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Difference between revisions of "Four Great Women and a Manicure"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
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{{Episode
 
{{Episode
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|image= Four Great Women and a Manicure promo.jpg
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|image= Four Great Women and a Manicure promo.png
 
|caption = Maggie gives her fellow classmates a speech on creativity.
 
|caption = Maggie gives her fellow classmates a speech on creativity.
 
|number= 440
 
|number= 440
 +
|season=20
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|snumber=20
 
|prodcode= LABF09
 
|prodcode= LABF09
 
|airdate= May 10, [[2009]]
 
|airdate= May 10, [[2009]]
−
|blackboard=
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|couchgag= A large marble rock is in the living room where the couch should be. A stereotypical French sculptor quickly chisels out a statue of the Simpsons sitting on the couch. The sculptor then turns the statue of the Simpsons into a statue of a Civil War soldier on a horse.
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|couchgag= A sculptor scuplts the Simpsons out of rock, but then changes it to a horse.
+
|titlescreen=A [[three-eyed crow]] flies by.
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|guests= [[Jodie Foster]] as [[Maggie Simpson]]
+
|guests= [[Jodie Foster]] as [[Maggie Roark]]
−
|showrunner= [[Al Jean]]
+
|showrunner1= Al Jean
 
|writer= [[Valentina L. Garza]]
 
|writer= [[Valentina L. Garza]]
 
|director= [[Raymond S. Persi]]
 
|director= [[Raymond S. Persi]]
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}}
 
}}
  
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"'''Four Great Women and a Manicure'''" is the twentieth episode of [[season 20]], which aired on May 10, [[2009]]. [[Valentina Garza]] wrote the episode, while [[Raymond S. Persi]] directed. [[Jodie Foster]] guest starred as the voice of [[Maggie]]. It should also be noted that this is the first episode where [[Bart]] is not seen, nor mentioned.
+
"'''Four Great Women and a Manicure'''" is the twentieth episode of [[season 20]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the four-hundred and fortieth episode overall. It originally aired on May 10, [[2009]]. The episode was written by [[Valentina L. Garza]] and directed by [[Raymond S. Persi]]. It guest stars [[Jodie Foster]] as [[Maggie Roark]].
  
 
== Synopsis ==
 
== Synopsis ==
−
{{Desc|A "quad-rilogy" episode featuring Simpsonized versions of history and popular cinema and literature. [[Selma Bouvier|Selma]] stars as [[Queen Elizabeth I]], [[Lisa]] stars as [[Snow White]] in a parody of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, [[Marge]] stars in Lady Macbeth in a Macbeth parody, and Maggie stars as the Howard Roark character in a spoof of The Fountainhead.}}
+
{{Desc|A "quad-rilogy" episode featuring Simpsonized versions of history and popular cinema and literature. [[Selma]] stars as [[Queen Elizabeth I]], [[Lisa]] stars as [[Snow White]] in a parody of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, [[Marge]] stars as Lady Macbeth in a [[Macbeth]] parody, and Maggie stars as [[Maggie Roark]] in a spoof of [[The Fountainhead]].}}
  
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
−
Marge takes Lisa to a salon for her first manicure, where they engage in a debate as to whether a woman can simultaneously be smart, powerful and beautiful. They tell four tales of famous women featuring Simpsons characters in various roles.
+
=== Opening ===
 +
[[Marge]] takes [[Lisa]] and [[Maggie]] to the [[Finger-Looking Good Nail Salon]] for Lisa's first mani-pedi. Lisa questions this as she feels that a woman should be smart and powerful, rather than beautiful. Marge then tells Lisa that a woman can be beautiful as well as smart and powerful, like [[Queen Elizabeth I]], who had everything, except a husband.
  
−
In the first tale, Marge recounts the story of Queen Elizabeth the First. Various royal suitors wish to win the hand of the Queen (Selma), including a flamboyant King Julio of [[Spain]]. The Queen rejects his advances, especially when he attempted to walk away with her jester, and King Julio vows revenge on England, summoning the Spanish Armada. Meanwhile, Sir Walter Raleigh, (Homer), falls for Queen Elizabeth's Lady in Waiting, (Marge). He leads a British naval offense against the Armada, defeating them by accidentally setting the lone British warship on fire, which then spreads to the entire Spanish fleet. Queen Elizabeth knights him, and then proclaims, "I don't need a man. I have [[England]]."
+
=== Queen Elizabeth I ===
 +
[[File:Walter Raleigh knighted.png|thumb|left|Walter Raleigh is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.]]
 +
In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I is introduced to her suitors, looking for her hand in marriage. Her assistant, [[Walsingham]], tells the Queen that she needs to get a husband so she can have a son to take the throne after she dies. After [[Prince Ralph of Austria]] is quickly dismissed, [[King Julio of Spain]] arrives, but is more interested in [[Krusty the Clown|the court jester]] than the Queen. Queen Elizabeth I tells King Julio that he can't have the jester and King Julio leaves, annoyed. Queen Elizabeth I is then introduced to [[Walter Raleigh]], who had just returned from the new world with a gift for the Queen, tobacco. The Queen accepts the gift and Raleigh begins to court her.
  
−
In the second tale, Lisa tells the story of Snow White, with herself in the title role. Her version features the dwarves Crabby ([[Moe]]), Drunky ([[Barney]]), Hungry ([[Homer]]), Greedy ([[Mr. Burns]]), Lenny ([[Lenny]]), Kearney ([[Kearney]]) and Doc ([[Julius Hibbert|...tor Hibbert]]) because the [[Blue-haired lawyer]] appears and tells her that Snow White and the seven dwarfs belong to [[Disney]]; Lisa corrects him that Snow White is a classic children's fairy tale. When a wicked queen learns from her magic HD television that Snow White is fairer than she, the queen dispatches her huntsman ([[Groundskeeper Willie]]) to murder the young maiden. Willie the huntsman cannot commit the deed, nor kill anything else, though, and Snow White runs away to the forest, seeking shelter in the dwarves' cottage. She keeps house for them while they work in the mines, but the wicked queen, disguised as an old woman, forces Snow White to eat a poisoned apple. In Lisa's version, Snow White doesn't need a man to wake her, but is brought back to life by a female doctor.
+
In [[Spain]], King Julio is annoyed at Queen Elizabeth I and decides to launch an armada of ships against [[England]] in revenge. Back in England, Walter Raleigh meets Queen Elizabeth I's lady in waiting, [[Lady Marjorie]], and the two of them kiss. Queen Elizabeth I catches the two kissing and demands that they be punished. However, Walshingham enters the room and reveals that the Spanish are attacking with a huge fleet of ships. Walter Raleigh is made to help the much smaller English fleet attack the Spanish. However, he accidentally sets fire to his own ships. As everyone jumps overboard, the English fleet sails into the Spanish fleet and sets their ships on fire, winning the war. As a reward, Queen Elizabeth I knights Sir Walter Raleigh and gives him her consent to be with Lady Marjorie. She then says that she doesn't need a man, because she has England.
  
−
In the third tale, Marge relates a story of ruthless ambition, embodied by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth (Marge) is frustrated with everything. Not only does she have to clean the costumes worn by other actors, but is also criticized for the poor job by the director. Adding to her frustrations is that Homer does not have the titular role in a [[Springfield]] production of Macbeth and instead plays a tree(a role he's happy playing due to being uninterested in auditioning for lead roles). She convinces Homer to murder the lead actor, [[Sideshow Mel]]. He follows her command and then assumes the role of Macbeth. Unfortunately, Homer's terrible acting receives unfavourable reviews in comparison to the other actors and those with no lines. Patty and Selma tries to warn Marge in vain to stop her ambitions. Even a remorseful Homer feels guilty for murdering Mel and voices his own unhappiness in being the lead role. He begs her to give up her ambitions by letting someone else take the lead role as Macbeth and let him return to his original role as a tree. Furious over the lack of good reviews, Marge refuses and orders the more reluctant Homer to continue his killing spree until he is the only actor left. While cleaning out the costumes, she voices her annoyance in him making a real mess and is worried that someone will find out about her murderous plot soon. Marge is visited by the angry spirits of the actors she has murdered. She selfishly tries to pin the blame on Homer for their murder, but the angry actors' ghosts refuses to believe her. Sideshow Mel tells Marge that he and the other spirits knew that Homer was a victim himself in her devious plans. Lenny agrees and mentions that she should've listened to her sisters when she had the chance. Dr. Hibbert tells Marge that her ambitions in killing them in order for Homer to play the lead role, had done her in. Finally in the form of revenge for her actions, the angry spirits kill Marge by causing a fright-induced heart attack. In her memory (or rather, by her spirit force, since she apparently has not learned her lesson or anything from the experience), Homer performs a stirring soliloquy in the empty theater. Marge's ghost appears in the audience and is overjoyed by his effort. She raves that Homer has finally given a great performance for her and urges him to appear in more Shakespearean plays by tossing scripts in front of him. However much to Marge's chagrin, Homer decides to take the easy way out by killing himself so he doesn't have to audition any more. In his ghost form, a pleased Homer tells her off that auditioning for those plays would be a real tragedy for him and is free to be lazy. A frustrated Marge learns her lesson the hard way when she realizes that she has to spend the rest of eternity with a lazy and happy Homer.
+
After Marge finishes her story, Lisa begins to tell the story of [[Snow White]]. However, the [[blue-haired lawyer]] enters the salon and tells Lisa that the story she's about to tell is property of Disney. Lisa then adapts her story and begins to tell it.
  
−
In the final tale, Maggie is depicted as "Maggie Roark," representing Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. Maggie's architectural brilliance is quashed by an oppressive teacher ([[Ellsworth Toohey]]) who encourages only conformity. She builds multiple structures out of blocks and other toys, but they are destroyed by Toohey. Maggie (voiced by Jodie Foster) rallies her classmates with a stirring speech about injustice and creativity, and grows up to be a wildly successful architect, and uses the top floors for child's care, where kids can build as tall as they want them to be.
+
=== Snow White ===
 +
[[File:Evil Queen killed.png|thumb|right|The Evil Queen is killed.]]
 +
The Seven Dwarfs, who consist of [[Crabby]], [[Drunky]], [[Greedy]], [[Hungry]], {{ap|Lenny|Four Great Women and a Manicure}}, {{ap|Kearney|Four Great Women and a Manicure}}, and {{ap|Doctor Hibbert|Four Great Women and a Manicure}}, go to their diamond mine to work one day. Meanwhile, the [[Evil Queen]] asked her magic HDTV who the fairest one of all was. The TV told the Evil Queen that it was Snow White. The Evil Queen then told [[Huntsman Willie]] to go kill Snow White and put her heart in a box, and the rest of her body in another box. Huntsman Willie then goes off to Snow White's house to do that. However, when he gets there, he can't bring himself to kill Snow White. He then tells Snow White to escape and go find the dwarfs to live with.
  
−
==Production==
+
Snow White gets to the dwarfs house and finds it empty. She goes to sleep in one of the beds, after getting tired from the walk. When the dwarfs return, they find Snow White asleep in one of the beds. Crabby goes to awaken her with a kiss, but Snow White wakes up before he can. Snow White then begins to live with the dwarfs, helping them around the house whilst they go to work. One day, the Evil Queen goes to the house, disguised as an old woman, and tries to get Snow White to eat a poison apple. After Snow White tries to take a different apple, the Queen shoves the poison apple into her mouth and forces her to bite it. Snow White then falls into a sleep coma as the Queen tries to escape, but is killed by the woodland creatures. Snow White is then placed in a box on top of a hill whilst the dwarfs watch over her, waiting for a prince to come. Back in [[Springfield]], Lisa finishes her story by saying that a prince never came, but a female doctor did, who then brought Snow White back to life.
 +
 
 +
Shortly after, [[Chief Wiggum]] enters the salon with [[Homer]], who needs bribe money for the Chief. Marge manages to bribe Chief Wiggum with some dry-cleaning coupons before she moves into her next story, ''[[Macbeth]]''.
 +
 
 +
=== Macbeth ===
 +
[[File:Macbeth ghosts.png|thumb|left|Marge is confronted by the ghosts of the dead.]]
 +
The people of Springfield were starring in a play of ''Macbeth'', directed by [[Chazz Busby]]. Marge was cleaning the costumes of the cast as Homer was only playing a tree. Marge told Homer that she wanted him to get a better role, the role of [[Lord Macbeth]], which was played by [[Sideshow Mel]]. Marge told Homer that he had to kill Mel, and Homer reluctantly accepted. Homer sneaked into Mel's changing room at night and tried to stab him with what turned out to be a prop knife. He then took the bone out of Mel's hair and beat Mel to death with it. The next day, Homer was given the part of Macbeth. However, Homer wasn't great in the role and kept forgetting his lines. This led to him getting terrible reviews from the newspapers. The first review praised [[Dr. Hibbert]]'s role as [[Banquo]]. So, Marge told Homer to kill him next. Homer sneaks into the hospital and gasses his office, killing Hibbert.
 +
 
 +
The next day, the reviews praise everybody except Homer. Marge then makes Homer kill the rest of the cast. Later that night, as Marge was in the theater cleaning clothes, the ghosts of everybody Homer had killed appeared to Marge and blamed her for their deaths. The ghosts then gave Marge a heart attack, killing her. When Homer discovered Marge's body, he was relieved that Marge was no longer around to make him do the play. Marge's ghost then appeared and made Homer go on stage anyway. Homer played to an empty audience and gave a really good performance, which made Marge happy. As Marge starts to go through all the other [[Shakespeare]] plays Homer could star in, Homer kills himself so he doesn't have to.
 +
 
 +
After Marge finishes her story, Marge wraps up, saying that they always do three stories. [[Maggie]] then asks for a story about herself. Marge notices [[Agnes Skinner]] reading ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' and decides to tell a story based on the book.
 +
 
 +
=== The Fountainhead ===
 +
[[File:Maggie trial.png|thumb|right|Maggie Roark is put on trial.]]
 +
At the [[Mediocri-Tots Daycare Center]], [[Ellsworth Toohey]] had the babies play with blocks whilst he did traffic school on the computer. Mr. Toohey wanted every child to conform and be ordinary, which annoyed [[Maggie Roark]]. Maggie Roark was a gifted baby and would build great structures out of blocks, playing cards, and other craft toys. Each time, Mr. Toohey would knock them down and try and make her conform. One day, the Daycare Center held a parent-teacher day. When Mr. Toohey found that Maggie had made a huge skyscraper out of blocks, he put Maggie on trial.
 +
 
 +
During the trial, Mr. Toohey said that Maggie should get nine consecutive time-outs as punishment. Maggie Roark then took out her pacifier and gave a passionate speech about how great artists throughout history never conformed, and how the world was better off for that. Maggie then went to have her nap time. Years later, Maggie Roark became a famous architect. She opened up her skyscraper, which had a daycare center on the top floor. Every baby in the daycare center was free to follow their dreams.
 +
 
 +
Marge gets distracted from finishing the story as she notices Maggie painting on the walls with nail polish. She takes Maggie away and tells her off, despite it being the [[van Gogh]] painting ''{{W|The Starry Night}}'' that Maggie was painting. Over the end credits, the Seven Dwarfs sing "[[Time to Say Goodbye]]".
 +
 
 +
== Production ==
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
−
LABF09 Script.jpg
+
File:LABF09 Script.jpg
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
−
{{Images}}
+
== Reception ==
 +
The episode was watched by a total of 5.16 million viewers in its initial airing. This made it the least watched episode of all time at the time it aired.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100209074641/http://www.simpsonschannel.com/2009/05/ratings-four-great-women-and-an-all-time-low Simpsons Channel - "Ratings: Four Great Women and Another All Time Low!"] archived at {{W|Wayback Machine}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
Steve Heisler of {{W|The A.V. Club}} gave the episode a C- grade. Heisler said that the Queen Elizabeth I story was "far too short a time to do anything lasting... or funny" and that the Macbeth segment was "a boring retelling of the tale".<ref>[https://tv.avclub.com/back-in-time-four-great-women-and-a-manicure-mange-1798206208 The A.V. Club - ""Back In Time"/"Four Great Women And A Manicure"/"Manger Baby Einstein"/"Three Kings"/"Daddy Queerest""]</ref>
 +
 
 +
Robert Canning of {{W|IGN}} gave the episode a 6.2 rating. He called the Snow White segment "the best of the episode by a very large margin." He then went on to say that there "was really only one [segment] worth watching."<ref>[https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/11/the-simpsons-four-great-women-and-a-manicure-review IGN - "The Simpsons: "Four Great Women and a Manicure" Review"]</ref>
 +
 
 +
"Four Great Women and a Manicure" was nominated for a [[2009]] {{W|Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production|Annie Award for Writing in a Television Production}}, but it lost to "[[Treehouse of Horror XX]]".<ref name="Annie2009">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100815022604/http://annieawards.org/legacy37th.html The Annie Awards - "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients"] (archived on {{W|Wayback Machine}})</ref>
 +
 
 +
As of February [[2021]], the episode has a 6.3 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1291165/ IMDb - "Four Great Women and a Manicure"]</ref>
 +
 
 +
== In other languages ==
 +
{{LanguageBox
 +
|de=yes
 +
|deName=Vier Powerfrauen und eine Maniküre
 +
|deTrans=Four power women and a manicure
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=Cuatro grandes mujeres y una manicura
 +
|esTrans=Four great women and a manicure
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=Cuatro grandes mujeres y manicures
 +
|laTrans=Four great women and manicures
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=Manucure pour 4 femmes
 +
|frTrans=Manicure for 4 women
 +
|qu=yes
 +
|quName=Maman et fifille sont chez le coiffeur
 +
|quTrans=Mom and daughter are at the hairdresser
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=Quattro grandi donne e manicure
 +
|itTrans=Four great women and manicure
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
 +
 
 +
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{season 20}}
 
{{season 20}}
  
 +
[[Category:2009]]
 
[[Category:Anthology episodes]]
 
[[Category:Anthology episodes]]
−
[[Category:2009]]
+
[[Category:Annie Award nominated episodes]]
−
[[Category:Maggie episodes]]
 
 
[[Category:Episodes written by Valentina L. Garza]]
 
[[Category:Episodes written by Valentina L. Garza]]
 
[[Category:Episodes directed by Raymond S. Persi]]
 
[[Category:Episodes directed by Raymond S. Persi]]
  
 
[[sv:Four Great Women and a Manicure]]
 
[[sv:Four Great Women and a Manicure]]

Latest revision as of 19:46, September 28, 2024

Season 20 Episode
← 439 "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh"
440
"Four Great Women and a Manicure"
"Coming to Homerica" 441 →
"Four Great Women and a Manicure"
Four Great Women and a Manicure promo.png
Maggie gives her fellow classmates a speech on creativity.
Episode Information
Episode number: 440
Season number: S20 E20
Production code: LABF09
Original airdate: May 10, 2009
Title screen: A three-eyed crow flies by.
Couch gag: A large marble rock is in the living room where the couch should be. A stereotypical French sculptor quickly chisels out a statue of the Simpsons sitting on the couch. The sculptor then turns the statue of the Simpsons into a statue of a Civil War soldier on a horse.
Guest star(s): Jodie Foster as Maggie Roark
Showrunner: Al Jean
Written by: Valentina L. Garza
Directed by: Raymond S. Persi
DVD features


"Four Great Women and a Manicure" is the twentieth episode of season 20 of The Simpsons and the four-hundred and fortieth episode overall. It originally aired on May 10, 2009. The episode was written by Valentina L. Garza and directed by Raymond S. Persi. It guest stars Jodie Foster as Maggie Roark.

Synopsis[edit]

"A "quad-rilogy" episode featuring Simpsonized versions of history and popular cinema and literature. Selma stars as Queen Elizabeth I, Lisa stars as Snow White in a parody of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Marge stars as Lady Macbeth in a Macbeth parody, and Maggie stars as Maggie Roark in a spoof of The Fountainhead."


Plot[edit]

Opening[edit]

Marge takes Lisa and Maggie to the Finger-Looking Good Nail Salon for Lisa's first mani-pedi. Lisa questions this as she feels that a woman should be smart and powerful, rather than beautiful. Marge then tells Lisa that a woman can be beautiful as well as smart and powerful, like Queen Elizabeth I, who had everything, except a husband.

Queen Elizabeth I[edit]

Walter Raleigh is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1588, Queen Elizabeth I is introduced to her suitors, looking for her hand in marriage. Her assistant, Walsingham, tells the Queen that she needs to get a husband so she can have a son to take the throne after she dies. After Prince Ralph of Austria is quickly dismissed, King Julio of Spain arrives, but is more interested in the court jester than the Queen. Queen Elizabeth I tells King Julio that he can't have the jester and King Julio leaves, annoyed. Queen Elizabeth I is then introduced to Walter Raleigh, who had just returned from the new world with a gift for the Queen, tobacco. The Queen accepts the gift and Raleigh begins to court her.

In Spain, King Julio is annoyed at Queen Elizabeth I and decides to launch an armada of ships against England in revenge. Back in England, Walter Raleigh meets Queen Elizabeth I's lady in waiting, Lady Marjorie, and the two of them kiss. Queen Elizabeth I catches the two kissing and demands that they be punished. However, Walshingham enters the room and reveals that the Spanish are attacking with a huge fleet of ships. Walter Raleigh is made to help the much smaller English fleet attack the Spanish. However, he accidentally sets fire to his own ships. As everyone jumps overboard, the English fleet sails into the Spanish fleet and sets their ships on fire, winning the war. As a reward, Queen Elizabeth I knights Sir Walter Raleigh and gives him her consent to be with Lady Marjorie. She then says that she doesn't need a man, because she has England.

After Marge finishes her story, Lisa begins to tell the story of Snow White. However, the blue-haired lawyer enters the salon and tells Lisa that the story she's about to tell is property of Disney. Lisa then adapts her story and begins to tell it.

Snow White[edit]

The Evil Queen is killed.

The Seven Dwarfs, who consist of Crabby, Drunky, Greedy, Hungry, Lenny, Kearney, and Doctor Hibbert, go to their diamond mine to work one day. Meanwhile, the Evil Queen asked her magic HDTV who the fairest one of all was. The TV told the Evil Queen that it was Snow White. The Evil Queen then told Huntsman Willie to go kill Snow White and put her heart in a box, and the rest of her body in another box. Huntsman Willie then goes off to Snow White's house to do that. However, when he gets there, he can't bring himself to kill Snow White. He then tells Snow White to escape and go find the dwarfs to live with.

Snow White gets to the dwarfs house and finds it empty. She goes to sleep in one of the beds, after getting tired from the walk. When the dwarfs return, they find Snow White asleep in one of the beds. Crabby goes to awaken her with a kiss, but Snow White wakes up before he can. Snow White then begins to live with the dwarfs, helping them around the house whilst they go to work. One day, the Evil Queen goes to the house, disguised as an old woman, and tries to get Snow White to eat a poison apple. After Snow White tries to take a different apple, the Queen shoves the poison apple into her mouth and forces her to bite it. Snow White then falls into a sleep coma as the Queen tries to escape, but is killed by the woodland creatures. Snow White is then placed in a box on top of a hill whilst the dwarfs watch over her, waiting for a prince to come. Back in Springfield, Lisa finishes her story by saying that a prince never came, but a female doctor did, who then brought Snow White back to life.

Shortly after, Chief Wiggum enters the salon with Homer, who needs bribe money for the Chief. Marge manages to bribe Chief Wiggum with some dry-cleaning coupons before she moves into her next story, Macbeth.

Macbeth[edit]

Marge is confronted by the ghosts of the dead.

The people of Springfield were starring in a play of Macbeth, directed by Chazz Busby. Marge was cleaning the costumes of the cast as Homer was only playing a tree. Marge told Homer that she wanted him to get a better role, the role of Lord Macbeth, which was played by Sideshow Mel. Marge told Homer that he had to kill Mel, and Homer reluctantly accepted. Homer sneaked into Mel's changing room at night and tried to stab him with what turned out to be a prop knife. He then took the bone out of Mel's hair and beat Mel to death with it. The next day, Homer was given the part of Macbeth. However, Homer wasn't great in the role and kept forgetting his lines. This led to him getting terrible reviews from the newspapers. The first review praised Dr. Hibbert's role as Banquo. So, Marge told Homer to kill him next. Homer sneaks into the hospital and gasses his office, killing Hibbert.

The next day, the reviews praise everybody except Homer. Marge then makes Homer kill the rest of the cast. Later that night, as Marge was in the theater cleaning clothes, the ghosts of everybody Homer had killed appeared to Marge and blamed her for their deaths. The ghosts then gave Marge a heart attack, killing her. When Homer discovered Marge's body, he was relieved that Marge was no longer around to make him do the play. Marge's ghost then appeared and made Homer go on stage anyway. Homer played to an empty audience and gave a really good performance, which made Marge happy. As Marge starts to go through all the other Shakespeare plays Homer could star in, Homer kills himself so he doesn't have to.

After Marge finishes her story, Marge wraps up, saying that they always do three stories. Maggie then asks for a story about herself. Marge notices Agnes Skinner reading The Fountainhead and decides to tell a story based on the book.

The Fountainhead[edit]

Maggie Roark is put on trial.

At the Mediocri-Tots Daycare Center, Ellsworth Toohey had the babies play with blocks whilst he did traffic school on the computer. Mr. Toohey wanted every child to conform and be ordinary, which annoyed Maggie Roark. Maggie Roark was a gifted baby and would build great structures out of blocks, playing cards, and other craft toys. Each time, Mr. Toohey would knock them down and try and make her conform. One day, the Daycare Center held a parent-teacher day. When Mr. Toohey found that Maggie had made a huge skyscraper out of blocks, he put Maggie on trial.

During the trial, Mr. Toohey said that Maggie should get nine consecutive time-outs as punishment. Maggie Roark then took out her pacifier and gave a passionate speech about how great artists throughout history never conformed, and how the world was better off for that. Maggie then went to have her nap time. Years later, Maggie Roark became a famous architect. She opened up her skyscraper, which had a daycare center on the top floor. Every baby in the daycare center was free to follow their dreams.

Marge gets distracted from finishing the story as she notices Maggie painting on the walls with nail polish. She takes Maggie away and tells her off, despite it being the van Gogh painting The Starry Night that Maggie was painting. Over the end credits, the Seven Dwarfs sing "Time to Say Goodbye".

Production[edit]

  • LABF09 Script.jpg

Reception[edit]

The episode was watched by a total of 5.16 million viewers in its initial airing. This made it the least watched episode of all time at the time it aired.[1]

Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C- grade. Heisler said that the Queen Elizabeth I story was "far too short a time to do anything lasting... or funny" and that the Macbeth segment was "a boring retelling of the tale".[2]

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 6.2 rating. He called the Snow White segment "the best of the episode by a very large margin." He then went on to say that there "was really only one [segment] worth watching."[3]

"Four Great Women and a Manicure" was nominated for a 2009 Annie Award for Writing in a Television Production, but it lost to "Treehouse of Horror XX".[4]

As of February 2021, the episode has a 6.3 rating on IMDb.[5]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Vier Powerfrauen und eine Maniküre" Four power women and a manicure
Spain flag.png Español "Cuatro grandes mujeres y una manicura" Four great women and a manicure
Hispanic America.gif Español "Cuatro grandes mujeres y manicures" Four great women and manicures
France.png Français "Manucure pour 4 femmes" Manicure for 4 women
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français "Maman et fifille sont chez le coiffeur" Mom and daughter are at the hairdresser
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Quattro grandi donne e manicure" Four great women and manicure

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Simpsons Channel - "Ratings: Four Great Women and Another All Time Low!" archived at Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ The A.V. Club - ""Back In Time"/"Four Great Women And A Manicure"/"Manger Baby Einstein"/"Three Kings"/"Daddy Queerest""
  3. ↑ IGN - "The Simpsons: "Four Great Women and a Manicure" Review"
  4. ↑ The Annie Awards - "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients" (archived on Wayback Machine)
  5. ↑ IMDb - "Four Great Women and a Manicure"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
Season 20 Episodes
Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes • Lost Verizon • Double, Double, Boy in Trouble • Treehouse of Horror XIX • Dangerous Curves • Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words • MyPods and Boomsticks • The Burns and the Bees • Lisa the Drama Queen • Take My Life, Please • How the Test Was Won • No Loan Again, Naturally • Gone Maggie Gone • In the Name of the Grandfather • Wedding for Disaster • Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe • The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly • Father Knows Worst • Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh • Four Great Women and a Manicure • Coming to Homerica
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