"real workout" which turns out to be a request to wax the car, after which he gets beaten by Marge until he says that he was just kidding. Production In her original pitch for the episode, Carolyn Omine had Homer being the one to get mugged, becoming agoraphobic as a result. Staff writer Al Jean had the idea of Marge becoming a bodybuilder after going through these events, so it was changed from Homer to Marge. Omine was initially concerned that while Homer being mugged is humorous, Marge being mugged is serious, and later acknowledged that it turned into a "rare serious moment that was kinda cool". The episode had many light moments to balance this out. Jean thought that showing Marge threatened and vulnerable was a great emotional moment that had not been done on the show before. He notes that the attacker ripping off her pearl necklace makes her seem "naked" and that it changes her. Jean noted that when characters go very off model, it can cause issues. He noted that some were thrown off by the Marge-on-steroids look and said Marge probably should not have gotten as muscular as she did. The idea behind the design was that Marge, wanting to never be weak again, ends up overcompensating to become super aggressive and overpowering. Omine said that these things, plus her becoming less likable and off-model, was a negative combination. Themes "Strong Arms of the Ma" addresses the issue of steroid rage. After becoming addicted to the drug, Marge has a moment of realization, claiming "steroids have turned me into everything I hate". While the authors of The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh! do not condone the "violent destruction" of Marge in the episode, they reason that both the in-universe characters and the real-world audience attribute Marge's behavior to the drugs and not an "innately mean personality". They argue that Marge was not "herself". Mood changes and aggression are both documented side effects of "prolonged steroid use". Cultural references The episode title is a reference to the common phrase "The Strong Arm of the Law". The way that Marge defends herself against her mugger is an homage to a scene in the film The Godfather in which Sonny Corleone beats up Carlo Rizzi. In the bar scene where Marge looks upon her destruction, Samuel Barber's Adagio for strings – also used in the film Platoon –