Clear the stage for Marge

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Episode of the series The Simpsons
title Clear the stage for Marge
Original title A Streetcar Named Margin
Country of production United States
original language English
length approx. 22 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
classification Season 4, episode 2
61st episode overall ( list )
First broadcast October 1, 1992 on FOX
German-language
first broadcast		 February 16, 1993 on ZDF
Rod
Director Rich Moore
script Jeff Martin
music Alf Clausen
Guest appearance (s)
synchronization
chronology

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A blasphemous life

Clear the stage for Marge ( English original title: A Streetcar Named Marge , "A streetcar named Marge") is the second episode of the fourth season of the American cartoon series The Simpsons . It was first broadcast on October 1, 1992 on Fox , and the German-language first broadcast on ZDF on February 16, 1993 as the first episode of this season. In the episode, Marge Simpson takes on the role of the character Blanche DuBois in a musical performance of the play Endstation Sehnsucht (which is called A Streetcar Named Desire in the original , to which the original title of the episode alludes). Her husband Homer gives her little support, whereupon Marge begins to see parallels between him and Stanley Kowalski, the rowdy husband of Blanche's sister Stella in the play.

A calumny in the musical in that episode about the city of New Orleans generated particular public interest and controversy. To apologize for the song, Fox released a statement shortly after it first aired to all viewers who felt injured. In 2012, the 3D animation short film The Longest Day Care Day was released as a continuation of this episode.

action

While Homer , Bart and Lisa watch TV, Marge announces that she will audition for a local musical production of Endstation Sehnsucht . Her goal is to meet new people as she has so far spent most of her days at home with Maggie . The rest of the family reacts with indifference.

Since Ned Flanders gets the role of Stanley Kowalski for the performance, Marge and several other women from Springfield audition as Blanche DuBois. Director Llewellyn Sinclair rejects Marge and the other women, however, and explains: "Blanche is a delicate flower that is trampled on by a hulking bully." , Llewellyn understands that she is perfect for the role.

When Marge takes her little daughter Maggie to a rehearsal the next day, the toddler distracts the actors so much that Llewellyn suggests that she take Maggie to his sister's daycare. This runs a day care center with strict rules and immediately confiscates Maggie's pacifier. Maggie and the other babies later try to get their confiscated pacifiers back; Head Ms. Sinclair catches her doing it and puts Maggie in a playpen.

During a rehearsal of the musical, Marge tries to create a believable account in a crucial scene in which Blanche is supposed to break a glass bottle and poke it in Stanley's face. However, she can't muster enough hatred for Stanley to break the bottle, so Llewellyn leaves the stage in disgust. After Marge arrives at home, she asks Homer to help her learn the lyrics; but he's more interested in a video game. The day before the performance, Marge and Ned are rehearsing the scene from the previous day when Homer arrives to drive Marge home. Homer interrupts the rehearsal several times, then goes back to the car and honks the horn at Marge. The idea that Homer is Stanley can eventually break the bottle and pounce on Ned. That evening, Marge leaves dinner early to practice with Ned, reacts with contempt for Homer, and calls him a stupid monkey.

The next day, Maggie and the other children at the day care center try to get their pacifiers back and this time they succeed. Later, Homer picks up Maggie and goes to the theater with his children to see the musical. There Homer immediately becomes bored, but perks up when Marge appears on stage and is concerned about the way Blanche is treated by Stanley. At the end of the musical, the audience applauds warmly except for Homer, with Marge mistaking his sadness as boredom. She later confronts him angrily about his behavior, but is told that he was really moved by Blanche's situation. He responded with sadness because he wants to be the man she deserves, not like Stanley, who abuses and neglects her. Marge realizes that Homer really consciously watched the musical and the two happily leave the theater.

Cultural references

Although the musical production Oh, Streetcar! Based on the drama Endstation Sehnsucht , the title is a reference to the revue Oh! Calcutta! . In addition to Blanche and Stanley, those in Oh, Streetcar! acting characters who also play in Endstation Sehnsucht , Stella (played by Helen Lovejoy ), the young collector (played by Apu Nahasapeemapetilon ) and Mitch (played by Lionel Hutz ). The final song of the musical, Kindness of Strangers , refers to Blanche's last words in the original piece (in the original version “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”), In German: “I always relied on the friendliness of strangers . "). However, the song has a cheerful tone, with Blanche's words deliberately missing, which is meant ironically.

The episode contains several references to Ayn Rand's novels and objectivism . The director of Maggie's daycare "Ayn Rand School for Tots," Ms. Sinclair, read at a time a book called The Fountainhead Diet , a reference to Rand novel The Fountainhead (original title: The Fountainhead ). On one wall of the daycare center is a poster that reads “Helping is Futile” (in German: “Helfen ist futile”), which is a reference to Rand's rejection of the ethical doctrine of altruism . On the same wall hangs another sign with the inscription “A is A” (in German: “A is A”), the law of identity that plays a central role in Rand's novel Atlas throws the world off .

The subplot with Maggie uses the score from Broken Chains and contains other allusions to the film. In one scene, Ms. Sinclair punishes Maggie by putting her in a playpen called "The Box," which is a reference to "The Cooler King," nicknamed Captain Virgil Hilts from Broken Chains . Maggie then throws a ball against the playpen wall, as does Captain Virgil Hilts when he is in solitary confinement.

In the scene where Homer, Bart and Lisa pick up Maggie from the daycare center, hundreds of babies sit close to each other, sucking on their pacifiers without speaking while they stare at the three. This is a parody of the final shot of Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds . Also, a cartoon version of Hitchcock can be seen walking past daycare with his dog, a reference to his own cameo in The Birds . The episode also includes a reference to a theater scene in Citizen Kane that shows Homer holding a tattered program booklet while he watches his wife in the musical.

production

Script and music

James L. Brooks

The episode Stage Free for Marge was designed for about two years before it aired on television. Jeff Martin initially had the idea of ​​having Homer appear in the 1776 play . Producer James L. Brooks then suggested that Marge could play the character of Blanche DuBois from the play Endstation Sehnsucht . Brooks saw significant similarities between Marge's relationship with Homer and Blanche's relationship with Stanley. He wanted to create an emotional bow for the episode. However, the estate administrator of Tennessee Williams did not allow literal passages or larger excerpts from the original piece to be used. However, Anatole Klebanow, a Fox attorney , said that original songs based on the piece can be used. According to producer Mike Reiss , Klebanow even promised to bring the case to the Supreme Court to broadcast the episode. Jeff Martin later stated that the songs made the episode more difficult to make, but also made it funnier.

The music in the scenes of the subplot with Maggie as the main character is Elmer Bernstein's marching music from the film Broken Chains . Composer Alf Clausen secured the rights to the film music. Broken Chains was Jeff Martin's favorite film as a kid and he said it was "so exciting and so poignant" to hear the music played by the studio orchestra.

animation

Clear the stage for Marge posed a challenge for the animators of the series, according to their own statements. The episode contains several long difficult scenes, especially during the last third, which concerns the end of the subplot with Maggie and the performance of the musical. For some scenes, the animators had to draw dozens of background characters. Rich Moore initially feared that the episode might not be completed in time; and David Silverman , the senior director, had doubts. According to Jeff Martin, Silverman sent him a cartoon of himself reading the episode's script, popping his eyes and leaving his mouth open. Producer Al Jean said Moore worked his way "to death" creating the most elaborate scenes in the episode.

Several scenes that appeared in the storyboard and animatic were recreated or completely removed from the final version of the episode. For example, much of the Maggie subplot was changed before the episode aired. A scene in which the babies lock Ms. Sinclair in her office is missing in the final version of the episode.

synchronization

All the major voice actors in the original version voiced the actors in this episode, along with the more infrequent voice actors Maggie Roswell and Phil Hartman . Production assistant Lona Williams also had a small speaking role. Comedian Jon Lovitz , who voiced Llewellyn Sinclair and Ms. Sinclar, had his fourth guest role on the series in this episode, where he dubbed characters in How It All Began , Marges Masterpiece and The Serious Case. Later Lovitz worked with Al Jean and Mike Reiss on the series The Critic and came for the consequences Springfield Film Festival , The totally crazy Ned , a half-decent application , Guess Who's Coming to Dinner , Homerazzi and the scary devil of a time travel black by the Hole back as a guest speaker.

Guest speaker Jon Lovitz
figure Original speaker German dubbing voice
Homer Simpson Dan Castellaneta Norbert Gastell
Marge Simpson Julie Kavner Elisabeth Volkmann
Bart Simpson Nancy Cartwright Sandra Schwittau
Lisa Simpson Yeardley Smith Sabine Bohlmann
Clancy Wiggum Hank Azaria Thomas Rau
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Hank Azaria Tobias Lelle
Ned Flanders Harry Shearer Ulrich Frank
Otto Mann Harry Shearer Gudo Hoegel
Mr. Boswell Harry Shearer Gunnar Möller
Helen Lovejoy Maggie Roswell Michèle Tichawsky
Lionel Hutz Phil Hartman Christoph Lindert
Troy McClure Phil Hartman Frank Muth
Llewellyn Sinclair Jon Lovitz Fred Maire
Ms. Sinclair Jon Lovitz Anita Höfer
Deborah Jo Smallwood Lona Williams N / A

Publication and reception

The first airing of A Streetcar Named Marge ended the Nielsen Ratings the week of its first airing with a rating of 11.8 in the 32nd place of all US TV shows, which corresponds to about 11 million TV households. It had the second highest rating of any show on Fox that week after A Terribly Kind Family .

All songs from this episode are available on the album Songs in the Key of Springfield , released in 1997 . The episode is also available on the VHS The Simpsons Go Hollywood , released in 2000, and on the fourth season DVD released in 2004 . Jon Lovitz, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, and Hank Azaria participated in the audio commentary for the episode on the Season DVD.

In 1993, the episodes Clear the Stage for Marge and once as Snow King were proposed for the Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Comedy Series category . Until that year, the series was only allowed to compete in the Outstanding Animated Program category ; in the spring of 1993, however, the rules were changed, so that from now on animated series were able to submit nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series . However, the jury was reluctant to prefer animated series over real series, which is why The Simpsons did not receive a nomination. Episodes of the series were also submitted in the following year, but these were not nominated either. Since then, episodes have only been submitted in the cartoon category.

Reviews

'A Streetcar Named Marge' is just about perfect, a stunningly assured and consistently hilarious marriage of scathing pop-culture and domestic satire and emotion. By this point, The Simpsons was operating on a higher evolutionary plane than any other comedy on television and its fourth season had only begun.

“'Clear the stage for Marge' is simply perfect, an astonishingly secure and consistently hilarious marriage of vicious pop culture with domestic satire and emotion. At this point, The Simpsons was acting on a higher evolutionary level than any other comedy on television, and their fourth season had only just begun. "

- Nathan Rabin from "The AV Club"

Since it first aired, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from fans and critics. Michael Moran of The Times newspaper rated it the seventh best episode in the series' history. Entertainment Weekly's Dalton Ross hailed it as the best musical episode of The Simpsons . The series' creator Matt Groening listed it as one of his own favorites and called the subplot "Maggie's finest moment" (in German about "Maggie's finest moment"). Executive producer James L. Brooks also listed it as one of his favorites across the series, saying it "showed that we could go into areas that no one thought we could go into." The later guest star Trey Anastasio said the episode was "maybe the best TV show ever". After the episode first aired, the Ayn Rand Society , an association engaged in the philosophical thought and writings of Ayn Rand , called Groening to tell him they were excited about the references to Rand. They also asked him if the show made fun of them.

Controversy

The musical in this episode contains a controversial song about the city of New Orleans , which she describes, among other things, as "home of pirates, drunks and whores" (in German: "home of pirates, drunks and whores"). Jeff Martin , the author of this episode, had thought the song as a parody of the theme song of the musical Sweeney Todd , which speaks in unflattering terms about London . Al Jean later explained that two original characters that the population of Cajuns belong in disgust from the theater should go in the episode. However, none of the voice actors had a convincing Cajun accent. An early version of this scene is an animatic in the box set of the fourth season.

Before the premiere of the fourth season, the producers sent two episodes to critics in advance: Crisis in Kamp Krusty and Clear the Stage for Marge . A New Orleans reviewer watched the episode and published the lyrics in his newspaper before the episode first aired. WNOL-TV , a New Orleans television station and a Fox partner, received over 100 complaints the day the episode first aired. Several local radio stations supported the protests.

At the urging of WNOL-TV, Jamie Kellner , President of Fox, issued a statement on October 1, 1992, apologizing for the episode:

“It has come to our attention that a comedic song about New Orleans in tonight's episode of 'The Simpsons' has offended some city residents and officials. Viewers who watch the episode will realize that the song is in fact a parody of the opening numbers of countless Broadway musicals, which are designed to set the stage for the story that follows. That is the only purpose of this song. We regret that the song, taken out of context, has caused offense. This was certainly not the intention of 'The Simpsons' production staff or Fox Broadcasting Company. "

“We learned that a comedic song about New Orleans that followed tonight's 'The Simpsons' offended some residents and officials in the city. Viewers who watch the episode will realize that the song is, in fact, a parody of the opening numbers of countless Broadway musicals designed to set the stage for the story that follows. That's the only purpose of this song. We regret that the song, taken out of context, caused insult. This was certainly not the intention of the production staff at The Simpsons or Fox Broadcasting Company. "

The producers of The Simpsons apologized for that song a week later at the first showing of the episode Homer the Heretic (dt Title:. A profane life ) with the local " panel gag " that "I will not defame New Orleans" (in the German version "I mustn't make New Orleans bad") was. "Little did we know people would get so angry," said Al Jean, "It was the best excuse we could think of, in eight words or less."

Further arguments followed in September 2005 when British television channel Channel 4 decided to air the episode a week after New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina . Several viewers filed complaints with the UK's Office of Communications, alleging that it was an insensitive choice given recent events. Two days later, Channel 4 apologized on the air and directly contacted anyone who had complained. Channel 4 checked the episode for objectionable content, focused on the main content of the episode and did not see the song as a central part of the plot. The broadcaster promised to renew its review process to ensure that similar cases no longer arise.

Web links

Wikiquote: A Streetcar Named Marge  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate. Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , archived from the original on August 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2012 .
  2. ↑ “The Simpsons” A Streetcar Named Marge (1992) - Release dates. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  3. ↑ Dan Snierson: 'The Simpsons': Exclusive details on the next big-screen adventure (it's short, silent, and in 3-D)! . In: Entertainment Weekly , May 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved on September 9, 2012. 
  4. ↑ "hulking" adj. Ahd. "Ungislaht" 'degenerate'; Mhd. "Unslaht" 'not from the same family, same sex, evil, naughty, vicious, raw, gnarled, stale, spoiled' ( digital dictionary of the German language )
  5. ↑ a b c d Warren Martyn, Adrian Wood: A Streetcar Named Marge . BBC. 2000. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved on September 9, 2012.
  6. ^ Ray Richmond, Antonia Coffman: The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family . Harper Collins Publishers, 1997, ISBN 0-00-638898-1 , p. 93.
  7. ↑ A Streetcar Named Marge . TheSimpsons.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g Jeff Martin: DVD commentary for the episode "Clear the stage for Marge". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
    Jeff Martin's statement about the music: "It was so exciting and so stirring [...]"
  9. ↑ Chris Turner: Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation . DeCapo Press, 2004, ISBN 0-679-31318-4 , pp. 64-65.
  10. ↑ a b Mike Reiss: DVD commentary for the episode “Stage free for Marge”. In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
  11. ↑ a b Matt Groening: DVD commentary for the episode “Stage free for Marge”. In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
  12. ↑ a b c Al Jean: DVD commentary for the episode “Stage free for Marge”. In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
    Al Jean's opinion on Rich Moore's work: "[…] worked himself to death […]"
  13. ↑ Rich Moore: DVD commentary for the episode "Clear the Stage for Marge". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
  14. ^ "The Critic" (1994) - Full cast and crew. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski: Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances . IGN . Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  16. ↑ Sean O'Neal: Here are the somewhat horror-related things being mocked in this year's Simpsons Halloween special. In: The AV Club. August 27, 2012, archived from the original on December 29, 2012 ; Retrieved December 29, 2012 .
  17. ↑ “The Simpsons” A Streetcar Named Marge (1992) - Full cast and crew. Internet Movie Database , accessed May 22, 2015 .
  18. ↑ a b The Simpsons. In: German synchronous card index . Archived from the original on August 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2012 .
  19. ↑ "The Simpsons" (4th season). In: Synchronous series. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2012 .
  20. ↑ Deborah Hastings: New romantic comedies give CBS boost . In: Sun-Sentinel , October 9, 1992, p. 6E. 
  21. ↑ Phil Kloer: Songs in the Key of Springfield , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. March 27, 1997, p. F4. 
  22. ↑ Home Video , The Star-Ledger . January 14, 2000, p. 51. 
  23. ↑ Tom Maurstad: Another Homer for the Simpsons , The Dallas Morning News . January 14, 2000, p. 11J. 
  24. ↑ The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 20th Century Fox , 2004.
  25. ↑ Holloway, Diane: 'Simpsons' get Emmy's respect - Academy lets series drop cartoon status to compete as sitcom , Austin American-Statesman . February 2, 1993, p. B4. 
  26. ↑ Jean, Al. (2004). DVD commentary for the episode " Once the Snow King ". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 20th Century Fox .
  27. ↑ Emmy Awards official site In: emmys.org . Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  28. ^ Nathan Rabin: “A Streetcar Named Marge”. In: The AV Club. April 8, 2012, archived from the original on August 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2012 .
  29. ↑ Michael Moran: The 10 best Simpsons episodes ever . In: The Times , January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012. 
  30. ^ Dalton Ross: The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season , Entertainment Weekly . June 18, 2004. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved on September 9, 2012. 
  31. ^ Dan Snierson: Springfield of Dreams , Entertainment Weekly . January 14, 2000. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved on September 9, 2012. 
  32. ↑ Neil Justin: Insiders name their favorite episodes , Star Tribune . May 20, 2007, p. 10F. "It showed we could go into areas no one thought we could go into." 
  33. ↑ Wook Kim: SAT'S For Rockers , Entertainment Weekly . May 17, 2000. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2012. “Oh, oh, oh! This is easy. A Streetcar Named Margin. That may have been the best TV show ever. " 
  34. ^ The Ayn Rand Society. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012 ; Retrieved September 9, 2012 .
  35. ↑ a b Jeff Martin: DVD Extra "The Cajun Controversy". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
  36. ↑ a b Mark Lorando: 'Simpsons' takes a shot at Crescent City , The Times-Picayune . October 1, 1992, p. A1. 
  37. ↑ Rich Moore: Animatic of the episode "Clear the Stage for Marge". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 2004. 20th Century Fox .
  38. ↑ Mark Lorando: Fox apologizes for 'Simpsons' , The Times-Picayune . October 2, 1992, p. B1. 
  39. ↑ DVD Extra "The Cajun Controversy". In: The Simpsons: The Complete Season Four [DVD]. 20th Century Fox .
  40. ↑ Mark Lorando: Bart chalks up apology for New Orleans song , The Times-Picayune . October 8, 1992, p. A1. "We didn't realize people would get so mad. It was the best apology we could come up with in eight words or less. " 
  41. ↑ Issue number 46 . Office of Communications . October 24, 2005. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved on September 9, 2012.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 28, 2012 .