Homer Badman

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"Homer Badman"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 9
Directed byJeffrey Lynch
Written byGreg Daniels
Production code2F06
Original air dateNovember 27, 1994 (1994-11-27)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Couch gag
The family chases the couch and back wall down a long, portal-type hallway.[2]
CommentaryMatt Groening
David Mirkin
Greg Daniels
Julie Kavner
Jeffrey Lynch
David Silverman
Episode chronology
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"Lisa on Ice" 		Next →
"Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy"
The Simpsons season 6
List of episodes

"Homer Badman" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 27, 1994. In the episode, Homer is falsely accused of sexual harassment and must clear his name. Dennis Franz guest stars as himself portraying Homer in a TV movie.[3]

The episode was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jeffrey Lynch.[2]

Plot

gummy Venus de Milo. When caught stealing the gummy Venus, Homer makes a makeshift bomb with Pop Rocks
and soda to blow up the convention center as he and Marge escape.

That night, Homer frantically searches for the lost gummy Venus until Marge reminds him to drive Ashley home. As she exits Homer's car, he sees the gummy Venus stuck to the seat of her pants. Mesmerized, Homer grabs the candy, and Ashley turns around to see him drooling at it. Mistaking this for a sexual advance, she runs off screaming.

The next morning, an angry mob of college students marches onto the Simpsons' lawn and claims that Homer

pervert. The resulting media circus monitors the Simpsons' home and movements around the clock. Homer's reputation is tarnished further after Dennis Franz
portrays him as an unrepentant sexual predator in the Fox Night at the Movies film Homer S: Portrait of an Ass-Grabber.

Lisa and Marge suggest that Homer videotape his side of the story for a

cable TV channel, but since it airs during a graveyard timeslot, few viewers see it and it only succeeds in angering an old-time bicyclist. Groundskeeper Willie, who enjoys shooting and watching amateur videos, sees Homer's tape. He shows the Simpsons his videotape of what really happened the night Homer drove Ashley home. After watching it, Ashley and the media apologize for labeling Homer a monster. Homer promises the television to “never fight again” and goes on to lambast Willie, whose videotaping exploits make him the target of the next media frenzy. Marge asks Homer "hasn't this experience taught you that you can't believe everything you hear?" Homer responds "Marge, my dear, I haven't learned a thing."[4][5]

Production

Hard Copy.[6] David Mirkin, the show runner at the time, felt very strongly about the "tabloidization of the media" and has said that the episode was as current in 2005 as it was when it first aired and things have since gotten worse.[7] Several gags in the episode are based on what real life shows like Hard Copy would do, such as making people look to be guilty without a trial as well as creating a complete invasion of privacy by setting up camp outside people's homes.[7] The talk show "Ben", which is hosted by a bear named "Gentle Ben" wearing a microphone on its head, reflects the writers' feeling that anyone could host a talk show because all they need is a microphone and an audience.[7]

Dennis Franz was the writers' second choice for the actor who plays Homer in the television dramatization.[7] According to the DVD commentary, the original actor was more "barrel-chested".[8]

Cultural references

During the convention, a voice over an intercom says the front desk is “

Rowdy Roddy Piper
. Like Willie, Piper's gimmick was that of a stereotypical Scot.

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Homer Badman" finished 50th in ratings for the week of November 21–27, 1994, with a

Nielsen rating of 9.5, equivalent to approximately 9.1 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, beating Married... with Children.[9]

According to David Mirkin, the episode is very highly ranked among Simpsons fans.[7]

In Entertainment Weekly's top 25 The Simpsons episodes list, compiled in 2003, "Homer Badman" was placed eighteenth.[10] The Daily Telegraph characterized the episode as one of "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes".[11]

In 2003, during the first meeting between Ricky Gervais, co-creator and star of The Office, and episode writer Greg Daniels, Gervais revealed that this was his favorite episode of The Simpsons. Daniels would go on to adapt The Office for American television.[12]

References

  1. OL 433519M
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  2. ^ a b Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Homer Badman". BBC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2005. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  3. ^ "Homer Badman". The Simpsons.com. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
  4. ^ Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 173.
  5. ^ "Episode Capsule". The Simpsons Archive. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007.
  6. ^ Daniels, Greg (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Mirkin, David (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  8. ^ Lynch, Jeffrey (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Badman" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  9. ^ "'Rockford' sweeps CBS to victory". Sun-Sentinel. December 1, 1994. p. 4E.
  10. ^ "The best Simpsons episodes, Nos. 16-20". Entertainment Weekly. January 29, 2003. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  11. ^ Walton, James (July 21, 2007). "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes (In Chronological Order)". The Daily Telegraph. pp. Page 3.
  12. ^ "Greg Daniels Moves His Comedic Spotlight to Absurdity in The Afterlife". National Public Radio. May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

External links

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