There's No Disgrace Like Home
| "There's No Disgrace Like Home" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Theres No Disgrace Like Home.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 |
| Directed by | Gregg Vanzo Kent Butterworth |
| Written by | Al Jean & Mike Reiss |
| Original air date | January 28, 1990 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "I will not burp in class."[1] |
| Couch gag | The family hurries on to the couch and Homer is squeezed off it.[2] |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Mike Reiss |
"There's No Disgrace Like Home" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' first season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 28, 1990.[2] In the episode, Homer becomes ashamed of his family after a catastrophic company picnic and decides to enroll them in therapy. The therapist struggles to solve their problems but eventually gives up and refunds their payment. It was an early episode, showing early designs for a few recurring characters. The episode is inspired by the comedy of Laurel and Hardy and features cultural references to films such as Citizen Kane and Freaks as well as the Batman television series. Critics noted that the characters acted differently from the way they would in later seasons. In the UK, the BBC chose it as the first episode to be aired when they started showing the series[2].
Plot
Homer takes his family to the company picnic at the expansive estate of his boss, Mr. Burns. The cruel and tyrannical Burns fires any employee whose family members are not enjoying themselves. Homer sees that Burns is drawn towards a family that treats one another with love and respect and tells his family to behave themselves. However, Bart and Lisa run wild on the grounds, and Marge gets drunk on the alcoholic punch. Homer laments his unruly family as they leave the picnic.
Homer tells everyone that he is going to turn them into a respectable family. He insists they sit at the dinner table to eat instead of the couch in front of the TV. When the rest of the family insist that they aren't really so bad, Homer takes them on a walk around the neighborhood, where they see other families eating dinner peacefully and happily, except for one family who is busy trying to frighten off the prowlers they assume the Simpsons are. Depressed, Homer goes to Moe's Tavern, where he sees a commercial for Dr. Marvin Monroe's Family Therapy Center. When he hears that Dr. Monroe guarantees "family bliss or double your money back," Homer immediately sets an appointment.
To pay for the expensive treatment, Homer spends the kids' college funds and pawns the TV. Dr. Monroe attempts to engage the family in traditional treatments, but they seem untreatable. Dr. Monroe suggests a radical treatment, and hooks the family up to electrodes, telling them to send an electrical shock to each other when they feel upset, in the hopes that they will begin to associate hurtful behavior with the painful shocks. However, the family immediately begins shocking each other mercilessly, overloading the machine and causing the lights to dim. Dr. Monroe unplugs the machine, admits that he cannot help the Simpsons, and gives them double their money back. Homer uses the money to purchase a better TV than the one they pawned, finally making his family blissful and content.
Production
The episode shows telltale signs of being one of the earliest produced.[3][4] The characters act completely differently to how they do in later seasons; Lisa for example is a brat, with Homer being the voice of reason, nagging Marge and the children which in later episodes was reversed as Homer became more slobby, and Marge would be nagging him into line.[5]
It was an early episode for Mr. Burns, who was voiced by Christopher Collins in Homer's Odyssey. Originally, the character was influenced by Ronald Reagan, a concept which was later dropped. The idea that he would greet his employees using index cards was inspired by the way Reagan would greet people.[5] The episode marks the first time Burns says "release the hounds".[3] It is also the first time Smithers appears yellow, as in the previous episode he was mistakenly animated black, although his hair is still blue.
It is also the first appearance of Dr. Marvin Monroe and the first series appearance of Itchy & Scratchy, who had previously appeared in the shorts.[2][3] The episode also marks the first appearance of Eddie and Lou, although Lou is yellow instead of black, as he would later become. Lou was named after Lou Whitaker - a former Major League Baseball player.[3]
Another difference from later episodes is Moe's Tavern, which has saloon-style swinging doors. Also, many of the regulars appear differently, including a blonde-haired Barney and black-haired Moe.
The idea behind the shock-therapy scene was based on Laurel and Hardy throwing pies at each other, albeit played out more sadistically.[4] The scene was rearranged in the editing room, because when it was first produced it played out differently. The edits to this scene were preliminary but well received and remained unchanged in the finished product.[4]
Some sources have slight variatons of the title, most commonly "There's No Place Like Homer".
Cultural references
The scene in which the family enters Burns's Manor contains two cultural references. The Manor resembles Charles Foster Kane's castle from the 1941 film Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles.[2] The family refer to it as "stately Burns Manor", a reference to the Batman TV series.[3] In addition there is a reference to Freaks, the Tod Browning cult horror film about sideshow "freaks," in the repetition of the line "one of us".[4] When Marge gets drunk, she sings Dean Martin's Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine. The shock-therapy scene is reminiscent of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick.[1]
The scene where the family enters Dr. Marvin Monroe's Family Therapy Clinic, plays "L'amour est bleu" a 1967 song by Vicky Leandros.
Reception
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, note: "It's very strange to see Homer pawning the TV set in an attempt to save the family; if this episode had come later Marge would surely have taken this stance." They continue, "A neat swipe at family counselling with some great set pieces; we're especially fond of the perfect version of the Simpsons and the electric-shock aversion therapy."[2] In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 2.0/5.0, placing it as one of the worst of the season.[6] In its original broadcast it finished 45th in the Nielsen ratings for the week.[7]
This episode was one of the first seen by British viewers.[2] It was the first episode to be broadcast on terrestrial television by the BBC on November 23, 1996 on a Saturday at 5:30pm, because the episodes were shown out of order. The episode was screened with five million viewers that was slightly less than the show, Dad's Army, which previously held the timeslot. The episode also faced competition from ITV's screening of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.[8]
The shock-therapy scene appeared in the 1990 film Die Hard 2.[3]
References
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. p. 20. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "There's No Disgrace Like Home". BBC. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "BBC" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f Jean, Al (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c d Groening, Matt (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Reiss, Mike (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Grelck, David B (2003). "The Simpsons: The Complete First Season". WDBG Productions. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ AP (February 4, 1990). "Nielsens". Austin American-Statesman. p. 8.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Williams, Steve; Ian Jones (2005). ""THAT IS SO 1991!"". Off The Telly. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
- "There's No Disgrace Like Home episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
- "There's No Disgrace Like Home" at IMDb
- "There's No Disgrace Like Home" at The Simpsons.com
- Template:Tv.com episode
