The Bonfire of the Manatees
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"The Bonfire of the Manatees" | |
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"The Bonfire of the Manatees" is the first episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 11, 2005, making it the first Simpsons season premiere to air in September since the eleventh season opened with "Beyond Blunderdome" on September 26, 1999.
The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Mark Kirkland. In its original broadcast, it was watched by around eleven million viewers.
Plot
Just as Marge is about ready to reconcile with Homer (though she flatly expresses that she is not interested in his gift of
Homer decides to win Marge back by saving a herd of manatees from a gang of abusing jet skiers. The gang initially agreed to leave, but return after hearing Homer calling them 'rubes'. He attempts to organize the manatees to battle the gang, but they all flee. However, the gang is dispersed when Homer's country cousin shows up with a notarized court order to have all jet skiers vacate the waters at once. Despite Homer's failure, Marge is impressed by his efforts to save the manatees and declares she is taking home "the real endangered species": "a devoted husband". The family decides to take a mini-vacation, and Homer gets a
Production
The idea for the episode was originally pitched on January 16, 2004, during the writers' idea sessions for The Simpsons Movie. Al Jean suggested the idea of the family rescuing manatees, and while it was rejected for the film, it was adapted into the script for the episode.[1]
Cultural references
The title of this episode is a pun on the film The Bonfire of the Vanities (film).
The title of the adult film that is shot in the Simpson household Lemony Lick-It's A Series of Horny Events is a spoof of the film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events though the scenes of A Series of Horny Events shown in the episode bare no resemblance to A Series of Unfortunate Events.
The song playing in the washing of the manatee scene is "Car Wash" by Rose Royce.
Reception
On May 11, 2008, Entertainment Weekly named Alec Baldwin's role as Caleb Thorn as the first of 16 great guest stars on The Simpsons.[2]
The episode is also notable for having predicted the team matchup for Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.[3]
The title of the episode is a reference to the novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
References
- ^ Snierson, Dan (July 20, 2007). "The Simpsons: Inside the Best. Movie. Ever?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ Bruno, Mike (September 28, 2008). "Springfield of Dreams: 16 Great 'Simpsons' Guest Voices". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ Chase, Chris (January 31, 2014). "'The Simpsons' predicted a Broncos-Seahawks Super Bowl in 2005". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
External links
- "The Bonfire of the Manatees" at IMDb