I Married Marge
Encyclopedia
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge
worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office. While anxiously waiting, Homer
begins to tell Bart
, Lisa
, and Maggie
the story of how he and Marge got married and how Bart was born.
Written by Jeff Martin
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
, "I Married Marge" was the second flashback episode of The Simpsons after season two's "The Way We Was
". It features cultural references to The Empire Strikes Back, Charlie's Angels
, and Ms. Pac-Man
. The title of the episode is a play on the American television series I Married Joan
. Since airing, "I Married Marge" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 11.9 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
The episode was the first of three about the births of the Simpsons children, with Lisa's covered in "Lisa's First Word
" in the fourth season, and Maggie's covered in the sixth season episode "And Maggie Makes Three
".
and Homer
worry that Marge may be pregnant again after a home pregnancy test gives inconclusive results, so Marge drives to Dr. Hibbert
's office to take another test. While waiting, Homer tells Bart
, Lisa
, and Maggie
the story of how he and Marge got married, and Bart's birth thereafter. In 1980, Homer works at a miniature golf
course and is dating Marge. One night, they make out inside of a golf course castle after seeing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
. A few days later, Marge feels sick and tells Homer she might be pregnant. He takes her to the office of Dr. Hibbert, who confirms that Marge is pregnant. Homer is less than thrilled over the announcement, but since he loves Marge he proposes to her and she accepts.
They decide to name their new baby Bart, as it's the first name they could think of that Homer didn't think other children would make fun of
. The two marry in a small wedding chapel across the state line. They spend their wedding night at Marge's family's house, sleeping on a couch in the living room, which irritates Marge's mother and her sisters Patty and Selma.
Homer's wages at the miniature golf course are insufficient to pay for his new family so he attempts to get a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, but is unsuccessful. When Homer and Marge's newly purchased baby supplies and Marge's wedding ring are repossessed, Homer decides to leave and find a job. When Marge reads the letter Homer left behind explaining his actions, she is brought to tears. Homer gets a job at a "Gulp N' Blow" taco restaurant, where Patty and Selma find him. Selma, feeling sorry for Marge and some pity for Homer, decides to tell Marge the truth in spite of Patty's reluctance (due to her obvious hatred of Homer). Marge finds Homer and convinces him to come back home with her. When Homer says he cannot provide much material wealth for Marge, she reminds him that anything he gives her is valuable, because it is from him.
Homer applies for a job at the power plant once more, this time marching into Mr. Burns
's office and telling him that he will be the perfect employee. Burns is so impressed that he hires Homer on the spot. When Homer returns to Marge's house, he discovers from his mother-in-law that she has gone into labor and is already at the hospital. He quickly gets there and sees Marge with Selma & an angry Patty, who starts berating him. Fed up with her disrespect, Homer lashes out at Patty and angrily tells Patty (as well as the rest of the Bouvier family) to start showing him some respect for he has a job, a piece of news that Homer promptly tells Marge. After Homer finishes telling his flashback story, Marge arrives home with the news that she is not pregnant. They are both overjoyed and high-five.
"I Married Marge" was written by Jeff Martin
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
. It was the second flashback episode of The Simpsons and a sequel to the previous one, "The Way We Was
", which tells the story of how Homer and Marge met in high school. Executive producer Sam Simon
was concerned that the writers were being "inefficient" with the episode; he thought the three plots of Homer and Marge's marriage, the birth of Bart, and Homer getting his job should have been extended into three episodes instead of one. The staff were concerned over the animation of the characters' eyes in the episode, as the pupils were larger than normal, making the characters look "stoned", and the eyeballs were "too round" and large. The animation artists at the animation studio in South Korea
, where much of the animation process takes place, had begun stenciling the eyes with a template, which according to Lynch resulted in "strangely round eyes which look a little too big sometimes and much too perfect. Which is very un-Simpsons like." Marge was designed with shorter hair in the flashback sequences to make her appear younger. Lynch thought it was nice to see Marge in a "younger, more attractive mode, and sort of watching her progress through pregnancy."
The title of the episode is a reference to the American television series "I Married Joan
". When Marge is suspected to be pregnant, Bart wants to name the baby after rapper Kool Moe Dee
, while Lisa wants to name her after Ariel, from The Little Mermaid
. At the beginning of his story, Homer mentions the band Supertramp
, and their popularity in the time period. While exiting the movie theater, Homer spoils the ending of The Empire Strikes Back for dozens of moviegoers awaiting the next show. He also compares Marge's good looks to Princess Leia and her intelligence to Yoda
, two characters from the film. Homer's encounter with the donut delivery man that delivers donuts to the power plant is a reference to a scene in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
. Homer and his best friend Barney Gumble
are watching Charlie's Angels
when Marge tells the news of her pregnancy. A poster of Farrah Fawcett
, a cast member of Charlie's Angels, hangs on the wall in Barney's apartment. The sign outside the wedding chapel resembles Vegas Vic
from the Pioneer Club
in Las Vegas. When Homer returns to the power plant to apply for a job the second time, Mr. Burns is seen playing the arcade game Ms. Pac-man
. The episode marks the first appearance of Burns's assistant Smithers's first name, Waylon, which comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
.
of 11.9, equivalent to approximately 11 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. Marge's voice actor, Julie Kavner
, received a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
in 1992 for her performance in the episode.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Pete Oliva of North Texas Daily
praised the writers for providing back stories that are "believable" and do not feel "contrived or hastily thought through." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, thought it was a "moving" episode with "plenty of great setpiece
s." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson described the episode as "sweet and funny" and a "nice piece of Simpsons history." Jacobson went on to say that he enjoyed the flashback concept and that the episode develops the characters "nicely" and gives the viewers "a good sense for the era in which it takes place." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave it a 5/5 rating, and highlighted the scenes with Marge's sisters Patty and Selma, "barraging Homer with insults", as the "funniest moments" of the episode. Meyers added: "The episode's climax is a great moment for Homer and fans of the show." Molly Griffin of The Observer said "I Married Marge" is one of the season three episode that turned the show into "the cultural force it is today."
In his book Drawn to Television – Prime-time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy, Keith Booker wrote: "The episode details in a rather sentimental fashion the early struggles of the irresponsible Homer to support his new family [...] Such background episodes add an extra dimension to the portrayal of the animated Simpson family, making them seem oddly real and adding weight to their status as a family with a long history together."
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...
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, 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...
worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office. While anxiously waiting, 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...
begins to tell 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...
, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
, and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
the story of how he and Marge got married and how Bart was born.
Written by Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (writer)
Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
, "I Married Marge" was the second flashback episode of The Simpsons after season two's "The Way We Was
The Way We Was
"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, we see how Homer falls in love with...
". It features cultural references to The Empire Strikes Back, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
, and Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licensor Namco as an official title...
. The title of the episode is a play on the American television series I Married Joan
I Married Joan
I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...
. Since airing, "I Married Marge" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 11.9 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
The episode was the first of three about the births of the Simpsons children, with Lisa's covered in "Lisa's First Word
Lisa's First Word
"Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on December 3, 1992. In the episode, as the Simpson family gathers around Maggie and tries to encourage her to say her first word, Marge reminisces and tells the story of...
" in the fourth season, and Maggie's covered in the sixth season episode "And Maggie Makes Three
And Maggie Makes Three
"And Maggie Makes Three" is the thirteenth television episode of The Simpsons sixth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 22, 1995. In the episode, Lisa notices that there are no photos of Maggie in the family photo albums. This leads to a recount of...
".
Plot
MargeMarge 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...
and 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...
worry that Marge may be pregnant again after a home pregnancy test gives inconclusive results, so Marge drives to Dr. Hibbert
Julius Hibbert
Dr. Julius M. Hibbert, usually referred to as Dr. Hibbert, is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. His speaking voice is provided by Harry Shearer and his singing voice was by Thurl Ravenscroft, and he first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr...
's office to take another test. While waiting, Homer tells 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...
, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
, and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
the story of how he and Marge got married, and Bart's birth thereafter. In 1980, Homer works at a miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
course and is dating Marge. One night, they make out inside of a golf course castle after seeing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
. A few days later, Marge feels sick and tells Homer she might be pregnant. He takes her to the office of Dr. Hibbert, who confirms that Marge is pregnant. Homer is less than thrilled over the announcement, but since he loves Marge he proposes to her and she accepts.
They decide to name their new baby Bart, as it's the first name they could think of that Homer didn't think other children would make fun of
Fart
Fart is an English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to flatulence. The word "fart" is generally considered unsuitable in a formal environment by modern English speakers, and it may be considered vulgar or offensive in some situations. Fart can be used as a noun or a verb...
. The two marry in a small wedding chapel across the state line. They spend their wedding night at Marge's family's house, sleeping on a couch in the living room, which irritates Marge's mother and her sisters Patty and Selma.
Homer's wages at the miniature golf course are insufficient to pay for his new family so he attempts to get a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, but is unsuccessful. When Homer and Marge's newly purchased baby supplies and Marge's wedding ring are repossessed, Homer decides to leave and find a job. When Marge reads the letter Homer left behind explaining his actions, she is brought to tears. Homer gets a job at a "Gulp N' Blow" taco restaurant, where Patty and Selma find him. Selma, feeling sorry for Marge and some pity for Homer, decides to tell Marge the truth in spite of Patty's reluctance (due to her obvious hatred of Homer). Marge finds Homer and convinces him to come back home with her. When Homer says he cannot provide much material wealth for Marge, she reminds him that anything he gives her is valuable, because it is from him.
Homer applies for a job at the power plant once more, this time marching into Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
's office and telling him that he will be the perfect employee. Burns is so impressed that he hires Homer on the spot. When Homer returns to Marge's house, he discovers from his mother-in-law that she has gone into labor and is already at the hospital. He quickly gets there and sees Marge with Selma & an angry Patty, who starts berating him. Fed up with her disrespect, Homer lashes out at Patty and angrily tells Patty (as well as the rest of the Bouvier family) to start showing him some respect for he has a job, a piece of news that Homer promptly tells Marge. After Homer finishes telling his flashback story, Marge arrives home with the news that she is not pregnant. They are both overjoyed and high-five.
Production
Jeff Martin (writer)
Jeff Martin is an American television producer and writer. He was a writer for The Simpsons during the first four seasons. He attended Harvard University, where he wrote for The Harvard Lampoon, as have many other Simpsons writers...
and directed by Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
. It was the second flashback episode of The Simpsons and a sequel to the previous one, "The Way We Was
The Way We Was
"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, we see how Homer falls in love with...
", which tells the story of how Homer and Marge met in high school. Executive producer Sam Simon
Sam Simon
Samuel "Sam" Simon is an American director, producer, writer, boxing manager and philanthropist. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoonist and after graduating became a storyboard artist at Filmation Studios. He submitted a spec script for the sitcom Taxi, which was...
was concerned that the writers were being "inefficient" with the episode; he thought the three plots of Homer and Marge's marriage, the birth of Bart, and Homer getting his job should have been extended into three episodes instead of one. The staff were concerned over the animation of the characters' eyes in the episode, as the pupils were larger than normal, making the characters look "stoned", and the eyeballs were "too round" and large. The animation artists at the animation studio in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, where much of the animation process takes place, had begun stenciling the eyes with a template, which according to Lynch resulted in "strangely round eyes which look a little too big sometimes and much too perfect. Which is very un-Simpsons like." Marge was designed with shorter hair in the flashback sequences to make her appear younger. Lynch thought it was nice to see Marge in a "younger, more attractive mode, and sort of watching her progress through pregnancy."
Cultural references
I Married Joan
I Married Joan is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1955. It starred veteran vaudeville, film, and radio comedienne Joan Davis as the manic wife of a mild-mannered community judge, Bradley Stevens .-Synopsis:...
". When Marge is suspected to be pregnant, Bart wants to name the baby after rapper Kool Moe Dee
Kool Moe Dee
Mohandas Dewese , better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an American Hip Hop MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York...
, while Lisa wants to name her after Ariel, from The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (1989 film)
The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the film was originally released to theaters on November 14, 1989 and is the twenty-eighth film in...
. At the beginning of his story, Homer mentions the band Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, and their popularity in the time period. While exiting the movie theater, Homer spoils the ending of The Empire Strikes Back for dozens of moviegoers awaiting the next show. He also compares Marge's good looks to Princess Leia and her intelligence to Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
, two characters from the film. Homer's encounter with the donut delivery man that delivers donuts to the power plant is a reference to a scene in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
. Homer and his best friend Barney Gumble
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...
are watching Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
when Marge tells the news of her pregnancy. A poster of Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, a cast member of Charlie's Angels, hangs on the wall in Barney's apartment. The sign outside the wedding chapel resembles Vegas Vic
Vegas Vic
Vegas Vic is the unofficial, yet most widely used name for the Las Vegas, Nevada neon sign that resembles a cowboy that was erected on the exterior of The Pioneer Club in Las Vegas in 1951. The sign was a departure in graphic design from typeface based neon signs, to a friendly and welcoming human...
from the Pioneer Club
Pioneer Club Las Vegas
Pioneer Club Las Vegas was a casino that opened in 1942 and was located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, at 25 East Fremont Street. It ceased operating as a casino in 1995, the same year the Fremont Street Experience was completed.-History:...
in Las Vegas. When Homer returns to the power plant to apply for a job the second time, Mr. Burns is seen playing the arcade game Ms. Pac-man
Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licensor Namco as an official title...
. The episode marks the first appearance of Burns's assistant Smithers's first name, Waylon, which comes from the puppeteer Wayland Flowers
Wayland Flowers
Wayland P. Flowers, Jr. was an American puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame...
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on December 26, 1991, "I Married Marge" finished 27th in the ratings for the week of December 23–29, 1991, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 11.9, equivalent to approximately 11 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. Marge's voice actor, Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
, received a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
in 1992 for her performance in the episode.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Pete Oliva of North Texas Daily
North Texas Daily
The North Texas Daily, also known as the NT Daily, is the student newspaper of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, published Tuesday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during the summer. The Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday papers are broadsheets...
praised the writers for providing back stories that are "believable" and do not feel "contrived or hastily thought through." The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, thought it was a "moving" episode with "plenty of great setpiece
Setpiece
In film production, a setpiece is a scene or sequence of scenes the execution of which requires serious logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. The term setpiece is often used more broadly to describe any important dramatic or comedic highpoint in a film or story, particularly...
s." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson described the episode as "sweet and funny" and a "nice piece of Simpsons history." Jacobson went on to say that he enjoyed the flashback concept and that the episode develops the characters "nicely" and gives the viewers "a good sense for the era in which it takes place." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave it a 5/5 rating, and highlighted the scenes with Marge's sisters Patty and Selma, "barraging Homer with insults", as the "funniest moments" of the episode. Meyers added: "The episode's climax is a great moment for Homer and fans of the show." Molly Griffin of The Observer said "I Married Marge" is one of the season three episode that turned the show into "the cultural force it is today."
In his book Drawn to Television – Prime-time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy, Keith Booker wrote: "The episode details in a rather sentimental fashion the early struggles of the irresponsible Homer to support his new family [...] Such background episodes add an extra dimension to the portrayal of the animated Simpson family, making them seem oddly real and adding weight to their status as a family with a long history together."
External links
- "I Married Marge" at The Simpsons.com