Milhouse of Sand and Fog

Season 17, Episode 3, Aired
EDIT

Episode Summary

Maggie has chicken pox, so Marge throws a "pox party" to help the children of Springfield catch the illness while they are young. During the party, Milhouse's parents get back together. Milhouse does not like this idea, so he and Bart try to break them up. Instead, they break up Marge and Homer.moreless
8.2
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
278 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate It

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

  • 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 (36)

See All

  • Overall, the plot does seem be a bit slow-paced but it manages to be witty, crazy, creative and entertaining.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By RyanPeteranna, Feb 26, 2011 Report Abuse
    The story about Kirk and Luann reuniting and Milhouse and Bart's failed attempts to get them back together again is genuinely interesting but the episode forgot all about what happened to Milhouse's parents at the end and instead switched to the plot of trying to get Bart's parents back together. I have never watched The O.C., so I'm afraid I can't make any comparisons between that show and the parody of it with this Simpsons episode. The chickenpox subplot baffled me to some extent and most for the part, I didn't really find it entertaining at all. In my opinion, the episode did content numerous moments which I found to genuinely funny. My favourite gag was Ralph Wiggum's remark of "I feel like a chicken already. I just made an egg in my pants." The twists enclosed in the plot were like the wrapper of a Werther's Original. By the end, the audience will really turn against Bart with his increasingly desperate schemes. I congratulate the production company for making such a fine episode of The Simpsons.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Fair

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By futuramarama, Jan 25, 2010 Report Abuse
    At a "pox party", Kirk and Luann get back together, and Milhouse could not be happier. Until Bart warns him that sooner or later, he may have a little sibling. So the boys plot to separate them, but their plan actually make Homer and Marge temporarily separate. So they have a new plan to make Homer and Marge realize how much they love each other, and it works. Hooray, everything is of course back to normal.

    A good episode, kinda slow and dull at times, but a decent episode nonetheless. My overall grade for this episode is about a C+/B-moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Good Episode

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By spongebobs1fan, Mar 17, 2009 Report Abuse
    Maggie has chicken pox, so Marge throws a "pox party" to help the children of Springfield catch the illness while they are young. During the party, Milhouse's parents get back together. Milhouse does not like this idea, so he and Bart try to break them up. Instead, they break up Marge and Homer. I thought this was a good episode and it was also a classic episode. It was funny seeing Krusty walk in for like 30 seconds and then leave. Overall, this was a pretty good episode overall.

    Overall for this episode of The Simpsons ; 9/10 9.5 Goodmoreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Classic episode that revolves around the Van Houten family getting back together, but in turn Bart breaks up his parents... Is Homer and Marge's marriage in danger???

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By Iverson82094, Nov 27, 2007 Report Abuse
    With Maggie displaying a rash, Dr. Hibbert informs the family that she has chicken pox. After Flanders suggests bringing his kids around to get infected, Homer & Marge throw a pox party to infect children who haven't had the disease. When Kirk and Luanne Van Houten find themselves at the party together, they get drunk and rekindle their love for one another. Milhouse thrilled with his parents getting back together soon realizes they're no longer competing for his love. Milhouse and Bart devise a plan to get them to split up again, by placing one of Marge's bras in the Van Houten bed. When Luanne discovers it she tells Homer, who abruptly accuses Marge of sleeping with Kirk. Bart confesses he was behind the prank but Marge kicks Homer out since he didn't trust her word. Bart puts his life in danger to get Homer and Marge back together which turns out to work.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Ruins what had been good character development for an already-annoying character.

    3.0
    "Bad"
    By Batmanfan90, Oct 09, 2006 Report Abuse
    Flashback to the historic date of December 1, 1996.

    It becomes clear that Kirk and Luanne Van Houten\'s marriage isn\'t working out as planned, ending in divorce. This puts much strain on Milhouse\'s loyalty to his father vs. that to his mother.

    Meanwhile, Homer is terrified by the prospect of his marriage turning out like theirs. He unnecessarily tries to convince Marge that he still loves her, before filing a divorce. Marge is shocked, until Homer reveals he did so in order to make it possible for them to have a second wedding, this one a vast improvement.

    Inspired by them, Kirk tries to win Luanne back, and proposes to her for a second time, of course getting a flat no. This was occasionally referenced later in the series, not as it was here, but it still gave Milhouse development.

    September 25, 2005. Just under 9 years later.

    ...they\'re. Back. Together.

    When I saw this, I felt like screaming in annoyance. Their divorce had been significantly realistic in nature, and I thought it was good to see realism in the show. Now, they\'re back together like nothing even happened. All I have to say is, what the hell were you smoking, writers?!?!

    3/10moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Phantom Planet sings The O.C. theme song "California" when Lisa, Bart and Millhouse are watching The O.C. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Blackboard Joke: None. Couch Gag: The family enters the living room and takes their places on the couch, then an on-screen TiVo style menu pops up asking if we would like to delete or save this recording. "Delete this recording now" is selected and the screen goes blank. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Milhouse: Do you like the dummy, Bart? I even made it smell like you. Edit
    • Bart: This is awesome! Black God rules! Edit
    • Marge: Something's wrong with Maggie. We should get her to Dr. Hibbert. But I don't see him anywhere. Rev. Lovejoy: The Hibberts now attend the more "boisterous" house of worship. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Homer: (Sarcastically) Well, methinks the Lady doth protests too much! Hamlet reference; the actual line in Shakespeare's play is "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Edit
    • House of Sand and Fog The title of this episode is a play on the title of the 2003 film, House of Sand and Fog. Edit

Show Forums

See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch The Simpsons Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 17 Episodes

See All
Ep 22
Marge and Homer Turn a Cou...
Ep 21
The Monkey Suit
Ep 20
Regarding Margie
Ep 19
Girls Just Want to Have Sums
Ep 18
The Wettest Stories Ever Told
Ep 17
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore
Ep 16
Million Dollar Abie
Ep 15
Homer Simpson, This is You...
Ep 14
Bart Has Two Mommies
Ep 13
The Seemingly Never-Ending...
Ep 12
My Fair Laddy
Ep 11
We're on the Road to D'ohw...
Ep 10
Homer's Paternity Coot
Ep 9
Simpsons Christmas Stories
Ep 8
The Italian Bob
Ep 7
The Last of the Red Hat Mamas
Ep 6
See Homer Run
Ep 5
Marge's Son Poisoning
Ep 4
Tree House of Horror XVI
Ep 3
Milhouse of Sand and Fog
Ep 2
The Girl Who Slept Too Little
Ep 1
The Bonfire of the Manatees

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings
BROWSE | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use