Marge vs. the Monorail
| "Marge vs. the Monorail" | |
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| The Simpsons episode | |
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Promotional artwork for the episode
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| Episode no. | 71 |
| Directed by | Rich Moore |
| Written by | Conan O'Brien |
| Showrunner(s) | Al Jean & Mike Reiss |
| Production code | 9F10 |
| Original air date | January 14, 1993 |
| Chalkboard gag | "I will not eat things for money" |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons sit on the couch, followed by four rows of Springfield's residents sitting in front of the family. |
| Commentary |
Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss Rich Moore David Silverman Conan O'Brien |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Phil Hartman as Lyle Lanley |
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Season 4 episodes
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| Seasons | |
Phil Hartman as Lyle Lanley
Leonard Nimoy as himself
"Marge vs. the Monorail" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons' fourth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1993. The plot revolves around Springfield's impulse purchase of a faulty monorail from a conman. The episode was written by Conan O'Brien and directed by Rich Moore. Recurring guest star Phil Hartman provided the voice of Lyle Lanley, while the American actor Leonard Nimoy made a guest appearance in this episode.
"Marge vs. the Monorail" has been widely praised by fans and critics and is generally considered one of the best of the entire series. Writer Conan O'Brien has claimed that, of the Simpsons episodes that he wrote, this was his favorite. Leonard Nimoy's unexpected guest appearance was also widely praised. Despite this, the episode attracted some criticism when it was first aired due to the somewhat abstract and less situational nature of the plot, particularly from voice actor Yeardley Smith who in 1995 described the episode as "truly one of our worst".
After being caught by the Environmental Protection Agency dumping nuclear waste in the city park, Mr. Burns is fined $3 million. A town meeting is held so that the citizens can decide how to spend the money. Marge suggests that the city use the money to fix Main Street, which is in poor condition. The town is about to vote in favor when someone new to town, a fast-talking salesman named Lyle Lanley, suggests that Springfield construct a city monorail. After being swayed by a song, the now enthused townspeople decide to build the monorail.
Even though Lanley succeeds in winning over almost the entire town, his salesmanship fails to convince Marge, who is frustrated with the town's purchase because she (correctly) believes the monorail is unsafe and that Lanley is a conman. While watching TV, Homer sees an advertisement that suggests he attend Lanley's institute of monorail conducting, which is a transparent effort to make even more money from the con. Homer immediately decides to enroll. After a three-week course, Lanley selects Homer at random from among his classmates to be the monorail conductor.
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