The Mansion Family
Encyclopedia
"The Mansion Family" is the twelfth episode of the eleventh season
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3 million homes during the broadcast. In the episode, Mr. Burns goes to the Mayo Clinic
for a check-up after being declared the oldest man in Springfield
at an awards ceremony. He leaves the Simpson family
to house-sit his mansion for him. When Homer throws a party on Burns' private yacht in international waters
, the party goers are captured by Chinese pirates.
American pop singer Britney Spears
guest starred in "The Mansion Family" as herself. She appears as the host of the awards ceremony. The episode, which was written by John Swartzwelder
and directed by Michael Polcino
, features several cultural references. Many parts of the story were inspired by real-life events experienced by some of the staff members of the series. Since airing, the episode has received generally mixed reviews from critics. It was released on the DVD collection The Simpsons Gone Wild in 2004, and The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season in 2008.
and Britney Spears
, awards are given to prominent Springfield
citizens for their achievements. They present the award for the oldest man in Springfield to Cornelius Chapman, who is 108 years old. Chapman comes up to accept his award, but when Spears gives him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek, he dies of a heart attack. The award is therefore given to the now oldest Springfieldian in the crowd, Mr. Burns
. After Burns wins, he realizes he is not a young man anymore, so he and his assistant Smithers
go to the Mayo Clinic
in Minnesota
for a check-up. Burns decides to give the Simpson family
an opportunity to house sit
his private mansion while he is being tested for various diseases.
After enjoying life as a billionaire for a few days, Homer decides to throw a party before Burns returns. He heads to Moe's Tavern to buy some beer and invite his friends to the party. However, Moe
informs Homer that he can not sell him alcohol on account of it being Sunday before 2:00 PM. After Homer is told the only way he could buy alcohol would be to sail out to international waters
where there are no laws, he and his friends (including his son Bart
) set sail in Burns' private yacht to throw the party there. Back at the Mayo Clinic, Burns discovers that he not only has all previously discovered diseases, but numerous new diseases the doctors have just discovered in him. However, the sheer amount of diseases prevents any one disease from actually doing harm to him. This leads Burns to (incorrectly) conclude that he is indestructible, even though the doctors protest that even a slight breeze could disrupt the balance in his body.
Meanwhile, the party continues and the party goers force Burns' monkeys into having a knife fight. The yacht is eventually boarded by Chinese pirates who take the ship hostage. The pirates rob everyone on board and tie them up in a net which they then toss overboard. But to the luck of Homer and some of the other guests who happen to be above ocean surface level, it floats and they avoid drowning. Eventually Homer and Bart make it back to the mansion where the family returns the house to Burns after Marge
and Lisa
have scrubbed all the rooms clean. Back at the Simpsons home, everyone is glad to live a normal life again—with the exception of Homer, who is upset that he does not live the lifestyle of rich people. The episode ends with Homer wailing about how rich all the persons in the closing credits
are and threatening to report them to the Internal Revenue Service
.
"The Mansion Family" was written by John Swartzwelder
and directed by Michael Polcino
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). It was the first of many episodes of the series that Polcino directed. Executive producer Mike Scully
was the one who received the idea for the first part of the story. He explained on a DVD audio commentary
for the episode that his grandmother was the oldest citizen of his hometown West Springfield, Massachusetts
, and "they had a ceremony where she was awarded a cane that had a golden head on it. And the weird thing of the ceremony is her name wasn't on the cane, and the mayor of the town stood up and he says: 'And now, of course as soon as Hazel passes away, her name will be engraved on the cane.' So she would never live to see it happen. But nonetheless, she was given the cane."
The subplot of "The Mansion Family", where Mr. Burns gets a medical examination, was inspired by Swartzwelder's own visit to a Mayo Clinic. George Meyer
, an executive producer on the series, has said that "John, I don't think is a guy who goes to the doctor very often. And every 20 or 30 years, he decides he needs to get a tune up. So he went to the Mayo Clinic, had them give him an entire battery of tests. And as John [jokingly] tells it, they said that his constant smoking had done no harm to him whatsoever. Might even be benefiting him." While writing the parts of the episode that involve international waters, the writers did research and found that the actual laws of international waters are more complex and ambiguous compared to what they had already written in the story, but they decided to ignore that.
Many scenes in "The Mansion Family" were inspired by popular culture
. For example, there is a painting hanging on one of the walls in Burns' mansion that depicts Burns playing poker with dogs, referencing the oil paintings series Dogs Playing Poker
. Another painting, showing a nude Burns, is a callback to a previous episode of the series, "Brush with Greatness
" (1991), in which Marge produced the painting for Burns. Featured in the episode is also a joke that makes fun of the Grammy Awards. During the awards ceremony, Homer complains, "Why won't anyone give me an award?" When Lisa points out that "You won a Grammy
," Homer says "I mean an award that's worth winning." At this point the screen freezes and a message scrolls across the bottom of the screen reading "LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Mr. Simpson's opinions do not reflect those of the producers, who don't consider the Grammy an award at all."
American pop singer Britney Spears
guest starred in the episode as herself. According to Scully, she was seventeen to eighteen years old when she recorded her lines, and "She was a lot of fun to work with. She was a fan of the show, and she was willing to do all the lines. It was all the people around her that were crazy, the management and all that. We originally had her introduce herself [in the episode] as 'I'm teenage songbird Britney Spears.' And she recorded a few takes and they were fine. And suddenly, all these guys come rushing in [saying] 'She can't say songbird.' [We asked] what's wrong with songbird? And they were somehow convinced that it was some sort of slam or an insult." The staff members were therefore forced to change her opening line to "I'm teen sensation Britney Spears."
of 11.2, the episode tied Becker
(CBS
) for the 14th place (compared the season average of 37) in the ratings for the week of January 17–23, 2000. The episode was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following a NFC Championship
post-game show and Malcolm in the Middle
. On September 14, 2004, the episode was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled The Simpsons Gone Wild, along with the season one
episode "Homer's Night Out
", the season ten
episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
", and the season thirteen
episode "Homer the Moe
". On October 7, 2008, "The Mansion Family" was released on DVD again as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge
, Matt Selman
, Tim Long
, Michael Polcino, Donick Cary
, and Pete Michels
participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
"The Mansion Family" has received generally mixed reception from critics. Susan Dunne of The Hartford Courant
described it as "debauched but hilarious." While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on "The Mansion Family", writing that "Although The Simpsons started out as moderately reality based, pretty much any grounding was gone by [the point this episode aired]. That doesn’t mean the show fails to depict funny bits, especially during the dark humor of Burns’ hospital visit. Nonetheless, [the episode] occasionally goes too far to the side of silliness; those gags are hit or miss."
In a review of the episodes featured on The Simpsons Gone Wild, PopMatters
critic Stephen Haag wrote that "none of these episodes will end up in the Simpsons Hall of Fame", and that "The Mansion Family" is "hardly a classic episode, but Lord knows there are plenty worse from season 11 (paging 'Bart to the Future
')." He further commented that "if anything, this episode should be included in the 'batshit-crazy endings' DVD," referring to the ending scenes with the Chinese pirates. David Packard of DVD Verdict
was more positive in his review of The Simpsons Gone Wild, writing that "The Mansion Family" is "another all-around hilarious episode, with a nice swipe at the Grammy Awards, the Simpsons family running amok in the mansion and enjoying all it has to offer, and Burns' various tests at the Mayo Clinic (my favorite gag is when Burns is slid into an MRI machine, only to hear the thing grind to a halt with an error message reading 'Clear body jam in Area 1.')"
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
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 originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3 million homes during the broadcast. In the episode, Mr. Burns goes to the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
for a check-up after being declared the oldest man in 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...
at an awards ceremony. He leaves the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
to house-sit his mansion for him. When Homer throws a party on Burns' private yacht in international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
, the party goers are captured by Chinese pirates.
American pop singer Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
guest starred in "The Mansion Family" as herself. She appears as the host of the awards ceremony. The episode, which was written by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Michael Polcino
Michael Polcino
Michael Polcino is an animation director on The Simpsons. His brother, Dominic Polcino, is a former Simpsons director and currently works on Family Guy.-The Simpsons episodes:He has directed the following episodes:*"The Mansion Family"...
, features several cultural references. Many parts of the story were inspired by real-life events experienced by some of the staff members of the series. Since airing, the episode has received generally mixed reviews from critics. It was released on the DVD collection The Simpsons Gone Wild in 2004, and The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season in 2008.
Plot
At the annual Springfield Pride Awards hosted by Kent BrockmanKent Brockman
Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted"...
and Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, awards are given to prominent 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...
citizens for their achievements. They present the award for the oldest man in Springfield to Cornelius Chapman, who is 108 years old. Chapman comes up to accept his award, but when Spears gives him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek, he dies of a heart attack. The award is therefore given to the now oldest Springfieldian in the crowd, 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...
. After Burns wins, he realizes he is not a young man anymore, so he and his assistant Smithers
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
go to the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
for a check-up. Burns decides to give the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
an opportunity to house sit
House sitting
House sitting is the practice whereby a landlord , leaving their house for a period of time, entrusts it to one or more "house sitters", who by a mutual agreement are entitled to live there rent-free in exchange for assuming responsibilities such as taking care of the homeowner's pets, performing...
his private mansion while he is being tested for various diseases.
After enjoying life as a billionaire for a few days, Homer decides to throw a party before Burns returns. He heads to Moe's Tavern to buy some beer and invite his friends to the party. However, Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
informs Homer that he can not sell him alcohol on account of it being Sunday before 2:00 PM. After Homer is told the only way he could buy alcohol would be to sail out to international waters
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
where there are no laws, he and his friends (including his son 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...
) set sail in Burns' private yacht to throw the party there. Back at the Mayo Clinic, Burns discovers that he not only has all previously discovered diseases, but numerous new diseases the doctors have just discovered in him. However, the sheer amount of diseases prevents any one disease from actually doing harm to him. This leads Burns to (incorrectly) conclude that he is indestructible, even though the doctors protest that even a slight breeze could disrupt the balance in his body.
Meanwhile, the party continues and the party goers force Burns' monkeys into having a knife fight. The yacht is eventually boarded by Chinese pirates who take the ship hostage. The pirates rob everyone on board and tie them up in a net which they then toss overboard. But to the luck of Homer and some of the other guests who happen to be above ocean surface level, it floats and they avoid drowning. Eventually Homer and Bart make it back to the mansion where the family returns the house to Burns after 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...
and 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...
have scrubbed all the rooms clean. Back at the Simpsons home, everyone is glad to live a normal life again—with the exception of Homer, who is upset that he does not live the lifestyle of rich people. The episode ends with Homer wailing about how rich all the persons in the closing credits
Closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are added at the end of a motion picture, television program, or video game to list the cast and crew involved in the production. They usually appear as a list of names in small type, which either flip very quickly from page to page, or move smoothly across the...
are and threatening to report them to the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
.
Production
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Michael Polcino
Michael Polcino
Michael Polcino is an animation director on The Simpsons. His brother, Dominic Polcino, is a former Simpsons director and currently works on Family Guy.-The Simpsons episodes:He has directed the following episodes:*"The Mansion Family"...
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). It was the first of many episodes of the series that Polcino directed. Executive producer Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
was the one who received the idea for the first part of the story. He explained on a DVD audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode that his grandmother was the oldest citizen of his hometown West Springfield, Massachusetts
West Springfield, Massachusetts
The Town of West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,391 at the 2010 census...
, and "they had a ceremony where she was awarded a cane that had a golden head on it. And the weird thing of the ceremony is her name wasn't on the cane, and the mayor of the town stood up and he says: 'And now, of course as soon as Hazel passes away, her name will be engraved on the cane.' So she would never live to see it happen. But nonetheless, she was given the cane."
The subplot of "The Mansion Family", where Mr. Burns gets a medical examination, was inspired by Swartzwelder's own visit to a Mayo Clinic. George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
, an executive producer on the series, has said that "John, I don't think is a guy who goes to the doctor very often. And every 20 or 30 years, he decides he needs to get a tune up. So he went to the Mayo Clinic, had them give him an entire battery of tests. And as John [jokingly] tells it, they said that his constant smoking had done no harm to him whatsoever. Might even be benefiting him." While writing the parts of the episode that involve international waters, the writers did research and found that the actual laws of international waters are more complex and ambiguous compared to what they had already written in the story, but they decided to ignore that.
Many scenes in "The Mansion Family" were inspired by popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. For example, there is a painting hanging on one of the walls in Burns' mansion that depicts Burns playing poker with dogs, referencing the oil paintings series Dogs Playing Poker
Dogs Playing Poker
Dogs Playing Poker refers collectively to a series of sixteen oil paintings by C. M. Coolidge, commissioned in 1903 by Brown & Bigelow to advertise cigars...
. Another painting, showing a nude Burns, is a callback to a previous episode of the series, "Brush with Greatness
Brush with Greatness
"Brush with Greatness" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 11, 1991. In the episode, Marge revives her high school-era interest in painting by enrolling in an art class after getting encouraged by Lisa...
" (1991), in which Marge produced the painting for Burns. Featured in the episode is also a joke that makes fun of the Grammy Awards. During the awards ceremony, Homer complains, "Why won't anyone give me an award?" When Lisa points out that "You won a Grammy
Homer's Barbershop Quartet
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of The Simpsons fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles...
," Homer says "I mean an award that's worth winning." At this point the screen freezes and a message scrolls across the bottom of the screen reading "LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Mr. Simpson's opinions do not reflect those of the producers, who don't consider the Grammy an award at all."
American pop singer Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
guest starred in the episode as herself. According to Scully, she was seventeen to eighteen years old when she recorded her lines, and "She was a lot of fun to work with. She was a fan of the show, and she was willing to do all the lines. It was all the people around her that were crazy, the management and all that. We originally had her introduce herself [in the episode] as 'I'm teenage songbird Britney Spears.' And she recorded a few takes and they were fine. And suddenly, all these guys come rushing in [saying] 'She can't say songbird.' [We asked] what's wrong with songbird? And they were somehow convinced that it was some sort of slam or an insult." The staff members were therefore forced to change her opening line to "I'm teen sensation Britney Spears."
Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000. It was viewed in approximately 11.3 million households that night. 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 11.2, the episode tied Becker
Becker (TV series)
Becker is an American television sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Set in the New York City borough of The Bronx, the show starred Ted Danson as John Becker, a misanthropic doctor who operates a small practice and is constantly annoyed by his patients, co-workers, friends, and practically...
(CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
) for the 14th place (compared the season average of 37) in the ratings for the week of January 17–23, 2000. The episode was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following a NFC Championship
NFC Championship Game
The National Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two semi-final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the...
post-game show and Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
. On September 14, 2004, the episode was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled The Simpsons Gone Wild, along with the season one
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
episode "Homer's Night Out
Homer's Night Out
"Homer's Night Out" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on March 25, 1990. It was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart orders a mail-order spy camera, which he uses to secretly take a photograph of Homer dancing with an exotic...
", the season ten
The Simpsons (season 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
", and the season thirteen
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
episode "Homer the Moe
Homer the Moe
“Homer the Moe” is the third episode of The Simpsons’ thirteenth season. The episode first aired on the Fox network on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe, following advice of his former bartending professor, decides to modernize his bar...
". On October 7, 2008, "The Mansion Family" was released on DVD again as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
, Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, Tim Long
Tim Long
Tim Long is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Tim calls Exeter, Ontario, Canada his home town and has written for The Simpsons, Politically Incorrect, Spy Magazine and The Late Show with David Letterman. Currently credited as a consulting producer on The Simpsons, Long was - until...
, Michael Polcino, Donick Cary
Donick Cary
Donick Cary is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons, Just Shoot Me!, Complete Savages, Late Night with David Letterman and served as head writer on The Naked Trucker and T-Bones Show....
, and Pete Michels
Pete Michels
Pete Michels is an animation director on Family Guy. He has also been the supervising director on Family Guy as well as on the short-lived TV show, Kid Notorious. He started working on The Simpsons in 1990 as a background layout artist. He worked his way up to character layout artist, timer,...
participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
"The Mansion Family" has received generally mixed reception from critics. Susan Dunne of The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
described it as "debauched but hilarious." While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on "The Mansion Family", writing that "Although The Simpsons started out as moderately reality based, pretty much any grounding was gone by [the point this episode aired]. That doesn’t mean the show fails to depict funny bits, especially during the dark humor of Burns’ hospital visit. Nonetheless, [the episode] occasionally goes too far to the side of silliness; those gags are hit or miss."
In a review of the episodes featured on The Simpsons Gone Wild, PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
critic Stephen Haag wrote that "none of these episodes will end up in the Simpsons Hall of Fame", and that "The Mansion Family" is "hardly a classic episode, but Lord knows there are plenty worse from season 11 (paging 'Bart to the Future
Bart to the Future
"Bart to the Future" is the seventeenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 19, 2000. In the episode, after their vacation in the woods is cut short due to a mosquito infestation, the...
')." He further commented that "if anything, this episode should be included in the 'batshit-crazy endings' DVD," referring to the ending scenes with the Chinese pirates. David Packard of DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
was more positive in his review of The Simpsons Gone Wild, writing that "The Mansion Family" is "another all-around hilarious episode, with a nice swipe at the Grammy Awards, the Simpsons family running amok in the mansion and enjoying all it has to offer, and Burns' various tests at the Mayo Clinic (my favorite gag is when Burns is slid into an MRI machine, only to hear the thing grind to a halt with an error message reading 'Clear body jam in Area 1.')"
External links
- "The Mansion Family" at The Simpsons.com