Difference between revisions of "Marge vs. the Monorail"

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"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?"

―Homer Simpson

"I call the big one Bitey."

―Homer, on the opossums living in the Monorail.

"Marge vs. the Monorail" is the twelfth episode of Season 4. It originally aired on January 14, 1993. The episode was written by Conan O'Brien and directed by Rich Moore. Special guest voices are Phil Hartman as Lyle Lanley and Leonard Nimoy as himself,

After collecting a $3 million fine from Mr. Burns (for illegal disposal of nuclear waste), Springfield holds a town meeting to decide what to do with the money. A smooth-talking stranger named Lyle Lanley talks the townspeople into spending the money on a needless monorail ....built from shoddy materials.

Plot

After being caught dumping nuclear waste in the city park, Mr. Burns is fined three million dollars. A town meeting is immediately held so that the citizens can decide what to spend the money on and Marge suggests using it to fix up Main Street, which is in a bad condition. The town shows enthusiasm for this idea and is about to vote for it when suddenly a smooth stranger named Lyle Lanley suggests that the town buys a new monorail (and he convinces them in a song), which convinces the town to buy the monorail.

Marge is unhappy with the town's purchase, believing that they should have fixed Main Street and that the monorail is unsafe. While watching TV, Homer sees an advertisement that suggests he become a monorail conductor and claiming it to be a lifelong dream, immediately agrees. After an unintensive three week course, Homer is named the monorail conductor.

Still feeling uneasy about the monorail, Marge decides to visit Lyle Lanley and discovers a notebook that reveals Lanley’s true intentions, having the monorail breakdown and him getting away with the money. Lanley sees her and, under the belief that Marge was just browsing around, allows her to leave, not knowing that she had already read the notebook.

Marge immediately drives to North Haverbrook, which Lanley mentioned was a previous purchaser of one of his monorails. The town she finds is rundown and nearly deserted. While asking around about the monorail, she meets Sebastian Cobb who explains that Lanley cut costs everywhere and that the entire thing is a scam, as he shows her the remnants of the town's monorail; now broken and in disrepair.

At the maiden voyage of the monorail, the entire town has come out, including Leonard Nimoy. Lanley grabs his money and jumps in a taxi, which takes him to the airport. The monorail takes off just before Marge and Cobb arrive. At first things run smoothly, but the cords malfunction, causing the monorail to speed up and travel at dangerous speeds. Nobody can figure out how to stop the monorail (since it's solar-powered) and although a Solar eclipse briefly halts it, the eclipse ends and the monorail takes off again. Meanwhile, Lanley’s flight makes a brief unscheduled stop in North Haverbrook, where Lanley is immediately attacked by a group of locals who have been tipped off about his arrival, perhaps by Marge. Back in Springfield, Cobb tells Homer that in order to stop the train, he needs to find an anchor. Homer grabs the giant “M” from the side of the Monorail and uses it as an anchor. Eventually, it latches onto a giant doughnut, stopping the monorail and saving its passengers.

The episode ends with Marge explaining that the monorail was the last folly Springfield ever had ... except for the popsicle-stick skyscraper ... and the giant magnifying glass ... and the escalator to nowhere.

Reception

In 2003, Entertainment Weekly named this the fourth best episode in the show's history.

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