"Marge vs. the Monorail" is the 12th episode of The Simpsons' fourth season, airing on January 14, 1993.

Episode details

Production Number: 9F10
Original Air Date: January 14, 1993
Writer: Conan O'Brien
Director: Rich Moore
Blackboard: "I will not eat things for money"
Couch Gag: The show's entire cast joins the family in front of the couch
Guest Voice: Leonard Nimoy

Synopsis

Homer drives home from work in a send-up of the opening to The Flintstones. Mr. Burns and Smithers dump nuclear waste in a city park and are caught. Burns is put on trial in a Hannibal Lecter-style device and is fined $3 million, which he pays off along with the statue of Lady Justice.

Springfield holds a town hall meeting on what to do with Burns' money. Although Marge suggests repairing a cracked Main Street, Lyle Lanley, guest-voiced by Phil Hartman, suggests Springfield spend the money on a monorail through a song that spoofs The Music Man (The Monorail Song). Springfield is about to build the monorail, and Lanley also offers a monorail conductor class, with Homer among the students. Homer, the best student in the class, becomes the conductor himself. However, he has no idea about his job, but he gets to wear a cape similar to Darth Vader's in Star Wars.

Feeling uncertain about the monorail, Marge goes to North Haverbrook, which was sold a monorail that she found out was all a dangerous scam sold by Lanley, who is a con artist on a flight to Tahiti. However, the plane lands in North Haverbrook, where an angry mob immediately confronts Lanley.

Back in Springfield, the monorail has already started its maiden voyage, and trouble starts. Only Homer and Bart can save the passengers by using a crudely-shaped anchor to stop the runaway monorail. As for Lanley, his plane needs to make a detour in North Haverbrook, where the townsfolk have been waiting to "thank" him...

Trivia

• Conan O'Brien says this is his favorite Simpsons episode (O'Brien also wrote this episode).
• George Takei was asked to guest star but declined, saying he did not want to make fun of public transportation (Takei was a member of the San Francisco Board of Transportation ). The role was instead given to another Star Trek star, Leonard Nimoy, who made a second appearance in the 1997 episode "The Springfield Files ".

Quotes

• Homer: (in the Flintstones parody) Simpson, Homer Simpson. He's the greatest guy in history. From the town of Springfield, he's about to hit a chestnut tree!
  (And he sure does!)
• Mr. Burns: Hello, my name is Mr. Snrub.
  ("Snrub" is "Burns" spelled backwards.)
• Homer: (on a family of possums in the monorail) I call the big one "Bitey." (Coincidentally, Matt Groening said this is his favorite Simpsons line ever.)
• Marge: (in reference to the monorail) And that was the only folly the people of Springfield ever embarked upon. Except for the popsticle stick skyscraper. And the 50-foot magnifying glass. And that escalator to nowhere.