The Simpsons episode
"Mother Simpson"
Homer reunites with his mother.
Episode no.	136
Prod. code	3F06
Orig. airdate	November 19, 1995
Show runner(s)	Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein
Written by	Richard Appel
Directed by	David Silverman
Couch gag	Like in a bowling alley Snowball II is swept from the room by the pin sweep and the Simpson family are placed on the lounge like pins.
Guest star(s)	Glenn Close as Mona Simpson Harry Morgan as Bill Gannon
Season 7 September 17, 1995 – May 19, 1996
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two) Radioactive Man Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily Bart Sells His Soul Lisa the Vegetarian Treehouse of Horror VI King-Size Homer Mother Simpson Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular Marge Be Not Proud Team Homer Two Bad Neighbors Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield Bart the Fink Lisa the Iconoclast Homer the Smithers The Day the Violence Died A Fish Called Selma Bart on the Road 22 Short Films About Springfield Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" Much Apu About Nothing Homerpalooza Summer of 4 Ft. 2
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Mother Simpson" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. This episode marks the second appearance of Homer's mother. She first appeared in the season two episode "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" wherein she was voiced by Maggie Roswell. It reveals information about Homer's mother's mysterious past. All broadcast versions include a dedication to Jackie Banks, a former animation director for the show who died sometime previous to the airing of this episode. However, this dedication is not on the Season 7 DVD boxset. Simpsons redirects here. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ... This article is about a character from the Simpsons. ... is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American televison writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... This article is about The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein. ... The Simpsons writing staff in season 13, including current show runner Al Jean (fourth from left in middle row) and previous show runners Mike Scully (first from left in back row), David Mirkin (sixth from left in back row), and Mike Reiss (fourth from left in back row). ... Richard Appel (born 1964) is a writer and producer of TV-shows. ... 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. ... David Silverman (b. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Snowball, Snowball II, Snowball III, Snowball IV, and Snowball V are five fictional cats that have been owned by the Simpson family in the TV show The Simpsons. ... (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. ... Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is a five time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actress. ... This article is about a character from the Simpsons. ... Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... The Simpsons Season 7 DVD Digipak. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 139th day of the year (140th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Who Shot Mr. ... Radioactive Man is the second episode of The Simpsons seventh season which originally aired September 24, 1995. ... Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily is the third episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired October 1, 1995. ... Bart Sells His Soul is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Lisa the Vegetarian is the fifth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Treehouse of Horror VI is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, as well as the sixth Halloween episode. ... King-Size Homer is the seventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired on November 5, 1995. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, and is, as the title suggests, the 138th episode. ... Marge Be Not Proud is the 11th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Team Homer is the 12th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Two Bad Neighbors is the 13th episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, first aired on February 4, 1996. ... Bart the Fink is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Lisa the Iconoclast is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, and is probably the most important episode for Jebediah Springfield since The Telltale Head. // Spoiler warning: As Springfield celebrates its bicentennial, Lisa Simpson makes the shocking discovery that the towns beloved founder, the late Jebediah Springfield, was... Homer the Smithers is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired February 25, 1996. ... The Day the Violence Died is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... A Fish Called Selma is an episode of The Simpsons from season seven. ... Bart on the Road is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... 22 Short Films About Springfield is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons seventh season, airing on April 21, 1996. ... Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in The Curse of the Flying Hellfish is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Much Apu About Nothing is the 23rd episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Homerpalooza is the twenty-fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Summer of 4 Ft. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The Simpsons Season 7 DVD Digipak. ... Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. ... Maggie Roswell is an actress best known for her voice work on The Simpsons depicting the characters of Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, and Luann Van Houten among others. ... The Simpsons DVD season boxsets have been released since 2001 in different regions all over the world. ...

Plot

On a beautiful Saturday, Mr. Burns has got all his workers to clean up a highway maintained by his company. His workers are understandably ticked off about this, especially since Mr. Burns grabs a photo opportunity by posing as a cleanup volunteer then immediately leaving, showing his failure to lead by example. Homer seems to be missing, but he shows up on top of a nearby cliff. On his way down (to work), he slips and falls and "dies", much to the shock of his co-workers. In reality, Homer pushed a dummy in his likeness off the cliff so that he can spend the Saturday having fun with his family. Charles Montgomery Monty Burns, normally referred to as Mr. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ...

The next day, news of Homer's "death" spreads and soon Marge starts getting condolences from prominent Springfieldians. So Homer goes to the Springfield Hall of Records (historical records, not the good kind) to get the whole "misunderstanding" sorted out. There, after his problem is taken care of, he sees in the record that his mother is still alive. Incredulous, he goes to his mother’s grave (or so he thinks it is) and discovers that it is Walt Whitman's. Nearby, he sees his own grave and falls into it. His mother (Mona Simpson) arrives suddenly at the gravesite and yells at him for being in Homer's grave followed by a talkback from Homer for the grave is his, and they have a rather emotional reunion after 27 years apart. Marjorie Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ... Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819–March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. ... This article is about a character from the Simpsons. ...

He takes her home to meet the family, which causes quite a stir. She bonds with Lisa, being on the same intellectual level. Suddenly, a police car drives by and Mona runs inside the house, making Lisa a little suspicious. She shares her suspicions with Bart, who had raided Mona’s purse and found several driver’s licenses with different names and Mona's photo. Lisa wonders whether Grandma is a con artist. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge are wondering why his mom left him for 27 years (Homer thinking he must've been a lousy son who no mother could love), and decide to find out. In the next scene, they go downstairs to Mona, and at the same time, Bart and Lisa come up from the basement to her. The whole family then decides to interrogate Mona about her shady past. She decides to tell them the truth after the family threaten to tell Grampa Simpson. 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. ... Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor of the United States Federal Protective Service. ... Bart and his sister Lisa as news anchors. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ...

The story switches to the 1960s, when she was still with Homer and Grampa. Obviously, she and Grampa do not share the same interests. After being radicalized by Joe Namath's hair during the telecast of Super Bowl III, she joins a group of hippies who protest Mr. Burns' germ warfare lab. They detonate an "antibiotic bomb" inside the lab, killing all the germs and curing lab security guard Clancy Wiggum's asthma. Burns, angry about the destruction of his "precious germs", manages to identify Mona as one of the perpetrators of the deed after she stopped to help Burns up after being trampled by the group. Mona then went into hiding. Upon hearing about these events, Homer wonders why Mona never sent any care packages. Mona, insisting that she did send such packages, heads to the post office to claim the undelivered packages. ("That's what happens when you don't tip your letter carrier at Christmas", the postal worker explains.) The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Abraham Abe Grampa J. Simpson is a fictional character featured in the animated cartoon television series The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ... Joseph William Joe Willie Namath (born May 31, 1943), also known as Broadway Joe, was an American football Hall of Fame quarterback in the American Football League and National Football League during the 1960s and 1970s. ... Date January 12, 1969 Stadium Miami Orange Bowl City Miami, Florida MVP Joe Namath, Quarterback Favorite Colts by 18 National anthem Anita Bryant Coin toss Tom Bell Referee Tom Bell Halftime show America Thanks with Florida A&M University Attendance 75,389 TV in the United States Network NBC Announcers... For the use of biological agents by terrorists, see bioterrorism. ... Staphylococcus aureus - Antibiotics test plate. ... Police Chief Clancy Wiggum (voiced by Hank Azaria) is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons. ...

At the post office, Burns recognizes her and calls the FBI and gets sent Bill Gannon (voiced by Harry Morgan) and Joe Friday (of Dragnet fame). At the Simpson home, Grampa gets the shock of his life when he visits and meets Mona. After a tense exchange (see below), Abe begs for sex. Meanwhile, the FBI and Burns track her down, through a cab driver, a gravedigger and Patty and Selma. Small-town post office and town hall in Lockhart, Alabama A post office is a facility (in most countries, a government one) where the public can purchase postage stamps for mailing correspondence or merchandise, and also drop off or pick up packages or other special-delivery items. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... -LAPD Badge 714 Detective Sergeant Joe Friday was a fictional character created and played by American actor, television producer, and writer Jack Webb (1920-1982) on Dragnet. ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... Look up Gravedigger in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 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). ... This article or section should be merged with Patty Bouvier Selma Bouvier (voiced by Julie Kavner) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. ...

Homer and Mona escape, thanks to Wiggum, who is grateful to Mona for curing his ailment. She has to go underground again. One final tidbit proves that Mona is indeed Homer’s mother: as she whacks her head while getting into the hippies' van, she cries out "D'oh!" This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The episode ends with Mona driving away while Homer sits on his car and looks up to the stars as the credits roll.

Cultural references

• Mother Simpson draws upon a number of references to 1960s popular culture. Three popular songs from the 1960s appear in this episode: "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream (released in 1967), "Blowin' in the Wind" by Bob Dylan (released in 1963, but in this case performed by Mother Simpson and Lisa) and "All Along the Watchtower", by Jimi Hendrix (released in 1967).

• Mona Simpson mentioned Jerry Rubin, Bobby Seale, and Tom Hayden, three liberal radicals from the 1960s. Simpson obtained employment from these figures while on the run: “Marketing Jerry Rubin’s line of diet shakes, proofreading Bobby Seale’s cookbook, and running credit checks at Tom Hayden’s Porsche dealership.” Jerry Rubin did indeed have a line of diet shakes, and Bobby Seale did indeed write some cookbooks. The irony lies with Tom Hayden owning a Porsche dealership, as he was well known as the figurehead of anti-establishment.

• Mona's experience underground is loosely based on that of Annie and Arthur Pope in Running on Empty.

• One of Mona's false I.D.s reads Martha Stewart. Another reads Mona Stevens, a character played by Lizabeth Scott in Pitfall.

• Before the family confronted Mona about her past, she was reading Steal this Book.

• The antibiotic bomb that goes off in the Burns lab is triggered by a Spiro Agnew alarm clock, which can be seen here.

• During the raid on Burns' lab, the hippie driving the van is wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt.

• In Burns' germ lab, he has petri dishes containing "Rocking Pneumonia" and "Boogie Woogie Influenza." This is a reference to the Johnny Rivers song "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu."

• The two FBI agents are Joe Friday and Bill Gannon from Dragnet. Bill Gannon is voiced by Harry Morgan, the man who played Gannon in the original series.

• Mr. Burns driving a tank towards the Simpson house while wearing oversized headgear is a reference to a similar public relations stunt by Michael Dukakis in 1988; a similar scene occurred in the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", when Burns was running for governor.

• The use of “Walkürenritt” during a siege is a reference to Apocalypse Now.

• When Maggie is shown dancing in her diaper and covered in slogans, it is a parody of the filler scenes of Goldie Hawn (and other female castmembers like Ruth Buzzi and Jo Anne Worley) dancing in a bikini with slogans and drawings painted on their bodies shown on Laugh-In.

• The song originally intended to be taped over Mr. Burns’s cassette of "Walkürenritt" was "Don't You Want Me" by Human League, but was unclearable (too expensive), and ABBA’s "Waterloo" was selected instead (although the closed-captioning of the original broadcasting lists the lyrics to "Don't You Want Me" instead of "Waterloo").

• Mr. Burns, at the post office, asks the postal clerk, "I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?" Prussia was once a powerful European empire that covered what is now Germany and parts of Poland, Siam was a country now known as Thailand, and the autogyro was an aircraft that later paved the way for the invention of the helicopter.

• In one scene, Abe is seen watching Super Bowl III, and makes an ironic comment that "if people don't watch it, it might not make it". The scene has a few inaccuracies. While Joe Namath is shown as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, Johnny Unitas was the backup to Earl Morrall for the Baltimore Colts in that game. Also, Howard Cosell never broadcasted a Super Bowl - Super Bowl III was broadcasted by Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote on NBC.

• The radical group Mother Simpson becomes involved with is loosely based on the Weather Underground. Specifically, the story of group leader and former fugitive Bernardine Dohrn served as the inspiration for Mother Simpson’s life on the run.

• Bart being unable to hear over the washing machine was a popular running gag from Get Smart.

• Young Homer can be seen sleeping with a Pillsbury Doughboy doll.

Sunshine of Your Love is a song by the British supergroup Cream, released on the Disraeli Gears album. ... Cream were a 1960s British rock band, which consisted of guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. ... Blowin in the Wind is a song written by Bob Dylan, and released on his 1963 album The Freewheelin Bob Dylan. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article is about a character from the Simpsons. ... Jerry Rubin (July 14, 1938 – November 28, 1994) was a high-profile American social activist during the 1960s and 1970s. ... Bobby Seale Bobby Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American civil rights activist, who along with Dr. Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party For Self Defense in 1966. ... Tom Hayden outside the 2004 Democratic National Convention Thomas Emmett Tom Hayden (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. ... This article is about the auto company. ... For the 1982 Australian film, see Running On Empty (Australian film). ... Martha Stewart (born Martha Helen Kostyra on August 3, 1941) is an American business magnate, author, editor and homemaking advocate. ... Lizabeth Scott Lizabeth Scott (born September 29, 1922) is an American actress. ... Pitfall is a black-and-white 1948 film directed by André De Toth. ... Cover of Steal this Book Steal This Book is a book written by Abbie Hoffman in 1970 and published in 1971. ... Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th Vice President of the United States serving under President Richard M. Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland. ... Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco, California. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), serving as both a federal criminal investigative body and a domestic intelligence agency. ... -LAPD Badge 714 Detective Sergeant Joe Friday was a fictional character created and played by American actor, television producer, and writer Jack Webb (1920-1982) on Dragnet. ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... Mr. ... Michael Stanley Dukakis (born November 3, 1933) is an American Democratic politician, former Governor of Massachusetts, and the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. ... Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish is the fourth episode of The Simpsons second season. ... Arthur Rackhams illustration to the Ride of the Valkyries The Ride of the Valkyries (German: Walkürenritt) is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre by Richard Wagner. ... Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American film set during the Vietnam War. ... Margaret Maggie Simpson is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. ... Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an Academy Award-winning American actress, director and producer. ... Ruth Buzzi (July 24, 1936—) is an American actress and comedienne of theatre, film, and television. ... Jo Anne Worley Jo Anne Worley (born on September 6, 1937) is an American actress. ... bikini briefs, from Roman London. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Mr. ... Don’t You Want Me is a single by the British Synthpop group The Human League. ... ABBA was a Swedish pop music group active from 1972 until 1982. ... The English language version of Waterloo is the first single from ABBAs album Waterloo, their second album for Polar, and their first album for Epic and Atlantic. ... Mr. ... Motto Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Government Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I (first)  - 1688–1701 Frederick III (last) King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I (first)  - 1888–1918 William II (last) Prime Minister1,2... Motto ชาติ ศาสนา พระมหากษัตริย์ Nation, Religion, King Anthem Phleng Chat Royal anthem Phleng Sansoen Phra Barami Capital (and largest city) Bangkok1 Official languages Thai Government Military Junta under Royal Patronage  -  Head of State HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej  -  Prime Minister General Surayud Chulanont  -  President of the Council of National Security General Sonthi Boonyaratglin Formation... Modern Autogyro, ELA-07, Casarrubios del Monte Airfield, Spain, 2004. ... Motto Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Government Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I (first)  - 1688–1701 Frederick III (last) King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I (first)  - 1888–1918 William II (last) Prime Minister1,2... For the country formerly called Siam see Thailand SIAM is an acronym for Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. ... Modern Autogyro, ELA-07, Casarrubios del Monte Airfield, Spain, 2004. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors consisting of two or more rotor blades. ... Date January 12, 1969 Stadium Miami Orange Bowl City Miami, Florida MVP Joe Namath, Quarterback Favorite Colts by 18 National anthem Anita Bryant Coin toss Tom Bell Referee Tom Bell Halftime show America Thanks with Florida A&M University Attendance 75,389 TV in the United States Network NBC Announcers... Joseph William Joe Willie Namath (born May 31, 1943), also known as Broadway Joe, was an American football Hall of Fame quarterback in the American Football League and National Football League during the 1960s and 1970s. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Gang Green, the Green and White Team colors Hunter Green and White Head Coach Eric Mangini Owner Woody Johnson General manager Mike Tannenbaum League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Eastern Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference... John Constantine Johnny Unitas (May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was a professional American football player in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. ... Earl Edwin Morrall (born May 17, 1934, in Muskegon, Michigan) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. ... There have been two unrelated American football teams called the Baltimore Colts based in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Howard William Cosell, born Howard William Cohen (March 25, 1918 – April 23, 1995) was an American sports journalist on American television. ... NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... John Jacobs and Terry Robbins at the Days of Rage, Chicago, October 1969 (Photo credit: David Fenton; publicity photo for film Weather Underground) Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization, was a U.S. Radical Left organization consisting of splintered-off members and leaders of... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Get Smart was an American comedy television series that satirized the secret agent genre. ... Poppin Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy, is an advertising icon and mascot of The Pillsbury Company, appearing in many of their commercials. ...

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