Moe Baby Blues

"Moe Baby Blues"
The Simpsons episode
File:EABF17.jpg
Episode no.	Season 14
Directed by	Lauren MacMullan
Written by	J. Stewart Burns
Original air dates	May 18, 2003
Episode features
Couch gag	The family and living room are made of gingerbread, and Homer takes a bite out of Bart's head.

"Moe Baby Blues" is the finale of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons. It aired on May 18, 2003. The title is a play on the Spike Lee film, Mo' Better Blues.

Synopsis

The Simpsons go to the Springfield Botanical Gardens to see a rare flower show. Lisa is especially tickled about the slogan "Our Stamens are a Pistil", though the rest of the family is less amused (they don't get it and don't want to either). She is excited to see the blooming of the Sumatran Century Flower, a flower that blooms once every 100 years. They first see the Venus Flytraps and Homer mocks their prey, only to become one after a Flytrap baits him with a hotdog, but he gets out of it by eating the hapless flower ("Flower Power my ass" he quips).

Meanwhile, at Moe's Tavern, Moe wonders where all his regular patrons are, considering it is 11:15 in the morning. He then sees them on TV, at the flower exhibit, drinking beer from a cooler. Morosely, he decides to join them, so he sets up the "alarm" (which is a shotgun rigged to blast anyone who opens the door) and leaves the bar. When he reaches the enclosure at the Botanical Garden where the flower is on display, the place is already at maximum occupancy. Chief Wiggum announces that there are too many people in the crowd and someone has to go, "someone alone, bitter and whose feelings have been trampled on many times": Moe. Wiggum gives him two choices, leave with dignity or be pushed down a nearby muddy hill. Moe chooses to be pushed as he is desperate for human contact. Wiggum obliges (with his nightstick, though) and Moe goes down the hill, getting dirty in the process.

Suddenly, the flower starts to open. Everyone looks on in awe. But the "oohs" and "aahs" turn into "phoo-eys" and "gahs" as the flower emits an odoriferous smell, sickening everyone and killing all nearby plants. Krusty opts to jump in manure to escape the noxious odour. People run all about trying to get away from the smell. Finally, the Simpsons manage to get into their car and peel out of the parking lot. But Homer just has to stick his head out of the sun roof and shout "So long, suckers!" to the other cars. However, the other cars all pull out at that time, trapping Homer in a traffic jam. Some people kill time, standing outside Dr. Hibbert's car, watching The Beverly Hillbillies Down Under in his car TV. Lisa informs Homer that the traffic is moving, so he rapidly accelerates only to realize that traffic is still jammed over the slope on the bridge. He brakes hard and hits the car in front. The impact makes Maggie's baby seat belt ("Krap-E-Latch") break, and she is ejected out the sunroof. Homer runs after her and reaches the side of the bridge, but cannot catch her in time and she goes over. At that time, Moe is standing on a ledge a little under the bridge, at the height of his depression, about to jump. All of a sudden, Maggie falls right into his outstretched arms, much to his surprise. When the people of Springfield see that Moe has "saved" Maggie, they declare him a hero. Maggie kisses him and after a long time, life doesn't seem too hard for Moe.

The next day, Moe visits the Simpsons' house to see Maggie. Grateful to Moe for saving Maggie, Marge invites him in and presents him with a sweater that she knitted for him. Maggie shows up and runs over to Moe, who picks her up affectionately. Homer runs off, ignoring them, to get to the car pool which he shares with Mr. Burns. Then, Grampa Simpson shows up, acting strangely. Marge, knowing that he has not had his medication, asks Moe to keep an eye on Maggie and runs after Grampa. Although he has no prior experience in baby-sitting, Moe entertains Maggie, dislocating his arm. When Marge returns, Moe decides to leave, but Maggie is unhappy to see Moe going. So Marge asks him if he can babysit Maggie, when he has free time (which he often does).

Later, at the Krusty Burger, a pretty girl sees Moe watching Maggie and tries to pick him up, but he screws it up and she leaves. Later, he takes her in a bumper car. When Nelson's car bumps into their, Moe destroys Nelson's car with a crowbar in retaliation. That night at dinner, Marge comments on the amount of free time she has, now that they have Moe as their babysitter. However, Homer begins to feel that Maggie is beginning to see Moe as her father figure, instead of him.

Later, Moe tells her the story of The Godfather. When Moe reaches the part where Don Corleone plays with his grandson (a few minutes before he dies), Moe demonstrates how the Don scares his grandson by sticking a cut-up orange in his mouth, much to Maggie's enjoyment. He also tells her the end, making her cry, but goes on to describe the sequel.

During Maggie's birthday, Moe shows up and annoys Marge by redoing Maggie's hair bow, although Maggie likes it. Homer tries to take Maggie away from Moe, but she wiggles herself free from Homer and jumps into Moe's arms. Moe's present to Maggie is Uncle Moe's Play Tavern, a scale model of his tavern with tiny replicas of Homer and other barflies, but this is unsettling for Homer and Marge. That night, Moe sneaks inside their home and tends to Maggie. He even has his own baby monitor and a video camera in Maggie's room. Homer and Marge have had enough and throw him out.

Moe starts feeling depressed again, though he starts picturing his patrons as Maggie. That night, after Marge tucks Maggie in bed, Maggie overhears mobsters (led by Fat Tony), outside their home, plotting to kill "the Castallaneta Family" (an in-joke to Dan Castallaneta, the voice actor for Homer Simpson). When one of Fat Tony's hoods seems hesitant, he does the Godfather-orange routine, which Maggie identifies. She gets out of bed and follows the mobsters. When she is discovered missing, Homer and Marge believe that Moe has taken her. They go to Moe's place with the cops and see him put something into the oven. It turns out to be a ham and Moe is no longer suspected. When he is told that Maggie is missing, he wants to help. They search around their yard and find the cut-up orange that Fat Tony used to encourage his mobsters. Moe realizes that Maggie must have followed the mobsters to Springfield's Little Italy.

At Little Italy, Maggie heads towards Luigi's restaurant where the Castallanetas and Fat Tony's gang are having a meeting. Fat Tony and his hoods "accidentally" spill wine on themselves and ask to be excused. Maggie enters the restaurant just as Fat Tony's gang comes out, brandishing guns. Soon the situation deteriorates and the gangsters (and the president of the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League, who is upset by the situation) all point guns at each other, with Maggie right in the middle of an "Italian-American Mexican standoff". Homer, Marge, and Moe are outside, and Moe decides to go inside and save Maggie. When he enters, he shows the gangsters Maggie's innocence, making them cry. Then he exits and hands Maggie to Marge. As he is about to leave, Maggie grabs his sleeve. So Homer suggests that he and Maggie can have a playdate with Moe... and his ham. Moe agrees on behalf of himself (and his ham).

A set of pictures of the playdate are shown: one has Moe carrying Maggie on his back, while Homer and the ham watch. Others are of Homer and the ham cycling, riding a roller coaster, eating cotton candy, posing for pictures, playing checkers, getting tattoos while drunk, and watching the sunset.

Trivia

• The "Sumatran Century Flower" is based on the Titan arum, sometimes called the "corpse plant" because the odor it produces is similar to rotting meat.
• When Chief Wiggum looks for somebody to toss out of the Botanical Gardens, we see many characters who have not made an appearance in a long time, including retired characters Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure.
• Fat Tony complains about paying to see The Godfather III. The actor who voices Fat Tony, Joe Mantegna, was in this final film. Also in the episode, Moe mentions Bridget Fonda, who was in the film as well.
• Bongo Comics published a mini-series based on the Maggie and Moe relationship that bloomed in this episode. The comics are called Maggie & Moe Mysteries, appearing in both The Simpsons and Bart Simpson comic books.
• Moe and Maggie's theme song is "You're My Best Friend" performed by Queen.
• The picture of Moe on his 'Moebile' was the one that was taken of him in "Pygmoelian"

Cultural references

• This episode's plot seems to be inspired by the novel Baby's Day Out, right down to the lost baby retracing the steps of her/his favorite bedtime story and the babysitter finding her/him by realizing where the baby is going. Joe Mantegna was also in this film. There are also shades of Silas Marner, in that a miserly man is redeemed by a small lost child's love. Steve Martin, who appeared in "Trash of the Titans", starred in a feature film adaptation called A Simple Twist of Fate.
• The "cut-up orange" gag used by Moe and Fat Tony references how Don Corleone scares his grandson, while working in the garden, just minutes before he suffers a fatal heart attack.

Quotes

• Moe: (to Maggie) So what do you wanna do? We can't tickle Elmo no more. (tickles Tickle Me Elmo)
  Elmo: No means no for Elmo! (slaps Moe)
• Fat Tony: I haven't cried like this since I paid to see Godfather III.
• Sideshow Mel: That hideous man is a hero!
• Legs: (laughing) I could whack my own mother now!
  Fat Tony: I'm glad you brought that up.
  Legs: Kill my mother? She makes such good pasta sauce.
  Johnny Tightlips: It comes from a can.
  Legs: That bitch is dead. (This line was edited for syndication as "She's a corpse.")
• Moe: Marge, do mobsters ever congregate outside your house?
  Marge: All the time. Sometimes I bring them lemonade.
  Moe: Listen. I think we're gonna have to make a trip to Little Italy.
  Homer: I'll get our "little passports".
• Don Castalleneta: So you see? You have no choice but to sell out to me.
  Fat Tony: (deliberately spilling wine on himself) Oops. Clumsy me. I will consider you proposal in the rest-room as I tidy up. Boys.
  Gangsters: (all deliberately spilling wine on themselves) Whoops. Clumsy us. We must all go to the rest-room too.
  (they leave)
  Don Castalleneta: Those fellas should really consider sippy-cups.
• Restaurant Patron: (during the Italian-American Mexican standoff) Now hold on here! I'm president of the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League. (yanks out two guns and points it at the gangsters) And this really "burns my cannoli"!
• Marge: (after Maggie flies out of their car) My baby!
  Homer: Your baby!
• Moe: I'm comfortable, I'm calm, and if anyone looks at me, I have a hypodermic needle full of bleach.
• Moe (after being left alone with Maggie): So, how's it going? (pause) Hey, you wanna see me dislocate my shoulder? (does so, much to Maggie's amusement) (in some pain) It was years before I could do this without faintin'. Still hurts.
• Moe: (nervous laugh) This is the second most guns ever pointed at me.

catch-phrase from the '60s spy-spoof, Get Smart. When confronted with immense objects, Maxwell Smart (Agent 86), would declare that they were merely the second biggest he's ever seen.

• Don Castalleneta (referring to Maggie): Oh, it's a bambina. Or is it bambino? (hangs head) I no speak any language so good.