The War of the Simpsons

"The War of the Simpsons" is the 20th episode of the second season of The Simpsons. The title is a reference to the film The War of the Roses.

1 Plot
2 Debut Appearances
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Plot

Marge and Homer throw a party. Homer gets drunk and humiliates himself by leering at Maude Flanders, telling off total strangers, and stumbling over furniture. The next day at church, Marge signs up for a weekend retreat of marriage counseling hosted by Reverend Lovejoy and his wife. Marge recruits Grampa for the weekend to babysit since the babysitter she previously hired was emotionally scarred by Bart when he was a baby.

Homer finds out that the retreat will be held at Catfish Lake and packs his fishing equipment, despite Marge telling him that the retreat will be resolving their differences. On the way there, he learns of the legendary catfish, General Sherman, named after the Civil War era Union general. The only known picture of Sherman resembles the famous Loch Ness Monster photograph.

Meanwhile, at home, left with Grampa, Bart and Lisa decide to hold a party. At the lake the next morning Homer tries to sneak away to go fishing, but not before Marge wakes up. Marge is upset that Homer would choose fishing over their marriage, to which Homer fails to understand as he visualizes Marge turning into a catfish. Homer takes a walk instead. On the dock, Homer finds an abandoned fishing pole. The pole, with General Sherman on the line, yanks him off the pier into a small rowboat, and onto the lake. From their cabin window, Marge watches Homer battle General Sherman.

Bart and Lisa's party has ended and the house is a total mess. Watching Grampa cry and fearing that he will get in trouble, they frantically clean up the house, not knowing he was pretending.

Marge attends the workshops alone while Homer triumpantly rows in with General Sherman. When he returns, Marge tells him their marriage is in serious trouble if he values fish more than her. To prove that he loves Marge more he lets the fish go (despite battling it for several hours) and they return together to a clean house. Grandpa then laughs uproariously and reveals to a stunned Lisa and Bart that he faked his tears before to get them to clean the house, and they fell for it!

At the bait shop, General Sherman is still uncaught, but tales get told about Homer as a remarkable fisherman.

[edit] Debut Appearances

Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:

Snake Jailbird (though he wasn't named until season three's Black Widower)

[edit] Cultural references

The title is based on the 1989 film The War of the Roses.
When Ned Flanders is making drinks at the Simpsons' party, much of the flashy ways he is seen preparing the cocktails is similar to Tom Cruise's bartending stunts in the 1988 film Cocktail.
The music in the scene where an infant Bart chases his teenage babysitter with the car is similar to the score from The Omen.
Homer's false memory of the party is a reference to the Algonquin Round Table, a group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits. The guests and the party and the way they are drawn resemble Al Hirschfeld's caricature of the group. As Hirschfeld's drawings were always in black and white, the colour scheme is borrowed from the covers for The New Yorker.
John and Gloria bear a strong resemblance to George and Martha from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The character of Gloria is one of the few times in the series that Julie Kavner has voiced a character other than Marge or one of her relatives.
Homer's marathon attempt at catching General Sherman, his bludgeoning of the fish and the line "I love you but I have to kill you" are all based on Santiago's fight with the marlin in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.
Homer sings "We Are the Champions" by Queen after he actually catches General Sherman, although he butchers the lyrics by singing "I Am the Champions", in which he fails to singularize the lyrics in order to describe only himself.