Homer's Odyssey

"Homer's Odyssey" is the third full length episode of The Simpsons, that originally aired January 21, 1990. The episode sees Homer become a crusader for citizen safety in Springfield, as well as Homer being promoted to his current position as Nuclear Safety Inspector for the entire power plant. It was written by Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky and was the first Simpsons script to be completed, although it was the third episode produced.^[2]

1 Plot
2 Production
3 First appearances
4 Cultural References
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Plot

"Black Smithers", as seen in this episode

Bart's class goes to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant on a field trip, only to end up seeing Homer causing an accident and being fired for it. Unable to get a new job, Homer tries to commit suicide but is talked out of it by his family. After they are nearly hit by a car at a dangerous intersection, Homer realizes he cares not only for the safety of his family, but the safety of the public as well. He then successfully lobbies City hall to put up a stop sign at the intersection, and then many other signs, such as "Speed Bump" and "Sign Ahead." However, he soon grows tired of just promoting traffic safety, and tries to get Springfield to shut down the nuclear power plant. Nervous, Mr. Burns offers Homer a job as safety inspector at the plant, with a large pay raise included. After much hesitation, Homer agrees, and tells his growing mass of supporters he can no longer continue his crusade for public safety, urging them to carry on instead while he makes sure the plant is safe.

[edit] Production

Smithers was mistakenly animated with the wrong color and was made black by Gyorgi Peluci, the color stylist. David Silverman has claimed that Smithers was always intended to be "Mr Burns' white sycophant,"^[3] and the staff thought it "would be a bad idea to have a black sub-servient character" and so switched him to his intended color for his next episode.^[4] This is the episode where Homer becomes the Safety Inspector at the plant, his previous job is unclear, though he calls himself a "technical supervisor". He was hired as part of "Project Bootstrap," a fictional government program to bring in unskilled workers implemented by the Ford administration. Blinky the three-eyed fish also makes a brief cameo in this episode, he later becomes of importance in Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish.

[edit] First appearances

Otto Mann
Chief Wiggum
Blinky the three-eyed Fish
Jasper Beardley (Though he does not speak until Bart the General)
Sam & Larry
Mr. & Mrs. Winfield
Sherri and Terri
Waylon Smithers (Though his voice is heard in Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire)

[edit] Cultural References

The episode title comes from the Greek epic poem Odyssey, ostensibly written by the poet Homer.
Bart is forced to sing "John Henry was a Steel Driving Man" because he was being too loud on the bus.^[1]

[edit] Reception

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide stated that "the story rather fizzles out at the end, but there are many good moments, especially in the power plant."^[1]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). Homer's Odyssey. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
^ Kogen, Jay. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer's Odyssey" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
^ Background Guide to The Simpsons. Hurtwood Media (September 2002). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
^ Joe Rhodes. "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves", TV Guide, 2000-10-21.