6x11 Fear of Flying

[8.0/10] This one isn’t necessarily one of The Simpsons’s deepest episodes ever, but boy is it funny. That’s one of the trademarks of this era, and the sheer amount of strong, off-the-wall comedy at play, not to mention the different shades of humor, makes it a really fun outing.

That starts, naturally, with Homer. This is a great episode for him as a laugh machine. The show finds a silly reason to get him kicked out of Moe’s and powers the first act through his quest to find another bar. The contrast between the severity of Lenny and Barney’s pranks versus the mild sugar gag that gets Homer kicked out is a laugh in and of itself. And Homer’s misadventures through different watering holes shows the writer’s room’s ability to riff. Jokes like the misdirect of Homer declaring “this lesbian bar doesn't have a fire exit!” are inspired, and the extra layer of “What was her problem?” is the icing on the cake.

(As an aside, it’s funny that the only Cheers character in the inter-show cameo who doesn't have any lines the one voiced by longtime Simpsons guest star Kelsey Grammer.)

The interlude at the pilot’s bar is a nice way to transition into the meat of the episode, and there’s lots of laughs from Homer’s efforts to get the family on a plane and Marge’s efforts to evade it.

The second act transitions to a lot of great bits for both Homer and Marge. On the Homer side of things, I love the conceit that he tries to play Father Knows Best through Marge’s unraveling, only to give the world’s worst advice. Him trying to enlist radio psychics, disaster movies, and announcing that it’s important his wife repress her feelings so that “she’ll never annoy us again” plays into the comedy of him as an utter dope who thinks he has all the answers.

Marge’s unraveled state is just as funny. Julie Kavner does a great job of adding a slight manic edge to Marge’s voice. And bits like her cooking everything imaginable and repairing the roof to keep herself busy and “avoid making waves” ends up being amusing. Marge keeping herself in a “state of cat-like readiness” is a big laugh, along with Lisa’s encouraging reply of “neat.” And the visual gag of her being so tense that she’s in a sitting position despite not actually being on the couch is a wonderful swerve.

The third act is arguably the best and funniest. The Simpsons patriarch does veer a little bit into “Jerkass Homer” territory here, but his frantic phobia of therapy pays real comic dividends. It’s not clear what exactly is motivating that phobia (for a while I kept waiting for an episode where a therapist recruited Mona to join a sixties radical group), but his over-the-top resistance to and fatalism about it got a lot of yuks out of me. (Plus, the window washer gag is just inspired.)

But the conversations with Marge and Dr. Zweig are even better. Anne Bancroft and the writers bring a dry wit to Dr. Zweig that pairs well with Marge’s chipper provincialism. The two have a really nice dynamic that works for both the comedy and drama of it. I particularly like Dr. Zweig doing what amounts to wry commentary on Marge’s responses in places, and her line reads of quips like “Let’s not go nuts” and “Yes, it’s all a rich tapestry” have entered my vernacular and stayed there.

The discovery that the source of Marge’s fear is the realization that her dad was a steward is a solid enough payoff. It works mostly as a parody of films and shows where characters discover some shocking repressed moment from their childhood that unlocks the core of their neuroses, when here, it’s something so gentle and normal, as befits Marge. It’s a little tidy, and the episode tries to go for a little emotional resonance when it’s been a joke-fest up to that point, but it’s still nice. Marge’s courageous trip on an airplane, which ends up with a spill in the lake and Homer’s misguided reassurances, is the perfect capper.

Overall, this is an episode to come to for the comedy of it. There’s different types of great humor here, from the dynamic between Marge and Dr. Zweig, to riffing on bar life, to Homer’s failed Father Knows Best efforts, to Marge’s tightly wound insanity. It’s a great half hour full of laughs and some superb Marge moments.