Episode no. 212 Written by Ron Hauge Production code AABF05 | Directed by Swinton O. Scott III Showrunner(s) Mike Scully Original air date December 20, 1998 | |
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"Mayored to the Mob" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 20, 1998. After Homer prevents Mayor Quimby and Mark Hamill from being trampled at a convention, Homer trains to become a bodyguard and is employed by Quimby. After Homer discovers Quimby has been making corrupt deals with Fat Tony and forces him to end the deal, Fat Tony threatens to kill Quimby, leaving Homer to defend the Mayor from threats. The episode was written by Ron Hauge and directed by Swinton O. Scott III, and received positive reviews from critics overall.
Contents
Plot
While watching television, the Simpson family sees a commercial for the "Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con", a science-fiction convention featuring Mark Hamill and others, and decide to attend. A riot breaks out at the convention after Hamill offers the chance for someone in the crowd to act out a scene with him. Homer notices that Mark Hamill and Mayor Quimby are in danger of being trampled due to the riot and quickly rescues them. In gratitude, Quimby employs Homer as his bodyguard.
Homer begins training at "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy," where he quickly graduates and begins his new job. Unbeknownst to Homer, Quimby made a deal with Fat Tony shortly after Homer was employed to provide milk to the schools of Springfield. Homer discovers the milk is from rats and confronts Quimby, accidentally knocking him out a window. Discovering Quimby hanging from a ledge, Homer makes him promise to expose Fat Tony in return for being pulled to safety.
Quimby organizes the arrests of Fat Tony and his men, but Fat Tony threatens Quimby's life. Scared at having to defend Quimby due to the death threats, Homer attempts to reassure the Mayor by taking him to a dinner theater to see Mark Hamill portray Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. Homer discovers Fat Tony is there alongside his henchman, Louie, having been released on bail, and unwittingly made the situation worse when he did what Fat Tony told him to do by planting a kiss on Mayor Quimby, oblivious to the fact that he had given the Mayor the kiss of death. Louie attempts to stab Quimby but is stopped in a scuffle with Homer after Hamill advises Homer to "use the forks." However, Fat Tony is still able to savagely beat Quimby with a baseball bat. Hamill says to Homer that Quimby will be fine, and Homer helps Hamill escape from the paparazzi.
Production
Ron Hauge, writer of the episode, wanted to do an episode where he would use Homer's qualities such as oafishness, brute strength, thickness, and loyalty, for good. When Lisa says they have to go back for Maggie after the family escape the riot, Homer says "Forget Maggie, she's gone." Matt Groening claims this to be one of his favorite quotes in the show. Hamill only agreed to guest star if he was allowed to voice a character as well as himself. He stated that he loved doing the voice for bodyguard instructor Leavelle a lot more than he did providing the voice for himself.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Mayored to the Mob" finished 24th in ratings for the week of December 14–20, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 8.6, equivalent to approximately 8.5 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Ally McBeal.
Empire named Hamill's performance in the episode as the tenth-best film gag in the show, commenting: "As a rule, celebrity cameos are rubbish, but good sport Hamill is hilarious when singing 'Luke, be a Jedi tonight' in a production of Guys and Dolls, and makes this list for urging bodyguard Homer to 'use the forks.'" Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson and Brian Zoromski of IGN marked Hamill's guest appearance second on a list of "Top 25 Simpsons Guest appearances" saying that much of the episode's humor came from Hamill being "a good sport about his past". In addition, Hamill ranked 18th on AOL's list of their favorite 25 Simpsons guest stars, and Total Film's Nathan Ditum ranked his performance as the third-best guest appearance in the show's history. Simon Crerar of The Times also listed Hamill's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of The Simpsons.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote that "the best bits all involve either the convention or Mark Hamill's repeated attempts to not be mobbed. Sadly, the main thrust of the story -- Homer's protection of Quimby from Don Tony -- falls a bit flat. Nevertheless, when the jokes run free, they are of exceptionally high quality." In his review of The Simpsons' tenth season, James Plath of Dvdtown.com notes "Mayored to the Mob" to be "one of the funnier episodes." IGN named it as the best episode of season 10. In an interview with Australian newspaper mX, season 10 show runner Mike Scully marked "Mayored to the Mob" as fourth in his top-five episodes from season 10.