Kill the Alligator and Run
Encyclopedia
"Kill The Alligator and Run" is the nineteenth episode of the eleventh season
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 2000. In the episode, Homer
has a nervous breakdown when it is revealed on a quiz that he only has three years left to live. To calm him down, the family goes to Florida for vacation. There, they end up in the middle of a raucous spring break
, where Homer joins in on the party and ends up getting himself and his family in trouble for killing the county's beloved mascot: an alligator named Captain Jack. Diedrich Bader
, Robert Evans
, Charlie Rose
, Joe C.
, and Kid Rock
guest starred in the episode.
gets a magazine loaded with personality test
s and quizzes his friends and family with them. Later on, he takes his own test and reveals that he will only live until 42, which is only three years away. Terrified of his supposedly impending death, he develops insomnia
and goes insane. Homer visits the power plant's psychiatrist
, who suggests that he go on a long vacation. The Simpsons go on a trip to Florida
, which Homer calls "America's Wang
". When the family arrives there, they find themselves in the middle of a raucous spring break
. Marge
wants Homer to stay in his hotel room, but he escapes to party and attend a Kid Rock
concert. Homer becomes the life of the Spring Break party — until spring break ends and the wild college kids return to catch up on their studies.
Homer, who still wants to party, rents an airboat and forces the family to come with him. He races through the swamp
, killing the town's most famous resident and reptile, an alligator
named Captain Jack, whom Marge, Maggie
, Lisa
and Bart
had seen on a tour while Homer made a fool of himself at the concert. Despite the fact that Homer is the sole guilty culprit, the entire family is charged for killing the alligator, but they flee from the sheriff and are hit by an Amtrak
train. They escape to a restaurant and nearby trailer, where they become hillbillies
and work until the sheriff tracks them down and kidnaps them while sleeping. For their crime (and the fact that Homer addressed the jury at their trial as "drunken hicks"), the family is put into forced labor. One night when they are working, the family encounters the alligator, who is not dead but was rather knocked out. The family is acquitted, but they are banned from returning to Florida. For their next trip (which is planned out on a map of the United States with nearly all of the continental states crossed out), the family plans to go to North Dakota
, the only state other than Arizona
(which Homer complains "smells funny") in which they are allowed to vacation.
and directed by Jen Kamerman
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). The episode features guest appearances from Diedrich Bader
as the sheriff, and Robert Evans
, Charlie Rose
, Joe C.
and Kid Rock
as themselves.
for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
According to Mike Scully
, who was the show runner
of The Simpsons when the episode aired, "Kill the Alligator and Run" is often cited by fans of The Simpsons as one of the worst episodes in the history of the show. Annie Alleman of The Herald News
, on the other hand, named it her eighth favorite Simpsons episode. While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on the episode, writing: "Wow – this may be the most jumbled Simpsons to date! The episode seems to suffer from ADD as it can’t focus on any topic for very long. It flits from one gag to another with abandon and rarely makes much sense – or produces many laughs. Yeah, it has a few amusing moments, but it’s too scattershot to succeed."
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 2000. In the episode, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
has a nervous breakdown when it is revealed on a quiz that he only has three years left to live. To calm him down, the family goes to Florida for vacation. There, they end up in the middle of a raucous spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
, where Homer joins in on the party and ends up getting himself and his family in trouble for killing the county's beloved mascot: an alligator named Captain Jack. Diedrich Bader
Diedrich Bader
Karl Diedrich Bader , better known as Diedrich Bader, is an American actor, voice artist and comedian. Many know him for his roles as Oswald Lee Harvey on The Drew Carey Show, Lawrence from the film Office Space, the Tae Kwon Do instructor Rex from Napoleon Dynamite, Tank "Shredder" Evans in Surf's...
, Robert Evans
Robert Evans (film producer)
Robert Evans is an American film producer, best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.-Early life and acting career:...
, Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, Joe C.
Joe C.
Joseph "Joe C." Calleja was an American rapper and musician. His popularity and fame were based on his relationship as hype man and comic relief for fellow rapper Kid Rock.-Condition:Calleja was born in Taylor, Michigan...
, and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
guest starred in the episode.
Plot
HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
gets a magazine loaded with personality test
Personality test
-Overview:There are many different types of personality tests. The most common type, the self-report inventory, involves the administration of many questions, or "items", to test-takers who respond by rating the degree to which each item reflects their behavior...
s and quizzes his friends and family with them. Later on, he takes his own test and reveals that he will only live until 42, which is only three years away. Terrified of his supposedly impending death, he develops insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
and goes insane. Homer visits the power plant's psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, who suggests that he go on a long vacation. The Simpsons go on a trip to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, which Homer calls "America's Wang
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
". When the family arrives there, they find themselves in the middle of a raucous spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
. Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
wants Homer to stay in his hotel room, but he escapes to party and attend a Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
concert. Homer becomes the life of the Spring Break party — until spring break ends and the wild college kids return to catch up on their studies.
Homer, who still wants to party, rents an airboat and forces the family to come with him. He races through the swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
, killing the town's most famous resident and reptile, an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
named Captain Jack, whom Marge, Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
and Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
had seen on a tour while Homer made a fool of himself at the concert. Despite the fact that Homer is the sole guilty culprit, the entire family is charged for killing the alligator, but they flee from the sheriff and are hit by an Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
train. They escape to a restaurant and nearby trailer, where they become hillbillies
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
and work until the sheriff tracks them down and kidnaps them while sleeping. For their crime (and the fact that Homer addressed the jury at their trial as "drunken hicks"), the family is put into forced labor. One night when they are working, the family encounters the alligator, who is not dead but was rather knocked out. The family is acquitted, but they are banned from returning to Florida. For their next trip (which is planned out on a map of the United States with nearly all of the continental states crossed out), the family plans to go to North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, the only state other than Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
(which Homer complains "smells funny") in which they are allowed to vacation.
Production
"Kill the Alligator and Run" was written by John SwartzwelderJohn Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman is a former animation director on The Simpsons. She is married and has one son.-Simpsons episodes:She directed the following episodes:Season Eleven*"Kill the Alligator and Run"Season Twelve*"Tennis the Menace"...
as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000). The episode features guest appearances from Diedrich Bader
Diedrich Bader
Karl Diedrich Bader , better known as Diedrich Bader, is an American actor, voice artist and comedian. Many know him for his roles as Oswald Lee Harvey on The Drew Carey Show, Lawrence from the film Office Space, the Tae Kwon Do instructor Rex from Napoleon Dynamite, Tank "Shredder" Evans in Surf's...
as the sheriff, and Robert Evans
Robert Evans (film producer)
Robert Evans is an American film producer, best known for his work on Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown.-Early life and acting career:...
, Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, Joe C.
Joe C.
Joseph "Joe C." Calleja was an American rapper and musician. His popularity and fame were based on his relationship as hype man and comic relief for fellow rapper Kid Rock.-Condition:Calleja was born in Taylor, Michigan...
and Kid Rock
Kid Rock
Robert James "Bob" Ritchie , known by his stage name Kid Rock, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and rapper with five Grammy Awards nominations...
as themselves.
Release
The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 2000. On October 7, 2008, it was released on DVD as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, Dan Castellaneta, and Steven Dean Moore, as well as guest star Diedrich Bader, participated in the DVD audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.
According to Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, who was the show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
of The Simpsons when the episode aired, "Kill the Alligator and Run" is often cited by fans of The Simpsons as one of the worst episodes in the history of the show. Annie Alleman of The Herald News
The Herald News
The smaller of the two main newspapers in Massachusetts' South Coast, The Herald News is a daily newspaper based in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA...
, on the other hand, named it her eighth favorite Simpsons episode. While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented on the episode, writing: "Wow – this may be the most jumbled Simpsons to date! The episode seems to suffer from ADD as it can’t focus on any topic for very long. It flits from one gag to another with abandon and rarely makes much sense – or produces many laughs. Yeah, it has a few amusing moments, but it’s too scattershot to succeed."
External links
- "Kill the Alligator and Run" at The Simpsons.com