Homer Alone
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"Homer Alone" is the fifteenth episode of the third 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, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', and the fiftieth episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 1992. In the episode, stress from household chores and her family's demands causes
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
to suffer a nervous breakdown, so she vacations alone at a spa. She leaves Bart 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 ...
with Patty and Selma;
Maggie Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...
stays at home with
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 ...
but leaves home looking for her mother, causing Homer to frantically search for her. The episode was written by
David M. Stern David Michael Stern is an American television screenwriter. Among his first work in television was writing episodes of ''The Wonder Years'' in the late 1980s. He then proceeded to write several episodes of ''The Simpsons'' in the 1990s. In 2010, ...
and directed by Mark Kirkland. Stern had noticed that most of the writers were pitching stories about Bart and Homer, and he thought a "deeper vein of comedy" could be reached by having Marge suffer from a nervous breakdown. Originally, Marge's trip was to a distressed mother's institute rather than a spa. However, the plot was not well received at the table read for the episode and much of it was rewritten. The episode's title references the film ''
Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
'', which starred David Stern's brother
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
. "Homer Alone" contains references to the
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode ...
cartoons, '' Thelma and Louise'', ''
Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
'', '' MacGyver'', and the song " Baby Come Back" by
Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
. The episode has received generally positive reviews from critics. During its original airing on Fox during February sweeps, it acquired a 14.2 Nielsen rating.


Plot

Stressed from doing household chores and running errands for her family, Marge hears DJs Bill and Marty make a cruel prank call during their radio show. She suddenly snaps when Maggie accidentally breaks her baby bottle, splattering milk everywhere, and blocks traffic by parking her car across both lanes of a bridge. When the police are unable to convince her to move, Homer persuades her to surrender and she is arrested. Since the town's women sympathize with Marge's plight,
Mayor Quimby Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O'Malley Fitzpatrick O'Donnell The Edge "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed Diamond Joe, is a recurring character from the animated sitcom television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in th ...
orders her release over Chief Wiggum's objections. Marge vacations alone at a health spa called Rancho Relaxo. She leaves Bart and Lisa with Patty and Selma; Maggie stays at home with Homer. Marge enjoys her much-needed rest while the rest of the family find it hard to adapt to life without her. Homer finds himself lonely and unable to care for Maggie. Bart and Lisa dislike living with Patty and Selma because they snore loudly, watch '' MacGyver'' and '' Divorce Court'', and serve meals of tongue sandwiches,
Clamato Clamato is a commercial drink made of reconstituted tomato juice concentrate and sugar, which is flavored with spices, dried clam broth and MSG. Made by Mott's, the name is a portmanteau of ''clam'' and ''tomato''. It is also referred to collo ...
,
Mr. Pibb Pibb Xtra is a reformulation of Mr. Pibb (sometimes styled as Mr. PiBB), a soft drink created and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. It has several variants. As of 2020, it is sold in bottles, cans, and two-liter bottles, and is available in mos ...
and soy milk. Upset by her mother's absence, Maggie leaves the house to find Marge. When Homer and
Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...
are unable to find her, Homer calls a missing baby hotline. Maggie is found atop the roof of an ice cream shop (whose mascot resembled Marge) and returned to Homer as Marge leaves the spa. Marge finds her forlorn and disheveled family waiting for her on a train platform when she arrives home. While Homer and the kids are sleeping next to her that night, Marge tells them she needs their help around the house; they assure her she has nothing to worry about.


Production

"Homer Alone" was written by David M. Stern. He had noticed that most of the writers were pitching stories about Bart and Homer, and he thought a "deeper vein of comedy" could be reached by having Marge suffer from a nervous breakdown.Castellaneta, Dan. (2003). Commentary for "Homer Alone", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Executive producer
James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...
immediately approved the idea.Jean, Al. (2003). Commentary for "Homer Alone", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Originally, Marge's trip was to a distressed mother's institute so they could show "what made Marge tick". However, the plot was not well received at the table read for the episode. The writers then re-wrote much of the episode, switching the institute to a spa. They also added a video appearance from the fictional actor Troy McClure, voiced by Phil Hartman. According to executive producer Al Jean, the writers often used McClure as a "panic button" when they felt an episode needed more humor. The episode's title is a play on the 1990 film ''
Home Alone ''Home Alone'' is a 1990 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The first film in the ''Home Alone'' franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hear ...
''; David Stern's brother
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
had starred in the movie as one of the main antagonists. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland. The scene at the train station where Marge leaves for Rancho Relaxo includes a brief cameo appearance of a character modeled after ''Simpsons'' director Jim Reardon. Reardon dislikes flying, and took trains whenever possible, so the animators always tried to include him in scenes at a train station.Kirkland, Mark. (2003). Commentary for "Homer Alone", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Susie Dietter served as assistant director for the episode and animated several of the scenes for the subplot with Bart, Lisa, Patty and Selma. In a scene where Homer sings a song to Maggie, he was designed to look dishevelled because the writers had wanted him to look drunk, although no attention was called to it.


Cultural references

The beginning of the episode where Homer chases Bart is a reference to the
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
/
Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, director, and painter, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He wrote, produ ...
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical cartoon short ''Fast and Furry-ous''. In each episode ...
cartoons. The scene freezes, during which Bart and Homer's scientific names are given as Brat'us Don'thaveacow'us and Homo Neanderthal'us respectively. The background in the sequence references the Hanna–Barbera tradition of using backgrounds over and over and making it look like there is an "endless living room".Bird, Brad. (2003). Commentary for "Homer Alone", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The scene where Marge is booked in prison references the Coen brothers film '' Raising Arizona''. The song that plays while Homer is on hold on the missing child hotline is " Baby Come Back" by
Player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...
. One of the films available at Rancho Relaxo is '' Thelma and Louise'', which Marge ends up watching. "Homer Alone" is the first episode of ''The Simpsons'' that shows Patty's and Selma's fondness for '' MacGyver'', and Selma says "
Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead a ...
will be in my dreams tonight."


Reception

In its original airing on February 6, 1992, on Fox during February sweeps, the episode acquired a 14.2 Nielsen rating and was viewed in approximately 13.08 million homes. It finished 25th in the ratings for the week of February 3–9, 1992, up from the season's average rank of 37th. ''The Simpsons'' was the highest rated show on Fox that week. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from critics. The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, wrote, "After the first few minutes, this episode becomes less about Marge than the family's reliance on her. Bart and Lisa's torturous time at Patty and Selma's is wonderful... but it's Homer losing Maggie, and working out what to tell Marge upon her return, that provides the best jokes." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson felt that the episode "comes close to finding the series in a rut, as it sort of offers another iteration of the 'Homer's a bad father' theme. However, the emphasis on Marge's issues makes it different, and it's also fun to see life at Patty and Selma's place. It's another solid show." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed rated the episode a 3(of 5), writing "The episode serves only to demonstrate what is already obvious: that Marge holds the family together. It's entertaining to see Homer struggle with the most basic of parenting skills, but this happens at the expense of all the other episodes this season that show him to be a good father (albeit flawed). Still, it's nice to see Marge get her own show."


References


External links

* * {{Good article The Simpsons (season 3) episodes 1992 American television episodes Television episodes about mental health