The Blue and the Gray (The Simpsons)

"The Blue and the Gray"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	477
Directed by	Bob Anderson
Written by	Rob LaZebnik
Showrunner(s)	Al Jean
Production code	NABF06
Original air date	February 13, 2011
Chalkboard gag	"I will not make fun of Cupid's dink"
Couch gag	Homer injures himself on the way to the couch, with Barney substituting for him à la a basketball player while Homer is stretchered away.
Season 22 episodes September 26, 2010 – May 22, 2011 "Elementary School Musical" "Loan-a Lisa" "MoneyBART" "Treehouse of Horror XXI" "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life" "The Fool Monty" "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?" "The Fight Before Christmas" "Donnie Fatso" "Moms I'd Like to Forget" "Flaming Moe" "Homer the Father" "The Blue and the Gray" "Angry Dad: The Movie" "The Scorpion's Tale" "A Midsummer's Nice Dream" "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing" "The Great Simpsina" "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony" "Homer Scissorhands" "500 Keys" "The Ned-Liest Catch" List of The Simpsons episodes
Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

"The Blue and the Gray" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-second season of the animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 2011.

Plot

After spending another Valentine's Day alone, Moe attends a seminar led by Dr. Kissingher in the hopes of gaining more confidence with women. Moe takes the doctor’s advice and asks Homer to be his wingman. Meanwhile, Marge discovers her first gray hairs, only to find out that she is completely grey and the fumes from the chemical used blanks her memory of the dye job and surprises both her family and the neighborhood by going completely gray and sporting a brand new mature hairdo, but Bart is not happy when the neighborhood kids tease him about Marge’s look. Later, Marge confronts Homer when she learns that he is becoming increasingly popular with the young ladies, but Homer helps Marge realize that he only has eyes for her and proves that love is still in the Springfield air.^[1]

Continuity

Marge is shocked in this episode to discover that her hair is graying, even though the season 5 episode "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" established that Marge already has gray hair, and indeed went prematurely gray ("she's been gray as a mule since she was 17"). However, the writers acknowledge the continuity issues by having Marge's hairstylist explain that the fumes from the blue hair dye he uses cause partial memory damage, so she simply forgot that her hair was already gray.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "The Blue and the Gray" was viewed by an estimated 5.618 million households and received a 2.7 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49.^[2] This episode marked a 10% drop from the previous episode, "Homer the Father".^[2] This might have been due to the episode airing against the 53rd Grammy Awards.^[2]

The episode was met with lukewarm reviews from critics, who called it "funny" but "unmemorable".^[3] The "Worst Episode Ever" Simpsons podcast has, as of September 2015, deemed this its "worst episode ever."

References

1. "Schedule (February 6 - February 12)". FoxFlash. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
2. Gorman, Bill (2011-02-14). "TV Ratings Sunday: ‘Grammy Awards’ Rise; ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ ‘Makeover’ Hit Lows; ‘American Dad,’ ‘Simpsons,’ ‘Bob’s Burger’s,’ ‘Family Guy’ Down". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
3. Hochberger, Eric (2011-02-14). "The Simpsons Review: "The Blue and the Gray"". TV Fanatic. She Knows Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-03-07.