Homer Goes to College

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The Simpsons episode
"Homer Goes to College"

Episode no.	84
Prod. code	1F02
Orig. Airdate	October 14, 1993
Show Runner(s)	David Mirkin
Written by	Conan O'Brien
Directed by	Jim Reardon
Couch gag	The family sits on the couch, only to be squashed by a giant foot a la Monty Python's Flying Circus.
DVD commentary by	Matt Groening David Mirkin James L. Brooks Conan O'Brien Jim Reardon David Silverman
SNPP capsule
Season 5 September 30, 1993 – May 19, 1994
Homer's Barbershop Quartet Cape Feare Homer Goes to College Rosebud Treehouse of Horror IV Marge on the Lam Bart's Inner Child Boy-Scoutz N the Hood The Last Temptation of Homer $pringfield Homer the Vigilante Bart Gets Famous Homer and Apu Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy Deep Space Homer Homer Loves Flanders Bart Gets an Elephant Burns' Heir Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song The Boy Who Knew Too Much Lady Bouvier's Lover Secrets of a Successful Marriage
List of all Simpsons episodes...

"Homer Goes to College" is the third episode of The Simpsons' fifth season.

1 Synopsis
2 Trivia
3 Cultural references
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

It's another lazy day at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, with the employees taking naps at their work stations (e.g, Lenny in a cot, Homer Simpson asleep at the control panel, Mr. Burns asleep at his desk, Smithers curled up like a dog at his feet).

Their naps are rudely ended when inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission show up to conduct a surprise inspection and evaluation of the plant's employees. When Homer's turn comes, Burns and Smithers claim that Homer is attending a conference in Geneva, Switzerland (they had locked him and two other marginal employees in the basement with a bee in a jar Smithers had told him to watch); however, Homer accidentally smashes the jar, chases the bee, and inadvertently shows up anyhow. The inspectors place him in a test module and simulate an emergency situation.

Homer has no idea what to do and, after he panics, presses buttons on the module at random. He somehow manages to cause a nuclear meltdown, even though there was no nuclear material inside the van. A glowing green Homer emerges and wants to destroy mankind but quickly shakes off the radiation and becomes normal because it was lunch break.

Later, as a hazardous materials crew is working to detoxify the plant. The NRC officials tell Mr. Burns that Homer's job requires college training in Nuclear Physics and that he must go back to college in order to keep his job. Mr. Burns tries to offer the NRC inspectors with a Let's Make a Deal-type bribe, but the NRC inspectors give Burns an ultimatum: have Homer get properly certified (by taking a nuclear physics course), or face criminal sanctions. Burns reluctantly goes with the first option.

However, Homer is unable to coherently or intelligently complete a college application, and several colleges reject his admission request based on his picture alone. Eventually, Burns gets Homer enrolled at Springfield University.

Homer ignores the educational aspect of college and instead focuses on his preconceived notions of college life (through adolescent movies such as "The School of Hard Knockers", which stereotype college life as pranks, partying, and rigid deans). Examples:

He taunts several students by calling them "nerds" (they all ignore him). Furthermore, when trying to rally a "jock" to join in, the other student asks incredulously, "Pardon me?"
At a college freshman event, Homer attempts to spike the punch with alcohol (which is quickly detected). The freshmen all gasp in shock and promise to have sober people drive them home.
He is disruptive during his Nuclear Physics 101 course. On the first day of class:
- The professor uses a pun during his introduction ("...out with the old, in with the nucleus"), which everyone but Homer understands.
- Immediately thereafter, the professor drops his note cards by mistake. Homer laughs uproariously while the other students stare at him in confusion.
- Later, the professor announces an optional comprehensive review session after every lecture. Instead, Homer rushes from the lecture hall and chases around a pair of squirrels.
He remodels his and Marge's room to resemble a college dormitory. He tells Marge he stole cinder blocks from a construction site, which he speculates will be overlooked. The scene cuts to the construction site Homer stole from, where a worker finished inventory and says they are short six cinder blocks. The despondent architect folds up his blueprints and says there will be no children's hospital built.

Homer also decides he does not like the college dean, Dean Peterson, believing him to be a crusty, conservative administrator (Peterson actually relates well with the students and is relatively young), and repeatedly tries to insult him.

At a later class, Homer continues to act like a know-it-all during the professor's lectures. Eventually, the professor asks him to demonstrate a proton accelerator, but winds up causing his second nuclear meltdown in the same episode (possibly a series record). Panicking students flee the science building, while Homer (glowing with radiation) nonchalantly greets the arriving HAZMAT team:

Homer: In there, guys. (exiting the building)
HAZMAT Team: Thanks, Homer. (enter building)

At this point, Peterson takes Homer aside and recommends hiring a tutor. Homer is reluctant but agrees. The tutors turn out to be three computer nerds named Benjamin, Doug and Gary.

Benjamin, Doug and Gary are determined to help Homer understand the material from his physics course, but Homer refuses to cooperate. Instead, he is determined to help them gain a social life by pulling a prank on rival college Springfield A&M University, as suggested to them by Bart. The prank involves kidnapping the other school's pig mascot, Sir Oinks-a-lot. However, Homer causes the pig to become very ill after force-feeding it malt liquor, and Benjamin, Doug and Gary are blamed for the incident. Dean Peterson is forced by former President Richard Nixon to expel the nerds.

A remorseful Homer immediately invites Benjamin, Doug and Gary to move in with his family. However, their interests quickly disrupt the normal family routine (their modems using the phone lines, unplugging the TV to use a rock tumbler, etc.). Marge orders Homer to evict the nerds, leading him to try to get the three re-admitted to school.

Homer's plan involves an attempt to run down Dean Peterson with his car, but have the nerds push him out of the way at the last instant. The idea being that Peterson's life would be saved, and he would re-admit the nerds in a show of gratitude. However, the prank backfires, and Homer winds up running down the dean, seriously injuring him.

At the hospital, as Dr. Julius Hibbert contemplates surgery to replace Dean Peterson's shattered hip, Homer admits he was fully responsible for the pranks, and asks that Benjamin, Doug and Gary be re-admitted. The dean (who again is not even angry at Homer for all the trouble he caused) agrees to lift the nerds' expulsion and agrees to forget everything that has happened. The nerds thank Homer for his assistance and move back into their old dorm room.

The end of the semester is fast approaching and Homer is not prepared for finals. The nerds say the only way to pass is to cram for the final exam, which they help him do. However, Homer acts very stupid and promptly fails the exam. The nerds, given their vast computer knowledge, say that they can break into the school's hard drive and change his grade to an A-plus (which they do to Homer's delight), but Marge finds out and she makes him re-take the course. However, Homer continues to believe he is attending college for one reason only: to party down!

The closing credits feature freeze-frame shots from the episode, plus other send-ups of college fads (of which Homer plays a prominent part).

[edit] Trivia

This was originally going to be the season premiere. If it was, this would be the first without a chalkboard gag; as it stood, the first such premiere was Season 9's The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.
The song "Louie Louie," associated with college parties since Animal House, is played at the end of the episode.
A Poster of The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd was on a wall in Dean Peterson's office
Richard Nixon was awarded an honorary diploma from rival college Springfield A&M, and is apparently very loyal as a result. Nixon would return shortly afterwards in Treehouse of Horror IV, although Treehouse of Horror appearances are considered non-canon to the storyline.

[edit] Cultural references

The Descendents - The title of the episode is a direct parody of The Descendents album Milo Goes To College.
The Pretenders- Dean Bobby Peterson claims that he used to be the bass player for The Pretenders.
The Internet – The then-novel medium is satirized in the scenes where the nerds tie up the phone lines to engage in a Usenet debate about Star Trek characters Picard and Kirk (on the Usenet forum rec.arts.startrek hierarchy).
Let's Make a Deal – Burns attempts to bribe a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector with a gift, just like Monty Hall offered gifts to contestants; Mr. Smithers is "Carol Merrill."
Monty Python – The nerds claim to know the words to every Monty Python routine, and demonstrate this with the "Knights who say Ni" joke (though "Knights Who Say Ni" was actually in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"). Also, the couch gag is an homage to Terry Gilliam's animated shorts.
The Untouchables – Burns tries to give a college admissions officer "the beating of your life,". He talks about baseball being a team sport, like in the film "The Untouchables" where Robert Deniro's Al Capone beats a man to death with a baseball bat in a similar fashion. However, unlike DeNiro, Mr. Burns lacks physical strength and the trustee is not at all fazed or even notices being hit by the bat.
Room 222 – The nerds' college dormitory room number is 222, inspired after the 1970s TV series.
Talking Heads - When talking about famous nerds, Lisa mentions the band's frontman David Byrne; and the name of the Itchy and Scratchy cartoon featured this episode is titled "Burning Down the Mouse," a play on the band's 1983 song, "Burning Down the House."
Various college movies – A number of the scenes in this episode are inspired by the 1978 movie Animal House. Other films referenced: Meatballs, Porky's, and Revenge of the Nerds.
Abraham Lincoln - Scratchy puts the plastic explosive on Itchy, giving him a top hat and beard similar to Abraham Lincoln's appearance. The episode's writer Conan O'Brien is known to be fascinated with Abraham Lincoln, as are many of the Simpsons staff writers, which Matt Groening attributes to their education at Harvard University.