homer sings at Moe's Tavern while Marge plays the piano was cut from this episode, but later used in Mommie Beerest as a postscript scene during the end credits.
[edit] Trivia
- Otto makes a reference to Margaret Thatcher while watching a British movie which is similar to the movie This is England, although the film wasn't actually released until 2007, three years after this episode originally aired, so it is purely coincidental.
- Cosmic Wars and Randall Curtis are obvious parodies of Star Wars (particularly The Phantom Menace) and George Lucas, and the fictional movie's focus on boring legislative procedures (presided over by a purple-skinned Yoda-esque creature) parodies the conflict in The Phantom Menace being over the taxation of trade routes. Note that Star Wars itself has been mentioned by name many times in The Simpsons, and that this parody episode aired five years after The Phantom Menace came out.
- The giant robot in The Gathering Shadow sits down and reads the Evening Standard, which is the evening newspaper sold in London, England.
- The songs that Homer sings while placing the rehab-center operator on hold are "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park", both written by Jimmy Webb.
- When Comic Book Guy says that he will see the movie three more times today, he is dressed as George Lucas is usually seen.
