Flaming Moe's

Moe is out of Duff and is struggling to attract customers to his tavern, so Homer tells him about the Flaming Homer, a cocktail he invented in his kitchen one night after Patty and Selma drank all his beer. He mixed drops of liquor from a random assortment of bottles, inadvertently including his children's cough syrup. When ash from Patty's cigarette fell into the concoction and set it aflame, Homer discovered that fire greatly improves its flavor. Moe then makes a Flaming Homer for a customer, who loves its taste. When the customer asks what the drink is called, Moe insists it is his invention, the Flaming Moe. Word of mouth spreads, leading to a business boom for Moe. The tavern (renamed "Flaming Moe's") goes from being a dive bar to a haunt of celebrities such as Aerosmith, and Moe hires a waitress named Colette to handle the extra customers. Homer is stung by Moe's betrayal and grows increasingly resentful as the tavern continues to thrive. The Flaming Moe's success attracts the attention of a restaurant chain, which offers Moe $1 million to reveal the secret ingredient. Moe initially refuses, but after Colette pricks his conscience, he decides to take the money and split it with Homer. Before he can finalize the deal, Homer arrives at the tavern and loudly reveals that the secret ingredient is "nothing but plain, ordinary, over-the-counter children's cough syrup". The chain's representative quickly tears up the contract and leaves. Soon, nearly all the bars and restaurants in Springfield are serving Flaming Moes, leaving Moe's business to dwindle back to normal. Homer visits the tavern, where they reconcile after Moe serves him a Flaming Homer, free of charge. ==Production==

Al Jean said the opening two minutes of the episode were inspired by his own childhood where "My sister would have sleepover parties and her friends would always try to kiss me and stuff". According to Mike Reiss, "Something about her did not animate correctly. The voice did not work for our purposes." Jo Ann Harris, a regular voice actor on the show, had recorded a temporary track using an impression of Shelley Long's character (Diane) from Cheers. The producers thought it fit the role better and used it instead of O'Hara, although O'Hara is still credited at the end of the episode. The third act opens with a parody of "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme song from Cheers. The parody was written by Jeff Martin, When Sam Simon was asked if the premise of the episode was inspired by the tumultuous relationship between himself and Matt Groening, Simon acknowledged, "That may be true." ==Cultural references==

The basic premise of the episode is similar to the film Cocktail. When Homer reveals the secret of the "Flaming Moe", the scene has many parallels to The Phantom of the Opera including Homer's standing high up in the light rigging, covering half his face. Martin's presentation at school is about Archer Martin, developer of gas chromatography which is later used in the episode by Professor Frink. The scene in which Frink analyzes a "Flaming Moe" is an homage to The Nutty Professor; Frink is based on Jerry Lewis's character in the film. Lionel Hutz says a drink cannot be copyrighted, citing the "Frank Wallbanger case of '78". This refers to the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail. Near the end of the episode, several bars with names similar to "Flaming Moe's" can be seen. This parodies Ray's Pizza in New York City, where dozens of individual establishments have similar names. Aerosmith sings "Walk This Way" in Moe's Tavern and "Young Lust" during the closing credits. ==Reception==

In its original airing on the Fox Network during November sweeps, the episode had a 14.4 Nielsen rating and was viewed in approximately 13.26 million homes. It finished the week ranked 29th, up from the season's average rank of 32nd. It finished second in its timeslot behind The Cosby Show, which finished 17th with a 15.9 rating. It was the highest rated show on Fox that week. The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Gary Russell and Gareth Roberts, called it "Possibly the best Simpsons episode, with a constant stream of gags, inspired animation (in particular the sequence when Homer begins to see and hear Moe everywhere, from Maggie's gurgles to the leaves on the trees), and a superb plot that twists about in every direction but the one you might expect." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode 5/5, calling it "another great chapter in the history of The Simpsons, with tons of laughs throughout". Emily VanDerWerff of Slant Magazine called it "a very funny episode" and highlighted the plot's focus on Moe as "an example of the show gradually expanding its supporting townspeople into characters in their own right," as "Moe was just an angry bartender before this episode. After this one, he's the sad man who sometimes tastes success but always lets it slip away because of his inability to do the right thing until it's too late." VanDerWerff also interpreted the episode as a metaphor for Simon's relationship with fellow Simpsons developers Groening and James L. Brooks and Simon's belief that he was not receiving enough credit for The Simpsons. Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times called "Flaming Moe's" a "classic bit of Simpsonia". The episode is on many lists of best Simpsons episodes. In 2006, IGN named "Flaming Moe's" the best episode of the third season. They wrote, "This episode has tons of standout moments, from the appearance by Aerosmith (the first time a musical act of that caliber appeared as themselves on the series); a funny payoff for all Bart's prank calls to Moe's, when a man named Hugh Jass actually does turn out to be a customer; a deftly done Cheers parody at the height of Moe's success; and Homer turning into a Phantom of the Opera type lunatic." In Entertainment Weekly's 2003 list of the top 25 The Simpsons episodes ever, it was placed sixteenth. In 2003, Rich Weir of AskMen.com placed the episode in second on his list of his ten favorite episodes of the show. He wrote, "As one of the early episodes that helped solidify the show's sharp wit and satirical ability, "Flaming Moe's" has everything a classic Simpsons episode should have: gut-busting humor, nifty parody, and some superstar cameos to seal the deal. [...] highlights include a performance by Aerosmith (in a guest-starring role), Bart's actually apologizing to Moe for one of his infamous prank calls, and a memorable spoof of Cheers' theme song." AOL placed the episode sixth on their list of the top 25 Simpsons episodes. Screen Rant called it the best episode of the third season. The episode is also a favorite of crew members. In 2003, executive producer Al Jean listed the episode as one of his favorites. When The Simpsons began streaming on Disney+ in 2019, former Simpsons writer and executive producer Bill Oakley named this one of the best classic Simpsons episodes to watch on the service. In 2006, the members of Aerosmith were collectively named the 24th best Simpsons guest stars by IGN. The song "Flaming Moe's", which parodies "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" from Cheers, was well received. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly named the song the "Best Theme Song Parody" of 1991. It was later included in the 1997 album Songs in the Key of Springfield, a compilation of songs from the first seven seasons of the show. ==Universal Studios==

Real-life equivalents based on food shown in The Simpsons are sold at Universal Studios Florida, including the Flaming Moe. It is served in a glass with exclusive cosmetics, consisting of a flame pattern and yellow letters of its name. While the original show depicted its vague recipe as an intentional absurdity (purple in color as a result of the cough syrup), the equivalent is served at the eponymously titled Flaming Moe's and the location Moe's Tavern, depicted as a brightly-colored orange soda. Ironically enough, unlike the original (a flaming cocktail), it also contains dry ice to make it appear as if it is smoking. ==See also==