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Mayored to the Mob |
"Mayored to the Mob" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season, which originally broadcast on December 20, 1998.1 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.2 The episode was written by Ron Hauge and directed by Swinton O. Scott III,2 and received positive reviews from critics overall.
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While watching television, the family sees a commercial for the "Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con", a science-fiction convention featuring Mark Hamill, ALF, and a wrestling match between "the mighty robots from Battlestar Galactica" versus "the gay robots from Star Wars". The family decide to attend, but upon arrival, they realize it is full. Homer resents that it is full of nerds. Shortly after their arrival, a riot breaks out due to Hamill giving talks about saving money, and Homer notices that Mark Hamill and Mayor Quimby, who are attending the convention, are in danger of being trampled due to the riot. Homer quickly rescues the two of them. In return for the gesture, Quimby employs Homer to be his bodyguard.
Homer begins training at "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy", where he quickly graduates and begins his new job as Quimby's bodyguard. Unknowing to Homer, Quimby made a deal with Fat Tony shortly after Homer is employed to provide milk to the schools of Springfield. Homer soon finds out the milk is from rats, and confronts Quimby, accidentally knocking him out of the window in the process. Discovering Quimby has not fallen to his death and is in fact hanging on a ledge, Homer makes him promise to expose Fat Tony in return for Homer pulling Quimby back to safety.
Quimby organizes the arrests of Fat Tony and his men, but Fat Tony threatens his life on the news. Scared at having to defend Quimby due to the death threats, Homer attempts to reassure the Mayor by taking him to dinner theater to see Mark Hamill portray Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. Homer soon discovers Fat Tony is there alongside his henchman, Louie, having being released on bail. Louie attempts to stab Quimby, but is stopped in a scuffle with Homer and Hamill. Fat Tony savagely beats Quimby with a baseball bat. At the end, Homer and Hamill escape from the paparazzi.
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.3 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.4 Hamill stated that he loved doing the voice for bodyguard instructor Leavelle, but did not enjoy providing the voice for himself.5 Leavelle's design was inspired by the bodyguard in the photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, who was arrested for assassinating President John F. Kennedy. Leavelle practicing his shooting on top of the cart is a reference to the Grassy Knoll at Dealey Plaza where President Kennedy was assassinated.3
At the convention, Üter wears a Futurama shirt; Futurama had yet to premiere at this point.4 Leavelle sings the song "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston from the film The Bodyguard.5 The title of this episode is a reference to the film Married to the Mob.4 Homer and Mayor Quimby go to a production of the play Guys and Dolls.3 Mark Hamill tells Homer to "use the forks", spoofing the line "use the force" for the Star Wars films.5 Leavelle practicing his shooting on top of the cart, as well as the resulting scene, is a reference to Executive Action.3 Just before saving the mayor and Mark Hamil, Homer screams "nerds!" in a manner similar to Ogre from "Revenge of the Nerds."
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'".6 Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson and Brian Zoromski of IGN marked Hamill's guest appearance second on a list of Top 25 Simpsons Guest appearances.7 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."2 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".8 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 10.9
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