In Marge We Trust
The Simpsons, season 8, episode 22. First aired April 27, 1997. 135 moments of about ten seconds each: open one for its frame, what happens and what's said.
← The Old Man and the Lisa Homer's Enemy → The whole episode as text
About the episode
Marge volunteers as the church's Listen Lady, and her practical advice draws the congregation away from the jaded Reverend Lovejoy. When her advice puts Ned Flanders at the mercy of three bullies and he goes missing, Lovejoy finds new purpose by rescuing him from baboons at the zoo. Meanwhile, Homer becomes fixated on Mr. Sparkle, a Japanese detergent whose mascot looks just like him.
- Written by
- Donick Cary
- Directed by
- Steven Dean Moore
- Guest stars
- Sab Shimono as Sparkle
- Frank Welker as Baboons
- Couch gag
- Vend-A-Couch
- Production code
- 4F18
The synopsis is our own. Credits and guest stars from Wikipedia and the Simpsons wiki.
Every moment
-
Bart rides a skateboard on the roof of a pink car in a driveway, with a figure seated in the back seat
0:00–0:12 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie appear in a pink living room, with Homer first seen in a doorway…
0:12–0:23 -
A small spiky-haired child in a blue top moves around a lavender living room with a red oval rug, a potted…
“Fight and fight and fight.”
0:23–0:37 -
A blue cartoon mouse in a white coat and head mirror stands by a pink door…
“Ha ha ha ha.”
0:37–0:49 -
This is a cartoon scene from The Simpsons' Itchy and Scratchy segment, set on a sunny tropical beach…
“Five,”
0:49–1:02 -
A girl with spiky yellow hair in a teal dress and a boy with spiky hair in a green sweater sit wide-eyed…
“three, two, one, now.”
1:02–1:15 -
A green crocodile-like figure in an orange jacket holds a phone to his ear on a Hollywood street lined…
“Shh.”
1:15–1:23 -
Lisa and Bart stare wide-eyed at a television set while Snowball II peers over a wooden railing above them
“Oh,”
1:23–1:36 -
Marge and Homer are in the pink bedroom
“Kids, Homer. We're late for church. I'm glad I dressed last night.”
1:36–1:38 -
Homer lies asleep under an orange blanket in a bed with a purple headboard, a lamp on the nightstand…
“I'd love to go with you, honey, but I got a lot of work to do around the bed.”
1:38–1:51 -
Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa sit among a packed church congregation in pews lined with red carpet…
“And the very same goes for Ezekiel,”
1:51–2:01 -
A bald, heavy man in a pew covers his face with his hand while Marge with her tall blue beehive and Bart…
“Damn it!”
2:01–2:14 -
Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa sit in a church pew with Maggie, pacifier in mouth, on Homer's lap…
“Our sermon today is on constancy.”
2:14–2:21 -
Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa sit in a pew at a church service, with baby Maggie in a blue bow beside Homer…
“Inasmuch as the over, by dint of our application of these principles,”
2:21–2:31 -
A black-haired man in a white robe stands at a wooden pulpit with an open book and a microphone in front…
2:31–2:40 -
Lisa in a pink dress and sun hat and Bart in a white shirt and tie come in through the front door…
“Oh, man, am I glad to get out of there.”
2:40–2:53 -
Marge in a green dress holds baby Maggie at a pink doorway with a pacifier-shaped knob while Homer stands…
“Church shouldn't be a chore.”
2:53–3:07 -
Marge holds baby Maggie in a green dress by the front door of the house in the first frames, then Homer…
“No, no. I don't feel like going to a trash pile today.”
3:07–3:18 -
A short-haired, yellow-skinned man in a red shirt and dark blue tie, not one of the regulars, holds…
“Can you believe it? They give you five Qs and only two Us.”
3:18–3:29 -
Marge Simpson sits in a green armchair beside a desk across from a dark-haired man in a pink shirt and blue…
“Sermons about constancy and predestitute are all very well and good.”
3:29–3:40 -
Marge Simpson stands beside a desk while a black-haired man in a pink shirt and blue tie sits in a red chair…
“Huh?”
3:40–3:53 -
Homer, Bart and Lisa Simpson are in a junkyard of dirt mounds and scattered trash
“It's my Christmas tree!”
3:53–4:06 -
Homer Simpson and Lisa Simpson are digging through a brown garbage dump under a blue sky
“Hey, here's a perfectly good basketball half.”
4:06–4:17 -
Homer points and shouts on a trash-strewn dump under a blue sky while Lisa looks on
“Oh my god, help me, Lisa! Lisa, Dad, come here, quick!”
4:17–4:30 -
Homer first appears with his head poking out of a pink Mister Sparkle carton half-buried in brown dirt…
“Maybe it's a box from the future.”
4:30–4:40 -
Lisa and Bart stand on either side of Homer, who clutches a pink box with a picture on it, on a dirt-patched…
“What's that?”
4:40–4:54 -
Marge Simpson sits in a green armchair facing a man with neat black hair, a pink shirt and a blue tie…
“Marge, you are a real time saver. Do you know, thanks to you,”
4:54–5:04 -
A black-haired man in a pink short-sleeved shirt and blue tie sits with his arms folded in a red armchair…
“Lovejoy here.”
5:04–5:17 -
Marge Simpson sits in a green armchair facing a man with dark swept-back hair and a pink shirt and blue tie…
“We rented man without a face. I didn't even know he had a problem.”
5:17–5:24 -
Marge Simpson sits in a green armchair in a book-lined office, facing a dark-haired man in a pink shirt…
“Um, any particular passage?”
5:24–5:31 -
Marge Simpson sits at a wooden desk in front of an open book covered in handwritten notes, a green-cushioned…
“Reverend, I hate to say this, but it sounded like that poor man was reaching out to you.”
5:31–5:39 -
Marge Simpson sits across a desk from a man in a pink shirt and blue tie, who is seated in a red armchair…
“Oh, Marge, I was once idealistic like you.”
5:39–5:49 -
A slick-haired black-haired man in a pink shirt and blue tie sits in a red armchair against a plain wall…
“The 60s were long over, and people were once again ready to feel bad about themselves.”
5:49–5:59 -
A long-haired man in a brown jacket with a guitar on his back drives a red convertible past a white church…
“I came to Springfield ready to roll up my sleeves and help my fellow man.”
5:59–6:11 -
A bearded man with a moustache, glasses and long brown hair in a red sweater faces a man with swept brown…
“Well, sit down and rap with me, brother.”
6:11–6:15 -
Ned Flanders, with a moustache, glasses and a green sweater... wait, he wears a dark red shirt, not a green…
“That's what I'm here for. I was talking to doing a dance called The Bump,”
6:15–6:25 -
A long-haired bearded man in dark red clothes and glasses sits with his back to the viewer, facing a nervous…
“I see.”
6:25–6:33 -
A brown-haired man in a blue shirt talks on a green phone while a grey-haired woman in a pink vest stirs…
“I think I may be coveting my own wife. I'm meek,”
6:33–6:41 -
A slick-haired, yellow-skinned man in a black suit and magenta tie holds a black telephone receiver…
“I think I swallowed a toothpick. Finally, I just stopped caring.”
6:41–6:49 -
Marge Simpson sits in a green armchair across a wooden desk from a dark-haired man in a pink shirt and blue…
“But you can't let a few bad experiences sour you on helping people.”
6:49–7:01 -
Moe stands behind the bar of his tavern, holding a red telephone receiver to his ear while talking
“Uh, yeah, hi. I'm calling for Reverend Lovejoy.”
7:01–7:05 -
Marge Simpson stands behind a wooden desk in an office, holding a telephone receiver to her ear…
“Oh, well, this is, um, the, uh... The listen lady.”
7:05–7:15 -
Moe stands behind the bar under a Duff Beer sign, holding a red telephone to his ear and gesturing…
“Okay.”
7:15–7:25 -
Moe stands behind the wooden bar under a yellow Duff Beer sign, holding a red phone to his ear
“That's ridiculous, Mo.”
7:25–7:34 -
Marge Simpson sits in a red swivel chair at a desk in a library-like room, holding a phone to her ear…
“Hi, it's me again. I got another problem.”
7:34–7:44 -
Marge Simpson and Homer Simpson sit at the dinner table in the pink kitchen, with Maggie in her high chair…
“Why would you volunteer at the church?”
7:44–7:57 -
Marge Simpson and Homer Simpson sit at a pink-walled kitchen table with glasses of milk and plates of food
“Well, I think volunteering is great. Deep down, it makes you feel...”
7:57–8:07 -
Bart sits at the dinner table with a plate of spaghetti and a fork, staring wide-eyed and stunned at a box…
“Where did it come from? What is it a box of?”
8:07–8:17 -
Marge, Homer, Lisa, Bart and Maggie sit around the kitchen dinner table, with a pot of food and glasses…
“They're probably watching us right now. That's ridiculous.”
8:17–8:27 -
A black-haired man in a light blue shirt and white apron first holds a telephone to his ear beside a wooden…
“Hi.”
8:27–8:39 -
Apu holds up a pink box with a sunburst design and foreign-script lettering while Homer stands behind him…
“Very popular dish detergent. Hey, he looks like you.”
8:39–8:51 -
Homer Simpson and Lisa Simpson stand in a wood-paneled room while a thin man with black spiky hair, glasses…
“Wow.”
8:51–9:03 -
Marge Simpson sits behind a wooden desk in a bare room with grey brick walls while a man with long brown…
“See, all along, I've been telling Carl I'm married to a beauty queen.”
9:03–9:14 -
Marge sits at a desk facing a man with swept-back brown hair, a dark green shirt and purple suspenders
“No, no, no, no, it's worse than that. I don't even have a wife.”
9:14–9:20 -
Marge Simpson sits behind a desk against a grey brick wall with her hands clasped, while a long-nosed man…
“Hmm.”
9:20–9:31 -
Marge sits at a desk gesturing with her hands while a brown-haired man in a green sweater and purple…
“By the time he's done eating, he's too full and tired to care what I have to say.”
9:31–9:40 -
Homer, Bart and Lisa walk through the reference section of the Old Springfield Library, with Bart…
“Seymour, I'm getting tired.”
9:40–9:52 -
Homer stands at the library desk with Bart beside him and Lisa's star-shaped hair just visible at the lower…
“I'd like the phone book for Hokkaido, Japan, please.”
9:52–10:05 -
A yellow cartoon hand appears at the edges of the frame, so no named regular can be identified
10:05–10:07 -
Homer stands at a library counter while a young man with brown hair and a green sweater works at a computer…
10:07–10:18 -
Homer Simpson sits at a desk in a room lined with bookshelves, holding a phone to his ear with one hand…
10:18–10:29 -
Homer Simpson sits at a desk in a library with shelves of colorful books behind him and a sign reading 0507…
10:29–10:40 -
Outside a factory, a pink billboard showing a grinning Homer Simpson face and Japanese katakana text stands…
10:40–10:50 -
Homer Simpson stands at a library desk holding a corded phone to his ear with one hand while his other hand…
10:50–10:55 -
Homer sits at a library desk with bookshelves behind him, holding a phone to his ear while looking worried
“Hello,”
10:55–11:03 -
Homer Simpson sits at a library desk with a corded phone to his ear, eyes wide and then grimacing…
“Hello? Why am I Mr. Sparkle? You like Mr.”
11:03–11:12 -
Inside a church with stained-glass windows, a preacher in a robe stands at a wooden pulpit flanked by two…
“The Lord will hear your lamentations and give solace to your spirit.”
11:12–11:22 -
A thin, dark-haired man in a white robe and blue tie stands behind a wooden podium with a microphone…
“Um, could we please not yell out things in the church?”
11:22–11:33 -
A crowd gathers outside a building with blue sky and shrubs behind them
“One at a time! One at a time!”
11:33–11:43 -
Marge Simpson grips the arm of Mr. Burns and a blue-haired woman in a pink dress and red glasses look on
“Come right this way, Mel.”
11:43–11:51 -
A man in a white robe over a pink shirt and blue tie stands in a church, first with a downcast, worried look…
“I'm a shepherd without a flock.”
11:51–12:05 -
A brown-haired man in a white bathrobe and tie stands on a red carpet between church pews, then a bald…
“Hmm.”
12:05–12:16 -
A stained-glass figure with a halo, in a white robe, gestures beside a golden lion in an arched church window…
12:16–12:28 -
A brown-haired man in a white robe walks down a red carpet between wooden pews in a church, first with eyes…
“The lamest reply I've ever heard. Oh, now, please.”
12:28–12:40 -
Marge Simpson is seated at a desk against a cinder-block wall beside a blue water cooler, first writing…
“Hello.”
12:40–12:46 -
A brown-haired woman with a tall, puffy hairdo and a pink vest over a light blue shirt sits at a kitchen…
“Marge, people say you've got a real knack for solving problems.”
12:46–12:58 -
Marge Simpson sits at a desk holding a black corded phone to her ear, with a notepad and pencil in front…
“He's just been playing with his trains all afternoon.”
12:58–13:09 -
A man with a black-and-white striped hat and a pink shirt leans over a green table, gripping a small grey…
“The tension H.O. scale passengers.”
13:09–13:18 -
A stocky, yellow-skinned man in a black-and-white striped cap and pink shirt sits behind a green counter…
“Root beer is still available, but the cost is now $6.50.”
13:18–13:27 -
Homer Simpson, Bart and Lisa sit together on a red couch in the living room under a framed sailboat picture
“Look, we got a package from the Mr. Sparkle Company in Japan.”
13:27–13:41 -
A yellow hand presses a button labeled MR
“Oh.”
13:41–13:50 -
A heavy-set, shirtless man with dark swept-back hair and stubble reclines at the edge of a pool…
“Hello, American investor. I see you are interested in distributing Mr.”
13:50–13:58 -
A heavy, shirtless man with dark hair and a moustache sits in a pool, holding a cigar and gesturing…
“But please, don't believe me.”
13:58–14:07 -
Homer appears inside a pink box-like frame on a TV screen against a sparkly blue and purple backdrop, mouth…
14:07–14:16 -
Homer Simpson's head floats with sparkles through a purple kitchen where a blue-haired woman in a green dress…
14:16–14:25 -
Homer's floating, sparkling head hovers above three dark-haired women dancing in a blue-green…
14:25–14:33 -
Homer Simpson's bald yellow head floats in the upper middle of a television screen, surrounded by twinkling…
“Mr.”
14:33–14:42 -
A black-haired, green-skinned woman with a moustache clutches an orange collar against a blue backdrop…
“Awesome power!”
14:42–14:51 -
A man in a grey suit, brown fedora and glasses holds a microphone and a cord-linked device beside two…
“Mr.”
14:51–14:58 -
Homer appears as an animated Mr. Sparkle mascot, a yellow cartoon figure with his bald head, wide eyes…
“Mr.”
14:58–15:07 -
Homer, Bart and Lisa Simpson sit together on a dark red couch in a pink living room beneath a framed sailboat…
“Boring.”
15:07–15:19 -
The scene opens on a plain magenta backdrop, then the logos appear: a cartoon fish with the text MATSUMURA…
“Mr. Sparkle,”
15:19–15:32 -
Bart and Lisa sit on a dark red couch in a pink living room, while Homer first crawls on hands and knees…
“Hey, it was all a coincidence.”
15:32–15:45 -
Marge Simpson leans on a wooden desk in a grey brick room while an unnamed old man with a white beard, sea…
“You've just got to accept it. Your Game Boy is gone.”
15:45–15:58 -
Marge Simpson talks on a black phone at a desk in the first frame, then Ned Flanders takes over the call…
“Hello? Listen, lady.”
15:58–16:09 -
Marge Simpson sits at a desk against a grey brick wall, holding a black telephone to her ear with a worried…
“Well, Ned, you don't have to stand for that.”
16:09–16:19 -
Homer leans on a railing beside a purple-haired man in a black skull t-shirt and a long-haired woman…
“Hey, let's go over the one-hour photo and breathe some fumes.”
16:19–16:29 -
Ned Flanders stands in a mall with a bald heavy man in a white shirt, a young man in a purple beanie…
“uh, vamoose, you know, if possible.”
16:29–16:43 -
Ned Flanders stands on a barrel marked LEFT UMBRELLA in a showroom with a red convertible and a CUPS-A-PLENTY…
“Now, Ned, troubled boys need rules and discipline.”
16:43–16:55 -
Ned Flanders holds a telephone to his ear in a shop lined with mugs while a bald, heavy man in a white shirt…
“Yeah, I know, but...”
16:55–17:06 -
Marge sits behind a wooden desk in a cinderblock office beside a water cooler and folding chair, first…
“Hmm.”
17:06–17:16 -
Marge Simpson stands in her house by a coat rack and an open front door, reaching for the door…
“Oh, good morning, Maude.”
17:16–17:24 -
A woman with a voluminous curly auburn hairdo, red lipstick and a red vest over a white blouse stands…
“Really?”
17:24–17:32 -
Ned Flanders walks and then hops along a purple road at dusk while, behind him, Homer in a white shirt…
17:32–17:41 -
Marge Simpson and a dark-haired man in a red shirt and blue tie stand in a grey-block basement
“Yes, Marg?”
17:41–17:51 -
Marge Simpson stands at a wooden counter in a basement beside a brick wall and a white water heater, talking…
“No, he's disappeared.”
17:51–17:58 -
A slim, dark-haired man in a red shirt and blue tie stands beside a white furnace in a basement while Marge…
“I mean, where do the helpers turn when they need help?”
17:58–18:08 -
A man with black hair, a pink shirt and a dark tie stands at a counter in a tiled room beside Marge, who has…
“Marge, why don't you let me handle this?”
18:08–18:21 -
Marge Simpson stands at a counter beside a black telephone while a man in a pink shirt and dark tie…
“Ned, where are you? I can't see the name of the station,”
18:21–18:32 -
Marge Simpson, Homer, Lisa and Bart ride in a red convertible driven by an unnamed man in a red shirt…
“Thanks for swinging by the house, Reverend.”
18:32–18:43 -
Marge with her tall blue beehive and Lisa in a red dress stand by a doorway as a man in a blue cap and red…
“Yes.”
18:43–18:52 -
Homer rides a small green-seated mini bike on the right, alongside a woman with a bobbed reddish-brown…
“Looks like we lost him. Yeah, well, we proved our point.”
18:52–19:04 -
Ned Flanders stands before a dam and bushes with a hand pressed to his chest, then opens his mouth wide…
“They're leaving.”
19:04–19:17 -
Homer stands facing a black-haired woman in a pink top and purple shorts who raises a dark camera to her eye…
“Spocketer! Mr. Spocketer!”
19:17–19:31 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Bart stand together at a wooden fence along the top of a dirt cliff, looking…
“Oh, help! What do I do?”
19:31–19:35 -
Homer cups his hands around his mouth and shouts beside Lisa, whose eyes are wide, against a bright blue sky…
“Play, Dad!”
19:35–19:46 -
Ned Flanders dangles inside a large rubber tire hanging from a rope against a tan cliff face, while snarling…
“You've got to get him out of there!”
19:46–19:51 -
Lisa, Homer, Bart and Marge stand in a row at a wooden railing overlooking a dirt drop, with a mustached man…
“Geez, I'd like to, but if they don't kill the intruder, it's really bad for their society.”
19:51–20:02 -
Ned Flanders rides a large black tire swing hanging from a rope above a pit, while a group of brown baboons…
“Tell Maud I want a fancy funeral, big coffin, lots of jewels.”
20:02–20:12 -
Marge, Bart, Homer and Lisa stand at a wooden fence watching a troop of brown baboons on a grassy slope…
“Look!”
20:12–20:24 -
Ned Flanders dangles from a wooden ledge while a man in a pink shirt and blue tie, with dark swept-back hair…
“Oh, thank the Lord.”
20:24–20:34 -
Ned Flanders and Milhouse ride side by side in a red-and-blue cart on a steep tracked mountain railway
“Oh, thank the Lord.”
20:34–20:46 -
Ned Flanders drives a small red locomotive along a cliff-side track while a man in a pink shirt and tie rides…
20:46–20:59 -
Homer, Bart, Marge and Lisa stand in a row behind a wooden fence against a bright blue sky with white clouds…
“Oh, those poor monkeys.”
20:59–21:03 -
Ned Flanders sits behind a pink car-like structure while a black-haired man in a pink shirt and blue tie…
“You saved me, Reverend.”
21:03–21:15 -
Ned Flanders sits beside a dark-haired man in a pink shirt and blue tie inside a pink rail cart at a wooden…
“She taught me that there's more to being a minister than not caring about people.”
21:15–21:27 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, Bart, and Carl sit among a packed congregation in the pews of First Church…
“Baboons to the left of me, baboons to the right.”
21:27–21:36 -
A man with swept-back dark hair, wearing a white robe over a shirt and tie, preaches behind a wooden podium…
“A pair of the great apes rose up at me, But biff-bam,”
21:36–21:50 -
Homer in a blue suit and green tie, Marge with her tall blue beehive and pearl necklace, and Maggie…
“Now that's religion.”
21:50–21:54 -
No cartoon characters appear in this moment; it is a black title card sequence from the opening credits
21:54–22:03 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this moment; it is a black closing-credits screen
22:03–22:12 -
No characters appear in this sequence, which is a plain black background
“We'll be right back.”
22:12–22:21 -
The scene is an black closing credits roll on a plain black background
22:21–22:30 -
No cartoon characters appear; the scene is a black end-credits screen with gold text
“Shh.”
22:30–22:39 -
Silhouetted audience members, too dark to identify by name, sit in rows of cinema seats facing a blank screen…
“Shh.”
22:39–22:49
Who's in it
Bart Simpson, Homer Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Moe Szyslak, Milhouse Van Houten, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Barney Gumble, Chief Wiggum, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Mrs. Krabappel, Dr. Hibbert, Kent Brockman, Jasper Beardsley, Martin Prince, Ralph Wiggum, Reverend Lovejoy, Lou, Jimbo Jones, Miss Hoover, Maude Flanders, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Sideshow Mel, Kirk Van Houten, Larry Dalrymple, Hans Moleman, Luann Van Houten, Helen Lovejoy, Bernice Hibbert, Agnes Skinner, Dolph Starbeam, Horatio McCallister, Itchy, Girl with glasses, Ruth Powers, Scratchy, Dr. Nick, Gareth Prince, Superintendent Chalmers, Lionel Hutz, Sarah Wiggum, Gloria Prince, Alice Glick, Jack Marley, Akira Kurosawa, JJ Hibbert, Julius Hibbert's Second Daughter, Sparkle, Baboons, Donny, English-speaking Mr. Sparkle representative, Mr. Sparkle, Mr. Sparkle representative, Saint Eleutherius of Nicomedia, Zookeeper
Everyone who appears in it, from the Simpsons wiki. Every character