E Pluribus Wiggum (6 Jan. 2008)

Springfield becomes the site of the first presidential primary. The townspeople soon get sick of all of the presidential candidates sucking up to them, and decide to support their own write-in candidate: Ralph Wiggum.

Director:

Michael Polcino

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator), James L. Brooks (developer),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Sideshow Mel / Hans Moleman / Mayor Quimby / Krusty / New Hampshire Man / Dennis Kucinich / Politcal Analyst / Rich Texan / Count Dracula (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Nelson Muntz / Ralph Wiggum (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Carl Carlson / Moe Szyslak / Mousepad / Apu / Chief Wiggum / Nash Castor / GOP Man / Julio / Lou (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Mr. Burns / Lenny Leonard / Cheesy McMayor / Dr. Hibbert / Kent Brockman / Seymour Skinner / Political Ad Announcer / Senator Whinergirl / Fred Thompson / Ned Flanders / Headbutt Announcer (voice)
Dan Rather	...	Himself (voice)
Jon Stewart	...	Himself (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Campaign Worker #1 (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Martha / Republican Official / Hillary Clinton / 'Omigod, this family is undecided, undecided!' (voice)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Politician in a Think Tank / Bill Clinton / Candidates (voice)

Storyline

Homer accidentally blows up all thirty-seven takeaways in Fast Food Boulevard with a carelessly discarded match and,in order to get money to rebuild them, Mayor Quimby decrees that the elections be brought forward,thus making Springfield the first in the country to choose its candidates for the presidential primary. A host of wannabes descend on the town and,in order to put them off,Homer suggests nominating the least likely potential leader of all - Ralph Wiggum. The trouble is,everybody starts to take this seriously and soon all parties are courting Ralph as their candidate,even Bill Clinton.

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Plot Keywords:

presidential candidate | 2d animation

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 2008 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The couch gag for this episode is a parody of the Bayeux Tapestry. The Simpsons go to war with Flanders for the couch.

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Quotes

Lisa Simpson: Ralph can't be president. He's the dumbest person on the dumbest percentile group.
Homer Simpson: A president doesn't have to be smart. All he has to do is point the army and shoot.
Lisa Simpson: But he's eight, and the Constitution says you have to be thirty-five to be president.
Bart Simpson: Lis, I'm pretty sure the Patriot Act killed the Constitution to protect our rights.

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Connections

References Die Hard 2 (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Hungry Like The Wolf"
(uncredited)
Performed by Duran Duran

User Reviews

Starts Out With Less Than What It Ends With

This must be one of the few opened-ended episodes of The Simpsons. And I must admit I started out thinking it was going to be another piece of trash handed out by the writers, but what I got what a completely oblivious view of the election race. Unlike previous episodes they didn't have the top candidates next to Ralph running. They were only mentioned in playful passing. I do have to admit I really liked the Fred Thompson joke about him being in Die Hard 2. But this episode is really good at showing what people who don't care about politics can really do to harm the process.

This wasn't a straight forward episode but a very good parody on politics. Good job writers for doing it yet again this season!