Marge gets mugged and becomes so traumatized that she develops Agoraphobia. She hides in the basement. Having little else to do, she decides to exercise with a weight set Homer bought from Rainier Wolfcastle's garage sale. She becomes so strong and confident that she is able to leave the basement. She continues working out and decides to start taking steroids so she can enter a bodybuilding competition. One night at Moe's Tavern she loses her temper and starts destroying the bar and fighting all of the patrons. Homer confronts Marge and says he misses the sweet woman that he married. Marge, horrified at what she has done, apologizes and decides to stop working out.
WAR
49.9
Wins Above Replacement
“The Strong Arms Of The Ma” ranks #221 of 552 The Simpsons episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 79.6 — Elite. The episode packs 62 scored jokes at 3.7 per minute, averaging 7.0 on craft and 6.6 on impact, with Homer landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Lisa · Homer: I'm a magazine rack. / Look, I'm the first to admit it. I don't write good parts for women.
Lisa Homer Meta/Self-Referential Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Mailman: Oh, no, my glasses are broken. [Twilight Zone theme plays]
Mailman Callback Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Homer · Chief Wiggum: It's all my fault my wife got mugged. / There you have it, boys. Case closed.
Homer: [Tetris theme music playing while Homer packs car]
Homer Visual Gag Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Mugger · Marge: I gave your necklace to my cheap girlfriend. I just throw it in a drawer at night. No, it'll tangle!
All Jokes — 62 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Rainier Wolfcastle: Three divorces in three months. What can I say, Kent? I'm a romantic.
Rainier Wolfcastle: This was done on her wedding day. Or should I say 'deading' day?
Homer: How the mighty have fallen... into my price range. I wanna go there.
Homer Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Lisa Reaction Beat Deadpan/Understatement Rainier Wolfcastle: Zip it, Holy Joe.
Rainier Wolfcastle: Miss September... you're gonna have to get in the trunk.
Homer: Everything here is sword. Sword baseball bat, sword rifle, sword pineapple... sword sword sharpener, sword pie.
Homer Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Homer: Hey, what happened to the sword pie?
Homer Callback Character Comedy Callback Homer: Hey, your early porno movies. Oh, wait, are any of these hetero?
Homer Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Marge: The weights that changed you from a Bavarian cream puff... to a mass of twitching muscles?
Marge Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Rainier Wolfcastle: They know you are talking about them.
Homer: This is what all those hours of playing Tetris were for.
Homer Callback Observational Homer: [Tetris theme music playing while Homer packs car]
Homer Visual Gag Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Marge · Homer: But there's no room for you. / D'oh!
Rainier Wolfcastle: I used it to carry Rob Schneider in the movie My Baby is an Ugly Man.
Homer · Rainier Wolfcastle: Your heartbeat is so soothing. / Shh. Time for sleep, little fatso.
Bart: How did you turn cinnamon applesauce into that?
Bart Observational Cringe/Discomfort Maggie: Don't try to pin this on me, sister.
Maggie Character Comedy Absurdist Apu: The bathroom is not for customers. Please use the crack house.
Apu Absurdist Character Comedy Apu: That is the most pungent thing I've ever smelled and I am from India.
Apu Observational Character Comedy Apu: That sign is just a ruse, like all high voltage signs.
Apu Observational Absurdist Marge · Mugger: It's not a purse. It's a diaper bag. / It looks like a purse, that's why I bought it. / But it's really a--
Homer · Chief Wiggum: It's all my fault my wife got mugged. / There you have it, boys. Case closed.
Marge: Why is it Ned Flanders?
Marge Observational Character Comedy Chief Wiggum: Oh, like, I'm gonna kick Chief Wiggum in the groin.
Ralph: Even my boogers are spicy.
Ralph Observational Character Comedy Mailman: Can you believe I get paid to wear short pants?
Mailman Observational Character Comedy Mugger · Marge: I gave your necklace to my cheap girlfriend. I just throw it in a drawer at night. No, it'll tangle!
Mailman: Oh, no, my glasses are broken. [Twilight Zone theme plays]
Mailman Callback Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Dr. Hibbert: It's called The Woman Who Died in Her Home.
Dr. Hibbert · Marge: I hope you like throwing dinner parties. / I do. / No one wants to eat dinner at a crazy lady's house. Get real.
Homer · Marge: Don't worry. I'll set fire to the hive. / Twelve. Fifteen. Seven hundred and three.
Lisa · Homer: I'm a magazine rack. / Look, I'm the first to admit it. I don't write good parts for women.
Lisa Homer Meta/Self-Referential Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Homer: What play? What the hell is he talking about?
Homer Reaction Beat Character Comedy Callback Homer: We'll have to smoke her out.
Homer Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Bart: Breaker, Bartman to shut-in. The big guy's asleep. Please advise. Over.
Bart Character Comedy Observational Homer: Why, you little-- Oh, ha, ha, hi, Jesus. I was just--
Homer Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Homer: The air hockey table makes passing the carrots a breeze.
Homer Observational Character Comedy Homer: I loved that show because you always knew... it was only a half-hour till Wings. Then you could just sleep till Monday.
Homer Observational Character Comedy Exercise instructor on TV: If you don't, the oven's not on.
Homer: I'm married to Joey Heatherton.
Homer Character Comedy Observational Marge: I got all the way out to the tree before I realized I'd left the house.
Marge Character Comedy Observational Ned Flanders: Well, aren't you a super-duper recouper?
Grandpa Simpson: Then you're not paying close enough attention.
Marge: You've just been Marge-inalized.
Marge Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Homer: It's like I'm married to Shaft.
Homer Observational Character Comedy Marge: I have many anti-drug bumper stickers I'd be making a liar out of my tailgate.
Marge Character Comedy Observational Ruth Powers: Steroids aren't drugs. They occur naturally in the body... like sweat or tumors.
Ruth Powers: Yes. Their main side effect is greatness.
Otto: Man, what am I smoking? Oh, yeah, pot.
Otto Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Homer: I feel that illegal performance-enhancing drugs... are too common these days. Rebuttal?
Homer Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Marge Reaction Beat Character Comedy Homer: Your mom has a lot of stuff to shave.
Homer Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Homer: Your mom has a lot of stuff to shave.
Homer Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Bart: Ay caramba. I'm off women forever.
Bart Reaction Beat Character Comedy Homer · Bart: I'm tired of her criticizing my saggy glutes. / Quiet. Her muscular ears can hear us.
Marge: I didn't sacrifice my period for second place.
Marge Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Moe: I don't got enough booze in this place to make you look good.
Moe Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Disco Stu: Disco Stu should have disco ducked. Ow.
Homer: The woman who instead of swatting a fly... will give it a bath and send it on its way.
Homer Character Comedy Observational Homer · Moe: Whoa, Moe, wait a minute. Don't you have to buy insurance first? / Oh, crap.
Homer · Marge: Ready for a real workout, Marge? / Good. Can you wax the car? / Ow. Ow. Ow. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
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