Kill the Alligator and Run

Last updated

"Kill the Alligator and Run"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 11
Episode 19
Directed byJen Kamerman
Written by John Swartzwelder
Production codeBABF16
Original air dateApril 30, 2000 (2000-04-30)
Guest appearances
Diedrich Bader as the sheriff
Robert Evans, Charlie Rose, Kid Rock, and Joe C. as themselves
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "I am not here on a fartball scholarship"
Couch gag The Simpsons are barefoot and briskly walking across a bed of hot coals in order to reach the couch. When they sit down, the soles of their feet are black and smoldering.
Commentary Mike Scully
George Meyer
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Matt Selman
Julie Thacker
Dan Castellaneta
Diedrich Bader
Steven Dean Moore
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Days of Wine and D'oh'ses"		Next →
"Last Tap Dance in Springfield"
The Simpsons (season 11)
List of episodes

"Kill the Alligator and Run" is the nineteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 30, 2000. In the episode, Homer has a nervous breakdown after taking a quiz that suggests he only has three years left to live. To calm himself down, he and the rest of the Simpson family go to Florida for vacation. There, they end up in the middle of a raucous spring break. Homer joins in on the party and ends up getting himself and his family in trouble for killing the state's beloved mascot, an alligator named Captain Jack. The Simpsons run from the law and take jobs at a small restaurant while hiding from the police.

Contents

"Kill the Alligator and Run" was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jen Kamerman. Diedrich Bader guest starred in the episode as a sheriff that tries to arrest the Simpson family, while Robert Evans and Charlie Rose guest starred in a scene in which Homer watches the two in an interview on television. Kid Rock and Joe C. also made guest appearances as themselves in the episode, performing at a concert in Florida that Homer attends.

The reception of "Kill the Alligator and Run" by critics was mixed. Fan reception was more negative; former showrunner Mike Scully later noted that the episode is considered by many fans to be one of the worst Simpsons episodes due to its outlandish and erratic plotline. Around 7.46 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing. In 2008, it was released on DVD along with the rest of the episodes of the eleventh season.

Plot

Homer receives a magazine full of personality tests, from which he takes one which concludes he has only three years left to live. Terrified of his supposedly impending death, he develops insomnia and has a mental breakdown, which is fully exhibited during an inspection of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. On advice of the power plant's psychiatrist, the family head for a restful vacation in Florida. Upon arriving they are greeted by wild college students in the middle of a raucous spring break. Wanting Homer to get the rest and recuperation he needs, Marge tries to confine him to his hotel room, but he escapes to party and attends a concert featuring Joe C. and Kid Rock.

The debauchery makes Homer feel better, but he is disappointed to learn spring break is over and the students are returning to their studies. Still wanting to party, Homer rents an airboat and makes his family join him on a joyride through the local swamp. There he accidentally kills the town's most famous resident and reptile – an alligator named Captain Jack. The local sheriff, lenient during spring break and cruel the rest of the year, subsequently arrests the entire family. The family flees in their car but the sheriff gives chase until the family are pushed down the rails by an oncoming Amtrak train.

Lost in the wilderness and on the run, the family come across a diner, where they are given employment. They are eventually tracked down by the sheriff, who kidnaps them while they are asleep. For their crimes (and Homer's foolish attempt at defending himself in court – calling the jury "drunken hicks"), the family is put into forced labor. While assigned to work at a party held by a judge in front of the capitol, the family once again try and fail to escape. When it is then revealed that Captain Jack was never dead, simply knocked out, the family are released but are banned from the state of Florida - leaving them only able to travel to Arizona or North Dakota. (Though Homer rejects the former state because he dislikes its odor.)

Production

Rapper Kid Rock appeared in the episode as himself. Kid Rock Aviano.jpg
Rapper Kid Rock appeared in the episode as himself.

"Kill the Alligator and Run" was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Jen Kamerman as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). [1] [2] When the animation department finished its work on the episode, it had ended up being about four minutes too long and the staff of the show was forced to make some difficult cuts. One scene that was cut saw Captain Jack lying in state at the capitol in Florida, with Kid Rock being one of the people present to pay their respects to the alligator. [3] The Simpsons showrunner Mike Scully has expressed regret for cutting this scene because it "hurts the logic" later in the episode when Captain Jack crawls out of the capitol and reveals himself to everyone, thus creating a plot hole due to a lack of any explanation as to how he got there. [3]

Actor Diedrich Bader guest starred in the episode as the sheriff. [4] The Simpsons producer Ian Maxtone-Graham directed Bader during his recording session, telling the guest star to do a Southern accent. [5] The episode also features guest appearances from talk show host Charlie Rose and film producer Robert Evans as themselves. [2] [6] [7] Evans and Rose appear in a scene at the beginning of the episode, when Homer stays up late and watches Rose interview Evans on the television, hallucinating them threatening to kill him. Their conversation mentions Evans's films Love Story and The Two Jakes , as well as Vincent Canby. [8]

Rappers Kid Rock and Joe C. also guest star in the episode as themselves, [6] [7] performing at the annual spring break concert that Homer sneaks out to attend. Kid Rock's song "Bawitdaba" features as part of his appearance. [8] Scully said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press that the staff of the show chose Kid Rock and Joe C. for the episode because the two "have a lot of stage presence" and visually are "a funny combination," and because the staff thought "they would be funny playing off Homer." [9] According to Scully, the two musicians "had a great sense of humor [...] about themselves," with Kid Rock asking if "he could add a couple of his own lines. He wanted to introduce himself as 'the pimp of the nation.' We kept that in the show. It's quite a title." [9] Kid Rock recorded some of his dialog over the phone, but also paid a 45-minute visit to the Simpsons studio in Los Angeles to record lines. Scully thought it looked like the singer enjoyed the experience and was surprised to see that he arrived on time. "My first reaction to that was, 'What kind of rock star is this?'," Scully jokingly told the Detroit Free Press. [9] All of Joe C.'s lines were recorded over the phone. [9]

Release and reception

The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 2000. [6] [10] It was viewed in approximately 7.46 million households that night. With a Nielsen rating of 7.4, the episode finished 46th in the ratings for the week of April 24–30, 2000. It was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following an episode of Malcolm in the Middle (which received an 8.2 rating) and an episode of The X-Files (which received a 7.7 rating). [11] On October 7, 2008, "Kill the Alligator and Run" was released on DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, and Steven Dean Moore, as well as cast member Dan Castellaneta and guest star Diedrich Bader, participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included in the box set. [7]

According to Scully, "Kill the Alligator and Run" is often cited by fans of The Simpsons as one of the worst episodes ever because of its structure and outlandish nature. Scully has said that the episode is "kind of three stories in one." [3] Meyer, a writer and producer on the show, said in the DVD audio commentary that the fans thought it was "kind of a frenetic and crazy, chaotic episode," adding: "I can't disagree. But we had a lot of fun writing it, and we stand by it." [12] While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on the episode, writing: "Wow – this may be the most jumbled Simpsons to date! The episode seems to suffer from ADD as it can’t focus on any topic for very long. It flits from one gag to another with abandon and rarely makes much sense – or produces many laughs. Yeah, it has a few amusing moments, but it’s too scattershot to succeed." [10] Annie Alleman of The Herald News , on the other hand, named "Kill the Alligator and Run" her eighth favorite Simpsons episode. [13] Nancy Basile of About.com thought the best scene of the episode is the one where the Simpsons have become hillbillies and are sitting on their porch, and Bart says "I'm getting used to this country life. Teacher says I'm whittling at a tenth-grade level." [14] Corey Deiterman of the Houston Press listed Kid Rock at number one in his list of the top five worst musical guests in Simpsons history. [15]

Related Research Articles

"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second and final episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 21, 2000. In the episode, a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpsons are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their dramatic inner turmoil and struggles are detailed. Told in a mockumentary format, the episode presents a fictional version of how The Simpsons began.

"Treehouse of Horror X" is the fourth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the tenth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Halloween 1999. In "I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did", the Simpsons cover up a murder and are haunted by an unseen witness. In "Desperately Xeeking Xena", Lisa and Bart gain superpowers and must rescue Xena star Lucy Lawless from the Comic Book Guy's alter ego The Collector, and in "Life's a Glitch, Then You Die", Homer causes worldwide destruction thanks to the Y2K bug.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XII</span> 1st episode of the 13th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XII" is the first episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Because of Fox's contract with Major League Baseball's World Series, the episode first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 6, 2001, nearly one week after Halloween. It is the twelfth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments. In the first segment, a gypsy puts a curse on Homer, which puts everybody he cares about in danger. In the second segment, which is a parody on both 2001: A Space Odyssey and Demon Seed, the Simpson family buys a new house, who falls in love with Marge and attempts to kill Homer. In the third and final segment, which lampoons the Harry Potter franchise, Lord Montymort attempts to capture Lisa, a skilled magician, in order to drain her magic powers.

"Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2001. In the episode, the Simpsons build a tennis court in their backyard and are ridiculed by the entire town because of Homer's inferior tennis ability. Homer therefore tries to please Marge by entering the two into a tournament, but they quickly turn into rivals when Marge replaces Homer with Bart as her partner.

"Simpson Safari" is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 1, 2001. When the Simpsons run out of food thanks to a bag boy strike, the family finds an old box of Animal Crackers in their attic. In the box is a golden cracker that was part of a contest conducted by the owners of Animal Crackers. Finding out that anyone that found the golden cracker would win a trip to Africa, Homer shows it to the company's owners, who refuse to honor the prize. When he is injured by one of the box's sharp corners however, the family is given a free trip to Africa as compensation.

"Simpsons Tall Tales" is the twenty-first and final episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2001. In the episode, Homer refuses to pay a five dollar airport tax to fly to Delaware, which forces the family to ride in a livestock car of a train instead. There they meet a singing hobo who tells three tall tales which include Homer as Paul Bunyan, Lisa as Connie Appleseed and Bart and Nelson as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brother's Little Helper</span> 2nd episode of the 11th season of The Simpsons

"Brother's Little Helper" is the second episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. In the episode, Bart floods the school gymnasium and the schoolyard, which prompts the school's principal Seymour Skinner to diagnose Bart with ADHD. Bart is prescribed a psychostimulant drug called Focusyn, and initially starts paying more attention to his studies. After a while however, Bart starts turning psychotic and is convinced that Major League Baseball is watching over the people of Springfield.

"Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'" is the eighth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1998. In the episode Grampa's kidneys explode, leaving him in urgent need of a donor. His son Homer initially agrees to donate one of his kidneys, but after hearing of side effects of only having one kidney, he begins to have second thoughts about the operation.

"Maximum Homerdrive" is the seventeenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 1999. In the episode, Homer challenges trucker Red Barclay to a meat eating contest, of which Barclay is the long-standing champion. Barclay wins but quickly dies of "beef poisoning", marking the first time he will miss a delivery at his job. Feeling bad for him, Homer take on the duty of transporting Barclay's cargo from Springfield to Atlanta.

"Monty Can't Buy Me Love" is the twenty-first episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1999. In the episode, Mr. Burns is jealous of megastore owner Arthur Fortune, who is beloved by the people of Springfield. In order to win the people's love, Burns gathers the help of Homer Simpson, Professor Frink and Groundskeeper Willie to capture the Loch Ness monster.

"Grift of the Magi" is the ninth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Being the final episode to air in the 1990s, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 19, 1999. In the episode, mafia boss Fat Tony successfully extorts a large sum of money from Springfield Elementary School, forcing Principal Skinner to close it down. However, a toy company called Kid First Industries, led by Jim Hope, later buys the school and privatizes it. Classes now start focusing on toys and marketing only, and soon a new toy called Funzo that resembles the children's ideas is released by Kid First Industries in time for the Christmas shopping season. Bart and Lisa decide to destroy all Funzos in Springfield but Gary Coleman, Kid First Industries' security guard, tries to intercept them.

"Take My Wife, Sleaze" is the eighth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 28, 1999. In the episode, Homer wins a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and starts his own outlaw motorcycle club, naming it "Hell's Satans". However, this attracts the real club called "Hell's Satans" to crash at their house. After a while, they begin to appreciate Marge, who takes care of them, and kidnap her. Homer tracks them down and scuffles with Meathook, the leader of the gang. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Neil Affleck, and features several guest appearances.

"The Mansion Family" is the twelfth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3 million homes during the broadcast. In the episode, Mr. Burns goes to the Mayo Clinic for a check-up after being declared the oldest man in Springfield at an awards ceremony. He leaves the Simpson family to house-sit his mansion for him. When Homer throws a party on Burns' private yacht in international waters, the party goers are captured by Chinese pirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saddlesore Galactica</span> 13th episode of the 11th season of The Simpsons

"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson family rescues a diving horse named Duncan from an abusive owner and keeps him as a pet. When the cost of keeping Duncan rises, Homer and Bart train him to be a racehorse. Duncan wins several races and, as a result, Homer is threatened with death by a group of jockeys. Meanwhile, Lisa is upset over her school unfairly losing the musical band competition at a state fair and writes a letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton in protest.

"Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" is the fourteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American television series The Simpsons, and marks the final regular appearance of the character Maude Flanders. In the episode, she is killed in an accident while watching an auto race, devastating Ned Flanders and prompting Homer to find a new woman for his grieving friend. After a series of unsuccessful dates, Ned begins to question his faith in God. However, his faith is restored after hearing the female lead singer of a Christian rock band, played by guest star Shawn Colvin, sing in church. The episode's title is a parody of the song title "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan.

"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 14, 2000. After a failed marriage attempt with Otto, Becky stays with the Simpson family. However, Marge begins to get paranoid at her family's newfound love of Becky, and begins to think that she is seducing Homer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer the Moe</span> 3rd episode of the 13th season of The Simpsons

"Homer the Moe" is the third episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe, following the advice of his former bartending professor, decides to modernize his bar. The bar's new image attracts several customers, but leaves Moe's four regular customers, Homer, Lenny, Carl, and Barney, feeling alienated, which in turn prompts Homer to open his private bar, disguising it as a hunting club to avoid liquor license restrictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trash of the Titans</span> 22nd episode of the 9th season of The Simpsons

"Trash of the Titans" is the twenty-second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 200th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 1998. The episode, which was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Jim Reardon, sees Homer Simpson run for the job of Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner. Steve Martin guest stars as Ray Patterson, the incumbent commissioner, while U2 play themselves after requesting an appearance on the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love</span> 4th episode of the 13th season of The Simpsons

"A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" is the fourth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network on December 2, 2001. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls in love with Gloria, a woman who is much younger than he is and who turns out to be Snake Jailbird's ex-girlfriend.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 11 Season of television series

The eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States between September 26, 1999 and May 21, 2000, starting with "Beyond Blunderdome" and ending with "Behind the Laughter". With Mike Scully as the showrunner for the eleventh season, it has twenty-two episodes, including four hold-over episodes from the season 10 production line. Season 11 was released on DVD in Region 1 on October 7, 2008 with both a standard box and Krusty-molded plastic cover.

References

  1. ↑ Alberti, John (2004). Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture . Wayne State University Press. p.  323. ISBN   978-0-8143-2849-1.
  2. 1 2 "Simpsons – Kill the Alligator and Run". Yahoo! TV . Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 Scully, Mike. (2008). Audio commentary for "Kill the Alligator and Run", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. ↑ Bader, Diedrich. (2008). Audio commentary for "Kill the Alligator and Run", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  5. ↑ Maxtone-Graham, Ian. (2008). Audio commentary for "Kill the Alligator and Run", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  6. 1 2 3 "The Simpsons Episode: 'Kill the Alligator and Run'". TV Guide . Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 Jane, Ian (November 1, 2008). "The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season". DVD Talk . Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  8. 1 2 Swartzwelder, John; Kamerman, Jen (April 30, 2000). "Kill the Alligator and Run". The Simpsons. Season 11. Episode 19. Fox Broadcasting Company.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Duffy, Mike (April 30, 2000). "Doh! Kid Rock hangs out with Homer". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on October 6, 2003. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Jacobson, Colin (November 19, 2008). "The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season (1999)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ Associated Press (May 4, 2000). "ABC, NBC dead even in prime-time ratings". Sun-Sentinel . p. 4E.
  12. ↑ Meyer, George. (2008). Audio commentary for "Kill the Alligator and Run", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  13. ↑ Alleman, Annie (February 13, 2003). "'Simpsons' – favorites from a classic favorite". The Herald News . p. D1.
  14. ↑ Basile, Nancy. "'The Simpsons' Summer Vacations". About.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  15. ↑ "The Five Worst Musical Guests In Simpsons History". blogs.houstonpress.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.