Natural Born Kissers
Encyclopedia
"Natural Born Kissers" is the season finale of The Simpsons
' ninth season
which originally aired on the Fox
network on May 17, 1998. Homer
and Marge
discover that the fear of getting caught while making love is a turn on and start making love in public places. It was the first episode written by Matt Selman
and was the only episode to be directed by Klay Hall. Some networks list the episode by the title: "Margie, May I Sleep With Danger?"
and Marge
's eleventh wedding anniversary
and Grampa
does not arrive at the Simpsons house to babysit the children (having mistakenly gone to Ned Flanders
' house). As a result, they decide take Bart
, Lisa
and Maggie
to a fancy restaurant with them. However, Bart objects and takes them to a family restaurant shaped like an airplane, which spoils Homer and Marge's evening together. Later that evening, Homer and Marge attempt to have sex
, but lack enthusiasm. The following day, it is discovered Homer left the freezer door open (he had found a piece of cake from their wedding that had been there for years), causing the refrigerator motor to burn out. Homer and Marge make their way to a hardware store to buy another motor, but the car gets stuck in the muddy driveway in the middle of farm country. Homer and Marge rush into the nearest barn to avoid a sudden storm. A farmer discovers the barn door is open and suspects trespassers. He enters the barn, nearly catching Homer and Marge, who are hiding in the hay loft, but leaves after failing to locate them. When the coast is clear, Homer and Marge have inspired sexual intercourse
in the hay loft.
Homer and Marge think their marriage has been recharged and go for a romantic weekend at a Bed and Breakfast
, but soon fall into their old patterns. However, a maid walks in on them and they conclude they are both aroused
when they risk being caught during intimate moments, so they have sex behind window curtains in a room full of people. Their love life is recharged and one day they begin to have sex on the same miniature golf course windmill where Bart was conceived. This time they come too close to being caught having public sex
, and while they manage to escape, they have to flee through Springfield
in the nude
. At one point, only lawn objects cover their genitals (Homer is turned on by the dangerous situation). They even use a promotional hot air balloon which Gil Gunderson has been living in, with Homer's buttocks
being dragged across a Crystal Cathedral
. In the end, the two are seen in a football
stadium, and a naked photograph of Homer and Marge appears in the local newspaper (with censor strips covering them) and are embarrassed by their indecent exposure
. The next day, Bart and Lisa see the picture and their parents begin to explain sex
to them. Before they go into detail, however, they decide to go back to the miniature golf.
In a subplot, Bart and Lisa stay at the Springfield Retirement Castle with Grampa, and they discover a metal detector
in his closet. While Bart uses it to look for a pirate treasure, they uncover a suppressed, happy ending
to Casablanca
. The Old Jewish Man reveals that he was once a studio executive who tried to add the happy ending to the film. He pays Bart and Lisa to re-bury it, along with a "killing spree ending" for It's a Wonderful Life
.
"Natural Born Kissers" was the first episode written by Matt Selman
, who partly based it on his parents' marriage. The episode was the only time that Mike Scully ever got a call from Fox where they suggested not doing the episode. They were worried about the sexual content, the nudity and how it was going to be handled. They disliked several of the phrases used in the episode, such as the term "ass forkin'". In an interview, Matt Groening
said "The network censors couldn't believe it, and neither could I: the cow at the peephole while Homer and Marge make love in a hayloft; neighbors groping Homer when he and Marge are caught nude inside the windmill at the Sir Putts-A-Lot mini golf course; Homer dangling naked from a hot-air balloon, his ass dragging against the glass of a Crystal Cathedral-like church." The producers fought the censor
s and in the end, very little of the script was changed. Marge's butt is also shown on television for the first time. Marge and Homer in the golf course is a reference to the season 3 episode "I Married Marge
", although in that episode they are in a castle, rather than a windmill.
, directed by Oliver Stone
. The alternate title is a reference to the film Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?
The airplane restaurant "Up, Up and Buffet!" is based on a submarine shaped restaurant that was near the Fox studio named "Dive". A supposed alternate ending to the 1942 film Casablanca
is shown in the episode, and the Old Jewish Man gives Bart and Lisa a copy of It's A Wonderful Life
with a "killing-spree ending". The song "Spanish Flea
" plays during the radio commercial for Divorce Specialists. The song "Rock the Casbah
" by The Clash
plays over the end credits.
of 8.8, equivalent to approximately 8.6 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
, King of the Hill
, and Ally McBeal
.
Matt Groening listed the episode as being his eighth favorite episode, and the aroused cow is one of his all-time favorite act break jokes. 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 "a superb episode which actually makes Marge and Homer's love life seem very real; everyone needs a bit of spice now and again, and they find theirs. The balloon trip is hysterical, and the attempts to explain their behaviour to a very worldly-wise Bart and Lisa are magnificent." The episode was part of a DVD boxed set release called: The Simpsons Kiss and Tell: The Story of Their Love, and in his review of the release Andy Dougan of the Evening Times
characterized the episode along with "Large Marge
", "Three Gays of the Condo
", and "The Way We Weren't
" as "four of the funniest episodes of recent series." The DVD release was also reviewed favorably by Louis R. Carlozo in the Chicago Tribune
, where the episode was seen as "more ridiculous" than "Large Marge
".
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 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...
which originally aired on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on May 17, 1998. 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...
discover that the fear of getting caught while making love is a turn on and start making love in public places. It was the first episode written by Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
and was the only episode to be directed by Klay Hall. Some networks list the episode by the title: "Margie, May I Sleep With Danger?"
Plot
It is 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...
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...
's eleventh wedding anniversary
Wedding anniversary
-Official recognition:In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that...
and Grampa
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
does not arrive at the Simpsons house to babysit the children (having mistakenly gone to 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...
' house). As a result, they decide take Bart
Bart 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...
, 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...
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 fancy restaurant with them. However, Bart objects and takes them to a family restaurant shaped like an airplane, which spoils Homer and Marge's evening together. Later that evening, Homer and Marge attempt to have sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, but lack enthusiasm. The following day, it is discovered Homer left the freezer door open (he had found a piece of cake from their wedding that had been there for years), causing the refrigerator motor to burn out. Homer and Marge make their way to a hardware store to buy another motor, but the car gets stuck in the muddy driveway in the middle of farm country. Homer and Marge rush into the nearest barn to avoid a sudden storm. A farmer discovers the barn door is open and suspects trespassers. He enters the barn, nearly catching Homer and Marge, who are hiding in the hay loft, but leaves after failing to locate them. When the coast is clear, Homer and Marge have inspired sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
in the hay loft.
Homer and Marge think their marriage has been recharged and go for a romantic weekend at a Bed and Breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
, but soon fall into their old patterns. However, a maid walks in on them and they conclude they are both aroused
Sexual arousal
Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
when they risk being caught during intimate moments, so they have sex behind window curtains in a room full of people. Their love life is recharged and one day they begin to have sex on the same miniature golf course windmill where Bart was conceived. This time they come too close to being caught having public sex
Public sex
Public sex refers to sexual acts that take place in public or semi-public places, and does not necessarily imply that the sexual activity takes place outdoors. Public places where sex acts can be performed include a car , on a beach, in the woods, as well as in a theatre, bus, street, besides...
, and while they manage to escape, they have to flee through 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...
in the nude
Public nudity
Public nudity or nude in public refers to nudity not in an entirely private context. It refers to a person appearing nude in a public place or to be seen from a public place. It also includes nudity in a semi-public place, where the general public is free to enter, such as a shopping mall...
. At one point, only lawn objects cover their genitals (Homer is turned on by the dangerous situation). They even use a promotional hot air balloon which Gil Gunderson has been living in, with Homer's buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
being dragged across a Crystal Cathedral
Crystal Cathedral
The Crystal Cathedral is a Protestant Christian church building in the city of Garden Grove, in Orange County, California, United States. It is the headquarters and principal place of worship for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a church founded in 1955 by Robert H. Schuller and affiliated with the...
. In the end, the two are seen in a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium, and a naked photograph of Homer and Marge appears in the local newspaper (with censor strips covering them) and are embarrassed by their indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
. The next day, Bart and Lisa see the picture and their parents begin to explain sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
to them. Before they go into detail, however, they decide to go back to the miniature golf.
In a subplot, Bart and Lisa stay at the Springfield Retirement Castle with Grampa, and they discover a metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
in his closet. While Bart uses it to look for a pirate treasure, they uncover a suppressed, happy ending
Alternate ending
Alternate ending is a term used to describe the ending of a story that was planned or debated but ultimately unused in favor of the actual ending. Generally, alternate endings are considered to have no bearing on the canonical narrative...
to Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
. The Old Jewish Man reveals that he was once a studio executive who tried to add the happy ending to the film. He pays Bart and Lisa to re-bury it, along with a "killing spree ending" for It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
.
Production
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, who partly based it on his parents' marriage. The episode was the only time that Mike Scully ever got a call from Fox where they suggested not doing the episode. They were worried about the sexual content, the nudity and how it was going to be handled. They disliked several of the phrases used in the episode, such as the term "ass forkin'". In an interview, 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....
said "The network censors couldn't believe it, and neither could I: the cow at the peephole while Homer and Marge make love in a hayloft; neighbors groping Homer when he and Marge are caught nude inside the windmill at the Sir Putts-A-Lot mini golf course; Homer dangling naked from a hot-air balloon, his ass dragging against the glass of a Crystal Cathedral-like church." The producers fought the censor
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
s and in the end, very little of the script was changed. Marge's butt is also shown on television for the first time. Marge and Homer in the golf course is a reference to the season 3 episode "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
", although in that episode they are in a castle, rather than a windmill.
Cultural references
The episode's title is a reference to the film Natural Born KillersNatural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
, directed by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
. The alternate title is a reference to the film Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?
Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?
Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? is a 1996 television movie starring Tori Spelling and Ivan Sergei.-Plot:Laurel discovers that her new boyfriend Kevin is a serial killer, and must escape the mountain cabin in which he is holding her captive by paddling down a river in a canoe at dusk.-Cast:*Tori...
The airplane restaurant "Up, Up and Buffet!" is based on a submarine shaped restaurant that was near the Fox studio named "Dive". A supposed alternate ending to the 1942 film Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
is shown in the episode, and the Old Jewish Man gives Bart and Lisa a copy of It's A Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
with a "killing-spree ending". The song "Spanish Flea
Spanish Flea
"Spanish Flea" is a popular song written by Julius Wechter in the 1960s with lyrics by Cissy Wechter.The song is best known from an instrumental version by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, released as a single and on their 1965 album Going Places, both of which were No.1 hits in America...
" plays during the radio commercial for Divorce Specialists. The song "Rock the Casbah
Rock the Casbah
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash in 1982. It was released as the third single from their fifth album, Combat Rock. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and, along with the track "Mustapha Dance," it also reached number eight on...
" by The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
plays over the end credits.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Natural Born Kissers" finished 29th in ratings for the week of May 11-18, 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 8.8, equivalent to approximately 8.6 million viewing households. It 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...
, 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...
, and Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
.
Matt Groening listed the episode as being his eighth favorite episode, and the aroused cow is one of his all-time favorite act break jokes. 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 "a superb episode which actually makes Marge and Homer's love life seem very real; everyone needs a bit of spice now and again, and they find theirs. The balloon trip is hysterical, and the attempts to explain their behaviour to a very worldly-wise Bart and Lisa are magnificent." The episode was part of a DVD boxed set release called: The Simpsons Kiss and Tell: The Story of Their Love, and in his review of the release Andy Dougan of the Evening Times
Evening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
characterized the episode along with "Large Marge
Large Marge
"Large Marge" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on November 24, 2002.-Plot:Lisa and Homer make a bet on who won the 1948 presidential election. Lisa wins and she gets to choose the activity for Daddy-Daughter Day. Her activity is taking part in building...
", "Three Gays of the Condo
Three Gays of the Condo
"Three Gays of the Condo" is the seventeenth episode in the fourteenth season of The Simpsons and aired April 13, 2003.-Plot:Marge brings an "Oprah's Puzzle Club" jigsaw puzzle to the Simpson Family Wednesdays, for everyone to work on except for Grampa and Maggie, as the box clearly reads for ages...
", and "The Way We Weren't
The Way We Weren't
"The Way We Weren't" is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season. The episode aired on May 9, 2004.-Plot:When Homer and Bart fight over the use of a beer bottle Milhouse wants to use, it lands them in the Simpson family court, which is held in the living room with Lisa presiding as...
" as "four of the funniest episodes of recent series." The DVD release was also reviewed favorably by Louis R. Carlozo in the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, where the episode was seen as "more ridiculous" than "Large Marge
Large Marge
"Large Marge" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode aired on November 24, 2002.-Plot:Lisa and Homer make a bet on who won the 1948 presidential election. Lisa wins and she gets to choose the activity for Daddy-Daughter Day. Her activity is taking part in building...
".
External links
- "Natural Born Kissers" at The Simpsons.com