Super Franchise Me
| "Super Franchise Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | ||||
| Episode no. | 555 | |||
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland | |||
| Written by | Bill Odenkirk | |||
| Showrunner(s) | Al Jean | |||
| Production code | SABF19 | |||
| Original air date | October 12, 2014 | |||
| Couch gag | A parody of the cover of the 1970 Cat Stevens album Tea for the Tillerman, with its opening track playing over it.[1] | |||
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"Super Franchise Me" is the 3rd episode of the 26th season of the animated series The Simpsons, and the 555th episode of the series overall. It aired on October 12, 2014, in the United States, on the Fox network.
The episode sees Marge open a sandwich franchise after her sandwiches become popular, but begin to struggle when Cletus opens with the same franchise across the road. The episode was dedicated to the memory of Jan Hooks, who had died on October 9.
Plot
Ned Flanders and his sons are trying to reduce their use of electricity in the house but discover that Homer is using their electricity to power a Ferris Wheel and a freezer full of meat. When Flanders takes the freezer away (since Homer had "borrowed" it from him), Marge puts the meat to use by making sandwiches, which prove popular at Springfield Elementary School when Bart and Lisa take them there as currency.
Trudy Zangler of Mother Hubbard's Sandwich Cupboard advises Marge to open a franchise with the company. It initially struggles due to its incompetent staff (firing Gil Gunderson for doing two jobs at once and Shauna Chalmers for stealing the register money), but begins to make profit when the family take over. However, business slows again when another outlet with the same franchise opens across the road,[2] operated by Cletus and his family. Marge is depressed and goes to Moe's, who tells her a scam to get out of her contract with the franchise. Homer goes into the restaurant in disguise and is attacked in the crotch by Bart, then sues the company rather than the franchise due to conditions in the contract. Trudy gives Marge back all of her costs and Marge exults that things turned out relatively well for the family as they broke even.
The episode ends with a scene showing a caveman Homer making the first ever sandwich from ground sloth meat between two squirrels, but then he wanders to his death inside a tar pit. In the present, Homer admires the fossilized sandwich.
Cultural references
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The couch gag for the episode parodies the cover of the 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman by the British musician Cat Stevens, and has the album's title track playing over it.[1]
Reception
The episode received an audience of 7.33 million, a rise of 3.07 million viewers from the previous week's episode. It was the second most watched show on Fox that night, after The OT, but the least watched programme in its time slot.[3]
"Super Franchise Me" received generally positive reviews. The A.V. Club gave the episode a B rating, Dennis Perkins wrote in the review; "the episode avoids much (if not all) of the clutter that’s been distracting in many of the Simpsons episodes of the last few years and focuses on the story at hand."[4] Stacy Glanzman of TV Fanatic gave the episode a rating of 3.0/5, calling it an "okay episode".[5] The Hollywood Reporter contrasted the nostalgic couch gag with the futuristic Don Hertzfeldt-directed one for the episode "Clown in the Dumps" which aired two weeks prior.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Goldberg, Lesley (October 12, 2014). "Watch 'The Simpsons' Take On Cat Stevens in Latest Couch Gag". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
- ↑ "(SI-2519) "Super Franchise Me"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- ↑ Bibel, Sara (October 14, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon A TIme', 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' & 'Resurrection' Adjusted Up; 'Madam Secretary' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ↑ Perkins, Dennis (2014-10-12). ""Super Franchise Me"". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ↑ "The Simpsons Season 26 Episode 3 Review: Super Franchise Me". TV Fanatic. Retrieved 2015-08-04.