"The Wife Aquatic" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons' eighteenth season, which originally aired January 7, 2007. 13.9 Million viewers watched this episode, making it the highest rated of seasons 17–19. The title is a reference to the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Plot
After watching Patty and Selma's old home videos of a trip to Barnacle Bay in New England, Marge pines for the excitement she had in her youth. Moved by his wife's depression, Homer organizes a surprise trip to the island. However, on the family's arrival, Marge's hopes to relive her youth are dashed as Barnacle Bay has been devastated by overfishing of the Yum Yum Fish, the island main attraction. Homer refuses to let Marge down and fixes the boardwalk and celebrates with a large fireworks show. The plan backfires and he accidentally starts a fire and the boardwalk burns down. In order to repay the townsfolk Homer joins a fishing crew and sets out to rediscover the Yum Yum Fish.
The Island of Barnacle Bay
Homer, believing it to be Opposite Day, deep fries the fishing hooks in beer. The idea works and they catch a large haul of Yum Yum Fish. However, their celebrations are short-lived as Homer and the crew become trapped in a storm. Searching for a means of escape, they discover Bart has stowed away and removed the lifeboat in order to hide. The ship sinks and Marge and the rest of Barnacle Bay believe that all is lost. Much to the everyone's relief, Homer, Bart and the rest of the crew manage to survive and are rescued by a Japanese fishing boat called "iruka koroshi maru" (meaning "Dolphin Murdering Boat" in Japanese).citation needed The townsfolk recommence fishing, but Lisa warns them about the dangers of overfishing. Agreeing with her, the townsfolk decide to go into logging instead, and clear cut the island's trees, much to Lisa's dismay.
Cultural References
- The episode parodies The Perfect Storm, among other nautical movies. The fishermen's successful catch, and the subsequent storm (including the monster wave that wrecks the boat) are all reminiscent of the 2000 movie.
- While Homer is clubbing the Yum Yum fish, "At Last" by Etta James is heard.[1]
- The home movie with Marge and her sisters is a spoof of the same scene in Prince of Tides (1991), with similar music.
- While going to the Barnacle Bay museum, Marge and Lisa pass an exhibit called “The Science of Spongebob”.
- The musical piece that's played throughout the episode is the "Aquarium" movement from Camille Saint-Saëns' "The Carnival of the Animals."
Reception
The crew of the Rotting Pelican.
This was the highest rated episode since season 16's "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", which aired right after Super Bowl XXXIX. Barring that, the ratings were last this high in 2003, with "I, D'oh-Bot" which pulled 16 million viewers.citation needed
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