Bonfire of the Manatees

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The Simpsons episode
"Bonfire of the Manatees"
Marge along Homer (behind) and Caleb Thorn
Episode no. 357
Prod. code GABF18
Orig. airdate September 11, 2005
Show runner(s) Al Jean
Written by Dan Greaney
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Chalkboard "Does any kid do this anymore?"
Couch gag Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie go through a metal detector safely, but Homer sets it off. After three attempts (and removing all but his underwear), Homer is then searched with a scanning wand by a security guard.
Guest star(s) Alec Baldwin as Caleb Thorn
Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony
Season 17
September 11, 2005 – May 21, 2006
  1. "Bonfire of the Manatees"
  2. "The Girl Who Slept Too Little"
  3. "Milhouse of Sand and Fog"
  4. "Treehouse of Horror XVI"
  5. "Marge's Son Poisoning"
  6. "See Homer Run"
  7. "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas"
  8. "The Italian Bob"
  9. "Simpsons Christmas Stories"
  10. "Homer's Paternity Coot"
  11. "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere"
  12. "My Fair Laddy"
  13. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story"
  14. "Bart Has Two Mommies"
  15. "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife"
  16. "Million Dollar Abie"
  17. "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore"
  18. "The Wettest Stories Ever Told"
  19. "Girls Just Want to Have Sums"
  20. "Regarding Margie"
  21. "The Monkey Suit"
  22. "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play"
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Bonfire of the Manatees" is the first episode of The Simpsons' seventeenth season. It originally aired September 11, 2005. It was the first episode to air in September and first non-Halloween episode to start out the season since season 11's "Beyond Blunderdome". This was the second time this name for the episode was seen in Simpsons media. A mission in The Simpsons: Hit & Run, which predated this episode, was also titled "Bonfire of the Manatees." 11.1 million viewers tuned into this episode beating Family Guy which had 9.72 million.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The "snuggle film" being filmed at the Simpsons house.
The "snuggle film" being filmed at the Simpsons house.

Homer gets into trouble with the local mob over football gambling debts. As compensation, Fat Tony wants to use the Simpson home for shooting the adult film Lemony Licket: A Series of Horny Events with the participation of Carl and Lenny. Homer gets Marge and the kids to leave the house by sending them off to "Santa’s Village." Marge and the kids return home to find the production is still underway. Marge, outraged by Homer’s latest bit of idiocy, leaves. Homer, home alone with the kids tries to figure out what to do next. Just when Marge is about ready to reconcile with Homer, she encounters Dr. Caleb Thorn, a good-looking scientist with a passion for saving the endangered manatee. Homer and the kids go on a quest to find Marge and they stop and stay with their "country cousins," (their dog is Santa's Little Helper's brother) meanwhile Marge is finding herself while helping to save manatees. Homer tries to win Marge back by saving a herd of manatees from a gang of jet skiers. 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 court order -- "notarixed." Despite his failure, Marge declares she is taking home "the real endangered species" -- "the devoted husband." The family decides to take a mini-vacation and Homer gets a manatee sent to the power plant to fill in for his job for the next few days. When the manatee is about to die of dehydration, Mr. Burns and Smithers help him by washing him like a car.

[edit] Cultural references

  • The title is a take-off on the novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe, who later appeared in "Moe'N'a Lisa". "Bonfire of the Manatees" was also the name of a mission in The Simpsons Hit and Run which was released two years before this episode aired. "Bonfire Of The Manatees" was also used in the late 1980s as the fictitious title of a book being read by Opus the penguin on the back cover illustration of the Bloom County collection "Classics Of Western Literature".
  • The title of the "snuggle film" Fat Tony wants to shoot (Lemony Lick-its "A Series of Horny Events") is a spoof of the popular children's book series and movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, it's only a parody in name only; the "snuggle film" version is about two sexy, female astronauts searching for the Planet Satisfaction.
  • During the "snuggle film" shooting, Carl tells the director that he has a Foghorn Leghorn tattoo and showing it might lead to possible copyright infringement.
  • Homer tells his country cousin "Poor dumb country mouse, can't even count", a reference to Country Mouse and City Mouse.
  • While riding a manatee, Marge exclaims, "I've got my groove back!" (as Lisa spots her with a lens). This is a reference to the movie How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
  • The last scene, with Burns and Smithers washing a manatee like a car while the song Car Wash plays in the background, is a reference to the movie Shark Tale[citation needed]. In the movie, large sea animals like manatees or whales act like cars to the smaller fish, and they are washed in the same manner. Furthermore, the version of the song is the Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot one that was featured in the movie.
  • While visiting Santa's Village, Bart talks to a person (who has not very long to live, as revealed later in the episode) portraying Santa who is reading Tom Clancy's Op-Center

[edit] 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.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "16 great 'Simpsons' guest stars", Entertainment Weekly, 2008-05-11. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.