Homer vs. Dignity

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"Homer vs. Dignity"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 12
Episode 5
Directed by Neil Affleck
Written by Rob LaZebnik
Production codeCABF04
Original air dateNovember 26, 2000 (2000-11-26)
Guest appearance
Leeza Gibbons as herself
Episode features
Chalkboard gag "I was not the Sixth Beatle"
Couch gag Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie successfully do skateboard tricks off a ramp and onto the couch but Homer falls off the ramp and is hit on the head by his skateboard.
Commentary Matt Groening
Mike Scully
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Rob LaZebnik
Carolyn Omine
Matt Selman
Don Payne
Max Pross
Episode chronology
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"Lisa the Tree Hugger"		Next →
"The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"
The Simpsons (season 12)
List of episodes

"Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr. Burns hires a cash-strapped Homer as his "prank monkey", paying him to play pranks on others and humiliate himself in public.

Contents

The episode was written by Rob LaZebnik in his last writing credit for over eight years, until season 20's "Father Knows Worst". The episode features cultural references to The Magic Christian and The Birds .

Plot

The Simpsons go out to dinner to celebrate Bart getting his first test "A" grade; however, Homer's credit card is rejected and, after a failed escape attempt, the family are made to sing for customers to work off their bill. After Homer reveals that he sold the back seats of his car for gasoline money (which he spent on a novelty car horn), he and Marge seek advice from financial planner Lindsay Naegle, who informs them that, due to poor money management by Homer, the family have multiple mortgages and will need to declare bankruptcy several times.

Meanwhile, Mr. Burns is looking to amuse him while his assistant, Smithers, is in New Mexico performing in a Malibu Stacy musical that he wrote. When Homer asks if he can have a raise, Burns offers him cash in exchange for throwing pudding at Lenny. He does so, amusing Burns, who makes Homer his "prank monkey". Burns pays Homer to perform embarrassing and cruel tasks, such as pretending to be a baby who "made a boom boom" at the sports stadium restroom, and eating a mint condition Spiderman #1 in front of Comic Book Guy, eventually having Homer masquerade as the Springfield Zoo's new female panda, Sim-Sim, and is electrocuted by animal handlers before being raped by the zoo's male panda, Ping-Ping.

Lisa discovers what Homer has been doing and convinces him his dignity is more important than money. She suggests donating the money he has earned to needy children, so he spends it on toys at Costington's Department Store. Mr. Costington, impressed by this show of generosity, suggests that Homer play Santa Claus in the Thanksgiving Day parade. During the parade, Burns offers Homer a million dollars to throw buckets of fish guts to the crowd; rebuked, Burns performs the prank himself while Homer thanks Lisa for giving him dignity, whilst the townspeople are attacked by seagulls.

Production

Leeza Gibbons guest starred as herself. Leeza Gibbons.jpg
Leeza Gibbons guest starred as herself.

The episode was written by Rob LaZebnik and directed by Neil Affleck, the last episode that he directed. It is LaZebnik's first full written script with the first script being "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" from "Treehouse of Horror XI" and draws its plot from the British film The Magic Christian , itself an adaptation of Terry Southern's novel of the same name. [1] There was originally a sub-plot with Smithers' musical. [2] LaZebnik brought some friends and his wife to the table read and during the third act was repeatedly ended and went badly making Larry Doyle laugh hysterically. [1] There was another prank where Mr. Burns put a lottery ticket into a grave and everybody went digging for the lottery ticket. [1] The episode includes a character named Rusty the Clown, a reference to Rusty Nails, the inspiration for Krusty the Clown. [3]

There was originally going to be a running gag where Lenny keeps getting hit with random objects. [4] There were many endings to the original script. One ending was Homer throwing pig's blood into the crowd and 50 years later showing Homer telling a group of children that this was the reason why Thanksgiving was renamed Bloodsfest. [1] They were also going to be hit by blood and laugh. [3] There was also another ending with gravy, but then changed to fish guts. [4] The full version of the song "Sold Separately" was later released on The Simpsons' soundtrack album, The Simpsons: Testify . [5] "Homer vs. Dignity" was included on The Simpsons Christmas 2 DVD along with "Dude, Where's My Ranch?", "Skinner's Sense of Snow", and " 'Tis the 15th Season". [6]

Reception

The episode has received negative reviews from critics. Cindy White of IGN said that while the episode is universally panned, mostly due to the scene where Homer is implicitly raped by a panda at the zoo, and the intentional recycling of other Simpsons episode premises (such as the Simpsons having financial trouble, Mr. Burns hiring Homer to be his assistant while Smithers is on vacation, someone dressing up as a baby, Homer dressing up as Santa Claus, and Lisa worrying over someone selling their soul), it has funny throwaway jokes and sight gags to make up for it. [7]

In September 2009, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a negative review, saying "Bad sign number one: when a series plagiarizes itself. That occurs here when Mr. Burns states 'There’s a new Mexico?', a line that was a lot funnier...back in season five. Bad sign number two: a scene in which Homer gets raped by a panda. A couple of the pranks provide minor amusement, but overall, this is a weak episode." [8] Judge Mac McEntire of DVD Verdict said the episode's best moment was with Homer and the panda. [9] Mike Scully believes that the episode's negative reception was due to critics and audiences being unfamiliar with The Magic Christian. [4]

In January 2012, Johnny Dee of The Guardian wrote that many fans regard the panda rape scene as "a low in the show's history" and suggested the phrase "raped by a panda" should replace "jumped the shark" to imply that a popular series has declined in quality and is beyond recovery. [10]

Cultural references

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 LaZebnik, Rob (2009). The Simpsons The Complete Twelfth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  2. ↑ Selman, Matt (2009). The Simpsons The Complete Twelfth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  3. 1 2 Groening, Matt (2009). The Simpsons The Complete Twelfth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. 1 2 3 Scully, Mike (2009). The Simpsons The Complete Twelfth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Simpsons: Testify" . Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  6. ↑ "The Simpsons - Christmas 2". Amazon.
  7. ↑ White, Cindy (January 24, 2022). "The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season DVD Review". IGN . Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  8. ↑ Jacobsson, Colin (September 2, 2009). "The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season (2000)". DVDMG.com. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  9. ↑ Mcentire, Mac (September 9, 2009). "The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season". DVD Verdict . Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  10. ↑ Dee, Johnny (January 13, 2012). "The Simpsons at 500: What Are Your Favourite Episodes?". The Guardian . Retrieved January 14, 2012.
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