“Homer The Great”
First Broadcast: January 8, 1995
First Broadcast: January 8, 1995
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| Courtesy 20th Century Fox, via Frinkiac. |
Frustrated
with his lot in life, Homer realises that his friends’ lifestyles are
significantly better than his, leading him to stalk Lenny and Carl to a
mysterious clubhouse, where he discovers they are members of the
Freemaso… I mean, Stonecutters – a secret society that runs the world
from the shadows.
He eventually
passes the various ass-paddling-related initiation ceremonies and joins the
society himself, but after a predictable faux pas on Rib Night, he seems set to
be cast out – until a mysterious birthmark reveals that he is the Chosen One,
for whom the Stonecutters have waited to lead them to unspecified greatness.
Homer enjoys
his status as a god among men, but grows bored of the deference in short
order. At a crossroads, he makes the oft-erroneous decision to consult
Lisa, who convinces him that the Stonecutters could be a great source of
charity volunteers and general do-gooders. The rest of the group do not
agree, and after narrowly escaping death, or something being done to
his voice box, at the hands
of the Stonecutter World Council, he is forced into exile as the Stonecutters
evolve into the Ancient Mystic Society of No-Homers.
MAGIC MOMENTS
Grandpa Simpson’s membership cards:
Grandpa Simpson’s membership cards:
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| Courtesy 20th Century Fox, via Frinkiac. |
The Egg Council Guy.
The appearance
of the Stonecutter World Council, consisting of Jack Nicholson, Orville
Redenbacher, Mr. T and George H.W. Bush.
ALL SINGING,
ALL DANCING
“We Do” is
right up there with “Monorail”, “They’ll Never Stop The Simpsons” and “Who
Needs The Kwik-E-Mart?” in the Mount Rushmore of great Simpsons original
musical numbers:
HISTORY/LEGACY
Patrick
Stewart is both the world’s greatest classical actor and its most famous fan of
Huddersfield Town FC. At this stage he was about seven months
removed from “All Good Things…”, his televisual swansong as Captain Jean-Luc
Picard.
Talking to BBC
News in the year 2000, Mr Stewart opined: "I think my
appearance in The Simpsons and an appearance that I did on "Sesame Street" - in praise of the
letter B - were perhaps the two most distinguished bits of work that I've done in
the US." He would later go on to play a pivotal role in American Dad
and various recurring roles in Family Guy, so I imagine that assessment hasn’t
changed.
This would not
be the last time Lisa would accidentally ruin Homer’s fun by giving him a
social conscience – a similar scenario plays out in “Today I Am A Clown”, where
Homer’s talk show for average joes serves as a great replacement for Krusty’s
show, until he tries to use it as a platform to confront societal issues.
WHY I LIKE IT
Aside from
giving us an easy target for all the things in life we hate, there’s something
fascinating about the idea of a shadowy cabal of exclusively male social
elitists having parties in their man-cave whilst greasing the wheels for their
members as they ride the easy train toward superior lifestyles.
But
enough about the executive team of every company I’ve ever worked for!...
Aw, I just made myself sad.
The bleak, but
somewhat realistic, message from all of this is that we could all be doing more
to help our wider communities, rather than lining our own pockets and seeing to
our own comforts – and that, as human beings, we’re not really likely to accept
that notion or do anything constructive about it.
It is a
testament to the quality of the show that, even when holding a mirror up to
this ugliest aspect of humanity’s foibles, it manages to sugar coat it with
enough comedy, variety and entertainment that the bitter pill can be swallowed
once more.
Join us next
time, at the blog that works hard everyday of its life - and what does it have to show for it? This briefcase and this haircut!
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