Principal Charming

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = Principal Charming


image_caption = Principal Seymour Skinner proposes to Patty.
episode_no = 27
prod_code = 7F15
airdate = February 14, 1991
show runner = James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
writer = David M. Stern
director = Mark Kirkland
blackboard = "I will not belch the national anthem"
couch_gag = The couch springs out like a bed.
commentary = Matt Groening
Mike Reiss
Mark Kirkland
season = 2

"Principal Charming" is the fourteenth episode of "The Simpsons"' second season, airing on February 14, 1991.

Plot

Patty and Selma visit the wedding of a man that could have easily been Selma's husband had Patty not gotten in the way. Selma realizes that she needs to find a husband and begs Marge to help her. Marge enlists the help of Homer to seek one out, however, Homer has trouble finding anyone suitable.

Meanwhile, Bart pulls a big prank by pouring the fictional chemical sodium tetrasulfate onto the grass. In the principal's office, he is told to call his father, who is currently at Moe's Tavern. After asking for "Homer Sexual", Principal Skinner takes the receiver as Moe verbally assaults who he imagines is his long-time tormentor. Moe gives Homer the phone when he realizes it is Principal Skinner on the other end of the line. Homer goes to the school and decides that Skinner is the perfect man for Selma. He invites the Principal to meet her, but he falls for Patty instead.

Skinner starts to go out with a slightly unwilling Patty, much to Selma's increasing chagrin. Meanwhile, Bart takes advantage of the opportunity to take control of the school. Skinner enlists Bart's help to get Patty to marry him, while Homer fixes a date between Selma and Barney, which Selma reluctantly accepts.

Skinner takes Patty to the top of the Bell Tower to propose. Following Bart's lead, he has written "Marry Me, Patty" in 40-foot letters using the "sodium tetrasulfate" that got Bart in trouble. Patty is flattered, but declines. She admits to Skinner that she shares a common bond with the emotional grief of her twin sister, which Seymour immediately picks up on and says it is best she go support her sister. Patty appreciates Seymour's understanding and his gentlemanly conduct, and if she ever did settle down with a man, she would want it to be with him. In his grief, Principal Skinner sees what has happened to the school, and takes back control - much to Bart's chagrin, as it means he is immediately put back into detention. Patty informs Selma of the events at Moe's Tavern, so she breaks her own date. Things then return to normal, as the episode ends with Bart returning to reseed the field at school.

Cultural references

*The "Tomorrow is another school day" scene is a hybrid of two scenes from "Gone with the Wind".
*Homer admits, 'A good man really IS hard to find'. This is a reference to the short stories by Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man is Hard to Find"
*Skinner's climb of the bell tower when he searches for the sodium tetrasulfate and chlorophyll smell is a reference to "Vertigo".
*Homer's HUD while searching for a potential date for Selma parodies "The Terminator".
*Stanley calls Martha "Martha my dear" and "Martha my love", a possible reference to The Beatles' "Martha My Dear".
*The title is a reference to the fairy tale character Prince Charming.
*The phrase "Good night, my sweet principal" is a reference to the phrase "Good night, my sweet prince" from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
*Skinner's joyful cry of "Kallooh! Kallay!" is directly taken from the poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll.
* Patty refers to skinner as her Catch 22
* Marge tells Patty that she should look like a female version of Yosemite Sam

First Appearances

Characters making a first appearance in this episode are:
*Hans Moleman
*Groundskeeper Willie
*Squeaky Voiced Teen

External links

* [http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F15.html Episode Capsule on "Simpsons Archive"]
*imdb episode|id=0767445|episode=Principal Charming