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| {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} | |||
| {{Infobox Simpsons episode| | |||
| {{Infobox Simpsons episode | |||
| episode_name = My Mother the Carjacker| | |||
| | image = | |||
| episode_no = 315| | |||
| | caption = | |||
| prod_code = EABF18| | |||
| | season = 15 | |||
| airdate = ], ] | | |||
| | episode = 2 | |||
| writer = ]| | |||
| | director = ] | |||
| | writer = ] | |||
| blackboard = None| | |||
| | production = EABF18 | |||
| couch_gag = As the family enters the living room, they sit on the couch, grow old, and turn to dust.| | |||
| | airdate = {{Start date|2003|11|09}} | |||
| guest_star = ] as ]| | |||
| | guests = ] as ] | |||
| image = ] | | |||
| | couch_gag = The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal, but then begin to decay and turn to dust.<ref name="Islandnet">{{cite news|title=Chronology of Walt Disney Records |publisher=Islandnet |date=2003-11-09 |url=http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/refs/disn1000.htm |accessdate=2008-05-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907163643/http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/refs/disn1000.htm |archivedate=September 7, 2007 }}</ref> | |||
| season = 15 | | |||
| | commentary = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | |||
| color = #EFEFEF | |||
| | prev = ] | |||
| | next = ] | |||
| }} | }} | ||
| "'''My Mother the Carjacker'''" is the second episode of the ] of the American animated television series '']''. It first aired on the ] in the United States on November 9, 2003.<ref name="Trakt">{{cite web |title=The Simpsons 15x02 "My Mother the Carjacker" |url=https://trakt.tv/shows/the-simpsons/seasons/15/episodes/2 |website=Trakt |access-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128221317/https://trakt.tv/shows/the-simpsons/seasons/15/episodes/2 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was written by ] and directed by ].<ref name="Trakt"/> | |||
| In the episode, ] receives a cryptic message in the newspaper informing him to come to a certain place at midnight, and soon discovers that the person who wrote the message is his mother, ]. ] makes her second of eleven guest spots as Homer's mother.<ref name="Trakt"/> It has a direct link from the season seven episode "]".<ref name="officialsite">{{cite news | title = The Simpsons present: "My Mother the Carjacker" | publisher = The Simpsons | date = 2003-11-09 | url = http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1502.htm| access-date=2008-05-02 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080418012356/http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1502.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-04-18}}</ref> It was nominated for a ] in 2004.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news | title = Simpsons scoop script nominations | publisher = ] | date = 2004-01-20 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3412515.stm | access-date = 2008-05-02 | archive-date = November 11, 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051111124426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3412515.stm | url-status = live }}</ref> In its original run, the episode received 12.4 million viewers.<ref name="Simpsons">{{cite news | title = Simpsons Channel News Archive; RATINGS: "My Mother the Carjacker" | publisher = Simpsons Channel | date = 2003-11-09 | url = http://www.simpsonschannel.com/news/monthly-archive-11-2003.html| access-date=2008-05-02 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080309092802/http://www.simpsonschannel.com/news/monthly-archive-11-2003.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2008-03-09}}</ref> It received mixed reviews. | |||
| "'''My Mother the Carjacker'''" is the second episode of '']''<nowiki>'</nowiki> ]. The episode aired on ], ]. | |||
| == |
==Plot== | ||
| On ]'s Channel Six "Oops Patrol" segment, he displays a humorous headline ("Mayor Unveils Erection to Cheering Crowd"), noticed and submitted by ], for which she receives a free ] and other perks from the town. An envious ], after trying on and stretching out Marge's shirt, attempts to find his own funny headline so he too can win a T-shirt. Homer spends the following night with newspapers plastered over his bedroom wall, exhausting himself in his search. He finds an article entitled "World's Biggest Pizza". The first letters of each line spell out an invitation for Homer to meet someone at Fourth Street Overpass at midnight. He wakes ] so they can both go. When they reach the overpass, the mystery person reveals herself to be ], Homer's mother. | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| At the Overpass Diner, Mona explains that the government is still hunting her because of her crime of sabotaging ]' germ warfare lab. Her nostalgia aroused by a macaroni pencil case Homer had made for her when he was five, her liberal links at the Springfield Shopper published the story of the giant pizza to lure Homer. ], ], and ] arrive at the diner, and Lou recognizes Mona. Waitress Hora lets Homer, Mona, and Bart escape through the back after they increase her tip. After they drive off, Homer rams into the police station, where Mona is arrested. At the trial, during which it is implied by Homer afterwards that Mona's ex-husband Grampa testifies against her, Homer is put on the stand and, after a long clueless pause, gives a heartfelt request that they do not take his mother away from him again. The jury, deeply moved, acquit Mona, much to Burns' fury. | |||
| ], the Simpson family, is busy doing chores in the yard, when ] comes out and calls everyone inside immediately. They are a bit reluctant, thinking that she has a "super-chore" waiting for them inside. She manages to get them inside and tells them to watch TV. They watch the "Oops Patrol", hosted by ]. He displays a rather ambiguous and funny headline, which Marge had noticed and called in, and got a ] for it. She starts to wear it everywhere she goes and attracts a lot of attention and a bit of envy, especially from ]. At home, he tries to put on her T-shirt, but it's too small for him. Marge enters and yanks it off him, but it's now too loose for her. | |||
| Mona catches up on Homer's missed childhood; giving Homer a bath, watching Homer in the school play, knitting for Homer, teaching Homer how to ride a bike, and seeing a reenactment of the birth of Bart. To make Mona more welcome, Homer steals a whole room from ]'s house so she can have her own private bedroom. Burns renames his Germ Warfare Laboratory the "Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium" to a crowd of cheering onlookers. Burns asks Mona to be the first to sign the museum's guest book. However, it is revealed to be a confessional trap when after signing the document, Mona says to Burns that she signed under false names while at national parks, which is a federal offense. Federal agents jump out and arrest her. ] tells Homer she disagrees with what the government did with Mona, and unintentionally gives Homer the idea to break Mona out of prison. | |||
| Homer starts to go crazy, wondering how to win a T-shirt. The next day, he brings a bunch of headline clippings to breakfast, in the hope of finding something funny to submit to the "Oops Patrol". All his ideas are too dumb and even ] doesn't want anything to do with them. That night, he sticks up newspaper clippings all over his room (in a spoof of '']'') and tries to find some funny headline. He sees an article about the "World's Biggest ]" and checks it out. When he looks more closely at it, he actually finds a secret message created from the first character of each row in the article. The message informs him to meet the mystery person at the 4th Street overpass at midnight. So he decides to follow his gut (again) and go. He takes Bart along and arrives at the overpass. They wait for a while. Suddenly, the mystery person comes and Homer gets scared. Bart tries to jump on the stranger, but the stranger sidesteps and holds out a sweater, into which Bart slides as he jumps. The sweater says "World's Best Grandson" and the stranger reveals herself to be ]. Homer, at first conflicted about meeting his mother after so long, is ecstatic and hugs her (after he hugs a bum and tries to steal his wine). | |||
| The next day, Homer and Bart trick the bus which is transferring female convicts to prison into pulling over by changing a ] overhead to display a warning of a snowstorm ahead. As the drivers get off to put chains on the tires, Homer steals the bus and liberates the convicts as the police give chase. Not wanting Homer to be imprisoned and leave his children like she did, Mona ] him and pushes him out of the bus onto an abandoned bed. Homer watches as the bus flies off a cliff into a lake, where it explodes and is covered by a ]. | |||
| They go to a nearby diner, where Mona apologises for all the ], but the government is still after her for sabotaging ]' Germ Warfare lab back in the ]. She tells him that they are probably tapping his phone and reading his mail. She tells them she came back to town because she missed Homer. Just then a police car pulls up at the diner and ], ] get out. They see Mona and recognise her and head inside. Homer, Mona and Bart run out the backdoor and drive away. Homer swears on Mona's "eventual grave", that he will not allow the cops to arrest her. Easier said than done, since Homer drives directly into the Police station and slams through the front door. The cops level their guns at them. Wiggum tells Homer he's lucky that he only destroyed bricks, mortar and ]s. However, Mona is arrested. | |||
| The Simpsons hold a funeral for Mona and pay their respects, but the coffin (filled with last week's garbage) suddenly slides away and into a forest. Later at night, Homer pores over newspaper headlines and finds an article in which the first letter of each row spells out "IMOK" over the front and back side of the page. Taking this to be another message from his mother that she is still alive, he goes to sleep. However, he overlooks an article about a giant ], in which Mona encoded a long message that explains she escaped from the bus before it crashed and hitched a ride out of town.<ref name="officialsite"/> | |||
| Mr. Burns wants to have Mona put on trial for having sabotaged his lab. Kent Brockman does a report on Mona Simpson's exemplary life working as a ], oral ], reader for the blind, listener for the deaf and reacher for the short. At the trial, ] tells the court that Mona is far less dangerous than Bart, which earns her an ] from him, with the permission of the judge (who has issues with his own sister). Homer (not a man who's good with words) makes a rather emotional and heartfelt request to the jurors not to take his mother away from him again. The jurors are moved and decide to acquit Mona, much to everyone's joy and Mr. Burns' anger. | |||
| ==Cultural references== | |||
| Mona is happy to be free and wants to be close to Homer and he's happy that he can be a little boy again (who gets some on the side). So she starts to give him baths, go to his "school plays", knits for him, pushes him as he cycles (though he cycles directly into rush hour traffic on the ]). He even has Marge act like she's giving birth to Bart for Mona. He takes her to ] and introduces her to the patrons, although she already knows ] and ]. He shows her her new room, which is filled with rather nice-looking furniture, which he stole from ]' home. | |||
| The title is a reference to the TV series '']''. The song Mona sings with the convicts is "]". The song played during the '60s montage is ]'s version of "]". The montage concludes with ] as a guest on '']'' saying "You bet your sweet bippy", a catch phrase of the show. During the scenes with Homer re-enacting his childhood for his mother, the song being played is "]" by ].<ref name="Sitcoms">{{cite web|url=http://www.watchtvsitcoms.com/Simpsons/S15E02.php|title=Watch TV Sitcoms.Com: "My Mother the Carjacker"|access-date=2007-08-03|publisher=TV Sitcoms|archive-date=December 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206113252/http://www.watchtvsitcoms.com/Simpsons/S15E02.php|url-status=live}}</ref> When Homer is having prints of pictures of his mother made, the song played is "]" by ]. Homer's line of "Bless the loom that fruited you" is a reference to ].<ref name="Sitcoms"/> Homer's line of "We'll hide you where there's no people – ]" is a reference to how a park in Disneyland had poor attendance. The scene of the Homer pinning newspapers to the wall and letters jumping out and deciphering hidden messages is a homage to similar scenes in '']''. When Homer is showing the family headlines is a parody of the "Headlines" segment on '']''. Also, Lisa says "Don't go inside! ]", which is a reference of ]'s famous line, said in '']''. | |||
| ==Reception== | |||
| The next day, Mr. Burns, who seems to have let bygones be bygones, announces that he is renaming the "Germ Warfare Laboratory" to the "Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium". Homer and Mona are at the unveiling, along with a crowd of cheering onlookers. He asks her to be the first to sign in the museum's guest book. As she does it, she unwittingly tells him that she had been signing false names when visiting state and ]. Burns records her statement and calls for the ], who are hiding nearby, to arrest her for supplying false information on a national park register. She is arrested again and taken away in a Fed car. Homer, unwilling to lose his mommy again, runs after the car, but keeps on losing it. | |||
| ===Viewing figures=== | |||
| During its original run, the episode gained 12.4 million viewers, losing to a rerun of "]" (12.6).<ref name="Simpsons"/> | |||
| ===Critical response=== | |||
| He gets depressed about losing Mona so soon. He looks at photos, which they took together, and broods. Lisa tells him that she found out that Mona is being transferred to a federal prison the next day, and suggests that they hold a candlelight vigil there. But Homer has better ideas and decides to bust Mona out. | |||
| Colin Jacobson of ''DVD Movie Guide'' said the episode was not as good as the previous episode and "more emotional than most" episodes. However, he thought it was a "reasonably satisfying program".<ref>{{cite web|first=Colin|last=Jacobson|date=December 13, 2012|title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifteenth Season (2003)|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfifteen.shtml|website=DVD Movie Guide|access-date=November 11, 2024|archive-date=August 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806152020/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfifteen.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| On ''Four Finger Discount'', Brendan Dando and Guy Davis liked the performance by Glenn Close but thought the plot was a repeat of her previous appearance.<ref>{{cite podcast|first1=Guy|last1=Davis|first2=Brendan|last2=Dando|title="My Mother The Carjacker" Podcast Review (S15E02)|work=Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast)|date=February 17, 2022|url=https://www.fourfingerdiscount.com.au/episodes/my-mother-the-carjacker-simpsons-podcast-review|time=1:00|access-date=November 11, 2024|archive-date=October 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241015020936/https://www.fourfingerdiscount.com.au/episodes/my-mother-the-carjacker-simpsons-podcast-review|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| The next day, as the bus carrying Mona and other female convicts, drives to the federal prison, Homer and Bart come to an electronic road sign and change it to say that there is a ] ahead and tire chains must be used. When the guards in the bus get off to put on the tire chains, Homer sneaks inside and drives off, much to the delight of the convicts. He drops off the other convicts and tells them that they can make it back to the prison on their own! Mona and he drive off and Homer promises to hide her. Suddenly, a huge convoy of police cars get on their trail and chase them. Mona, unwilling to get Homer in trouble, pushes him out of the bus onto an abandoned bed (phew!), which rolls into a large patch of ], ]s and ]. Meanwhile, the cops are still chasing the bus on a cliff and Mona refuses to give herself up, despite Wiggum's ]-translated warning. As Homer watches on in horror, the bus falls off the cliff into a lake. The bus then blows up and a huge avalanche of rocks from the opposite cliff, covers up the lake. Homer cries at the thought that his mother is dead. | |||
| '']'' ranks Glenn Close's performances as the twenty-fifth best guest appearances in the show's history.<ref>{{cite web|date=January 4, 2010|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/04/top-25-simpsons-guest-appearances|title=Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances|accessdate=November 11, 2024|last1=Goldman|first1=Eric|last2=Iverson|first2=Dan|last3=Zoromski|first3=Brian|website=]|archive-date=September 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928192523/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/04/top-25-simpsons-guest-appearances|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| The next day, they hold a funeral for her and Homer is heart-broken. He gets even unhappier, when the coffin rolls down the hill, and kicks the headstone erected for ]. That night, he looks at newspaper headlines, in the hope that his mother has left a message for him. He tells his family that they never found Mona's body; the coffin contained last week's garbage. He finds an article, in which the first letters of each row spell out "I M O K". Happy in the knowledge that she is alive, he goes to sleep. However, he has overlooked one article about a giant ], in which Mona has encoded another message, saying that she escaped from the bus and made some friends with a nice young couple, with whom she visited a Seaside Diner and had ]-style ] ] with ]. | |||
| ==Trivia== | |||
| *This is the second episode to feature ]. | |||
| *This is the first episode that was written by ]. | |||
| *The newspaper headline Homer holds up reading "Cranford Man Missing" is a reference to ], the home town of writer ]'s parents. | |||
| ==Cultural references== | |||
| *The title is a play on the ] sitcom '']''. | |||
| *The Oops Patrol segment on the news is a play on '']'''s segment ], where people submit absurdities in the newspaper, such as a sale advertisement for "Protestant" Armor-All Wipes, when the wording should be "Protectant" Armor-All Wipes. | |||
| *The scene where Homer puts all the articles on the wall is a direct parody of '']''. | |||
| ===Awards and nominations=== | |||
| ==Newspaper Articles== | |||
| Writer ] was nominated for the ] for this episode at the ].<ref name="BBC"/> | |||
| ===Iowa Home to World's Largest Pizza=== | |||
| ''''''H'''''ome sweet home. That's'''''{cutoff}''''' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''ne pizza that's making its''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''ost sizeable pizza in the''''{cutoff}''' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''very state wants to hold it''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''hode Island is our smalle''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''ontana boasts the bigge''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ven Idaho brags about its''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ventually wanted to mak''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''T'''''o many in Ames, Iowa, w''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''en and women who dre''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''at pizza like LA students''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''4'''''th attempt at doing some''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''S'''''aved the state. "There wa''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''T'''''o brag about," said Dale''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''ecently moved to Nebras''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ntertainment, if you can''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ating a slice of big pizz''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''T'''''o draw him back "for goo''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''thers in the state seemed to''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''V'''''ery enormous pizza was bei''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''aten, and when informed of''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''esponded, "Who cares? I do''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''P'''''izza, or any un-American fo''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''A'''''sparagus, or something gro''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''S'''''ure, I'll give it a whirl. It can''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''S'''''mallish food, I don't care. Th''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''ean it won't taste good. It o''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''I'''''t won't make the evening ne''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''D'''''on't quite a lot of things we''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''N'''''eglected by you liberal rep''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''I'''''ntensely anti-U.S focus on w''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''T'''''he uneaten portion of the 3''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ventually be turned into lux''''{cutoff}'' | |||
| ==References== | |||
| ===Giant Taco built in Mexico=== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| '''H'''''ow about those crazy Mexicans?'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''ne day they're attacking our best Alamos, or'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''anufacturing nice leather belts to sell'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''ager U.S tourists with uneventful trousers.'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''ecently, though some students in Northern'' | |||
| <br>'''Y'''''ucatan tried to make something to wear under'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''ne's belt. They ended up making... history.'' | |||
| <br>'''U'''''ntil yesterday, the largest taco every built'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''esided in the LA, home of'' ], ''who'' | |||
| <br>'''M'''''oved it from room to room to view it as he'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''versaw the operation of his bustling career.'' | |||
| <br>'''T'''''hat taco is now among the world's smallest.'' | |||
| <br>'''H'''''e was unavailable for comment at press time.'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''arlier this month, in attention-straved Iowa,'' | |||
| <br>'''R'''''esidents made what they believed would be the'' | |||
| <br>'''L'''''argest food ever prepared, a 378-ton pizza.'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''nce the Yucatan Taco tipped the scales at a'' | |||
| <br>'''V'''''ery impressive 413,845 tons, Iowa's feat was'' | |||
| <br>'''E'''''clipsed, and the state was, again, forgotten.'' | |||
| <br>'''S'''''ome in Iowa vowed revenge on the citizens of'' | |||
| <br>'''Y'''''ucatan saying, "If they want war, bring it'' | |||
| <br>'''O'''''n. The people of Iowa are prepared. We've'' | |||
| <br>'''U'''''sed this week bulking up on American pizza".'' | |||
| <br>'''I''''' uhjdbrghbdjkthbgkuhtbrtihihtilhdtkjgkjdkjdkjkjh'' | |||
| <br>'''E''''' dfjhgdkjhfjdfng djhgkhedrghek'' | |||
| <br>'''S''''' regkkjbdrfbnkjdhfgnrgfherhjhjrdhfhfhf'' | |||
| <br>'''C''''' dkfnkjdgkuhertuiuhtihegkjerkhgieuthgkurhtiugh'' | |||
| <br>'''A''''' ieutkhkuhetiugheriuthgihetgkhnekdrnkdnkjndfg'' | |||
| <br>'''P''''' nekdnknjrthkjnrethg;ieuthr;oiwjhoh[pjhtgjhrpiht'' | |||
| <br>'''E''''' iuhrethgieuhgiuherngunrerununrrgrunrngnurn'' | |||
| <br>'''D''''' etgiuhetuhertighukrehthnetkughkuehtriuhti;hgr'' | |||
| <br>'''F''''' ikthn;klijrshjk;ushk;ushtiughsreiputhgipuehrtgiu'' | |||
| <br>''{cutoff}'' | |||
| == |
==External links== | ||
| {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_15#Episode_2.My_Mother_the_Carjacker|"My Mother the Carjacker"}} | |||
| *'''Homer:''' I couldn't sleep because I thought there might be a sign of my mom in one of these articles. They never did find her body.<br/>'''Bart:''' Then what was in the coffin?<br/>'''Homer:''' Last week's garbage. I missed the pick-up date. | |||
| {{Portal|The Simpsons}} | |||
| *'''Bart:''' Mom made the Oops Patrol! Hot damn!<br/>'''Homer:''' Bart, you're not at school! Don't swear! | |||
| * {{IMDb episode|0701188}} | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Marge, wake up! The newspaper's talking to me!<br/>'''Marge:''' Oh, relax. I'm sure it's just your brain going crazy.<br/>'''Homer:''' I wish! | |||
| *'''Bart:''' Can't we go home? This overpass smells like urine.<br/>'''Homer:''' They all do.<br/>'''Bart:''' ''Fresh'' urine.<br/>'''Homer:''' (zips up pants) The bathroom's a block away. | |||
| *'''Homer:''' I love you so much, but it's so hard for me to trust you. Oh, what the heck? Give me a hug, you.<br/>'''Mona:''' Homer, you're hugging a bum.<br/>'''Homer:''' I know. I'm working my way up to you.<br/>'''Bum:''' Hey! Gimme back my wine! (takes a bottle from Homer) | |||
| *'''Homer:''' Hmmm. I think the government has better things to do than to read ''my'' mail.<br/>''(elsewhere)''<br/>'''Government agent:''' Most people write letters to movie stars. This Simpson guy writes to movies. "Dear '']'', You rock. Especially when that guy was on the roof. P.S.: Do you know '']''?" | |||
| *'''Female convict:''' I hope this ride never ends 'cause I'm getting executed after it's over. | |||
| *'''Mona (into bus radio):''' Granny to the man! Granny to the man! <br/> '''Wiggum (reading a "Hippie-English" dictionary while speaking into his radio):''' This is the man. We'd think it'd be a gas if you turned that magic bus around and kept on truckin' to our pigpen! <br/> '''Mona:''' I don't know what you're saying, but I'm not turning back! <br/> '''Wiggum:''' Then listen to me, lady! The only way you are getting off this mountain is in a box or a ]. <br/> '''Lou:''' What about a ]? <br/> '''Wiggum:''' Yeah, pipe down, ]. | |||
| {{The Simpsons episodes|15}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:My Mother The Carjacker}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 03:44, 18 November 2024
2nd episode of the 15th season of The Simpsons
| "My Mother the Carjacker" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 15 Episode 2 | ||
| Directed by | Nancy Kruse | ||
| Written by | Michael Price | ||
| Production code | EABF18 | ||
| Original air date | November 9, 2003 (2003-11-09) | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
| Glenn Close as Mona Simpson | |||
| Episode features | |||
| Couch gag | The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal, but then begin to decay and turn to dust. | ||
| Commentary | Al Jean Michael Price Matt Selman Tom Gammill Max Pross Marc Wilmore Dan Castellaneta | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| The Simpsons season 15 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"My Mother the Carjacker" is the second episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 9, 2003. It was written by Michael Price and directed by Nancy Kruse.
In the episode, Homer receives a cryptic message in the newspaper informing him to come to a certain place at midnight, and soon discovers that the person who wrote the message is his mother, Mona Simpson. Glenn Close makes her second of eleven guest spots as Homer's mother. It has a direct link from the season seven episode "Mother Simpson". It was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award in 2004. In its original run, the episode received 12.4 million viewers. It received mixed reviews.
Plot
On Kent Brockman's Channel Six "Oops Patrol" segment, he displays a humorous headline ("Mayor Unveils Erection to Cheering Crowd"), noticed and submitted by Marge, for which she receives a free T-shirt and other perks from the town. An envious Homer, after trying on and stretching out Marge's shirt, attempts to find his own funny headline so he too can win a T-shirt. Homer spends the following night with newspapers plastered over his bedroom wall, exhausting himself in his search. He finds an article entitled "World's Biggest Pizza". The first letters of each line spell out an invitation for Homer to meet someone at Fourth Street Overpass at midnight. He wakes Bart so they can both go. When they reach the overpass, the mystery person reveals herself to be Mona Simpson, Homer's mother.
At the Overpass Diner, Mona explains that the government is still hunting her because of her crime of sabotaging Mr. Burns' germ warfare lab. Her nostalgia aroused by a macaroni pencil case Homer had made for her when he was five, her liberal links at the Springfield Shopper published the story of the giant pizza to lure Homer. Chief Wiggum, Lou, and Eddie arrive at the diner, and Lou recognizes Mona. Waitress Hora lets Homer, Mona, and Bart escape through the back after they increase her tip. After they drive off, Homer rams into the police station, where Mona is arrested. At the trial, during which it is implied by Homer afterwards that Mona's ex-husband Grampa testifies against her, Homer is put on the stand and, after a long clueless pause, gives a heartfelt request that they do not take his mother away from him again. The jury, deeply moved, acquit Mona, much to Burns' fury.
Mona catches up on Homer's missed childhood; giving Homer a bath, watching Homer in the school play, knitting for Homer, teaching Homer how to ride a bike, and seeing a reenactment of the birth of Bart. To make Mona more welcome, Homer steals a whole room from Ned Flanders's house so she can have her own private bedroom. Burns renames his Germ Warfare Laboratory the "Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium" to a crowd of cheering onlookers. Burns asks Mona to be the first to sign the museum's guest book. However, it is revealed to be a confessional trap when after signing the document, Mona says to Burns that she signed under false names while at national parks, which is a federal offense. Federal agents jump out and arrest her. Lisa tells Homer she disagrees with what the government did with Mona, and unintentionally gives Homer the idea to break Mona out of prison.
The next day, Homer and Bart trick the bus which is transferring female convicts to prison into pulling over by changing a sign overhead to display a warning of a snowstorm ahead. As the drivers get off to put chains on the tires, Homer steals the bus and liberates the convicts as the police give chase. Not wanting Homer to be imprisoned and leave his children like she did, Mona tases him and pushes him out of the bus onto an abandoned bed. Homer watches as the bus flies off a cliff into a lake, where it explodes and is covered by a rockslide.
The Simpsons hold a funeral for Mona and pay their respects, but the coffin (filled with last week's garbage) suddenly slides away and into a forest. Later at night, Homer pores over newspaper headlines and finds an article in which the first letter of each row spells out "IMOK" over the front and back side of the page. Taking this to be another message from his mother that she is still alive, he goes to sleep. However, he overlooks an article about a giant taco, in which Mona encoded a long message that explains she escaped from the bus before it crashed and hitched a ride out of town.
Cultural references
The title is a reference to the TV series My Mother the Car. The song Mona sings with the convicts is "I Fought the Law". The song played during the '60s montage is Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower". The montage concludes with John Wayne as a guest on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In saying "You bet your sweet bippy", a catch phrase of the show. During the scenes with Homer re-enacting his childhood for his mother, the song being played is "Mother and Child Reunion" by Paul Simon. When Homer is having prints of pictures of his mother made, the song played is "Mother" by John Lennon. Homer's line of "Bless the loom that fruited you" is a reference to Fruit of the Loom. Homer's line of "We'll hide you where there's no people – Disney California Adventure Park" is a reference to how a park in Disneyland had poor attendance. The scene of the Homer pinning newspapers to the wall and letters jumping out and deciphering hidden messages is a homage to similar scenes in A Beautiful Mind. When Homer is showing the family headlines is a parody of the "Headlines" segment on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Also, Lisa says "Don't go inside! It's a trap!", which is a reference of Admiral Ackbar's famous line, said in Return of the Jedi.
Reception
Viewing figures
During its original run, the episode gained 12.4 million viewers, losing to a rerun of "Three Gays of the Condo" (12.6).
Critical response
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said the episode was not as good as the previous episode and "more emotional than most" episodes. However, he thought it was a "reasonably satisfying program".
On Four Finger Discount, Brendan Dando and Guy Davis liked the performance by Glenn Close but thought the plot was a repeat of her previous appearance.
IGN ranks Glenn Close's performances as the twenty-fifth best guest appearances in the show's history.
Awards and nominations
Writer Michael Price was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for this episode at the 56th Writers Guild of America Awards.
References
- "Chronology of Walt Disney Records". Islandnet. November 9, 2003. Archived from the original on September 7, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ "The Simpsons 15x02 "My Mother the Carjacker"". Trakt. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
- ^ "The Simpsons present: "My Mother the Carjacker"". The Simpsons. November 9, 2003. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ "Simpsons scoop script nominations". BBC News. January 20, 2004. Archived from the original on November 11, 2005. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ "Simpsons Channel News Archive; RATINGS: "My Mother the Carjacker"". Simpsons Channel. November 9, 2003. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
- ^ "Watch TV Sitcoms.Com: "My Mother the Carjacker"". TV Sitcoms. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
- Jacobson, Colin (December 13, 2012). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fifteenth Season (2003)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- Davis, Guy; Dando, Brendan (February 17, 2022). ""My Mother The Carjacker" Podcast Review (S15E02)". Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast) (Podcast). Event occurs at 1:00. Archived from the original on October 15, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian (January 4, 2010). "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
