The Strong Arms of the Ma

Season 14, Episode 9, Aired
EDIT

Episode Summary

Marge gets mugged outside the Kwik-E-Mart and she starts feeling vulnerable and becomes scared to leave the house. Dr. Hibbert diagnoses her with agoraphobia. The family tries to help her get back out of the house, but their efforts drive into living in the basement. In the basement she finds their unused weight set and she begins working out. Two weeks later she is stronger than she ever was and realizes that she can leave the house. In fact while celebrating her release from her fears, she confronts and beats the crap out of her mugger. While out working out, Marge runs into Ruth Powers, the neighbor she once went on the lam with. Ruth tells her about how steroids can help her to get bigger. Marge starts taking the supplements and gets into a women's bodybuilding competition. She takes 2nd place, which only entices her to do better next time. At Moe's she tears the place apart when she suffers from steroid rage. Homer makes her realize that she has become everything that she can't stand and she destroys the weight set.moreless
7.6
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Good
101 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 (7)

See All

  • After being attacked, Marge compensates by building up her body.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By casabonita83, Mar 30, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Simpson family goes to Rainier Wolfcastle's Bankruptcy Garage Sale, where everything that he owns is up for sale at throwaway prices. Homer asks Rainier if he has anything that will go up in value when he dies and is shown his old weight-lifting set, complete with dumbbells and bench press. Homer takes it and packs everything in the car in the style of a Tetris game. The car ends up being so overpacked that Homer ends up being carried home by Rainier Wolfcastle in an adult sized baby harness built for an adult. On the way home, Marge and the kids smell something awful. They pinpoint the source to Maggie. Marge quickly pulls into the Kwik-E-Mart, and Apu is reluctant about letting Marge use the restroom, but when he smells Maggie, he allows it. Later, as Marge comes out with a much sweeter-smelling Maggie, a shady character in a Goofy hat accosts her and threatens her with a gun. Finding only diapers in Marge's purse, he grabs Marge's pearl necklace and takes off. Marge, stunned, walks to her car in a daze and breaks down sobbing at the wheel in front of her kids. The next day, they inform the cops and Chief Wiggum declares he will get on it right away. Later, as Marge is about to leave the house, Homer gives her some pepper spray and some tips on how to handle an attacker. She pulls up to the Kwik-E-Mart, but she is scared when Ralph greets her. She pepper-sprays him, and feeling guilty, she drives back home where it's safe. When she reaches home, Bart tells her she is parked over the mailman. Marge is a nervous wreck and cannot bring herself to cross the threshold of her house. Homer and the kids try their level best to encourage her to go outside, but to no avail. Finally, she moves into the basement. There, feeling a bit safer, she prepares breakfast for the family and sets up a bed for herself. One day, when she is alone at home, feeling bored but still afraid to venture outside, she eyes Rainier Wolfcastle's weight-lifting set and decides to use it to pass the time. In two weeks, she builds herself up and even gets a well-defined washboard stomach (much to Homer's delight). Suddenly, she dashes out to the garden to get some lemons. Realising that she is not afraid anymore, she starts running around town in happiness. Suddenly, she runs into her mugger, who tries to assault her again. But this time, she beats him so intensely he is left a bloody mess. The cops arrive and arrest the crook. Marge, pumped after catching the crook, starts exercising even more (to the theme from Rocky). One day, as she jogs by an open-air gym at the beach, an accurate portrayal of Muscle Beach in Venice, California, she runs into Ruth Powers, her old neighbor from "New Kid on the Block" and "Marge on the Lam". Ruth, pretty buffed herself, tells Marge that she owes it all to steroids. She talks Marge into using them, attacking her inability to stop trying to be stronger, and also attacking her wish not to be weak and helpless, she also advises Marge to enter a women's bodybuilding contest. Marge, using the steroids, exercises harder than ever, becoming heavily musculed. At the contest, despite her massive training, she wins second prize. This puts Marge in a bad mood. Later that night, at Moe's, Homer and a whole lot of other male Springfieldians are celebrating, Homer tries to calm the angry Marge down. Due to the steroids and other drugs, she has become extremely short-tempered and powerful, a recipe for disaster. After Homer goes to the bathroom, she gets mad at Moe for saying she isn't attractive anymore and proceeds to beat up everyone at the bar. Finally, when Homer comes out and sees the "Muscle Marge", he pleads with her to look inside her and find the sweet, loving Marge and to lay off the steroids. Marge, horrified with what she has done, apologizes and leaves with Homer. Moe, in order to cover the costs of repairing his bar, sets fire to it; however, Carl points out that he has not insured the place yet. Later, at the Simpson house, Marge burns the weight set in the furnace (despite being metal) as the show ends. Homer asks if Marge is ready for a "real workout" which turns out to be a request to wax the car.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Marge uses steroids.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Hornets3, Aug 30, 2009 Report Abuse
    The family attends Rainier Wolfcastle's bankruptcy sale and purchase a weight bench. Homer makes his own way home as there is no room for him in the car. Marge gets mugged in an alley on the way home, which results in a fear of leaving the house. This soon escalates to her living in the basement. She discovers the weight bench and begins to work out. Eventually she grows stronger to the point where she can protect herself, so she leaves the house and meets Ruth Powers at a women's bodybulding clinic. Ruth introduces Marge to steroids, but she marginally misses out on winning a bodybuilding contest. She puts this down to being too feminine. She starts a fight at Moe's Tavern but Homer makes her realize steroids have turned her into everything she stood against. The weight bench is burnt and things return to normal. Really imformative on the effects of steroids. Marge was very creppy tho as a roided up freak. Give it a watch!moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Shows the effects of steroids on a person...

    8.8
    "Great"
    By Iverson82094, Jan 08, 2008 Report Abuse
    When Marge gets mugged, she becomes agoraphobic and can't leave the safety of her home. She holes up in the basement and starts working out on a weight set. She gets stronger and stronger, enough so that she's able to re-enter the world and beat up the man who robbed her, but she takes it too far and becomes a steroid-crazed bully as she beefs up for the "Iron Maiden Fitness Pageant." When Homer appeals to her to calm down, she finally relents and goes back to being the old Marge. Good episode show's the effects of steroids, and what they can do to you.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • See Marge. See Marge get mugged. See Marge get agorophobia. See Marge get buff. See Marge get roid rage.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By TerrBear8169, Dec 13, 2006 Report Abuse
    The first time I saw this, I was amused. I saw it again earlier tonight and, while still somewhat amused, wondered why I was as amused the first time around.

    What I really don't get is why one or two of the other reviewers labeled there reviews "informative." If this episode was informative, so was the one where Homer gained 60 some odd pounds to get out of the excersize at work program and collect disability.

    I did realize some irony in Marge's character after seeing the part where she decides to take steroids after going off on her little anti-drug speil. For someone with occasional high morals, she gets talked into going against them very easily, then goes all extremo in whatever she's talked into doing.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0

  • Entertaining and informative

    9.1
    "Superb"
    By jimbo_001, Jan 26, 2006 Report Abuse
    Although it is unlike marge to take steroids, this episode does show the side effects of the usage and the episode works quite well. there are some great scenes throughout the episodes such as the re-enactment that homer, bart and lisa come up with (Lisa: i'm a magazine rack). The scene at Moes was terrific and a great way for Marge to figure out what she was doing, destroying the tavern (not to mention the barflies). I also liked the start with homer using the family and shopping as tetris to fit in the car. a risky episode that turned out well, strong arms of the ma is definitely wort watching.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    0 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

See All

  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Otto thinks that a muscular Marge lifting the bus is just a hallucination caused by the pot he's smoking. Being a regular drug user, Otto should know that pot doesn't cause hallucinations. Edit
    • When Marge came out of the restroom there was writing on the wall that said "El Barto." Edit
    • The beginning of this episode reuses old animation from "Flaming Moe's" during the "Eye on Springfield" opening. That footage was 11 years old by then! Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The lemon tree from "Lemon Of Troy" now grows in the Simpsons' backyard. Edit
    • This is the fourth episode of the series (the scene where Marge starts taking steroids) that uses a music tune from Popeye. The others were "Brother's Little Helper" (when Bart sings his Ritalin song at the end), "Jaws Wired Shut" (the scene where Homer rescues Marge from disaster at the demolition derby), and "The Old Man and the Key" (when Grandpa's Viagra kicks in when he's about to make out on his date). Edit
    • Pamela Reed returned as the voice of Ruth Powers, who last appeared ten years ago in "Marge on the Lam," the "Thelma and Louise" spoof. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • (Homer has set up a 'play' in the house to look just like the Kwik-E Mart to help Marge get over her agoraphobia. All is fine until Milhouse announces he is a robber and Marge screams and runs down to the basement). Homer: Marge? Marge: I'm gonna sleep down here tonight. (Homer goes back to the living room) Homer: Listen kids, your mom is going to be living in the basement. But, with our love, she'll get better soon. Bart: (in Apu's accent) What if she doesn't? Homer: Then we'll have to smoke her out! Edit
    • (Marge has asked Apu to let her use his bathroom to change Maggie. He brings her around the side of the Kwik-E Mart to a door marked 'High Voltage') Apu: Don't worry, that sign is just a rouse... like all high voltage signs. Edit
    • Marge: I do miss being a lady. Homer: And I miss being your knight in flabby armor. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • Marge drinks the Roids in the style of Popeye when he ate spinach. The musical notes played during it are similar to the ones played when Popeye would eat it too.

      Edit

    • The name of the restaurant that Marge and Ruth are eating in is called Let's Hear It For The Soy. This is an allusion to the "Let's Hear It For The Boy" by Deniece Williams.

      Edit
    • :
      The music played after Marge destroys Moe's tavern is from Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings". Edit

Show Forums

See All
Last Activity
Replies

Watch The Simpsons Full Episodes

See All

Related Shows

Season 14 Episodes

See All
Ep 22
Moe Baby Blues
Ep 21
The Bart of War
Ep 20
Brake My Wife, Please
Ep 19
Old Yeller Belly
Ep 18
Dude, Where's My Ranch?
Ep 17
Three Gays of the Condo
Ep 16
'Scuse Me While I Miss the...
Ep 15
C.E.D'oh
Ep 14
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
Ep 13
A Star Is Born-Again
Ep 12
I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can
Ep 11
Barting Over
Ep 10
Pray Anything
Ep 9
The Strong Arms of the Ma
Ep 8
The Dad Who Knew Too Little
Ep 7
Special Edna
Ep 6
The Great Louse Detective
Ep 5
Helter Shelter
Ep 4
Large Marge
Ep 3
Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Thir...
Ep 2
How I Spent My Strummer Va...
Ep 1
Treehouse of Horror XIII

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