Natural Born Kissers

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Good article}}{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | season = 9 | episode = 25 | director = [[Klay Hall]] | writer = [[Matt Selman]] | production = 5F18 | airdate = {{Start date|1998|05|17}} | blackboard = "I was not the inspiration for [[Cosmo Kramer|Kramer]]"<ref name="Book">{{cite book |last=Gimple |first=Scott M. |title=[[The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |date=December 1, 1999 |isbn=978-0-06-098763-3}}</ref> | couch_gag = The Simpson family appear as frogs on a lily pad and Homer turns on the TV with his long tongue.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season9/page25.shtml |title=Natural Born Kissers |access-date=March 17, 2020 |author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |year=2000 |url-status=dead |publisher=BBC |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904192354/https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season9/page25.shtml }}</ref> | commentary = [[Matt Groening]] Mike Scully [[George Meyer]] Matt Selman [[Dan Castellaneta]] [[Mark Kirkland]] | prev = [[Lost Our Lisa]] | next = [[Lard of the Dance]] }} "'''Natural Born Kissers'''" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the [[The Simpsons season 9|ninth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on May 17, 1998. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] discover that the fear of getting caught while making love is a turn on and start making love in public places. It was the first episode to be written by [[Matt Selman]] and was also the first and only ''The Simpsons'' episode to be directed by [[Klay Hall]].<ref name=bbc/> Some networks list the episode by the title, "'''Margie, May I Sleep with Danger?'''"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/schedule/dailySchedule.jsp?network=CBC%20Television&genre=&startDate=2004/04/02&startTime=12:00&endTime=19:00 |title=Broadcasting Schedule |access-date=2007-11-01 |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103203531/http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/schedule/dailySchedule.jsp?network=CBC%20Television |archive-date=November 3, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=104016&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=152000&highlight |title=Sky One beats ITV in prime time for first time |access-date=2007-11-18 |publisher=[[Sky One]]}}{{dead link |date=April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1998-05-15/523484/|title=Nada About Yadda|last1=Moser|first1=Margaret|website=Austin Chronicle|access-date=2018-12-28|date=May 15, 1998}}</ref>

Matt Groening listed the episode as being his eighth favorite,<ref name="EW" /> and the aroused cow is one of his all-time favorite act break jokes.<ref name="Groening" /> Andy Dougan of the ''[[Evening Times]]'' characterized the episode along with "[[Large Marge]]", "[[Three Gays of the Condo]]", and "[[The Way We Weren't]]", as "four of the funniest episodes of recent series".<ref name="dougan" /> The DVD release was also reviewed favorably by Louis R. Carlozo in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', where the episode was seen as "more ridiculous" than "[[Large Marge]]".<ref name=":0" />

==Plot== It is [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Marge Simpson|Marge]]'s eleventh [[wedding anniversary]] and [[Grampa Simpson|Grampa]] does not arrive at the Simpson house to babysit the children having mistaken them for the Flanders children next door, spoiling Homer and Marge's evening together. Later that evening, Homer and Marge attempt to have [[sexual intercourse]], but lack [[sexual desire|enthusiasm]].

The following day, the refrigerator's motor burns out after Homer left the door open to look at a slice of his and Marge's wedding cake. As Homer and Marge make their way to a hardware store to buy another one, their car gets stuck in the muddy driveway in the middle of farm country. Homer and Marge rush into the nearest barn to avoid a sudden storm. A farmer discovers the barn door is open and suspects trespassers. He enters the barn, nearly catching Homer and Marge, who are hiding in the hay loft, but leaves after failing to locate them. When the coast is clear, Homer and Marge have inspired sex in the hay loft.

Homer and Marge think their marriage has been recharged and go for a romantic weekend at a [[bed and breakfast]], but soon fall into their old patterns. However, a maid walks in on them and they conclude they are both [[sexual arousal|aroused]] when they risk being caught during intimate moments, so they have sex behind window curtains in a room full of people.

Their love life is recharged and one day they begin to have sex on the same miniature golf course windmill where [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] was [[I Married Marge|conceived]]. This time they come ''too'' close to being caught having [[public sex]], and while they manage to escape, they have to flee through [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] naked. After trying to seek help from [[Gil Gunderson|Gil]] at his car lot, they steal his hot air balloon and fly throughout the city in it. As Marge tries to pilot the balloon after Homer falls and is left hanging on the rope, the balloon lands in a [[American football|football]] stadium, and a naked photograph of Homer and Marge appears in the local newspaper. The next day, Bart and [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] see the picture and their parents begin to explain sex to them. Before they go into detail, however, they decide to go back to the miniature golf course.<ref name="Book"/><ref name="bbc"/>

In a subplot, Bart and Lisa stay at the Springfield Retirement Castle with Grampa, and they discover a [[metal detector]] in his closet. While Bart uses it to look for pirate treasure, they uncover a [[film reel]] of an [[alternate ending]] to ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]''. They watch the scene, which turns out to be a very sanitized and typical Hollywood happy ending, where [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[Ingrid Bergman]]'s characters marry in the end. Bart, Lisa and Grampa all like it but the [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Old Jewish Man|Old Jewish Man]] reveals that he was once a [[studio executive]] and tried to include this happy ending on the film. Disgruntled, he pays Bart and Lisa to dispose of the reel, along with another reel of a killing spree ending to ''[[It's A Wonderful Life]]''.

==Production== [[File:Matt Selman by Gage Skidmore.jpg|right|thumb|upright|This was the first episode written by Matt Selman.]] "Natural Born Kissers" was the first episode written by [[Matt Selman]], who partly based it on his parents' marriage.<ref name="Selman">{{cite video |people=Selman, Matt |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Natural Born Kissers" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode was the only time that [[show runner]] [[Mike Scully]] ever got a call from [[20th Century Fox]] where they suggested not doing the episode. They were worried about the sexual content, the nudity, and how it was going to be handled.<ref name="Scully">{{cite video |people=Scully, Mike |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Natural Born Kissers" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> They disliked several of the phrases used in the episode, such as the term "ass forkin{{' "}}.<ref name="Selman"/>

In an interview, [[Matt Groening]] said: "The network censors couldn't believe it, and neither could I: the cow at the peephole while [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] and [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] make love in a hayloft; neighbors groping Homer when he and Marge are caught nude inside the windmill at the Sir Putts-A-Lot mini golf course; Homer dangling naked from a hot-air balloon, his ass dragging against the glass of a [[Christ Cathedral (Garden Grove, California)|Crystal Cathedral]]-like church".<ref name="EW">{{cite web |url=https://ew.com/article/2000/01/14/springfield-dreams/ |title=Springfield of Dreams |access-date=2022-01-23 |date=2000-01-14 |publisher=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |first=Dan |last=Snierson}}</ref>

The producers fought the [[Censorship|censor]]s and in the end, very little of the script was modified.<ref name="Selman"/> This episode is the first time that Marge's buttocks are shown on television.<ref name="Scully"/> Marge and Homer in the golf course is a reference to the [[The Simpsons season 3|season three]] episode "[[I Married Marge]]", although in that episode they are in a castle, rather than a windmill.<ref name="Selman"/>

==Cultural references== The title of the episode is a play on the film ''[[Natural Born Killers]]''. The airplane restaurant "Up, Up and Buffet!" (a play on the song [[Up, Up and Away (song)|"Up, Up and Away"]]) is based on a submarine-shaped restaurant that was near the Fox studio named [[Dive! (restaurant)|Dive!]]<ref name="Scully"/> A supposed alternate ending to the 1942 film ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' is shown in the episode, and the Old Jewish Man gives Bart and Lisa a copy of ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' with a "killing-spree ending".<ref name=bbc/> The song "[[Spanish Flea]]" plays during the radio commercial for Divorce Specialists; it was heard in the season three episode "[[The Otto Show]]" while Homer sat in the car during the [[Spinal Tap (band)|Spinal Tap]] concert.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="ult">{{cite book |title=[[Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins|Harper Collins Publishers]] |year=2010 |editor=Bates, James W. |editor2=Gimple, Scott M. |editor3=McCann, Jesse L. |editor4=Richmond, Ray |editor5=Seghers, Christine |isbn=978-0-00-738815-8 |edition=1st |page=465}}</ref> Homer finds a flyer from [[Homer's Enemy|Frank Grimes]]'s funeral.<ref name=":1" /> Marge refers to sex as "[[Sexual intercourse|rocking the casbah]]", and consequently the song "[[Rock the Casbah]]" by [[The Clash]] plays over the end credits.<ref name=bbc/>

==Reception== In its original broadcast, "Natural Born Kissers" finished 29th in ratings for the week of May 11–18, 1998, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 8.8, equivalent to approximately 8.6 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following ''[[The X-Files]]'', ''[[King of the Hill]]'', and ''[[Ally McBeal]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Seinfeld, on the way out, hits its peak |work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] |agency=Associated Press |page=4E |date=May 21, 1998}}</ref>

Matt Groening listed the episode as being his eighth favorite episode,<ref name="EW"/> and the aroused cow is one of his all-time favorite act break jokes.<ref name="Groening">{{cite video |people=Groening, Matt |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Natural Born Kissers" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "a superb episode which actually makes Marge and Homer's love life seem very real; everyone needs a bit of spice now and again, and they find theirs. The balloon trip is hysterical, and the attempts to explain their behaviour to a very worldly-wise Bart and Lisa are magnificent."<ref name=bbc/>

The episode was part of a DVD boxed set release called ''The Simpsons Kiss and Tell: The Story of Their Love'', and in his review of the release, Andy Dougan of the ''[[Evening Times]]'' characterized the episode along with "[[Large Marge]]", "[[Three Gays of the Condo]]", and "[[The Way We Weren't]]", as "four of the funniest episodes of recent series".<ref name="dougan">{{cite news |last=Dougan |first=Andy |title=Andy Dougan's DVDs of the week |work=[[Evening Times]] |pages=20 |date=February 25, 2006 }}</ref> The DVD release was also reviewed favorably by Louis R. Carlozo in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', where the episode was seen as "more ridiculous" than "[[Large Marge]]".<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Carlozo |first=Louis R. |title=Can you feel the love in the DVD aisle this week? |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=February 10, 2006 }}</ref>

In the last of ''[[The A.V. Club]]''<nowiki/>'s "Classic ''Simpsons''" recaps, Les Chappell writes that the episode is a fitting conclusion to the show's ninth season: "It's a great encapsulation of how this family works: Homer and Marge have to try to explain things to children who are too worldly to fall for most excuses, the explanation trails off, and what could be a pleasant family outing to solve it all turns out to be yet another excuse for self-involvement when one public humiliation doesn't outweigh the joys of getting busy in a windmill. The Simpsons are a weird, dysfunctional, and ultimately loving family, and this is an ending—and an episode—that reminds us how wonderful that can be."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Chappell |first=Les |date=January 24, 2016 |title=An uneven season of The Simpsons streaks to an excellent conclusion |url=https://www.avclub.com/an-uneven-season-of-the-simpsons-streaks-to-an-excellen-1798186654 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons#Natural_Born_Kissers_.5B9.25.5D|"Natural Born Kissers"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|5F18}} *{{IMDb episode |id=0763037}}

[[Category:The Simpsons season 9 episodes]] [[Category:1998 American television episodes]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Humphrey Bogart]] [[Category:Television episodes written by Matt Selman]] [[Category:Nudity in television]]