Natural Born Kissers

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ Lost Our Lisa

Natural Born Kissers

Lard of the Dance ►

This page may have mature content that may include language, sexual references which may be disturbing to some. Please discuss the article, or discuss improvements on the talk page.

Natural Born Kissers
Episode Number	203
Production Code	5F18
Original Airdate	May 17, 1998
Main character(s)	Homer Simpson Marge Simpson
Chalkboard Gag	"I was not the inspiration for Kramer"
Couch Gag	Frog Family couch gag
Special Guest Voices	Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel
Show Runner	Mike Scully
Written By	Matt Selman
Directed By	Klay Hall

“When we got married, is this how you thought we'd be spending our Saturdays? Driving out to the boondocks to trade in a refrigerator motor?”

―Marge Simpson

“Eh, I never thought I'd live this long.”

―Homer Simpson

"Natural Born Kissers" (also known as "Margie, May I Sleep With Danger?" in the UK) is the twenty-fifth episode and season finale of Season 9.

Synopsis

Once again, Marge and Homer worry that their sex life has gone stale, but after an impromptu trip inside a barn and a day at a bed and breakfast, they discover that the only way to keep the spice in their marriage is to have sex in public. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa play around with Grampa Simpson's old metal detector from his Army days and uncover a film reel carrying the lost ending to the 1942 romantic drama, Casablanca.

Full Story

A disastrous anniversary

It is Homer and Marge's eleventh wedding anniversary and Grampa does not arrive at the Simpsons house to babysit the children (because he mixed up the Flanders house with the Simpson house and ended up babysitting Rod and Todd Flanders by mistake). As a result, they cannot go to the Gilded Truffle as planned. However, Bart objects and takes the family to a family restaurant shaped like an airplane, called the Up, Up and Buffet!, which spoils Homer and Marge's plans for a romantic evening together. Later that evening, Homer and Marge attempt to have sex, but lack enthusiasm. The following day, it is discovered Homer left the freezer door open after thinking that the couple on the remaining slice of their wedding cake had little parties at night, causing the refrigerator motor to burn out because someone left the freezer door opened. Homer and Marge make their way to a hardware store to buy another motor, but the car gets stuck in the muddy driveway in the middle of farm country. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa stay at the Springfield Retirement Castle with Grampa, and they discover a metal detector in his closet. With the use of the detector, they use they uncover a suppressed, happy ending to Casablanca, in which Ilsa Lund and Rick marry. The Old Jewish Man steps forward to reveal that in his younger days, he was a studio executive that had tacked that happy ending onto the picture. He then gives Bart and Lisa $20.00 to rebury it, along with another film reel labeled "It's a Wonderful Life: Killing Spree Ending."

Homer and Marge rush into the nearest barn to avoid a sudden storm. The farmer discovers that the barn door is open and suspects trespassers. He enters the barn, nearly catching Homer and Marge, who are hiding in the hayloft, but leaves after failing to locate them. When the coast is clear, Homer and Marge have inspired sex in the hayloft. They think their marriage has been recharged and go for a romantic weekend at a Bed and Breakfast, but soon fall into their old patterns. However, a maid walks in on them and they conclude they are both aroused when they risk being caught during intimate moments.

Naked Marge and Homer.

Their love life is recharged and one day they begin to make love on the same miniature golf course windmill where Bart was conceived. This time they come too close to being caught after Moe was almost going to gas them out, and while they manage to escape, they have to flee through Springfield in the nude after stealing Gil's hot-air balloon, which he had been living in. The balloon finally lands in a football stadium while a game is in progress, and hundreds of people take photos of Homer and Marge standing naked on the field. They end up appearing in the local newspaper under the headline "Local Couple Bares All!", accompanied by plenty of pictures.

Behind the Laughter

Production

Marge's butt shown for the first time.

Marge's breasts are seen for the first time, but doesn't have nipples (possibly an animation error or censorship).

"Natural Born Kissers" was the first episode written by Matt Selman, who partly based it on his parent's marriage. The episode was the only time that Mike Scully ever got a call from Fox where they suggested not doing the episode. They were worried about the sexual content and how it was going to be handled. It was the first episode to ever receive an M (15+) rating in Australia (though the episode is rated PG on the Season 9 DVD). They disliked several of the phrases used in the episode, such as the term "ass forkin'". In an interview, Matt Groening said "The network censors couldn't believe it, and neither could I: the cow at the peephole while Homer and Marge make love in a hayloft; neighbors groping Homer when he and Marge are caught nude inside the windmill at the Sir Putts-A-Lot mini golf course; Homer dangling naked from a hot-air balloon, his butt dragging against the glass of a Crystal Cathedral-like church." The producers fought the censors and in the end, very little of the script was changed. Marge's butt is also shown on television for the first time. Marge and Homer in the golf course is a reference to the season 3 episode "I Married Marge", although in that episode they are in a castle, rather than a windmill.

The idea for the episode's couch gag came from Dan Castellaneta's daughter, who was given a special credit for it.

Reception

Matt Groening listed the episode as being his eighth favorite episode, and the aroused cow is one of his all-time favorite act break jokes. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn, and Adrian Wood, called it "a superb episode which actually makes Marge and Homer's love life seem very real; everyone needs a bit of spice now and again, and they find theirs. The balloon trip is hysterical, and the attempts to explain their behavior. Conversely, there are some Internet critics that have declared this episode "the most inappropriate episode of The Simpsons" and chalk it up as yet another example of Mike Scully's reign on the show being detrimental to the show's quality, and how The Simpsons' humor was slowly aping the raunchy, R-rated humor of South Park (which was gaining popularity and notoriety at the time of this episode's premiere).

Video

The Simpsons - Balloon ride