The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants
Encyclopedia
"The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" is the seventh episode of the twenty-third season
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
. It first aired on Fox
in the United States on November 27, 2011 and is rated TV-14-DLSV.
host a tastemaker party at their home to promote Absolut Krusty, Krusty the Clown's own brand of liquor. Mr. Burns takes notice of the party's success and decides to promote Homer
to "Account Man" for the Springfield Nuclear Plant. Robert Marlowe, a seasoned account veteran, takes Homer under his wing and shows Homer what the high life is like in the corner office. When Homer's long hours at the office become the norm, a family vacation with Marge and the kids help him realize that family always comes before work. Meanwhile, Lisa
introduces Bart
to a new literary world which sparks his interest in reading classic novels. While struggling with reading Bart said to Lisa "I'll get one of those jobs where you don't need to read like french fry
maker or General." Bart learns to read properly, and the bullies force him to read Little Women
to them.
Meanwhile, both Marge
and Mr Burns want Homer to go on the same rafting trip. Homer starts with Marge but then swims to Mr. Burns. Marge catches him, and both boats float near a waterfall. Homer can only save one, and he saves the one containing his family. As Mr. Burns and the executives are about to go over the waterfall, Marlowe rides up on a motorboat
and carries Mr. Burns to safety, while the executives fall over the edge. Homer goes over the waterfall by himself but is completely unharmed. Later, at their house, Homer tells Marge that he is a safety inspector again. Fireworks go off outside, and it is revealed that they were caused by a fire at the Nuclear Power Plant, presumably because Homer failed at his job.
and directed by Steven Dean Moore
. It featured Kevin Michael Richardson
, John Slattery
, and Matthew Weiner
as guest voices.
The music in the episode was edited by Chris Ledesma. In his own blog, he explains that this episode required very little musical scoring. In some cases, the musical score is used to take away focus from the scenes that did not work as well as planned. If the episode on the other side is well-scripted and features strong performances from the voice cast, then the music becomes a distraction. Ledesma thought that the "episode offers a nice balance of dialogue and music." In total five minutes of music was used for the episode.
in the United States on November 27, 2011. It was watched by approximately 5.61 million people during this broadcast. The show received a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the demographic for adults aged 18–49, which was a 4% drop from the previous episode "The Book Job
", and an six percent audience share. The Simpsons became the highest-rated program in Fox's Animation Domination lineup that night in terms of total viewers, finishing higher than Allan Gregory, Family Guy
, and American Dad!
. Family Guy did however rate higher in the 18–49 demographic. For the week of November 21 – 27, 2011, "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" finished in 21st place in the ratings among all network prime-time broadcasts in the 18–49 demographic.
Since airing, "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" has been received generally favorably by television critics. Jocelyn W of Daemon's TV concluded that although the episode was "not over the top funny, The Simpsons still proved to be pretty entertaining." She found the parody of Mad Men "untimely, albeit funny at times" and noted Maggie's drunk driving bit as the funniest moment of the episode. The A.V. Club
s Hayden Childs gave the episode an overall rating of B- and found that the episode "wasn’t particularly funny but neither was it particularly bad." She praised the episode for "a strong storyline" and "elements that often crop up in the better episodes, like a focus that does not stray too far from the Simpson family and a B-plot that works". Despite this, she felt that the "jokes are so low-key and mild that the episode zooms by without raising a single chuckle or smirk." Similarly, Jason Hughes of AOL TV
commented that "[w]hile it was a charming enough episode, there were no stand-out moments of clever satire or unexpected twists." Ology
s Josh Harrison was slightly more negative and thought the episode was "charming but a bit of a comic flop". He concluded that the episode was "Nothin' [sic] special" and gave the episode a rating of six out of ten.
The Simpsons (season 23)
The Simpsons twenty-third season is the current season of The Simpsons. It premiered on September 25, 2011. It will include the 500th episode which is expected to air February 19, 2012. Due to financial difficulties, the network was unable to produce the show under its current contract and unless...
of the American animated sitcom 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...
. It first aired on 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...
in the United States on November 27, 2011 and is rated TV-14-DLSV.
Plot
The Simpson familySimpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
host a tastemaker party at their home to promote Absolut Krusty, Krusty the Clown's own brand of liquor. Mr. Burns takes notice of the party's success and decides to promote 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...
to "Account Man" for the Springfield Nuclear Plant. Robert Marlowe, a seasoned account veteran, takes Homer under his wing and shows Homer what the high life is like in the corner office. When Homer's long hours at the office become the norm, a family vacation with Marge and the kids help him realize that family always comes before work. Meanwhile, 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...
introduces 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...
to a new literary world which sparks his interest in reading classic novels. While struggling with reading Bart said to Lisa "I'll get one of those jobs where you don't need to read like french fry
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
maker or General." Bart learns to read properly, and the bullies force him to read Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
to them.
Meanwhile, both 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...
and Mr Burns want Homer to go on the same rafting trip. Homer starts with Marge but then swims to Mr. Burns. Marge catches him, and both boats float near a waterfall. Homer can only save one, and he saves the one containing his family. As Mr. Burns and the executives are about to go over the waterfall, Marlowe rides up on a motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
and carries Mr. Burns to safety, while the executives fall over the edge. Homer goes over the waterfall by himself but is completely unharmed. Later, at their house, Homer tells Marge that he is a safety inspector again. Fireworks go off outside, and it is revealed that they were caused by a fire at the Nuclear Power Plant, presumably because Homer failed at his job.
Cultural references
- Krusty the Clown's vodka brand "Absolut Krusty" is an allusion to the popular Swedish brand Absolut VodkaAbsolut VodkaAbsolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Skåne, in southern Sweden. Since July 2008 the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard who bought V&S Group from the Swedish government....
. - During the Simpsons' party, Homer's witty remark is a reference to Oscar Wilde.
- The episode plot is a parody of the TV series, Mad MenMad MenMad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
. The character Robert Marlowe borrows traits from Roger Sterling from Mad Men. Guest star John SlatteryJohn SlatteryJohn M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
plays Sterling in the show. - Bart reads Little WomenLittle WomenLittle Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
to the bullies. - The title is a reference to The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
.
Production
"The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" 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 Steven Dean Moore
Steven Dean Moore
Steven Dean Moore is an animation director who has directed 35 episodes of The Simpsons, in addition to several episodes of the long running Nicktoon programme Rugrats...
. It featured Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
, John Slattery
John Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
, and Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner is an American writer, director and producer of television drama. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer...
as guest voices.
The music in the episode was edited by Chris Ledesma. In his own blog, he explains that this episode required very little musical scoring. In some cases, the musical score is used to take away focus from the scenes that did not work as well as planned. If the episode on the other side is well-scripted and features strong performances from the voice cast, then the music becomes a distraction. Ledesma thought that the "episode offers a nice balance of dialogue and music." In total five minutes of music was used for the episode.
Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox networkFox 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 November 27, 2011. It was watched by approximately 5.61 million people during this broadcast. The show received a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the demographic for adults aged 18–49, which was a 4% drop from the previous episode "The Book Job
The Book Job
"The Book Job" is the sixth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 20, 2011. In the episode, Lisa is shocked to discover that all popular young-adult novels are conceived by book...
", and an six percent audience share. The Simpsons became the highest-rated program in Fox's Animation Domination lineup that night in terms of total viewers, finishing higher than Allan Gregory, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, and American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
. Family Guy did however rate higher in the 18–49 demographic. For the week of November 21 – 27, 2011, "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" finished in 21st place in the ratings among all network prime-time broadcasts in the 18–49 demographic.
Since airing, "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" has been received generally favorably by television critics. Jocelyn W of Daemon's TV concluded that although the episode was "not over the top funny, The Simpsons still proved to be pretty entertaining." She found the parody of Mad Men "untimely, albeit funny at times" and noted Maggie's drunk driving bit as the funniest moment of the episode. 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...
s Hayden Childs gave the episode an overall rating of B- and found that the episode "wasn’t particularly funny but neither was it particularly bad." She praised the episode for "a strong storyline" and "elements that often crop up in the better episodes, like a focus that does not stray too far from the Simpson family and a B-plot that works". Despite this, she felt that the "jokes are so low-key and mild that the episode zooms by without raising a single chuckle or smirk." Similarly, Jason Hughes of AOL TV
AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display , and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV....
commented that "[w]hile it was a charming enough episode, there were no stand-out moments of clever satire or unexpected twists." Ology
Ology
Ology is an entertainment and social media website based in New York City. It is run by Beth Haggerty and Vivian Moran, both of whom founded it. The company focuses on helping users to find and share content about their interests.-History:...
s Josh Harrison was slightly more negative and thought the episode was "charming but a bit of a comic flop". He concluded that the episode was "Nothin' [sic] special" and gave the episode a rating of six out of ten.