The Simpsons episode
"Much Apu About Nothing"
Episode no.	151
Prod. code	3F20
Orig. Airdate	May 5, 1996
Show Runner(s)	Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein
Writer(s)	David S. Cohen
Director	Susie Dietter
Couch gag	Homer is carpet and the other Simpsons' heads are mounted on the wall as a hunter sits on the couch smoking a cigar.
Guest star(s)	Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony
SNPP capsule
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 Simpsons episodes...

"Much Apu About Nothing" is the 23rd episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. The title is a spoof on the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Network. ... Image File history File links 3F20. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American TV writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American TV writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... David X. Cohen (center) at an interview about math in Futurama with Matt Groening and Dr. Sarah Greenwald. ... Susie Dietter is a television director. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Joe Mantegna as Detective Will Girardi in Joan of Arcadia Joe Mantegnas character, Fat Tony in The Simpsons Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Springfield Mafia. ... The Simpsons Season 7 DVD Digipak. ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Who Shot Mr. ... For the character and Bongo comic, see Radioactive Man Radioactive Man is the second episode in the seventh season of The Simpsons. ... Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily is the third episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... 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. ... Mother Simpson is the eighth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and reveals the identity of Homers mother. ... Sideshow Bobs Last Gleaming is the ninth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Simpsons Good Night Short 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 twelfth episode of the 7th season of The Simpsons. ... 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 an episode in the seventh season of The Simpsons, and it was probably the most important episode for Jebediah Springfield since The Telltale Head. // Episode details Production Number: 3F13 Original Air Date: February 18, 1996 Writer: John Collier Director: Mike B. Anderson Couch Gag: The family... Homer the Smithers is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Day the Violence Died 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 22, 1996. ... Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in The Curse of the Flying Hellfish is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Homerpalooza is the twenty-fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. ... Summer of 4 Ft. ... The Simpsons The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Network. ... Season 7: 1995-1996 25 episodes Staff writers Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein take over as the show runners. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ...

Synopsis

On an ordinary day, a bear strolls onto Evergreen Terrace. Ned Flanders, scared on seeing the grizzly visitor, slams his car into a tree, and runs home terrified. With Maude too panicky to open the door, Ned panics and jumps inside through the window, while the bear calmly watches, without having moved since it saw Ned first. Kent Brockman, in a helicopter reports about the huge bear-like animal ("most likely a bear"). While his family watches the bear playfully maul their mailbox, Homer prefers to watch it on TV, feeling sorry for the "Impson" family. He feels there's nothing to fear as long as they have beer, but, on opening the fridge, he finds there's no beer and freaks out. He sneaks out through a window and climbs onto the power line attached to the house. The power line snaps and he gets swung around. Bart grabs onto his pants, causing Homer to lose them and hit the ground near the bear. Genera Ailuropoda Ailurus Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a large mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ... Ned Flanders is a fictional character on The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Maude Flanders is a fictional character on The Simpsons. ... Kent Brockman is one of the recurring fictional characters from The Simpsons, and is voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Mil (Russian Federation) Mi-8, one of the most common model of military helicopter in the world with more than 12 thousand units built, sixfold quantity comparing to production of the second most common model UH-1 Iroquois. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Simpson Family The Simpson family is the title family featured in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. ... A selection of bottled beers A selection of cask beers Beer is one of the worlds oldest alcoholic beverages, possibly brewed for the first time over 10,000 years ago, according to renowned beer writer Michael Jackson. ... Bartholomew Jo-Jo Simpson (born April 1, 1981, remains 10 through the series), better known as Bart, is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. ...

The bear is subdued by the police, but not before they tranquilize and capture Barney Gumble (though he seems to enjoy it). Homer rants about these "constant bear attacks", even though this is the very first bear Ned has seen in his thirty odd years of living on that street. Homer then leads an angry mob and demands that Mayor Quimby do something about this. Soon, the Bear Patrol is created, a useless organization which makes use of helicopters, police cars, even a B-2 Spirit. Homer feels happy to know that the Bear Patrol is doing their job, as there are no bears around. Lisa calls it "specious reasoning" and tries to explain, with the help of a rock "that keeps tigers away", that since there are no tigers around, the rock must be working. Homer contemplates this and offers to buy Lisa's tiger-repellant rock, to which Lisa agrees knowing better than to try and explain further. A sedative is a drug that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), which causes calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... The B-2 Spirit, made by Northrop Grumman, is an American multi-role stealth bomber able to drop conventional and nuclear weapons. ... Lisa Marie Simpson (age 8 throughout the series), is a fictional character on the animated television series The Simpsons, and is voiced by Yeardley Smith. ...

Homer then gets just as shocked when he saw the bear when he discovers that taxes have been raised five dollars to maintain the Bear Patrol. This warrants yet another visit by the angry mob to the Mayor's office. To calm down the ignorant citizens of Springfield, Mayor Quimby pins the blame for the high taxes on illegal immigrants. He then creates Proposition 24, which will deport all illegal immigrants from Springfield. A tax (also known as a duty) is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... Springfield is the fictional city in which the TV series The Simpsons is set. ... Proposition is a term used in logic to describe the content of assertions. ...

At Springfield Elementary, Nelson picks on Uter, the German exchange student, for being an illegal immigrant. Even Principal Skinner refuses to help out poor Uter, much to Lisa's dismay. At home, she tries to talk about the benefits of immigration, and how the Simpson family itself were immigrants, which prompts one of Grampa's stories of how they immigrated to America. But it has no effect on Homer, who still supports Proposition 24. Nelson Muntz (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) is a character from The Simpsons. ... In the television series The Simpsons, the Springfield Elementary School is the school which Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson and their fellow students attend. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

At the Kwik-E-Mart, Apu tells Homer that he is an illegal immigrant and if Proposition 24 passes, he will be deported, as his visa expired many years earlier. Homer feels sorry, but he tells Apu that we will miss him. The Kwik-E-Mart's business goes down due to the surge of protesters against illegal immigrants. Marge cannot believe that Apu is an illegal immigrant. He narrates of how he graduated from Caltech (Calcutta Technical Institute) and came to Springfield for higher studies, and learned Computer Science from Professor Frink. To pay off his student loans, he joined the Kwik-E-Mart and has stayed in Springfield ever since, despite having paid off his loans. An exterior of a fictitious typical Kwik-E-Mart store. ... Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Ph. ... An entry visa valid in all Schengen treaty countries issued by France A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. ... Marjorie Marge Simpson, neé Bouvier, (age 34 throughout the series), is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ... California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (commonly known as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Professor Johnathan I. Q. Frink, Jr. ...

Marge tells Apu she will vote "no" on Proposition 24, although it clearly will not be enough to help Apu. After discovering Kearney's fake ID, he asks him where he got it. On finding out, Apu goes to Fat Tony to get a false United States citizenship. On Fat Tony's advice, he starts acting American, putting up American flags in the store, wearing a Mets jersey and a ten-gallon hat, and speaking in an "American" accent. However, he realizes he disgraced his parents for turning his back on his Indian heritage. Look up ID, Id, id in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Springfield Mafia. ... // Possession of citizenship U.S. citizens have the right to participate in the political system of the United States (with most U.S. states having restrictions for felons, and federal restrictions on naturalized persons), are represented and protected abroad by the United States (through U.S. embassies and consulates), and... Major league affiliations National League (1962-present) East Division (1969-present) Current uniform Ballpark Shea Stadium (1964-present) Major league titles World Series titles (2) 1969 â€¢ 1986 NL Pennants (4) 1969 â€¢ 1973 â€¢ 1986 â€¢ 2000 East Division titles (4) 1969 â€¢ 1973 â€¢ 1986 â€¢ 1988 Wild card berths (2) 1999 â€¢ 2000 The New...

Homer vows that the Simpsons will help him, though three of them are below voting age and he is not a registered voter. Bart advises Apu to marry some American woman and dump her after getting the citizenship. Homer tries to get Apu married to Selma, but she refuses, citing an already long list of surnames she has acquired due to having already married too many men, only to divorce them later.

Lisa, having read the citizenship laws front to back, discovers that Apu will not get deported if he can pass a US citizenship test. Homer agrees to be his tutor to help prepare him before the vote on Proposition 24, much to Apu's delight, though his family is less optimistic. Apu demonstrates excellent knowledge of the United States, but Homer is a terrible tutor and replaces Apu's knowledge with false information and leaves Apu to look over his notes from ninth-grade history. However, he falls asleep. When he wakes he panics, declaring he has forgotten everything Homer had taught him, which Lisa says is excellent news and takes him to the exam. Apu then goes to take the written and oral test. He passes it and becomes an American citizen, i.e., an Indian-American. At a congratulatory party, Homer tells his guests how terrible it would be if immigrants were deported. He inspires them to vote "no" on Proposition 24, but it still passes...with 95%. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Apu is happy to get a letter to report for jury duty, as it affirms his citizenship, and he does what any typical American citizen would do - toss it into the trash can. The Simpsons are happy that everything worked out for the people they care about... However Groundskeeper Willie is deported. Groundskeeper Willie (AKA - G. K. Willington, Esq. ...

Trivia

• The DVD commentary for this episode reveals that the original title was going to be "The Anti-Immigrant Song" in reference to the Led Zeppelin song, Immigrant Song.
• After graduating from "Caltech", Apu enrolls in the Springfield Heights Institute of Technology, which has a taboo acronym ("SHIT").
• At one point, as Homer and Apu are studying, Bart appears over the map of the USA and asks, "Watcha doing, studying?" They then proceed to tell Bart that they are looking for Springfield on the map. Barts goes, "Hey, we live right there!" and points to the map, but his head is blocking the map so we cannot see where he is pointing. This part was edited out of the DVD and all syndicated TV showings for some unknown reason, even though it was mentioned in the DVD commentary.
• There is a scene where young Apu says goodbye to his family, including his future arranged marriage bride, Manjula. This is a foreshadowing, as Apu meets Manjula again for the marriage in The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons in Season 9.
• In The Simpsons: Hit And Run mission, This Little Piggy, Krusty wants Apu to become an American so he can track down a criminal.
• The Bear Patrol plane is a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
• Caltech (California Institute of Technology) is actually an American college, famous in part for playing pranks on other colleges.

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, and are one of the most successful and influential groups in popular music history. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Foreshadowing is a literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story. ... The Two Mrs. ... The B-2 Spirit, made by Northrop Grumman, is an American multi-role stealth bomber able to drop conventional and nuclear weapons. ... California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (commonly known as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ...

Cultural References

• The episode title is a play on William Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
• Moe says that the Bears are "smarter than the aver-age bear" and "they swiped my pic-a-nic basket" in an homage to the Yogi Bear cartoons.
• The "I Want You ... Out!" poster is similar to the famous Uncle Sam army recruitment poster.
• Apu's parents in the flashback scene resemble the parents of the character for which he was named, the eponymous protagonist of Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy.

Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is a fictional cartoon character bear created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... (Bangla:সত্যজিৎ রায়) (May 2, 1921 - April 23, 1992) was an Indian film director, regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of twentieth century cinema for his subtle, austere and lyrical style of film-making. ... The Apu trilogy is a series of three films directed by Satyajit Ray. ...

Goofs

• When Ned Flanders crashes into a tree, the car's airbag deploys. But Ned says in a later episode that "the church opposes them for some reason".

Quotes

• Homer: (after Prop 24 passes) When will people learn? Democracy doesn't work!
• Homer: (chanting) "Down with taxes! Down with taxes!"
  Helen: "Will someone please think of the children?"
• Homer: (pointing to the US flag) Please identify this object.
  Apu: It appears to be the flag that disappeared from the public library last year.
  Homer: Correct. Now, we all know the thirteen strips are for good luck, but why does the American flag have precisely forty-seven stars?
  Apu: Because this particular flag is ridiculously out of date! The library must have purchased it during the brief period in 1912 after New Mexico became a state but before Arizona did.
  Homer: Uh, partial credit.
• Moe: And these ones are smarter than the av-er-age bear. They swiped my pic-in-ic basket!
  Helen Lovejoy: Think of the children!
  Mayor Quimby: Very well. I promise swift and decisive action against these hibernating hucksters! (Everyone leaves, reassured, while Quimby helps himself to the pic-in-ic basket)
• Homer: Oh my god, I got so swept up in the scapegoating and fun of Proposition 24 I never stopped to think it might affect somebody I might care about. (Pause) You know what Apu? I am really, really going to miss you. (Nails up an Uncle Sam sign that says "I Want You Out!" and walks away whistling)
• Apu: Executive, Legislative and...Judicial.
  Homer: No, no, and no! I guess we have to start all over with the electrical college.
• Homer: Let the bears pay the bear tax. I pay the Homer tax.
  Lisa: That's the homeowner tax.
  Homer: Well anyway, I'm still outraged!
• Homer: Ah, not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm!
  Lisa: That's specious reasoning, Dad.
  Homer: Thank you, honey.
  Lisa: By your logic, I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away!
  Homer: Uh-huh, and how does it work?
  Lisa: It doesn't work.
  Homer: Uh-huh.
  Lisa: It's just a stupid rock.
  Homer: Uh-huh.
  Lisa: But I don't see any tigers around here, do you?
  Homer: (Looks around) Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock.
• Proctor: All right, here's your last question. What was the cause of the Civil War?
  Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists, there were economic factors, both domestic and inter--
  Proctor: Wait, wait... just say slavery.
  Apu: Slavery it is, sir.

Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is a fictional cartoon character bear created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... J. M. Flaggs Uncle Sam recruited soldiers for World War I. Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Much Apu About Nothing

• "Much Apu About Nothing" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• From NoHomers.net -- a detailed analysis and discussion of this episode.