Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily
Encyclopedia
"Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" is the third episode of The Simpsons
' seventh season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1995. In the episode, the Simpson children are put in the custody of Ned
and Maude Flanders after a series of misadventures. Homer
and Marge
have to attend a class for bad parents so that they can get their children back. Learning that none of the children have been baptized, Flanders sets up a baptism, but Homer and Marge are able to stop him just in time.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
and directed by Susie Dietter
. The story was pitched by another writer on the show, George Meyer
. It was the first episode on which writers Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
served as show runner
s. The episode features cultural references to the 1965 film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
and Sonny & Cher
's song "I Got You Babe
". Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 9.0, and was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
is sent home from school with head lice
and Lisa
without shoes, Marge and Homer are accused of being negligent parents. Two Child Protective Services
agents arrive at their house and take Bart, Lisa, and Maggie
to a foster home—right next door, at Ned Flanders
's house.
The kids have to get used to bedtime at seven o'clock with the sunlight still out, and hours of Bible
board games. Bart and Lisa hate the Flanders house, but Maggie enjoys being there as she gets more attention from Flanders than she did with Homer. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge have to attend a special class for bad parents so that they can get their children back.
When Flanders finds out that Bart and Lisa were not baptized
, he takes it upon himself to give the kids an emergency baptism. When Homer and Marge are declared decent parents, they quickly head for the Springfield River to stop Flanders. Just as Flanders is about to pour holy water
on Bart, Homer shoves Bart over to prevent the water from hitting him. The Simpson family is reunited, and they head home together.
"Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" was the first episode to be made after Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
became show runner
s of The Simpsons. They wanted to start the season with an episode centering on the Simpson family. The story was pitched by writer George Meyer
at a story retreat. Story retreats were held twice a year at a hotel room close to the studio lot, where all the writers gathered to pitch their ideas. Seventeen episodes were pitched at this particular story retreat. Out of them all, Weinstein considered this episode to be the best, and he thought the pitch by Meyer was the "best" he had ever heard. Oakley and Weinstein selected former full-time staff writer Jon Vitti
to write the episode, wanting a "heavy hitter", since it was going to start the seventh production season. Vitti retained in his script most of what Meyer pitched at the retreat.
The episode was directed by Susie Dietter
. There is a statue portraying The Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder
outside the courthouse in the episode. Oakley said that this was a mistake because he and Weinstein thought that Springfield
was located in Swartzwelder County, incorrectly going off a montage in the season three episode "Dog of Death
". That montage depicts Springfield as being located in Springfield County; while Swartzwelder is the adjoining county. The female Child Protective Services agent, in appearance, is based on a teacher both Oakley and Weinstein had in high school that they "hated". Cast member Hank Azaria
's voice
for the character Cletus
was off in this episode because, over the summer between seasons, Azaria and the producers had forgotten what Cletus sounds like.
's song "I Got You Babe
". The Itchy & Scratchy cartoon that Lisa and Bart watch is called "Foster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", a reference to the 1965 film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
. Flanders says that he used to let his sons watch My Three Sons
, but it got them "all worked up" before bedtime. The headline of a newspaper that Marge gives to Lisa for her history project is "40 Trampled at Poco Concert", a reference to American rock band Poco
. While riding in Flanders's car, Maggie spins her head around with a scary smile on her face to look at Bart and Lisa, as in the 1973 film The Exorcist
.
In its original American broadcast, the episode finished 53rd in the ratings for the week of September 25 to October 1, 1995, with a Nielsen rating
of 9.0. The episode was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
, Beverly Hills, 90210
, and Melrose Place.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson enjoyed the episode and said that "its best elements come from the amusing bizarreness of the Flanders home, but Homer and Marge’s classes are also fun. Chalk this one up as season seven's first great episode." Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict considered the best part of the episode to be when Marge tells Bart and Lisa that someday they will have to be adults and take care of themselves, just before Homer comes to Marge about a spider near his car keys. She concluded her review by giving the episode a grade of B+. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "one of the most disturbing episodes, as Bart and Lisa are dragged into the Flanders' sinister lifestyle." They thought the ending, when Ned tries to baptize the children, was "nail-biting stuff", and Maggie's second first-word was "a truly shocking moment". The authors added: "It's astonishing that anything this radical made it on to prime time television. The final moments are perhaps the most moving in the entire series, a wonderful affirmation of everything the series, and the Simpson family, are about."
The Register-Mails Bill Gaither named it the best episode of the show, and added: "I particularly enjoyed this episode because I dated a girl in high school that was a live version female Ned Flanders, just with better looks." Matt Groening
, the creator of The Simpsons, thought the episode was "fantastic" and he called it one of his favorites. He particularly liked the ending which he thought was "sweet".
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...
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1995. In the episode, the Simpson children are put in the custody of Ned
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
and Maude Flanders after a series of misadventures. Homer
Homer 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...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
have to attend a class for bad parents so that they can get their children back. Learning that none of the children have been baptized, Flanders sets up a baptism, but Homer and Marge are able to stop him just in time.
The episode was written by Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
and directed by Susie Dietter
Susie Dietter
Susan E. Dietter, usually credited as Susie Dietter, is an American director, known primarily for her work on television cartoons. She has directed episodes of the popular series Futurama, Baby Blues, The Simpsons, Recess and The Critic. She also worked as an animator for the modern-day Looney...
. The story was pitched by another writer on the show, George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
. It was the first episode on which writers Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
served as 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...
s. The episode features cultural references to the 1965 film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer, who also wrote the script with Jack Moran. It stars Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams....
and Sonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher were an American pop music duo, actors, singers and entertainers made up of husband-and-wife team Sonny and Cher Bono in the 1960s and 1970s. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector....
's song "I Got You Babe
I Got You Babe
"I Got You Babe" is a 1965 #1 single by American pop music duo Sonny & Cher.-Background and composition:Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the lyrics to and composed the music of the song for himself and his then-wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Session...
". Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 9.0, and was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
When BartBart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is sent home from school with head lice
Head-louse infestation
Pediculosis capitis is a human medical condition caused by the colonization of the hair and skin by the parasitic insect Pediculus humanus capitis—the head louse. Typically, only the head or scalp of the host is infested...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
without shoes, Marge and Homer are accused of being negligent parents. Two Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services is the name of a governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as "Department of Children & Family Services"...
agents arrive at their house and take Bart, Lisa, and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
to a foster home—right next door, at Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
's house.
The kids have to get used to bedtime at seven o'clock with the sunlight still out, and hours of Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
board games. Bart and Lisa hate the Flanders house, but Maggie enjoys being there as she gets more attention from Flanders than she did with Homer. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge have to attend a special class for bad parents so that they can get their children back.
When Flanders finds out that Bart and Lisa were not baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, he takes it upon himself to give the kids an emergency baptism. When Homer and Marge are declared decent parents, they quickly head for the Springfield River to stop Flanders. Just as Flanders is about to pour holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
on Bart, Homer shoves Bart over to prevent the water from hitting him. The Simpson family is reunited, and they head home together.
Production
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
became 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...
s of The Simpsons. They wanted to start the season with an episode centering on the Simpson family. The story was pitched by writer George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
at a story retreat. Story retreats were held twice a year at a hotel room close to the studio lot, where all the writers gathered to pitch their ideas. Seventeen episodes were pitched at this particular story retreat. Out of them all, Weinstein considered this episode to be the best, and he thought the pitch by Meyer was the "best" he had ever heard. Oakley and Weinstein selected former full-time staff writer Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
to write the episode, wanting a "heavy hitter", since it was going to start the seventh production season. Vitti retained in his script most of what Meyer pitched at the retreat.
The episode was directed by Susie Dietter
Susie Dietter
Susan E. Dietter, usually credited as Susie Dietter, is an American director, known primarily for her work on television cartoons. She has directed episodes of the popular series Futurama, Baby Blues, The Simpsons, Recess and The Critic. She also worked as an animator for the modern-day Looney...
. There is a statue portraying The Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
outside the courthouse in the episode. Oakley said that this was a mistake because he and Weinstein thought that Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
was located in Swartzwelder County, incorrectly going off a montage in the season three episode "Dog of Death
Dog of Death
"Dog of Death" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 1992. In the episode, Santa's Little Helper falls ill and the Simpson family must make budget cuts in order to pay for his operation...
". That montage depicts Springfield as being located in Springfield County; while Swartzwelder is the adjoining county. The female Child Protective Services agent, in appearance, is based on a teacher both Oakley and Weinstein had in high school that they "hated". Cast member 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...
's voice
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
for the character Cletus
Cletus Spuckler
Cletus Delroy Spuckler is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Hank Azaria. Cletus is Springfield's resident hillbilly stereotype. He is very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white sleeveless shirt and pair of blue jeans.- Biography :Cletus was...
was off in this episode because, over the summer between seasons, Azaria and the producers had forgotten what Cletus sounds like.
Cultural references
Ned and Maude Flanders sing Maggie to bed with their own version of Sonny & CherSonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher were an American pop music duo, actors, singers and entertainers made up of husband-and-wife team Sonny and Cher Bono in the 1960s and 1970s. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector....
's song "I Got You Babe
I Got You Babe
"I Got You Babe" is a 1965 #1 single by American pop music duo Sonny & Cher.-Background and composition:Sonny Bono, a songwriter and record producer for Phil Spector, wrote the lyrics to and composed the music of the song for himself and his then-wife, Cher, late at night in their basement. Session...
". The Itchy & Scratchy cartoon that Lisa and Bart watch is called "Foster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", a reference to the 1965 film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer, who also wrote the script with Jack Moran. It stars Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams....
. Flanders says that he used to let his sons watch My Three Sons
My Three Sons
My Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, but it got them "all worked up" before bedtime. The headline of a newspaper that Marge gives to Lisa for her history project is "40 Trampled at Poco Concert", a reference to American rock band Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
. While riding in Flanders's car, Maggie spins her head around with a scary smile on her face to look at Bart and Lisa, as in the 1973 film The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
.
Reception
Nielsen 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 9.0. The episode was the fourth 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...
, Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, and Melrose Place.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson enjoyed the episode and said that "its best elements come from the amusing bizarreness of the Flanders home, but Homer and Marge’s classes are also fun. Chalk this one up as season seven's first great episode." Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict considered the best part of the episode to be when Marge tells Bart and Lisa that someday they will have to be adults and take care of themselves, just before Homer comes to Marge about a spider near his car keys. She concluded her review by giving the episode a grade of B+. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "one of the most disturbing episodes, as Bart and Lisa are dragged into the Flanders' sinister lifestyle." They thought the ending, when Ned tries to baptize the children, was "nail-biting stuff", and Maggie's second first-word was "a truly shocking moment". The authors added: "It's astonishing that anything this radical made it on to prime time television. The final moments are perhaps the most moving in the entire series, a wonderful affirmation of everything the series, and the Simpson family, are about."
The Register-Mails Bill Gaither named it the best episode of the show, and added: "I particularly enjoyed this episode because I dated a girl in high school that was a live version female Ned Flanders, just with better looks." Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
, the creator of The Simpsons, thought the episode was "fantastic" and he called it one of his favorites. He particularly liked the ending which he thought was "sweet".
External links
- "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" at The Simpsons.com