Episode no. 432 Written by Jeff Westbrook Production code LABF03 | Directed by Mark Kirkland Showrunner(s) Al Jean Original air date March 8, 2009 | |
"No Loan Again, Naturally" is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 8, 2009.
Contents
In the episode, the Simpsons lose their house, but Ned Flanders buys it and offers to rent it back to them. However, when they turn out to be less-than-reliable renters, Flanders kicks them out. "No Loan Again, Naturally" was written by Jeff Westbrook and directed by Mark Kirkland.
Maurice LaMarche guest starred in the episode. It was seen by 5.99 million viewers. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from television critics. The name of the episode references a 1970s song "Alone Again (Naturally)" as well as the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' eleventh season, "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", which also centered largely around interactions between Homer and Ned.
Plot
The Simpsons throw a Mardi Gras party, having invited most of the town. Marge asks Homer to invite Ned Flanders, which he reluctantly does. As they clean up the party the following morning, Lenny asks how they pay for the huge yearly party. Homer gleefully confesses that he borrows from a home equity line to do so, calling his home a "sucker" for getting stuck with the bill. Marge and Homer visit their mortgage broker, Gil Gunderson, after receiving a letter and find out that their adjustable rate mortgage payment has increased drastically because of Homer's ineptitude. The Simpson home goes up for auction and after seeing the Simpsons' sorrow, Ned Flanders outbids Mr. Burns, purchasing the home for $101,000 and then offers to let the Simpsons move back in and rent the property from him. The Simpsons thank Ned with a song and a small celebration, when Marge notices the sink faucet dripping. Ned offers to fix it, as he is now their landlord and the repairs are his responsibility, along with some other items that he is obligated to correct. However, Flanders quickly tires of their constant requests for repairs.
Despite having already make his best, Homer gets mad at Ned and decides to go to the media and defame him as some corrupt slumlord. When Homer refuses to apologize for his ingratitude, Ned tells them they must leave at the end of the month. The Simpsons bring Grampa home since if someone older than 65 lives with them, they will not be evicted, but are unsuccessful as Flanders invites Grampa to live with him in his house. Homer could not compete with Ned who offers to feed him 'people food'. The Simpsons return home from a walk to find their items on the lawn. The family spends a night at the town's homeless shelter wondering how they will ever rebound. Flanders interviews a couple of potential tenants when he sees a picture from the move-in celebration and is reminded of the happiness and admiration of the Simpsons. Realizing that he should allow them to move back in, he sends the potential tenants away and the Simpsons return to their home, causing their other neighbors, who utterly despise them, to move out. Homer responds "I really hate this neighborhood".
Production
The episode was written by Jeff Westbrook and directed by Mark Kirkland. Maurice LaMarche also guest starred in the episode as various characters.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "No Loan Again, Naturally" was viewed by an estimated 5.99 million households. The episode also received 3.4 rating/6% share in the 18-49 demographic.
The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. Robert Canning of IGN said it can sometimes be difficult for an animated television show to "stay current, what with their lengthy production schedules that start months before the episode actually airs", but with "No Loan Again, Naturally" he felt like "if they wrote and animated everything just a few weeks ago. Well, the initial concept, anyway. With the Simpson family losing their house, it was up to Ned to come in and save the day. But what he couldn't do was keep this episode from feeling very middle-of-the-road." Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict thought the previous episode was disappointing because it "failed to deliver on a solid premise". "No Loan Again, Naturally", however, Asperschlager thought delivered on "its deceptively simple premise in spades. Any time you get this much Ned Flanders, good things are bound to happen. Mix in a good deed well-punished and you’ve got a real winner."
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club wrote: "This episode's story was actually fairly original, which surprisingly doesn't happen all that often. Yeah, the story was mighty predictable, but what I liked about tonight's Simpsons was that it ventured into character-based territory, rather than an oddball, plot-driven direction."