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"The Mansion Family" is the twelfth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3 million homes during the broadcast. In the episode,
Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...
goes to the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
for a check-up after being declared the oldest man in
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
at an awards ceremony. He leaves the
Simpson family The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...
to house-sit his mansion for him. When
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
throws a party on Burns' private yacht in
international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...
, the party goers are captured by Chinese pirates. American pop singer
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
guest starred in "The Mansion Family" as herself. She appears as the host of the awards ceremony. The episode, which was written by
John Swartzwelder John Joseph Swartzwelder Jr. (born February 8, 1949) is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Born in Seattle, Washington, Swartzwelder began his career working in adv ...
and directed by Mike Frank Polcino, features several cultural references. Many parts of the story were inspired by real-life events experienced by some of the staff members of the series. Since airing, the episode has received generally mixed reviews from critics. It was released on the DVD collection ''The Simpsons Gone Wild'' in 2004, and ''The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season'' in 2008.


Plot

Kent Brockman Kent Brockman is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Harry Shearer and first appeared in the episode "Krusty Gets Busted". He is a grumpy, self-centered local Springfield news anchor. Profi ...
and
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
host the annual Springfield Pride Awards, given to prominent
Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...
citizens for their achievements. The award for the oldest man in town goes to 108-year-old Cornelius Chapman, but Spears' congratulatory kiss on the cheek causes him to die of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. The award therefore goes to the oldest Springfieldian now present,
Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...
. Suddenly, Burns realizes he is not young anymore, so he and his assistant
Smithers Smithers is a surname of English origin. It derives from the Middle English term "smyther", referring to a metalsmith, and is thus related to the common occupational surname Smith. The name Smither is related. People *Alan Smithers (born 1938 ...
go to the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
for a check-up. Burns engages the
Simpson family The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...
to house sit his private mansion. After enjoying life as a billionaire for a few days,
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
decides to throw a party before Burns returns. He heads to
Moe's Tavern Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
to buy beer and invite his friends to the party. However,
Moe Moe, MOE, MoE or m.o.e. may refer to: In arts and entertainment Characters * Moe Szyslak, from the animated television show ''The Simpsons'' * Moe, leader of The Three Stooges, played by Moe Howard * Moe Higurashi, supporting character in ''Yash ...
informs Homer that he can not sell him alcohol before 2:00 pm as it is Sunday. When Homer is told the only way he could buy alcohol would be to sail 12 miles out to
international waters The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...
where there are no laws, he and his friends (including his son
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...
) set sail in Burns' private yacht to throw the party there. Back at the Mayo Clinic, Burns discovers that he not only has all previously discovered diseases, but numerous new diseases the doctors have just discovered in him. However, the sheer number of diseases prevents any one disease from actually doing harm to him. This leads Burns to conclude that he is indestructible, even though the doctors protest that even a slight breeze could disrupt the balance in his body. Meanwhile, the party continues and the partygoers force Burns' monkeys into a
knife fight A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants is armed with a knife.MacYoung, Marc, ''Winning A Street Knife Fight'', (Digital format, 70 min.), Boulder, CO: Paladin Press, (J ...
. The yacht is eventually boarded by Chinese pirates who take the ship hostage. The pirates rob everyone on board and tie them up in a big net which they then toss overboard. Luckily, however, the net floats, stopping Homer, Bart and most of the partygoers above the water from drowning. After
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
and
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
have scrubbed all the rooms clean, the family return the mansion to Burns. Back home, the family is glad to live a normal life again, with the exception of Homer, who regrets that he does not live the lifestyle of rich people. As the
closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the Cast member, cast and Film crew, crew of a particular Film, motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear clos ...
roll, Homer wails about how rich nearly all the people are and threatens to report them to the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
, before
Gracie Films Gracie Films is an American film and television production company founded by James L. Brooks in 1986. The company is primarily responsible for producing its long-running flagship animated series ''The Simpsons'', as well as the films ''Big'', ' ...
logo lady says "Shh!", making Homer say "Don't shush me, you rich bastard!".


Production

"The Mansion Family" was written by
John Swartzwelder John Joseph Swartzwelder Jr. (born February 8, 1949) is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Born in Seattle, Washington, Swartzwelder began his career working in adv ...
and directed by Mike Frank Polcino as part of the eleventh season of ''The Simpsons'' (1999–2000).Polcino, Michael. (2008). Commentary for "The Mansion Family", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. It was the first of many episodes of the series that Polcino directed. Executive producer
Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, M ...
was the one who received the idea for the first part of the story. He explained on a DVD
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
for the episode that his grandmother was the oldest citizen of his hometown
West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West Si ...
, and "they had a ceremony where she was awarded a cane that had a golden head on it. And the weird thing of the ceremony is her name wasn't on the cane, and the mayor of the town stood up and he says: 'And now, of course as soon as Hazel passes away, her name will be engraved on the cane.' So she would never live to see it happen. But nonetheless, she was given the cane." The subplot of "The Mansion Family", where Mr. Burns gets a medical examination, was inspired by Swartzwelder's own visit to a Mayo Clinic.Meyer, George. (2008). Commentary for "The Mansion Family", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox.
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap ng... the comedic sensibilit ...
, an executive producer on the series, has said that "John, I don't think he is a guy who goes to the doctor very often. And every 20 or 30 years, he decides he needs to get a tune up. So he went to the Mayo Clinic, had they give him an entire battery of tests. And as John okinglytells it, they said that his constant smoking had done no harm to him whatsoever. Might even be benefiting him." While writing the parts of the episode that involve international waters, the writers did research and found that the actual laws of international waters are more complex and ambiguous compared to what they had already written in the story, but they decided to ignore that.Long, Tim. (2008). Commentary for "The Mansion Family", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. American pop singer
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
guest starred in the episode as herself. According to Scully, she was seventeen to eighteen years old when she recorded her lines, and "She was a lot of fun to work with. She was a fan of the show, and she was willing to do all the lines. It was all the people around her that were crazy, the management and all that. We originally had her introduce herself
n the episode N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...
as 'I'm teenage songbird Britney Spears.' And she recorded a few takes and they were fine. And suddenly, all these guys come rushing in
aying Aying is a municipality in the district of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for the Ayinger Brewery Ayinger Brewery ( ; german: Brauerei Aying) is in Aying, Bavaria, Germany, about 25 km south of Munich. Ayinger beers are exported ...
'She can't say songbird.' e askedwhat's wrong with songbird? And they were somehow convinced that it was some sort of slam or an insult."Scully, Mike. (2008). Commentary for "The Mansion Family", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The staff members were therefore forced to change her opening line to "I'm teen sensation Britney Spears." Many scenes in "The Mansion Family" were inspired by
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. For example, there is a painting hanging on one of the walls in Burns' mansion that depicts Burns playing poker with dogs, referencing the oil paintings series ''
Dogs Playing Poker ''Dogs Playing Poker'', by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, refers collectively to an 1894 painting, a 1903 series of sixteen oil paintings commissioned by Brown & Bigelow to advertise cigars, and a 1910 painting. All eighteen paintings in the overall ...
''. Another painting, showing a nude Burns, is a callback to a previous episode of the series, "
Brush with Greatness "Brush with Greatness" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on April 11, 1991. In the episode, Marge enrolls in an a ...
" (1991), in which Marge produced the painting for Burns. Featured in the episode is also a joke that makes fun of the
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
. During the awards ceremony, Homer complains, "Why won't anyone give me an award?" When Lisa points out that " You won a Grammy," Homer says "I mean an award that's worth winning." At this point the screen freezes and a message scrolls across the bottom of the screen reading "LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Mr. Simpson's opinions do not reflect those of the producers, who don't consider the Grammy an award at all."


Release

The episode originally aired on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
in the United States on January 23, 2000. It was viewed in approximately 11.3 million households that night. With a
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 11.2, the episode tied ''
Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
'' (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
) for the 14th place (compared the season average of 37) in the ratings for the week of January 17–23, 2000. The episode was the third highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following a
NFC Championship The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
post-game show and ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...
''.


Home media

On September 14, 2004, the episode was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled ''The Simpsons Gone Wild'', along with " Homer's Night Out" (
season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguat ...
), " Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" ( season 10) and "
Homer the Moe "Homer the Moe" is the third episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe, following the advice of ...
" ( season 13). On October 7, 2008, "The Mansion Family" was released on DVD again as part of the box set ''The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season''. Crew members Mike Scully, George Meyer,
Ron Hauge Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. Early in his career, Hauge was a contributor to '' National Lampoon''. In 1989 he created a graphic for ''Spy Magazine'' captioned "The World Championship," with wars between c ...
,
Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...
,
Tim Long Tim Long (born June 14, 1969) is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Long calls Exeter, Ontario, his home town and has written for ''The Simpsons'', ''Politically Incorrect'', ''Spy (magazine), Spy'' magazine and the ''Late Show wit ...
, Mike Frank Polcino,
Donick Cary Donick Cary is an American writer and producer. Early life Cary grew up on Nantucket Island, graduating from Nantucket High School in 1986. Personal life He is the son of actors Richard and Mara Cary and the brother of actress Martha Cary, the l ...
and
Pete Michels Pete Michels is an American animation director who is the supervising director of ''Future-Worm!'' on Disney XD. Prior, he was a supervising director on seasons 1 and 2 of ''Rick and Morty'', an animation and supervising director on ''Family Guy'' ...
participated in the
audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...
.
Deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...
s were also included on the box set.


Critical reception

"The Mansion Family" has received generally mixed reception from critics. Susan Dunne of ''
The Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is considered to be the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven ...
'' described it as "debauched but hilarious." While reviewing the eleventh season of ''The Simpsons'', DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on "The Mansion Family", writing that "Although ''The Simpsons'' started out as moderately reality based, pretty much any grounding was gone by he point this episode aired That doesn't mean the show fails to depict funny bits, especially during the dark humor of Burns’ hospital visit. Nonetheless, he episodeoccasionally goes too far to the side of silliness; those gags are hit or miss." In a review of the episodes featured on the ''Gone Wild'' DVD,
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
critic Stephen Haag wrote that "none of these episodes will end up in the ''Simpsons'' Hall of Fame", and that "The Mansion Family" is "hardly a classic episode, but Lord knows there are plenty worse from season 11." He further commented that "if anything, this episode should be included in the 'batshit-crazy endings' DVD," referring to the ending scenes with the Chinese pirates. David Packard of
DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...
was more positive in his review of ''Gone Wild'', writing that "The Mansion Family" is "another all-around hilarious episode, with a nice swipe at the Grammy Awards, the Simpsons family running amok in the mansion and enjoying all it has to offer, and Burns' various tests at the Mayo Clinic (my favorite gag is when Burns is slid into an
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
machine, only to hear the thing grind to a halt with an error message reading 'Clear body jam in Area 1.')"


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansion Family, The The Simpsons (season 11) episodes 2000 American television episodes Television shows written by John Swartzwelder