Homer and Apu
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"Homer and Apu" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season, first aired on February 10, 1994.
[edit] Synopsis
Homer buys some spoiled meat from Apu in the Kwik-E-Mart, eats it and gets extremely sick. After getting better, Homer angrily goes to Kwik-E-Mart to complain about the spoiled meat, for which Apu gives Homer spoiled shrimp. Once again Homer eats the shrimp and becomes terribly sick. This time however, journalist Kent Brockman (who was working on the investigative news program Bite Back with Kent Brockman) gives Homer a giant novelty hat containing a spy camera to expose Apu for selling spoiled food. Caught in the act, Apu is immediately fired from Kwik-E-Mart. He protests that he did not violate company policy, but company executives explain that they need a scapegoat. Apu's replacement is actor James Woods.
After being fired, Apu does chores for Homer because he thinks that he is in debt to Homer for selling him spoiled food, and helping him would pay off his debt of karma. As time goes by, the family begins to love Apu and his traditions. However Apu begins to miss his job at Kwik-E-Mart so Homer decides to help him by traveling together to the Kwik-E-Mart head office in India. The world's first convenience store happens to be inconveniently located on top of the Himalayas. Once they arrive they meet up with the head of Kwik-E-Mart, a man in a white building drinking a Squishee labeled as "The Master Knows All (except combination to safe)." Unfortunately, due to Homer's incompetence, the head of Kwik-E-Mart does not help Apu with his problems and Apu and Homer are forced to return home disappointed.
Later on, Apu manages to save James Woods from being shot by a robber. The grateful Woods then sees to it that Apu gets his job back at the Kwik-E-Mart, while he goes off to battle aliens on a distant planet. The episode ends with the Simpson family hugging Apu as he recovers in the hospital from a gunshot wound he received during the robbery.
[edit] Cultural references
- Kent Brockman's Bite Back show is a parody of David Horowitz's Fight Back
- "Bite Back" features an opening with a cartoon dog who resembles McGruff.
- The "No way man! Get yourself another patsy man!" line is from JFK.
- The scenes of Homer and Apu travelling are similar to that of Lawrence of Arabia.
- When Lisa says "I can see through time" she is making a reference to Dune.
- James Woods becoming a convenience store clerk for a movie is similar to Michael J. Fox becoming a cop in the movie from The Hard Way, in which Woods also starred.
- The ham Homer eats when he first gets sick has been expired for 5 years and 4 days.
- The tide of cranberry juice resembles the pouring blood from The Shining.
- The dialogue by the drowning man is a parody of "cran" puns made in cranberry juice commercials.
- Apu's song "because to tell the truth I do" is a reference to Ravenal's song "Make Believe" in Kern and Hammerstein's musical Show Boat.
- The part with many passengers clinging outside of cars resembles Flame Over India.
- The scene with Apu jumping in front of James Woods is a parody of Clint Eastwood jumping in front of the president in In the Line of Fire.
[edit] External links
