Episode 9F05
Written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
Directed by Jeff Lynch
Special guest voices: Phil Hartman (as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz), Tom Jones (as himself), Marcia Wallace (as Ms Krabappel)

Premise: The Simpsons' house is sinking. To pay for repairs, Marge gets a job - at Sector 7G of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Mr Burns is smitten - and secures the services of Tom Jones to woo her.

Features: Ned Flanders, Nelson, Troy McClure, Kent Brockman, Mr Burns, Smithers, Grampa, Ms Krabappel, Lenny, Carl, Krusty, Chief Wiggum, Groundskeeper Willie, Lionel Hutz, Janey, Martin, Charlie, Eddie.

Couch: The Simpsons rush in - and have to swap their heads about to match their bodies.

Trivia:

• Smithers finds Tom Jones working a Vegas-style club called The Copper Slipper, advertised as "Tonight - Tom Jones (and double jackpot slots)".

Homage: We hear the Empire theme from The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kirshner, 1980). Smithers' song recalls the tribute to Kane in Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941). The sequence of the papers travelling through the chute is culled directly from Stolen Kisses (Fran�ois Truffaut, 1968), which depicts a letter travelling through underground pipes in Paris. Krustylu Studios seems to be a reference to Paramount's Desilu Studios (which produced the sixties sitcom I Love Lucy).

Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you may remember me from: Such instructional videos as Mothballing Your Battleship and Dig Your Own Grave - And Save!

Song: He's Mr Burns sung by Smithers.

Notes: We like Bart's fantasy of the radioactive Marie and Pierre Curie, and Smithers' fantasy of his loved one flying through the window. A collection of wonderful set pieces rather than a story, which fizzles out without any real attempt at an ending. Some people's favourite episode.