Homer Badman
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- "Two, four, six, eight, Homer's crime was very great! 'Great' meaning large or immense, we use it in the pejorative sense!"
- ―Protestors outside the Simpson home
"Homer Badman"
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Episode Information
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"Homer Badman" is the ninth episode of season 6 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and twelfth episode overall. It originally aired on November 27, 1994. The episode was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jeffrey Lynch. It guest stars Dennis Franz as himself.
Synopsis
- "Homer and Marge attend a candy convention and hire a babysitter for the kids. After the convention, Homer gives the babysitter a ride home. He notices a very rare Gummi candy stuck to her bottom, so he reaches out and grabs it. Homer is accused of sexual harassment, and the whole town and the media are against him until Groundskeeper Willie saves the day by giving proof of Homer's innocence."
Plot
Homer and Marge attend a candy convention and hire Ashley Grant, a college-aged feminist, to babysit Bart, Maggie and Lisa. At the convention, Homer outfits Marge with an oversized trenchcoat and is vigilant in smuggling out as much candy as possible in her pockets, until a Gummi Venus de Milo catches his eye. Using Marge as a distraction, Homer is able to steal the show's most valuable and rarest candy, the Gummi Venus, using a Soda and Pop Rocks grenade to escape.
That night, Homer searches for the Gummi Venus but is unable to find it. Marge reminds him to take Ashley home and Homer grudgingly obliges. As Ashley is exiting Homer's car he sees the Gummi Venus stuck to the back of her pants. Homer innocently grabs the candy and Ashley turns around to see Homer drooling lustily, anticipating finally getting to eat the Gummi Venus. Misinterpreting his poor tact as a deliberate sexual advance, Ashley runs off screaming in terror while Homer gleefully eats the candy.
The next morning, an angry mob marches onto the Simpsons' lawn and claims that Homer sexually harassed Ashley. Homer tries to explain his actions, but the crowd isn't interested in anything that might defend him and continually harasses Homer, following him everywhere, including work. Rock Bottom, a tabloid news show, wants to interview him about his predicament and Homer immediately agrees to be interviewed. However, the interview is heavily (and badly) edited into a totally inaccurate segment where Homer is portrayed as a sexual pervert. Things go from bad to worse as a media circus arrives at the Simpson home and provides 24-hour coverage of Simpson household events such as Marge letting the cat out and the family watching TV. In the process, the media practically label Homer the worst person in the world and claim that everything he does, including slipping in the shower, is an act of perversion. Making matters worse, the FOX network airs a movie titled Homer S.: Portrait of an Ass Grabber (starring Dennis Franz as Homer) which makes Homer look even more evil. Lisa and Marge suggest that Homer videotape his side of the story and air it on a public access TV channel, but all he succeeds in doing is angering an old-time bicyclist.
However, Groundskeeper Willie also sees Homer's public TV speech, and arrives at the Simpson home with a video tape of what happened the night Homer took Ashley home. The tape clearly shows that Homer was not grabbing Ashley, but the Gummi Venus. Ashley and the media apologize for labelling Homer a monster. Later, the Simpsons watch Rock Bottom on TV. When the show retracts its accusations against Homer, they all cheer. The very same episode, however, runs a segment that labels Willie as a disgusting voyeur ("Rowdy Roddy Peeper") and Homer immediately declares that Willie is evil. Marge asks Homer if he learned anything from his experiences, to which Homer cheerfully replies that he hasn't learned a thing.
Marge and the kids leave the living room, and Homer looks around a couple of times to make sure they're gone. Then he hugs the TV and says, "Let's never fight again."
Production
Greg Daniels, the writer of the episode, originally pitched this episode as being more centered on Lisa's and Homer's opposing ideas on feminism. Eventually, the episode became more a satire of the media and shows like Hard Copy. David Mirkin, the show runner at the time, felt very strongly about the "tabloidization of the media" and has said that the episode is as current today as it was at the time and things have since gotten worse. Several gags in the episode are based on what real-life shows like Hard Copy would do, such as making people appear guilty without a trial as well as completely invading their privacy by setting up camp outside their homes.
Casting
Dennis Franz was the writers' second choice to play Homer in the TV movie; the first choice pulled out. The original actor, who they refused to name, was apparently "barrel chested."
Reception
According to David Mirkin, this episode is very highly ranked among Simpsons fans. In Entertainment Weekly's top 25 The Simpsons episodes in 2003, Homer Badman was placed eighteenth. The Quindecim, a college newspaper, made their own top 25 list, placing this episode at 15th place.
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