Team Homer
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"Team Homer" is the 12th episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. The episode is dedicated to the memory of Doris Grau, a script supervisor and voice provider of Lunchlady Doris. It is also the last episode on which David Mirkin was the executive producer and show runner (although he did two episodes in season 9).
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[edit] Plot
The episode begins with Bart buying an issue of Mad. At Moe's Tavern, Homer is the only customer, and Moe decides to close early. Homer and Moe search for another place to spend their evening. At the bowling alley, Homer and Moe learn it is "league night," and they cannot bowl. They find Apu, and the three decide to become a team. The Squeaky Voiced Teen tells them they are one person short of a team. They recruit Otto to be their fourth member, but learn they need 500 dollars as a registration fee. Marge suggests Mr. Burns sponsor the team. The next day at school, Bart takes off a sweater and reveals a T-shirt with a MAD iron-on reading "Down with Homework". The shirt sparks a riot in the class. The riot tramples Superintendent Chalmers, who was about to give the school a perfect evaluation score, while Principal Skinner watches on.
Later, in Mr. Burns's office, Smithers is giving Burns a manicure. Smithers leaves in order to get more ether for Mr Burns when Homer sneaks inside. Homer asks for the $500 sponsorship. Burns, high on ether and hallucinating, eagerly gives Homer (who he sees as Poppin' Fresh) the $500 sponsorship. Back at the bowling alley, Homer's team enters the bowling league competition, calling themselves the "Pin Pals". Their first opponents are the "Channel 6 Wastelanders". They end up beating them, with Otto collecting a spare that seals the deal. Homer tries to take credit for the team's win when recapping the match to Marge. The next day, Skinner holds a school assembly to announce the school's new uniform policy. The Pin Pals end up beating two more teams, the "DMV Regulation Kings" and the "Springfield Police Framers," moving the team into 2nd place in their league. For the championship, the Team will face the "Holy Rollers". Mr. Burns discovers that he wrote the check to Homer. He arrives at the alley, but instead of disbanding the team, he makes the team let him join, replacing Otto. However, being very weak, Mr. Burns is a horrible bowler, and the team is convinced they will lose the championship because of him.
Back at Springfield Elementary, the uniforms have worked wonders in decreasing horseplay, youthful exuberance, and high spirits. Superintendent Chalmers' next visit is disturbed only by a bit of rain at recess. However, the rain causes the drab gray color to be washed out, making the uniforms a swirl of tie-dye colors. The playful spirit of the children returns.
Later, it is time for the championship game between the Pin Pals and Holy Rollers. Just as Homer works up the courage to kick Mr. Burns off the team, Burns gives them new bowling shirts. Reduced to tears, they let Burns play. In the final frame, the Pin Pals are down by one pin to the Holy Rollers with only Mr. Burns left to bowl. On Burns's final roll, as Otto knocks over a prize machine, two pins are knocked down. The team celebrates their win, but Burns takes the trophy and keeps it for himself.
Afterwards, the team try to steal the trophy back off of Burns' by hacking his mansion. Homer is elected to go in. Once again, he is chased off by hounds.
[edit] Bowling teams
The Bowling teams in the episode consist of a wide variety of recurring characters and one-off characters from previous episodes.
The Holy Rollers consist of Reverend Lovejoy, Ned Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, and Maude Flanders who are devout Christians. They arrive at the bowling alley wearing monks' robes, and are accompanied by a heavenly choir and divine beam of light.
Channel 6 Wastelanders consist of Channel 6 newsreader Kent Brockman, Krusty the Clown, aerial reporter Arnie Pie, and the Bumblebee Man (named "Pedro" in this episode). The team name is a reference to the 1961 Wasteland Speech by FCC chairman Newton N. Minow.
DMV Regulation Kings consist of Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier, and two unnamed colleagues.
Springfield Police Framers consist of three policemen and a criminal. They are Chief Wiggum, Lou, Eddie, and Snake (who runs away, and made the team forfeit).
The Homewreckers consist of four one-time characters that have tried to seduce Homer and Marge in past episodes, and are so called because they nearly caused Homer and Marge to question their fidelity to each other. They are Jacques, Princess Kashmir, Lurleen Lumpkin, and Mindy Simmons.
The Stereotypes are aptly named for the members' stereotypical images. They are Groundskeeper Willie, Luigi, Cletus, and Captain Horatio McAllister. Apparently they begged Apu to join them as well, since he is a stereotypical Indian.
[edit] Alternate versions
In both Fox and CanWest Global network broadcasts, the name on Homer's Oscar was the late Haing S. Ngor. In American syndication and the Season 7 DVD boxset, the name was changed to Don Ameche; on CBC, it is merely digitally blurred out. Ngor, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Killing Fields in 1984, was murdered on February 25, 1996, between the two network broadcasts. Ameche won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Cocoon in 1985, and died from prostate cancer on December 6, 1993, before this episode aired.
Also, all broadcast versions include a dedication to Doris Grau, who was the original voice actress for Lunchlady Doris, who died eight days before this episode aired. This dedication is not on the DVD set. Grau died of Respiratory complications.
Certain scenes were cut in some versions of the episode. When Mr. Burns apparently discovers a register entry in his checkbook for "bowling," he says to Smithers, "Stop everything! I don't remember writing a check for bowling!" And Smithers says, "Uh, sir, that's your boweling." Burns says, "Ah yes, that's very important." Then he sees the real bowling entry and repeats: "Stop everything! I don't remember writing a check for bowling!" Upon replay of this episode in subsequent seasons, Fox cuts the first "bowling/boweling" reference. The syndicated version of the episode cuts out the Pin Pals bowling against Chief Wiggums's team (where Snake runs off after being unshackled).
[edit] Cultural references
- The final bowling scene is similar to the final golfing scene in Caddyshack.
- The line "Those magazines cause a disturbing amount of laughter" parodies Cinnaburst commercials.
- Doris' remark "I have no son!" is a reference to The Jazz Singer.
- Moe's attempt to sideline Mr. Burns is done in a similar manner to Shane Stant's attempt in 1994 to sideline Nancy Kerrigan by physical assault.
- Homer rhymes "Otto" with "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto", a song by Styx.
- The theme of conformity in the public school mirrors that of A Wrinkle in Time when the children bounce balls in unison after the uniform dress code is imposed.[citation needed]
- Principal Skinner, a Vietnam veteran, speaks about his time in Da Nang with the shadow of blinds across his face à la Willard, with reference to Apocalypse Now.
- Spazz sampled Mr. Burns's line, "So, who's ready to kick some Christian keister?" in the song "Sword of the Lord".
[edit] Reception
The episode is number five on MSNBC's top ten The Simpsons episodes list, compiled in 2007. They praised how the episode utilized Burns' physical weaknesses for laughs, and Homer's line; “I guess some people never change. Or, they quickly change and then quickly change back.”.[1]
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- "Team Homer" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
