Difference between revisions of "The Bonfire of the Manatees"

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{Template:Unreferenced Template:Infobox Simpsons episode

"Bonfire of the Manatees" is the first episode of The Simpsons' seventeenth season. It originally aired September 11,2005. It was the first episode to air in September and first non-Halloween episode to start out the season since season 11's "Beyond Blunderdome". This was the second time this name for the episode was seen in Simpsons media. A mission in The Simpsons: Hit & Run, which predated this episode, was also titled "Bonfire of the Manatees". 11.1 million viewers tuned into this episode.

Plot

Marge and the kids return home to find the production is still underway. Marge, outraged by Homer's latest bit of idiocy, leaves. Homer, home alone with the kids tries to figure out what to do next. Just when Marge is about ready to give in and reconcile with Homer, she encounters Dr. Caleb Thorn, a good-looking scientist with a passion for saving the endangered manatee. Homer and the kids go on a quest to find Marge and they stop and stay with their "country cousins" (their dog is Santa's Little Helper's brother) who turn out to be much more modern and sophisticated than Homer believes they are. Meanwhile, Caleb helps Marge realise that Homer is the same man she fell in love with, the only problem is that she still expects him to change. She finds herself while helping to save manatees. Homer tries to win Marge back by saving a herd of manatees from a gang of jet skiers. He attempts to organize the manatees to battle the gang, but they all flee. However, the gang is dispersed when Homer's country cousin shows up with a notarized court order. Despite his failure, Marge declares she is taking home "the real endangered species": "the devoted husband". The family decides to take a mini-vacation and Homer gets a manatee sent to the power plant to fill in for his job for the next few days. When the manatee is about to die of dehydration, Mr. Burns and Smithers help him by washing him like a car.

Production

The idea for the episode was pitched in 2003 during the writers' idea sessions for The Simpsons Movie. Al Jean suggested the idea of the family rescuing Manatees, and while it was rejected for the film, it was adapted into the script for the episode.^[1]

Cultural references

• The title is a take-off on the novel The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe.
• The title of the "snuggle film" Fat Tony wants to shoot ("Lemony Lick-It's A Series of Horny Events") is a spoof of the popular children's book series and movie Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
• During the "snuggle film" shooting, Carl tells the director that he has a Foghorn Leghorn tattoo and showing it might lead to possible copyright infringement.
• The New Jersey band Folly released a song called 'Bonfire of the Manatees'.
• The song playing at the end, while Mr. Burns and Smithers wash the manatee dressed like Homer, is "Car Wash"

Reception

On May 11, 2008, Entertainment Weekly named Alec Baldwin's role as Caleb Thorn as the first of 16 great guest stars on The Simpsons.^[2]

References

es:Bonfire of the Manatees fr:Ma femme s'appelle reviens (Les Simpson) pl:Na ratunek manatom fi:Pelastakaa manaatit