Mr. Plow
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- For the actual vehicle, please see List of vehicles in the The Simpsons.
Synopsis
It is snowing badly in Springfield, so Marge calls Homer at Moe's Tavern and tells him to come home right away. Homer drives through a snowstorm and both cars are destroyed as a result. He lies to an insurance claims adjuster about his whereabouts before the accident in order to cover the fact that he was drunk at the time.
Homer goes to a car show to get a new car, where a salesman talks him into getting a snow plow because he can pay the higher debt by using it to plow snow off the roads. Homer starts his snow plow business as "Mr. Plow" with the help of a late-night ad and becomes a success, even being given a key to the city.
Barney asks how he can be a success so Homer says to go out and be the best Barney he could be. The next day Barney has bought a bigger plow, and with Linda Ronstadt's help, creates an ad as "The Plow King", which steals all of Homer's customers. Mayor Quimby takes back the key from Homer to give it to Barney. To get revenge Homer tricks Barney into going on a fake plow job.
Without Barney around Homer begins to plow driveways again, but the news reports there has been an avalanche on the mountain that Homer sent Barney to. Homer, feeling guilty, sets out to rescue him, and in the end they agree to become partners. Their claim that not even God could stop them (possibly a reference to a similar boast about the Titanic) brings about a response from God - the melting of the snow. Homer's plow is repossessed at the end of the episode.
Cultural references
- Bonnie and Clyde - Bart plays in a car the outlaw duo from the 1930s is said to have been riding in the day they were killed in a police ambush. Also, the scene where Bart is pelted by dozens of snowballs by angry classmates (after Homer clears a path for the bus) is lifted from the ambush scene of the 1967 film, where Mr. Barrow and Ms. Parker were shot repeatedly.
- Circus of the Stars - "Carnival of the Stars" (hosted by Troy McClure) is a direct spoof of the annual specials that aired on CBS (from 1976-1994), featuring celebrities performing circus acts.
- Citizen Kane - The Mr. Plow commercial featuring the snow dome being crushed is inspired by the shattered snow dome in the 1941 film.
- The Godfather - The scene where Bart gets hit with dozens of snowballs by angry classmates after Homer clears a path for the bus is taken from Sonny's execution scene in the 1972 movie.
- John F. Kennedy assassination - The scene where Kent Brockman announces "The Plow King is trapped" is a re-creation of videotape footage of Walter Cronkite delivering the bulletin about JFK's death.
- K-Tel Records - The commercial for Captain McAlister's "Singing Sea Shanties" album spoofs the television advertisements for K-Tel mail-to-order compliation albums.
- McMann & Tate - The advertising agency McMahon & Tate, which Homer visits to create commercials for Mr. Plow, is a play on the advertising agency featured on Bewitched.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - The scene where the snowmen melt during the sudden heatwave is just as how the Nazi soldiers melt in the 1981 film.
- Roto-Rooter - Homer's advertising jingle, "I'm Mr. Plow, that's the name, that name again is Mr. Plow" is a direct spoof of the drain cleaning service company.
- Taxi - The scene where Barney transfers from would-be academic scholar to chronic drunk is taken from an episode of the ABC-TV series where Reverend Jim is offered a marijuana brownie and instantly transforms from scholar to nutcase.
- Tony Dow - "Tony Plow" - the name Homer uses to try to fool a collection agency - is a pun on the actor (Leave it to Beaver).
Quotes
- Homer: "Call Mr. Plow, that's my name! That name again is Mr. Plow." — the jingle Homer sings at the end of his TV ad (a parody of the Roto-Rooter jingle).
- Homer (with a phony voice): There's a $10,000 bill in it for you.
Barney: Oh yeah? Which president's on it?
Homer:...all of them. They're having a party. Jimmy Carter is passed out on the couch.
''' - Linda Ronstadt: "Señor Plow no es macho, es solamente un borracho"
- Crazy Vaclav: She'll go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene.
Homer: What country is this car from?
Crazy Vaclav: It no longer exists, but take her for a test drive and you'll agree, "zagra verdans lotik diev."
-Attempting to start car as Vaclav pushes it-
Crazy Vaclav: Put it in H! - Insurance bloke: And this Moe's is this some sort of business?
Homer's brain: Don't say you were at a bar, don't say you were at a bar... But what else is open at midnight?
Homer: It's a pornography store. I was buying pornography.
Homer's Brain: Pornography, I would've never thought of that. - Mayor Quimby: What the, these look like teeth marks!
Homer: I thought there was chocolate inside, Then why was it wrapped in foil?
Mayor Quimby: It was never wrapped in foil!
External links
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