"The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' fifteenth season, which originally aired November 23, 2003.[1] It was written by John Swartzwelder, and directed by Mark Kirkland.[2] Guest starring Jane Leeves as Edwina and Tony Blair, Evan Marriott, Sir Ian McKellen and J. K. Rowling as themselves.[1][3] It was the first episode in which the entire family went to Europe, and the first time a government official provided their own voice to the show in a guest star role.
| "The Regina Monologues" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 15 |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland |
| Written by | John Swartzwelder |
| Original air dates | November 23, 2003 |
| Episode features | |
| Couch gag | The family enters through a Play-Doh Fun Factory and each member is a different colour. |
Plot
Mr Burns withdraws a $1000 bill from an ATM, but he drops it and an updraft carries it away to the Simpsons' house, where Bart and Milhouse are playing a vicious video game(Hockey Dad). Bart wonders what to do with the bill, but Marge tells him and Homer to put up fliers so that the person who lost it can reclaim it. Soon, there is a long line of people outside the Simpsons' house, all claiming the bill. No one can describe it correctly and Lisa suggests that they spend the money on Marge, who wants a vacation, but decides against it because Homer always manages to ruin it. The next day, Bart displays the $1000 bill in school for his friends to see. When Milhouse offers him 25 cents to see it again, he gets an idea and sets up a museum in his tree house, naming it "The Museum of Modern Bart". The museum is a resounding success, however, when Mr. Burns comes in and sees the bill, he claims it as his. When asked for proof of ownership, he shows Bart the bills indentation on his chest (when the bill was ejected from the ATM machine, it hit Burns in the chest, knocking him backwards before it was swept off) Bart is forced to give it back and close his museum. Lisa says that they have managed to collect $3000 from the museum so it doesn't matter. Grandpa suggests using the money to go to London, where he hopes to meet Edwina once more, a girl he met there during the war.
The family travels to London and are greeted by the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom Homer confuses with Mr. Bean. They start seeing the sights, while Grandpa stays at the hotel, trying to contact Edwina. The children go on a "sugar rush" after discovering the joys of British chocolate. The family go on to meet J.K. Rowling and Sir Ian McKellen.
Marge is astonished that Homer is behaving himself and they rent a Mini and start to drive around London. Unfortunately, they get stuck on a roundabout. After driving in circles for hours, Homer decides to break out of it and plows straight through the gates of Buckingham Palace and slams into Queen Elizabeth II's horse drawn carriage. Unaware of whom he has just knocked down, he tries to brush the incident under the carpet, but the Coldstream Guardsmen start beating him with cudgels. Then comes the Changing of the Guard, and the new Coldstream Guardsmen continue to beat him mercilessly.
Homer is put on trial for causing harm to the Queen as well as wrecking her carriage. He calls the Queen an impostor, since her luggage is inscribed "H.R.H." which he believes is short for "Henrietta R. Hippo". The Queen then demands that he be killed. He is taken away to the Tower of London where he awaits his execution and then his head is planned to be stuck on a pike. Near the fireplace in his cell, he prays to "the God of England" and displays the frequent mistaken American impression that British people prefer to use the metric system. His family call him from outside and Lisa tells him that he can use a secret tunnel that Sir Walter Raleigh built. For that, he must push a brick in the fireplace, which he manages on his second attempt. However, the tunnel leads straight into the Queen's bedroom. The Queen whistles for her guards and they rush in. Homer pleads with the Queen to find it in her "jewel encrusted heart" to forgive him. Finally, he is allowed to leave England as long as they take Madonna with them. Just as they are about to leave, Edwina shows up and meets Grandpa. She introduces them to Abbie, her 58-year-old daughter, who looks and sounds like Homer in drag. Abe cannot bear the thought of having another Homer in his life, so he bolts. However, Homer seems to think that Abbie is quite attractive.
Production
Tony Blair recorded his part for the episode in April 2003.[4] David Beckham was originally sought to guest star in the episode, but it was deemed that he was not famous enough in America and so was not approached.[5] The plot of Homer hitting the queen's carriage was recycled from a spec script Jean and Reiss wrote for The Golden Girls in which Dorothy Zbornak hit Mother Theresa with her car.[6]
Cultural references
- 007 movies — The series is parodied twice: in the scene where Prime Minister Tony Blair greets the Simpsons, then blasts off on a jetpack á la Thunderball (the 007 theme plays); and in the scene where Homer spots Bart and Lisa from the London Eye, pulls a lever and the whole car detaches from the Eye, before skimming across the River Thames.
- The Brady Bunch — The first act plot — where Bart happens upon a $1,000 bill and Marge subsequently tells him to advertise for its rightful owner — is inspired by the 1970 episode "The Treasure of Sierra Avenue."
- British Newspapers - After Homer is arrested and sent to the Tower of London, British tabloid newspapers are seen with various headlines complete with correct typefaces (except The Daily Mail) - center-left tabloid The Mirror, the right-wing broadsheet The Times and right-wing papers The Sun and The Daily Mail. The Times and The Sun are owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and that The Times is no longer printed in broadsheet.
- "The Cherry Orchard" — The play, written by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, is used as a sly dig at Joe Millionaire, where star Evan Marriott admits he doesn't have a cherry orchard, much like in the show where he admits he was not a millionaire.
- "Macbeth" curse — The old theater superstition is parodied when Sir Ian McKellen is repeatedly injured after Homer repeatedly mentions the name of the Shakespeare play ("What, Macbeth?").
- Museum of Modern Art — The "Museum of Modern Bart" is an obvious pun.
- New Zoo Revue — Homer's insistence that The Queen's real name is Henrietta R. Hippo (thanks to the monogram on the Her Royal Highness' night bag [althought the Queens luggage would have the monogram HM Her Majesty]) recalls the hippo character on the 1970s children's TV show.
- National Lampoon's European Vacation — The scene where Homer endlessly circles the roundabout spoofs a similar scene in the 1985 movie, where Clark Griswold keeps driving around the roundabout adjacent to Lambeth Bridge.
- Partridge Family 2200 A.D. — Bart's "Moon Party" sequence is likely a reference to the 1970s Saturday morning cartoon. Also appearing: Star Wars character R2-D2 (playing the bass).
- Sir Walter Raleigh - The tunnel leading from the Tower of London to the Queen's bedroom in Buckingham Palace may be a reference to a rumor that Raleigh carried out an affair with the never-married Queen Elizabeth I.
- Trainspotting — Bart and Lisa appear in a room with trains on the wallpaper. Maggie crawls on the ceiling as Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" plays in the background. Also when Bart and Lisa are running they go by the same route used by Ewan McGregor at the start of the film most notably as they go down the stairs.
- The Vagina Monologues — The episode title is a pun on Eve Ensler's play; Regina is substituted as the Latin word for Queen.
- The scene between Lord Daftwager and his "lover" is a parody of the premise of the musical My Fair Lady.
- Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs is mentioned by Homer when he questions the yellow card given to Giggs.
- In complimenting his half-sister, Homer says "You make Dame Edna look like a dude." Dame Edna Everage is a famous character of comedian Barry Humphries.
Reception
IGN.com named the episode the best of the fifteenth season, saying that "It may not be the best episode ever, but hell if it isn't a lot of fun", as well as calling it "extremely funny" and a "high point for the past few seasons."[2] It currently holds a rating of "good" with a score of 7.6/10 at TV.com,[7] and a score of 6.3/10 at the Internet Movie Database.[3]
References
- ^ a b "Blair lined up for Simpsons debut". BBC News. 2003-11-23.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|acessdate=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Goldman, Eric; Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski (2006-09-08). "The Simpsons: 17 Seasons, 17 Episodes". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The Regina Monologues". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ "Tony Blair a 'Simpsons' guest star". CNN.com. 2003-11-24. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
- ^ "D'oh! The Simpsons say no to Becks!". Newsround. 2003-04-10. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
- ^ Jean, Al (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
{{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "The Regina Monologues". TV.com. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
External links
- "The Regina Monologues" at The Simpsons.com
- "The Regina Monologues" at TV.com
- "The Regina Monologues" at the Internet Movie Database