The Wife Aquatic

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The Simpsons episode
"The Wife Aquatic"
The fishing crew's boat about to get hit by a huge wave.
Episode no. 388
Prod. code JABF03
Orig. airdate January 7, 2007
Show runner(s) Al Jean
Written by Kevin Curran
Directed by Lance Kramer
Couch gag The couch and the Simpsons are pinned onto a bulletin board.
Guest star(s) Sab Shimono as The Master Sushi Chef
Maurice LaMarche as Billy the fisherman
Season 18
September 10, 2006 – May 20, 2007
  1. "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer"
  2. "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
  3. "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em"
  4. "Treehouse of Horror XVII"
  5. "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)"
  6. "Moe'N'a Lisa"
  7. "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)"
  8. "The Haw-Hawed Couple"
  9. "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2"
  10. "The Wife Aquatic"
  11. "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times"
  12. "Little Big Girl"
  13. "Springfield Up"
  14. "Yokel Chords"
  15. "Rome-old and Juli-eh"
  16. "Homerazzi"
  17. "Marge Gamer"
  18. "The Boys of Bummer"
  19. "Crook and Ladder"
  20. "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot"
  21. "24 Minutes"
  22. "You Kent Always Say What You Want"
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"The Wife Aquatic" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons' eighteenth season, which originally aired January 7, 2007. 13.9 Million viewers watched this episode, making it the highest rated of seasons 17–19.

[edit] Plot

The Island of Barnacle Bay
The Island of Barnacle Bay

After watching Patty and Selma's old home videos of their trip to Barnacle Bay in New England, Marge becomes depressed as she remembers how much fun she had. Seeing her so depressed, Homer surprises her with a trip to the island. However, it turns out that Barnacle Bay has become a rundown wreck due to the lack of Yum Yum Fish from overfishing. Homer tries to help out by fixing the boardwalk and celebrating with a large fireworks show, but he accidentally starts a fire and the boardwalk burns down. In order to pay off his debt, Homer joins a fishing crew and sets out to find some Yum Yum Fish. Homer, believing it to be 'Opposite Day', beer-batters the fishing hooks, and they catch a lot of Yum Yum Fish. Suddenly, a "perfect storm" starts and Homer and the crew are trapped in the violent ocean. They decide to abandon ship, but can not because Bart has stowed away in the compartment where the life raft is stored in order to escape from Marge and Lisa. The ship sinks, and Marge and the rest of Barnacle Bay believe that all hands are lost, including Homer and Bart. Marge feels very sad about Homer being lost at sea. She feels even more sad when she finds out that Bart is lost, too. However, Homer, Bart and the rest of the crew manage to survive and are rescued by a Japanese fishing boat called "iruka koroshi maru" (meaning "Dolphin Murdering Boat" in Japanese), much to the people's relief.

The town decides to go back and fish, but Lisa warns them about the dangers of overfishing. Agreeing with her, the townsfolk decide to go into logging instead, and clear cut the island's trees, much to Lisa's dismay.

[edit] Cultural references

  • The title is a reference to the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. A Family Guy episode also references the same film: The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou aired the following month.
  • The main plot is a parody of The Perfect Storm.
  • The song played when Homer starts clubbing Yum Yum fish is "At Last" by Etta James.
  • The serene instrumental music that plays throughout the episode is "The Aquarium" by Camille Saint-Saëns.
  • The movie theater in Barnacle Bay has a sign for "Meet Me in Some Floozy," a parody of "Meet Me in St. Louis".
  • When the family first arrives, Lisa remarks "This is the most disgusting place we've ever gone!". Bart asks "What about Brazil?" and Lisa clarifies dryly "…after Brazil." This is an inside joke referring to the episode "Blame It on Lisa" and Brazil's reaction to it; in the Brazilian airing of this episode, the line about Barnacle Bay being more disgusting than Brazil is edited.

[edit] Reception

The crew of the Rotting Pelican.
The crew of the Rotting Pelican.

This was the highest rated episode since season 16's "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", which aired right after Super Bowl XXXIX. Barring that, the ratings were last this high in 2003, with "I, D'oh-Bot" which pulled 16 million viewers.[citation needed]

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