10th episode of the 12th season of The Simpsons
"
Pokey Mom
" is the tenth episode of the
twelfth season
of the American animated television series
The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the
Fox network
in the United States on January 14, 2001. In the episode,
Marge
befriends Jack Crowley, a convict who she believes has some artistic potential. With Marge's help, Jack is granted
parole
and finds a mural-painting job at
Springfield Elementary School
. Meanwhile,
Homer
suffers from a back injury after being kicked by a bull at the prison rodeo and goes to see a
chiropractor
. Despite this, his pain remains and it is not until he accidentally falls backwards onto a garbage can that his back injury disappears. Homer makes a successful business out of this injury-healing garbage can, much to the dismay of chiropractors in town.
The episode was written by
Tom Martin
and directed by
Bob Anderson
, and it features guest appearances from
Michael Keaton
as Jack,
Charles Napier
as a
prison warden
,
Robert Schimmel
as a prisoner, and
Bruce Vilanch
as himself. The title "Pokey Mom" is a pun on the video game franchise
"
Pokemon
"
and the term "pokey", a nickname given to
prisons
, though it was noted that the episode name was chosen to attempt to cash in on the success of the
Pokemon
series.
[
citation needed
]
"Pokey Mom" has been met with generally negative reviews from critics, being described as bland and drawn out. The staff members of the series received complaints from chiropractors after it aired, and some chiropractors have characterized the portrayal of the profession in the episode as stereotypical.
Around 8.79 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing, and in 2009 it was released on DVD along with the rest of the episodes of the twelfth season.
Plot
[
edit
]
The
Simpson family
attends a prison
rodeo
where
Marge
meets Jack Crowley, a convict whom she believes to have great artistic potential after becoming impressed with his work. She later teaches a class on being an artist to the prisoners and befriends Jack. With Marge's help, Jack is granted
parole
under her custody. Marge soon finds a mural-painting job at
Springfield Elementary School
for him. Jack paints a powerful mural symbolizing school spirit with a warrior woman riding a puma, which the whole school likes, but
Principal Skinner
demands he tone it down using his idea of a cartoonish puma walking with two children under a rainbow in a fantasy land. Jack reluctantly gives in to his wishes; however, upon its unveiling, the new mural is panned by everyone in town. Refusing to admit that he forced Jack to create it in the first place, Skinner instead blames Jack and fires him.
Sometime later, the mural is set on fire by a mystery
arsonist
, and everyone manages to get a look at the real one. Everyone in the school assumes Jack did it to get back at Skinner. While the police are out searching for Jack, Marge finds him hiding in the school playground. He swears to her that he did not start the fire. Marge believes him and distracts Skinner and
Chief Wiggum
so he can escape, but he instead sets fire to Skinner's car and dances around it laughing maniacally, revealing his true nature. Jack is arrested and Marge, furious that he lied to her face, demands Wiggum to take him back to prison.
Meanwhile,
Homer
suffers a back injury by a bull from the rodeo and sees a
chiropractor
, but does not follow his instructions. Later, Homer falls backward onto a malformed garbage can at home and discovers that it solved his back problems. He makes a business out of his discovery, which proves to be a successful method of solving problems with pain, causing the chiropractic business to decline. Eventually, two chiropractors disguised as investors trick Homer and destroy the garbage can at the Simpsons' home.
Production and cultural references
[
edit
]
"Pokey Mom" was written by
Tom Martin
and directed by
Bob Anderson
as part of the twelfth season of
The Simpsons
(2000?2001).
[1]
According to then-
showrunner
Mike Scully
, the story of this episode originated from the fact that the staff members of
The Simpsons
wanted to do an episode about Marge but felt they did not want it to revolve around her getting a new job, as that had been seen on the show "too often". They decided to explore one of Marge's attributes that had been seen in earlier episodes, eventually choosing her interest in art.
[2]
Martin conceived of the sub-plot surrounding Homer following a visit to a chiropractor.
[1]
He has said that the "heart" of that story is that the chiropractors in Springfield become opposed to Homer's method of healing people and try to stop it after losing business, in reference to how chiropractors in real-life "are a bit hated by the AMA (
American Medical Association
)" and how the AMA has tried to restrict their businesses in the past.
[1]
Martin has also noted that the episode shows how "a lot of chiropractors are these great healers and they do great work, and then there's some that are crooked."
[1]
Several famous Americans made guest appearances in the episode. Actor
Michael Keaton
guest-starred as Jack Crowley, while stand-up comedian
Robert Schimmel
appeared as a prisoner in Marge's art class that wants to smell her clothes.
[2]
Actor
Charles Napier
voiced the
prison warden
that
commentates
the rodeo at the prison and later grants Jack his parole.
[2]
Comedy writer and actor
Bruce Vilanch
guest-starred in the episode as himself at the unveiling of Jack's mural painting.
[3]
[4]
There, Principal Skinner jokes to the audience that "when
Superintendent Chalmers
suggested a school mural, I almost thought he said a 'school Muriel'," referencing Chalmers' sister Muriel. When no one laughs at his joke and the audience is dead silent, Skinner sarcastically says "Well, thank you, Bruce Vilanch," to which Vilanch replies "Whoopi would've made it work." This is a reference to the fact that Vilanch has written comedy material for actress
Whoopi Goldberg
.
[2]
Moe's
line "forget it Homer, it's chirotown" after Homer's business is destroyed is a reference to the film
Chinatown
.
Release
[
edit
]
The episode originally aired on the
Fox network
in the United States on January 14, 2001.
[5]
[6]
It was viewed in approximately 8.79 million households that night. With a
Nielsen rating
of 8.6, "Pokey Mom" tied with an episode of
60 Minutes
for the 38th place in the ratings for the week of January 8?14, 2001. It was the third-highest-rated broadcast on Fox that week, following episodes of
Temptation Island
and
Boston Public
.
[7]
On August 18, 2009, "Pokey Mom" was released on DVD as part of the box set
The Simpsons ? The Complete Twelfth Season
. Staff members Tom Martin, Bob Anderson, Mike Scully,
Ian Maxtone-Graham
,
John Frink
,
Don Payne
,
Matt Selman
, and
Joel H. Cohen
, as well as cast members
Dan Castellaneta
and
Joe Mantegna
, participated in the DVD
audio commentary
for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
[8]
Reception
[
edit
]
Critics have given "Pokey Mom" generally negative reviews. Nancy Basile of
About.com
said she "loathed" it.
[9]
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that "Other than a nice guest turn from Michael Keaton, 'Mom' doesn’t do much to stand out from the crowd. Oh, like much of Season 12, it keeps us interested, but that’s not exactly a strong endorsement. 'Mom' provides a watchable show but nothing more."
[5]
Den of Geek critic Matt Haigh wrote that the episode "starts well, but begins to feel tired and drawn out, and there just doesn't seem to be much of a story there."
[10]
Following the original broadcast of the episode, the staff members of the series received several complaints from chiropractors.
[11]
The February 26, 2001 issue of the magazine
Dynamic Chiropractic
featured an article about the episode that noted: "[
The Simpsons
] has poked fun at numerous people, and about every institution and profession imaginable. On January 17, it was chiropractic's turn."
[12]
In an article of the magazine
Canadian Chiropractor
, Steven R. Passmore (
D.C.
,
M.S.
) and Lorraine Kochanowski-Sutter (D.C.) analyzed the portrayal of chiropractors in the media. They gave "Pokey Mom" as an example of how "chiropractors on sitcoms pok[e] fun at themselves as they prescribe the duration of a course of care. [...] Dr. Steve on The Simpsons corroborates this stereotype when telling Homer that he will need to see him 'three times a week for many years.'"
[13]
Passmore and Kochanowski-Sutter also noted that in the episode "we see a
dreamcatcher
on the wall behind Dr. Steve as he treats Homer. This strategically placed decoration could suggest that the chiropractor is in touch with native and/or natural healing, or it could be a jab at the field’s more esoteric practitioners."
[13]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Martin, Tom (2009).
The Simpsons ? The Complete Twelfth Season
DVD commentary for the episode "Pokey Mom". 20th Century Fox.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Scully, Mike (2009).
The Simpsons ? The Complete Twelfth Season
DVD commentary for the episode "Pokey Mom". 20th Century Fox.
- ^
Castellaneta, Dan (2009).
The Simpsons ? The Complete Twelfth Season
DVD commentary for the episode "Pokey Mom". 20th Century Fox.
- ^
McEntire, Mac (September 9, 2009).
"Buy The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season at Amazon The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season"
.
DVD Verdict
. Archived from
the original
on November 3, 2011
. Retrieved
November 1,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Jacobson, Colin (September 2, 2009).
"The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season (1999)"
. DVD Movie Guide
. Retrieved
November 1,
2011
.
- ^
Alberti, John (2004).
Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture
. Wayne State University Press. p.
324
.
ISBN
978-0-8143-2849-1
.
season 12 (2000.
- ^
Associated Press
(January 18, 2001). "Network television ratings".
Press-Telegram
. p. A14.
- ^
Lambert, David (May 20, 2009).
"The Simpsons - Season 12 Street Date, Detailed Contents & 'Comic Book Guy Head' Box"
.
TVShowsOnDVD.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 22, 2009
. Retrieved
November 1,
2011
.
- ^
Basile, Nancy.
"
'The Simpsons' Season 12 Review"
.
About.com
. Archived from
the original
on November 5, 2011
. Retrieved
November 1,
2011
.
- ^
Haigh, Matt (October 1, 2009).
"The Simpsons Season 12 DVD review"
. Den of Geek
. Retrieved
January 24,
2022
.
- ^
Payne, Don (2009).
The Simpsons ? The Complete Twelfth Season
DVD commentary for the episode "Pokey Mom". 20th Century Fox.
- ^
"TV's Homer Simpson Gets a Chiropractic Referral"
.
Dynamic Chiropractic
.
19
(5). February 26, 2001. Archived from
the original
on January 17, 2013
. Retrieved
June 28,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Passmore, Steven R.; Kochanowski-Sutter, Lorraine.
"The Message in the Media: Part 2"
. Canadian Chiropractor. Archived from
the original
on April 14, 2008
. Retrieved
November 17,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]