Home Away from Homer
| "Home Away from Homer" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Home Away From Homer.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 16 |
| Directed by | Bob Anderson |
| Written by | Joel H. Cohen |
| Original air dates | May 15, 2005 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "A booger is not a bookmark" |
| Couch gag | The family sits on the couch, which turns out to be the lure of an anglerfish |
Home Away From Homer is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. The episode aired on May 15, 2005.
Synopsis
Lisa calls in to a radio station and wins tickets for four to a movie called Kosovo Autumn, which is in the native language with English subtitles. Since she only has four tickets, Homer leaves Maggie with Ned Flanders. When the rest of the Simpson family returns, Marge picks up Maggie and, when Ned refuses to take her money but admits that a little extra cash in his life wouldn't hurt. Marge suggests that he rent out one of the rooms. He rents one out to a pair of co-eds, who (behind his back) use it for a pornographic website called Sexyslumberparty.com. Bart and Milhouse find it, and Homer procedes to spread the word, which goes through town like wildfire. Eventually Marge finds out, and drags Homer over to Ned's place to make him confess. Ned is horrified, and prompty leaves town, moving to Humbleton, PA, home of the Humble figurines (which Ned collects).
The new neighbor who moves in in Ned's place calls himself Coach and picks on Homer so much that he finally tracks down Ned and begs him to return. Ned, although reluctant, is finally pushed into it by the Humbletonians, who are annoyed with, of all things, Ned's mustache and his mailbox.
Coach doesn't want to leave (although his check bounced and Ned still legally owns his old house) but is persuaded when Ned overpowers him by sheer force, causing him to beg for mercy.
Homer then hits him over the head with a chair anyway.
Quotes
- Ned: I wish we lived in the America of yesteryear that only exists in the minds of us Republicans.
- Ned: Homer? What are you doing here?
Homer: (calm) Oh, nothing. I was just roaming around the mid-Atlantic states, ringing doorbells at random...
- [From Kosovo Autumn]
First Soldier: I am dying, you know.
Second Soldier: For that, I envy you.
Goat: I am older than time itself.
- Ned [after discovering he has been betrayed]: The Bible says, 'cast your bread upon the water' [...] but it seems as though all I got was soggy bread.
Homer: Mmmmmmm. Soggy brea-
Ned: Homer, now is not the time!
Homer: -hhhhhhd.
- Jason Bateman: What did you do to my car?
Host: Dude, Chop Shop!
Bateman: What? Why would you do that? How will I get home?
Host: Chop Shop! Chop Shop!
- Ned: My moustache has the right to life! It's my body and my choice!
- Katya [to Ned]: Silly talk means 'yes'?
- From Ned's goodbye letter: [You have mocked me] for the last diddly-ast time!
Homer [reading it]: "Last diddly-ast"!? He's GONE! [Breaks down crying]
- Marge [watching Kosovo Autumn]: What language is this? Gibby-gabby?
Lisa: It's Albanian.
- Homer: I hate this theater. My seat's uncomfortable, the screen's only half a screen, and that guy's eating an apple!
Man: Would you care for a segment? (Homer eats it)
- Homer: I'm leaving! (struggles to get out) I'm stuck! Oh, why did I eat that apple segment?
- Bart: I know what we can ask Jeeves: "Why does he suck?"
Trivia
- The name Kosovo Autumn is (for The Simpsons) a surprisingly obscure and dark in-joke of sorts, regarding the infamous Croatian Spring.
- If you look closely at the Web site shown just before the banner ad comes up while Bart and Milhouse are on their computer, it is revealed to be Ask Jeeves (or a clever parody of it).
- Two of the other films in the strange movie theatre showing Kosovo Autumn are In Search of Molly, Alaska and Oppenheimer's Elevator.
Goofs
- Bart's room is at the back of the house and doesn't face Flander's house at all.
- The opening riff to the song "You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party" is missing.
- Marge looks at Bart's computer and opens her mouth, only to do it again on the way up. It looks like a scene was cut from Marge's dialog.
- Ned Flanders' front door opens in different directions. Usually it opens to the right, but in the scene where Homer should apologize it opens to the left.
- How is Apu able to view the streaming video on his laptop without an internet connection? It doesn't appear that he's wireless.
References
David Sedaris NPR mentions him.
Beastie Boys: The coach works out to the song “You gotta fight for your right to party”
Doctor Zhivago: The song in the background when Flanders drives away is “Laras Theme”
Bad Company: Ned’s first days are accompanied by the song “Bad Company”
Punk'd: The Chop Shop’d is a parody of both Punk’d and Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride: The Chop Shop’d is a parody of both Punk’d and Pimp My Ride
Roger Ebert: Homer says: “I feel like Roger Ebert and or his kiss-ass new partner”
Scream: Homer changes channel to a guy with a ghost mask and a knife
Snoop Dogg (and, by entension, Peanuts): Katya says: “ You rhyme like Snoopy-Dog”
WalMart: There is a chain store in this episode, called LeftMart
Jimmy Fallon: Homer says: “What are you kids laughing at? If you say Jimmy Fallon, I'll know you're lying.”
The Seven Year Itch: When Flanders lets the breezeflow through his moustache, it’s a parody of the “Breeze Skirt” scene.
if....: Flanders bursts into the ornament factory with a scarf covering his mustache in the same manner as Mick Travis (Malcolm McDowell).