Homer's Enemy

"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of The Simpsons’ eighth season, first broadcast by Fox on May 4, 1997.^[2] The plot of the episode centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hire of a new employee named Frank Grimes. Homer attempts to befriend Grimes; however, Grimes ends up hating Homer and declares himself Homer's enemy. Meanwhile, Bart buys a run-down factory for a dollar.^[2]

The episode was directed by Jim Reardon and written by John Swartzwelder,^[1] although the idea for the episode came from Bill Oakley. Frank Welker guest stars as the voice of the Executive Vice President dog.

"Homer's Enemy" is one of the darkest episodes of The Simpsons and is a favorite of several members of the production staff, including Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Matt Groening, as well as The Office creator Ricky Gervais. Although Grimes makes his only appearance in this episode, he was later named one of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters" by IGN.

Plot

In an edition of "Kent's People", Kent Brockman tells the story of Frank Grimes, a "man who had to struggle for everything he got in life." After seeing the show, Mr. Burns is so touched that he asks Smithers to hire Grimes as his Executive Vice President. However, the following day, Burns sees a similarly sentimental story concerning a heroic dog, and demands that it instead be appointed Executive Vice President. Consequently, Grimes is demoted to Sector 7G where he must work alongside Homer, Lenny, and Carl. Grimes takes an immediate dislike to Homer and is irked by his abrasive cheerfulness, poor work ethic, and general irresponsibility.

In a subplot, Bart becomes bored during a visit to Springfield town hall and buys "35 Industry Way" for a dollar during a foreclosure auction. It turns out to be a run-down old factory. Later in the episode, Bart leaves the site for the night and places Milhouse in charge as night watchman. When he returns the following day, he discovers that the factory has collapsed.

At the power plant, Grimes becomes increasingly annoyed by Homer's antics, which include eating Grimes' lunch, chewing Grimes' monogrammed pencils, and ignoring basic safety warnings. Despite his frustration, Grimes rises to prevent Homer from drinking a beaker of sulfuric acid, dramatically slapping it out of Homer's hands into a wall. A passing Mr. Burns misunderstands the situation and admonishes Grimes for destroying the wall and spilling his "priceless" acid. However, Burns decides to give Grimes a second chance, albeit at a much reduced salary and status. An angered Grimes marches into Homer's work area and declares that he is now Homer's enemy.

Homer makes an attempt to appease Grimes by inviting him to his home for a lobster dinner. Grimes' visit to the Simpson house only fuels his resentment; he is incensed by Homer's ability to live a comfortable, married life despite his slothful and ignorant ways. Declaring Homer a "fraud", a bitter Grimes storms away in anger. The following day, Homer makes further attempts to earn Grimes' respect by acting as a model employee, but his efforts fail. Grimes rants about Homer to Lenny and Carl, both of whom insist that Homer is an essentially decent person. Grimes responds by stating that he would die a happy man if only he could prove that Homer has the intelligence of a six year old. To prove his point, Grimes tricks Homer into entering a nuclear power plant design contest intended for children. Homer, unaware that the contest is only open to children, eagerly takes on the challenge in an effort to prove his professionalism.

At the awards ceremony, Mr. Burns awards Homer first prize. The audience's applause and cheers enrages Grimes and incites him to run amok through the plant. Declaring that he is Homer Simpson and therefore does not need safety gloves, Grimes grabs a high voltage wire and is fatally electrocuted. During the resulting funeral, Homer falls asleep and in a drowsy state demands Marge change the TV channel, causing the attending mourners to laugh as the casket is lowered into the earth.^[1][2][3]

Production

Hank Azaria based much of his performance as Frank Grimes on William H. Macy.

A goal of the Oakley/Weinstein team was to create several episodes in each season which would "push the envelope conceptually." The idea for "Homer's Enemy" was first conceived by Bill Oakley who thought that Homer should have an enemy. The thought evolved into the concept of a "real world" co-worker who would either love or hate Homer. The writers chose the latter as they thought it would have funnier results.^[4] The result was the character of Grimes, a man who has had to work hard all his life with nothing to show for it and is dismayed and embittered by Homer's success and comfort in spite of his inherent laziness and ignorance.^[4]

"Homer's Enemy" explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted.^[5][4] By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard working and persevering "real American hero,"^[5] is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.^[5] In an interview with Simpsons fan site NoHomers.net, Josh Weinstein said:

Frank Grimes was originally designed as a "burly ex-marine guy with a crew cut",^[7] but he would later be modeled after Michael Douglas in the movie Falling Down^[4] and director Jim Reardon's college roommate.^[7] Josh Weinstein has expressed regret about killing off Grimes after only one episode, describing him as "such an amazing character."^[4]

Casting

Hank Azaria provided the voice of Frank Grimes, even though such a role would normally have been performed by a guest star. The producers decided Azaria was more suitable because the role involved a great deal of frustration and required extensive knowledge of the show.^[4] Azaria, who felt that the role should instead go to William H. Macy, modeled many of Grimes' mannerisms after Macy.^[8]

Reception

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, described the episode as "one of the series' darkest episodes [that] ends on a real downer but is nevertheless also one of the wittiest and cleverest in ages."^[1] In a 2000 Entertainment Weekly article, Matt Groening ranked it as his sixth favorite Simpsons episode.^[9] It is a favorite of then-showrunner Josh Weinstein, who cites the scene when Grimes visits the Simpson home as one of his favorite scenes,^[4] while The Office creator Ricky Gervais has called it "the most complete episode."^[10]

When the episode was first broadcast, many fans felt it was too dark, unfunny and that Homer was portrayed as overly bad-mannered.^[7] In the DVD commentary, Josh Weinstein considers this episode one of the most controversial of the seasons he ran, as it involves sharp observational humour which many fans "didn't get."^[4] Weinstein also talks about a "generation gap"—the episode was originally panned by viewers, but has since become a favourite among fans who grew up with the show.^[4]

In 2006, IGN.com released a list of "The Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters", in which they ranked Frank Grimes at number 17, making him the only one-time character to appear in that list.^[11] In 2007, Vanity Fair called "Homer's Enemy" the seventh best episode of The Simpsons. John Orvted said it was, "the darkest Simpsons episode ever... To see [Grimes] fail, and ultimately be destroyed, once he enters Homer's world is hilarious and satisfying."^[12] Comedian Rick Mercer called the episode "great episode, and one of the darkest ever produced."^[13] Jon Bonné of MSNBC used "Homer's Enemy" as an example of a bad episode of the eighth season and wrote "even now [in 2000], when subsequent episodes have debased Homer in new and innovative ways, the Grimes episode stands out as painful to watch."^[14]

Legacy

Frank Grimes has since been referenced many times in the show, often showing his tombstone, usually with "Grimey" (the nickname Homer gave Grimes, which he hated) or sometimes "Homer's Enemy" in the center of the stone, and occasionally mentioning him by name. In the season fourteen episode "The Great Louse Detective", it is revealed that he fathered a son named Frank Grimes Jr., who tries to kill Homer. The footage of Grimes's death is also shown during that episode.^[15] Chief Wiggum's quote, "Ralphie, get off the stage, sweetheart", is used as the chorus in the song "Ralph Wiggum" by the Bloodhound Gang.^[4]

References

External links

• "Homer's Enemy" at The Simpsons.com
• "Homer's Enemy" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
• "Homer's Enemy" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Homer's Enemy" at TV.com