{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Good article}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 17 | episode = 21 | director = [[Raymond S. Persi]] | writer = [[J. Stewart Burns]] | production = HABF14 | airdate = {{Start date|2006|05|14}} | guests = *[[Melanie Griffith]] as herself *[[Larry Hagman]] as Wallace Brady | blackboard = "Je ne parle pas français"<br/>(French for “I don't speak French”) | couch_gag = A photographer takes the Simpsons' picture, which sets off a slideshow of events from 2006 to 2013. | commentary = {{Plainlist| * Al Jean * J. Stewart Burns * [[Matt Selman]] * [[Tim Long]] * [[Marc Wilmore]] * Raymond S. Persi }} | prev = [[Regarding Margie]] | next = [[Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play]] }}
"'''The Monkey Suit'''" is the twenty-first and penultimate 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 May 14, 2006. In the episode, [[Ned Flanders]] is shocked after seeing a new display at the museum about [[evolution]]. Together with [[Reverend Lovejoy]], he spreads the religious belief of [[creationism]] in [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]], and at a later town meeting, teaching evolution is made illegal. As a result, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] decides to hold secret classes for people interested in evolution. However, she is quickly arrested and a trial against her is initiated.
[[J. Stewart Burns]] wrote "The Monkey Suit", for which he received inspiration from the 1925 [[Scopes Monkey Trial]]. The episode features a few references to this legal case, as well as several references to [[popular culture]]. Many analysts have commented on the episode's treatment of the [[creation–evolution controversy]], a dispute about the origin of humanity between those who support a creationist view based upon their [[religious beliefs]], versus those who accept evolution, as supported by [[scientific evidence]].
Critics have given the episode generally positive reviews, praising it for its satire of the creation-evolution debate. "The Monkey Suit" has won an award from the [[Independent Investigations Group]] (IIG) for being "one of those rare shows in the media that encourage science, critical thinking, and ridicule those shows that peddle [[pseudoscience]] and [[superstition]]."<ref name="iig"/> In 2007, a scene from the episode was highlighted in the scientific journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''.
==Plot== After [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] hurriedly completes a series of summer vacation activities days before the start of the new academic year, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] decides to take the family to the museum to see a weaving exhibit. However, they soon discover that it has been replaced by a "History of Weapons" exhibit, sponsored by [[Kellogg's]]. Faced with an incredibly long line, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] notices [[Ned Flanders]] and his sons at the front of the line and cuts in front of them. Everyone else starts taking advantage of Ned's kindness as well until the Flanders family is stuck at the end. At the end of the day, they are still waiting, and are denied entry, as it is closing time for the weapons exhibit. They decide to check out the [[human evolution]] exhibit next door. Ned is outraged to hear that humans actually evolved from apes and that the creation account in the [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] is therefore a myth. Covering his sons' eyes, he forcefully drags them out of the exhibit.
Ned meets up with the church council to suggest promotion of creationism. The next day, he and [[Reverend Lovejoy]] blackmail [[Principal Skinner]] into introducing creationism in the school. Lisa is perturbed by this, and at a town meeting asks everyone to make a choice between creationism and Darwinism, as there is only one truth. The townspeople vote for creationism, much to her chagrin, and the act of teaching or learning Darwinism and evolution is made illegal. Lisa therefore decides to start holding secret classes for people interested in evolution. However, just as the first lesson is about to begin, she is arrested by [[Chief Wiggum]]. She asks why she is being arrested when there are far worse crimes out there, and embarrassed he tells her they only have enough manpower to enforce the last three laws passed (as demonstrated by their non-response to Snake randomly shooting at people from atop the Kwik-E-Mart whilst yelling "you live, you die"). Lisa is brought to trial, which is dubbed ''Lisa Simpson v. God''. Representing her is Clarice Drummond, an ACLU lawyer, while on Ned's side is Wallace Brady, an overweight, southern lawyer. The trial does not go smoothly for Lisa, as [[Professor Frink]] gives ambiguous answers regarding God's existence, while a creationist says that evolution cannot be real, as there is no proof of a "missing link" (depicted in a picture as a savage hominid, holding a rock over his head).
After reading Charles Darwin's ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'' (incorrectly called ''The Origin of Species''), [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] believes that he presents a convincing argument and decides to help Lisa (whilst Bart proposes sending [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] in disguise in her place to allow Lisa to flee the country). When the trial resumes, Marge tells Lisa that she now knows a way that she can help her. While Ned is being cross-examined by Drummond, she gives Homer a beer. Homer, ecstatic at getting the beer, tries to open it unsuccessfully. The more he tries, the more primitive he gets, hooting and banging the beer on the bench, disrupting the trial. Ned loses his temper and tells Homer to stop behaving like a monkey. Drummond then asks Ned to compare the picture of the "missing link" and Homer shaking the beer over his head, and asks if he truly believes Homer cannot be related to apes. Ned cannot and concedes victory to Lisa. After the trial, Lisa goes up to Ned and tells him that while she fully respects his religious beliefs, she just does not think it is proper for the church to dominate the school in the same way that he and Reverend Lovejoy do not want scientists taking over the church. Ned finally agrees with this, so he offers to take Lisa and his sons out for ice cream. However Todd (in a call back to an earlier joke) turns out to be Nelson instead after he insults Ned and pulls off his mask.
==Production== [[File:John t scopes.jpg|thumb|A legal case involving high school science teacher [[John Scopes]] served as inspiration for the episode.]] "The Monkey Suit" was written by [[J. Stewart Burns]] and directed by [[Raymond S. Persi]] as part of the seventeenth season of ''The Simpsons'' (2005–2006).<ref name=Sanders/> Burns received inspiration for the episode from the [[Scopes Monkey Trial]], a 1925 legal case in which high school science teacher [[John Scopes]] was accused of violating [[Tennessee]]'s [[Butler Act]] which made teaching evolution unlawful.<ref name="iig"/> Clarice Drummond, the ACLU lawyer who represents Lisa, is a reference to the ACLU lawyer [[Clarence Darrow]] who defended Scopes, while Wallace Brady is a reference to [[William Jennings Bryan]], an attorney in the Scopes Monkey Trial.<ref name=Gournelos/> American actor and ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' star [[Larry Hagman]] guest starred in the episode as Wallace Brady,<ref name=radiotimes/><ref name=Jones>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=John Yoshito|title=Intelligent Design and educational policy: The case of Kansas|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-27202-1|page=185|id={{ProQuest|304836336}}}}</ref> while American actress [[Melanie Griffith]] played herself as the narrator of an audio tour at the museum.<ref name=radiotimes>{{cite web|title=Series 17 - 21. The Monkey Suit|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dtjc/the-simpsons-the-monkey-suit|publisher=[[Radio Times]]|access-date=2011-11-06|archive-date=November 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108214905/http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dtjc/the-simpsons-the-monkey-suit|url-status=live}}</ref> Burns did research for "The Monkey Suit" by reading [[Richard Dawkins]]' book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'' and watching ''[[Inherit the Wind (1960 film)|Inherit the Wind]]'' (a film loosely based on the Scopes Monkey Trial). He also visited a natural history museum.<ref name="iig"/>
The opening of the episode, in which Bart rushes to do everything he planned on doing during summer vacation, was originally written and animated for the [[The Simpsons season 14|season fourteen]] episode "[[I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can]]" (2003) but was cut. This episode came in short, and to fill in time, the sequence was added.<ref name="Jean">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al |date=2006|title=The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa's Sax"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Burns has said commented the episode "ended up being incredibly short because when you do an episode where there's really just one good side of an argument <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[creation–evolution controversy|creation vs. evolution]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>, you don't fill out as much time as you need to."<ref name="iig"/> The opening sequence features a large number of allusions to popular culture, including references to ''[[The Natural (film)|The Natural]]'' (1984 film), ''[[Happy Days]]'' (television sitcom), and ''[[Men in Black (1997 film)|Men in Black]]'' (1997 film).<ref name=Gournelos/>
==Themes== "The Monkey Suit" is an episode that tackles the [[creation–evolution controversy]],<ref name="classroom">{{cite book|author1=Waltonen, Karma |author2=Vernay, Denise Du |title=The Simpsons in the Classroom: Embiggening the Learning Experience with the Wisdom of Springfield|year=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4490-8|page=125}}</ref> and according to Theresa Sanders in her book ''Approaching Eden: Adam and Eve in Popular Culture'', "skewered [[antievolution]] legislation."<ref name=Sanders/> The authors of the book ''Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy'' commented that the episode "caricatures creationism as an intellectual joke."<ref name=Chronology>{{cite book|author1=Moore, Randy |author2=Decker, Mark |author3=Cotner, Sehoya |title=Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-36287-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chronologyofevol0000moor/page/351 351]|url=https://archive.org/details/chronologyofevol0000moor|url-access=registration |quote=monkey suit simpsons. }}</ref> Burns has cited the episode as "a nice example of ''The Simpsons'' really taking one clear side".<ref name="iig"/> However, as pointed out by Sanders, it "should be pointed out that though the ''Simpsons'' episode clearly sides with Darwin, evolutionists come in for criticism as well. When Ned and his sons go into the museum's Hall of Man, one of the exhibits they see in support of evolution is a collection of dinosaur bones with the title 'Indisputable Fossil Records.' The cartoon's inclusion of the sign can be interpreted as mocking the pretension that science knows all and may not be questioned."<ref name=Sanders>{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=Theresa|title=Approaching Eden: Adam and Eve in Popular Culture|year=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-6333-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/approachingedena0000sand/page/141 141]–144, 230|url=https://archive.org/details/approachingedena0000sand|url-access=registration|quote=Monkey Suit simpsons.}}</ref> Sanders cited another scene as an example of this; at the trial, Drummond asks Professor Frink if "this theory of evolution necessarily mean that there is no God?", to which he replies, "No, of course not. It just says that God is an impotent nothing from nowhere with less power than the undersecretary of Agriculture." Sanders wrote that "His arrogance is clear, and equally clear is the show's satirical presentation of science's [[hubris]]."<ref name=Sanders/>
Ted Gournelos analyzed "The Monkey Suit" in his 2009 book ''Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park'', writing: "More than anything, the episode is used to critique the demonization of evolutionary theory by religious propaganda, by an instructional video used in the school (that shows a drunken Charles Darwin passionately kissing Satan) as well as by the prosecuting attorney. This allows for a somewhat leftist discussion of the issue, but ultimately is unable to address the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the United States [...]".<ref name=Gournelos/> Gournelos noted that the episode focuses on the old Scopes Monkey Trial and does not address contemporary creation–evolution debates, adding: "Interestingly, ''The Simpsons'' continues to place creationism at a higher popular plain than evolution, as the jury and trial audience are obviously biased towards the creationists (who, unlike in contemporary cases, are the prosecutors rather than the plaintiffs)."<ref name=Gournelos>{{cite book|last=Gournelos|first=Ted|title=Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park|year=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7391-3721-5|pages=89–91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCI23BOylt4C&q=%22monkey+suit%22+simpsons&pg=PA89}}</ref> Gournelos concluded that the episode "pokes gentle fun at media rhetoric and the questioning of evolutionary theory [...], but is unable or unwilling to address the rise of [[intelligent design]] or contemporary court battles (in Pennsylvania [see ''[[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]]''], Kansas [see [[Kansas evolution hearings]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>, and elsewhere) that might encourage debate in its audience."<ref name=Gournelos/>
==Release== The episode originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on May 14, 2006.<ref name=IGN>{{cite web|title=The Monkey Suit|url=http://tv.ign.com/objects/827/827977.html|publisher=[[IGN]]|access-date=2011-11-05|archive-date=November 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108070332/http://tv.ign.com/objects/827/827977.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During this broadcast, it was seen by approximately 8.41 million viewers, finishing forty-sixth in the ratings for the week of May 8–14, 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=By the numbers - Nielsen TV ratings|newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=2006-05-17|page=3G}}</ref>
Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from critics.
In a retrospective that was published on the twentieth anniversary of ''The Simpsons'' in 2010, writers for [[BBC News]] selected "The Monkey Suit" as one of the show's "10 classic episodes", one they said demonstrated that "the writers still have fire in their bellies."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8449416.stm|title=The Simpsons: 10 classic episodes|date=2010-01-14|publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=2010-01-14|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529120530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8449416.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[TV Squad]] critic Adam Finley wrote that "Last night's episode had some good moments, but it did feel like they were treading upon somewhat familiar ground and not saying anything especially new," referring to the fact the issue of science and religion has been dealt with before on the show, "most notably in the '[[Lisa the Skeptic]]' episode in which the supposed skeleton of a dead angel is found."<ref name=Finley>{{cite web|last=Finley|first=Adam|title=The Simpsons: The Monkey Suit|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2006/05/15/the-simpsons-the-monkey-suit/|publisher=[[TV Squad]]|access-date=2011-11-05|date=2006-05-15|archive-date=2013-01-16|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116233359/http://www.aoltv.com/2006/05/15/the-simpsons-the-monkey-suit/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2007, "The Monkey Suit" won an award from the [[Independent Investigations Group]] (IIG) for being "one of those rare shows in the media that encourage science, critical thinking, and ridicule those shows that peddle [[pseudoscience]] and [[superstition]]."<ref name="iig"/> J. Stewart Burns, the writer of the episode, was present at the awards ceremony to accept the award.<ref name="iig">{{cite web |url=http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2006/index.html |title=The 2007 IIG Awards (includes a video of Burns' acceptance speech) |publisher=[[Independent Investigations Group]] |date=2010-08-21 |access-date=2011-11-01 |archive-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144538/http://www.iigwest.com/iigawards/2006/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
While reviewing the seventeenth season of ''The Simpsons'', Jesse Hassenger of [[PopMatters]] noted that he thought the show had declined in quality compared to its earlier years, and added that the stronger episodes in the later seasons are that ones that "satirize topical issues", giving "The Monkey Suit" as an example.<ref name=Hassenger>{{cite web|last=Hassenger|first=Jesse|title=The Simpsons - Managing Bright Spots|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/simpsons-060531|publisher=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=2011-11-05|date=2006}}</ref>
Similarly, ''[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]'' staff writer Robert Philpot commented that "Even in its weak seasons, this show has always been good for at least one belly laugh per episode. Not this year [season seventeen]. Aside from an installment that took on the evolution -vs.-creationism edge and a couple of other bits, the satirical edge has really dulled, making the announcement that it will have at least two more seasons a cause for concern rather than celebration."<ref name=Philpot>{{cite news|last=Philpot|first=Robert|title=Time to rewind - The credits have rolled on this season's last series finale. We look back at what was worth TiVoing, what had us reaching for the remote and what shows (and characters) have gone to that big rerun in the sky.|newspaper=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]|date=2006-05-28|page=D3}}</ref>
In the July 26, 2007 issue of ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', the scientific journal's editorial staff listed among "The Top Ten science moments in ''The Simpsons''" the scene from the episode in which "Flanders is flabbergasted that the science museum's exhibit on the origins of man both highlights evolution and makes light of creationism — and, to top it all, has a [[unisex bathroom]]."<ref name=Nature>{{cite journal|last=Hopkin|first=Michael|title=Science in comedy: Mmm... pi|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|date=2007-07-26|volume=448|issue=7152|pages=404–405|doi=10.1038/448404a|pmid=17653163|bibcode=2007Natur.448..404H|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|The Simpsons}} *[[History of the creation–evolution controversy]] *[[Creation and evolution in public education]] {{Clear}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_17#The_Monkey_Suit|“The Monkey Suit”}} *{{IMDb episode|0800707}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|17}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monkey Suit, The}} [[Category:The Simpsons season 17 episodes]] [[Category:2006 American television episodes]] [[Category:Criticism of creationism]] [[Category:Evolution in popular culture]] [[Category:Cultural depictions of Charles Darwin]] [[Category:Scopes Trial]] [[Category:Works about creationism]] [[Category:Television episodes written by J. Stewart Burns]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Raymond S. Persi]]