"Mayored to the Mob" is the ninth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 20, 1998. After Homer prevents Mayor Quimby and Mark Hamill from being trampled at a convention, Homer trains to become a bodyguard and is employed by Quimby. After Homer discovers Quimby has been making corrupt deals with Fat Tony and forces him to end the deal, Fat Tony threatens to kill Quimby, leaving Homer to defend the Mayor from threats. The episode was written by Ron Hauge and directed by Swinton O. Scott III, When Lisa says they have to go back for Maggie after the family escape the riot, Homer says "Forget Maggie, she's gone". The Simpsons creator Matt Groening claims this to be one of his favorite quotes in the show.

Cultural references

The Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con science-fiction convention features numerous references to the genre. As well as Hamill, guests at the convention include ALF from the television series ALF, Tom Baker in costume as the Fourth Doctor from the series Doctor Who, Gort from the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, Godzilla from the film series of the same name and Jonathan Harris in costume as Dr. Zachary Smith from the 1960s television series Lost in Space, as well as the robot from the show. Seymour Skinner is dressed as Spock from Star Trek, as are several others, and Edna Krabappel is dressed as Barbarella from the comic and film Barbarella (1968). Throughout the episode, Hamill wears the costume of his Star Wars character Luke Skywalker, Leavelle sings the song "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton, which was popularized by Whitney Houston as the theme for The Bodyguard; it also plays at the end. The title of the episode is a reference to the film Married to the Mob (1988).

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Mayored to the Mob" finished 24th in ratings for the week of December 14–20, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 8.6, equivalent to approximately 8.5 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Ally McBeal.

Empire named Hamill's performance in the episode as the tenth-best film gag in the show, commenting: "As a rule, celebrity cameos are rubbish, but good sport Hamill is hilarious when singing 'Luke, be a Jedi tonight' in a production of Guys and Dolls, and makes this list for urging bodyguard Homer to 'use the forks. Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson and Brian Zoromski of IGN marked Hamill's guest appearance second on a list of "Top 25 Simpsons Guest appearances" saying that much of the episode's humor came from Hamill being "a good sport about his past". In addition, Hamill ranked 18th on AOL's list of their favorite 25 Simpsons guest stars, and Total Films Nathan Ditum ranked his performance as the third-best guest appearance in the show's history. Simon Crerar of The Times also listed Hamill's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of The Simpsons.

The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote that "the best bits all involve either the convention or Mark Hamill's repeated attempts to not be mobbed. Sadly, the main thrust of the story – Homer's protection of Quimby from Don Tony – falls a bit flat. Nevertheless, when the jokes run free, they are of exceptionally high quality." IGN named it as the best episode of season 10. Screen Rant called it the best episode of the 10th season.

References

fi:Simpsonit (10. tuotantokausi)#Gangsterien armoilla (Mayored to the Mob)