Steal This Episode
| "Steal This Episode" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 25 |
| Directed by | Matthew Nastuk |
| Written by | J. Stewart Burns |
| Original air date | January 5, 2014 |
"Steal This Episode" is the ninth episode of the 25th season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and the 539th episode of the series. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and premiered on January 5, 2014, on Fox.[1]
Plot
Homer keeps hearing spoilers about "Radioactive Man Re-Rises." Tired of hearing spoilers, he decides to watch the movie with the family. At the theater, Homer is upset that the theater shows commercials and gets kicked out from the theater after breaking one of the 3D glasses. Bart cheers him up by showing Homer how to download the movie illegally from the internet (with the info being censored by footage from the 2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500, a NASCAR race that aired on Fox). Eventually, Homer decides to open up a backyard theater that shows the illegal movies he downloaded on the internet, starting with Judd Apatow's latest movie. Marge feels guilty after watching the pirated movie, so she decides to send a $12 check along with an apology letter to Hollywood to repay the money for the tickets she should have bought. The movie company at Hollywood calls the FBI and decides to go after Homer.
The FBI arrests Homer for movie piracy when they raid his backyard theater. Deputy Director Gratman also announces that they managed to arrest Homer thanks to a snitch. Marge begans to feel guilt after accidentally turning Homer in. Bart sides with Homer because pirating a movie is not the worst thing Homer ever did. Lisa also sides with Homer because she agrees that Homer's act has brought a wonderful experience for the whole town. Homer is on the Springfield Penitentiary bus which was taken over by the prisoner (who all agrees that what Homer did was much worse than robbing a bank or doing drug trafficking). The bus then falls into a ledge where Homer is rescued by a train passing by. Homer returns home to his family. Lisa takes the whole family to a Sweden Consulate to protect Homer from getting arrested again since downloading movies is not illegal in Sweden. The FBI tries to get them to leave the consulate by having Judas Priest perform outside the building, but this does not work since the Swedish love "death metal" (it should be noted that Judas Priest is a heavy metal band). Marge finally confesses to Homer that she was the snitch which leads Homer to turn himself in.
During the trial where various Hollywood bigshots, Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen attend, Homer delivers a speech about his movie piracy. The Hollywood bigshots who attend the trial are impressed by Homer's story and decides to drop all the charges and buy the rights to Homer's story to turn it into a movie. Homer says that he will sign to the person who can get Channing Tatum to gain weight for the role of Homer. A week before the movie airs, the residents of Springfield give Homer a surprise special screening with the movie they downloaded illegally. Homer gets mad at them for illegal downloading since he now gets money from the movie profit and kicks them out from his backyard while telling them to see it when it comes out in theaters.
Before the credits role, Bart and Lisa see the movie starring Channing Tatum as Bart asks Lisa if she was right about movie piracy. During the credits, footage of the car race is shown ending with a pirate flag that has Seth Rogen's laughter in the background.
Reception
Critical reception
The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, saying "The strongest episode of The Simpsons’ 25th season so far, “Steal This Episode” avoids a few pitfalls the show has been more prone to stumble into in later years, provides a double-handful of funny lines and gags, and actually seems invested in telling a coherent story from beginning to end. Not classic Simpsons by any yardstick, but certainly a welcome respite from what has been a streak of fairly dire late-run episodes."[2] Teresa Lopez of TV Fanatic applauded the episode and gave it a 5 out of 5, commenting mainly on the show's use of guest stars, saying "the stars were an essential part of the plot, so it made sense to trot out Judd Apatow and his usual crew of actors (Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann). Along with Channing Tatum as well. In essence, the episode really played to the show's strengths. For example, Homer is always behind the times and, once he's caught up, he can't help but take his new hobbies too far."[3]
Ratings
The episode received a 4.6 rating and was watched by a total of 12.04 million people, making it the most watched show on Animation Domination that night beating American Dad!, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy.[4] This marks the most-watched episode of the series since the twenty-second season episode "Moms I'd Like to Forget."[5]
References
- ^ "The Simpsons Episode Guide 2014 Season 25 - Steal This Episode, Episode 9". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ Ryan, Kyle. "The Simpsons: "Steal This Episode" · The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ Lopez, Teresa (2014-01-05). "The Simpsons Review: Cinema Pirate-diso". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Family Guy', '60 Minutes' & 'The Mentalist' Adjusted Up; 'The Simpsons', 'Bob's Burgers', 'The Best of Jimmy Fallon' & 'Betrayal' Adjusted Down". Tvbythenumbers. 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (January 10, 2011). "TV Ratings Sunday: With Help from NFL Fox Animations Surge, 'Bob's Burgers' Strong ; 'The Cape' Premieres OK; Housewives, Brothers & Sisters Stable". TVbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
