The Back Story
For awhile, Playmates Toys, when it came to the release of various Simpsons characters, was straying too far off into oblivion for my taste. It seemed as though they thought (for a moment) that they had made it through all of the really important characters and then, they were stuck on what to do next so they released characters who were bland. And that sucked for us collectors.

With the release of Series 14, which just came out this past month, I'm thrilled that somebody got their head out of their a*ss and figured out that if they dig through the first and second seasons, they'll find some really cool characters that we fans care about.

The character that made me squeal with delight was Mrs. Botz.

Lucille Botz (short for Botzcowki) is voiced by the multi-talented Penny Marshall. She's only appeared in one episode from the first season, One Enchanted Evening. Here's the set-up.

Homer hasn't been very good to his wife. The last time he romanced her was ??? Marge has a nervous breakdown and Homer decides to get back into her good graces by taking her out for a night of love.

Homer calls the local babysitting service, Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Babysitting Service. He has to disguise who he is because the service absolutely refuses to sit for the Simpsons kids. Mrs. Botz is dispatched and Homer and Marge on their way to a night of love.

Bart and Lisa are supposed to be watching the Happy Little Elves tape for the millionth time but instead, they flip it over to America's Most Armed and Dangerous. That's where they find out that their babysitter is gasp armed! dangerous!

Mrs. Botz - The Action Figure
Mrs. Botz is part of Series 14, released just this past month. She twists and turns in four places just like every other Simpsons figure - neck, both arms, and waist. Mrs. Botz is approximately 5 inches tall, weighs a few ounces, and is made from that famous, not too hard, not too soft plastic concoction.

Personally, I think that Mrs. Botz is an excellent sculpt. It captures her season one design features of large pupils, long-drawn out weasley face, sinister mouth, deep brow ridge, and man-like body.

Her accessories are directly from her one and only episode - the suitcase, Happy Little Elves video, rope and tape. As always, these accessory pieces are small and should be kept out of the mouth's of tiny tots :).

Now, here's where I'm going to tell you - this sucks. The environments that you place these action figures on, enable you to hear various phrases that the characters uttered from the episodes that they appeared on. For Mrs. Botz, since she appeared in the very first season, it would have made sense for her to be compatible with the environments like the Living Room or Kitchen. Unfortunately, those were released a long time ago and Playmates didn't have the forethought to include phrases for the characters they are releasing now. Damn shame.

I hear that Mrs. Botz is compatible with the Aztec Theater environment and that she has two phrases. That sort of makes her a peg warmer, doesn't it?!

Something Else
All figures in Series 14 come with a mail-in ofer for a Stonecutter Moe. So your dilemma is to either buy two and keep one completely sealed (and use the other for the mail-in), or buy one and have it out in the open. Me, I'm sure you know what I did...

Part of Sleeper54's Lean-n-Mean experience


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 6.99