Orange Is the New Yellow

Last updated

"Orange Is the New Yellow"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 27
Episode 22
Directed by Matthew Faughnan
Written by Eric Horsted
Production codeVABF15
Original air dateMay 22, 2016 (2016-05-22)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "Millhouse does not live below the puberty line"
Couch gag The Simpsons appear in an IKEA-inspired manual guide that was designed by Michał Socha.
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Simprovised"		Next →
"Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus"
The Simpsons season 27
List of episodes

"Orange Is the New Yellow" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons , and the 596th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Eric Horsted. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 22, 2016. The title is a spoof of the book and the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black .

Contents

In this episode, Marge is sent to prison when Bart is caught playing by himself outside, so Homer is forced to care for the children by himself. The episode received mixed reviews.

Plot

Homer is leaving the Power Plant for the weekend, as he promised Marge to be home for dinner. However, as he is leaving, Mr. Burns asks him for his help to fix a gas leak with a "Safety First" poster, and to measure its level with a plumb bob (a procedure that takes hours to complete).

At home, Marge is having trouble taking care of the kids. She is trying to help Lisa with a school project (dressing her as a male seahorse) and feed Maggie. However, Maggie spills her food all over the room. Bart offers to help clean the mess, but he ends up causing even more of a mess with the chemical products. Frustrated, Marge asks him to go play outside. Bart goes to the Springfield Park, where Martin's mother, Martha, realizes that he is by himself and calls the police. The cops take Bart back home and arrest Marge for neglecting her son just in time for Homer to witness this.

Marge is sentenced to three months in the Springfield Women's Prison. However, she realizes that she could use the time to take a break from the stress of being a homemaker. Meanwhile, Homer is having trouble taking care of the kids, but some Springfield residents (especially Ned Flanders) realize that he is going through a difficult phase and decide to help him.

Back at the jail, Marge manages to fit in well. She uses her hair as a weapon against bullies and makes some friends, but Homer hires the Blue-Haired Lawyer, who finds out that Marge could not be arrested because of a technicality, and she is set free. However, Marge, not ready to go back to all the responsibilities of being a homemaker, fires a guard's gun and earns two more months inside.

Homer, depressed at Marge's unwillingness to come home, vows to become the perfect homemaker for her sake, imagining a black and white scenario where he is dressed as a woman and Marge in a suit going to her job. Meanwhile, other parents take Marge's position as a warning, and they decide to overprotect their children to the point of each one taking turns to take them all on a walk on leashes. When Homer's turn to walk them goes wrong, the kids have had enough of their parents' attitudes and decide to sneak into the park to have fun by themselves. Their fun is ruined by a tornado, which drags them into a tree. Meanwhile, Marge realizes she too misses her family when everything begins to remind her of them, and in her sorrow, accidentally causes a prison break. In the middle of the mayhem, she finds Homer undercover as a prison guard in order to rescue her, they both escape safely as the police are too busy sorting out the disarray caused by the tornado to bother going after them.

They soon arrive back home, where Bart and Lisa become overly attached to her and the entire family ends up hugging inside the closet.

Production

This is the first episode written by Eric Horsted, who had previously written for creator Matt Groening's television series Futurama . [1] Guest animator Michał Socha directed his second couch gag for this episode. He directed his first couch gag for the twenty-fifth season episode "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting." [2]

Reception

"Orange Is the New Yellow" scored a 1.1 rating and was watched by 2.54 million viewers, making it the second most watched show on Fox that night after Family Guy . [3]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+, stating, "'Orange Is the New Yellow' is...nondescript? Perfunctory? Fine? It’s fine. It’s got a laugh or two around the fringes...There’s a satirical edge to the whole 'overprotected children' angle that clearly engaged the writers room a bit (the episode is the first credited to Futurama vet Eric Horsted)...But the idea that Springfield’s justice system would overreact by pulling guns on Marge and sending her to prison is just plausible enough to be upsetting...And there’s a reliable number of offbeat gags throughout to make this an unassumingly pleasant way to kill a half-hour." [4]

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 3 out of 5 stars. He said the episode was mediocre but expected more for a season finale. [5]

Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the episode a 6.8 out of 10. He felt the episode was too similar to the fourth season episode "Marge in Chains." [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror IX</span> 4th episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror IX" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 25, 1998. This is the ninth Treehouse of Horror episode, and, like the other "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, contains three self-contained segments: In "Hell Toupée", Homer gets a hair transplant and is possessed by the spirit of an executed criminal; in "Terror of Tiny Toon", Bart and Lisa are trapped in a special, extremely violent episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show; and in "Starship Poopers", Marge reveals that Maggie is the product of a one-night stand with the alien Kang.

<i>The Simpsons</i> opening sequence Opening sequence of the TV series The Simpsons

The Simpsonsopening sequence is the title sequence of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It is accompanied by "The Simpsons Theme". The first episode to use this introduction was the series' second episode "Bart the Genius".

"How the Test Was Won" is the eleventh episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 1, 2009. It was written by Michael Price and directed by Lance Kramer. The episode features cultural references to the television shows The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Brady Bunch, and Cheers, and the film Footloose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bob Next Door</span> 22nd episode of the 21st season of The Simpsons

"The Bob Next Door" is the twenty-second and penultimate episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 16, 2010. In the episode, Bart Simpson becomes convinced that their new neighbor is Sideshow Bob in disguise, but after a trip to the Springfield Penitentiary they find a distressed Bob still incarcerated. Eventually, Bart discovers that Bob has surgically swapped faces with Walt, who was his cellmate at that time, and still plans to kill him, although he is ultimately defeated.

"Beware My Cheating Bart" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Ben Joseph. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 15, 2012. The title refers to the song "Be Still My Beating Heart" by Sting.

"At Long Last Leave" is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 500th episode overall of the series. In the episode, the Simpsons discover that the inhabitants of Springfield have grown tired of them and have secretly decided to throw them out of the city. After being evicted from Springfield, the family members end up in a rugged place without rules and regulations called the Outlands. There, they briefly come across their neighbor Julian Assange, who created WikiLeaks. Assange guest-starred in the episode as himself and recorded his lines over the phone while under house arrest in Britain, while waiting for the results of Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority.

"Moonshine River" is the first episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Tim Long. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 2012.

"YOLO" is the fourth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 534th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 10, 2013. The episode was written by Michael Nobori and directed by Mike Frank Polcino.

"What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 549th episode of the series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 27, 2014. It was written by John Frink and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"Days of Future Future" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 13, 2014. It was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Bob Anderson.

"Specs and the City" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 541st episode of the series. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on January 26, 2014. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Lance Kramer. The original title of the episode was intended to be "I Only Have My Eyes for You," a take on "I Only Have Eyes for You," but was changed to "Specs and the City," a take on Sex and the City. The Oogle Goggles were originally known as "MyEyes."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brick Like Me</span> 20th episode of the 25th season of The Simpsons

"Brick Like Me" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 550th episode of the series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 4, 2014. It was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"The Kids Are All Fight" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 571st overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 2015.

"Mathlete's Feat" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 574th overall episode of the series. The episode was directed by Mike Frank Polcino and written by Michael Price. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 17, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barthood</span> 9th episode of the 27th season of The Simpsons

"Barthood" is the ninth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 583rd episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Dan Greaney. It aired in the United States on Fox on December 13, 2015. The episode parodies the 2014 film Boyhood.

"Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles" is the eleventh episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 585th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Timothy Bailey and written by Joel H. Cohen. It aired in the United States on Fox on January 10, 2016.

"Simprovised" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 595th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by John Frink. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 15, 2016, and includes a three-minute live-animated segment in which viewers were able to ask Homer Simpson questions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXVII</span> 4th episode of the 28th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXVII" is the fourth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 27th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 600th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Joel H. Cohen. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 16, 2016.

"The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby" is the 18th episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 680th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 19, 2020. The episode was written by Tom Gammill and Max Pross and was directed by Bob Anderson.

"Poorhouse Rock" is the 22nd and final episode of the 33rd season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 728th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on May 22, 2022. The episode was directed by Jennifer Moeller and written by Tim Long.

References

  1. 1 2 Schedeen, Jesse (May 22, 2016). "The Simpsons: "Orange Is the New Yellow" Review". IGN . Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  2. ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (May 19, 2016). "Michal Socha Animates New Couch Gag for 'The Simpsons'". Animation World Network . Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ Porter, Rick (May 24, 2016). "Sunday final ratings: Billboard Awards, 'Simpsons' finale, 'Undercover Boss' adjust up; 'AFV' and 'Bordertown' finales adjust down". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ Perkins, Dennis (May 22, 2016). "Marge goes to the slammer as The Simpsons sputters to the Season 27 finish line". The A.V. Club . Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Sokol, Tony (May 23, 2016). "The Simpsons Season Finale Review: Orange Is the New Yellow". Den of Geek . Retrieved July 17, 2023.
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.