The Simpsons episode
"Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife"
Episode no.	371
Prod. code	HABF08
Orig. airdate	March 26, 2006
Written by	Ricky Gervais
Directed by	Matthew Nastuk
Chalkboard	I will not eat things for money. (Live-action). I will not laminate dog doo. (May 21 and November 5 re-airings) Simpsons redirects here. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (972x713, 495 KB) Summary Promotional artwork for The Simpsons episode Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife. Licensing This is a copyrighted image that has been released by a company or organization to promote their work or product in the media, such... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Al Jean (left) and David Mirkin (right), have both been writers for The Simpsons for more than ten years. ... Ricky Dene Gervais (IPA: ) (born June 25, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning British comic writer and performer from Reading, Berkshire. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Matthew Nastuk is an animation director on The Simpsons. ... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Couch gag	The family just sits down on the couch. (Live-action). The re-airings on May 21 and November 5 had the family being barbecued on a stick. The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Guest star(s)	Ricky Gervais as Charles
Season 17 September 11, 2005 – May 21, 2006
Bonfire of the Manatees The Girl Who Slept Too Little Milhouse of Sand and Fog Treehouse of Horror XVI Marge's Son Poisoning See Homer Run The Last of the Red Hat Mamas The Italian Bob Simpsons Christmas Stories Homer's Paternity Coot We're on the Road to D'ohwhere My Fair Laddy The Seemingly Never-Ending Story Bart Has Two Mommies Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife Million Dollar Abie Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore The Wettest Stories Ever Told Girls Just Want to Have Sums Regarding Margie The Monkey Suit Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" is an episode of The Simpsons, that aired on March 26, 2006. It is the fifteenth episode of the show's seventeenth season. Ricky Gervais wrote the episode, making him the first guest star to ever be credited with writing an episode of The Simpsons. In the UK this episode received the highest ratings a Simpsons episode has ever received in the UK, as it topped 2.3 million viewers and was the highest rated in Sky One's history, arguably due to its extensive promotion. This revolved around the angle that Gervais was the episode's sole writer, but he clarified the extent of his input in a joint interview (with Christopher Guest) for Dazed and Confused magazine (January 2006): "No, all I did was put down a load of observations on an email and they made it look like a Simpsons script. I'm going to get the credit, but I think everyone in the industry knows it was a joint effort." Criticisms of the episode include its blatant promotion of high definition television (Sky has just launched a HD service) as well as the alleged mediocrity of the script. (left to right) Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Homer, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer guest starred in the heavily promoted season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. This is a list of guest stars who appeared on The Simpsons. ... Ricky Dene Gervais (IPA: ) (born June 25, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning British comic writer and performer from Reading, Berkshire. ... The Simpsons celebrate Labor Day in this promotional artwork for the series 17th season. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bonfire of the Manatees is the first episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... The Girl Who Slept Too Little is the second episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... Milhouse of Sand and Fog is the third episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. ... Treehouse of Horror XVI is the fourth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, as well as the sixteenth Halloween episode. ... Marges Son Poisoning is an episode in Season 17 of The Simpsons. ... See Homer Run is the sixth episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons. ... The Last of the Red Hat Mamas is the seventh episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons. ... The Italian Bob is the eighth episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... Simpsons Christmas Stories is the ninth episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... Homers Paternity Coot is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... Were on the Road to Dohwhere is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. ... My Fair Laddy is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season. ... The Seemingly Never-Ending Story is the thirteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, and the ninth Emmy Award-winning episode. ... Bart has Two Mommies is the fourteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. ... Million Dollar Abie is the sixteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. ... “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore” is the seventeenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons, it originally aired on April 9, 2006. ... The Wettest Stories Ever Told is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons’ seventeenth season. ... “Girls Just Want to Have Sums” is the nineteenth episode of the seventeenth season of The Simpsons. ... Regarding Margie is the 20th episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season that aired on May 7, 2006. ... “The Monkey Suit” is the 21st episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season that originally aired on May 14, 2006. ... Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play is an episode of The Simpsons. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ricky Dene Gervais (IPA: ) (born June 25, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA award-winning British comic writer and performer from Reading, Berkshire. ...

Plot

Lenny invites practically everyone in town to a party at his apartment, where he tells them that he is dying to tell them that he has adopted a new faith in the form of a brand new plasma screen TV, and Homer immediately falls in love with its high-definition picture. He begins to spend all his time at Lenny's house, watching TV. Marge sends over the kids to bring him back, but they too get enthralled by the TV themselves. Eventually, Lenny kicks him out. When he gets back home, he just does not enjoy watching his usual CRT TV anymore. Marge tells him that she entered them into a contest where the prize is a plasma screen TV. Later, they get a call, and they learn that they won third place as opposed to first ("No. No one wins that."), and the prize is a trip to the Fox Studio Network (no expenses paid). While there, Homer learns of a reality show called "Mother Flippers" (similar to Wife Swap and Trading Spouses), and the grand prize just happens to be enough money to buy a new plasma screen TV. The show's executives ask Homer if he is alright with them filming his intimate moments, he agrees as he shows them a DVD for "Homer Gone Wild" With his chest crossed out with a black line. Marge agrees, although with reluctance, and they enter. She is then filmed saying 'I'll Do It!' for commercial reasons. appearance=Life on the Fast Lane Lenford Lenny Leonard, MPhys is a fictional character in The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust. ... Projection screen in a home theater, displaying a high-definition television image. ... Marjorie Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ... Cathode ray tube employing electromagnetic focus and deflection Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... Wife Swap is a reality television programme, produced by UK independent TV production company RDF Media. ... Trading Spouses (often advertised as Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy) was a FOX Network reality show in which two families, usually of different social classes, swap wives or husbands for a week. ...

When they get back to Springfield, the show begins. Marge is traded to a nice, easy going man named Charles Heathbar and his perfect son, while Homer gets Charles' very strict wife, Verity. Charles seems to be the classic hen-pecked husband, and is surprised to see that Marge is extremely understanding and nice. Marge enjoys her time with Charles, while he begins to develop a crush on her. Meanwhile, Homer, Bart, and Lisa are having major troubles with Verity, who continues to discipline them and object to everything they do. She makes homework out of "Itchy and Scratchy" for Bart and asks Homer for his "synopsis" of CSI: Miami. For the comic book series of the same name, see Bart Simpson comics. ... Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith; Lisa is the only character Smith voices on a regular basis. ... The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show-within-a-show of The Simpsons which usually appears as a segment of the fictional Krusty the Klown TV show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson and other characters on the animated series. ... CSI: Miami is a spinoff of the popular CBS network series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. ...

Back at Charles' house, he writes a love song for Marge (with guitar accompaniment), who seems completely oblivious to him until he comes out and tells her that he is in love with her. She explains to him that she loves Homer, and she tells him that he should tell his wife how he feels. He agrees, and decides to take her back to Homer and then get rid of Verity. When they get back to Springfield, Homer and the kids are ecstatic to see Marge. However, Verity has decided to leave him first, and she has already found a new partner: Patty. They were brought together by their hatred for Homer. Homer threatens to vote No on Proposition 38 (for adoption by same-sex couples), but a little arm-twisting by Patty brings him in line and makes him admit that he does not vote because the booth is up a slope. This article or section should be merged with Selma Bouvier Patty Bouvier (voiced by Julie Kavner), a fictional character on The Simpsons, is one of Marges two cynical chain-smoking sisters (the other is Selma). ... Adoption by same-sex couples refers to the adoption of children by gay or lesbian couples. ...

In the end, Homer plays on the guitar, expressing his undying love for his new plasma TV, and to a lesser extent, Marge.

Cultural references

• The title is most likely a reference to the television series This Is Your Life. Also derived from this older series, the song The Diary of Horace Wimp by Electric Light Orchestra has a repeated phrase, "Horace Wimp, this is your life". In the last verse of the song, it is changed to "Horace Wimp, this is your wife".
• The character Charles is based on Gervais' character David Brent from the British version of The Office. He is constantly fidgeting with his tie, says that he is the manager of an office, and like Brent, appears to be a very inept one. Charles also tells an offensive joke to Marge and plays guitar. Further, he is voice acted by Gervais.
• Homer reveals he has collected all 40 years of the comic strip The Family Circus in a scrapbook, but, nonplussed by the humor, throws it in the fire.
• The shot of Charles standing in front of the fire while singing about Princess Diana echoes the famous and controversial photo of her by John Minihan where she is standing in a school garden with the sun behind her, revealing the outline of her legs through her skirt.
• After he has told to Marge a story, Charles is said to be a natural born storyteller. He thanks Marge for having been called in that way and for having not been called a natural born killer. This is a reference to the 1994 film Natural Born Killers by Oliver Stone.
• In the live action opening credits, everything seemed American (left hand drive car), but actually the background is British (driving on the left hand side, British style safety stickers, Chief Wiggum in British police uniform and single yellow parking restriction line).
• Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, makes a cameo appearance at the Fox studios, telling Homer not to lean out of the bus.
• When Homer watches the race-cars on Lenny's HDTV, the car which flips over has the number 42 on it, a possible reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series.
• Homer's "Homer gone Wild" is a parody of "Girls Gone Wild"

This Is Your Life was a television documentary series hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards. ... The Diary Of Horace Wimp is the title of a track from the Electric Light Orchestra album Discovery. ... “ELO” redirects here. ... The Office is a British television comedy series, created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and first aired in the UK on BBC Two on July 9, 2001. ... An early strip featuring (L to R) Daddy (Bill), Dolly, Billy, Mommy (Thel), and Jeffy. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961–31 August 1997), commonly, but incorrectly, known as Princess Diana, was for fifteen years the wife of HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. ... John Minihan was born in Dublin in 1946 and raised in Athy, County Kildare. ... The year 1994 in film involved some significant events. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... For the song, see Natural Born Killaz. ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... In film and video, live action refers to works that are acted out by flesh-and-blood actors, as opposed to animation. ... Daniel Louis Castellaneta (born October 29, 1957) is an Emmy award winning American voice actor, actor and comedian best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson and other characters on the long-running FOX animated series The Simpsons. ... The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... This article is about the franchise. ...

External links

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• Gervais writing Simpsons episode, a December 2004 BBC article
• Storyboard images from the writer's official website