The Simpsons/Marge in Chains

Marge in Chains
Season 4, Episode 21
Airdate	May 6, 1993
Production Number	9F20
Written by	Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein
Directed by	Jim Reardon
← 4x20 Whacking Day	4x22 → Krusty Gets Kancelled
The Simpsons — Season Four

Marge in Chains is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of The Simpsons, and the eightieth episode overall. Marge is caught shoplifting from the Kwik-E-Mart and is sentenced to 30 days of prison time.

Special Guest Voices: David Crosby (Himself), Phil Hartman (Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz)

Also Starring: Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten), Tress MacNeille (Helen Lovejoy, Phillips), Maggie Roswell (Miss Hoover, Maude Flanders)

Plot Overview

On television, Troy McClure and Dr. Nick demonstrate an obviously poorly made orange juicer in an infomercial, but Homer doesn't know any better. He decides to buy the Juice Loosener instead of juicing oranges on his face like usual. The order is sent to Osaka, Japan, where a sick factory worker coughs some kind of virus into the juicer box before sealing it up and sending it out. Six to eight weeks later, Homer gets his juicer and the unexpected flu germs. The same thing happens to a majority of Springfieldians, including Chief Wiggum who is stalked by the Osaka Flu. It also sends the Mayor fleeing into the Bahamas, makes Rod speak in tongues and causes a riot of people looking for a cure.

The strain of having to care for her needy, sick family drives Marge to shoplifting. She tries to pocket a flask of bourbon while shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart. She's arrested by the police and makes bail, but now she needs to get a lawyer. Instead of getting a good lawyer, however, they go to Lionel Hutz and the judge "has it in for him." The news spreads quickly through the city and the trial eventually comes. Hutz, as usual, makes a fool of himself and nearly succumbs to alcoholism. He tries to discredit Apu with shameless tricks, but in the end Marge is found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in Springfield Women's Prison.

Even though Springfield ran Marge out of town for a relatively minor offense, they soon feel the impact of her not being around. The Simpson house devolves into a messy chaos, the park commission's bake sale comes up $15 short, forcing them to get a Jimmy Carter statue instead of Lincoln and rioting ensues from that point on. Eventually 30 days pass and she's given a huge welcome from the entire town. She's also given the statue of Jimmy Carter, except with her blue hair on his head instead of his usual haircut.

Notes

Title Sequence

• Blackboard: "I do not have diplomatic immunity." The final line cuts off at "diplomatic."
• Couch Gag: A tiny version of the family jumps onto a couch that's many times their size.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Springfield: After Marge's verdict is read, Snake is shown stealing the entire Kwik-E-Mart and driving it to Mexico. At the end of the scene, he's shown driving past a sign with several mile markers on it. According to the sign, Shelbyville is 47 miles away, North Haverbrook is 63 miles and Mexico City is 678.

Characters

• Marge: When Marge is caught shoplifting, Apu makes her stand next to the height measurement on the doorway. According to this measure, Marge is 8'6" to the top of her hair. Minus the hair, she's roughly 6'3".

Trivia

The Show

• Translation: The bit of Indian dialogue between Apu and Sanjay is an accurate translation. It was translated from English from the Indian embassy, although they reportedly weren't happy about doing it for The Simpsons.
• Too Soon?: Writers for the show claim that the John F. Kennedy assassination joke in this episode is the first instance of a sitcom making a joke out of the tragedy. Although, technically, they're making a joke out of the Oliver Stone film JFK and not the assassination itself.

Behind the Scenes

• Outside Research: Josh Weinstein and Bill Oakley researched women's prisons and The Plague by Albert Camus at the request of Al Jean, but most of the jokes based on their research were cut out entirely in the rewrite process.