"Sky Police" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-sixth 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, ...

'', and the 568th overall episode of the series. It first 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 an ...

in the United States on March 8, 2015.

Plot

Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah ...

is mistakenly delivered a military jet pack, which he gleefully accepts. He is later found by a military general who originally bought the jet pack, and received his order for an off-brand dust ruffle. Wiggum tries to escape, but is shot down by the general's soldiers. The jet pack goes off course and crashes into the church, causing massive damage. Because

Reverend Lovejoy Reverend Timothy "Tim" Lovejoy, Jr. is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Rev. Lovejoy is the minister at The First Ch ...

did not get an insurance plan that covers "acts of God" the company gleefully denies his claim and the building is left unusable. The congregation, led by

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932� ...

, must resort to gambling and counting cards, taught by

Apu APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...

, in order to collect money to pay for the repairs. Marge then secretly proceeds to go to the casino with

Sideshow Mel In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten seq ...

Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, chee ...

Agnes Skinner The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

, Lovejoy and his wife

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

. They win enough money for the church but Homer finds out and goes looking for Marge at the casino. The casino then holds Homer hostage in exchange for the return of the money won, but the church already gave it to the contractor, who refuses to give it back. Marge prays in the middle of the casino which attracts a huge crowd. Having data that shows the prayer is a "disturbance" that is hurting business, the manager releases Homer and allows Marge to keep the money won for the church in exchange for her group never returning. Homer then demands that the casino stop treating people who count cards as cheaters when all they are doing is playing by the rules, so a robot picks him up and throws him into the street. Homer and Marge then enjoy a lovely sunset in front of their fully restored house of worship.

Cultural references

Chief Wiggum's song "Sky Police" is a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of ''

Baby Face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

'' as sung by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

in the musical ''

Thoroughly Modern Millie ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' is a 1967 American musical- romantic comedy film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Julie Andrews. The screenplay, by Richard Morris based on the 1956 British musical ''Chrysanthemum'', follows a naïve you ...

''. The main plot of the episode is a homage to The Church Team, a team of Christian blackjack card counters active from 2005 to 2011. The episode also references the film '' 21'', in which a

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT) graduate is recruited to a card-counting ring by his college tutor and gambles in order to raise tuition fees; in a similar way, Apu reveals he attended an "MIT" twice - first the Mumbai Institute of Tantric-Sex, where he was recruited by a card-counting ring and earned enough money to buy fake SAT scores to get into the real Massachusetts Institute of Technology; there, he failed every class and was kicked out and therefore had to move to Springfield. The casino montage scenes are a parody of the casino montages in the 2000s '' Ocean's films'', with betting values flashing up on-screen and a music theme that echoes David Holmes' soundtracks for the ''Ocean's'' films.

Reception

The episode received a 1.6 rating and was watched by a total of 3.79 million people, making it the third most watched show on Fox that night after ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' and '' The Last Man on Earth''.

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 ...

was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 68th Writers Guild of America Awards for his script to this episode.

References

External links

*
"Sky Police"
at theSimpsons.com {{The Simpsons episodes, 26 2015 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 26) episodes Television episodes about gambling