Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie go through a metal detector safely, but Homer sets it off. After three attempts (and removing all but his underwear), Homer is then searched with a scanning wand by a security guard.
In this episode, Marge leaves Homer to save manatees after he is forced to use the house to film pornography. Alec Baldwin guest starred as Caleb Thorn. In its original broadcast, it was watched by 11.1 million viewers and received mixed reviews.
Plot
Homer gets into trouble with the local mob over footballgambling debts. As compensation, Fat Tony wants to use the Simpsonhome for shooting the adult filmLemony Lick-It's A Series of Horny Events, with the participation of Carl and Lenny. Homer gets Marge and the kids to leave the house by sending them off to "Santa's Village", a Christmas-themed amusement park that proves to be lackluster. Marge and the kids return home to find the production is still underway. Marge, outraged by Homer's latest bit of idiocy, leaves. Homer, home alone with the kids, tries to figure out what to do next.
Just as Marge is about ready to reconcile with Homer (though she flatly expresses that she is not interested in his gift of Kwik-E-Martchocolates, half of which have "test bites"), she encounters Dr. Caleb Thorn, a good-looking scientist with a passion for saving the endangeredmanatee. Homer and the kids go on a quest to find Marge, and they stop and stay with their "country cousins" (their dog is Santa's Little Helper's brother). Meanwhile, Marge is finding herself while helping to save manatees. Caleb helps Marge realize that Homer is still the man she fell in love with, and the problem is that she still expects him to change.
Homer decides to win Marge back by saving a herd of manatees from a gang of abusing jet skiers. The gang initially agreed to leave, but return after hearing Homer calling them 'rubes'. He attempts to organize the manatees to battle the gang, but they all flee. However, the gang is dispersed when Homer's country cousin shows up with a notarized court order to have all jet skiers vacate the waters at once. Despite Homer's failure, Marge is impressed by his efforts to save the manatees and declares she is taking home "the real endangered species": "a devoted husband". The family decides to take a mini-vacation, and Homer gets a manatee sent to the power plant to fill in for his job for the next few days. When the manatee is about to die of dehydration, Mr. Burns and Smithers help him by washing him like a car, which the manatee actually enjoys.
Production
When the writers were discussing ideas for The Simpsons Movie in 2003, Al Jean suggested the idea of Marge leaving Homer to rescue manatees after Homer accidentally rents the house to film pornography. While the idea was rejected for the film, it was adapted into the script for this episode.[1]
The episode earned a 4.0 rating and was watch by 11.1 million viewers, which was the ninth most-watched show that week.[5]
Critical response
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that the episode was a repeat of previous themes, but “[s]ome of this veers toward self-parody.”[6]
On Four Finger Discount, Guy Davis and Brendan Dando thought the beginning of the episode with the pornography was “quite fun” but the remainder of the story of Homer and Marge fighting was a repeat of previous episodes.[7]
^Davis, Guy; Dando, Brendan (January 26, 2023). ""Bonfire Of The Manatees" Podcast Review (S17E01)". Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast) (Podcast). Event occurs at 2:20. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
