Homer the Whopper
| "Homer the Whopper" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 21 |
| Directed by | Lance Kramer |
| Written by | Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg |
| Original air date | September 27, 2009[1] |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "The class hamster isn't just sleeping." |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons arrive at a subway station, where the subway doors open to reveal their living room. |
"Homer the Whopper" is the season premiere of The Simpsons' twenty-first season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 27, 2009.[1] In the episode, Comic Book Guy creates a new superhero called Everyman who takes powers from other superheroes. Homer is cast as the lead in the film adaptation. To get Homer into shape, the movie studio hires a celebrity fitness trainer, Lyle McCarthy, to help him. Homer gets into great shape and is really excited, but when McCarthy leaves to train another client, he starts over-eating again and ultimately this leads to the film's failure.
The episode was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who are "obsessed" fans of the show,[2] and directed by Lance Kramer. Rogen and Goldberg were invited to The Simpsons writers room, where they pitched several episode ideas. One was accepted, and they wrote an outline with the help of some feedback from the regular writers. "Homer the Whopper" was intended to be a commentary on how Hollywood treats superhero films. Rogen also guest stars in the episode as the character Lyle McCarthy, making him the second guest star to both write an episode and appear in it; Ricky Gervais was the first. "Homer the Whopper" has received mixed reviews from television critics and acquired a Nielsen Rating of 4.3 in its original broadcast.
Plot
Bart and Milhouse convince Comic Book Guy to publish a comic book he wrote titled Everyman, in which the title character can absorb superpowers from the characters of comic books he touches. The comic becomes an instant hit, and many Hollywood studios become interested in making it into a movie. Comic Book Guy agrees to let Everyman become a movie, but only if he can pick the star. When Comic Book Guy sees Homer, he considers Homer perfect for the role, as he wants Everyman to be played by a middle-aged fat man. But the studio executives realizes that audiences want a physically fit actor for the role, so they hire celebrity fitness trainer Lyle McCarthy to get Homer into shape. After a month, Homer becomes fit and the movie begins production.
Soon afterward, however, McCarthy leaves Homer for another client. Without McCarthy to keep him in shape, Homer starts eating again and gains all the weight back. Homer can no longer fit into his costume or even his trailer, and the movie begins to go over budget. The studio executives and Comic Book Guy worry that the film will not be successful. The final version of the movie features scenes with the fat Homer and the physically fit Homer merged together, upsetting the audience. After the premier of the film, McCarthy returns and offers to get Homer into shape again, which Homer accepts. The studio executives offer to let Comic Book Guy direct the sequel, on the condition that Comic Book Guy lie to the fans and say he liked the film. Comic Book Guy rejects the offer and openly criticizes the movie online, and thus it becomes a box office failure and Everyman is never adapted again.
Production
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, writers of the film Superbad, are "obsessed" fans of The Simpsons. After learning that The Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks was a fan of Superbad, they decided to ask the producers of the show if they could write an episode.[2][3] In 2006, Ricky Gervais, co-creator of The Office, received credit for writing the season 17 episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife". Rogen and Goldberg "thought if [Gervais] got to write one, maybe [they] could try."[2] They were invited to The Simpsons writers room, where they pitched several episode ideas. One was accepted, and they wrote an outline with the help of some feedback from the regular writers.[4]
Rogen commented that he and Goldberg wanted to show with the episode how Hollywood generally ruins superhero films. He said that "the whole joke is that Homer is cast to play a guy who's an everyman and they try to make him into this physically fit guy."[5] Rogen also noted that the plot mirrors the situation he was in while working on the film The Green Hornet, when he had to lose weight and do physical training for his role.[2] Show runner Al Jean commented that the writers tried not to repeat the comic book film theme from the "Radioactive Man" episode. Instead they decided to parody the fact that almost every comic book has been turned into a film. Jean commented that that scene in the episode in which the studio executives "are trying to think up an idea that hasn't been done really is what they are doing these days [in real life]."[6]
The table read took place in August 2008, and production on the episode began soon after that.[7] Rogen later said that "we sat down for a read-through and three hours later I'm in a studio improv-ing with Homer Simpson, it was the single greatest day of my life."[8] Rogen also guest stars in the episode as the character Lyle McCarthy, making him the second guest star to both write an episode and appear in it; Gervais also appeared in the episode he wrote.[1] The Simpsons creator Matt Groening also makes an appearance in the episode.[9][10]
Reception
In its original American broadcast in the United States on September 27, 2009,[1][11] "Homer the Whopper" was watched in 8.31 million homes and acquired a 4.3 Nielsen rating/12% share.[12][13] The rating was down seven percent from the previous season's premiere,[13] which was viewed in 9.3 million homes the night it aired.[14]
Since airing, "Homer the Whopper" has received mixed to positive reviews from television critics. Steve Fritz of Newsarama called the episode "amazing" and commented that the "overall comic book theme was perfect."[6] Ariel Ponywether of Firefox News said it "would have been more interesting to see a different angle on the typical Homer-loses-weight plot, but [the viewers] were deprived of this."[15] She thought the episode was "alright"—"you'll smile a couple of times, laugh once or twice"—but commented that it will not "be considered a 'classic' anytime soon."[15] Reviewers for TV Guide cited Matt Groening's cameo, the dinner table scene, Homer trying to lose weight at the Kwik-E-Mart, and the opening scene where Bart questions Comic Book Guy about Spiderman as the highlights of the episode.[9]
Robert Canning of IGN was positive about "Homer the Whopper", giving it a 8.6/10 rating. He commented that the first act of the episode was the strongest, while the others were weaker. Canning believed the reason for this was that the viewers have already seen Homer "struggle with his weight countless times, and Rogen's trainer, though funny much of the time, will likely never be remembered as a classic guest role." He added, however, that Rogen and Goldberg are able to find "a few new angles with the weight jokes, so it's not a complete loss." Overall, Canning thought "Homer the Whopper" was a good start to the twenty-first season, and although the plot may not be very original, the writers added "freshness to the proceedings."[16] The A.V. Club's Todd VanDerWerff did not think the script was as good as Gervais', but commented that Rogen and Goldberg "managed to make a mostly amusing season premiere." He added that he thought the Hollywood satirizing featured in this episode had been overused on the show, but "the specificity of what the [episode] was making fun of—trainers who help stars slim down (in this case, helping Homer slim down)—went a long way toward making the episode palatable." WanDerWerff concluded that while the episode "didn’t try anything new [...], [he] had fun with it all the same."[17]
References
- ^ a b c d "Fox Primetime". Fox Flash. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
- ^ a b c d Keveney, Bill (2009-09-23). "Rogen gets a dream gig: 'Simpsons' writer, voice". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
- ^ Wagner, Curt (2009-09-25). "Seth Rogen kicks off 21st season of 'The Simpsons'". Chicago Now. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ^ Liam Burke (2008-04-30). "From Superbad To Superheroes - Evan Goldberg on Hornet and The Boys". Empire. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
- ^ The Associated Press (2009-09-28). "D'oh! Seth Rogen writes a 'Simpsons' episode". MSNBC. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
- ^ a b Fritz, Steve (2009-09-26). "Animated Shorts: Al Jean & THE SIMPSONS 21 Years Later". Newsarama. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
- ^ Jami Philbrick (2008-07-26). ""Superbad" writers Rogen and Goldberg to pen episode of "The Simpsons"". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ Evan Fanning (2008-09-14). "Why Seth Rogen is on a high". Irish Independent. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ a b "The Simpsons Episode Recap: "Homer the Whopper"". TV Guide. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Homer the Whopper". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Dan Snierson (2009-07-24). "'The Simpsons': Coldplay's Chris Martin, Sarah Silverman among season 21 guests". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- ^ Kissell, Rick (2009-09-29). "Laffers rule TV's premiere week". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
- ^ a b Adalian, Josef (2009-09-28). "Sunday Ratings: 'Cleveland' Rocks, 'Housewives' Takes a Hit". The Wrap. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
- ^ Mandy Bierly (2008-09-29). "Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives' returns to win Sunday night". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Ponywether, Ariel (2009-09-28). "Review -- The Simpsons: "Homer The Whopper"". Firefox News (firefox.org). Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ Canning, Robert (2009-09-25). "The Simpsons: "Homer the Whopper" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
- ^ VanDerWerff, Todd (2009-09-28). ""Homer the Whopper"/"Pilot"/"Road to the Multiverse"/"In Country ... Club"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
