"Marge in Chains" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fourth 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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

''. 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 May 6, 1993. In the episode, Marge is arrested for

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

after forgetting to pay for an item at the

Kwik-E-Mart The Kwik-E-Mart (spelled "Quick-E-Mart" in "Bart the General") is a convenience store in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of th ...

. The family hires attorney

Lionel Hutz Lionel Hutz is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He was voiced by Phil Hartman, and his first appearance was in the season two episode " Bart Gets Hit by a Car". Hutz is a stereotypical shady ambulance cha ...

to defend her at trial, but she is found guilty and sentenced to 30 days imprisonment.

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and the rest of the family have trouble coping without Marge. The townspeople start a

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

when an annual bake sale missing Marge fails to raise enough money for a statue of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and they have to settle for a statue of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. Mayor Quimby has Marge released from jail in order to save his career and quell the riot. The episode was written by Bill Oakley and

Josh Weinstein Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weinst ...

, and directed by

Jim Reardon Jim Reardon is an American animator, storyboard artist, television writer, television director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series and was cr ...

. 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. The episode is included on ''The Simpsons – The Complete Fourth Season'' DVD box set released on June 15, 2004. "Marge in Chains" received a positive reception from

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''.

Plot

Many of Springfield's residents are persuaded by an advertisement to buy juicers made in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and shipped from there. One of the packers has the

flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

and every package contains some of his germs. Osaka Flu spreads through Springfield. Every member of the Simpson family is affected, except Marge. Exhausted by caring for them all, she omits paying for Grampa's bottle of

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

at the

and is soon charged with

. Mayor Quimby dramatically reveals this to everyone in a public address. Marge's reputation is damaged and the townspeople no longer trust her. The family hires

to defend her, but she is convicted and sentenced to 30 days' imprisonment. 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 fails to raise enough money to pay for a statue of

; they instead purchase a statue of

. The townspeople are enraged by this, and

. When Marge is released early on the orders of Quimby, she is given a hero's welcome. They unveil a statue for her, though it is just the Carter statue with Marge's hair added. The last scene shows

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 ...

and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

playing on the statue, which has been converted into a tether ball post.

Production

"Marge in Chains" was written by Bill Oakley and

and was the first episode that they wrote as staff writers. The script was assigned to them after somebody else had come up with the idea. The first draft of the script was "slightly more realistic" than the final version of the episode because Oakley and Weinstein had done a lot of research about women in prison, much of which was later replaced. For Apu and Sanjay's brief lines of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

dialogue, the writers called the Embassy of India in Washington to get them to translate. The Embassy was not "interested or happy" but still did it. Oakley, Bill. (2004). DVD Commentary for "Marge in Chains", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. In the episode,

is referred to as "history's greatest monster". Jean, Al. (2004). DVD Commentary for "Marge in Chains", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. In the 2004 Season 4 DVD commentary for this episode, show runners

Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series '' The Critic''. He created and wrote ...

and

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

reveal that they did not like Carter, although they would vote for him ahead of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Kwik-E-Mart operator Apu testifies in a courtroom scene in the episode that he is able to recite 40,000 decimal places of the number pi. He correctly notes that the 40,000th digit is the number one. The episode's writers prepared for this scene by asking David H. Bailey of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

(now at

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), commonly referred to as the Berkeley Lab, is a United States Department of Energy National Labs, United States national laboratory that is owned by, and conducts scientific research on behalf of, t ...

) for the number of the 40,000th decimal place of pi. Bailey sent them back a printout of the first 40,000 digits. The Troy McClure movie title ''P is for Psycho'' is Mike Reiss' favorite joke he ever wrote for ''The Simpsons''. "Marge in Chains" originally aired on the

in the United States on May 6, 1993. The episode was selected for release in a 1997 video collection of selected episodes titled: ''The Simpsons: Crime and Punishment''. Other episodes included in the set were "

Homer the Vigilante "Homer the Vigilante" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 1994. In the episode, a crime wave caused by ...

", "

Bart the Fink "Bart the Fink" is the fifteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1996. In this episode, Bart inadvertently ...

", and "

You Only Move Twice "You Only Move Twice" is the second episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 3, 1996. The episode, based on a story idea by Greg D ...

". It was included again in the 2005 DVD release of the ''Crime and Punishment'' set. "Marge in Chains" is also featured on ''The Simpsons''' season 4 DVD set, ''The Simpsons – The Complete Fourth Season'', which was released on June 15, 2004.

Cultural references

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

portrays himself in a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in the episode as the 12-step sponsor for Lionel Hutz. The classic

Crosby, Stills, and Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

song "

Teach Your Children "Teach Your Children" is a song written by Graham Nash in 1968 when he was a member of the Hollies. Although it was never recorded by that group in a studio, the Hollies did record it live in 1983. The song first appeared on the album ''Déjà Vu' ...

" is referenced when Crosby tells Hutz on the phone, "and know that I love you." During Marge's trial for shoplifting, prosecutors show the

Zapruder film The Zapruder film is a silent 8mm color motion picture sequence shot by Abraham Zapruder with a Bell & Howell home-movie camera, as United States President John F. Kennedy's motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November ...

and assert that Marge was present on the

grassy knoll Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting ...

when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was assassinated. The scene where Maude Flanders peers through a hole in a wall at Marge is a reference to the 1960 film '' Psycho''. In Lionel Hutz's dream of what the world would be like without lawyers, the writers had wanted to use the song "

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" is a pop song that originated as the jingle "True Love and Apple Pie", by British hit songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and sung by Susan Shirley. The lyrics were rewritten ...

", which was used in

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

advertisements, but they could not get the rights to it. Instead, they used a similar instrumental theme. The episode's title is a reference to the Seattle grunge band

Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...

, which at the time of this episode had aired received mainstream success and popularity. Homer also complains in the episode that " e'llmiss '' Sheriff Lobo''".

COVID-19 "predictions"

During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, media outlets reported that ''The Simpsons'' had "predicted" the outbreak with this episode. Episode writer Bill Oakley alleged that

Internet troll In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, a online video game), or in real life, with the int ...

s were using the episode for "nefarious purposes", including creating

memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

replacing "Osaka flu" with "coronavirus." Oakley stated his reference for the "Osaka" plot device was the 1968 flu pandemic, which began in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

, stating it was "just supposed to be a quick joke about how the flu got here." When speaking on "predictions" from ''The Simpsons'' in general, Oakley continued "It's mainly just coincidence because the episodes are so old that history repeats itself." Comparisons to the episode experienced a resurgence in May 2020, following advisories by

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

regarding

Asian giant hornet The Asian giant hornet (''Vespa mandarinia'') or northern giant hornet, including the color form referred to as the Japanese giant hornet, is the world's largest hornet. It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Sout ...

s in the region, citing a scene where an angry crowd tips over a truck they believed contained a "

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

" for Osaka flu, and accidentally unleashing a swarm of

killer bee The Africanized bee, also known as the Africanized honey bee and known colloquially as the "killer bee", is a hybrid of the western honey bee (''Apis mellifera''), produced originally by crossbreeding of the East African lowland honey bee (''A ...

s from a crate in the process. In real life, killer bees were the subject of much media attention in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In this episode occurs,

Mayor Quimby Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed Diamond Joe, is a recurring character from the animated sitcom television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in ...

pretends to be in his office, while actually he is in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

on vacation. This was likened to many politicians who violated their own "stay-at-home" orders during the pandemic, as well as

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

abandoning his constituents during the 2021 Texas power crisis to flee to

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

. However, even before this incident occurred, Cruz has had a history of openly acknowledging that he is a ''Simpsons'' fan. In December 2022, it was reported that U.S. President Joe Biden was visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands during a time when Americans were facing problems at home, such as problems stemming from the impact of a major snow blizzard.

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Marge in Chains" finished 31st in ratings for the week of May 3–9, 1993, with a

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

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 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...

''. In a review of the episode in ''

'', 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." Karl French of ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' characterized the plot of the episode as a "modern version" of ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

''. Dusty Lane of ''

The News Tribune ''The News Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tacoma, Washington. It is the second-largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington with a weekday circulation of 30,945 in 2020. With origins dating back to 1883, the newspaper w ...

'' 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'." Jessica Mellor of ''

'' highlighted the episode in a review of ''The Simpsons'' season four DVD release, along with "

Kamp Krusty "Kamp Krusty" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 24, 1992. During summer vacation, the children of Spri ...

", "

New Kid on the Block "New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 12, 1992. After meeting his new neighbor, Laur ...

", and "

I Love Lisa "I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1993. In the episode, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a ...

", commenting: "Springfield's finest prove once again why they are the cleverest thing on telly." 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".

References

External links

* * * {{Good article The Simpsons (season 4) episodes 1993 American television episodes David Crosby Cultural depictions of Jimmy Carter Television episodes about theft Television episodes set in prisons Television episodes set in Osaka Television episodes about influenza outbreaks Japan in non-Japanese culture