What Animated Women Want

Last updated

"What Animated Women Want"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 24
Episode 17
Directed by Steven Dean Moore
Written by J. Stewart Burns
Production codeRABF08
Original air dateApril 14, 2013 (2013-04-14)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Couch gag Special intro in homage to Breaking Bad . The camera zooms out at the end to reveal the live-action characters of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman sitting on a couch drinking beer and watching the show on TV.
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Dark Knight Court"		Next →
"Pulpit Friction"
The Simpsons season 24
List of episodes

"What Animated Women Want" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons , and the 525th episode overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by J. Stewart Burns. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 2013. [1] The name is a take on that of the film What Women Want .

Contents

In this episode, Homer tries to win back Marge with sex toys when he fails to be romantic while Lisa becomes interested in Milhouse when he acts poorly towards her. The couch gag is a parody of the television series Breaking Bad , including live-action appearances by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprising their roles from the series. Maurice LaMarche, Wanda Sykes, and George Takei also guest starred. The episode was watched by 4.11 million viewers and received mixed reviews.

Plot

Homer and Marge have a lunch date at an up-market sushi restaurant. Marge is excited at the opportunity to have 'grown up people' conversations as the kids are not with them, but Homer is only interested in eating. Enraged, Marge storms out of the restaurant. A worried Homer tries to fix his problems with Marge by finishing a to-do list from within his wallet that Marge had given him. Marge is disappointed because the list is from 6 years earlier. Homer returns to the Japanese restaurant and is given relationship advice by the head chef. Homer takes some food from the restaurant back home and offers it to Marge. She is almost impressed but becomes unhappy when Homer eats the food himself. Unsure of what to do, Homer goes to Moe's Tavern and talks to Moe about his marriage problems. Moe suggests winning her back by exciting her with sex, specifically sadomasochistic sex, as used in Fifty Shades of Grey . Homer goes to the local sex shop where he purchases an array of different sex devices. When he shows Marge all that he has bought she is confused and unimpressed. Homer sits down on one of the machines by mistake and is injured by it. He is taken to the hospital and while he is being treated they reconcile. Afterwards they return home and set all the sex items on fire; Marge admits that she was too hard on him as she says that no matter what he will try to make things right.

Meanwhile, Milhouse is sitting with Bart in the Springfield Elementary School cafeteria. He looks at Lisa and hopes that she will come up to him. She begins to approach him and he becomes excited, but she has only come to the table to tell Bart that Marge had mixed up their lunches. She asks Milhouse if she can eat his cupcake. Having just seen A Streetcar Named Desire for a class assignment, Milhouse takes on the personality of Marlon Brando, and is rude and dismissive towards her, refusing her request for the cupcake. This causes him to win Lisa's respect. Confused as to why his new tactic works, he continues this to keep Lisa interested in him. Seeking answers as to if it is okay to pretend to be someone he is not, he approaches the school counselor (Wanda Sykes). Before she can give him an answer she receives a call notifying her she has been fired. Shocked, she tells Milhouse that he should continue pretending to be who he is not, because his regular personality is boring. Feeling as though he is betraying his character he throws cupcakes (the same from earlier on in the episode) at Lisa's window. He apologizes for pretending to be someone he is not and they feel happier.

Production

The couch gag is a parody of a montage that occurs in the episode "Gliding Over All" from the television series Breaking Bad , including a title card in the style of the Breaking Bad title card. Like the original montage, the gag is set to the song "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells. [2] The gag ends with the camera zooming out of a television to show a live-action Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, the main characters from Breaking Bad, sitting on the couch watching Marge. [3]

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprised their roles of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, respectively from Breaking Bad. [3] Cranston previously appeared as a different character in the twenty-third season episode "The Spy Who Learned Me." [4] Wanda Sykes guest starred as a school therapist. George Takei appeared as a sushi chef. [1] Takei previously appeared on the show as different characters. [5] [6] [7]

Reception

Ratings

The episode received a 1.8 in the 18–49 demographic and was watched by a total of 4.11 million viewers. This made it the third most watched show on Fox's Animation Domination line up that night, beating The Cleveland Show and Bob's Burgers but losing to both American Dad! with 4.23 million and Family Guy with 5.02 million. [8]

Critical reception

The episode received mixed reviews from critics.

Robert David Sullivan of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+, saying "This is a scattershot episode with a lot of pop-culture references but little comic momentum." [9]

Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic gave the episode three and a half stars out of five, saying "Despite the hilarious sight gags and funny The Simpsons' quotes, I felt humor of the episode was undercut by the odd narration. It seemed unnecessary as framing device as it didn't really add anything to the story." [10]

Rob H. Dawson of TV Equals said "The sushi restaurant portion of “What Animated Women Want” felt lazy too, mixing together Asian stereotypes and some vague notion of rude fancy restaurants into a less-than-hilarious mess, the only highlight being the alternate universe in which anime pieces of sushi go on an adventure in Santa's Little Helper’s intestines, which I actually liked, one piece of something fun in the middle of an otherwise lackluster The Simpsons." [11]

Related Research Articles

"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 24, 1991. In the episode, Homer consumes a poisonous fugu fish at a sushi restaurant and is told he has less than 24 hours to live. He accepts his fate and tries to do everything on his bucket list before he dies.

"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The 350th episode overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as teenagers getting ready for their high school graduation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last of the Red Hat Mamas</span> 7th episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"The Last of the Red Hat Mamas" is the seventh episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 27, 2005. The episode was written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

<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".

"Smoke on the Daughter" is the fifteenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 30, 2008. The episode is the only one of the series in which Billy Kimball received sole writing credit, and it was directed by Lance Kramer.

"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.

"Homer Scissorhands" is the twentieth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Peter Gaffney and Steve Viksten. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2011.

"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.

"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.

"Pulpit Friction" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 526th episode overall. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Bill Odenkirk. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 28, 2013. The name is a pun on the film Pulp Fiction.

"Hardly Kirk-ing" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 521st episode overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Nastuk and written by Tom Gammill and Max Pross. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2013.

"Black Eyed, Please" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 523rd episode overall. The episode was directed by Matthew Schofield and written by John Frink. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 10, 2013. The name is a pun on black-eyed peas and the band of the same name.

"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.

"Luca$" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 547th episode of the series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 2014. It was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Chris Clements.

"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.

"Diggs" is the twelfth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 542nd episode of the series. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on March 9, 2014. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and Allen Glazier and directed by Mike Frank Polcino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror XXVI</span> 5th episode of the 27th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror XXVI" is the fifth episode of the twenty-seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, the 26th episode in the Treehouse of Horror series of Halloween specials, and the 579th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Joel H. Cohen. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 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.

"Dad Behavior" is the eighth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 604th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 20, 2016. The plot revolves around Homer discovering an app that makes his life easier, and Grampa learning that he's about to become a father again. It was the first episode to be written by Ryan Koh, and was directed by Steven Dean Moore. Matt Leinart makes a guest appearance as himself.

"Manger Things" is the sixteenth episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 700th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 21, 2021. The episode was directed by Steven Dean Moore and written by Rob LaZebnik.

References

  1. 1 2 "(SI-2408) "What Animated Women Want"". The Futon Critic . Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  2. ↑ Willmore, Alison (April 12, 2013). "Watch: 'The Simpsons' Salutes 'Breaking Bad' With a 'Crystal Blue Persuasion' Couch Gag". IndieWire . Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Eby, Margaret (April 12, 2013). "'The Simpsons' channels 'Breaking Bad' in new episode intro". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  4. ↑ Snierson, Dan (August 19, 2011). "The Simpsons: Bryan Cranston to guest". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p.  45. ISBN   978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN   98141857. OCLC   37796735. OL   433519M..
  6. ↑ Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  7. ↑ Scully, Mike (2010). The Simpsons season 13 DVD commentary for the episode "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  8. ↑ Bibel, Sara (April 16, 2013). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'The Cleveland Show', 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Amazing Race', 'Family Guy', 'Celebrity Apprentice' & 'American Dad' Adjusted Up; '60 Minutes' Adjusted Down + Final Golf Numbers". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ Sullivan, Robert David (April 15, 2013). "The Simpsons: "What Animated Women Want"". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  10. ↑ Lopez, Teresa (April 14, 2013). "The Simpsons Review: Chicks Dig Brando". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  11. ↑ Dawson, Rob H. (April 15, 2013). "The Simpsons Season 24 Review "What Animated Women Want"". TV Equals. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 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.