Dumbbell Indemnity
Encyclopedia
"Dumbbell Indemnity" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season
of the animated television series The Simpsons
, which originally aired March 1, 1998. It was written by Ron Hauge
and directed by Dominic Polcino
. The episode sees Moe trying to keep his girlfriend by using a large amount of money, but when it runs out, he decides to commit insurance fraud
. Homer helps him, but is caught and sent to jail, and attempts to take revenge on Moe when he does not bail him out.
notices that Moe
is depressed
because he can't get a date. Homer decides to take Moe out to meet a woman. The trip proves to be unsuccessful, but on their way home, a woman named Renee starts a conversation with Moe, and he ends up asking her out.
Moe and Renee seem to form a strong relationship, but Moe is insecure about his hold on her and he feels he must spend large amounts of money on an extravagant lifestyle. Upon maxing out his credit card, Moe comes up with a scheme to commit insurance fraud
by having Homer steal his car and park it on train tracks so it would be destroyed. The night the scheme is supposed to take place, Moe and Renee attend a police charity event aboard a yacht; the event's attendance by all the officers in town ensures Homer will not get caught perpetrating the scheme, and gives Moe an alibi so that no one will suspect he was behind the act. Homer botches the plan by stopping to watch a drive-in movie, while the train they were counting on to destroy Moe's car passes by. Deciding all is not lost, Homer drives the car over a cliff — but his attempt to exit the car before it sinks into the water below fails. The car ends up sinking just near the yacht where the police charity event is taking place, and when Homer swims to the surface, he is arrested.
Moe speaks to Homer through the bars of his jail cell window and promises to bail him out, but changes his mind when Renee talks about wanting to vacation in Hawaii. He uses the insurance money to book the trip instead of bailing Homer out of jail. While packing, Moe is confronted by his own conscience, in the form of Homer, who makes him feel bad for his betrayal. Moe ends up telling Renee the truth about the insurance fraud scheme, and she is at first happy he was honest. However, when Moe starts scheming again for a way to get Homer out of jail without paying the bail, Renee is disgusted and leaves him.
Moe's idea involved burning down his own bar, which he ends up doing by accident before he realizes Renee has left. Meanwhile, Homer escapes jail by attacking Hans Moleman
, who was delivering books to the inmates. He enters the burning bar to confront Moe, and the two start fighting. They are both soon rendered unconscious from smoke inhalation
, but Barney
, who has been in the toilet for the duration of the scene, appears and saves them (but not before saving two kegs of beer). The bar, however, is completely destroyed, and during their reconciliation Homer promises to help Moe get back on his feet. In the final scene, we see that Homer has allowed Moe to relocate his bar to the Simpsons' home.
, who has said he thought of the episode while attempting to make a story involving general illegal activity. Originally, Hauge had a different title for the episode, "Mutual of Moemaha", parodying the name of the Mutual of Omaha
insurance company. The episode was going to add to the development of Moe's character in the show, though the staff did not think they were able to develop him more until later episodes.
Director Dominic Polcino
and the animators of the episode were praised for their efforts by the other staff members, especially during the scene where Homer is driving down the cliff and attempts to escape Moe's car. Polcino and his animators went to great lengths to correctly time Homer's rolling and create a vivid and detailed lake, as well as animate Homer sinking to the bottom of the lake. Show runner
Mike Scully
commented that, "It's hard enough for us to come up with the ideas, but when Dominic and the animators can make it, it's really fantastic."
as Renee, Moe's girlfriend. Hunt has said she liked the design of her character, who was named after Hauge's wife. During the making of the episode, Hunt and Hank Azaria
, who voices Moe, were dating. In an interview with People Magazine in 1998, Mike Scully stated "Hank and Helen got along so well it's hard to believe they are a real couple." In 1999, the couple married, but were divorced the next year.
" by The Monkees
is playing. Other songs include "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers and "Brick House
" by the Commodores
.
of 10.5, equivalent to approximately 10.3 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
and King of the Hill
.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, enjoyed the episode, commenting "A case perhaps of life reflecting art as guest star Helen Hunt is now married to Hank Azaria, who is, of course, Moe, which is rather nice as you can't help but feel sad that, by the end of this rather clever and charming episode, Moe has been unlucky in love once more." However, the book was released early 2000, shortly before Hunt and Azaria filed for divorce. In a 2006 article in USA Today
, "Dumbbell Indemnity" was highlighted among the six best episodes of The Simpsons season 9
, along with others including "Trash of the Titans
," "The Last Temptation of Krust
," "The Cartridge Family
," "The Joy of Sect
," and "Das Bus
". IGN
ranked Hail to the Chimp, the movie Homer goes to see in the episode, as the seventh best fictional film within another work. Show runner
Mike Scully
greatly enjoyed the scene where Homer attempts to escape Moe's car when it is going down the cliff, and has said that it is one of his favorite scenes from the show.
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
of the animated television series The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, which originally aired March 1, 1998. It was written by Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
and directed by Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. Dominic worked on the first season of Family Guy, then left to direct for King of the Hill and then returned to Family Guy...
. The episode sees Moe trying to keep his girlfriend by using a large amount of money, but when it runs out, he decides to commit insurance fraud
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...
. Homer helps him, but is caught and sent to jail, and attempts to take revenge on Moe when he does not bail him out.
Plot
While at Moe's Tavern (after a botched attempt at fixing his home water heater), HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
notices that Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
is depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
because he can't get a date. Homer decides to take Moe out to meet a woman. The trip proves to be unsuccessful, but on their way home, a woman named Renee starts a conversation with Moe, and he ends up asking her out.
Moe and Renee seem to form a strong relationship, but Moe is insecure about his hold on her and he feels he must spend large amounts of money on an extravagant lifestyle. Upon maxing out his credit card, Moe comes up with a scheme to commit insurance fraud
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...
by having Homer steal his car and park it on train tracks so it would be destroyed. The night the scheme is supposed to take place, Moe and Renee attend a police charity event aboard a yacht; the event's attendance by all the officers in town ensures Homer will not get caught perpetrating the scheme, and gives Moe an alibi so that no one will suspect he was behind the act. Homer botches the plan by stopping to watch a drive-in movie, while the train they were counting on to destroy Moe's car passes by. Deciding all is not lost, Homer drives the car over a cliff — but his attempt to exit the car before it sinks into the water below fails. The car ends up sinking just near the yacht where the police charity event is taking place, and when Homer swims to the surface, he is arrested.
Moe speaks to Homer through the bars of his jail cell window and promises to bail him out, but changes his mind when Renee talks about wanting to vacation in Hawaii. He uses the insurance money to book the trip instead of bailing Homer out of jail. While packing, Moe is confronted by his own conscience, in the form of Homer, who makes him feel bad for his betrayal. Moe ends up telling Renee the truth about the insurance fraud scheme, and she is at first happy he was honest. However, when Moe starts scheming again for a way to get Homer out of jail without paying the bail, Renee is disgusted and leaves him.
Moe's idea involved burning down his own bar, which he ends up doing by accident before he realizes Renee has left. Meanwhile, Homer escapes jail by attacking Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman
Hans Moleman is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Principal Charming". He normally appears in a running gag, where he usually suffers unfortunate, nearly fatal, events...
, who was delivering books to the inmates. He enters the burning bar to confront Moe, and the two start fighting. They are both soon rendered unconscious from smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation
Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires.Smoke inhalation injury refers to injury due to inhalation or exposure to hot gaseous products of combustion. This can cause serious respiratory complications....
, but Barney
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
, who has been in the toilet for the duration of the scene, appears and saves them (but not before saving two kegs of beer). The bar, however, is completely destroyed, and during their reconciliation Homer promises to help Moe get back on his feet. In the final scene, we see that Homer has allowed Moe to relocate his bar to the Simpsons' home.
Production
The episode was written by Ron HaugeRon Hauge
Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. In his earlier career Hauge was a contributor to National Lampoon. After this he wrote for Seinfeld, In Living Color, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and a short lived reincarnation of The Carol Burnett Show...
, who has said he thought of the episode while attempting to make a story involving general illegal activity. Originally, Hauge had a different title for the episode, "Mutual of Moemaha", parodying the name of the Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company was founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association.- History :...
insurance company. The episode was going to add to the development of Moe's character in the show, though the staff did not think they were able to develop him more until later episodes.
Dominic Polcino
Dominic Polcino is an animation director who has worked on The Simpsons, Mission Hill, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. Dominic worked on the first season of Family Guy, then left to direct for King of the Hill and then returned to Family Guy...
and the animators of the episode were praised for their efforts by the other staff members, especially during the scene where Homer is driving down the cliff and attempts to escape Moe's car. Polcino and his animators went to great lengths to correctly time Homer's rolling and create a vivid and detailed lake, as well as animate Homer sinking to the bottom of the lake. Show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
commented that, "It's hard enough for us to come up with the ideas, but when Dominic and the animators can make it, it's really fantastic."
Casting
The episode guest starred Helen HuntHelen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt is an American actress, film director, and screenwriter. She starred in the sitcom Mad About You for seven years, before being cast in the romantic comedy As Good as It Gets...
as Renee, Moe's girlfriend. Hunt has said she liked the design of her character, who was named after Hauge's wife. During the making of the episode, Hunt and Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, who voices Moe, were dating. In an interview with People Magazine in 1998, Mike Scully stated "Hank and Helen got along so well it's hard to believe they are a real couple." In 1999, the couple married, but were divorced the next year.
Cultural references
The title of the episode is a reference to the film Double Indemnity, which also had a plot involving an insurance scam. In the scenes where Moe and Renee are seen dating, the song "I'm a BelieverI'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
" by The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
is playing. Other songs include "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" or "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is a call and response blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart...
" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers and "Brick House
Brick House (song)
"Brick House" is a funk song from the Commodores' 1977 album Commodores and is one of their most popular songs. The single peaked at #5 in the U.S. and #32 in the UK pop charts.-Creation and recording:...
" by the Commodores
Commodores
The Commodores are an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour...
.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Dumbbell Indemnity" finished 25th in ratings for the week of February 23 - March 1, 1998, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 10.5, equivalent to approximately 10.3 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, enjoyed the episode, commenting "A case perhaps of life reflecting art as guest star Helen Hunt is now married to Hank Azaria, who is, of course, Moe, which is rather nice as you can't help but feel sad that, by the end of this rather clever and charming episode, Moe has been unlucky in love once more." However, the book was released early 2000, shortly before Hunt and Azaria filed for divorce. In a 2006 article in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, "Dumbbell Indemnity" was highlighted among the six best episodes of The Simpsons season 9
The Simpsons (season 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
, along with others including "Trash of the Titans
Trash of the Titans
"Trash of the Titans" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998...
," "The Last Temptation of Krust
The Last Temptation of Krust
"The Last Temptation of Krust" is the 15th episode of The Simpsons ninth season. It was written by Donick Cary and directed by Mike B. Anderson. The episode first aired on February 22, 1998. Comedian Jay Leno makes a guest appearance...
," "The Cartridge Family
The Cartridge Family
"The Cartridge Family" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons ninth season, which originally aired on November 2, 1997. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Pete Michels. In the episode, Homer purchases a gun to protect his family, of which Marge disapproves...
," "The Joy of Sect
The Joy of Sect
"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult called the "Movementarians" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members...
," and "Das Bus
Das Bus
"Das Bus" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season and originally aired on the Fox network on February 15, 1998. Bart, Lisa and other children from Springfield Elementary School are stranded on an island and are forced to work together. Meanwhile, Homer founds his own Internet...
". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Hail to the Chimp, the movie Homer goes to see in the episode, as the seventh best fictional film within another work. Show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
greatly enjoyed the scene where Homer attempts to escape Moe's car when it is going down the cliff, and has said that it is one of his favorite scenes from the show.
External links
- "Dumbbell Indemnity" at The Simpsons.com