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Team Homer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"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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Bart and Milhouse are browsing in The Android's Dungeon. They find a "special edition" of Mad, and eagerly peruse its contents. After they complete the "fold-in," Comic Book Guy forces them to buy the magazine. Back at home, Homer also finds the magazine hilarious.
Later at Moe's, Homer is the only customer. Disappointed, Moe closes the bar early (unaware that Mayor Quimby and his entourage were about to come into the bar for multiple drinks). Desperate, Homer and Moe search for another place to spend their evening. At the bowling alley, Homer and Moe are disappointed to learn it is "league night," and they cannot bowl. They find Apu, who is also without a team. Approaching the Squeaky Voiced Teen, revealed to be the son of Lunchlady Doris, to announce their intentions to bowl as a team, the trio learn they are one member short. Homer sees Otto at a crane arcade game and claims him as their fourth team member. The Squeaky Voiced Teen again disappoints, asking for a $500 registration fee. Back at the Simpson house, Homer's attempt to prostitute himself to Marge fails. She suggests a team sponsor: Mr. Burns.
The next day at Springfeld Elementary School, Mrs. Krabappel is assigning homework. Bart — wearing a sweater — comments that it is extremely hot in the classroom. He slowly removes his sweater, revealing a T-shirt with a MAD iron-on reading "Down with Homework". The shirt sparks a riot in the class. In the hallway, Superintendent Chalmers is evaluating the school. Highly pleased with the school's performance, he prepares to give the school a perfect "10," but curiously decides to record the "0" first. Before the score can be completed, Chalmers is stampeded by Bart's angry classmates.
In Principal Skinner's office, a shirtless Bart hears a story from Skinner's war days. Skinner claims an iron-on t-shirt caused him to be taken captive as a prisoner of war. Momentarily daydreaming, he dismisses Bart without punishment.
Later, in Mr. Burns's office, Smithers is giving Burns a manicure. Smithers leaves in order to get more ether for Mr Burns, as he can feel the movement of the emery board, when Homer sneaks inside. Burns, high on ether, eagerly gives Homer the $500 sponsorship, having mistaken him for Poppin' Fresh.
Back at the bowling alley, Homer's team debuts their new uniforms: a white t-shirt with "Pin Pals" scrawled in black marker on the back. Their first opponent is the team from the "Channel 6 Wastelanders". As Otto collects a spare for the win, the Pin Pals celebrate with beer while the team from KBBL-TV leaves in disgust. At the Simpsons house, 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. Martin and Lisa model the new uniforms, much to the disgust of the schoolchildren. That night, the Pin Pals face a new opponent: the "DMV Regulation Kings". This victory for the Pin Pals is followed by another over the "Springfield Police Framers," moving the team into 2nd place in their league. The championship trophy within reach, the team observes their next opponent: the "Holy Rollers" (Ned Flanders, Maude Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, and Helen Lovejoy). Later, Mr. Burns discovers he wrote a check to "Poppin' Fresh" for bowling. Rather than disbanding the team, Burns asks to join it, replacing Otto.
Back at Springfield Elementary, the uniforms have worked wonders in decreasing horseplay, youthful exuberance, and high spirits. The students even blink in unison. Even Bart and Nelson are having trouble remembering their old pranks. 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. Mr. Burns comes into the bowling alley complaining of arthritis in his knee, but Moe (as a "masked stranger" intending to disqualify Burns from the team by injury) hits Mr. Burns with a crowbar, fixing his disability. Just as Homer works up the courage to kick Mr. Burns off the team, Burns gives the rest of the team 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 his final roll, two pins are knocked down from a chain reaction caused by Otto knocking the prize machine over. Burns, in one of his "trademark changes of heart," takes the trophy back to his mansion. Later that night, the team (reunited with Otto) has Homer attempt to steal the trophy. He does not quite make it, and is attacked by the hounds as the remaining Pin Pals flee. He is left to be ripped apart, gnashed at and killed as the credits roll, though he obviously survives.
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 always 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, who work in the Springfield DMV 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 seduced Homer and Marge in past episodes, and are so called because they nearly caused the Simpson family to break up. They are Jacques (the French bowler who tried to seduce Marge, from Life on the Fast Lane), Princess Kashmir (the bachelor party stripper, from Homer's Night Out), Lurleen Lumpkin (the barmaid/country singer, from Colonel Homer), and Mindy Simmons (Homer's one-time female coworker, from The Last Temptation of Homer)
The Stereotypes are aptly named for the members' stereotypical images. They are Groundskeeper Willie a Scot stereotype, Luigi the stereotypical Italian pasta/pizza chef, Cletus the Slackjawed Yokel, and Captain Horatio McAllister (The Sea Captain). Apparently they begged Apu to join them as well, since he is a stereotypical Indian.
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 killed on February 25, 1996, between the two network broadcasts. Ameche won his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Cocoon in 1985, and died on December 6, 1993, before this episode aired.
Also, all broadcast versions include a dedication to Doris Grau, who died eight days before this episode aired. This dedication is not on the DVD set.
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 always 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).
- 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.
- 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.
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]
- "Team Homer" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive