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"Realty Bites" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 7, 1997.
Plot
After Marge complains about the family spending their weekends idly at home, Homer drags her to a police seized-property auction. While there, he buys Snake's car, Li'l Bandit. Upon seeing this, Snake vows to kill Homer. After the auction, insisting on walking home rather than ride in Homer's new dangerous hotrod, Marge encounters Lionel Hutz, who has become a realtor. Marge decides to try the job for herself and begins to work for Hutz at Red Blazer Realty. She tells prospective buyers her honest opinion about the houses she shows them, which prevents her from selling any homes. Hutz instructs Marge to use more positive descriptions when selling the houses, and also informs her if she does not sell a house in the first week, she will be fired. Marge tries to bend the truth but fails as she just cannot lie to others. Marge does not disclose the entire truth of the house she sells to Ned Flanders and his family, which had been the site of a multiple homicide, a property which Red Blazer Realty had been unable to sell. The Flanders purchase the house and bid farewell to the Simpsons.
Meanwhile, Snake escapes from the prison and, after unsuccessfully trying to decapitate Homer using a piano wire tied to a tree (but slicing off Kirk Van Houten's right arm in the process), jumps into Li'l Bandit to retrieve the car from him. They start fighting each other to gain control of the moving car, and Chief Wiggum starts chasing them when he is awoken from having a nap in his police car.
Feeling guilty about her deception and concerned for the Flanders' safety, Marge goes to check on them at their new house. There, she tells them the truth about the murders, but they are not upset. Ned and Maude are pleased to be a part of Springfield's history and refuse Marge's offer of returning the deposit. However, the house is destroyed seconds later when Li'l Bandit and Wiggum's police car crash through it. Marge returns Ned's down payment. Hutz, furious at the destruction costs and especially by the return of the money, fires Marge. Afterward, Homer takes her to the government unemployment office to collect a welfare check.
Production
The writers wanted to do a "Marge episode", but one where her job does not work out, unlike previous episodes. The episode marks the first appearance of Gil Gunderson, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and Cookie Kwan, voiced by Tress MacNeille. Excuses were made by the writers to bring back Gil in future episodes based on Castellaneta's performance at the table read, which proved popular with the staff. In the unemployment line, the unemployment recipient with the bucket hat and the beard is a caricature of Meyer. As such, this episode is the last speaking appearance of Lionel Hutz, with him only being featured as a background character in some future episodes. Gil Gunderson is based on Jack Lemmon's portrayal of Shelley Levene in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Realty Bites" finished 21st in ratings for the week of December 1–7, 1997, with a Nielsen rating of 10.8, equivalent to approximately 10.6 million viewing households. It was the third-highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files and King of the Hill.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide said, "A simple but enjoyable romp, with the final few minutes in the Murder House particularly funny. Best thing though is the introduction of the hapless Gil, destined to always be a ray of light in any episode!"