The Wreck of the Relationship

"The Wreck of the Relationship"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no. 554
Directed by Chuck Sheetz
Written by Jeff Westbrook
Showrunner(s) Matt Selman & Al Jean
Production code SABF17
Original air date October 5, 2014 (2014-10-05)
Couch gag The Simpsons find Itchy about to kill Scratchy on the couch. Homer intervenes by removing Itchy and allowing Scratchy to stay on the couch for several months, which ultimately starts annoying the family. Homer brings back Itchy who effectively murders Scratchy.
Guest appearance(s)

Nick Offerman as Captain Bowditch

Season 26 episodes
Seasons

"The Wreck of the Relationship" is the second episode of the 26th season of the animated series The Simpsons, and the 554th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 5, 2014. The episode sees Marge send Homer and Bart onto a ship where their father-son conflict can be resolved, while she is left to manage her husband's fantasy football team.

Plot

When Bart disrespects his father Homer's authority, Homer tries to be a stricter parent to Bart. Bart later refuses to eat one piece of broccoli at dinner, so Homer decides to sit at the table until Bart eats his broccoli, even though they both miss out on important things (Homer's fantasy football draft and Bart being able to watch as Martin Prince beat the hell out of Nelson Muntz). To end the impasse, Lisa makes two identical smoothies where one contains broccoli and the other doesn't, so that Bart can drink it and Homer can feel that Bart did something well. But Bart deliberately spills the smoothies, and his fighting with a newly enraged Homer leads Marge to send them both to a "Relation Ship" with Captain Bowditch (Nick Offerman), where they can solve their relationship problems. While Homer recovers from scurvy, Bart enjoys and excels at sailing and ends up being promoted to mid-ship man, who can give out direct orders to the crew members, much to Homer's chagrin.

Homer rebels against Bart's newfound position and eventually gets drunk of a flask of rum. When the captain snatches the rum of Homer, and reveals that he became a captain due to him being a recovering alcoholic, the captain gives into temptation and drinks the rum, becoming drunk with Homer. A huge storm begins, and Bart is left in charge of the ship due to the captain's intoxication. Bart wants to sail around a lighthouse inlet to reach safe harbor, but Homer first says they need to drop anchor and batten down the hanches and then responds to Bart's complaint about Homer ignoring his authority by screaming that Bart NEVER listens to Homer's authority. To Homer's shock, Bart holds out a piece of broccoli he brought from home, eats it and then asks Homer to trust him. Homer does do so, and they combine to get the ship safely home, their relationship now in a much better place.

Meanwhile, Marge had to draft Homer's fantasy football team called "Somewhere Over the Dwayne Bowe" despite knowing nothing of the sport and horrifies him by choosing a roster made mostly of placekickers. Initially put off by the trash talking from Homer's friends, she is advised by Patty and Selma to beat them in fantasy football to end the impasse. She and Lisa study football in detail and realize that a coming major storm event in the U.S. will lead to teams attempting and making record numbers of field goals, and thus her roster ends up piling up huge amount of point and defeating all challengers, proving as the narrator says that "fantasy football is mostly just luck."

Production

Nick Offerman voiced the captain.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman revealed that he had been recommended for the voice of Captain Bowditch by Mike Scully, a writer on both The Simpsons and Parks and Recreation. Offerman never before thought that he would play a role on The Simpsons as "They’re writing parts for Paul McCartney", and was delighted to be cast as a sailor due to his interest in naval literature.[1]

Reception

The episode received an audience of 4.27 million, the highest rated show on Fox that night.[2]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B-, calling the series' habit of relying on family-based plots "both an infinite resource and a curse". He wrote that "Bowditch doesn’t have much of a personality, and the antics on the ship are benignly ordinary...Apu, Ned, Cletus, and some assorted sons are along for the ride, but don’t contribute much, either." However, he praised the sub-plot due to Marge's reactions to a male-dominated game.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Snierson, Dan (October 3, 2014). "Nick Offerman on his 'Simpsons' guest spot and the end of 'Parks and Recreation'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (October 7, 2014). "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'Resurrection' & 'Revenge' Adjusted Up; 'Madam Secretary' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ Perkins, Dennis (October 6, 2014). "The Simpsons: "The Wreck Of The Relationship"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
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