The Monkey Suit

"The Monkey Suit"
The Simpsons episode
File:The Monkey Suit.png
Episode no.	Season 17
Directed by	Raymond S. Persi
Written by	J. Stewart Burns
Original air dates	May 14, 2006
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	“Je ne parle pas français” (I don’t speak French)
Couch gag	A photographer takes The Simpsons' picture, which sets off a slideshow of events from 2006 to 2013 (Homer's death in 2008, the kids beginning puberty in 2009, Marge marrying Lenny in 2009 and Jimbo Jones in 2011, Marge leaving the family in 2010, Lenny and Carl caring for the kids also in 2010, Homer being remade as a robot in 2012, and The Simpsons becoming robots in 2013).

“The Monkey Suit” is the 21st episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season.

Plot

On the last day of summer vacation Bart realizes that he wasted the whole summer. He then makes a list of summer activities such as a winning a ballgame and having a summer romance. After Bart's activities Lisa brings the family to go to the museum to see a weaving exhibit as her summer activity, but to her and Marge's shock (and Homer and Bart’s joy), it has just been canceled and replaced by a “History of Weapons” exhibit, sponsored by Kellogg's. Faced with an incredibly long line, Homer notices Ned Flanders and his kids at the front of the line and cuts in front of them. Others start taking advantage of Ned’s kindness, until they are stuck at the end. At the end of the day, the Flanders are still waiting, and are denied entry, as it’s closing time for the Weapons exhibit for the day. So they decide to check out the evolution exhibit next door. Ned is horrified to hear that humans evolved from apes and that the creation account in Genesis is characterized as a “myth.” Covering his kids’ eyes, he drags them out of the exhibit.

He meets up with the church council to suggest promotion of Creationism. Reverend Lovejoy is initially against the idea, until his wife tells him that it might help the church regain its patrons, most of who have left Lovejoy's church for a nearby episcopalian church (with vibrating pews). The next day, Ned and Lovejoy blackmail Principal Skinner into introducing Creationism in the school. Lisa is perturbed by this, and at a town meeting asks everyone to make a choice between Creationism and Darwinism, as there is only one truth. The townspeople vote for Creationism, much to Lisa's chagrin, and the act of teaching or learning Darwinism and Evolution are now made illegal. So Lisa decides to start holding secret classes for people interested in Evolution. However, just as the first lesson is about to begin, she is arrested by Chief Wiggum “for the teaching of non-Biblical science.”

She is brought to trial, which is dubbed “Lisa Simpson v. God.” Representing her is Clarice Drummond, a despised ACLU lawyer from New York City, while on God’s (i.e., Ned’s) side is Wallace Brady, a beloved, overweight, southern lawyer. The trial does not go smoothly for Lisa, as Professor Frink (called by Clarice) gives ambiguous answers regarding God’s existence, while a creationist scientist (with a Ph.D. in “Truthology” from “Christian Tech”) says that Evolution cannot be real, as there is no proof of a “Missing Link” (depicted in a picture as a savage hominid, holding a rock over his head). With Lisa now facing a long jail sentence, Marge decides to help her out. So she starts reading Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species and becomes addicted to it all day. When the trial resumes, Marge tells Lisa that she can help her. While Ned is being cross-examined by Clarice, Marge gives Homer a cold beer. Homer, ecstatic at getting a beer, tries to open it unsuccessfully. The more he tries, the more primitive he gets. Finally, Ned loses his cool and calls him “a big monkey-faced gorilla.” Clarice then asks Ned to compare the picture of the “Missing Link” and Homer shaking the beer over his head. Ned concedes defeat and the teachings of Evolution are reinstated. Ned walks off sadly, but Lisa explains that she respects his beliefs, but feels that science and religion should never mix together, a point upon which Ned agrees.

Production

The opening of the episode, in which Bart rushes to do everything he planned on doing during summer vacation, was originally written and animated for the season fourteen episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" but was cut. This episode came in short, and to fill in time, the sequence was added.