Steal This Episode
| "Steal This Episode" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | ||||
| Episode no. | 539 | |||
| Prod. code | SABF05 | |||
| Orig. airdate | January 5, 2014 | |||
| Showrunner(s) | Matt Selman & Al Jean | |||
| Written by | J. Stewart Burns | |||
| Directed by | Matthew Nastuk | |||
| Guest star(s) | Judd Apatow as Himself Will Arnett as Deputy Director Gratman Rob Halford as Himself Leslie Mann as Herself Kevin Michael Richardson as Inmate on Bus, Hollywood Bigshot Seth Rogen as Himself Paul Rudd as Himself Channing Tatum as Movie Homer Simpson | |||
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"Steal This Episode" is the ninth episode of the 25th season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and the 539th episode of the series. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and premiered on January 5, 2014, on Fox.[1] The title is a takeoff of Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book.[2]
Plot
Homer keeps hearing spoilers about Radioactive Man Re-Rises. Tired of hearing spoilers, he decides to watch the movie with the family. At the theater, Homer is upset that the theater shows commercials and gets kicked out from the theater. Bart cheers him up by showing Homer how to download the movie illegally from the Internet. Eventually, Homer decides to open up a backyard theater that shows the illegal movies he downloaded on the Internet (the footage is censored by footage from NASCAR's 2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500 race). Marge feels guilty after watching the movie since she is basically stealing with her own eyes, she decides to send a $12 check along with an apology letter to Hollywood to repay the money for the tickets she should have bought. The movie company at Hollywood receives the check and reads the apology letter, the company quickly calls the FBI and the FBI decides to go after Homer after reading the letter.
The FBI arrests Homer for movie piracy, the deputy director also announces that they managed to arrest Homer thanks to a snitch. Marge began to feel guilt after accidentally turning Homer in. Bart sides with Homer because pirating a movie is not the worst thing Homer ever did, Lisa also sides with Homer because she agrees that Homer's act has brought a wonderful experience for the whole town. Homer returns home after the Springfield Penitentiary bus was taken over by the prisoner (who all agrees that what Homer did was much worse than robbing a bank or doing drug trafficking), the bus then falls into a ledge, where Homer was rescued by a train that was passing by. Lisa takes the whole family to a Swedish consulate to protect Homer from getting arrested again. Marge finally confesses to Homer that she was the snitch, which leads Homer to turn himself in.
During the trial, Homer delivers a speech about his movie piracy. The Hollywood filmmakers who attend the trial are impressed by Homer's story and decides to drop all the charges and buy the rights to Homer's story to turn it into a movie starring a fattened Channing Tatum as Homer. A week before the movie airs, the residents of Springfield gives Homer a surprise special screening with the movie they downloaded illegally. Homer gets mad at them for illegal downloading since he now gets money from the movie profit and kicks them out from his backyard while telling them to see it when it comes out in theaters.
Reception
Critical reception
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "The strongest episode of The Simpsons’ 25th season so far, 'Steal This Episode' avoids a few pitfalls the show has been more prone to stumble into in later years, provides a double-handful of funny lines and gags, and actually seems invested in telling a coherent story from beginning to end. Not classic Simpsons by any yardstick, but certainly a welcome respite from what has been a streak of fairly dire late-run episodes."[3]
Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic applauded the episode and gave it a 5 out of 5, commenting mainly on the show's use of guest stars, saying "the stars were an essential part of the plot, so it made sense to trot out Judd Apatow and his usual crew of actors (Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann). Along with Channing Tatum as well. In essence, the episode really played to the show's strengths. For example, Homer is always behind the times and, once he's caught up, he can't help but take his new hobbies too far."[4]
Ratings
The episode received a 4.6 rating and was watched by a total of 12.04 million people, making it the most watched show on Animation Domination that night beating American Dad!, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy.[5] This marks the most-watched episode of the series since the twenty-second season episode "Moms I'd Like to Forget."[6]
References
- ↑ "The Simpsons Episode Guide 2014 Season 25 - Steal This Episode, Episode 9". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ↑ John Eggerton, "Hollywood's Distribution Dilemmas Woven Into Sunday Primetime Fabric", Broadcasting & Cable, January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ryan, Kyle. "The Simpsons: “Steal This Episode” · The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ↑ Lopez, Teresa (2014-01-05). "The Simpsons Review: Cinema Pirate-diso". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ↑ "Sunday Final Ratings: ‘Family Guy’, ’60 Minutes’ & ‘The Mentalist’ Adjusted Up; ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Bob’s Burgers’, ‘The Best of Jimmy Fallon’ & ‘Betrayal’ Adjusted Down". Tvbythenumbers. 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ↑ Seidman, Robert (January 10, 2011). "TV Ratings Sunday: With Help from NFL Fox Animations Surge, 'Bob's Burgers' Strong ; 'The Cape' Premieres OK; Housewives, Brothers & Sisters Stable". TVbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
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