{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 19 | episode = 6 | director = Lance Kramer | writer = Mick Kelly | production = JABF22 | airdate = {{Start date|2007|11|11}} | guests = | blackboard = "There is no such thing as an [[iPod]]dy" | couch_gag = The family appears on the cover of ''Modern Couch Gag'' magazine. | commentary = {{Plainlist| * [[Al Jean]] * [[Matt Selman]] * [[J. Stewart Burns]] * Mick Kelly * [[Tom Gammill]] * [[Max Pross]] * Lance Kramer }} | prev = [[Treehouse of Horror XVIII]] | next = [[Husbands and Knives]] }}
"'''Little Orphan Millie'''" is the sixth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 19|nineteenth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It first aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on November 11, 2007.<ref name="Futon2">{{cite news | title =(SI-1822) "Little Orphan Millie" | website= [[The Futon Critic]] | url = http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20071019fox16| accessdate=2007-10-23}}</ref> This episode represents a milestone in Simpsons' history as it sees Kirk and Luann remarry after initially divorcing eleven seasons earlier in the episode "[[A Milhouse Divided]]". It was written by Mick Kelly, production assistant to [[Al Jean]], and directed by Lance Kramer.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
During its first broadcast, the episode garnered 10.57 million viewers.<ref name="Episode News: Little Orphan Millie">{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonschannel.com/|title=Episode News: Little Orphan Millie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114020231/http://www.simpsonschannel.com/|archive-date=November 14, 2007|website=Simpsons Channel|access-date=November 24, 2024}}</ref>
==Plot== Kirk and Luann tell [[Simpson family|The Simpsons]] they are going to be remarried, much to the delight of [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]]. While preparing for the wedding, [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] suggests to [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] that he match his tie to her eyes, to which he casually replies that he never notices petty details like eye color. Shocked, Marge covers her eyes so Homer cannot see them unless he remembers their color. While the Van Houtens are on their cruise honeymoon, Kirk carries Luann down the hallway to their private room. The boat begins swinging from side to side, and the two fall off the boat. Two of the cruise representatives tell Milhouse his parents are lost at sea and presumed deceased, throwing Milhouse even deeper into depression. As he sulks around the Simpsons' house, he is informed the search has stopped. After sucking upon [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]]'s bottle, he discovers he truly is the "world's oldest baby", and promises himself that he will soon become a true man. Meanwhile, Homer continues making fruitless attempts at looking for traces of hints that can help him discover the color of Marge's eyes.
Milhouse starts to behave depressingly, and dresses in a black jacket and jeans. Milhouse's new behavior and attitude (gloomy, mellow, and poetic) grabs the attention of the girls at school, including [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]]. Milhouse starts usurping [[Bart Simpson|Bart]]'s popularity, which aggravates Bart. After concluding that Milhouse with family would be happy again, Bart remembers that Milhouse gets Danish butter cookies every Christmas from [[Solvang, California]]. He decides to connect Milhouse with his [[Denmark|Danish]] uncle, Norbert van Houten. <!-- "Van Houten" is clearly Dutch; was the ethnic sequence reversed by mistake? -->Waiting at the airport, Uncle Norbert, dressed like [[Indiana Jones (character)|Indiana Jones]] (including hat and [[bullwhip]]) arrives by his own [[biplane]] and asks to be referred to as "Zack," the proud [[Denmark|Danish]] Van Houten with a hatred towards the [[The Netherlands|Dutch]] Van Houtens. After Zack arrives to get Milhouse from the school, Milhouse's popularity escalates even higher.
Feeling desperate about finding Marge's eye color, Homer remembers a song he used to sing to Marge, and remembers every word except when he sings about her eyes, searching in vain for the missing word that rhymes with such lyrics as "appraisal". Marge remembers the song and, touched, removes her sun glasses, revealing the eyes that Homer's song called "a beautiful, deep shade of [[eye color|hazel]]." An angry Bart soon discovers Milhouse plans to fly away in a [[hot air balloon]] with Zack. After being convinced by Lisa, Bart realizes that he platonically loves and will miss Milhouse. Milhouse, Zack, and Bart take off in the hot air balloon and come upon an island, where a very much alive Kirk and Luann plan escaping with a nature-made [[hang-glider]]. After flying, Kirk and Luann's hang-glider cuts the hot air balloon and soon, Milhouse re-unites with his parents. Zack states that he has already called for help and then gets into a fight with Kirk over their heritage (Danish and Dutch respectively).
==Cultural references==
The episode's name references ''[[Little Orphan Annie]].'' Milhouse's uncle Zack resembles [[Indiana Jones (character)|Indiana Jones]] and when he flies Milhouse home, music similar to "The Raiders March" from the Indiana Jones film ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' is heard. Milhouse's somber ensemble is similar to [[James Dean]] in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''.<ref name=TVSquad>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/12/the-simpsons-little-orphan-millie/|title=The Simpsons: Little Orphan Millie|accessdate=2008-01-29|last=Keller|first=Richard|date=November 12, 2007|website=[[TV Squad]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113092534/http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/11/12/the-simpsons-little-orphan-millie/|archive-date=November 13, 2007}}</ref> "[[Adagio for Strings]]" is played during the dark and gloomy scene showing the cruise line representatives driving toward the Simpsons' house. The scene itself is a parody of a scene from ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'', where Mrs. Ryan is informed of the death of her sons. The name "Festival Cruise Lines" is a parody of ''[[Carnival Cruise Lines]]''. The "[[Solvang]] Air" liner plane is a wooden and scantling-work structure with wind-mill wings as propellers, and Uncle Zak and Milhouse's father end by reviving an old hatred between Dutch and Danish. The wooden plane's landing is accompanied with music from "[[Swedish Rhapsody No. 1]]" by Swedish composer [[Hugo Alfvén]]. Bart and Marge both use the term ''[[Krumping]]'' in reference to an energetic dancing style that was popularized in the United States.
==Reception== The episode originally garnered 10.6 million viewers on its first run, that being the third highest of the season.<ref name="Episode News: Little Orphan Millie"/>
Robert Canning of ''[[IGN]]'' stated that overall, "'Little Orphan Millie' was a middle-of-the-road episode that will never really stand out."<ref>{{cite web|first=Robert|last=Canning|date=November 12, 2007|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/834/834427p1.html|title=IGN: Little Orphan Millie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114102209/http://tv.ign.com/articles/834/834427p1.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=November 24, 2024}}</ref>
Richard Keller of ''[[TV Squad]]'' said "For the most part the episode was entertaining and fairly free of over-the-top sight gags"<ref name=TVSquad/>
The scene in the episode where Marge tries to cheer up Bart by attempting to [[krump]]—albeit unsuccessfully—later became an Internet meme.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/marge-krumping|title=Marge Krumping|website=Know Your Meme|access-date=November 24, 2024|archive-date=November 23, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241123214848/https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/marge-krumping|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_19#Little_Orphan_Millie|"Little Orphan Millie"}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080410000144/http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1906.htm "Little Orphan Millie"] at TheSimpsons.com *{{IMDb episode|1137310}}
{{Portal|The Simpsons}} {{The Simpsons episodes|19}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 19 episodes]] [[Category:2007 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes about weddings]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Lance Kramer]]
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