Selma's Choice

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Selma's Choice
Season 4 Episode 13
Production Code	9F11
Original Airdate	January 21 1993
Written By	David M. Stern
Directed By	Carlos Baeza
Show Runners	Al Jean & Mike Reiss
Special Guests	Phil Hartman
Blackboard Text	"I will not yell "She's Dead" at roll call."

"Selma's Choice" is the 13th episode of fourth season. The title of the episode is a reference to the book (and the film) Sophie's Choice. The episode highlights Selma's attempt to conceive a baby, having read the will of the late Great Aunt Gladys.

Naming Origin

On the April 11, 2006 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, former Simpsons writer Conan O'Brien revealed, in an interview with Hank Azaria, that he came up with the name Jub-Jub for the iguana, as it was a phrase he used to break awkward silences.

Plot

After Great Aunt Gladys dies, the Simpsons attend her funeral and the subsequent reading of her will. On the video will, Great Aunt Gladys warns Patty and Selma not to die alone without a husband and children as she did. Selma starts to worry that her biological clock may be ticking and decides to find a way to become pregnant. Selma tries video dating and eventually considers an anonymous sperm donor (Barney Gumble).

Meanwhile, Homer promises Bart and Lisa that they will go to Duff Gardens, a popular amusement park, but Homer becomes ill after eating a spoiled hoagie. Marge, in an effort to give Selma a chance to experience the responsibilities of motherhood, nominates her to take Bart and Lisa. The kids wear Selma out at Duff Gardens: Lisa begins to hallucinate] after being dared by Bart to drink some "water" from an aquatic ride, and Bart is detained by park security. After these negative experiences with Bart and Lisa, Selma decides she can live without children and adopts Jub-Jub, Gladys' pet iguana instead.

Cultural references

Homer and Bart start to sing "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead" from the Soundtrack of the Wizard of Oz. Marge's flashback of her and her sisters swimming in a lake is based on The Prince of Tides.

Duff Gardens and its attraction parodies well-known theme parks in the United States. Its name is a parody of another amusement park owned by a brewing company, Busch Gardens. After Lance Murdoch jumps some flaming school buses, he is asked what he going to do next. He replies "I'm going to Duff Gardens", a reference to the slogan "I'm Going to Disneyland!". The song and ride that Bart, Lisa and Selma go on, with animatronic kids from all over the world singing a saccharine, repetitive song, is a parody of the ride and song "It's A Small World" at Disneyland.

Lisa's hallucinogenic state refers to several novels and works of art. Firstly, she sees Selma as a monster with a pair of snarling teeth where her shoulder is, a nod to the artistic style of Ralph Steadman the artist for various novels by Hunter S. Thompson. When she yells 'I am the Lizard Queen', this is a reference to Jim Morrison (lead singer of the 60's rock band 'The Doors'), who used to refer to himself as 'the Lizard King'. The parade where Lisa dances in her drunk state is a parody of Disney World's Electrical Parade.

The ending, a camcorder recording of Selma holding Jub-Jub and singing "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", was based on the famous Murphy Brown episode where her son is born.