"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie bullies Homer by attacking him with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be directed by Jim Reardon. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder, who loved Itchy & Scratchy and wrote several episodes that have them at the center. The episode was partially inspired by Terry Rakolta, who protested the Fox network over the show Married... with Children. There are several characters who work at I&S studios who are caricatures of real people: the animator who draws the Marge/Squirrel is based on Eddie Fitzgerald, who worked at Filmation and the three people with Meyers when he is asking Marge for suggestions are caricatures of Rich Moore, David Silverman and Wes Archer. The segment was written by John Swartzwelder and the idea of using Beethoven's 6th Symphony was in the original script. James L. Brooks had wanted the episode to end with the montage, but the writers disagreed. Maggie would also shoot at Homer's photo in the eye, ala the shooting death of Moe Greene in The Godfather. finishing 34th in ratings for the week of December 17–23, 1990 with a Nielsen rating of 12.9. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.
Gary Russell and Gareth Roberts, authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide praised the episode, saying that "Homer's doomed attempt to build a spice rack is only the start of another great episode, which works as a superb debate about television violence and politically inspired censorship [and that] the ending is especially poignant, as the pedagogues of Springfield swoop on Michelangelo's David as an example of filth and degradation".
In his only interview to date, Swartzwelder listed "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" as among his favorite Simpsons episodes that he had written.
Empire named the Psycho parody as the second best film parody in the show. "The best throwaway gags blindside the unsuspecting viewer in episodes that are nominally about something else [...] Hitchcock is ripped off more than any other director but this is the most lovingly rendered reference." The Psycho parody was named the 22nd greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Nathan Ditum.
In March 2023, Hope Carrasquilla, a charter school principal in Tallahassee, Florida was forced to resign after complaints about images of David being shown to sixth-grade students without parental consent, a situation which drew comparisons to the ending of this episode.