Mayored to the Mob

While watching television, the Simpson family sees a commercial for the "Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con", a science-fiction convention featuring Mark Hamill and others, and decide to attend. A riot breaks out at the convention after Hamill offers the chance for someone in the crowd to act out a scene with him. Homer notices that Hamill and Mayor Quimby are in danger of being trampled due to the riot and quickly rescues them. In gratitude, Quimby employs Homer as his bodyguard, whilst firing his current security detail for cloud watching instead of rescuing him. Homer begins training at "Leavelle's Bodyguard Academy," where he quickly graduates and begins his new job. Homer and the Mayor get along well at first, and Homer cluelessly enjoys all of the corruption that Quimby embraces (including free beers and hamburgers). But unbeknownst to Homer, Quimby made a deal with Fat Tony shortly after Homer was employed to provide milk to the schools of Springfield. Homer discovers the milk is from rats and stops his kids (but not Milhouse) from drinking the gross rodent milk at school. Homer then confronts Quimby, accidentally knocking him out a window. As Quimby hangs from a ledge, Homer makes him promise to expose Fat Tony in return for being pulled to safety, which he agrees to. Quimby organizes the arrests of Fat Tony and his men, and Fat Tony openly threatens Quimby's life. Scared at having to defend Quimby due to the death threats, Homer attempts to reassure the Mayor by taking him to a dinner theater to see Hamill portray Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. However, Homer finds Fat Tony there alongside his henchman, Louie, and unwittingly makes the situation worse when he follows Fat Tony's suggestion to plant a kiss on Mayor Quimby. Louie then attempts to stab Quimby, but is stopped by Homer after Hamill advises Homer to "use the forks." However, Fat Tony is still able to savagely beat Quimby with a baseball bat while Homer is distracted. After the show, Hamill comforts Homer and tells him that Quimby will be fine, and Homer helps Hamill escape from the paparazzi. ==Production==

Ron Hauge, writer of the episode, wanted to do an episode where he would use Homer's qualities such as oafishness, brute strength, thickness and loyalty, for good. When Lisa says they have to go back for Maggie after the family escape the riot, Homer says "Forget Maggie, she's gone". The Simpsons creator Matt Groening claims this to be one of his favorite quotes in the show. ==Cultural references==

The Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con science-fiction convention features numerous references to the genre. As well as Hamill, guests at the convention include ALF from the television series ALF, Tom Baker in costume as the Fourth Doctor from the series Doctor Who, Gort from the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, Godzilla from the film series of the same name and Jonathan Harris in costume as Dr. Zachary Smith from the 1960s television series Lost in Space, as well as the robot from the show. Seymour Skinner is dressed as Spock from Star Trek, as are several others, and Edna Krabappel is dressed as Barbarella from the comic and film Barbarella (1968). Throughout the episode, Hamill wears the costume of his Star Wars character Luke Skywalker, Leavelle sings the song "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton, which was popularized by Whitney Houston as the theme for The Bodyguard; it also plays at the end. The title of the episode is a reference to the film Married to the Mob (1988). ==Reception==

In its original broadcast, "Mayored to the Mob" finished 24th in ratings for the week of December 14–20, 1998, with a Nielsen rating of 8.6, equivalent to approximately 8.5 million viewing households. It was the second highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Ally McBeal. Empire named Hamill's performance in the episode as the tenth-best film gag in the show, commenting: "As a rule, celebrity cameos are rubbish, but good sport Hamill is hilarious when singing 'Luke, be a Jedi tonight' in a production of Guys and Dolls, and makes this list for urging bodyguard Homer to 'use the forks. Eric Goldman, Dan Iverson and Brian Zoromski of IGN marked Hamill's guest appearance second on a list of "Top 25 Simpsons Guest appearances" saying that much of the episode's humor came from Hamill being "a good sport about his past". In addition, Hamill ranked 18th on AOL's list of their favorite 25 Simpsons guest stars, and Total Film's Nathan Ditum ranked his performance as the third-best guest appearance in the show's history. Simon Crerar of The Times also listed Hamill's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of The Simpsons. The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote that "the best bits all involve either the convention or Mark Hamill's repeated attempts to not be mobbed. Sadly, the main thrust of the story – Homer's protection of Quimby from Don Tony – falls a bit flat. Nevertheless, when the jokes run free, they are of exceptionally high quality." IGN named it as the best episode of season 10. Screen Rant called it the best episode of the 10th season. ==References==