Pulpit Friction

"Pulpit Friction" is an episode of The Simpsons. It is the eighteenth episode of the 24th season and the 526th episode overall. It aired on April 28, 2013.^[1] The name is a pun on Pulp Fiction.

Plot

After crashing onto the couch from the couch gag, the Simpsons decide to get a new couch, but, before Marge can go to the store, Homer orders a new couch online from Brooklyn, New York. The new couch, however, is infested by bedbugs and soon, Springfield is overrun with them. Even Reverend Lovejoy cannot calm the town. As a result, the parson (last seen on "Wedding for Disaster") demotes Lovejoy and promotes a new reverend named Elijah Hooper instead. The town begins to appreciate Hooper, especially when he makes some cultural references. Meanwhile, while recuperating her clothes, Marge finds that her wedding dress is actually missing and has been switched with one of Krusty's costumes. She confronts the clown who actually tells her that he no longer has the dress. However, Lisa manages to find it quickly.

Hooper and Homer bond as Hooper suggests that Homer could be the new church deacon. At first, Homer accepts but Bart starts to miss all father son time with him and turns to Flanders who is still angry and devastated after Lovejoy left. They go to visit Lovejoy who now works as a jacuzzi seller but Lovejoy says he does not want to come back. However, Bart manages with Milhouse help to buy some dead insects which he gives to frogs. The frogs begin to invade the town, but Hooper is demoted when he shows that he cannot make anything except talk about movies or music. Lovejoy happily accepts his post back after his voice made the frogs fall asleep.

Reception

Critical reception

Robert David Sullivan of The A. V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "'Nothing brings out the best in Springfield like a crisis,' Marge says early in this week’s episode. She’s wrong about the city but mostly right about The Simpsons. The two things that are still usually enjoyable in the show’s 24th season are musical numbers and stories about Springfield under siege. (See the best episode so far this season, “The Day The Earth Stood Cool,” all about the menace of hipsterism.)"^[2] Rob Dawson of TV Equals said "Is “Pulpit Friction” the first time a couch gag has led directly into the plot of an episode on The Simpsons? I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the series, but it certainly feels unique; And the opening segment, all stemming from that broken couch, is a lot of fun. It’s basically an extended montage of the bedbugs spreading across town."^[3] Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic gave the episode three out of five stars, saying "Other than a rather useless subplot involving Marge's missing wedding dress, this week's installment was fairly enjoyable with some great The Simpsons quotes."^[4] John of Bubbleblabber gave the episode a nine out of ten, saying "I would’ve liked to have seen a more sorrowful goodbye to the couch, but alas this week’s episode of The Simpsons was led by a plot that was so damn good it makes me angry. Edward Norton playing Eli felt right at home. However, the real star tonight was Homer’s role as the Deacon and how funny as hell that was."^[5]

Ratings

The episode received a 2.1 in the 18-49 demographic and was watched by a total of 4.54 million viewers. This made it the second most watched show on Fox's Animation Domination line up that night, beating American Dad!, The Cleveland Show and Bob's Burgers but losing to Family Guy with 4.89 million.^[6]

References