The Simpsons: 10 Classic Moments In “Mr. Plow”

In the middle of its fourth season, The Simpsons aired one of its all-time funniest and most memorable episodes: “Mr. Plow.” The premise is simple, as Homer buys a snowplow and becomes a local hero by clearing his neighbors’ driveways, but that simplicity paved the way for some of the show’s most inspired humor.

The stakes are raised when Barney buys his own snowplow and overshadows Homer’s business to keep the plot moving. The episode earned series star Dan Castellaneta — who voices both Homer and Barney — his second Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. “Mr. Plow” is chock full of classic moments.

10 The Simpsons Meet Adam West

After destroying the family’s cars, Homer takes Bart and Lisa to a car show to see if they can find a replacement. There, they meet Adam West. Since Bart and Lisa are more familiar with Michael Keaton’s Batman, they don’t think West is “the real Batman.”

West explains that his Batman used to dance, and he didn’t have rubber muscles added to his suit — rather, his physique was “pure West.” The Simpsons are freaked out by West and promptly leave. Family Guy wasn’t the first cartoon to make Adam West a weirdo.

9 The Godfather Parody

When Bart is pelted with snowballs by the other kids, it’s a spot-on parody of the scene in The Godfather is which Sonny Corleone is riddled with bullets and killed at a toll booth.

This is one of many great Godfather parodies in The Simpsons, from Lisa waking up to find a pony in her bed to Moe putting an orange wedge in his mouth to entertain Maggie.

8 The Mr. Plow Commercial

“Call Mr. Plow! / That’s my name! / That name again is Mr. Plow!” Homer’s jingle from “Mr. Plow” is one of the most iconic musical numbers — if it can even be called that — in The Simpsons’ history. Fans have been singing it for years.

As the commercial first airs late at night, Homer takes one of the show’s many jabs at Fox: “It may be on a lousy channel, but the Simpsons are on TV!”

7 Homer Plugs His Business At Church

When Homer’s business starts to take off, Reverend Lovejoy introduces him to the altar during a church service to read from the Epistles of St. Paul. Homer steps up and reads a bastardized version of the passage: “Dear Lord, in your infinite wisdom, you know the number to call when you need a plow is Klondike 5-3226.”

Offended by Homer’s reckless use of a religious service to advertise his business, Marge says, “Homer, this is really low,” which Homer uses as an opportunity for more marketing: “Not as low as my low, low prices!”

6 Tony Plow

Every time Homer answers the phone (at least when he’s running the Mr. Plow business), he begins the conversation by saying, “Mr. Plow, that name again is Mr. Plow.”

However, when the man on the phone says, “Hello, I’m calling from Delinquent Accounts at Kumatsu Motors,” Homer panics and says, “Oh, you want the Mr. Plow who plows driveways. This is Tony Plow, you know, from Leave It to Beaver.” That actor’s name is actually Tony Dow.

5 Homer Dreams Of George H.W. Bush

When Homer is dreaming about the possible future that his snowplow business will bring him, he imagines then-President George H.W. Bush hiring him to plow through protesters on the White House lawn.

This was years before Bush would deplore the series and the writers would make the episode “Two Bad Neighbors” in retaliation.

4 The Plow King Jingle

After stealing Homer’s snowplow business, Barney steals Homer’s idea to advertise on TV, too. But his jingle is a lot more creative than Homer’s, and it’s sung by Linda Ronstadt.

When the commercial airs on the TV set in Moe’s Tavern, Moe says, “Linda Ronstadt! How’d ya get her?” Barney absurdly replies, “Oh, we’ve been looking for a project to do together for a while.”

3 Mayor Quimby Takes Back Homer’s Key To The City

When Homer’s Mr. Plow business first took off, Mayor Quimby gave him the key to the city. However, when Barney’s Plow King business took off, Quimby decided to take back Homer’s key and give it to Barney instead.

After getting the key back and inspecting it, Quimby notices teeth marks. Homer explains, “I thought there was chocolate inside! Well, why was it wrapped in foil?” Quimby says, “It was never wrapped in foil!”

2 Kent Brockman As Walter Cronkite

In order to exact revenge against Barney, Homer hires the Plow King to clear a non-existent driveway at the top of Widow’s Peak. He ends up getting stuck in a blizzard up there and Homer decides to come and save him.

When Kent Brockman reports that the Plow King is trapped on Widow’s Peak, his clothes, mannerisms, and facial expressions all reference Walter Cronkite’s reporting of the Kennedy assassination.

1 God Sends A Heatwave

At the end of “Mr. Plow,” Homer and Barney are trapped on Widow’s Peak. They agree to work together on a joint snowplow business and Homer insists that even God couldn’t break up their new partnership.

God is incensed by this challenge and decides to send a heatwave to Springfield that melts all the snow, putting their snowplow venture on hold.

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Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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