Life on the Fast Lane
"Life on the Fast Lane"
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Episode Information
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Plot
Marge's 34th birthday is today, and her gifts include French perfume from Bart and a card made with macaroni and glue from Lisa. However, Homer forgot to give Marge a gift, so he goes down to the Springfield Mall to get Marge a bowling ball, which he gives Marge at her birthday party at the Singing Sirloin, a restaurant with singing waiters, which Patty and Selma recommended. Unfortunately, Marge does not like the bowling ball Homer gets her, but she says she will keep it and use it anyway.
Marge goes bowling for her first time ever, but is very unsuccessful at bowling. She meets Jacques, a handsome French bowling instructor in the next lane, who introduces himself to her and invites her for bowling lessons. She falls in love with Jacques, even though she is married to Homer. They also go for a brunch date and meet Helen Lovejoy, who makes her first appearance on the show, threatening Marge, but Jacques insists he and Marge are learning bowling together.
Jacques invites Marge to his apartment. Later on, Marge realizes she is doing the wrong thing, and she goes over to the power plant to see Homer as they leave.
Trivia
- Occasionally, this episode is called "Jacques to Be Wild".
- When the episode was originally planned, it called for Albert Brooks to voice Bjorn, a Swedish tennis instructor, but Matt Groening thought it would be better to make Brooks' character French.
- The title is a pun on The Eagles' song "Life in the Fast Lane". The initial title ("Bjorn To Be Wild") was meant to be a play on Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild.
- Albert Brooks is credited under the name "A. Brooks" in this episode, as with all his other appearances on The Simpsons.
- Marge's Shoe size is 13 AA.
- The moon is seen to have three craters on it, much like a bowling ball when Jacques is dropping her off.
- Jacques takes Marge to Shorty's Coffee Shop for Brunch.
- This is Helen Lovejoy's first appearance.
- Jacques lives at the Fiesta Terrace.
- The scene near the end parodies the film An Officer and A Gentleman, and contains the same music.
- Jacques appears again in The Simpson's 7th Season Episode "Team Homer" and makes a brief cameo as a bowler in the past in,"And Maggie Makes Three" He also appears in the 'Do the Bartman' music video dancing with various women.
- If Marge is 34, this would mean she gave birth to Bart, now 10, when she was 24. This is inconsistent with most flashbacks to Homer and Marge's earlier lives.
Appearances
Characters
- Bart Simpson
- Lisa Simpson
- Maggie Simpson
- Homer Simpson
- Marge Simpson
- Patty Bouvier
- Selma Bouvier
- Sylvia Winfield
- Mr. Winfield
- Jacques
- Otto Mann
- Helen Lovejoy
- Lenny Leonard
- Charlie
- Charles Montgomery Burns
- Waylon Smithers
Vehicles
Locations
- 742 Evergreen Terrace
- Springfield Mall
- International House of Answering Machines
- The Jerky Hut
- The Ear Piercery
- Caramel Corn Warehouse
- The Singing Sirloin
- New Barney's Bowl-O-Rama
- Shorty's
- Fiesta Terraces
- Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
- Costumes
