Brake My Wife, Please
Encyclopedia
"Brake My Wife, Please" is the twentieth episode of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons
. It first aired on May 11, 2003.
to the Springfield Aquarium, Principal Skinner pronounces two giant "yellow pearls" in a clam, only to find that it is actually Bart
mooning
everybody underwater. As Bart tries to get out of the water, he is grabbed by an octopus
, punched in the stomach by a tortoise
and hit on the head by a hammerhead shark
. As Bart's wounds are being treated at hospital, Marge
realizes that Homer
has their insurance card, and unsuccessfully calls around looking for him. Dr. Hibbert shackles Bart to a radiator until he gets the insurance information. Homer finally shows up at the hospital, explaining he got sidetracked by the TV previews at the video store. Marge insists that he get a cell phone, so that they can contact him whenever they need him. Lindsey Naegle walks into the hospital room hawking cell phones, and sells Homer one with a Mexican Hat dance
ringtone.
The next day, Homer, taking advice from Barney
(who is seen sober again), goes to buy a hands-free headset, and is bamboozled by the clerk to buy additional accessories that can be plugged into the car's cigarette lighter socket, including a DVD player
, a snowcone maker, fog machine, record player, deep-fryer, and a Lite-Brite
with Homer's face on it. Homer drives around using his new toys without paying attention to the road, until he realises he is on a pier headed straight for the ocean. Panicked, he tries to send an SOS on his fax machine but sinks underwater before it can be sent.
After his car is pulled out by the "Navy rejects," (the Coast Guard
), Judge Constance Harm cancels Homer's driving license, guillotine
s it in two, and feeds it to two police dogs, telling the court officers to burn the dogs' fecal matter (Homer previously got his driver's license taken away in the season 4 episode "Duffless
" for drunk driving); Homer can no longer drive to the store, to work, or "to the store at work," which means that Marge has to do all the driving. She has to pick up Homer's dry-cleaning in Shelbyville and drive Lenny and Carl around. While walking to Moe's Tavern Homer envies the people driving past, even Ralph Wiggum
, who is driving his dad's police car, with Clancy in pursuit on Ralph's tricycle. However, he realizes when he reaches Moe's that he feels great at having walked all the way and decides to keep going.
As Homer begins to enjoy walking, Marge finds driving increasingly stressful due to gridlock, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and Milhouse
's and Bart's Peru
vian fighting frogs battling in her hair. One day as Homer walks with other Springfieldians, Steve Buscemi
and 2 tribesmen from Turkmenistan
, singing about the virtues of walking, Marge accidentally runs him over with her car.
Later, as Homer recuperates from the accident, Hibbert tells Marge that Homer's crushed pelvis means that he is now utterly dependent on her. She brings Homer soup and profuse apologies. When he finds the soup to be too hot, Marge, offering to cool it down, accidentally spills the soup all over him. Later, Homer hobbles out with a cane, claiming he feels fine, much to Marge's annoyance, since she has to drive. She "accidentally on purpose" kicks out his cane, making him fall. Homer begins to suspect that Marge is trying to hurt him. They have a fight and go to see a marriage counselor. When Homer fails to list Marge as one of the people who are most important to him (his list basically contains variations of his name), she walks off sadly. The counselor advises Homer to perform one completely unselfish gesture to win Marge back. He suggests a romantic dinner. So Homer decides to do one better and invites all the people of Springfield
for a backyard barbecue
in Marge's honor (first getting rid of Ned Flanders
and the rest of the Flanders family by sending them a note that reads: "Dude, meet me in Montana
XXOO—Jesus (H. Christ)
").
Marge, returning in a foul mood after driving, walks to the backyard and is welcomed by everyone. Jackson Browne
sings a duet with Homer, praising Marge. After the barbecue, Marge tells Homer that she loves him and that she wants to "kill him with kisses." Homer and the other guests toast her. After dinner, Homer, wanting some privacy with Marge, ends the barbecue by turning on the sprinklers.
This episode finally tells us where Springfield is located. Near the middle of the song "I Love to Walk" Homer sings "I can walk, from Springfield to Alaska..." and it shows him standing on a map of the United States. He walks from a blue star near the center of a blank map of the U.S. over to Alaska. When you look at a map of the United States you see that the blue star is in Missouri. Then, when you look at a map of the state of Missouri, you see a city called Springfield in the lower left hand portion. It matches up perfectly with where the blue star is on the show's map.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. It first aired on May 11, 2003.
Plot
On a school field tripField trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
to the Springfield Aquarium, Principal Skinner pronounces two giant "yellow pearls" in a clam, only to find that it is actually Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
mooning
Mooning
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
everybody underwater. As Bart tries to get out of the water, he is grabbed by an octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, punched in the stomach by a tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
and hit on the head by a hammerhead shark
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
. As Bart's wounds are being treated at hospital, Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
realizes that Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
has their insurance card, and unsuccessfully calls around looking for him. Dr. Hibbert shackles Bart to a radiator until he gets the insurance information. Homer finally shows up at the hospital, explaining he got sidetracked by the TV previews at the video store. Marge insists that he get a cell phone, so that they can contact him whenever they need him. Lindsey Naegle walks into the hospital room hawking cell phones, and sells Homer one with a Mexican Hat dance
Jarabe tapatío
The Jarabe Tapatío dance in its standardized form was first choreographed by the Mexican, in the early twentieth century to celebrate a government-sponsored fiesta that commemorated the successful end of the Mexican Revolution....
ringtone.
The next day, Homer, taking advice from Barney
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
(who is seen sober again), goes to buy a hands-free headset, and is bamboozled by the clerk to buy additional accessories that can be plugged into the car's cigarette lighter socket, including a DVD player
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. These devices were invented in 1997 and continue to thrive...
, a snowcone maker, fog machine, record player, deep-fryer, and a Lite-Brite
Lite-Brite
Lite-Brite is a toy, created by Hasbro in 1967, which allows the user to create glowing designs. It is a light box with small colored plastic pegs that fit into a matrix of holes and illuminate to create a lit piece of art. Using the colored pegs the user can create designs from imagination or by...
with Homer's face on it. Homer drives around using his new toys without paying attention to the road, until he realises he is on a pier headed straight for the ocean. Panicked, he tries to send an SOS on his fax machine but sinks underwater before it can be sent.
After his car is pulled out by the "Navy rejects," (the Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
), Judge Constance Harm cancels Homer's driving license, guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
s it in two, and feeds it to two police dogs, telling the court officers to burn the dogs' fecal matter (Homer previously got his driver's license taken away in the season 4 episode "Duffless
Duffless
"Duffless" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season and originally aired on the Fox network on February 18, 1993. After getting arrested for drunk driving, Homer tries to remain sober, at Marge's request. Meanwhile, Lisa attempts to prove that Bart is dumber than a hamster after he...
" for drunk driving); Homer can no longer drive to the store, to work, or "to the store at work," which means that Marge has to do all the driving. She has to pick up Homer's dry-cleaning in Shelbyville and drive Lenny and Carl around. While walking to Moe's Tavern Homer envies the people driving past, even Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show's resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior...
, who is driving his dad's police car, with Clancy in pursuit on Ralph's tricycle. However, he realizes when he reaches Moe's that he feels great at having walked all the way and decides to keep going.
As Homer begins to enjoy walking, Marge finds driving increasingly stressful due to gridlock, bumper-to-bumper traffic, and Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
's and Bart's Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian fighting frogs battling in her hair. One day as Homer walks with other Springfieldians, Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
and 2 tribesmen from Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, singing about the virtues of walking, Marge accidentally runs him over with her car.
Later, as Homer recuperates from the accident, Hibbert tells Marge that Homer's crushed pelvis means that he is now utterly dependent on her. She brings Homer soup and profuse apologies. When he finds the soup to be too hot, Marge, offering to cool it down, accidentally spills the soup all over him. Later, Homer hobbles out with a cane, claiming he feels fine, much to Marge's annoyance, since she has to drive. She "accidentally on purpose" kicks out his cane, making him fall. Homer begins to suspect that Marge is trying to hurt him. They have a fight and go to see a marriage counselor. When Homer fails to list Marge as one of the people who are most important to him (his list basically contains variations of his name), she walks off sadly. The counselor advises Homer to perform one completely unselfish gesture to win Marge back. He suggests a romantic dinner. So Homer decides to do one better and invites all the people of Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
for a backyard barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
in Marge's honor (first getting rid of Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
and the rest of the Flanders family by sending them a note that reads: "Dude, meet me in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
XXOO—Jesus (H. Christ)
Jesus H. Christ
Jesus H. Christ is an example of slang serving as a profanity.The expression dates to at least the late 19th century, although according to Mark Twain it was already old in 1850....
").
Marge, returning in a foul mood after driving, walks to the backyard and is welcomed by everyone. Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
sings a duet with Homer, praising Marge. After the barbecue, Marge tells Homer that she loves him and that she wants to "kill him with kisses." Homer and the other guests toast her. After dinner, Homer, wanting some privacy with Marge, ends the barbecue by turning on the sprinklers.
This episode finally tells us where Springfield is located. Near the middle of the song "I Love to Walk" Homer sings "I can walk, from Springfield to Alaska..." and it shows him standing on a map of the United States. He walks from a blue star near the center of a blank map of the U.S. over to Alaska. When you look at a map of the United States you see that the blue star is in Missouri. Then, when you look at a map of the state of Missouri, you see a city called Springfield in the lower left hand portion. It matches up perfectly with where the blue star is on the show's map.
Cultural references
- The title of this episode is a reference to the old Henny YoungmanHenny YoungmanHenry "Henny" Youngman was a British-born American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners", short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire...
line, "Take my wife, please." This line was also referenced in the title of other episodes, including: "Take My Wife, SleazeTake My Wife, Sleaze"Take My Wife, Sleaze" is the eighth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 28, 1999. In the episode, Homer wins a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and starts his own biker gang, naming it...
" and "Take My Life, PleaseTake My Life, Please"Take My Life, Please" is the tenth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 15, 2009...
". - Homer's song "I Love to Walk" was a parody of "Talk to the AnimalsTalk to the Animals"Talk to the Animals" is a song written by British composer, Leslie Bricusse.Written for the film, Doctor Dolittle, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards. It was performed in the film by Rex Harrison...
," from the 1967 movie and animated series Dr. Doolittle. - Homer's duet with Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
is a parody of Browne's song "Rosie" from the album Running on EmptyRunning on Empty (album)Running on Empty is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. Released in 1977, the album reached #3 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in 1978 and stayed on the charts for 65 weeks...
. - Homer scratches a record and sings in a karaoke microphone singing the intro to "I Feel for YouI Feel for You"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. It became a hit single in 1984 for female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her album, which was also called I Feel for You...
" by Chaka KhanChaka KhanChaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
.
External links
- "Brake My Wife, Please" at The Simpsons.com