Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"

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The Simpsons episode
"Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble""
Episode no.	211
Prod. code	AABF04
Orig. Airdate	December 6, 1998
Show Runner(s)	Mike Scully
Writer(s)	John Swartzwelder
Director	Mike B. Anderson
Chalkboard	"I am not a licensed hairstylist."
Couch gag	The family has green frog-like bodies, sitting on a lily pad replacing the couch, and Homer opens his mouth, with his tongue turning the TV on.
SNPP capsule
Season 10 August 23, 1998 – May 16, 1999
Lard of the Dance The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace Bart the Mother Treehouse of Horror IX When You Dish upon a Star D'oh-in in the Wind Lisa Gets an "A" Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble" Mayored to the Mob Viva Ned Flanders Wild Barts Can't Be Broken Sunday, Cruddy Sunday Homer to the Max I'm with Cupid Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers" Make Room for Lisa Maximum Homerdrive Simpsons Bible Stories Mom and Pop Art The Old Man and the "C" Student Monty Can't Buy Me Love They Saved Lisa's Brain Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season. It aired on December 6, 1998.

1 Synopsis
2 Goofs
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The family visits a Western-themed ghost town, Bloodbath Gulch. When Grampa is there, he drinks sarsaparilla, and he absolutely needs to go to the bathroom, but Homer objects constantly. Only after the family gets home, Grampa's kidneys explode. Dr. Hibbert says that Grampa's problem can be solved if Homer donates him one of his kidneys. Only before the operation, Homer hears that if one of his kidneys is donated to Grampa, he could have problems, and may not survive the operation.

Homer disappears from the hospital moments before Grampa's operation, and winds up on the docks. Homer climbs aboard a boat captained by Captain Horatio McCallister, and 'full of lost souls'. The souls throw Homer overboard when he admits to leaving his sick father waiting for a kidney. Once he is thrown overboard, Homer decides to walk to the hospital to donate his kidney. He again disappears moments before the operation, but as he is trying to make his escape, he is almost hit by an 18 wheeler driven by Hans Moleman. Moleman stops the truck in time, but a car falls off the truck and lands on Homer. Dr. Hibbert takes out one of Homer's kidneys while he is unconscious, and puts it in Grampa's body.

[edit] Goofs

Dr. Hibbert said both of Grampa's kidneys were fine the day before the "blowout", but in "Old Money" from season two Grampa tells Bea Simmons that he has only one working kidney.
During the showdown at the ranch, the bandit is "shooting" at Homer, who checks his watch. His watch, which he wasn't wearing before or after the shootout.

[edit] Cultural references

Hospital intercom System: "Doc Martens to Podiatry"

"Doc Martens" is a famous shoe brand. A doctor of the same name works in the podiatry department of the Sringfield Hospital. Podiatry, a branch of medicine dealing with the foot, would be a fitting match for a doctor named after a shoe.

The first scene parodies the 1973 film Westworld.
When Homer is trying read a liability form that requires his signature, the nurse says "Don't read it, sign it" in the same way that the prison guard says this to Alex in the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.