The Joy of Sect
The Simpsons, season 9, episode 13. First aired February 8, 1998. 135 moments of about ten seconds each: open one for its frame, what happens and what's said.
← Bart Carny Das Bus → The whole episode as text
About the episode
Homer joins the Movementarians, a cult whose reclusive Leader promises a spaceship trip to Blisstonia, and moves the family to its compound to harvest lima beans. Marge alone resists, escapes, and with help from Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy and Groundskeeper Willie snatches back her brainwashed children and husband. Hauled back by cult lawyers, Homer sets out to expose the Leader as a fraud.
- Written by
- Steve O'Donnell
- Directed by
- Steven Dean Moore
- Guest stars
- Marcia Wallace as Mrs. Krabappel
- Chalkboard gag
Shooting paintballs is not an art form
- Couch gag
- Miniature
- Production code
- 5F23
The synopsis is our own. Credits and guest stars from Wikipedia and the Simpsons wiki.
Every moment
-
Bart Simpson stands at a classroom chalkboard filled with rows of the chalked line…
“The Simpsons”
0:00–0:12 -
Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and baby Maggie appear first in the driveway by the yellow garage, where Bart opens…
0:12–0:25 -
The Simpsons family, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, sits together on the brown living room couch…
0:25–0:33 -
Homer and Bart walk through the glass doors of Springfield International Airport's terminal…
“Thanks for letting me skip school to see the team come back from the championship, Dad.”
0:33–0:42 -
Homer and Bart walk through an airport terminal past the Springfield Rent-A-Car and Raven Rental Cars…
“Thanks for letting me skip school to see the team come back from the championship, Dad.”
0:42–0:50 -
Homer stands with a blue bag beside a young man with short auburn hair in a light blue uniform shirt and tie…
“Hey, I need to see your claim checks for that luggage.”
0:50–0:59 -
A young man with brown hair and freckles, in a pale blue uniform shirt with a dark tie and carrying a stack…
“I'll need to see yours, too.”
0:59–1:08 -
Homer and Bart walk past the entrance of the Just Crichton and King Bookstore, where a stooped, frail…
“Do you have anything by Robert Ludlow?”
1:08–1:20 -
A bald, stubbly man in a white shirt and purple pants, wearing spiked black wristbands, is Homer and kneels…
“I just got a bunch of fruity Easter eggs.”
1:20–1:31 -
Barney sits at a bar lined with bottles and a beer glass, with empty stools beside him
“Oh, no, not again!”
1:31–1:40 -
Homer and Bart stand in a lavender hallway beside a bald, robed man with a black ponytail, beaded necklace…
“Have you heard of Krishna Consciousness?”
1:40–1:47 -
Homer and Bart walk down a lilac hallway past a framed poster of a bottle with a French flag and Eiffel…
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
1:47–1:55 -
Homer stands beside Bart, the spiky-haired boy in an orange-red shirt, while a woman with a reddish bob…
“Hmm, makes sense.”
1:55–2:04 -
Homer stands with Bart, in an orange shirt, beside a thin man with short light-brown hair in a grey shirt…
“And when is this weekend? It's this weekend.”
2:04–2:17 -
At an airport tarmac, a crowd including Homer and Bart in his orange shirt waits near a large white jet…
“Hey, look!”
2:17–2:27 -
Moe and Carl fists raised and Moe pointing
“Hey, I'll give you something to cry about, you loser.”
2:27–2:38 -
A crowd of yellow-skinned cartoon passengers with raised arms gathers on a tarmac beside a large jet engine…
2:38–2:46 -
Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Bart sit around the blue kitchen table for dinner
“Hmm.”
2:46–2:58 -
Marge Simpson and Maggie sit at the dining table, with Homer Simpson in his white shirt seated…
“But what if they try to talk us into something?”
2:58–3:10 -
Homer and Lisa sit at a blue kitchen table eating plates of food beside a glass of milk, with Homer gesturing…
“So I beat the system.”
3:10–3:22 -
Homer drives a pink sedan along a red dirt road through a pine forest, kicking up dust and scattering…
“Out of my way, jerk ass!”
3:22–3:29 -
Homer Simpson sits against a tree trunk in a green hat and fishing vest, holding a rod over a blue tackle box…
“Fishing, fishing.”
3:29–3:41 -
Homer Simpson stands in front of a large brown tree trunk and pine trees, gripping a fishing rod and tugging…
“Who the hell is that? Some kind of leader?”
3:41–3:50 -
Homer sits against a large tree beside a blue tackle box on a grassy clearing with pine trees behind
“Why don't you come chat with us about the leader at the welcome center?”
3:50–4:01 -
Homer sits against a tree trunk holding a fishing rod while a man with swept-back brown hair, a grey shirt…
“What kind of beer? The leader knows how miserable you, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie are.”
4:01–4:13 -
Homer grins in front of a tree trunk, then hurries off across a grassy clearing while a man in a grey shirt…
“Wow, a free movie! Thanks! Out of my way, jerkass!”
4:13–4:24 -
A row of cartoon figures, including a small girl, walks up a gray ramp into a white and blue saucer-shaped…
“where we will all board our intergalactic vehicle, rows 1 through 31st.”
4:24–4:37 -
Carl and Barney sit on a wooden bench in a crowded hall while Carl talks and gestures, then stands up…
“Hey, I don't know about you,”
4:37–4:47 -
Apu stands in a crowded wooden-pew courtroom gallery beside Marge's blue-beehived profile in the foreground…
“Oh, I just didn't, uh, I didn't think, um, oh, it's, it's, it's pretty good.”
4:47–4:59 -
Homer is in the bottom right corner of a crowded, dimly lit room with wood-panelled walls and a framed…
“Going somewhere?”
4:59–5:06 -
A dim wood-floored hall is packed with rows of seated townspeople watching a crt television on a cart…
“When you surrender yourself to the movementarians,”
5:06–5:16 -
Several people sit in rows on wooden benches in a dim hall, including a goateed man in a white jacket…
“you are guaranteed a perfect life of serenity, love, and loving serenity.”
5:16–5:26 -
Carl sits at left in the foreground beside Barney, the heavy man with messy brown hair in an orange-red…
“The leader is perfect.”
5:26–5:28 -
Homer Simpson sits in the middle of a wooden bench against a purple wall beside a wooden door, flanked…
“Wait, I'm confused about the movie.”
5:28–5:38 -
Homer sits on a wooden bench between a man with short brown hair in a blue shirt and black tie on the left…
“You see, when I get bored, I make up my own movie.”
5:38–5:48 -
Homer sits in a circle of folding chairs with Apu, Otto in a pink shirt and red cap with headphones, Barney…
“The circle of judgment never fails to destroy their self-esteem.”
5:48–6:02 -
Homer Simpson sits in the middle of a circle of folding chairs in a wooden room with a window showing trees…
“Yeah, lose some weight! Hey, man, you're fat!”
6:02–6:11 -
Homer sits in a folding chair in a circle with Principal Skinner in a blue suit, a woman in a pink top…
“You've failed at everything you've ever tried.”
6:11–6:18 -
Homer sits in a circle of folding chairs on a wooden floor with Apu, who wears a green vest over a black…
“And your stink brings tears to my eyes.”
6:18–6:26 -
Homer Simpson sits at a long wooden table in a rustic dining hall, eating gruel from a bowl with a spoon…
“Oh, my mistake.”
6:26–6:37 -
Homer Simpson sits at a wooden table by a rainy window, spooning grey gruel from bowls as spilled goo puddles…
“You gonna finish that, Boney?”
6:37–6:49 -
Principal Skinner and a woman with an orange bob, both in grey shirts and black ties, stand in a wooden room…
“Let's all give thanks to the leader for this glorious day.”
6:49–7:02 -
A neat grey-haired man in a light blue shirt and black tie and a woman with an orange bob in a matching…
“It's no use.”
7:02–7:12 -
Homer Simpson sits at a long wooden table in a rustic hall, beside a thin dark-haired man in a green sweater…
“Leader!”
7:12–7:24 -
Homer stands at a long wooden table in a hall where a crowd of diners eat from bowls, and he raises his arms…
“I love the leader!”
7:24–7:37 -
Homer sits at the dining table in the pink kitchen, gesturing with both hands, grinning, grimacing…
“We what?”
7:37–7:45 -
Homer Simpson sits at the dinner table with his arms crossed, flanked by Marge with her tall blue beehive…
“Marge, when I join an underground cult, I expect a little support from my family.”
7:45–7:58 -
Bart Simpson sits at the dining table in front of a plate of rice, green vegetables and meat chunks…
“What? What did I say? Church, cult, cult, church.”
7:58–8:04 -
Homer, Marge, Maggie, Lisa and Bart sit around the dining table in the pink kitchen with an arched doorway…
“Of course not,”
8:04–8:11 -
Homer sits at the dining table with Marge standing behind him, Maggie in a high chair, and Lisa and Bart…
“Oh, yes, you are. I'm afraid it's our home now.”
8:11–8:18 -
Homer sits at the dinner table with Marge, who has a tall blue beehive, and Maggie in her high chair…
“And it didn't cost us a dime.”
8:18–8:20 -
Kent Brockman sits at a desk on a TV studio set beneath a Special Investigative Report graphic…
“Springfield has been overrun by a strange and almost certainly evil sect calling”
8:20–8:31 -
Kent Brockman sits at a desk on a TV screen, reading from a stack of papers while a framed portrait…
“The leader of this way-out and wrong religion claims he'll take believers away on his”
8:31–8:42 -
Kent Brockman sits at a desk on a television news set, first holding a card and grimacing beside a portrait…
“But, ladies and gentlemen, I've just learned of a change in this station's management.”
8:42–8:53 -
Marge, holding baby Maggie, Homer carrying a brown suitcase, Bart with a teal bag, and Lisa with a backpack…
“Homer Simpson, your family will be housed here for the first 100,000 years.”
8:53–9:03 -
Bart stands on the left while Lisa sits on the edge of a bunk bed beside a green-wrapped bundle
“Dad and all these other people are obviously the products of mental conditioning.”
9:03–9:07 -
Bart and Lisa stand together in a bedroom with bunk beds, a brown door and a white pillow
“Yeah, maybe it'll wear off, like his interest in CB radio.”
9:07–9:19 -
Bart Simpson grins as he clutches a black case labeled "LI'L BASTARD GENERAL MISCHIEF KIT" in close-up
“Besides, this is just another place for me to wreak my special brand of hysterical havoc.”
9:19–9:27 -
Bart Simpson stands at the brown front door of a house with a teal wall and a window beside it
“I love the leader.”
9:27–9:37 -
Principal Skinner stands behind a wooden podium with a microphone in front of a stained-glass window…
“This so-called new religion is nothing but a pack of weird rituals and chants”
9:37–9:46 -
A dark-haired, thin man in a white robe stands at a wooden pulpit with a microphone, a blue banner…
“Let us say the Lord's Prayer 40 times, but first, let's pass the collection plate.”
9:46–9:59 -
Ned Flanders stands in the first frames beside a robed clergyman holding a collection plate in a church…
“I don't think that's gonna do it.”
9:59–10:10 -
Marge Simpson stands in front of pine trees speaking and looking alarmed, while Mr. Burns appears…
“When we got married, you promised me my harvesting days were over.”
10:10–10:20 -
Robed onlookers and a small blonde child gather on a grassy hillside beside a long black limousine…
“He's coming!”
10:20–10:28 -
Homer Simpson and Lisa Simpson stand outdoors in front of dark green pine trees under a blue sky with white…
“Boy, we get to see the leader pass by.”
10:28–10:37 -
Moe walks along a dirt path beside a black limousine as dust billows from its wheels, then covers his face…
“I'm covered in the dust of the leader. He favors me!”
10:37–10:49 -
Homer stands outdoors among pine trees under a blue sky while a dark-haired man with a shoulder bag and tan…
“Oh, look who the new pet is.”
10:49–10:56 -
Mr. Burns sits in a tall red chair behind a desk with a C.M. Burns nameplate, reading a newspaper…
“Smithies, why haven't I heard of this The Leader?”
10:56–11:07 -
Mr. Burns sits in a red high-backed chair behind a desk with a nameplate reading C.M. BURNS, while his thin…
“You're right.”
11:07–11:16 -
Mr. Burns sits in a tall red armchair behind a desk with a nameplate reading C.M. BURNS, while his thin…
“Wait, yes, I think I know just the thing”
11:16–11:26 -
Mr. Burns sits in a tall red armchair behind a desk, while Smithers stands beside the desk at right…
“sir, you have to tell me what your plan is or nothing will happen Oh, yes, of course,”
11:26–11:35 -
Mr. Burns sits in a tall red chair and later at a desk marked C.M. Burns, while Smithers stands beside him
“Absolutely, sir You'd kneel before me?”
11:35–11:44 -
Mr. Burns sits in a tall red armchair at a desk with a C.M. Burns nameplate, holding a sheet of paper…
“I believe that's already a breakfast cereal, sir.”
11:44–11:54 -
Ned Flanders stands in a crowd of people in front of a stage, with black-vested ushers bearing yellow…
11:54–12:05 -
Two huge white robed figures tower on either side of a lit glass building at night, then are unveiled as two…
“Ladies and gentlemen, behold your new god, Mr.”
12:05–12:17 -
Smithers stands on a glass balcony beside a muscular bald bearded man in a white loincloth, beneath a red LED…
“Ahoy, ahoy, lowly mortals.”
12:17–12:29 -
Mr. Burns and his assistant Smithers appear outside a building whose sign reads "THE NEW" beside a blue tree…
“Uh, we'll try this again tomorrow.”
12:29–12:41 -
Homer and Marge appear first in a pine-tree setting, where Marge holds Homer's hands and speaks while he…
“Ah, he's all right. But he's no ball of special keg.”
12:41–12:53 -
Homer, kneeling in a grey robe and holding hands with Marge, who has a tall blue beehive and a red necklace…
“At least you got to choose your mate. We got matched up on the printout.”
12:53–13:02 -
An elderly woman with a blue beehive and white veil, holding pink flowers, walks arm in arm with a man…
“I could have done a lot worse, Mother.”
13:02–13:13 -
Bart and Lisa sit at school desks in a classroom with classmates behind them, while Mrs. Krabappel reads…
“Yes, Bart?”
13:13–13:25 -
Mrs. Krabappel reads a green book at her desk beside a pink-walled portrait and a stack of books titled…
“The leader? Ah, correct again. He's wrong!”
13:25–13:33 -
Lisa stands beside an unnamed woman with orange bouffant hair, a green earring and a grey dress with a white…
“What's the matter, Lisa?”
13:33–13:45 -
Maggie, Grampa and a brown-ponytailed woman in grey robes stand chest-deep in a blue pool in a wood-paneled…
“We love him.”
13:45–13:51 -
Homer and Marge are in a bunk-bed room with green bowls, Homer seated on a lower bunk eating from a spoon…
“These lima beans are even better than the ones we had for breakfast and lunch.”
13:51–14:02 -
Homer sits at a table in a bunk-bed dormitory, with Marge beside him in a grey robe and red beads, looking…
“Homer, you know I always try to put the best face on everything,”
14:02–14:15 -
Bart and Maggie, Maggie in a grey robe with a blue bow and holding a small red object, stand before wooden…
“No!”
14:15–14:24 -
A ginger-haired man in a tan robe with a white collar and Marge Simpson stand at night under a starry purple…
“I'm leaving this place and you'd better step aside.”
14:24–14:32 -
Homer and a man with spiky red hair in a tan coat are first caught on a barbed-wire fence under a purple…
14:32–14:40 -
Marge Simpson runs and leaps across a moonlit nighttime field, first grabbing a long wooden staff…
“Hi-ya!”
14:40–14:54 -
Marge Simpson runs across a dim blue field under a purple starry sky beside a huge pale sphere…
14:54–15:07 -
A brown-haired man in a white bathrobe with yellow trim walks down the aisle of a church with stained-glass…
“Oh, I never thought I'd have to do this again.”
15:07–15:15 -
Marge Simpson stands in a dim church before stained-glass windows and a stairway, first gesturing animatedly…
“Reverend Lovejoy, you've got to help me.”
15:15–15:29 -
Marge Simpson stands before a night sky and a white building, gesturing with her hands and looking uneasy
“Now, how are we going to get my homie back?”
15:29–15:41 -
Marge gestures in front of a stained-glass window, then makes a peace sign while a bearded, red-haired man…
“No, no, no, just the first two.”
15:41–15:52 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson stand on a dusty road at dusk beside a long black limousine…
“What an honor.”
15:52–16:05 -
Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie sit in grey robes inside a wood-paneled car, with Marge in a green dress…
“Oh!”
16:05–16:17 -
Sideshow Bob swings a wooden bat inside a van where Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie sit, Marge…
“Look, let's the three of us try it together.”
16:17–16:29 -
A red-bearded man in blue overalls and a grey shirt, with red hair and a red moustache, shouts and glares…
“I promise you that.”
16:29–16:41 -
Bart and Homer stand in a room with a YIELD sign, a dartboard, and a red toy race car on the wall…
“Don't call it that.”
16:41–16:52 -
Mr. Burns and his thin assistant Smithers in glasses ride inside a red fire-engine-style vehicle marked SPLT…
“Attention all citizens.”
16:52–16:58 -
Kent Brockman sits behind a news desk on a television screen, reading from a sheet of paper while he speaks
“Attention all citizens.”
16:58–17:09 -
Kent Brockman sits behind a wooden news desk on a green-screen set while a bespectacled man in a grey suit…
“What are you doing?”
17:09–17:22 -
Marge Simpson stands beside a glass display case full of trophies, a silver urn-like cup…
“I said... So, you kids really love the leader, huh?”
17:22–17:29 -
Marge stands beside a glass trophy case in the first six frames, her expression shifting from a worried stare…
“All right already.”
17:29–17:39 -
Bart, Lisa and Maggie sit in a row of classroom-style chairs in front of a wall with a traffic light…
“What do you have to say about the leader now?”
17:39–17:50 -
Marge stands near a trophy case and staircase with Bart, Lisa and Maggie, who are all seated on bicycles
“Yay!”
17:50–18:02 -
Lisa, Bart, Marge, Maggie, and Ned Flanders and green sweater, stand and sit among toppled pink and blue…
“But we heard them hovering.”
18:02–18:15 -
Homer Simpson sits bound with rope around his wrists and ankles on a purple chair, his back to the viewer…
“All right.”
18:15–18:21 -
Homer sits in a bar beneath a dartboard, facing a red-bearded man in a grey shirt and blue overalls who grips…
“The leader knows all and sees all.”
18:21–18:30 -
Groundskeeper Willie stands holding a purple box in a hallway and then a bar, while Homer sits beside him…
“Oh, this leader, he sounds like a grand fella.”
18:30–18:43 -
Homer and Marge stand at a bar decorated with a dartboard, a red toy race car on the wall, and an "ON" sign
“Anyone like a draft beer? Beer?”
18:43–18:54 -
Homer Simpson sits in a purple chair in front of an orange wall with a framed red toy race car on it
“No, must resist temptation.”
18:54–18:56 -
Homer appears first in a close-up of his wide-eyed face against an orange-brown backdrop, his eyes bulging…
“No, must resist temptation.”
18:56–19:08 -
Homer sits strapped to a chair with rope around his belly and arms while a dark-haired man in a pink shirt…
“Go on, Homer.”
19:08–19:18 -
Homer struggles in a wood-paneled room while suited men and a Black man in a dark suit hold him, and Lenny…
“Ow.”
19:18–19:29 -
Ned Flanders stands behind a bar lined with copper jugs while a suited man with curly dark hair waits at left…
“Well, I would say the matter is subtle. You know, I pride myself on being a good host,”
19:29–19:39 -
Homer walks along a dirt path with a group of grey-suited men carrying briefcases, past a chain-link fence…
“Homer, come back!”
19:39–19:49 -
Homer Simpson stands on a low platform before a red barn wall, talking to a crowd of townspeople seen…
“I'm glad I'm back.”
19:49–20:02 -
Homer Simpson stands in front of a red barn wall in the first several frames, gesturing with his arms…
“The reason we're not allowed in the Forbidden Barn is because there is no intergalactic”
20:02–20:14 -
Homer Simpson first stands with a crowd of white-robed followers on a grassy outdoor stage while Marge…
“Homer Simpson, because of your lack of faith,”
20:14–20:25 -
Marge Simpson and Ned Flanders stand in a crowd of grey-robed, white-collared people on an open field, both…
“Nice going there, Homer. Oh, my gosh. Maybe he was telling the truth about everything.”
20:25–20:34 -
A crowd of identical grey-robed people stands in a green field below a huge purple saucer that hovers…
20:34–20:45 -
Groundskeeper Willie stands among a crowd of robed followers on a mountain meadow, shouting and raising…
“Come back! Come back! Willie still loves you, O Great One!”
20:45–20:55 -
A lanky, unshaven one-off farmer with reddish-brown hair and a white tank top sits in a wooden chair…
“Stranger, you're a trespassion on my dirt farm.”
20:55–21:07 -
Troy McClure sits slumped on a pile of money bags marked with green dollar signs beside a house…
“Eww.”
21:07–21:19 -
Bart lies sprawled in a stone-walled nook while a yellow hand holds a bottle of red liquid toward him
“Oh, I guess it's back to good old-fashioned voodoo.”
21:19–21:31 -
A yellow-skinned, black-haired man in a flat black cap and dark shirt, wearing a purple-banded watch, holds…
“Come back to Papa Baby.”
21:31–21:42 -
Homer, Marge, baby Maggie with her pacifier, Bart, and Lisa are in the living room, with Homer on the couch…
“And you, Marge, the bringer of beer.”
21:42–21:54 -
No cartoon characters appear in this moment; it is a black title card sequence in the style of Simpsons…
21:54–22:04 -
No regular Simpsons characters appear; the scene is a black closing credits sequence with gold-orange text…
“Thank you.”
22:04–22:13 -
A black credits sequence with no cartoon figures visible
22:13–22:22 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this moment; it is a black closing credits sequence with no people on screen
22:22–22:31 -
No Simpsons characters appear in this sequence, which is a black end-credits roll with orange text on a black…
“Shh.”
22:31–22:40 -
Silhouetted audience members sit in a dark theater, with one figure in the foreground left showing a tall…
“Shh.”
22:40–22:50
Who's in it
Bart Simpson, Homer Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Marge Simpson, Maggie Simpson, Moe Szyslak, Principal Skinner, Krusty the Clown, Ned Flanders, Lenny Leonard, Carl Carlson, Mrs. Krabappel, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Waylon Smithers, Mr. Burns, Kent Brockman, Otto Mann, Jasper Beardsley, Groundskeeper Willie, Reverend Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Jimbo Jones, Todd Flanders, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Maude Flanders, Rod Flanders, Sideshow Mel, Kirk Van Houten, Larry Dalrymple, Hans Moleman, Nina Skalka, Luann Van Houten, Professor Frink, Adrian Belew, Sam, Agnes Skinner, Dolph Starbeam, Comic Book Guy, Ruth Powers, Gareth Prince, Dr. Nick, Superintendent Chalmers, Lionel Hutz, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Buck-toothed girl, Lewis' lookalike, Cletus Spuckler, Troy McClure, Charlie, Rainier Wolfcastle, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon, Just Stamp the Ticket Man, Kyle Williams, Louie, Arnie Pye, Pyro, Karl, Gerald Samson, Barbara Van Horne, Barney the Dinosaur, Batman, Stephen King, Christian Advocate, Comic Book Guy's wife, Glen, Hindu Advocate, Jane, Snack Clerk, The Leader
Everyone who appears in it, from the Simpsons wiki. Every character