A Star Is Born-Again

Season 14, Episode 13, Aired
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Episode Summary

Ned dates a once-famous starlette in a sendup of "Notting Hill".
7.7
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Cast & Crew

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  • Julie Kavner

    Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier

  •

    Harry Shearer

    Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others

  •

    Dan Castellaneta

    Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

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  • Ned dates a movie star.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Hornets3, Aug 14, 2009 Report Abuse
    This episode would have been pretty good if it were not for the poor characterization of Ned Flanders. We all know Ned to be a guy that basicaly worships God 24/7 and is always following his laws. The question I have about this episode is if that's true then why would Ned Flanders partake in premartial sex? Maybe im just splitting hairs but to me Ned was a little out of character in this episode, but all of that aside, the hilarious way this story was approached saved this episode. If you can get past poor characterization, then give it a watch.moreless

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  • Meh

    7.9
    "Good"
    By Iverson82094, Jan 08, 2008 Report Abuse
    When a famous and sultry movie star swoops into Springfield, every man's jaw drops. It turns out that she has eyes for none other than Ned Flanders, who has been lonely ever since his wife passed on. Flanders is the envy of Springfield as they go arm and arm together around town, and Homer is dying to know if they ever did the "deed." The movie star eventually tires of Flanders and leaves to return to LA, but Flanders still refuses to tell Homer what he wants to know. Naturally, Homer goes nuts. A little to out of Character for a SImpsons episode...moreless

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  • Pretty good

    7.2
    "Good"
    By AJDaGreat, Aug 17, 2006 Report Abuse
    Few laugh-out-loud moments, but a lot of sweet, subtle humor throughout. Well-done story, good characterizations for the most part, though I'm not sure why Ned is comfortable having premarital sex only once. Actually, I am sure why - it provides a reason for him to not stay with Sara. But it's sketchy writing.

    Nevertheless, these past few years of the Simpsons have been pretty bland in general, so it's nice to have just a solid episode that stands out. It's far from perfect, but it might be the best we can hope for in this day and age. Ah, well.moreless

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  • too out of character

    7.6
    "Good"
    By jimbo_001, Jan 29, 2006 Report Abuse
    ned flanders is definitely not one to have premarital sex but, for some reason, in this episode he does. this is much too out of character and the episode really should have gone the other way with maybe ned proposing before and getting rejected. the humour in this episode is alright,save for the pointless appearance of an irishman towards the end of the first act being very odd. It's not hard to tell why this episode is referred to as a least favourite by a lot of people but apart from the uncharacteristical choise by flanders, the jokes in the episode were fairly decent such as homer deciding between food and cleavage and ned's famous girlfriend quickly marrying (and even more quickly divorcing) another guy after rejecting ned. overall, the plot wasn't that good but the humour was okay.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Music From This Episode "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy (Played intermittently throughout the episode) "Arabesque No. 1" by Claude Debussy (Played intermittently throughout the episode) Edit
    • Seen across the mall from Ned's Leftorium are the businesses 'I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm!', 'Expensive Coffee In Little Cups' and 'Something Wicker This Way Comes'. Edit
    • Homer's lipsync from his response to Ned Flanders' "milk for free" saying is also off. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Originally, Sara's line after Ned starts a fight with the director was "Katherine Hepburn never showed her breasts". In an airing in on August 27, 2003 it was changed to Angela Lansbury because Katherine Hepburn died months after this episode was shown. Edit
    • James L. Brooks is credited as Jim Brooks for his appearance. Edit
    • Blackboard Joke: None. Couch Gag: Each family member is a marionette as they enter the living room. And who do we see controlling these marionettes as the camera pans upward, why it is Matt Groening. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • James L. Brooks: Ned, I'm James L. Brooks. Ned: Can I call you Jim? James L. Brooks: James L. Brooks is good. Edit
    • Ned: Why would that Twinkie want to go out with a Ding-Dong like me? Homer: Flanders, I mix Twinkies and Ding-Dongs all the time. In Europe they call it a Dinkie! Edit
    • (Sara Sloane enters The Leftorium) Sara Sloane: Excuse me, are you open? Ned: Mm-hm. Open as a tomb on Easter. Now what can I ding-dong-diddly do for you? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Marge mentions that Sara was in a movie called Honey, I Scotchgarded The Kids. This is a reference to the movie Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. Rick Moranis played a scientist whose invention went awry and shrunk both his kids and his neighbor's kids and then all of the kids got lost in the backyard. Edit
    • Sara Sloane: Ask for Zelda Fitzgerald. Flanders: That's a pseud-diddly-ood-onym! Zelda Fitzgerald (1900-1948) was married to writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and she inspired the character of Nicole Diver in his novel Tender Is The Night. Theirs was a turbulent marriage that involved infidelity, alcoholism and Zelda's schizophrenia. She was also a talented writer but her career was overshadowed by that of her husband. Zelda was institutionalized and died when the asylum caught fire. Edit
    • Ned: I can't marry a movie star! I'm not Arthur Miller or Lyle Lovett. Arthur Miller was a famous American playwright who married Marilyn Monroe; Lyle Lovett is a Country singer who was married to Julia Roberts. Edit

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