{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 17 | episode = 14 | director = [[Michael Marcantel]] | writer = [[Dana Gould]] | production = HABF07 | airdate = {{Start date|2006|03|19}} | guests = * [[Antonio Fargas]] as [[Starsky and Hutch|Huggy Bear]] * [[Randy Johnson]] as himself * [[Susan Sarandon]] as herself * [[Dave Thomas (actor)|Dave Thomas]] as [[Bob Hope]] | couch_gag = The living room is blocked by a laser security system. The Simpsons work their way through the system and successfully make it to the couch. However, when they sit down, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]]'s head falls off. | commentary = {{Plainlist| * [[Matt Groening]] * [[Al Jean]] * Dana Gould * [[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]] * [[Mike B. Anderson]] * Michael Marcantel * [[Matt Selman]] * [[Joel H. Cohen]] * [[Michael York]] }} | prev = [[The Seemingly Never-Ending Story]] | next = [[Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife]] }} "'''Bart Has Two Mommies'''" is the fourteenth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 17|seventeenth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on March 19, 2006. The episode was written by [[Dana Gould]] and directed by [[Michael Marcantel]].
In the episode, Marge babysits for Flanders' sons while Bart is kidnapped by a [[chimpanzee]]. Baseball player [[Randy Johnson]] and actress [[Susan Sarandon]] voiced themselves. The episode received mixed reviews.
==Plot== The [[Simpson family]] attend a church fundraiser for a new steeple. [[Ned Flanders]] wins a [[rubber duck]] racing contest and is awarded a computer, although he gives it to [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] because he does not have any use for it. Marge babysits [[Rod Flanders|Rod]] and [[Todd Flanders|Todd]] while Ned attends a left-handed convention to repay the favor. She finds that all the games they play are boring and overly safe, such as a "sitting still contest," and helps Rod and Todd have fun by encouraging them to liven up. At the left-handed convention, Ned meets baseball hall of famer [[Randy Johnson]] (who was then playing for the [[New York Yankees]]), who is there to pitch his own line of teddy bears called Randy Johnson's Southpawz. After asking Johnson if he has any mailman teddy bears, the pitcher tells Ned that a teddy bear can't be a mailman. Johnson then asks Ned how many doctor bears he wants as they come in a box of 1,000. When Ned tells him he only wants one box, this makes Johnson angry with Ned. Marge tells a returned Ned that his sons are great kids.
With Marge spending so much time at the Flanders' house, Homer, Bart, and Lisa go to an animal sanctuary for retired film animals. Bart sees an elderly female [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]] named Toot-Toot and offers her some ice cream, only to be taken into her cage and "adopted." Ned comes home and sees Todd wearing a [[Band-Aid]], having injured himself during one of Marge's games. He starts his trend of completely overreacting by lambasting Marge for not preventing the very minor injury. Marge encourages Ned to let his kids start taking more risks, showing him a flyer for a child-safe activity center.
Marge takes Rod and Todd to the activity center. Ned follows her and is surprised to see Rod climbing a structure, yelling that he will get hurt. Rod gets worried and falls, chipping a tooth against the structure. An enraged Ned bans Marge from being around his sons. A news broadcast plays about Bart's kidnapping, shocking Marge and causing everyone at the center to view her as an unfit mother. Ned then babyproofs the house and "cheerfully" tells his sons it's time to play a lame card game, only to be shocked when they loudly tell him no. He looks thoughtful as he hears that Rod and Todd actually felt happy being around Marge (and "for real" happy, not "church" Happy) for the first time since their mom passed away.
Lisa suggests that Toot-Toot is keeping Bart captive because her real son has gone missing, and they find him in a surprising place: he's Mr. Teeny, Krusty's simian sidekick. When Marge goes into the cage to talk to Toot-Toot, she escapes and climbs atop the unfinished church steeple, which [[Reverend Lovejoy]], anticipating the worst, pledges to name in Bart's memory. Ned starts to freak out as Rod replicates his earlier climb to get Mr. Teeny to Toot-Toot, but after Marge tells him that his sons need his support and not his smothering useleness, he calms down and exhorts Rod to successfully complete the climb, which he does. Toot-Toot happily reunites with Mr. Teeny and lets Bart go. In a mid-credits scene, Maude Flanders looks down from Heaven, proud that Rod is growing up. God and [[Bob Hope]] enjoy hanging out together and snark on Maude a little bit before walking away.
==Production== This episode was recorded on May 9, 2005,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/simpsons-tv-show-script-episode-bart-4698543214|title=THE SIMPSONS TV SHOW SCRIPT EPISODE BART HAS TWO MOMMIES|access-date=July 18, 2024|publisher=WorthPoint|archive-date=July 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718145110/https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/simpsons-tv-show-script-episode-bart-4698543214|url-status=live}}</ref> and the script was finalized for the first time on May 27, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/simpsons-tv-series-show-script-3762886480|title=THE SIMPSONS RARE TV SERIES SHOW SCRIPT EPISODE BART HAS TWO MOMMIES|access-date=July 18, 2024|publisher=WorthPoint}}</ref>
Actress [[Susan Sarandon]] voiced herself as the voice of the FeMac computer won by Ned. Sarandon previous guest starred as a ballet teacher in the [[The Simpsons season 6|sixth season]] episode "[[Homer vs. Patty and Selma]]".<ref>{{cite web|first1=Kenneth|last1=Bachor|first2=Joseph C.|last2=Lin|date=August 21, 2014|title=The 30 Best Celebrity Cameos on ''The Simpsons''|url=https://time.com/3154233/simpsons-television-celebrity-entertainment/|website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=June 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606023744/https://time.com/3154233/simpsons-television-celebrity-entertainment/|url-status=live}}</ref> Left-handed pitcher [[Randy Johnson]] makes a cameo appearance at the Left-Handed convention selling his own line of left-handed teddy bears.<ref>{{cite web|first=Caleb|last=Henry|date=March 28, 2022|title=The 10 Best Professional Athlete Appearances In Animated Shows|url=https://screenrant.com/best-pro-athlete-appearance-animated-tv-shows/|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=August 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804072140/https://screenrant.com/best-pro-athlete-appearance-animated-tv-shows/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Cultural references== The episode title refers to the children's book ''[[Heather Has Two Mommies]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Kathanie|last=Whittemore|date=March 22, 2015|title='Two Mommies' author hopes new edition isn't controversial|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2015/03/22/twomommies/W1eFWrBw45TtcL2j64AL4K/story.html|website=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=June 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604032721/https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2015/03/22/twomommies/W1eFWrBw45TtcL2j64AL4K/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The FeMac computer is a parody of the [[iMac G4]], and it runs [[AOL]] software.<ref>{{cite web|first=Yoni|last=Heisler|date=February 5, 2014|title=Every Apple reference ever made in Futurama and The Simpsons|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-05-every-apple-reference-ever-made-in-futurama-and-the-simpsons.html|website=[[Engadget]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225025846/https://www.engadget.com/2014-02-05-every-apple-reference-ever-made-in-futurama-and-the-simpsons.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Purported foreshadowing== In 2016, the incident with the gorilla [[Harambe]] generated reports that the subplot involving Bart and the chimpanzee was a [[The Simpsons#Purported foreshadowing of actual events|purported foreshadowing]] of the event.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ann|last=Lee|date=June 2, 2016|title= Did The Simpsons predict the Harambe the gorilla story years ago?|url= https://metro.co.uk/2016/06/02/did-the-simpsons-predict-the-harambe-the-gorilla-story-years-ago-5920534/|website=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|access-date=September 1, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Bethan|last=McKernan|date=June 2, 2016|title=People think The Simpsons predicted the death of Harambe the gorilla|url=https://www.indy100.com/viral/people-think-the-simpsons-predicted-the-death-of-harambe-the-gorilla-7298836|website=[[Indy100]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203042430/https://www.indy100.com/viral/people-think-the-simpsons-predicted-the-death-of-harambe-the-gorilla-7298836|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Reception== ===Viewing figures=== The episode earned a 3.1 rating and was watched by 8.67 million viewers, which was the 48th most-watched show that week.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] Medianet|date=March 21, 2006 |url=http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=032106_04|title=Weekly Program Rankings (Mar. 13-19)|access-date=June 10, 2023|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221202452/http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=032106_04 |archive-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref>
===Critical response=== Adam Finley of ''[[TV Squad]]'' said the main plot of Marge and the Flanders children was "okay but forgettable." He highlighted Homer's attempt to retrieve his rubber duck and the Flanders children playing on the seesaw.<ref>{{cite web|first=Adam|last=Finley|date=March 20, 2006|title=The Simpsons: Bart Has Two Mommies|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/03/20/the-simpsons-bart-has-two-mommies/|website=[[TV Squad]]|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505220611/http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/03/20/the-simpsons-bart-has-two-mommies/|archive-date=May 5, 2006}}</ref>
Colin Jacobson of ''DVD Movie Guide'' said the story of Marge with Rod and Todd was "positive" but disliked the Bart subplot.<ref>{{cite web|first=Colin|last=Jacobson|date=December 10, 2017|title=The Simpsons: The Complete Seventeenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2005-06)|url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonss17.shtml|website=DVD Movie Guide|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=August 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240818182606/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonss17.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
On ''Four Finger Discount'', Guy Davis and Brendan Dando said the main plot with the Flanders children was relatable but they thought the subplot with Bart was "random".<ref>{{cite podcast|first1=Guy|last1=Davis|first2=Brendan|last2=Dando|title="Bart Has Two Mommies" Podcast Review (S17E14)|work=Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast)|date=June 22, 2023|url=https://www.fourfingerdiscount.com.au/episodes/bart-has-two-mommies-simpsons-podcast-review|time=8:00|access-date=September 1, 2024|archive-date=March 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315233236/https://www.fourfingerdiscount.com.au/episodes/bart-has-two-mommies-simpsons-podcast-review|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_17#Bart_Has_Two_Mommies|"Bart has Two Mommies"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} * {{IMDb episode|0780424}} {{The Simpsons episodes|17}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 17 episodes]] [[Category:2006 American television episodes]]