Editing Homer's Enemy

{{tab}}
{{episode
|image=Homer's Enemy.jpg
|productionCode=4F19
|originalAirdate=May 4, 1997
|Episode Number=176
|blackboardText=I did not learn everything I need to know in kindergarten
|couchGag=The family parachutes in to land on the couch, except for Homer, whose chute fails to open and he falls on his face.
|specialGuestVoices=
|Written By=[[John Swartzwelder]]
|Directed By=[[Jim Reardon]]
}}

"'''Homer's Enemy'''" was the 23rd episode of [[Season 8]]. Homer's life intertwines with that of [[Frank Grimes]], a hard-luck case who's just landed a job at the nuclear plant.

== Plot ==
The show opens with a news report about [[Frank Grimes]], an orphan who experienced many hard times in his life, and finally self-educated himself enough to enter the workplace. Mr. Burns sees the newscast and orders Smithers to hire him at the nuclear plant as Executive Vice President. The next day, Burns forgets this decision and gives the job to a courageous dog, and assigns Grimes to a low level position. Shortly thereafter, Grimes crosses paths with Homer, and immediately dislikes him. It may have something to do with the fact that Homer is lazy, annoying, and thoroughly unqualified for the job he has.

Meanwhile, while on a trip to a local government building, Bart wanders away from Marge and ends up buying an abandoned warehouse at a tax auction for a single dollar. He moves right in, and then hires Milhouse to act as a security guard.

Back at the plant, Grimes' hatred for Homer heats up as he furthers witness Homer's ineptitude. When he brings this up to Lenny and Carl, they don't see his point, and disagree with Grimes' opinion of him. When Homer accidentally almost drinks acid, Grimes' knocks the vial out of his hand and ends up wrecking the cafeteria wall, for which he then gets blamed. At this point, he declares to Homer that they are now enemies, and secretly Grimes makes it his goal to prove to everyone that Homer is a moron.

Upon advice from Moe, Homer decides to invite Grimes to dinner at his house to try and be friends. When Grimes sees the house, his family and learns of Homer's unlikely accomplishments (like becoming an astronaut and being friends with former president Ford), he only gets angrier, ranting that it is inconceivable that such a screw-up could achieve so much, when Grimes works hard for everything, and has nothing to show for it. After hearing this, Homer decides to clean up his act (in his own way) and appear more professional on the job. When Grimes sees a flyer for a children's "Design Your Own Power Plant" contest, he maneuvers Homer into entering it. Meanwhile, the warehouse Bart owns collapses in the middle of the night, leaving the rats to swarm Moe's tavern.

At the contest, Homer's diorama is a badly-created representation of the current plant, but with fins and a racing stripe. Mr. Burns, impressed by his effort awards Homer first prize, beating out [[Ralph Wiggum]] and [[Martin Prince]], whose model was actually generating the power for the auditorium. His plan having backfired, Grimes finally snaps, and begins to rampage through the plant, imitating Homer, as he loses his sanity. In a last desperate demonstration, he grabs an open conduit and electrocutes himself. Homer gets the last laugh at Grimes' funeral as he drools and talks in his sleep.

{{Season 8}}
[[Category:Episodes]]
[[Category:Season 8]]