Marge in Chains
"Marge in Chains" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 6, 1993. In the episode, Marge is arrested for shoplifting after forgetting to pay for an item at the Kwik-E-Mart. The family hires attorney Lionel Hutz to defend her at trial, but she is found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in prison. Homer and the rest of the family have trouble coping without Marge.
"Marge in Chains"
Season 4
Episode 21
9F20
May 6, 1993
"I do not have diplomatic immunity"
A miniature family climbs onto a normal-sized couch.
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, and directed by Jim Reardon. After its initial airing on Fox, the episode was later included as part of a 1997 video release titled The Simpsons: Crime and Punishment. It was released again on the 2005 edition of the same set.
"Marge in Chains" received a positive reception from television critics. The authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide commented positively on the episode, as did reviews in The Daily Mirror and The Observer.
Plot[edit]
Troy McClure and Dr. Nick star in a TV advertisement for a juicer called the "Juice Loosener", which is manufactured in and shipped from Osaka, Japan. The advertisement persuades multiple Springfield residents to buy Juice Looseners. However, one of the packers in Osaka has the flu and every package contains some of his germs. The "Osaka Flu" spreads through Springfield.
Every member of the Simpson family catches the flu, except Marge, who quickly becomes exhausted by caring for four family members. On a trip to the Kwik-E-Mart, Marge's exhaustion causes her to forget to pay for a bottle of bourbon that Grampa requested, and she is soon charged with shoplifting. Mayor Quimby dramatically reveals Marge's shoplifting to the town in a public address. Marge's reputation is damaged and the townspeople no longer trust her. The Simpson family hires Lionel Hutz to defend Marge, but due to Hutz's incompetence, Marge is convicted and sentenced to 30 days in prison.
Marge's absence is felt by the family and the house falls into disarray. The annual bake sale also suffers– without Marge's marshmallow squares, the Springfield Park Commission is short the money needed for a statue of Abraham Lincoln; they instead purchase a statue of Jimmy Carter. The townspeople are enraged by this (one person shouts, "He's history's greatest monster!") and riot. To save the town government's reputation, Quimby arranges for Marge to be released from jail early. When Marge arrives home, several townspeople are gathered in her front yard. Quimby unveils the Carter statue again, but it now has Marge's hairstyle, and the inscription has been changed from "Malaise Forever" to "Marge Forever". The statue is then converted into a tetherball post, which Bart and Lisa play with.
Reception[edit]
In its original broadcast, "Marge in Chains" finished 31st in ratings for the week of May 3–9, 1993, with a Nielsen rating of 11.1, equivalent to approximately 10.3 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Beverly Hills, 90210.[26]
In a review of the episode in The Observer, Caroline Boucher wrote: "My domestic Simpsons correspondent, Simon, reports a particularly fine episode, Marge in Chains to the extent that he watched the tape twice."[27] Karl French of Financial Times characterized the plot of the episode as a "modern version" of It's a Wonderful Life.[28] Dusty Lane of The News Tribune cited a quote from Lionel Hutz in the episode among his list of "Eight Great 'Simpsons' Quotes" – "Well, he's kind of had it in for me since I kinda ran over his dog. Well, replace the word 'kinda' with the word 'repeatedly,' and the word 'dog' with 'son'."[29]
Jessica Mellor of The Daily Mirror highlighted the episode in a review of The Simpsons season four DVD release, along with "Kamp Krusty", "New Kid on the Block", and "I Love Lisa", commenting: "Springfield's finest prove once again why they are the cleverest thing on telly."[30] In a section on the episode in their book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood wrote: "We like Bart's plan to rescue Marge from prison by becoming the glamorous Bartina, and Lionel Hutz is supremely inept".[31]