Mayored to the Mob

While watching Roger Corman's version of Titanic, the family sees a commercial for the "Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con", a science-fiction convention featuring Mark Hamill, ALF, and robots from Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars. The family agrees to go to the convention, but it is crowded, and Homer resents that the convention is full of nerds. When Mark Hamill and Mayor Quimby, at the convention, are in danger of being trampled by a riot (over who should play Obi-Wan Kenobi in a skit with Mark Hamill), Homer comes to the rescue to save them. In appreciation, Mayor Quimby makes Homer his new bodyguard.

Homer goes to "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy", where he learns how to become a bodyguard. After his graduation, wherever Mayor Quimby goes in Springfield, Homer follows him, even if it means taking a bribe. One day, Mayor Quimby makes a deal with Fat Tony to have him provide milk to the schools of Springfield. When Homer finds out that the milk Fat Tony is delivering to the schools is really rat's milk, he confronts Quimby and accidentally knocks him out the window. Discovering Quimby hanging on the ledge, Homer makes him promise to expose Fat Tony in exchange for pulling him back inside.

Mayor Quimby arrests Fat Tony and his goons, but Fat Tony threatens Quimby's life on the news. Homer takes Mayor Quimby to the dinner theatre to see Mark Hamill play Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. Fat Tony is there with his henchman, Louie, who tries to stab Quimby but is stopped in a scuffle with Homer and Hamill (who is dressed like Luke Skywalker). During the struggle, however, Fat Tony savagely beats Quimby with a baseball bat. At the end, Homer and Hamill escape from the paparazzi à la The Bodyguard.

[edit] Cultural references

The song "Luke be a Jedi" is a parody of the song "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls. It also seems to convey that people cannot seem to think of Mark Hamill in any other roles aside from Luke Skywalker. Another popular song that is spoofed in a similar manner during the musical performance is "Hooray for Hollywood".
The watermelons used to represent protectees are labeled Sting, Madonna, Al Gore and Ann Landers.
One of the cardboard Stormtroopers Mark Hamill knocks down with his plastic lightsaber is actually a cut-out of Wonder Woman.
Homer uses the Vulcan nerve pinch to knock out his children. He is then scolded by Marge and promptly repeats the technique on her also. Realizing there is 30 minutes left until supper he applies it to himself.
The title of this episode is parody of Married to the Mob.
The maître d' at the dinner theater is patterned after Frank Nelson,^[1] a character actor who had a recurring role on The Jack Benny Program and later appeared on I Love Lucy. It is the first appereance of the "Yes Guy", who later became a recurring character, next seen in "Homer vs. Dignity".
The scene where Homer, horrified, watches the kids drinking rat milk, references Soylent Green.
When the bodyguard instructor lies down on top of the wagon with a green mound on it, holding a sniper rifle, it parodies the grassy knoll theory of the Kennedy assassination.
At the convention, Uter wears a Futurama shirt. Futurama had yet to premiere at this point in time, however. In one rerun, the "Futurama" decal on Uter's shirt was changed to "Star Wars".
Among those signing autographs are Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, the Fourth Doctor from Doctor Who, Godzilla, Dr. Smith and the Robot from the original Lost in Space television show and Neil Armstrong (whom everyone ignores).
In the background at the convention is a booth for Roswell, Little Green Man.
Homer thinks he has seen Louie in "Rent, or Stomp, or Clomp, or some piece of crap."
Kent Brockman's line "the circle of life is complete" could be a reference to either The Lion King or The Land Before Time. It could also be a reference to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which Darth Vader, upon meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi, notes that "the circle is now complete."
Fat Tony's line about wanting Joe Quimby dead, his wife dead, and his pets dead, is a parody of Al Capone's speech in The Untouchables.
Homer mocks Fat Tony during the latter's arrest to complain to his Godfather.
Mark Hamill spoofs a line from first Star Wars film in which he is told to "use the force," by telling Homer, who is being pinned on the floor by mobsters, to "use the forks."
As Mark Hamill is being thrown against the stage's cardboard sets, he lands onto a cardboard store, saying "Sweeny Todd", a reference to the musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The ending scene parodies the 1992 movie The Bodyguard. "I Will Always Love You", the hit song from the movie, plays over the closing credits of this episode.
After Homer has accidentally knocks Mayor Quimby out of the window, he states "I'll just use the body to stage and elaborate farce à la Weekend at Bernie's". Weekend at Bernie's was also referenced in the episode Weekend at Burnsie's

[edit] Reception

Empire named Hamill's performance as the tenth best film gag in the show. "As a rule celebrity cameos are rubbish, but good sport Hamill is hilarious when singing 'Luke, be a Jedi tonight' in a production of Guys and Dolls, and makes this list for urging bodyguard Homer to 'use the forks'".^[2]

[edit] Notes

^ Groenig, Matt and McCann, Jesse L.: The Simpsons—One Step Beyond Forever, page 54.
^ Colin Kennedy. "The Ten Best Movie Gags In The Simpsons", Empire, September 2004, pp. 77