The Man Who Grew Too Much
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"The Man Who Grew Too Much" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-fifth 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 543rd episode of the series. It premiered 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 9, 2014. It was written by
Jeff Westbrook Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'' and ''Futurama'', for which he is a three-time winner of the WGA Award. Education and pre-TV Prior to becoming a TV writer, Westbrook was a successful algorithms researche ...
and directed by Matthew Schofield. In the episode, Lisa discovers that
Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...
has become the chief scientist of a massive chemical engineering company, but the two of them bond over their appreciation for
high culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society cons ...
. Meanwhile, Marge ends up a church volunteer to help teenagers become abstinent. The episode serves as a stand-alone sequel to "
The Bob Next Door "The Bob Next Door" is the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the The Simpsons (season 21), twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in ...
".


Plot

As Ms. Hoover's class watches a film that
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 ...
feels does not fit in the lesson plan, they are interrupted by students stampeding in the hallways because it is
Taco Tuesday Taco Tuesday is a custom in many US cities of going out to eat tacos or in some cases select Mexican dishes typically served in a tortilla on Tuesday nights. Restaurants will often offer special prices, for example, "$1 fish tacos every Tuesday ni ...
.
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 his co-workers sneak into the school to take advantage of this day. Lisa observes
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 ''Barthol ...
eating his sixth taco and the lunch lady retaining the salad for another meal. After Lisa questions whether the vegetables will rot or not, the lunch lady tells her that the veggies are genetically modified, so they will last. After reading about the side effects of eating
genetically modified food Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...
s, Lisa presents her argument at the parent-teacher meeting at school. After watching a confusing video, Lisa runs off to do more research and discovers genetically modified foods can actually be a good thing, much to the surprise of her audience. A corporation takes interest in Lisa's initiative to drive genetically modified foods home, and introduces Lisa and her family to their chief scientist, which turns out to be
Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...
. Bob recounts how he, driven by insanity in prison, became a test subject so that the monkeys would not be injured too much. Lisa connects with Bob through their mutual love of
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...
, and Bob notes that Lisa was always the best family member out of the Simpson clan. The two begin to do scientific food experiments together, and find they enjoy each other's company. Meanwhile,
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 ...
rushes to get to the church before the volunteer sign-up positions she wants are gone but it is too late, as Marge gets suckered by Ned into giving the sex talk to teenagers. It is no use when the teenagers mock her teaching, and she fails miserably to get her point across about sex, even with her attempt at finger puppets. At home, Homer tries to squeeze in some alone time with an angry Marge, who decides to use him as an example for her sex education class. Marge brings Homer to church to tell her class that she has abstained from sex with her partner for two days. The mere image of Homer and Marge touching each other gives the teenagers enough reason to pledge to wait until marriage for sex, though this results in them starting a riot in pent-up sexual frustration. Despite having to carry his concrete ankle block from prison, Bob enjoys his time with Lisa at the museum. While passing through an exhibit, a heavy display model comes close to squashing Lisa, but Bob saves her. As Lisa wants to know how Bob had the strength to do so, Bob reveals to Lisa that with the success of genetically modified foods, he has been able to change his own DNA. Bob also tells Lisa that the real reason behind their trip to the museum is because of his plans on using the DNA of the geniuses in the exhibit to become the smartest of them all. When Bart comes to save Lisa, Bob warns he can be tempted into a murderous rage very easily. After a family bothers him for a minute, he does go into a rage and goes after Bart and Lisa with his new "
grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...
" thighs and "
killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...
" sonar. He chases them to edge of the Springfield Dam, but Marge, Homer and the teen-abstinence group come to stop him with Marge promising to release the teens from their pledge. When Lisa quotes Walt Whitman, Bob realizes he has become a monster and attempts suicide by drowning, but then remembers he gave himself gills. In an epilogue (done as a tribute to
Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...
), Ned recalls how much he loved Edna, as he and
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
mourn her death.


Reception

The episode received positive reviews from critics. ''
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+ rating and praised Kelsey Grammer's voice-acting and the episode's "strong, straightforward narrative." They summed up, Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic gave a mixed-to-positive review. Although lauding Sideshow Bob and Lisa's bonding over their I.Qs and describing it as "heartwarming", Lopez criticized Bob's scheme as "mundane" and Bob's devolution "into an out of control genetic monster...was silly even for him." Praise was given, however, to the episode's B-story involving Marge trying to talk to the local teens about celibacy as "her uncomfortable speaking and inadvertently titillating finger puppets made for some great comic moments." The episode ultimately received a 3.6/5 star rating. The episode received a 1.6 rating and was watched by a total of 3.75 million people, making it the second most watched show on
Animation Domination Animation Domination (also called AniDom, Fox AD, and AD) is an American animated programming block which has aired in two iterations on the Fox broadcast network, featuring a lineup solely made up of prime-time animation and adult animation carr ...
that night.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Who Grew Too Much, The 2014 American television episodes Television episodes about genetic engineering The Simpsons (season 25) episodes Television episodes about murder Television episodes about revenge