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Revision as of 02:23, 4 December 2006 by Gwern (talk | contribs) (Robot-assisted disambiguation (you can help!): Titanic)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Episode of the 4th season of The Simpsons| "Mr. Plow" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Mr Plow.gif | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 |
| Directed by | Jim Reardon |
| Written by | Jon Vitti |
| Original air dates | November 19, 1992 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "A burp is not an answer" |
| Couch gag | The family sits on a single chair. |
| Episode chronology | |
| The Simpsons season 4 | |
| List of episodes | |
"Mr. Plow" is the 9th episode of The Simpsons' fourth season.
Synopsis
It is snowing badly in Springfield, so Marge calls Homer at Moe's Tavern and tells him to come home right away. Homer drives through a snowstorm and both cars are destroyed as a result. He lies to an insurance claims adjuster about his whereabouts before the accident in order to cover the fact that he was drunk at the time.
Homer goes to a car show to get a new car, where a salesman talks him into getting a snowplow because he can pay the higher debt by using it to plow snow off the roads. Homer starts his snow plow business as "Mr. Plow" with the help of a late-night ad and becomes a success, even being given a key to the city.
Barney asks how he can be a success so Homer says to go out and be the best Barney he could be. The next day Barney has bought a bigger plow, and with Linda Ronstadt's help, creates an ad as "The Plow King", which steals all of Homer's customers. Mayor Quimby takes back the key from Homer to give it to Barney. To get revenge Homer tricks Barney into going on a fake plow job.
Without Barney around Homer begins to plow driveways again, but the news reports there has been an avalanche on the mountain that Homer sent Barney to. Homer, feeling guilty, sets out to rescue him, and in the end they agree to become partners. Their claim that not even God could stop them (possibly a reference to a similar boast about the Titanic) brings about a response from God - the melting of the snow. Homer's plow is repossessed at the end of the episode.
Trivia
- This episode was submitted for the overall comedy program Emmy as opposed to the animation category in 1993 (along with A Streetcar Named Marge) although ultimately, it wasn't nominated.
- Kumatsu Motors and Repo Depo from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and I Married Marge repectively are mentioned.
Cultural references
- Bonnie and Clyde - Bart plays in a car the outlaw duo from the 1930s is said to have been riding in the day they were killed in a police ambush. Also, the scene where Bart is pelted by dozens of snowballs by angry classmates (after Homer clears a path for the bus) is lifted from the ambush scene of the 1967 film, where Mr. Barrow and Ms. Parker were shot repeatedly.
- Circus of the Stars - "Carnival of the Stars" (hosted by Troy McClure) is a direct spoof of the annual specials that aired on CBS (from 1976-1994), featuring celebrities performing circus acts.
- Citizen Kane - The Mr. Plow commercial featuring the snow dome being crushed is inspired by the shattered snow dome in the 1941 film.
- John F. Kennedy assassination - The scene where Kent Brockman announces "The Plow King is trapped" is a re-creation of videotape footage of Walter Cronkite delivering the bulletin about JFK's death.
- The Godfather — The scene where Bart is repeatedly hit by snowballs from angry classmates is also taken from the famous scene in The Godfather, where Sonny Corleone is shot to death at a tollbooth. The Godfather scene itself is a tribute to the climatic end scene of Bonnie and Clyde where the main characters are shot to death in a police ambush.
- McMann & Tate - The advertising agency McMahon & Tate, which Homer visits to create commercials for Mr. Plow, is a play on the advertising agency featured on Bewitched.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - The scene where the snowmen melt during the sudden heatwave is just as how the Nazi soldiers melt in the 1981 film.
- Sorcerer - The music from Homer's drive over the rickety wooden bridge and his narrow escape from falling off the mountain is a take-off of the music by Tangerine Dream from this film.