Sweets and Sour Marge

"Sweets and Sour Marge"
The Simpsons episode
File:Sweets and Sour Marge.jpg
Episode no.	Season 13
Directed by	Mark Kirkland
Written by	Carolyn Omine
Original air date	January 20, 2002
Episode features
Couch gag	The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. A crane game clamp comes down and picks up Homer. Homer screams, “Ow! My brain!” as he's being lifted.
Commentary	Al Jean Carolyn Omine Matt Selman Tom Gammill & Max Pross Mark Kirkland Matt Warburton

"Sweets and Sour Marge" is the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons.

Plot

Homer buys a book on world records published by Duff at a library sale. After boring everyone with world record trivia, Homer decides to break a record himself. He gathers the whole town to build the world's tallest human pyramid. After Jimbo and Kearney move their hands just before the record is claimed, the pyramid collapses into a giant sphere that rolls through town, taking in Agnes Skinner, Hans Moleman, and a suicidal man about to jump from a ledge onto the street. The entire town rolls to a truck weighing station and the Duff record book officials say that Springfield is the world's fattest town, ahead of Milwaukee (though it should be of note that, at the time of the original airing, the fattest city in America was Chicago, Illinois ).

The townsfolk are happy to have made it in the record book. Marge is worried that the whole town is overweight. She discovers that there is sugar in nearly everything Springfielders eat. After complaining to Garth Motherloving, head of the Motherloving Sweets and Sugar Company (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marge decides to sue the sugar industry with the help of Gil and Professor Frink. Judge Snyder sides with her and bans all sugar products in Springfield (angering Homer and most of the town).

The whole town goes cold turkey and begins to suffer from intense sugar withdrawal. Homer joins a secret group led by Garth Motherloving to smuggle sugar from the island of San Glucos. After arriving back in Springfield, and evading a police boat, Homer brings the sugar to the docks. Marge pleads Homer to dump the cargo. There Homer is presented with two choices to obey Marge and press the button Drop Cargo or bring the sugar to Garth Motherloving by pressing the button Obey Bad Guy. After contemplating, Homer drops the cargo and all the sugar falls to the Springfield docks' water. All Springfielders, even those who seemed happier and healthier without sugar, jump into the harbor and drink the sugar water. Judge Snyder then declares the ban over and dives in with everyone else.

Cultural references

• When the police must burn all of Springfield's candy and other assorted sugar products, a stack of Butterfingers are thrown and is even referred to by name. The fire is unable to burn the candy bars and they bounce right back, with Chief Wiggum stating, "Even the fire doesn't want them". The Simpsons had appeared in Butterfinger commercials and print ads for more than a decade. Shortly after the episode, Butterfinger dropped The Simpsons as spokespersons, ending a partnership lasting 12 years. The segment was even dropped from syndicated airings. Two episodes later, Bart's chalkboard punishment was "I will not bite the hand that feeds me Butterfingers."
• Reference is made to the film Chocolat. Lou asks the chief if he should burn the promotional Johnny Depp chocolate figurine from the film, to which the chief says yes.
• The Duff Book of Records parodies the Guinness Book of Records, also named after a beer company. Lisa also mentions that the Duff Book of Records was originally created to settle disputes in taverns, which is true of its Guinness counterpart.
• Kevin Thackwell, who holds the real record for most clothespins to the face, is seen in the Duff book.
• Homer tells Moe; “No, the best book YOU’VE ever seen is Tom Clancy’s OP-Center” which is a reference to the Tom Clancy's Op-Center novel series, created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik.
• Cletus complains that feeding the pigs Helen Fielding's books will cause "Bridget Jones's diarrhea" which is a reference to Bridget Jones's Diary.
• The spokesvampire, "Count Fudgula," is a pastiche of Count Chocula.
• The movie Erin Brockovich is mentioned several times with Homer using variations of Brockovich's name to describe Marge.
• When the Duff executive mentions the town that made the world's largest omelette, Homer says "Denver?", to which the executive responds, "No, Spanish". Homer's banjo playing after the double entendre is a parody of the typical response on Hee Haw after a joke is made.
• In the waiting room of the "Duff Book of Records" offices, Homer tells Marlon Brando he is a shoo-in for world's fattest man before Brando replies that he is up for world's greatest living actor.
• During the end credits, the song "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies plays.
• Springfield claims to be the birthplace of The Beatles where it was actually Liverpool.
• The Beverly Hills Cop theme is played when Apu and Homer go to meet the others.

Channel 4 censorship

The Channel 4 airing of this episode in Britain cuts out two parts:

• Bart referring to Erin Brockovich as "the prostitute, with a heart of gold".
• The scene where Disco Stu slurps lines of sugar through a rolled up dollar bill (à la snorting cocaine) just before playing Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More". The edited version jumps from Disco Stu agreeing to sign Marge's petition to Disco Stu dancing to "More, More, More" as Marge dances her way out.

Dedication

This episode is dedicated to the late Ron Taylor who voiced Bleeding Gums Murphy (while it was confirmed that Ron Taylor died of a heart attack, the death of Taylor's character on The Simpsons was never explained in 'Round Springfield and Murphy was merely said to have "died" following Lisa's band performance at school).

External links

• "Sweets and Sour Marge episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.