No Loan Again, Naturally
Encyclopedia
"No Loan Again, Naturally" is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons
. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company
in the United States on March 8, 2009.
In the episode, the Simpsons lose their house, but Ned Flanders
buys it and offers to rent it back to them. However, when they turn out to be less-than-reliable renters, Flanders kicks them out. "No Loan Again, Naturally" was written by Jeff Westbrook
and directed by Mark Kirkland
.
Maurice LaMarche
guest starred in the episode. It was seen by 5.99 million viewers. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from television critics. The name of the episode probably references a 70s song Alone Again (Naturally)
as well as the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' eleventh season, Alone Again, Natura-Diddily
, which interestingly also centered largely around interactions between Homer and Ned.
party, having invited most of the town. Marge asks Homer
to invite Ned Flanders
, which he reluctantly does. As they clean up the party the following morning, Lenny asks how they pay for the huge yearly party. Homer gleefully confesses that he borrows from a home equity line to do so, calling his home a "sucker" for getting stuck with the bill. Marge and Homer visit their mortgage broker, Gil Gunderson, after receiving a letter and find out that their adjustable rate mortgage payment has increased drastically because of Homer's ineptitude. The Simpson home goes up for auction and after seeing the Simpsons' sorrow, Ned Flanders outbids Mr. Burns, purchasing the home for $101,000 and then offers to let the Simpsons move back in and rent the property from him. The Simpsons thank Ned with a song and a small celebration, when Marge notices the sink faucet dripping. Ned offers to fix it, as he is now their landlord and the repairs are his responsibility, along with some other items that he is obligated to correct. However, Flanders quickly tires of their constant requests for repairs.
Despite having already make his best, Homer gets mad at Ned and decides to go to the media and complain about their (the simpsons) new landlord, defaming him. When Homer refuses to apologise for his ingratitude, Ned tells them they must leave at the end of the month. The Simpsons bring Grampa home since if someone older then 65 lives with them, they will not be evicted, but are unsuccessful as Flanders offers to feed him 'people food'. As Homer cannot compete with that, Grampa decides to live with Flanders. Simpsons return home from a walk to find their items on the lawn. The family spends a night at the town's homeless shelter wondering how they will ever rebound. Flanders interviews a couple of potential tenants when he sees a picture from the move-in celebration and is reminded of the happiness and admiration of the Simpsons. Realizing that he should allow them to move back in, he sends the potential tenants away and the Simpsons return to their home, causing their other neighbours, who utterly despise them, to move out. Homer responds "I hate this neighborhood".
and directed by Mark Kirkland
. Maurice LaMarche
also guest starred in the episode as various characters.
The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. Robert Canning of IGN
said it can sometimes be difficult for an animated television show to "stay current, what with their lengthy production schedules that start months before the episode actually airs", but with "No Loan Again, Naturally" he felt like "if they wrote and animated everything just a few weeks ago. Well, the initial concept, anyway. With the Simpson family losing their house, it was up to Ned to come in and save the day. But what he couldn't do was keep this episode from feeling very middle-of-the-road." Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict thought the previous episode was disappointing because it "failed to deliver on a solid premise". "No Loan Again, Naturally", however, Asperschlager thought delivered on "its deceptively simple premise in spades. Any time you get this much Ned Flanders, good things are bound to happen. Mix in a good deed well-punished and you’ve got a real winner."
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
wrote: "This episode's story was actually fairly original, which surprisingly doesn't happen all that often. Yeah, the story was mighty predictable, but what I liked about tonight's Simpsons was that it ventured into character-based territory, rather than an oddball, plot-driven direction."
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...
. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company
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...
in the United States on March 8, 2009.
In the episode, the Simpsons lose their house, but 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...
buys it and offers to rent it back to them. However, when they turn out to be less-than-reliable renters, Flanders kicks them out. "No Loan Again, Naturally" was written by Jeff Westbrook
Jeff Westbrook
Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer best known for his work on The Simpsons and Futurama, for which he is a two-time winner of the WGA Award....
and directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
.
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
guest starred in the episode. It was seen by 5.99 million viewers. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from television critics. The name of the episode probably references a 70s song Alone Again (Naturally)
Alone Again (Naturally)
"Alone Again " is a song by Irish singer–songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was released in 1972, and in total spent six weeks, non-consecutively, at #1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In Casey Kasem's American 'Top 40 of the 1970s', "Alone Again " ranked as the fifth...
as well as the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' eleventh season, Alone Again, Natura-Diddily
Alone Again, Natura-Diddily
"Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" is the fourteenth episode of the eleventh season of The Simpsons, and marks the final regular appearance of the character Maude Flanders. In the episode, she is killed in an accident while watching a speedway race, devastating Ned Flanders and prompting Homer to find a...
, which interestingly also centered largely around interactions between Homer and Ned.
Plot
The Simpsons throw a Mardi GrasMardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
party, having invited most of the town. Marge asks Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
to invite 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...
, which he reluctantly does. As they clean up the party the following morning, Lenny asks how they pay for the huge yearly party. Homer gleefully confesses that he borrows from a home equity line to do so, calling his home a "sucker" for getting stuck with the bill. Marge and Homer visit their mortgage broker, Gil Gunderson, after receiving a letter and find out that their adjustable rate mortgage payment has increased drastically because of Homer's ineptitude. The Simpson home goes up for auction and after seeing the Simpsons' sorrow, Ned Flanders outbids Mr. Burns, purchasing the home for $101,000 and then offers to let the Simpsons move back in and rent the property from him. The Simpsons thank Ned with a song and a small celebration, when Marge notices the sink faucet dripping. Ned offers to fix it, as he is now their landlord and the repairs are his responsibility, along with some other items that he is obligated to correct. However, Flanders quickly tires of their constant requests for repairs.
Despite having already make his best, Homer gets mad at Ned and decides to go to the media and complain about their (the simpsons) new landlord, defaming him. When Homer refuses to apologise for his ingratitude, Ned tells them they must leave at the end of the month. The Simpsons bring Grampa home since if someone older then 65 lives with them, they will not be evicted, but are unsuccessful as Flanders offers to feed him 'people food'. As Homer cannot compete with that, Grampa decides to live with Flanders. Simpsons return home from a walk to find their items on the lawn. The family spends a night at the town's homeless shelter wondering how they will ever rebound. Flanders interviews a couple of potential tenants when he sees a picture from the move-in celebration and is reminded of the happiness and admiration of the Simpsons. Realizing that he should allow them to move back in, he sends the potential tenants away and the Simpsons return to their home, causing their other neighbours, who utterly despise them, to move out. Homer responds "I hate this neighborhood".
Production
The episode was written by Jeff WestbrookJeff Westbrook
Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer best known for his work on The Simpsons and Futurama, for which he is a two-time winner of the WGA Award....
and directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
. Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
also guest starred in the episode as various characters.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "No Lone Again, Naturally" was viewed by an estimated 5.99 million households. The episode also received 3.4 rating/6% share in the 18-49 demographic.The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. Robert Canning of 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...
said it can sometimes be difficult for an animated television show to "stay current, what with their lengthy production schedules that start months before the episode actually airs", but with "No Loan Again, Naturally" he felt like "if they wrote and animated everything just a few weeks ago. Well, the initial concept, anyway. With the Simpson family losing their house, it was up to Ned to come in and save the day. But what he couldn't do was keep this episode from feeling very middle-of-the-road." Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict thought the previous episode was disappointing because it "failed to deliver on a solid premise". "No Loan Again, Naturally", however, Asperschlager thought delivered on "its deceptively simple premise in spades. Any time you get this much Ned Flanders, good things are bound to happen. Mix in a good deed well-punished and you’ve got a real winner."
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
wrote: "This episode's story was actually fairly original, which surprisingly doesn't happen all that often. Yeah, the story was mighty predictable, but what I liked about tonight's Simpsons was that it ventured into character-based territory, rather than an oddball, plot-driven direction."