"The Dad-Feelings Limited" is the 11th episode of the thirty-second season of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', and the 695th episode overall. It aired in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

on January 3, 2021. The episode was directed by Chris Clements, and written by

Ryan Koh Ryan Koh is an American television writer. He is currently a writer and co-executive producer for ''The Simpsons''. He has also worked as a writer and producer on The Office (American TV series), ''The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Workaholics'', and ...

Plot

Comic Book Guy Jeff Albertson, commonly known as Comic Book Guy, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the second-season episode " Three Men and a Comic Book", wh ...

and his wife

Kumiko Kumiko (くみこ, クミコ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kumiko can be written using different kanji and can mean: *久美子, "forever, beauty, child" *空見子, "sky, see, child" *公美子, "public, beauty, child" * ...

enjoy a lazy Sunday while Marge and

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

attend multiple children's birthday parties. Desperate for adult company, Marge and Homer leave the kids with

Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, ch ...

and go to Moe's for trivia night. Teaming up with Comic Book Guy and Kumiko, they win first place, and Marge and Kumiko relate over having overweight husbands. When Kumiko visits Marge, she bonds with Maggie and tells her husband she wants to have a child. Comic Book Guy, who works with children at his store every day and knows that he is an emotionally distant man, does not want to become a father. Kumiko arranges for her husband to attend a movie with the Simpsons, and he finds he truly enjoys introducing

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

and

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

to classic movies. When the children become upset, however, he is unable to comfort them, and returns to his family home, where his

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

father and other obsessive relatives live alone with their collections. It is then revealed that Comic Book Guy took solace in comic books as a child solely because his father never attended any of his beloved baseball games, causing him to choke during the championship. His father later admits that he did not go to the game for fear he would not know what to say if his son lost, but produces a ball autographed by his son's hero,

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

, that he had intended to give him. The pair play a game of catch, and Comic Book Guy returns to his wife, telling her that he is now ready to start a family.

Production

Casting

Dan Aykroyd guest-starred in the episode as Postage Stamp Fellow,

Bob Balaban Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared. Balab ...

appeared as the narrator, and Jenny Yokobori appeared as Kumiko.

Development

In 2020,

released eight promotional pictures from the episode.

Release

The episode originally aired on January 3, 2021, at 9:01 PM.

Reception

Viewing figures

In the United States, the episode was watched live by 1.89 million viewers.

Critical response

Tony Sokol Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York City. As a musician, Sok ...

with ''

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...

'', said "''The Simpsons'' goes back to the past to make way for the future on Season 32, episode 11. “The Dad Feelings-Limited” is an origin story, revealing the sad and lonely tale of Comic Book Guy. No, it isn't done in panel layouts, and his super strength turns out to be his greatest weakness." He gave the episode 4.5/5 stars. It was selected as one of the best TV episodes of 2021 in the ''New York Times'' (2021-12-20) The episode was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series. In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...

, but lost to the '' Primal'' episode "Plague of Madness".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dad-Feelings Limited 2021 American television episodes The Simpsons (season 32) episodes