Moe Letter Blues
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Moe Letter Blues is the twenty-first episode of Season 21. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 2010. In this episode, Homer, Reverend Lovejoy, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon receive a letter from Moe that state that he will steal one of their wives. The three get together and try to remember intimate moments between Moe and their wives.
The episode was written by Stephanie Gillis and directed by Matthew Nastuk and guest stars Don Pardo as himself. The main plot of the episode is a parody of A Letter to Three Wives. It is the third episode after season 19's "Mona Leaves-a" and season 20's "Four Great Women and a Manicure" to air on Mother's Day and be centered around mothers and women. "Moe Letter Blues" received positive reviews from critics and was viewed by 5.660 million households according to the Nielsen Media Research.
Plot
Moe's Tavern is the scene of merry-making for the people of Springfield, and Moe relates how his role as bar tender gives him insight into his customer's lives. He notices tension in the marriages of Homer, Apu and Reverend Lovejoy. Mother's Day is approaching, and Marge suggests that Homer take the children on a cruise to Weasel Island. At first Homer is enthusiastic, but becomes concerned when Marge mentions his leaving will allow her to "take care of something." As the cruise ship pulls away from the dock, the three men receive a letter from Moe informing them that he is running off with one of their wives.
At Weasel Island, the children spend time at a shoddy amusement park while Homer, Apu and Rev. Lovejoy agonize over their situation. At first, each insists their marriage is fine. Homer, however, remembers his mother-in-law's 80th birthday, where Moe was the bartender. Homer, who was angry at Marge for only serving non-alcoholic beer, got into an argument with Patty and Selma and Marge told him that he ruins every event that she plans. Apu notices cracks in his marriage too, recollecting an incident where he and Manjula forgot their son Gheet at Moe's after using the bar's bathroom to change out of rain-soaked cricket uniforms. Manjula drove back to retrieve their son and did not return for hours. Homer mentions that he saw Manjula playing an interactive dance video game with Moe that night. Finally, Reverend Lovejoy realizes that he ignored his wife, Helen's, needs, and Apu recounts how he witnessed Moe confiding in Helen that he was in love with a married woman and that Helen put her hand on his knee.
When the cruise ship returns to Springfield, each man realizes that they are equally likely to have lost their wives to Moe. Otto (who is presumably stoned because every vehicle on the road looks like a character from Cars) drops Homer and his kids off first. At first, Homer thinks Marge is packing a suitcase but realizes that she has painted a portrait of her mother. Marge's mother forgives Homer for the 80th birthday incident, noting that there is "something evil" about Patty and Selma. When Rev. Lovejoy arrives home, he too thinks Helen is leaving, but instead she surprises him with tickets to Istanbul. By process of elimination, Apu concludes that his wife has left. He arrives home to find Moe sitting with Manjula, but she tells Apu that Moe convinced her to salvage their marriage. In the end, Moe reveals that he organized Marge's portrait, the Lovejoy's trip and the Nahasapemapetilon's marriage rescue. He wrote the letter because he believed the three men were taking their wives for granted and implores viewers to value their wives and mothers.
Production
The episode, "Moe Letter Blues" was written by Stephanie Gillis, her second writing credit for the season after "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" and was directed by Matthew Nastuk who also directed "Once Upon a Time in Springfield". Legendary radio announcer, voice-over artist, and (as of 2010) current Saturday Night Live announcer Don Pardo was mentioned and had a small cameo. It is the third episode after season 19's "Mona Leaves-a" and season 20's "Four Great Women and a Manicure" to air on Mother's Day and be centered around mothers and women.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Moe Letter Blues" was viewed by an estimated 5.660 million households received a 2.7 rating/9% share in the 18-49 demographic tying with last week, coming second in its timeslot losing to the season finale of The Amazing Race and becoming the third highest rated show on "Animation Domination" after Family Guy and American Dad according to the Nielsen Media Research.
The episode received mainly positive reviews. TVFanatic.com gave the episode 3.5/5 and stated "The flashbacks definitely had some hilarious moments including a thousand devils d'ohing on Homer's shoulder. Moe was fantastic as a narrator and even better when he took advantage of his omniscient point of view." Robert Canning of IGN.com gave the episode 8.4/10 and remarked "One issue I did have with the episode was Moe's, 'I'm leaving town forever and taking one of your wives' statement in his letter. You know there's no way Moe would ever be leaving the series or running off with any of these women, so the claim never held any drama. It might have worked better if Moe had simply said he was going to sleep with one of the women. This would have been a little more believable in the realm of the series and certainly would have been more in line with Moe's character. That aside, however, the storytelling and humor delivered yet another great episode."
Sharon Knolle of TV Squad said that "The Mother's Day-themed Simpsons episode can't compare to last week's - one of the best in years - but it was a pleasant enough outing he also said Apu had some of the best lines in the episode." Todd VanDer Werff of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, and it tied for the second best grade of "Animation Domination" with American Dad. VanDer Werff also said that "the core of the episode is solid, and Moe makes a very funny narrator." Ariel Ponywether of FireFox gave the episode a B- saying "You could call this episode emblematic of this season – not particularly special or unique, but decent to watch. Average but enjoyable".
