{{Short description|6th episode of the 9th season of The Simpsons}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = The Simpsons 5F01.png | image_size = 235 | caption = Homer examines his gun | season = 9 | episode = 6 | director = [[Pete Michels]] | writer = [[John Swartzwelder]] | production = 5F01 | airdate = {{Start date|1997|11|02}} | blackboard = "Everyone is tired of that Richard Gere story"<ref name="book"/> | couch_gag = Everybody has their posteriors on fire as they run to a water-filled couch. They hop on board as steam emerges from them.<ref name=bbc/> | commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<BR />Mike Scully<BR />[[Yeardley Smith]]<BR />Pete Michels<BR />[[George Meyer]]<BR />[[Ian Maxtone-Graham]]<BR />[[Donick Cary]]<BR />[[Ron Hauge]]<BR />John Swartzwelder | prev = [[Treehouse of Horror VIII]] | next = [[Bart Star]] }} "'''The Cartridge Family'''" is the sixth 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 November 2, 1997. It was written by [[John Swartzwelder]] and directed by [[Pete Michels]].<ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Gimple |first=Scott |title=[[The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued]] |year=1999 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |isbn=0-06-098763-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonsforeverc00groe/page/16 16] }}</ref> In the episode, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] purchases a gun to protect his family, of which [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] disapproves. Homer begins to show extremely careless gun usage, which causes Marge to leave him when she catches [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] using the gun without their permission. The episode was intended to portray guns in an unbiased manner, and faced some problems with censors because of the subject matter. Critical reaction was mostly positive.
The episode was included on a 1999 UK VHS release titled "The Simpsons: Too Hot for TV", which included three other episodes that were deemed to be too raunchy for airing on television.<ref name="amazon1">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004CY6U |title=The Simpsons - Too Hot For TV (VHS) |website=Amazon UK |date=21 July 2003 |access-date=2008-10-17}}</ref> The compilation was released on DVD in 2003.<ref name="amazon2">{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0000BZNIX |title=The Simpsons - Too Hot For TV (DVD) |website=Amazon UK |date=8 September 2003 |access-date=2008-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fox.co.uk/dvd/thesimpsonstoohotfortv-10674/10674/ |title=The Simpsons: Too Hot for TV |access-date=2007-10-25 |publisher=Fox |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113095825/http://www.fox.co.uk/dvd/thesimpsonstoohotfortv-10674/10674/ |archive-date=2007-11-13 }}</ref>
==Plot== A [[Football hooliganism|football riot]] breaks out in Springfield after a boring match between [[Mexico national football team|Mexico]] and [[Portugal national football team|Portugal]]. Fearing for her family's safety, Marge tells Homer to buy a Home Security System, but after learning it would cost $500, he buys a [[handgun]] instead. After a five-day waiting period per the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Act]] (after which he is deemed "Potentially Dangerous" but is permitted to own three handguns at most), Homer shows his firearm to Marge, who is horrified and demands he get rid of it. Homer brings her to a local [[National Rifle Association]] meeting hoping to change her mind, but she remains unconvinced.
After a near accident at the dinner table, Marge again begs Homer to get rid of the gun. He promises to, but later, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] and [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] find it in the refrigerator's vegetable crisper. Marge discovers this and berates Homer, then leaves with the children and checks into a motel, with Homer telling her to go and he'll be just fine. That night, Homer hosts an NRA meeting at his house, but the other members kick him out of the association after seeing how recklessly he uses his pistol (having used it as both a [[can opener|beer can opener]] and a TV [[remote control]] in their company). Realizing what his behavior has cost him, Homer goes to the motel and tells Marge he got rid of the gun.
While leaving, [[Snake Jailbird|Snake]] arrives to rob the desk clerk. Homer pulls out his gun and Marge is angry he lied again, and as he tries to apologize, Snake snatches the gun. The other NRA members arrive, but fail to prevent Snake from escaping with the contents of the cash drawer. Homer then says he does not trust himself and asks Marge to throw the gun away herself. However, Marge sees a reflection of herself holding it in the trash can and feels empowered, so she decides to keep it for herself.<ref name="book"/>
==Production== [[File:John Swartzwelder Retouched.png|thumb|[[John Swartzwelder]] wrote the episode.]] This was the first episode to air which was executive produced by [[Mike Scully]].<ref name=scully>{{Cite video |people=Scully, Mike |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Cartridge Family" |medium=DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]}}</ref> [[Sam Simon]] pitched an episode for one of the first seasons, which saw Homer getting a gun and nobody wanting him to have it. That episode would have concluded with Homer foiling a robbery and stating that although guns bring destruction, it worked for him.<ref name=Meyer>{{Cite video |people=Meyer, George |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Cartridge Family" |medium=DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]}}</ref> However, this episode was pitched by Scully for either season seven or eight, before being used for season nine.<ref name=scully/> This provided the basic outline, and [[John Swartzwelder]] wrote the script.<ref name=scully/> A lot of lines in the episode put guns in a positive light, as the staff felt that they could not just make an episode about how bad they were.<ref name=scully/> Several of the staff, including Swartzwelder, are "pro gun", although others, such as [[Matt Groening]], are completely against them.<ref name=Groening/> The episode was designed to be non-biased and to portray each side of the argument equally.<ref name=Michels/> Scully noted that if there is any message in the episode it is that a man like Homer should not own a gun.<ref name=scully/> The [[Fox Network]] censors were nervous about some of the episode's subject matter, such as Homer pointing the gun in Marge's face, and Bart aiming the gun at Milhouse with the apple in his mouth, but ultimately let it go.<ref name=scully/>
The opening sequence where soccer is portrayed as the most boring sport imaginable was intended to show that soccer was more boring on television than live, but both Michels and Groening enjoy the game.<ref name=scully/><ref name=Groening>{{Cite video |people=Groening, Matt |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Cartridge Family" |medium=DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]}}</ref> The referee at the game is a caricature of the janitor at [[Film Roman]], who supplied director [[Pete Michels]] with every piece of soccer information he needed to design the episode.<ref name=Michels>{{Cite video |people=Michels, Pete |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Cartridge Family" |medium=DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]}}</ref> [[Pelé]] also makes an appearance at the match, voiced by [[Hank Azaria]].<ref name=scully/>
The episode closes with music from the 1960s spy series ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''. After the music had been recorded, Scully felt that it did not suit the ending. However, it was too late in production to get the full orchestra back to make a new recording, and [[Trade union|union]] rules meant that previous recordings could not be reused.<ref name=scully/>
==Cultural references== The chalkboard gag references the [[Richard Gere]] gerbil urban legend.<ref name=scully/> The title is a play on the name of 1970s television series ''[[The Partridge Family]]''.<ref name="bbc" />
It makes several references to past episodes. The gun store owner reviews Homer's background: "[[Stark Raving Dad|time in a mental hospital]], [[Duffless|problems with alcohol]], [[Two Bad Neighbors|beating up President Bush]]..." Marge: "Don't you remember when [[Who Shot Mr. Burns|Maggie shot Mr. Burns?]]" Homer: "I thought Smithers did it." Lisa: "That would have made a lot more sense."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chappell |first=Les |date=July 26, 2015 |title=The Simpsons (Classic): "The Cartridge Family" |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-the-cartridge-family-1798184673 |website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref> The end music is the theme to the 1960s British TV series ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'',<ref name="bbc" /> and the song playing when Homer is sitting and watching things go by while he is waiting five days for his gun is "[[The Waiting (song)|The Waiting]]" by [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]].<ref name="scully" /> Petty rarely let his music be used on television, but, being a fan of ''The Simpsons'', he allowed them to use it.<ref name="scully" />
==Reception== In its original broadcast, "The Cartridge Family" finished 26th in ratings for the week of October 27 – November 2, 1997, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 10.5, equivalent to approximately 10.3 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network, following ''[[The X-Files]]'' and ''[[King of the Hill]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title='Cinderella' works magic for ABC |work=Sun-Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |page=4E |date=November 6, 1997}}</ref>
The episode received several positive reviews, being included in the ''[[Herald Sun]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s list of the top twenty ''The Simpsons'' episodes.<ref>"The Simpsons Top 20". ''Herald Sun''. 21 April 2007. pg. w09.</ref> It was also named the fifth best episode in the show's history in an article by ''[[The Florida Times-Union]]''.<ref>Nancy McAlister. "A sassy 'Simpsons' celebration; Fox hits a Homer as it broadcasts the 300th episode of the animated sitcom tonight". ''The Florida Times Union''. 16 February 2003. pg. D1.</ref> The ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'' also praised the episode, calling ''The Simpsons'' "the only sitcom in memory to treat gun control with any fairness".<ref>Jonah Goldberg. "The Simpsons: Bedrock American Values". ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. 14 May 2000. pg. E1.</ref>
On the other hand, the episode has been criticized by several outlets. Although the fictionalized NRA stress the importance of responsible gun ownership, the staff nonetheless received several complaints from the real [[National Rifle Association]] about the portrayal of the organization in the episode.<ref name=scully/> Ian Jones and Steve Williams criticized the episode, calling it "a messy, unfocused lampooning of gun culture".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/simpsons/decade.htm |title=NOW LET US NEVER SPEAK OF IT AGAIN |access-date=2007-08-14 |author=Ian Jones, Steve Williams |publisher=Off The Telly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214092457/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/simpsons/decade.htm |archive-date=2007-12-14}}</ref> [[Gary Russell]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html|title=Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos|author=Preddle, Jon|date=June 1997|magazine=Time Space Visualiser|issue=51|access-date=20 August 2020|publisher=The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club|quote=I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].}}</ref> the authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', found that it was "one of the most politically unambiguous episodes ever", but that "[it] is very dull and the plot isn't sustainable".<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2=Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |title=The Cartridge Family |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season9/page5.shtml |access-date=2007-06-12 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=April 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414083805/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season9/page5.shtml |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Anna Leszkiewicz in the ''[[New Statesman]]'' later pinpointed it as the moment Marge should have left Homer, saying "Homer has proved himself to be a violent, unstable, controlling, reckless husband".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/10/marge-should-have-left-homer-simpsons|title = Pinpointing the exact moment Marge should have left Homer in the Simpsons|date = 6 October 2017}}</ref>
The episode was not initially aired on the United Kingdom satellite channel [[Sky1]] due to scenes of flagrant gun misuse, yet was aired several times on [[BBC Two]] in an earlier evening timeslot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/simpsons/bbc.htm |title=THAT IS SO 1991! |access-date=2007-08-14 |author=Steve Williams, Ian Jones |publisher=Off The Telly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220193309/http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/simpsons/bbc.htm |archive-date=2007-12-20}}</ref> The episode has since been aired in daytime slots on all channels which have broadcast The Simpsons in the UK, albeit with partial editing that implied Marge did put the gun in the bin.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbr.com/the-simpsons-episode-banned-in-the-uk/ | title=How a Controversial Episode of the Simpsons Was Briefly Banned in the UK | date=January 31, 2022 |work=CBR |accessdate=2024-11-23}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{wikiquote|The Simpsons/Season 9#The Cartridge Family|"The Cartridge Family"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} *{{snpp capsule|5F01}} *{{IMDb episode|0763039}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|9}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartridge Family, The}} [[Category:The Simpsons season 9 episodes]] [[Category:1997 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes written by John Swartzwelder]] [[Category:Television episodes pulled from general rotation]] [[Category:Animation controversies in television]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies in animation]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies in television]] [[Category:Television controversies in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Pelé]] [[Category:National Rifle Association]] [[Category:Works about gun politics in the United States]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Pete Michels]] [[Category:Television episodes about weapons]]