KILL THE ALLIGATOR AND RUN

The Simpsons

Season 11 (2001)

Once upon a time, in my pre-teens and into my teens, I was a Simpsons mega-fan.  I watched the show in reruns A LOT and my Simpsons trivia knowledge was pretty impressive (I’m not bragging because most of that trivia has faded from my brain with old age).  As The Simpsons lumbers on into its 106,000th season, the quality of the show has sharply declined, if not disintegrated entirely in comparison with the early days.  The first ten seasons are golden, but Season 11, from which “Kill the Alligator and Run” comes, is sort of the tipping point.  Season 11 isn’t outright terrible but it’s not great either (and don’t you dare venture past it; the later seasons are just bad).

This episode has a pretty crazy storyline so I’ll try and keep my recap to a minimum.  A magazine quiz that predicts Homer’s early death causes him to go a bit crazy, resulting in a mandatory vacation to Florida with the family. When they arrive Spring Break is in full swing and Homer joins the revelers instead of resting up.  There is drinking, boobs pressed against car windows, and youth-obsessed MTV VJs.  Homer even encounters Kid Rock, which is a reminder that Kid Rock was popular enough at one point in our culture to merit a Simpsons guest appearance.  I lived through those “Kid Rock is a thing” days and even I have trouble believing it.

Neither a kid nor rock.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Homer eventually kills a local alligator and the entire family is arrested.  This is where the story really goes off the rails.  The family escapes and take jobs in a diner, morphing into hillbillies.  They are then re-captured, work on a chain gang (yeah, Maggie too) and then forced to work as caterers.  The alligator shows up alive and the Simpsons are free once more.  Goofy doesn’t really begin to cover it, but I always did like the one-off character of Velma, the owner of the diner.  She’s like a sharp-tongued character from a 1940s movie who is oddly accepting of everything.

Velma likes your moxie.

Re-watching this episode for the first time in several years, I was struck by how many points of reference I’ve absorbed from The Simpsons.  This episode alone contains many phrases and jokes I utilize on a regular basis, such as referring to Florida as “America’s wang.”  While there are some very funny moments, there’s also a lot of “huh?” and “really?” moments as well.  Some poking around the internet revealed that “Kill the Alligator and Run” is pretty reviled among the show’s fans for its outlandish plot and other elements (*ahem* Kid Rock).

Spring Break Quotient: While you get a lot of Florida ambiance, the Spring Break portion of the episode doesn’t last long, earning it a 2.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Considering how many truly great, earlier episodes of The Simpsons exist you can probably skip this one in favor of something better.  However if you have some time to kill there are some bits here that are worth a chuckle.