| "A Fish Called Selma" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 7 Episode 19 | ||
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland | ||
| Written by | Jack Barth | ||
| Production code | 3F15 | ||
| Original air date | March 24, 1996 (1996-03-24) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode features | |||
| Couch gag | The Simpsons are five malfunctioning wind-up dolls who buzz their way to the couch.[1] | ||
| Commentary | Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Jeff Goldblum David Silverman | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| The Simpsonsseason 7 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of theseventh season of the American animated television seriesThe Simpsons. It originally aired on theFox network in the United States on March 24, 1996.[2] The episode featuresTroy McClure, who tries to resurrect his acting career and squelch the rumors about his personal life by marryingSelma Bouvier.Show runnersBill Oakley andJosh Weinstein were fans ofPhil Hartman and wished to produce an episode that focused on his character McClure.Freelance writerJack Barth wrote the episode, andMark Kirkland directed it.
Barth's script underwent a substantial rewrite in the show's writing room, including the expansion of thePlanet of the Apes musical and addition of the song "Dr. Zaius". The episode ran too long because of the slow pace of Troy and Selma's speech. Consequently, guest starJeff Goldblum rerecorded his dialogue as MacArthur Parker at a faster speed.
The episode received generally positive reviews, with particular praise given to Hartman's performance and the musical sequence.Entertainment Weekly placed the episode eighth on their list of the top 25The Simpsons episodes.
Chief Wiggum stopsTroy McClure for reckless driving and notices his driver's license requires him to wear corrective lenses. Because of his vanity, Troy dislikes wearing his glasses. He visitsSelma Bouvier at theDMV and offers to take her to dinner if she lets him pass theeye test. After dinner,paparazzi photographers see Troy leaving with Selma and the story hits the news. After winning for him the role of George Taylor in amusical stage adaptation ofPlanet of the Apes, Troy's agent, MacArthur Parker, says that Troy can stage a career comeback if he continues seeing Selma. On his agent's advice, Troy asks Selma to marry him and she agrees.
The night before the wedding, a drunken Troy tellsHomer that he does not love Selma and is only using her as asham wife to further his career, with Homer only casually informingMarge after the fact (despite ample opportunity at the wedding to declare it). Marge andPatty try convincing Selma her marriage is a sham, but she accuses them of jealousy. She confronts Troy, who shamelessly admits that their marriageis a sham but claims she has everything she could want and will be "the envy of every other sham wife in town". Selma has her doubts but agrees to remain married to Troy because she fears being alone.
Parker thinks he can get Troy the part ofMcBain's sidekick inMcBain IV: Fatal Discharge if he sires children. Troy and Selma prepare to conceive a child, but Troy is uncomfortable sleeping with her; rumors of hisunconventional sexuality once squelched his career and prevented his comeback. Selma decides that bringing a child into a loveless marriage is wrong and leaves Troy. Atabloid TV show confirms that Troy has turned down the role of McBain's sidekick to direct and star in his own film,The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel, produced by20th Century Fox.
Show runnersBill Oakley andJosh Weinstein werefans of actorPhil Hartman, who had been a recurring guest star inThe Simpsons since thesecond season. They decided to produce an episode entirely about his characterTroy McClure to give Hartman as much to do as possible. Oakley wanted to explore Troy's character because he had never interacted with the show's other characters before, only appearing on television.[3][4] The writers chose the plot idea of Troy's marriage toSelma Bouvier because she was "always marrying people".[3] The episode's first draft was written byfreelance writerJack Barth, although the rest of the writing staff rewrote it.[3]
One aspect of the rewrite was the song "Dr. Zaius" from thePlanet of the Apes musical, which the staff consider to be one of the greatest musical numbers ever written forThe Simpsons.[3][4] The two songs in the musical were composed byAlf Clausen, who had worked as acopyist on the original film ofPlanet of the Apes.[5] Weinstein—who had not seen the film at the time[5]—pitched it in thewriters' room as "Rock Me Dr. Zaius", in parody of the 1985 song "Rock Me Amadeus" byFalco. It expanded into a full song primarily concocted byGeorge Meyer, who included "corny" aspects ofvaudeville.[3][4] The line "From chimpan-A tochimpan-Z" in the final song of the musical was written byDavid X. Cohen. Oakley commented that he has heard the line "all over the world".[3] Several of the staffers have commented on how writing thePlanet of the Apes parody generated a great deal of enthusiasm in the writer's room: Oakley described it as "one of those rare bursts of creative brilliance. A lot of the things that people remember and love onThe Simpsons were horrible late-night grinds, whereas this was just a magic visit from the joke fairy."[5]
DirectorMark Kirkland was pleased that Troy was the star of the episode; he enjoyed interpreting Hartman's voice performance because it allowed him and the other animators to "open [McClure] up visually as a character".[6] Due to the slow talking speed of Troy and Selma, the episode's audio track was 28 minutes long, which meant that multiple scenes had to be cut, including Troy'sbachelor party.[3] After the cast had completed their original recording,[7] guest starJeff Goldblum rerecorded his dialogue as MacArthur Parker at a faster speed to further shorten it.[3] His character's design was loosely modeled on him, as well as a real-life "sleazy Hollywood agent". The animators watched several of Goldblum's films, includingThe Tall Guy, in order to get a better representation of his performance.[6]
Throughout "A Fish Called Selma", it is hinted that Troy engages inparaphilia. The writers initially did not know what the "unsavory" sexual preference would be, but eventually decided on a fish fetish, a suggestion from executive producerJames L. Brooks, since it was "so perverted and strange that it was over the top".[3] At the episode'stable reading, an attendee exclaimed that the line, "from now on, she's smoking for two" has "got to go" from the script; however, her request was denied.[3] On the walls of the Pimento Grove restaurant, the animators placed caricatures of every single guest star who had appeared on the show up to that point, as well as pictures of the fictional celebrities of the show.[6]
The episode's title is a reference to the filmA Fish Called Wanda, while the opening scene features a parody ofThe Muppets.[1] McClure appears in a musical version ofPlanet of the Apes; the song "Dr. Zaius" is a parody of "Rock Me Amadeus" byFalco.[1] Marge calls Troy McClure a perfect gentleman "likeBing Crosby andJFK". The musical's title—Stop the Planet of the Apes. I Want to Get Off!—is a reference to the stage showStop the World – I Want to Get Off.[5] The scene with Selma and Troy smoking is similar toNow, Voyager.[1] The house that McClure lives in is based on theChemosphere in California, seen inBrian de Palma'sBody Double.[3] Troy McClure's car is aDeLorean. McClure being pulled over is a reference to whenJohnny Carson was arrested for drunk driving in his DeLorean in 1982. The showbusiness news anchors, voiced byHank Azaria andPamela Hayden, are based onEntertainment Tonight hostsJohn Tesh andMary Hart, respectively.[4]
McClure describes Jub-Jub the iguana as "Everywhere You Want to Be" in reference to aVisa commercial.[3]Ken Keeler pitched the name MacArthur Parker, in reference to the song "MacArthur Park", written byJimmy Webb and first recorded byRichard Harris.[3] When learning of one possible acting gig being a Paramount-made buddy comedy involvingHugh Grant andRob Lowe, McClure yells "Those sick freaks!?", in reference to the sex scandals that the two actors were involved in at the time. Selma's costumes are modeled on the clothes ofMarilyn Monroe.[7] At the wedding, Homer sings "Rock and Roll Part 2" byGary Glitter in his head.[3] The rumours of Troy McClure having a bizarre fetish for marine life mirror sex rumours aboutRichard Gere and a gerbil.[8] Troy's star on the Hollywood walk of fame replacesBuster Keaton's.[4]
In its original broadcast, "A Fish Called Selma" finished tied for 66th place in the ratings for the week of March 18–March 24, 1996, with aNielsen rating of 7.8. It was the sixth-highest-rated show on theFox network that week.[9]
In 2021,Entertainment Weekly placed the episode fifth on their list of the top 25The Simpsons episodes.[10]Empire, in 2004, called the episode the "high point" of the show's "long-standing love affair withThe Planet of the Apes", and cited it as McClure's "finest hour".[11] In 2006,IGN named the episode the best of the seventh season, stating that it seemed the "obvious pick". They called the musical the best moment of the episode and "maybe even the whole show".[12] In a 2008 review, IGN's Robert Canning praised Phil Hartman's performance as "simply the best of any guest appearance onThe Simpsons". He concluded by saying: "Sure, [the episode's] writing is smart and the jokes are funny, but without Phil Hartman as Troy McClure, 'A Fish Called Selma' would only be good. With Hartman, it's fantastic!"[13]
Also in 2006, Kimberly Potts ofAOL Television named the episode the 14th best episode of the series.[14] Dave Foster ofDVD Times praised the episode in his 2006 review, as well as Jeff Goldblum's participation on theaudio commentary. He stated: "for those yet to witness Troy McClure's musical take onPlanet of the Apes, well, you might say you haven't lived! Musical parody at its very best, the visuals and aural delights in this one brief sequence guarantee this season a recommendation being one of the most inspired moments ofThe Simpsons many seasons."[15]
In 2012, Johnny Dee ofThe Guardian listed it as one of his five favorite episodes in the history ofThe Simpsons, writing: "Key to The Simpsons longevity is the minor characters who only crop up every season or so. And none more so than Troy McClure."[16]Gary Russell andGareth Roberts,[17] the authors of the bookI Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, were pleased that "Troy McClure gets a starring role at last".[1]The Simpsons is strongest when the characters’ relatable humanity is highlighted by the show’s series of absurdities and laugh-out-loud funny moments. This episode is a perfect example of the relationship between these two sides ofThe Simpsons: How can you go from 'Dr. Zaius' to choking up at two once-again solitary characters at the end of the same half-hour? That’s what makes 'A Fish Called Selma' such a legendary episode, truly one for the ages.”[18]
I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].
