Don't Fear the Roofer
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"Don't Fear the Roofer" is the sixteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. The episode aired on May 1, 2005 in the U.S. Although it was advertised as the 350th episode, it was actually the 351st episode to air("Future-Drama" is the 350th and "The Heartbroke Kid" is the 352nd). Ray Romano guest stars as Ray Magini, a new friend that Homer meets at a bar.
[edit] Plot
A very strong thunderstorm hits Springfield, and Marge rebukes Homer when their roof starts leaking. Homer decides to go to Moe's Tavern, but is kicked out when he sits on Lenny's birthday cake. Feeling depressed, Homer finds another bar, "Knockers", where he meets a friendly man named Ray Magini. The two talk, and Homer finds out that Ray is a roofer, so Homer asks him to fix the leak in his roof. Ray agrees.
The next day, Homer assures Marge that his new friend will be taking care of the roof. Ray, however, does not arrive until everyone else has left. The two of them get up on the roof and use nail guns to nail the boards onto the roof, but they start shooting nails at each other, some hitting Ned Flanders next door. Ray leaves later and, as Homer runs on the roof, he crashes through the small part of the roof that they fixed, making the hole bigger. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids leave Santa’s Little Helper with Grandpa and the Springfield Retirement Home residents. When Marge sees the hole, she tells Homer to fix it himself.
The next day, Bart and Homer go to the Builder's Barn, and Homer meets Ray there. Ray apologizes to Homer for not having finished the job and promises that he will stop by soon to work on the roof. Marge, Lisa, and Maggie arrive back at the retirement home, only to discover that Santa's Little Helper has become one of the old people. They permanently take him back home. After waiting a long while for Ray to show, Marge becomes worried about Homer, and tells him that Ray is just a figment of his imagination, though Homer refuses to believe it.
Marge then takes him to the Calmwood Mental Hospital. Dr. Hibbert tells Homer that Ray doesn't exist; he was created by Homer's mind as Homer was feeling lonely and unappreciated. All the people that Homer thinks saw Ray (Bart, Flanders, and the "Knockers" bartender) claim they didn't, and Lisa reveals that "Ray Magini" is an anagram for "imaginary". Seven weeks and several hours of shock therapy later, Homer is now sure that Ray does not exist. As he is being discharged, he sees Ray again in the room, and everyone can see him. He did really exist the whole time: the bartender did not see Ray as he had an eye patch on, and Ray could not be seen by Flanders as he was behind the chimney. Bart still became skeptical for seeing Homer talking to thin air, but Stephen Hawking arrives and says that Bart could not see Ray at the hardware store because of a miniature black hole caused directly behind Ray which absorbed the light from Ray and made it look like as if Homer was talking to himself. Marge asks Ray why he started fixing the roof, and then just disappeared. Ray says he is a contractor. Everyone laughs, and Marge says "That's right, you're all crooks!" Homer makes Dr. Hibbert fix the roof while he and Ray relax.
[edit] Cultural references
- The bar Homer meets Ray Magini at (Knockers) is a reference to the Hooters restaurant chain.
- The episode title is a reference to the popular Blue Öyster Cult song "(Don't Fear) the Reaper." The song was played over the end credits to the episode "The Parent Rap."
- The song that plays from the jukebox is "Do That To Me One More Time" by Captain & Tennille.
- The meeting of a prospective best friend at a bar who appears to be imaginary is very similar to the events of Fight Club.
- The scene when Homer is receiving electro-shock therapy by Dr Hibbert, is reminiscent to the scene in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when Jack Nicholson's character Randle Patrick McMurphy receives the same treatment. He bites on a rubber block looking exactly the same as in the film, and also wears a similar piece of apparatus on his head.
- When the show originally aired, Ray Magini extols the virtues of the show Everybody Loves Raymond that Ray Romano starred on. He also tells Homer in dialogue that extends into the closing credits, to "Enjoy it...while you still can", a reference to the show's series finale also airing in May 2005 on CBS. Syndicated airings of the episode end with Homer and Ray on the roof and have a traditional credits-&-music closing section.
[edit] Reception
TV Squad said that Ray Ramono really helped the episode and thought of his voice-over as Manny the Mammoth from Ice Age. They also thought that Ray Romano was awesome and called it the best episode of the sixteenth season with an amazing use of genius. He also thought a line from Comic Book Guy in this episode would be ideal [1]
