# Hail to the Teeth > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hail_to_the_Teeth > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hail_to_the_Teeth.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Teeth > Source revision: 1328643279 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 11th episode of the 31st season of The Simpsons "Hail to the Teeth" The Simpsons episode Episode no. Season 31 Episode 11 Directed by Mark Kirkland Written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick Production code ZABF05 Original air date January 5, 2020 (2020-01-05) Guest appearances Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff and Rabbi Episode features Chalkboard gag "Teacher spent new year's eve at home by choice" Couch gag The family sits on a couch, the image of it is seen on a bronze coin that Nelson Muntz places on a railroad, and gets flattened. Nelson shows it shining and he exclaims "Ha Ha!", just before getting hit by another train. Episode chronology ← Previous "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" Next → "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson" The Simpsons season 31 List of episodes "**Hail to the Teeth**" is the 11th episode of the [thirty-first season](/source/The_Simpsons_season_31) of the American animated television series *[The Simpsons](/source/The_Simpsons)*, and the 673rd episode overall. Being the first episode to air in the 2020s, it aired in the United States on [Fox](/source/Fox_Broadcasting_Company) on January 5, 2020.[1] The episode was written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick and was directed by [Mark Kirkland](/source/Mark_Kirkland).[1] In this episode, Artie Ziff marries a robot that looks like Marge while Lisa uses her new braces to run for class president. [Jon Lovitz](/source/Jon_Lovitz) guest starred as Artie Ziff. The episode received positive reviews. ## Plot [Artie Ziff](/source/Artie_Ziff) invites [Homer](/source/Homer_Simpson) and [Marge](/source/Marge_Simpson) to his wedding. Although both are conflicted about going, due to the number of times Artie has tried to break them up, they reluctantly accept the invitation. Homer goes alone to the bachelor party, where he finds Artie has regained his wealth after his [parole](/source/The_Ziff_Who_Came_to_Dinner), selling burning cash-resembling fireplaces. Attending the ceremony with Marge, Homer gives the bride away, only to find out that the bride looks just like Marge. Unsettled, Marge leaves the ceremony, and later decides to tell the bride that Artie only married her because she and Marge look alike. She and Homer get to the honeymoon suite and find out that the marriage was a ruse and Artie's bride is a [robot](/source/Robot). Artie admits he had been trying to make a robot clone of Marge for years, but they all have flaws. Following Marge's suggestion, he uses his army of Marge droids to do humanitarian work, though they all reject his sexual advances, with half inexplicably sprouting wings to fly off. Meanwhile, [Lisa](/source/Lisa_Simpson) is heckled by a man who claims that she will be prettier and more popular if she smiled more often. Marge takes her to a new dentist to get a new set of braces, as [her old dentist](/source/Last_Exit_to_Springfield) was a rogue periodontist masquerading as an orthodontist. The top half of her braces cause her to constantly smile and finally win popularity among her classmates. Initially disgusted by the shallowness of the concept, Lisa decides to bank on her newfound popularity and run for class president. However, the bottom half of her braces are installed, resulting in her now constantly frowning for the next six months. [Bart](/source/Bart_Simpson) enlists [Martin Prince](/source/Martin_Prince) to manipulate a live feed of Lisa doing her election speech to make her smile, but the app malfunctions and Lisa exposes herself, causing her to lose the election to [Dubya Spuckler](/source/Cletus_Spuckler). Outside in the school playground, Marge attempts to comfort Lisa, only to witness the same man heckle her for not smiling. Marge then inexplicably sprouts robotic wings and carries the man into the air while Lisa smiles and cheers her on. ## Production This is the first episode of the series written by Elisabeth Kiernan Averick.[2] [Jon Lovitz](/source/Jon_Lovitz) reprised his role as Artie Ziff.[3] ## Reception ### Viewing figures The episode earned a 0.6 rating with a 3 share and was watched by 1.81 million viewers, which was the second-most watched show on Fox that night.[4] ### Critical response Dennis Perkins of *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)* gave this episode a B+, stating, "The first credited script by former *Crazy Ex-Girlfriend* writer (and new *Simpsons* producer) Elisabeth Kiernan Averick, the episode is precisely the sort of latter-day *Simpsons* I’m excited my niece will slot into her growing databank of Simpsons fandom. Readers who—niece-like—have endured this critic’s grumpy dissertations concerning *The Simpsons* and how, with the right writers, ‘the good years’ could be now, dammit, should recognize that this is the sort of new blood I’ve been talking about. Averick clearly loves *The Simpsons*, and understands them. There are fine jokes that have nothing to do with the episode's ‘message’ alongside ones that grow out of Lisa and Marge's specific arcs."[2] [Tony Sokol](/source/Tony_Sokol) of *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)* gave this episode 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating, "Arty has always been in love with Marge. He’s been plotting to get rid of Homer one way or another since the High School prom, once almost getting Homer sentenced to jail to get him out of the way. The wedding, of course, is a ploy to make Marge jealous, which works about as well as the replicant Marges Arty has developed in search of the perfect wife. Robotics is a consistent gag for *The Simpsons,* especially discarded prototypes, like the ones Mr. Burns made of himself a few episodes ago. His love solution has a touch of *The Bride of Frankenstein* in it. There is a very familiar spindly legged spider-Marge on the trash heap, but the best model is a Marge who has a toaster built in her head which doesn’t have slots large enough to toast bagels."[5] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Ellis, Joseph (January 6, 2020). ["The Simpsons Season 31 Episode 11 Assessment: Hail to the Teeth"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200611073750/https://sunriseread.com/ducktales-season-3-episode-7-assessment-the-rumble-for-ragnarok/94236/). *Sunriseread*. Archived from [the original](https://sunriseread.com/the-simpsons-season-31-episode-11-assessment-hail-to-the-teeth/22807/) on June 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Perkins_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Perkins_2-1) Perkins, Dennis (January 6, 2020). ["Lisa and Marge confront their own toxic male demons in a refreshingly satisfying Simpsons"](https://www.avclub.com/lisa-and-marge-confront-their-own-toxic-male-demons-in-1840822074). *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201222190310/https://tv.avclub.com/lisa-and-marge-confront-their-own-toxic-male-demons-in-1840822074) from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Swfit, Andy (January 3, 2020). ["Simpsons Sneak Peek: Why Is Homer Walking \[Spoiler\] Down the Aisle?"](https://tvline.com/news/the-simpsons-season-31-episode-11-marge-wedding-video-1140937/). *[TVLine](/source/TVLine)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240803024152/https://tvline.com/news/the-simpsons-season-31-episode-11-marge-wedding-video-1140937/) from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-31.11_4-0)** Welch, Alex (January 7, 2020). ["Golden Globes adjust up: Sunday final ratings"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200108033252/https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/sunday-final-ratings-jan-5-2020/). *[TV by the Numbers](/source/TV_by_the_Numbers)*. Archived from [the original](https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/sunday-final-ratings-jan-5-2020/) on January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Sokol, Tony](/source/Tony_Sokol) (January 6, 2020). ["The Simpsons Season 31 Episode 11 Review: Hail to the Teeth"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200721155648/https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-simpsons-season-31-episode-11-review-hail-to-the-teeth/). *[Den of Geek](/source/Den_of_Geek)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-simpsons-season-31-episode-11-review-hail-to-the-teeth/) on July 21, 2020. ## External links Wikiquote has quotations related to ***["Hail to the Teeth"](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_31#Hail_to_the_Teeth)***. - [The Simpsons portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:The_Simpsons) - ["Hail to the Teeth"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11312750/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e The Simpsons episodes Seasons 1–20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Season 21–present 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Season 31 "The Winter of Our Monetized Content" "Go Big or Go Homer" "The Fat Blue Line" "Treehouse of Horror XXX" "Gorillas on the Mast" "Marge the Lumberjill" "Livin La Pura Vida" "Thanksgiving of Horror" "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" "Hail to the Teeth" "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson" "Frinkcoin" "Bart the Bad Guy" "Screenless" "Better Off Ned" "Highway to Well" "The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby" "Warrin' Priests" (Parts 1 and 2) "The Hateful Eight-Year-Olds" "The Way of the Dog" See also Treehouse of Horror list The Simpsons episode guides "The Simpsons Guy" Category --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hail to the Teeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Teeth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hail_to_the_Teeth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.