Deep Space Homer
"Deep Space Homer" | |
---|---|
The Simpsons episode | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 15 |
Directed by | Carlos Baeza |
Written by | David Mirkin |
Production code | 1F13[3] |
Original air date | February 24, 1994 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
Episode features | |
Couch gag | The family runs to the couch, only to find an obese man sitting on it. They squeeze in to the left of him.[4] |
Commentary | |
"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode
The episode was written by showrunner David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and musician James Taylor guest-starred as themselves. Some of The Simpsons' staff, including creator Matt Groening, feared the concept was too unrealistic, resulting in some jokes being pared down and greater focus placed on relationships within the Simpson family. However, the episode was well-received, with many critics and fans praising it as one of the best of the series.
Plot
At the
At Cape Canaveral, Homer and Barney compete in training exercises. While under NASA's alcohol ban, a sober Barney develops superior skills and is chosen to fly with Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon. After toasting with a non-alcoholic drink, Barney reverts to alcoholism and leaves via a jetpack. Homer is selected as Barney's replacement; the launch receives good television ratings.
Homer smuggles a bag of potato chips aboard the shuttle, and opens it upon reaching space. The chips disperse and threaten to clog the instruments. While eating them, Homer breaks an ant farm, and the ants destroy the navigation system. James Taylor, hired to sing to the astronauts through mission control, suggests they blow the ants out the hatch, having done a similar technique when Taylor visited Art Garfunkel at his vineyard. Homer fails to put on his harness and is nearly blown into space, grabbing on to the hatch handle. The hatch handle bends, preventing it from fully closing. While defending himself from a furious Race, Homer grabs a carbon rod and inadvertently uses it to seal the hatch. The shuttle returns safely to Earth, landing at a press convention. Although Buzz calls Homer a hero, the press only acknowledges the carbon rod. Despite this, Homer's family still celebrates him as a hero.
Production
"Deep Space Homer" was written by showrunner David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza. He based the episode on NASA's cancellation of the Teacher in Space Project, which sent civilians to space to increase public interest in the Space Shuttle program.[6][7][8] The staff worried that sending Homer into space was too large an idea, and Simpsons' creator Matt Groening said it gave them "nowhere to go".[6][7][8] Several gags were toned down to make the episode more realistic, including an idea that everyone at NASA was as stupid as Homer.[8][9] Mirkin focused more on Homer's attempts to gain his family's respect.[6][8]
Buzz Aldrin and James Taylor guest-star as themselves.[10][11] The staff were concerned Aldrin would consider his line "second comes right after first" an insult, and offered the alternative line, "first to take a soil sample", as a backup. Aldrin however preferred the original line, which was retained in the script.[6][8] Taylor recorded an altered version of his 1970 single "Fire and Rain" and Carole King's 1971 "You've Got a Friend" for the episode. His recording session appears as an extra on the DVD release of the fifth season.[6][8] David Silverman directed the potato chip sequence instead of Baeza;[12] the chips were partly animated on an Amiga personal computer to smooth their rotation.[13]
Parodies
"Deep Space Homer" has multiple references to
Homer watches an
The scene where the Simpson family are in the car together is a parody of the opening sequence of The Beverly Hillbillies.[3][4][14] The title is in reference to the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.[15] The episode features a tribute to Planet of the Apes when Homer imitates Charlton Heston in the last scene of the film.
Themes
"Deep Space Homer" deals with Barney's alcoholism as he sobers up to become fit and clear-thinking, then regresses to his usual drunken persona after he has a non-alcoholic drink, an example of "exaggerated incompetence."[16] The episode also explores the relationships between members of the Simpson family, particularly how they evolve after Homer's voyage to space. At the start of the episode, Bart writes "Insert Brain Here" on the back of Homer's head to imply he is not intelligent enough to earn his family's respect. After Homer returns from space, Bart instead writes "Hero" on the back of his head. His trip to space and his heroic act gains him increased respect from his family, something Homer had struggled with for several years.[17]
NASA's main motivation for sending Homer to space is its low ratings. This is evident when Homer and Bart, who are seen as average Joes, are attempting to quickly change the channel when a space launch is shown. By 1994, NASA could no longer present space exploration as part of the Space Race—the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States had by then dissipated. In the episode, NASA attempts to use social class as a means of increasing ratings by sending an "average schmo" such as Homer or Barney to space.[18] Homer's space journey increased ratings for NASA; according to the professor of English Paul Cantor, this illustrates how easily trends in ratings can be affected by societal change.[19]
Reception
"Deep Space Homer" finished 32nd in ratings for the week of February 21–27, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 11.1, the equivalent of approximately 10.3 million viewing households.[20] It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.[21]
In 1994, film magazine
In 2011, The Daily Telegraph named the episode among their ten favorites for its cameos and jokes.[24] In 2017, Today.com named "Deep Space Homer" its fourth-favorite Simpsons episode, describing Homer's realization that Planet of the Apes is set on Earth as "pure genius".[7][25] Aldrin and Taylor received praise for their performances; IGN and Phoenix.com ranked Taylor's guest appearance among the show's greatest.[26][27] In 2019, Time ranked the episode sixth in its list of 10 best Simpsons episodes picked by Simpsons experts.[28]
The episode is a favorite of Silverman,[13] but contains one of Groening's least-favorite jokes: Homer's face morphs into those of Popeye and Richard Nixon while exposed to g-forces, which Groening felt made no sense in context.[9]
Legacy
At the request of astronaut Edward Lu, a copy of the episode was placed on the International Space Station for astronauts to view.[7][29][30]
Overlord meme
Kent Brockman's line, "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords", became a popular TV catchphrase and an
References
- ^ Stuff.co.nz. Independent Newspapers. January 17, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Overlord Meme". The Atlantic. Emerson Collective. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fink 2019, p. 186.
- ^ a b "Deep Space Homer". Simpsons Archive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- ^ Butts, Steve (December 17, 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season". IGN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Mirkin, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d e f g Goertz et al. 2018, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d e f g Deep Space Homer staff. Episode Commentary. The Simpsons at Simpsons World. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Gale 2007, p. 2652.
- ^ Pearlman, Robert Z. (September 10, 2014). "Woo Hoo! Buzz Aldrin's Role on 'The Simpsons' Leads to Action Figure". collectSPACE. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2018 – via Space.com.
- Vulture.com. September 23, 2014. Archivedfrom the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ a b Silverman, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Booker 2006, p. 58.
- ^ Ben Sherlock (May 22, 2022). "10 Best Star Trek References In The Simpsons". screenrant.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Musolf 2016, p. 209.
- ^ Irwin, Conard & Skoble 2001, p. 120.
- ^ Hersch 2012.
- ^ Cantor 2003, p. 89.
- ^ "TV listings". TV Tango. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ Williams, Scott (March 3, 1994). "CBS skates to easy ratings sweep victory". Sun-Sentinel. p. 4E.
- ^ "A Dozen Doozies". TV Guide. January 3–9, 1998. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Turner 2004, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Walton, James (September 27, 2011). "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes (In Chronological Order)". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- Today.com. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ "The Simpsons 20 best guest voices of all time". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
- ^ Raisa Bruner (December 10, 2019). "We Asked Experts for 10 of Their Most Memorable Simpsons Episodes of All Time". Time. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ "Deep Space Homer Information". Space. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
- ^ Richmond & Coffman 1997.
- ^ Turner 2004, p. 300.
- ^ Sutherland, J. J. (October 6, 2010). "I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords". NPR. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- ^ "The British government welcomes our new insect overlords". New Scientist magazine. Archived from the original on September 12, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
- ^ Maerz, Melissa (February 16, 2011). "Watson wins 'Jeopardy!' finale; Ken Jennings welcomes 'our new computer overlords'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
- Bibliography
- Booker, Keith (2006). Drawn to Television. Bloomsbury. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0. Archivedfrom the original on January 27, 2018.
- Cantor, Paul A. (2003). Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-0779-1. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- Fink, Moritz (2019). The Simpsons: A Cultural History. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1617-3. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- Gale, Thomson (2007). Video Sourcebook: A Guide to Programs Currently Available on Video in the Areas Of: Movies/entertainment, General Interest/education, Sports/recreation, Fine Arts, Heal. Gale / Cengage Learning. p. 2652. ISBN 978-1-4144-0099-0. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- Goertz, Allie; Prescott, Julia; Oakley, Bill; Weinstein, Josh (2018). 100 Things The Simpsons Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-64125-109-9. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- OL 433519M.
- Hersch, Matthew (October 8, 2012). Inventing the American Astronaut. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-02529-6. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
- Irwin, William; Conard, Mark T.; Skoble, Aeon J. (2001). The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9433-8. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- Musolf, Gil Richard (2016). The Astructural Bias Charge: Myth or Reality?. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78635-035-0. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- OCLC 55682258.