Homer the Father

Last updated

"Homer the Father"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 22
Episode 12
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by Joel H. Cohen
Production codeNABF05
Original air dateJanuary 23, 2011 (2011-01-23)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "Prince is not the son of Martin Luther King"
Couch gag Repeat of the couch gag from "The Squirt and the Whale."
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Flaming Moe"		Next →
"The Blue and the Gray"
The Simpsons season 22
List of episodes

"Homer the Father" is the twelfth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Joel H. Cohen. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2011.

Contents

In this episode, Bart attempts to trade nuclear secrets to China in exchange for a dirt bike when Homer refuses to give him one. Michael Paul Chan, James Lipton, writer David Mamet, and Garry Marshall guest starred. The episode received mixed reviews. Writer Joel H. Cohen won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for this episode.

Plot

Homer becomes obsessed with a 1980s family sitcom called Thicker Than Waters and starts acting like the show's father. Emulating this character's values, he refuses to give Bart a mini-bike he wants, because Bart would never learn to appreciate things if they come to him too easily.

Bart then realizes that he could sell secrets about the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to other countries. He agrees to sell them to China in exchange for a mini-bike. To gain access to the nuclear plant's computer system, Bart begins doing typical father-son activities with Homer, eventually leading to Homer bringing Bart to work. When Homer falls asleep, Bart goes around the plant downloading information onto a USB storage device.

After Bart leaves the flashdrive with the downloaded data at the zoo and takes the bike, Homer reveals to him that he has bought him a mini-bike for being such a good child. Bart, feeling bad for betraying his country and his father, rushes back to the zoo in an attempt to recover the flashdrive. There, he meets the Chinese agents, who threaten to kill him if he does not cooperate. Homer steps in and offers himself in Bart's place, as he has a lifetime of nuclear experience. In China, he leads the construction of a nuclear power plant, which explodes right after the grand opening ceremony. Outside his hotel, he refuses to move out of the way of a taxi that would not take him to the airport for less than $20 in a reference to the photograph of a protester standing in front of a line of tanks during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Back at the house, Bart tells Homer how much he appreciates him, and that they have "the best kind of bonding": sitting in front of the television while making no eye contact at all.

Production

In December 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that writer David Mamet would guest star as himself. He would appear as a writer on the fictional television series Thicker Than Waters who is inspired to write expletives from one of its actors. Executive producer Al Jean said it was an honor and that the Simpsons character Gil Gunderson was based on Jack Lemmon's character from the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross , which was written by Mamet. [1] Michael Paul Chan guest starred as a Chinese agent. Writer and television host James Lipton appeared as himself. [2] Lipton previously appeared as himself in the thirteenth season episode "The Sweetest Apu." [3]

Reception

Viewing figures

In its original American broadcast, "Homer the Father" was viewed by an estimated 6.5 million households with a 3.1 rating/7 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. [4] The number of viewers increased slightly from the previous week and the 18-49 demographic stayed steady, in spite of going up against the hugely-viewed AFC Championship. [4] In Canada, the episode was watched by 962,000 viewers. [5]

Critical response

TV Fanatic [6] gave the episode a 3.8 out of 5, stating, "This week's installment was loaded with plenty of hilarious meta jokes about the television industry, thanks to its storyline about Homer mimicking his favorite '80s sitcom father, who seemed to be a mishmash of every fictional patriarch from that decade."

Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+. Kaiser thought the premise was straightforward until it was derailed in the end with Homer building a nuclear plant that explodes. [7]

Awards and nominations

Joel H. Cohen won the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 64th Writers Guild of America Awards for his script to this episode. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Simpsons</i> American animated sitcom

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson Muntz</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and the lead school bully from the animated television series The Simpsons, where he is best known for his signature mocking laugh "Haw-haw!". He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was first introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as an antagonist, but later became more of an anti-hero, continuing to bully those weaker than him while occasionally showing a friendly and sensitive nature underneath. Nelson lives in poverty with his mother in a run-down home, and often shoplifts from convenience stores to get by.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer's Barbershop Quartet</span> 1st episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 30, 1993. It features the Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of the Beatles. George Harrison and David Crosby guest star as themselves, and the Dapper Dans partly provide the singing voices of the Be Sharps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Today I Am a Clown</span> 6th episode of the 15th season of The Simpsons

"Today I Am a Clown" is the sixth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 7, 2003. The episode focuses on Krusty's religion, Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa the Vegetarian</span> 5th episode of the 7th season of The Simpsons

"Lisa the Vegetarian" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 15, 1995. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop eating meat after bonding with a lamb at a petting zoo. Her schoolmates and family members ridicule her for her beliefs, but with the help of Apu as well as Paul and Linda McCartney, she commits to vegetarianism.

"Bart the Mother" is the third episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 1998. In the episode, Bart accidentally kills a mother bird with a BB gun, and decides to hatch and take care of the two eggs he found in the bird's nest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star</span> 20th episode of the 16th season of The Simpsons

"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" is the twentieth and the second to last episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 15, 2005. Originally supposed to air April 10, the episode was dropped from the week's schedule due to the death of Pope John Paul II, since this episode revolved around Catholicism. This episode is also the 350th episode in production order.

"Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is the twelfth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 15, 2004. The episode was written by David Chambers and Julie Chambers, which they would go on to work on other shows later on such as Fancy Nancy, and was directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"The Sweetest Apu" is the nineteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 5, 2002. In the episode, Homer and Marge discover that convenience store owner Apu is having an affair with the Squishee delivery lady working in his store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer and Apu</span> 13th episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons

"Homer and Apu" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 1994. In the episode, Homer participates in a hidden-camera investigation of spoiled food being sold at the Kwik-E-Mart. The chain's corporate office fires Apu and replaces him with actor James Woods, who is doing research for an upcoming film role. Apu misses his job, so he and Homer travel to India to persuade the head of the Kwik-E-Mart corporation to rehire him.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 22 Season of television series

The twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons began airing on Fox on September 26, 2010 and ended on May 22, 2011. The series was renewed for two additional seasons during the twentieth season leading up to this season. The season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. On November 11, 2010, the series was renewed for a twenty-third season by Fox with 22 episodes.

"The Blue and the Gray" is the thirteenth episode in the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Rob LaZebnik. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angry Dad: The Movie</span> 14th episode of the 22nd season of The Simpsons

"Angry Dad: The Movie'" is the fourteenth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 20, 2011. In this episode, Bart wins many awards for his new short film based on his web cartoon series Angry Dad, which was first introduced in "I Am Furious (Yellow)", while Homer takes credit for the film during acceptance speeches.

"Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts" is the second episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 2, 2011. The episode was the first to feature Superintendent Chalmers as the central character and Chalmers' flashbacks references the films The Breakfast Club and Fight Club. In the episode, Principal Skinner challenges Superintendent Chalmers to take over Bart's education after one of his pranks. Chalmers accepts and starts teaching Bart about Theodore Roosevelt and manliness. After he takes Bart and his friends on an unauthorized field trip which results in one of the children breaking an arm, Chalmers is fired. Bart and his friends then take over the school in an effort to save his job.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holidays of Future Passed</span> 9th episode of the 23rd season of The Simpsons

"Holidays of Future Passed" is the ninth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 11, 2011. Most of the episode is set thirty years (2041) into the future, when Bart and Lisa take their children with them to Homer and Marge's house over Christmas, while a pregnant Maggie goes into labor. Bart has divorced his wife, Jenda, and is struggling to become a better father for his two boys, while Lisa has trouble connecting with her rebellious teenage daughter, Zia. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening made a minor uncredited cameo appearance as a sports commentator shouting "goal!" during a soccer game.

"Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" is the fifteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 501st episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 4, 2012. In the episode, Bart is punished by Homer after letting a rabbit loose in the house. He gets revenge on his father by spray-painting images of him with the word "dope" all over Springfield. Street artist Shepard Fairey encounters Bart one night and offers him a gallery show of Bart's artworks. However, Chief Wiggum suddenly appears during the show and arrests Bart for covering the town in graffiti. It turns out that Fairey is an undercover officer working for Wiggum.

"A Test Before Trying" is the tenth episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 518th episode overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 13, 2013. The episode was directed by Chris Clements and written by Joel H. Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homerland</span> 1st episode of the 25th season of The Simpsons

"Homerland" is the first episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 531st episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 29, 2013. It was written by Stephanie Gillis and directed by Bob Anderson.

"Go Big or Go Homer" is the second episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 664th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on October 6, 2019. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by John Frink.

References

  1. ↑ Snierson, Dan (December 7, 2010). "'Simpsons' exclusive: David Mamet to guest". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ↑ "(SI-2205) "Homer The Father"". The Futon Critic . Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  3. ↑ Jean, Al. (2010). Commentary for "The Sweetest Apu", in The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  4. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (August 28, 2007). "Updated TV Ratings Sunday: CBS Wins With Most Watched AFC Championship Ever That Averaged 54.9 Million + 'Hawaii Five-0,' Fox Animations". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on January 26, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  5. ↑ Brioux, Bill (January 25, 2011). "Ratings across Canada Jan. 17 - 23". TV Feeds My Family. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  6. ↑ Hochberger, Eric (January 24, 2011). "The Simpsons Review: "Homer The Father"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  7. ↑ Kaiser, Rowan (January 24, 2011). ""Stanny Boy And Frantastic"/"Homer The Father"/"Sacred Cow"/"Like A Boss"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  8. ↑ Fernandez, Jay A. (February 19, 2012). "Writers Guild Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 23, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.