Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays

"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no. 321
Directed by Bob Anderson
Written by Jon Vitti
Showrunner(s) Al Jean
Production code FABF03
Original air date January 4, 2004
Couch gag The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. Knives are hurled at them, but hit the wall. Homer tries to get a bowl of chips, but another knife stops him.
Commentary Al Jean
Jon Vitti
Matt Selman
Don Payne
J. Stewart Burns
Tom Gammill
Max Pross

"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 4, 2004. After Lindsay Naegle forms an anti-children group, Marge fights back with a group led with Mr. Burns' power.[1] It was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Bob Anderson. This episode earned Fox ratings of 6.7/10.[2]

Plot

When Bart and Lisa fight over what to watch on TV, they accidentally change the channel to a show hosted by a children's singer and guitarist named Roofi, a parody of Canadian-American children's singer/songwriter Raffi Cavoukian. This does not appeal to Bart and Lisa, but Maggie adores the show, and after Bart and Lisa accidentally say there is a CD so that they can get the TV back, Marge buys the disc and plays it everywhere, much to the annoyance of Bart, Lisa, and Homer. Marge goes as far as to even buy tickets to the concert, which is to be held at Cletus Spuckler's farm. However, because the concert was oversold, it ends up packed and the Teletubbies are the opening act, dismissed by Marge as repetitive. It starts to rain and Roofi inquires with a man named Steve about the crowd. He then appears on stage to sing "The Nonsense Song", but is then hit in the face with a baby bottle, abruptly cuts the show short and gets on a helicopter. After seeing the event on TV, Homer, Lisa and Bart rush to Cletus's farm, but Chief Wiggum warns them to not come in and to leave the job to him and Eddie and Lou. Soon, the babies riot, an event referred to in the news as the "Tot Offensive", as reported by Kent Brockman.[3]

In a response to the disaster, all the adults of Springfield who do not have children (single people, the elderly, couples who do not have children, teenagers, and homosexuals) are up in arms, because Kabul has declared they will no longer be Springfield's sister city and Mayor Quimby forcibly takes $1 million from the audience to cover the damages. Lindsay Naegle arrives to form an anti-youth group named "Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays Against Parasitic Parents" (SSCCATAGAPP) to rid the town of anything that provides comfort to families. A statue to America's deadbeat dads is erected, a school bus ignores kids waiting at the stop to take senior citizens on a gambling junket, and a new ordinance allows children who act up in public to be tasered.

A furious Marge lobbies to get an initiative: "Families Come First", as she lobbies "Proud Parents Against Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" (PPASSCCATAG). Her lobbying efforts do poorly at first, and she fends off a $50,000 offer from America's tobacco lobby, but fair support grows after Mr. Burns loans his signature on Marge's petition because he cares about children (specifically, their "supple young organs"). Other Springfield residents follow his lead (as Carl notes, "Rich guys always want what's best for everyone!"), and the proposition (Proposition 242) gets on the ballot. Homer tries to help with the campaign but screws up badly by placing the wrong information on bumper stickers and buttons for the voters, while his Rudy Giuliani-featuring advertisement (which has been deleted from airing on TV for some reason) is a disaster and the opposition slanders Marge with an ad where an actress posing as Marge says even she is against Prop 242. Bart and Lisa soon concoct a plan. When everyone goes to the voting polls, they are stopped in their tracks by the (literally) infectious hugs of children. Proposition 242 passes easily, and Homer decides to celebrate by dumping his kids at an R-rated movie with no supervision while he and Marge go some place nice by themselves.

Critical reception

On TV.com, the episode has a user rating of 7.7 from 118 votes.[4] CinemaSentries gave the show a positive review, writing "Marge Vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays is a great example of the way the show used to be able to find hilarity in mocking both sides of an issue when it spoofs both the grueling life of a parent and the grueling lives of those without children who have to put up with the problems caused by other people's kids."[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ↑ "Episode review at simpsonschannel.com". Archived from the original on November 9, 2007.
  3. ↑ http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?episode=s15e08
  4. ↑ http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/marge-vs-singles-seniors-childless-couples-and-teens-and-gays-242858/
  5. ↑ Grande, Sombrero. (December 8, 2012). "The Simpsons: The Fifteenth Season DVD Review: Don't Have a Cow, Man, or Any Hope That This Season Will Be Better Than the Last Five". CinemaSentries. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
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