"Flaming Moe" is the eleventh episode of the
twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
in the United States on January 16, 2011.
It follows the efforts of
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice co ...
to earn
Mr. Burns' respect by turning
Moe's Tavern
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
into a successful
gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
, leading
Moe to become more popular as a
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
man than Smithers. Meanwhile,
Principal Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
looks for love with the substitute music teacher.
Plot
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice co ...
learns that he is not included in
Mr. Burns' will, the main beneficiary now being Burns' pet
giant tortoise
Giant tortoises are any of several species of various large land tortoises, which include a number of extinct species, as well as two extant species with multiple subspecies formerly common on the islands of the western Indian Ocean and on the ...
. When he confronts Burns, he tells Smithers he only respects "self-made men". Dejected, Smithers tries to cheer himself up by going to "The League of Extra Horny Gentlemen", a
gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
, but is denied entrance because he is not as attractive or fashionable as the rest of the clientele. Stopping by
Moe's Tavern
Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
instead, he notices how slow business is and proposes to
Moe that they refurbish his bar and make it into a gay bar, with the encouragement of other gays who were not accepted into the other lookist bar. Smithers hopes to earn Mr. Burns' respect by building a successful business in addition to having a place in which he can feel accepted. They turn Moe's into an ultra-trendy gay bar called Mo's. Mo's new patrons come to believe that Moe too is gay, a misconception he encourages for fear of losing their business. He becomes more popular than Smithers, so popular with the local
gay community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and ...
that they push Moe to run for the city council to become the first "openly gay" council member.
Smithers attempts to "
out" Moe as
straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* ...
while Moe is announcing his candidacy by demanding that Moe kiss him. Puckering his lips, Moe leans into Smithers, but at the last minute cannot and announces that he was lying. Moe asks for forgiveness and hopes that they understand his need to be accepted; he also points out that if they do not support him, his ultra-homophobic, latent opponent may win. The crowd is nevertheless disheartened and angry, and leaves. Before Moe leaves, he grabs Smithers and kisses him, afterward saying "Like
frisbee golf, I'm glad I tried it once". The credits end as Mo's is renovated back to the old Moe's Tavern again.
Meanwhile,
Principal Skinner
Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...
tries to date the substitute music teacher, Calliope Juniper (
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
), and sets her daughter Melody (
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. After starting her career at age four with appearances in commercials, she moved to Hollywood at age 11 and soon got an agent.
Hannigan began her film career with supporting ro ...
) up with
Bart
Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc.
Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...
as an excuse to spend time with her.
Even though Melody idolizes Bart, he cannot stand her and eventually breaks up with her. Ms. Juniper quits her job and she and Melody move out of town. She asks Skinner to come with them and he accepts. He returns three months later, saddened by the end of the relationship but content that he was able to maintain it for as long as he did.
Production
"Flaming Moe" was written by
Matt Selman
Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer.
Early life
Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993.
Career
After considering a car ...
and was directed by
Chuck Sheetz
Chuck Sheetz is an American director, animator, animation director, educator, and producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons,'' ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', and ''Recess (TV series), Recess''.
Early life
Sheetz grew up outside ...
, both their first credit for the season. The episode also featured guest appearances by actress
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. After starting her career at age four with appearances in commercials, she moved to Hollywood at age 11 and soon got an agent.
Hannigan began her film career with supporting ro ...
, actress and comedian
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...
, and comedian
Scott Thompson reprising his role as Grady from "
Three Gays of the Condo
"Three Gays of the Condo" is the seventeenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 13, 2003. The episode was written by ...
".
Cultural references
Moe's run for office is an homage to the plot of the film ''
Milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
''.
Moe points to photos of previous episodes when he relaunched his bar, such as "
Bart Sells His Soul" (a family restaurant), "
Homer the Moe" (a trendy new bar), and "
Mommie Beerest" (a British pub).
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Flaming Moe" was viewed by an estimated 6.38 million households and received a 3.1 rating/8 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, ranking third in its timeslot.
Rowan Kaiser of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B+, stating, "this was a very good episode of ''The Simpsons''. The guest stars added instead of subtracting, it had a gently satirical inverse of gay panic jokes, and it was pretty damn funny...It's another strong ''Simpsons'' episode in a surprisingly strong season.”
References
External links
*
{{The Simpsons episodes, 22
2011 American television episodes
The Simpsons (season 22) episodes
American LGBT-related television episodes
LGBT-related animated television episodes