Marge the Lumberjill

6th episode of the 31st season of The Simpsons

"Marge the Lumberjill"

The Simpsons episode

Episode no.

Season 31
Episode 6

Directed by

Rob Oliver

Written by

Ryan Koh

Production code

ZABF02^[1]

Original air date

November 10, 2019 (2019-11-10)

Guest appearances

Asia Kate Dillon as Paula
Natasha Lyonne as Sophie
Jill Sobule performing "Lumberjill"

Episode features

Chalkboard gag

"Daylight savings isn't something I can spend"

Couch gag

The Simpson family's couch turns to a spoof of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Episode chronology

← Previous
"Gorillas on the Mast"

Next →
"Livin La Pura Vida"

The Simpsons season 31

List of episodes

"Marge the Lumberjill" is the sixth episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 668th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 10, 2019. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Ryan Koh. Musician Jill Sobule also wrote and performed an original song for the episode.

This episode introduced Grey Griffin as Sherri and Terri and Martin Prince following the death of Russi Taylor on July 26, 2019.^[2]

Plot

At Springfield Elementary, the children perform dramatic scenes they have written based on TV shows and YouTube videos. Lisa performs a scene based on her own family, starring herself. Database plays Bart, Ralph plays Homer, Sam plays Marge, and Kearney plays Maggie. The Simpsons feel uncomfortable as to how others see them from. Marge in particular feels self-conscious for being perceived as boring. To change these perceptions, Marge tries to do a funny sermon at the First Church of Springfield, but fails.

Going back home, lightning strikes and fells a tree onto the family car. The next day, Homer starts chopping down the trunk but soon goes to sleep on his hammock, so Marge starts chopping it herself. An impressed Patty invites her lumberjill friend Paula to watch her doing the job; Paula proceeds to coach Marge and invites her to become a lumberjill in the woods.

Marge eventually takes up timbersports, and takes part in a team with Paula in the Springfield Timbersports Pro-am, which they win against other men. At this moment, Patty tells Homer that Paula is a lesbian; making Homer fear that Paula will try to steal Marge away from him. Paula eventually asks Marge to become her partner by training for a month in Portland, Oregon and she accepts, amplifying Homer's concerns.

One month later, Homer and the kids go to Portland to bring her back, but find her getting acquainted in the house with Paula and unsure of coming back the next day after the competition, the Grizzly Timbersports Northwest Championship. They win and Paula tells Homer that she is not romantically interested in Marge; she has a wife who is a ribbon dancer in the Olympics and they have a child of their own. She also assures Homer that she and Marge are just good friends and that Marge is welcome to come back to train with her anytime. Grateful, Homer offers his sperm to her if she decides to have another kid, to which she promises to think about it. She then coaches Homer to offer to give Marge a ride home to Springfield.

In the final scene, Homer buys Maggie a toy chainsaw so she could develop an interest in lumberjacking in the future. However, she gets scared by it as soon as she tries it.

Production

This episode marked the first time Sherri and Terri and Martin Prince was voiced by Grey Griffin following the death of Russi Taylor on July 26, 2019.^[3]^[4] Taylor would be featured one more time as the voice of Martin in "Thanksgiving of Horror".^[5]

Reception

Viewing figures

Leading out of an NFL doubleheader, the episode earned a 1.8 rating with a 8 share and was watched by 5.00 million viewers. which was the most watched show on Fox that night.^[6]

Critical response

Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 2 and a half out of 5 stars. He felt the episode was mediocre, and it was not taking any chances because Homer and Marge's marriage was never in any real danger.^[7]

Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B−, stating "It all leaves the amiable ‘Marge The Lumberjill’ feeling awfully inessential, especially since it isn’t packed with compensatory great jokes...And there’s a lovely little present for quick-eared fans of quirky bisexual singer-songwriter Jill Sobule (of the superior ‘I Kissed A Girl’ song), who sings the original Marge training montage anthem ‘The Lumberjill Song’ after she’s name-checked as the newly Portland-ized Marge’s fashion icon. It’s sweet, even if its playful depiction of Marge’s inner awakening feels more invested than the episode as a whole ends up being.”^[8]

References

^ Jean, Al [@AlJean] (March 14, 2019). ".@TheSimpsons ZABF02!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via Twitter.
^ Joest, Mick (November 11, 2019). "The Simpsons Revealed New Voice For Martin And Others Following Actress's Death". CinemaBlend. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
^ Clarke, Patrick (November 11, 2019). "'The Simpsons' recasts three roles following the death of voice actor Russi Taylor". NME. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
^ West, Amy (November 11, 2019). "The Simpsons recasts characters after voice actor Russi Taylor's death". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
^ Colburn, Randall (November 22, 2019). "This Sunday's Simpsons marks the late Russi Taylor's final performance as Martin Prince". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
^ Welch, Alex (November 12, 2019). "'Sunday Night Football' adjusts up, 'The Simpsons,' '60 Minutes,' 'Bless the Harts' adjust down: Sunday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
^ Sokol, Tony (November 11, 2019). "The Simpsons Season 31 Episode 6 Review: Marge the Lumberjill". Den of Geek. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
^ Perkins, Dennis (November 10, 2019). "The Simpsons allows Marge some sweetly forgettable self-esteem". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 22, 2019.