Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 05:11, 10 December 2006

"And Maggie Makes Three"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 6
Directed by	Swinton O. Scott III
Written by	Jennifer Crittenden
Original air dates	January 22, 1995
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"'Bagman' is not a legitimate career choice"
Couch gag	Homer is seen in a parody of the famous James Bond gun barrel sequence.
Episode chronology
The Simpsons season 6
List of episodes

"And Maggie Makes Three" is the 13th episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It is notable for recounting the birth of Maggie.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler When looking through the family photo albums, Bart and Lisa comment on the lack of baby pictures for Maggie. As Marge insists on the weekly hour for the family without watching TV, Homer recalls Maggie's conception and birth. Homer hated working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and had a dream job of working at a bowling alley. Through careful budgeting, he managed to make that dream come true. He quit the power plant, and went to get a job at Barney's Bowlorama. It meant less pay, but also less stress, a friendly atmosphere, and enabled them to have just enough money to get by with the four of them.

However, when Homer and Marge "snuggled" to celebrate this development, she became pregnant. Knowing that another baby would mean that Homer would have to get a better paying job, Marge tried to keep it a secret from Homer as long as she could, but Patty and Selma managed to find out. Even though they promised not to tell Homer, they spread the word quickly around town that Marge was pregnant, and threw her a "surprise" baby shower after "forgetting" that Homer was due back from work soon.

Homer was not happy when he found out about the new baby, and completely unenthusiastic about the impending birth. He was forced to go back to the Power Plant, and Mr. Burns smugly allowed him to return, but only after placing a plaque in Homer's station saying "Don't forget: you're here forever," to remind him that he could never quit again. As much as he dreaded the idea of having another child, as soon as Maggie was born, Homer immediately fell in love with her and took all of her baby photos to work, positioning them around the plaque to alter it into saying "Do it for her".

Trivia

• The music during the 'where do the bowling pins go' scene is Raymond Scott's Powerhouse. This particular song turns up in many similar scenes and is a favorite of Matt Groening.
• This episode is Ricky Gervais' second favourite episode
• Technically, Homer's request to God that he "freeze everything exactly as it is" comes true as the basic structure of Homer's life following the conception of Maggie remains mostly unchanged (as a result of the lack of change in The Simpsons universe over countless seasons).
• The first person listed in the Springfield telephone book, "A. Aaronson", was previously mentioned in "Sideshow Bob Roberts", where he is the first listed person in the list of Springfield registered voters and voted for Sideshow Bob.
• This is the only Simpson Episode to date with Maggie in the title.
• When Homer discovers where the bowling pins go, the man throwing the bowling ball is Jacques from the episode Life on the Fast Lane. Nevertheless this episode is set before Marge met him.

Cultural References

• The episode title is a play on the lyric "And baby makes three" from the song "My Blue Heaven".
• At the beginning of the episode, the family watches Knightboat, which is a direct parody of Knight Rider.

Goofs

• Homer's calendar reminds him that Dick Clark will appear on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, however, Jay Leno did not become host of The Tonight Show until 1992, several years after Maggie was "technically" born (as she appeared in many episodes that aired prior to 1992, including several episodes where Johnny Carson is seen as the host of The Tonight Show).
• Homer's job in this episode contradicts his position in the nuclear plant, as he did not get promoted to safety inspector until Homer's Odyssey.
• Ruth Powers is at Marge's baby shower even though she hasn't moved to Springfield yet.
• When Homer gets back to the Simpson home after crawling back to Mr. Burns to get his job back, you can see while he's talking to pregnant Marge (she is going to have Maggie soon) a picture of Maggie in her current state on the wall.
• The Simpsons weren't living at 742 Evergreen Terrace until well after Lisa was conceived, yet the two flashbacks show Homer running up the stairs in their current home.
• The "Don't Forget. You're Here Forever"/"Do It For Her" plaque only appears for this episode.
• In the flashbacks of Marge telling Homer she's pregnant, when Homer runs up stairs on the wall going up the stair case there is a picture of Lisa although she wasn't even born yet.
• The flashbacks of Homer ripping out his hair when Marge announced the births of Bart and Lisa contradicts how Homer reacted to the pregnancies in "I Married Marge" and "Lisa's First Word". In "I Married Marge", Homer and Marge were in Doctor Hibbert's office and Dr. Hibbert broke the news that Marge was pregnant (by implying that he knows why she's been throwing up in the morning), to which Homer shouts, "D'oh!", which echoes down the hall, causing some guy in a body cast to say, "Poor guy" (and in the same episode, Homer's hair fell out naturally, Marge was living with her mom and sisters, and Homer was living with Barney Gumble, so there was no way they could have lived in the house that they live in now because that house wasn't shown until Lisa's First Word). In Lisa's First Word, Homer and Marge were living in a rundown apartment (and didn't live in the house that they live in now until Grampa sold his house and gave Homer a check to pay for the house), Marge told Homer that she was pregnant herself, and Homer was happy about it until baby Bart flushed his car keys down the toilet.
• When Homer carries Marge up the stairs they go through a door that shows the other bedrooms but in every single episode before and after and in this episode it leads to the bathroom (shown when Marge beats Homer to the bathroom so she can throw up).

Quotes

• Selma: Oh, we promise we won't tell... Homer.
  (At their house, they open the phone book to the first page.)
  Patty: (dials 356756) Hello, is this A. Aaronson? It might interest you to know that Marge Simpson is pregnant again.
  (Flash forward. They are on the last page of the phone book.)
  Patty: Just thought you'd like to know, Mr. Zykowski. (hangs up, sighs) There. Aaronson and Zykowski are the two biggest gossips in town. In an hour, everyone will know.

• Marge (regarding a television character): That back-talking boat sets a bad example.
  Bart: Says you, woman.

• Bart: You're a pin monkey? Wow! Finally, I don't have to be ashamed of my father's job!

• Homer: (sarcastic) It's wonderful, it's magical. Oh boy, here it comes. Another mouth.

• Homer: Hey Barney, any chance you can get me a job here?
  Barney: Hey, sure, Homer. I told you, my uncle owns the place. Hey, Uncle Al, can Homer here have a job?
  Al: Sure.
  Homer: Woo hoo!
  Al: Barney, you're fired.
  Barney: Okay.

• (Homer is imitating a sperm cell)
  Marge: Did you have to be so graphic?
  Homer: It's okay, Marge. They pave the way for this kind of filth in school.

• Dr. Hibbert: Well, you know, a healthy baby can bring upwards of $60,000.
  Marge: What?
  Dr. Hibbert: Well, of course, that was just a test. Err, had you reacted differently, you'd be in jail right now. Simply a test.

• Marge: Baby shower? You know I haven't told Homer yet, and he'll be home any minute!
  Selma and Patty: Oh really?
  Marge (after the door opens, and no one comes in): Phew!
  Homer: Hey, it's me. It's hell out there! ...Hey, wait a minute. What are all these presents? It looks like you're... showering Marge with gifts. Hmm...with little, tiny baby-sized gifts. Well, I'll be in the tub.
  Maude Flanders: By the way, congratulations on your new job, Homer.
  Homer: ...New job? ...Marge is pregnant?! Nooooooo!!

• Homer: Thanks for giving me my old job back.
  Burns: I'm afraid it's not that simple. As punishment for your desertion, it's company policy to give you the plague.
  Smithers: Uh, sir, that's the plaque.
  Burns: Ah yes, the special demotivational plaque to break what's left of your spirit.

• Homer: Ahh, the family photo album! So many memories! Oh look! KNIGHT BOAT!

• Homer: (Holding newborn Maggie) It's a boy. And WHAT a boy!
  Dr. Hibbert: That's the umbilical cord. It's a girl.

• At the hospital, Mayor Quimby holds a newborn child in his arms while the mother (a young woman) rests
  Quimby: This is incredible. It's God's most wondrous miracle.
  Nurse: Sir, I think your wife wants to hold the baby.
  Quimby: My wife? Where? Where?!
  Runs off in a panic

External links

• "And Maggie Makes Three episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.

• The Simpsons episodes, season 6