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Difference between revisions of "The Homer of Seville"

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{{Infobox Simpsons episode
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{{Icons||FE}}
| episode_name  = The Homer Of Seville
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{{Tab}}
| image        = [[Image:Simsons Screen Cap.jpg]]
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{{EpisodePrevNext|He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs|Midnight Towboy}}
| image_caption = Homer and [[Plácido Domingo]]
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{{Episode
| episode_no    = 402
+
|image= The Homer of Seville.png
| prod_code    = JABF18
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|caption = Homer performs an Opera on his back
| airdate       = [[September 30]], [[2007]]
+
|number= 402
| writer        = [[Carolyn Omine]]
+
|season=19
| director      = [[Michael Polcino]]
+
|snumber=2
| guest_star    = [[Plácido Domingo]]<br>[[Maya Rudolph]]
+
|prodcode= JABF18
| blackboard    = "[[The Wall Street Journal]] is better than ever" [[The Wall Street Journal#News Corp. purchase|*]]
+
|airdate= September 30, [[2007]]
| couch_gag    = Repeat of [[Homerazzi]]'s couch gag; at the end, Marge says "Did you get the milk?" instead of "What took you so long?"
+
|blackboard= The Wall Street Journal Is Better Than Ever
| season        = 19
+
|couchgag= [[Homer's Evolution couch gag]].
 +
|guests= [[Plácido Domingo]] as {{Ch|Plácido Domingo|himself}}<br>[[Maya Rudolph]] as {{ap|Julia|The Homer of Seville}}
 +
|showrunner1= Al Jean
 +
|writer= [[Carolyn Omine]]
 +
|director= [[Michael Polcino]]
 
}}
 
}}
  
"'''The Homer of Seville'''" is the second episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> [[The Simpsons (season 19)|nineteenth season]] and first aired on [[September 30]], [[2007]]. It was written by [[Carolyn Omine]], directed by [[Michael Polcino]]<ref>{{cite episode | title = The Homer of Seville| series = The Simpsons | airdate = 2007-09-30 | season = [[The Simpsons (season 19)|19]] | number = 402}}</ref> and guest starred [[Plácido Domingo]] as himself and [[Maya Rudolph]] as Julia.<ref name="Futon">{{cite news | author = | title = Homer becomes an Opera star, only to find himself the target of an obsessed fan on ''The Simpsons'' Sunday, September 30, on FOX  | publisher = [[The Futon Critic]] | url = http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20070906fox16| accessdate=2007-09-30}}</ref>
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"'''The Homer of Seville'''" is the second episode of [[season 19]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the four-hundred and third episode overall. It originally aired on September 30, [[2007]]. The episode was written by [[Carolyn Omine]] and directed by [[Michael Polcino]]. It guest stars [[Plácido Domingo]] as {{Ch|Plácido Domingo|himself}} and [[Maya Rudolph]] as {{ap|Julia|The Homer of Seville}}.
  
==Plot==
+
== Synopsis ==
The episode starts with the Simpsons family escaping Church. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] decides she wants to eat out instead of cooking for herself as usual. After finding out every place has lines, Marge goes as far as to break into someone's apparent party. It does not take long for them to realize that they crashed a funeral. [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] volunteers to be a [[pallbearer]], filling in for a man who has twisted his ankle. After falling into an open grave, Homer is sent to the hospital.
+
{{Desc|While receiving treatment for an injured back at the hospital, Homer discovers that he has beautiful opera voice. Even though Homer must sing while lying on his back for his voice to sound operatic, Mr. Burns hires him to sing at the Springfield Opera House, where he quickly becomes a star. Through his newfound stardom, Homer develops a large throng of fans including the lovely Julia, an obsessive and dangerous stalker.}}
  
While at the hospital, Homer finds out his usual "[[D'oh]]" did not sound as right as usual. While causing the bed to sit upright, and lay flat, [[Julius Hibbert|Dr. Hibbert]] notices Homer's diaphragm is safely under his stomach when he is lying down, giving him the ability to sing in an operatic voice that causes new born babies to cease crying and weak patients to feel strong.
+
== Plot ==
 +
As [[Reverend Lovejoy]]'s sermon comes to a close, everyone rushes out of the [[First Church of Springfield|church]], with the [[Simpson family]] wanting to be the first ones out of the parking lot. As they drive off, the family decides on which restaurant to go to for a meal, since [[Marge]] doesn't want to cook. After seeing huge lines outside of every restaurant, they see a [[Starving Teachers Catering]] van outside a house and decide to head there to eat from the buffet. Whilst eating, they see a group of people crowding round one table and find that they were at a funeral. Marge decides that they need to leave the funeral but [[Homer]] is asked to be a pallbearer, which he accepts, thinking she asked if he wanted to be a polar bear. Whilst taking the coffin to its grave, Homer falls into an open grave and hurts his back, only for Bart to pile dirt on him.
  
While shopping for organs, [[Montgomery Burns|Mr. Burns]] overhears Homer and immediately hires him to sing the lead in his production of ''[[La bohème]]''. Homer wows the crowd at the Springfield Opera House. Homer becomes an enormous celebrity who consistently receives attention from older aged women. While running from a mob of his crazed fans, Homer is saved by a person on a motorcycle he assumes is a man, however at the home "he" is revealed to be a "she", named Julia. When Marge goes into the kitchen to bring tea, Julia strips naked and says she wants to have sex with him, and threatens Homer that she will tell Marge Homer attacked her if he tells. Over the next few days, she keeps appearing in sexually suggestive positions. Homer, soon enraged, fires her.  
+
At the [[Springfield General Hospital]], [[Dr. Hibbert]] tells Homer that he has a mild back sprain and ingested a large quantity of grave dirt. When Homer makes a "[[D'oh!]]" noise, the family realizes that it sounds more musical than usual. Dr. Hibbert then realizes that lying on his back gives Homer a powerful singing voice due to the way his internal organs line up. Homer then sings "[[If Ever I Would Leave You]]" to the hospital, only for [[Mr. Burns]] to hear. Burns then asks Homer to star in an opera, which they would rewrite to have him lying down.
  
Next morning, Homer is nearly bitten by a poisonous cobra, and [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] worries someone is trying to kill Homer. At Homer's next performance, [[Clancy Wiggum|Chief Wiggum]] goes to general measures, none of which are useful. Julia arrives to shoot Homer with a poisonous blowdart. While Marge saves Homer, the shot fires through a [[French Horn]] and back into Julia's neck. Every sniper in the opera house starts shooting at Julia, although all but one miss. She is taken to the hospital, vowing revenge on Marge. Homer gives up opera to work on his new passion: painting.
+
Homer stars in ''[[La bohème]]'', where he proved to be a huge success. He then starred in multiple other shows and sung at a half-time show for a hockey match. After one of his shows, Homer met {{Ch|Plácido Domingo}} in the locker room. After a small discussion, Domingo asks Homer to check out a new note he was working on and Homer gave him pointers on how to improve it. After this show, Homer and Marge go out on a date at [[The Gilded Truffle]], with Homer bringing his entourage of [[Lenny]] and [[Carl]] with him, to Marge's annoyance. After their date, the couple are chased by a group of old women who were Homer's fans. When they got stuck down a dead-end alley, a mysterious biker jumps the fence and rescues them, taking them home. The biker then takes off her helmet to reveal that she is {{ap|Julia|The Homer of Seville}}, a female biker, which surprises Homer. Marge then invites Julia in for coffee and Julia asks if she can be head of Homer's fan club. To celebrate, Marge goes to make pie and Julia then removes her clothes, telling Homer that he can have her whenever he wants. As Homer tries to call out to Marge, Julia threatens him that if he tells Marge anything, she would tell Marge that Homer attacked her.
  
==Cultural references==
+
Julia then becomes Homer's manager, whilst trying to seduce Homer. Eventually, Homer tells Julia that his heart belongs to Marge and Julia would never be with him. Julia seems to accept this and leave, but the next morning, Homer is attacked by a cobra. Lisa realizes that someone is trying to kill Homer, but he has another opera scheduled, ''[[The Barber of Seville]]''. Marge wants to cancel the show, but [[Chief Wiggum]] refuses and says that they have made it safe for Homer to perform. During the show, Bart and Marge realize that the conductor is actually Julia, and that she has poison blow darts. As Chief Wiggum fails to stop her, Marge jumps down from her seat and uses a French horn to stop the poison dart, sending it back at Julia. As Julia falls off the stage, the police snipers shoot at her. After getting hit by a couple of bullets, a chandelier drops on her.
[[Image:Simpsons-michaelangelo.jpg|thumb|left|Homer painting a parody of [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[The Creation of Adam]]''.]]
 
* The title is a reference to ''[[The Barber of Seville]]''.
 
* Lisa claims that tenor [[Andrea Bocelli]] recorded an entire song on his back. Bocelli apparently did record one track on his ''[[Amore]]'' album on his back, and demonstrated this technique on an episode of ''[[American Idol]]'' in 2006.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/06/11/from_american_idol_to_boston_divo/?page=2 "From 'American Idol' to Boston divo"], [[The Boston Globe]], June 11, 2006</ref>
 
* The Springfield Opera House is shaped like the [[Sydney Opera House]].
 
* The scene of Lenny and Carl watching Homer's opera performance from the rafters is a reference to a similar scene in ''[[Citizen Kane]]''.
 
* Homer's entourage, [[Lenny Leonard|Lenny]] and [[Carl Carlson|Carl]], is a parody of the HBO series [[Entourage (TV Series)|''Entourage'']]. The music when Lenny (who dresses like [[Turtle (Entourage)|Turtle]]) and Carl are in the limousine is the show's theme song.
 
* The orchestral sequence featured in the Cobra scene is the [[overture]] of [[Mozart]]'s opera, [[Don Giovanni]].
 
*When Carl and Lenny are sent away from the table at the Guilded Truffle, Carl mutters "[[Yoko Ono|Yoko]]", at Marge. It is a reference to Yoko "breaking up [[The Beatles]]", but in this case Marge is breaking up the entourage.
 
*Homer paints a parody of [[Michelangelo]]'s ''[[The Creation of Adam]]'' on the ceiling.
 
  
==Reception==
+
Outside the [[Springfield Opera House]], Dr. Hibbert reveals that the bullets from the snipers stopped Julia's heart long enough for the chandelier to fall on her, pushing the poison out. Marge tells Julia that nobody comes between her and her Homie, and Julia tells Marge that she organized the cable guy to come on Wednesday, a day that wasn't good for Marge. Julia is then taken to hospital, under arrest, as Homer decides to quit opera due to the crazy fans, then says he knows something else fun he can do on his back. Back at home, Homer is lying on his back, on scaffolding, painting a version of {{W|The Creation of Adam}} on the ceiling.
Robert Canning of ''[[IGN]]'' gave the episode a poor review (4.5/10). He found the plot contrived and found Homer's rendition "If Ever I Would Leave You" unfunny. He did enjoy the episode's opening scenes in the church.<ref>{{cite news | author = Robert Canning | title = "If Ever I Would Leave You" | publisher = [[IGN]] | date = [[2007-10-01]] | url = http://tv.ign.com/articles/824/824003p1.html | accessdate=2007-10-02}}</ref>
 
  
==References==
+
== Production ==
 +
[[Al Jean]] went to [[Carolyn Omine]] for the episode because [[Matt Groening]] wanted to do an opera episode. Carolyn got the idea from an episode of ''[[American Idol]]'' where opera singer [[Andrea Bocelli]] was mentoring {{W|Chris Daughtry}} and told Daughtry that if he lay on his back, he could sing higher notes. [[Plácido Domingo]], who guest starred in the episode, came up with his own note to sing for the episode, when he was asked to sing a note.<ref name="Omine">{{Com|Omine, Carolyn|The Homer of Seville|Nineteenth|(2019).}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
There was originally a joke about Domingo eating a big sandwich, but the executive said that he wasn't heavy, so they changed the joke.<ref name="Jean">{{Com|Jean, Al|The Homer of Seville|Nineteenth|(2019).}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
<gallery>
 +
File:JABF18 script.jpg|Script for the episode
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
== Reception ==
 +
"The Homer of Seville" was nominated for a [[2008]] Writers Guild of America award in Animation, but it lost to "[[Kill Gil, Volumes I & II]]".<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000710/2008/1/ IMDb - "Writers Guild of America, USA 2008 Awards"]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071219203806/http://www.wga.org/subpage_newsevents.aspx?id=2653 Writers Guild of America - "2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced"] archived on {{W|Wayback Machine}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
Robert Canning of {{W|IGN}} gave the episode a 4.5 rating, saying that the episode's "incongruous storyline and frighteningly immense lack of laughs, have disappointed us once more". He went on to say the episode had no "heart or purpose" and the episode was a "hodgepodge collection of moments that went nowhere, and, more importantly, failed to bring the funny". Canning also thought that the scene with Homer singing "[[If Ever I Would Leave You]]" was "excruciatingly long". He also thought the episode lacked "a sense of purpose."<ref>[https://uk.ign.com/articles/2007/10/01/the-simpsons-the-homer-of-seville-review IGN - "The Simpsons: "The Homer of Seville" Review"]</ref>
 +
 
 +
As of December [[2019]], the episode has a 6.5 rating on {{W|IMDb}}<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103799/ IMDb - "Homer of Seville]"</ref> and a 7.8 rating on {{W|TV.com}}.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/shows/the-simpsons/homer-of-seville-1100099/ TV.com - "Homer of Seville]"</ref>
 +
 
 +
== Gallery ==
 +
<gallery>
 +
File:The Homer of Seville promo 1.png
 +
File:The Homer of Seville Promo 2.jpg
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 
{{Reflist}}
 
{{Reflist}}
  
==External links==
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{{Images|ep=yes}}
*[http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1902.htm "The Homer of Seville"] at The Simpsons.com
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{{season 19}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Homer of Seville, The}}
  
[[Category:Season 19]]
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[[sv:The Homer of Seville]]
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[[Category:2007]]
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[[Category:Homer episodes]]
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[[Category:Musical episodes]]
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[[Category:WGA Award nominated episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Carolyn Omine]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Mike Frank Polcino]]

Latest revision as of 07:08, August 31, 2024

Season 19 Episode
401 "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs"
402
"The Homer of Seville"
"Midnight Towboy" 403
"The Homer of Seville"
The Homer of Seville.png
Homer performs an Opera on his back
Episode Information
Episode number: 402
Season number: S19 E2
Production code: JABF18
Original airdate: September 30, 2007
Chalkboard gag: The Wall Street Journal Is Better Than Ever
Couch gag: Homer's Evolution couch gag.
Guest star(s): Plácido Domingo as himself
Maya Rudolph as Julia
Showrunner: Al Jean
Written by: Carolyn Omine
Directed by: Michael Polcino


"The Homer of Seville" is the second episode of season 19 of The Simpsons and the four-hundred and third episode overall. It originally aired on September 30, 2007. The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Michael Polcino. It guest stars Plácido Domingo as himself and Maya Rudolph as Julia.

Synopsis[edit]

"While receiving treatment for an injured back at the hospital, Homer discovers that he has beautiful opera voice. Even though Homer must sing while lying on his back for his voice to sound operatic, Mr. Burns hires him to sing at the Springfield Opera House, where he quickly becomes a star. Through his newfound stardom, Homer develops a large throng of fans including the lovely Julia, an obsessive and dangerous stalker."


Plot[edit]

As Reverend Lovejoy's sermon comes to a close, everyone rushes out of the church, with the Simpson family wanting to be the first ones out of the parking lot. As they drive off, the family decides on which restaurant to go to for a meal, since Marge doesn't want to cook. After seeing huge lines outside of every restaurant, they see a Starving Teachers Catering van outside a house and decide to head there to eat from the buffet. Whilst eating, they see a group of people crowding round one table and find that they were at a funeral. Marge decides that they need to leave the funeral but Homer is asked to be a pallbearer, which he accepts, thinking she asked if he wanted to be a polar bear. Whilst taking the coffin to its grave, Homer falls into an open grave and hurts his back, only for Bart to pile dirt on him.

At the Springfield General Hospital, Dr. Hibbert tells Homer that he has a mild back sprain and ingested a large quantity of grave dirt. When Homer makes a "D'oh!" noise, the family realizes that it sounds more musical than usual. Dr. Hibbert then realizes that lying on his back gives Homer a powerful singing voice due to the way his internal organs line up. Homer then sings "If Ever I Would Leave You" to the hospital, only for Mr. Burns to hear. Burns then asks Homer to star in an opera, which they would rewrite to have him lying down.

Homer stars in La bohème, where he proved to be a huge success. He then starred in multiple other shows and sung at a half-time show for a hockey match. After one of his shows, Homer met Plácido Domingo in the locker room. After a small discussion, Domingo asks Homer to check out a new note he was working on and Homer gave him pointers on how to improve it. After this show, Homer and Marge go out on a date at The Gilded Truffle, with Homer bringing his entourage of Lenny and Carl with him, to Marge's annoyance. After their date, the couple are chased by a group of old women who were Homer's fans. When they got stuck down a dead-end alley, a mysterious biker jumps the fence and rescues them, taking them home. The biker then takes off her helmet to reveal that she is Julia, a female biker, which surprises Homer. Marge then invites Julia in for coffee and Julia asks if she can be head of Homer's fan club. To celebrate, Marge goes to make pie and Julia then removes her clothes, telling Homer that he can have her whenever he wants. As Homer tries to call out to Marge, Julia threatens him that if he tells Marge anything, she would tell Marge that Homer attacked her.

Julia then becomes Homer's manager, whilst trying to seduce Homer. Eventually, Homer tells Julia that his heart belongs to Marge and Julia would never be with him. Julia seems to accept this and leave, but the next morning, Homer is attacked by a cobra. Lisa realizes that someone is trying to kill Homer, but he has another opera scheduled, The Barber of Seville. Marge wants to cancel the show, but Chief Wiggum refuses and says that they have made it safe for Homer to perform. During the show, Bart and Marge realize that the conductor is actually Julia, and that she has poison blow darts. As Chief Wiggum fails to stop her, Marge jumps down from her seat and uses a French horn to stop the poison dart, sending it back at Julia. As Julia falls off the stage, the police snipers shoot at her. After getting hit by a couple of bullets, a chandelier drops on her.

Outside the Springfield Opera House, Dr. Hibbert reveals that the bullets from the snipers stopped Julia's heart long enough for the chandelier to fall on her, pushing the poison out. Marge tells Julia that nobody comes between her and her Homie, and Julia tells Marge that she organized the cable guy to come on Wednesday, a day that wasn't good for Marge. Julia is then taken to hospital, under arrest, as Homer decides to quit opera due to the crazy fans, then says he knows something else fun he can do on his back. Back at home, Homer is lying on his back, on scaffolding, painting a version of The Creation of Adam on the ceiling.

Production[edit]

Al Jean went to Carolyn Omine for the episode because Matt Groening wanted to do an opera episode. Carolyn got the idea from an episode of American Idol where opera singer Andrea Bocelli was mentoring Chris Daughtry and told Daughtry that if he lay on his back, he could sing higher notes. Plácido Domingo, who guest starred in the episode, came up with his own note to sing for the episode, when he was asked to sing a note.[1]

There was originally a joke about Domingo eating a big sandwich, but the executive said that he wasn't heavy, so they changed the joke.[2]

Reception[edit]

"The Homer of Seville" was nominated for a 2008 Writers Guild of America award in Animation, but it lost to "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II".[3][4]

Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 4.5 rating, saying that the episode's "incongruous storyline and frighteningly immense lack of laughs, have disappointed us once more". He went on to say the episode had no "heart or purpose" and the episode was a "hodgepodge collection of moments that went nowhere, and, more importantly, failed to bring the funny". Canning also thought that the scene with Homer singing "If Ever I Would Leave You" was "excruciatingly long". He also thought the episode lacked "a sense of purpose."[5]

As of December 2019, the episode has a 6.5 rating on IMDb[6] and a 7.8 rating on TV.com.[7]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Homer of Seville".
Season 19 Episodes
He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs The Homer of Seville Midnight Towboy I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Treehouse of Horror XVIII Little Orphan Millie Husbands and Knives Funeral for a Fiend Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind E Pluribus Wiggum That '90s Show Love, Springfieldian Style The Debarted Dial "N" for Nerder Smoke on the Daughter Papa Don't Leech Apocalypse Cow Any Given Sundance Mona Leaves-a All About Lisa