The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace

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The Simpsons episode
"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace"
Episode no.	205
Prod. code	5F21
Orig. Airdate	September 20, 1998
Show Runner(s)	Mike Scully
Writer(s)	John Swartzwelder
Director	Mark Kirkland
Chalkboard	"I will not file frivolous lawsuits"
Couch gag	The living room becomes a movie theater.
Guest star(s)	William Daniels as KITT
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...

"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" is the second episode of the tenth season of The Simpsons. It aired on September 20, 1998. The episode's title is an allusion to Thomas Edison's nickname, "the Wizard of Menlo Park".

1 Synopsis
2 Cultural references
3 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Homer is shocked to hear on the radio that the average life expectancy for men is now 76.2 years, which makes him realize that at 38.1 years old, his life is halfway over. Within the next few days, he is in a state of depression. When the family has a party, Lisa mentions that Thomas Edison invented movies. Homer studies Edison's inventions and, in his own right, becomes an inventor after quitting his nuclear technician job. Ironically, while he is just starting his career of plans for inventions, the only good invention Homer can actually think of is an electric hammer (which goes berserk and isn't safe for anything).

Homer develops other inventions, such as an alarm that beeps every three seconds when everything is okay, a shotgun which shoots make-up onto women's faces, and a reclining chair which has a built-in toilet, but none of these inventions seem to be very useful. Fortunately, his invention career is saved when he adds two hinged legs to a chair, making it unable to tip over, but he is alarmed when he sees a poster with Edison in the same type of chair. Homer takes Bart and his electric hammer to the Edison Museum in New Jersey to destroy the chair, but Homer actually learns that Edison was working in the shadow of Leonardo da Vinci. Feeling a greater connection to his idol now, Homer decides not to destroy the chair. Unfortunately, he accidentally leaves his electric hammer at the museum. Later, Kent Brockman announces that the chair AND another invention of Edison's has been discovered — the aforementioned hammer — which means his already-wealthy heirs will become even richer.

[edit] Cultural references

When Homer is reading about Edison at the library, one of the books on the table is called A Child's Garden Of Edison. This is a parody on A Child's Garden of Verses, a book of poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The title is a take on Thomas Edison's nickname "The Wizard of Menlo Park," which was his home.
The electric hammer that Homer invents is very similar to one invented by the father in the 1984 film Gremlins. The character in the film also had a reputation for inventions that either didn't work, or only worked for a couple of weeks.
At Homer's imagined funeral, alongside President Lenny, Bishop Flanders, and multiple-Oscar-winner Barney Gumble, are the Robot from Lost in Space and, inexplicably, Heckle and Jeckle.