The Falcon and the D'ohman
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- "I am being held somewhere in the Springfield area. Turn to card."
- ―Homer Simpson
"The Falcon and the D'ohman" is the first episode of season 23.
Synopsis
Homer makes friends with a new security guard at the power plant, but it is revealed he has a hidden past. Meanwhile, Marge daydreams that she has become a contestant on a cooking show called Master Chef: Extreme Snack Edition. Also, the result of Nedna is revealed.
Plot
Comic Book Guy starts the episode by telling the viewers about his summer and there will be hints in the episode as to the result of Nedna. After the Opening sequence, Homer sings a song about getting into work at 12:00, but he is suprised to find that the old security guard has been replaced with a new one called Wayne Slater. Homer tries to make friends with Wayne but he gets cold-shouldered at every attempt. Meanwhile, while Marge is making crackers for Bart and Lisa, Marge daydreams that she has become a contestant on a cooking show called Master Chef: Extreme Snack Edition that is judged by Tom Colicchio, with him praising her for her crackers and giving her the prize of a new kitchen, which he transforms into. However, when Marge stops daydreaming and gives the crackers to her children, they tell her they do not like them.
While walking home in bad weather, Homer offers Wayne a lift and he reluctantly accepts. At Moe's, Wayne goes to the bathroom. While he is in there, Snake crashes through the door on his motorcycle to rob everyone. As soon as Wayne comes out, he beats up Snake by smashing a pickle jar on his head and then choking him with one, making him unconscious. The story spreads quickly and a news segment that features an interview with Wayne by Kent Brockman and a computer animated Taiwanese animation of the incident at the tavern soon airs on Channel 6. But, when Mr. Burns gives him the highest safety award, he beats him up after having a flashback, resulting in him being fired.
Homer allows Wayne to stay in Bart's treehouse. One night, Wayne speaks loudly about a past mission in his sleep, causing the couples in the nearby houses to lose sleep, Ned and Edna being one of those. News of what happens leaks onto MyTube and is seen by Victor, one of Wayne's enemies and a mob boss. Victor kidnaps Homer after telling Victor he is friends with Wayne. Wayne tracks Homer down, frees him and kills all of the Ukrainian gangsters. Afterwards, he decides to leave Springfield, but Marge has a different idea, suggesting he gets a job at the Springfield DMV. He takes Marge's advice and takes the job.
During the credits, Ned and Edna thank the fans for voting for their relationship to continue.
Production
Kiefer Sutherland guest stars as Wayne Slater and Tom Colicchio as himself.
Several videos leaked across the internet featuring scenes from this episode in the month and the month before its premiere. In August, FoxBroadcasting on YouTube released a short promo about Homer's storyline, in which we learn Kiefer Sutherland's character, Wayne Slater. Entertainment Weekly released two videos, one with the robbery at Moe's Tavern, and the other with Comic Book Guy opening the episode with a prologue, telling viewers about his summer and having the new season premiere on his computer.
Reception
The episode originally aired on September 25, 2011 and gathered 7.91 million households viewers in its slot on Fox, and was the highest-rated season premiere that night.
Promotional images
Marge fantasizes about being a contestant on Master Chef: Extreme Snack Edition hosted by Tom Colicchio (guest voicing as himself).
