The Simpsons (animation)/Recap/S04/E12 Marge vs. the Monorail
In this Conan O'Brien-penned episode, Mr. Burns is forced to pay a fine of several million dollars to the City of Springfield for his illegal toxic waste dumping, and the residents have to decide what to do with their windfall. At first, Marge's suggestion of repairing the severely damaged Main Street looks to be the one honored, but that's when out-of-towner Lyle Lanley steps in and uses a catchy song-and-dance number to hornswoggle the town into shelling out for an expensive monorail system instead.
While the rest of the town is ecstatic, and Homer takes a course under Lanley in hopes of becoming the monorail's conductor, Marge has her suspicions -- especially when the monorail appears to be severely in need of repair (there's a nest of possums in its inner workings, for instance). Finally, sneaking into his trailer, she discovers that Lanley intends to take the millions alloted for the monorail and head for the tropics...leaving the Springfieldians to a firey doom.
As newly/randomly-appointed conductor Homer and company prepare for the launch of the monorail (complete with celebrity guest Leonard Nimoy), she travels to North Haverbrook, one of several towns Lanley claims to have sold a monorail to, and discovers that it is near-deserted in the wake of the disastrous crash that took place on its first go-round. An engineer who worked on the project and watched as his objections and warnings were ignored offers to help her save Springfield. Unfortunately, thanks in part to a stopover so he could get a haircut, they arrive after Lanley's skipped town and the monorail is up and running -- and speeding out of control, unable to be stopped.
Marge and the engineer are able to contact Homer and the latter advises him to find an anchor. Prying a big metal "M" from the outside of the train and tying a length of chain around it, he heaves it outside, and it finally gets caught up in a giant donut shop sign, which proves enough to bring the monorail to a halt. As for Lyle Lanley, his flight to Tahiti is "unexpectedly" forced to make a stopover in North Haverbrook, where an angry mob promptly boards the plane to pay him back for his crimes.
Your Mileage May Vary tropes here.
This episode contains examples of:
- But Now I Must Go: Parodied, after the monorail crisis is resolved:
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Leonard Nimoy: Well, my work here is done. |
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- Captain Ersatz: Lyle Lanley is one of Harold Hill, the protagonist of The Music Man -- but Hill's phony promises of a spectacular marching band didn't put innocent lives at risk, whereas Lanley is heartlessly aware of the carnage his old, poorly-made monorails will wreak.
- Cut the Juice: Two guys discuss the out-of-control monorail:
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Guy 1: I got it! We can just shut off the power! |
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- Ghost Town: Marge goes to North Haverbrook, the town Lyle Lanley sold a monorail to before Springfield. She finds the town nearly deserted after their monorail crashed on its maiden voyage.
- Meat-O-Vision: Homer is trapped on the out-of-control monorail train and needs to find an anchor. He looks to Bart, and visualizes him as a large ship's anchor. Bart, for understandable reasons, urges him to think harder.
- Sdrawkcab Name: Mr. Burns attempts to get his money back by disguising himself with a fake mustache at the town meeting and calling himself "Mr. Snrub". Surprisingly, it fails instantly.
- Shipped in Shackles: C. Montgomery Burns is given the Hannibal Lecter mask treatment when he is dragged into court.
- Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: Marge's closing narration: "And that was the only folly the people of Springfield ever embarked upon. Except for the Popsicle stick skyscraper. And the 50-foot magnifying glass. [the sun focused through the magnifying glass sets the Popsicle stick skyscraper on fire] And that escalator to nowhere."
- Sustained Misunderstanding:
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Marge: Homer, there's a man here who thinks he can help you! |
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- Total Eclipse of the Plot: The runaway monorail, which is solar-powered, halts briefly due to a total solar eclipse which nobody realised/remembered was due in Springfield that day — only to start up again as the eclipse passes totality. This is realistically portrayed as taking under a minute (real-life solar eclipses can last any time from an eyeblink to, under the most favourable circumstances, about 7-8 minutes).
- Versus Title
- Villain Song: "The Monorail Song" turns out to be one.