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"Deep Space Homer"
The Simpsons episodes
A scene of news anchor Kent Brockman announcing his surrender due to the belief that Ants taking over the world. This scene inspired the "Overlord meme" which uses the scene to mimic entities taking over the world.
The scene of Kent Brockman talking about ants conquering the world inspired an Internet meme.[2][3]
Episode nos.Season 5
Episodes 15[1]
Directed byCarlos Baeza
Written byDavid Mirkin
Production code1F13
Original air dateFebruary 24, 1994
Guest appearances
Episode features
Couch gagThe family runs to the couch, only to find an obese man sitting on it. They squeeze in to the left of him.[4]
Commentary
Episode chronology
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"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" 		Next →
"Homer Loves Flanders"
The Simpsons season 5
List of episodes

"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of American animated sitcom The Simpsons, which was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on February 24, 1994. In the episode, NASA selects Homer Simpson to participate in a spaceflight to boost low ratings and public interest in space exploration. However, his incompetence destroys the navigation system on board the Space Shuttle.

Directed by Carlos Baeza, "Deep Space Homer" is the only episode of The Simpsons written by showrunner David Mirkin. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and musician James Taylor guest-starred as themselves. The episode parodies the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Some of The Simpsons' staff, including creator Matt Groening, feared the concept was too unrealistic, resulting in some jokes being pared down and greater focus placed on the Simpson family. The episode was well-received, and many critics and fans praised it as one of the best episodes of the series. A copy of the episode was sent to the International Space Station for astronauts to view.

Plot

At the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer Simpson believes he will win the Worker of the Week award; it is a union requirement that every employee gets the prize. However, Homer's boss Mr. Burns gives the award to an inanimate carbon rod instead. Homer thinks no one respects him, and watches television to lighten his mood. He prank calls NASA to complain that a broadcast on the Space Shuttle launch is boring. NASA decides to send an average Joe to space to improve their Nielsen ratings, and they choose Homer. When NASA first approaches Homer, he believes he is in trouble and blames the prank call on barfly Barney Gumble. After they invite Barney to participate in a space launch, Homer tells NASA the truth, and they agree to train both of them.

At Cape Canaveral, Homer and Barney compete in training exercises. While under NASA's alcohol ban, a sober Barney develops superior skills and is chosen to fly with Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon. However, Barney reverts to alcoholism after toasting with a non-alcoholic drink and leaves via jetpack. Homer is selected as Barney's replacement, but he grows nervous and runs away during the preparations for takeoff. His wife, Marge, encourages him to take advantage of the opportunity, and he rejoins the launch; it receives good ratings.

Homer smuggles a bag of potato chips aboard the shuttle, and opens it upon reaching space. The chips disperse due to the weightlessness of space and clog the instruments. While eating them, Homer breaks an ant farm, and the ants destroy the navigation system. During his broadcast of the space mission, newscaster Kent Brockman erroneously believes the ants are giants aliens set to enslave Earth. Musician James Taylor, who was singing over the radio, suggests they blow the ants out the hatch. Homer fails to put on his harness and is nearly blown into space, grabbing on to the hatch handle. The hatch handle bends, preventing it from fully closing. While defending himself from a furious Race, Homer grabs a carbon rod and inadvertently uses it to seal the hatch. The shuttle returns safely to Earth. Although Buzz calls Homer a hero, the press only acknowledges the carbon rod; it appears on a Time cover and receives a ticker-tape parade. Despite this, Homer's family still celebrates him as a hero.

Production

The writer of Deep Space Homer; David Mirkin. Taken in 2012. This is the only episode that David Mirkin wrote for The Simpsons
"Deep Space Homer" is the only episode David Mirkin wrote for The Simpsons.

"Deep Space Homer" was written by showrunner David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza. It is the only Simpsons episode that Mirkin wrote.[5] He based the episode on NASA's cancellation of the Teacher in Space Project, which sent civilians to space to increase public interest in the Space Shuttle program.[5][6][7] The writers worried that sending Homer into space was too large an idea, and Simpsons' creator Matt Groening said it gave them "nowhere to go".[5][6][7] Several gags were toned down to make the episode more realistic, including an idea that everyone at NASA was as stupid as Homer.[7][8] Instead, the writers focused more on Homer's attempts to gain the respect of his family.[5][7]

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, and musician James Taylor guest-star as themselves.[9][10] The writers were concerned Aldrin would consider his line "second comes right after first" an insult, and offered the alternative line, "first to take a soil sample", as a backup. Aldrin however preferred the original line, which was retained in the script.[5][7] Taylor recorded an altered version of his 1970 single "Fire and Rain" and Carole King's 1971 "You've Got a Friend" for the episode. His recording session appears as an extra on the DVD release of the fifth season.[5][7] David Silverman directed the potato chip sequence instead of Baeza;[11] the chips were partly animated on an Amiga personal computer to smooth their rotation.[12]

Parodies

"Deep Space Homer" has multiple references to the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The scene of Homer floating and eating potato chips in space includes Johann Strauss II's waltz "The Blue Danube", which was also used in the film.[2] Homer watches an Itchy and Scratchy Show episode that shows Itchy torturing Scratchy in an EVA pod, a reference to the film's Discovery craft.[5][7] When Bart Simpson throws a marker, it rotates in slow motion and a match cut replaces it with a cylindrical satellite as a parody of a similar transition used in 2001: A Space Odyssey including Richard Strauss' tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra.[4][13]

Themes

The theme of alcoholism in The Simpsons is present when Barney and Homer struggle with not being allowed to drink. Barney regresses from being an athletic person to his usual drunken self by ingesting a non-alcoholic drink, while Homer is unable to complete the training exercises as a result of his withdrawal from alcohol. These training scenes explain how the addiction of alcohol can hinder activities and prevent opportunity. [14] The episode also explores the relationships between members of the Simpson family, specifically how they evolve after Homer's voyage to space. At the start of the episode, Bart writes "Insert Brain Here" on the back of Homer's head to imply he is not intelligent enough to earn his family's respect. After Homer returns from space, Bart instead writes "Hero" on the back of his head. His trip to space and his heroic act gains him increased respect from his family, something Homer had struggled with for several years.[15]

NASA's main motivation for sending Homer to space is its low ratings. This is evident when Homer and Bart, who are seen as average Joes, are attempting to quickly change the channel when a space launch is shown. By 1994, NASA could no longer present space exploration as part of the Space Race—the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States had by then dissipated. In the episode, NASA attempts to use social class as a means of increasing ratings by sending an "average schmo" such as Homer or Barney to space.[16] Homer's space journey increased ratings for NASA, illustrating how easily trends in ratings can be effected by societal change.[17]

Broadcast and release

"Deep Space Homer" aired at 8:00 p.m. EST on February 24, 1994.[10][18] It finished 32nd in ratings for the week of February 21–27, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 11.1, the equivalent of approximately 10.3 million viewing households.[18] Even though it was the highest-rated show on Fox that week,[19] "Deep Space Homer" did not perform as well as the previous week's episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", which had a Nielsen rating of 11.6, equivalent to 11 million viewing households.[20]

"Deep Space Homer" is a part of the DVD release and Blu-ray of the show's fifth season, which includes commentary by Simpsons' staff Groening, Silverman, James L. Brooks, Mirkin, Conan O'Brien, and Jim Reardon.[1] The episode is also included in the Simpsons: Risky Business box set,[21] and is available to stream at the Simpsons World site run by FXX.[7] The Simpsons game Tapped Out held an event based on the episode; it allowed players to train Springfield citizens for a space mission.[22][23]

Reception

Buzz Aldrin at the 'STELLAR' program commencement activities. He guest starred in this episode. Taken in 1996.
Buzz Aldrin received praise for his performance.

In 1994, film magazine Empire declared "Deep Space Homer" a "contender for the greatest episode ever", listing it as the third-best Simpsons parody of a movie.[6] In 1998, TV Guide listed it in its list of top twelve Simpsons episodes.[24] In his 2004 book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner cited the episode as one of his five favorites. He described the sequence with Homer eating potato chips in the Space Shuttle and the speech by newscaster Kent Brockman, who believes alien ants have taken over the shuttle, as "simply among the finest comedic moments in the history of television".[25]

In 2011, The Daily Telegraph named the episode among their ten favorites for its cameos and jokes.[26] In 2017, MSNBC named "Deep Space Homer" its fourth-favorite Simpsons episode, describing Homer's realization that Planet of the Apes is set on Earth as "pure genius".[6][27] Aldrin and Taylor received praise for their performances; IGN[28] and Phoenix.com ranked Taylor's guest appearance among the show's greatest.[29]

The episode is a favorite of Silverman,[12] but contains one of Groening's least-favorite jokes: Homer's face morphs into those of Popeye and Richard Nixon while exposed to g-forces, which Groening felt made no sense in context.[8] At the request of astronaut Edward Lu, a copy of the episode was placed on the International Space Station for astronauts to view.[6][30][31]

Overlord meme

Kent Brockman's line, "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords", became an Internet meme.[6] It is frequently used to show mock submission[3][32] or suggest a powerful entity, such as robots, could become capable enough to conquer humanity.[33] In 2007, New Scientist used the phrase when reporting the British government's research into aliens,[34] and in 2011, Ken Jennings, a long-standing contestant of the game show Jeopardy!, used it in reference to the computer Watson.[6][35]

References

  1. ^ a b Butts, Steve (December 17, 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season". IGN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "The best Simpsons episode ever". Stuff.co.nz. Independent Newspapers. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Overlord Meme". The Atlantic. Emerson Collective. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Deep Space Homer". Simpsons Archive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Mirkin, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Goertz et al. 2018, p. 36.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Deep Space Homer staff. Episode Commentary. The Simpsons at Simpsons World. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ a b Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  9. ^ Gale 2007, p. 2652.
  10. ^ a b Pearlman, Robert Z. (September 10, 2014). "Woo Hoo! Buzz Aldrin's Role on 'The Simpsons' Leads to Action Figure". collectSPACE. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2018 – via Space.com. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "3 Simpsons Showrunners Reflect on New Fans and the 'Classic Era' Myth". Vulture.com. September 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ a b Silverman, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  13. ^ Booker 2006, p. 58.
  14. ^ Musolf 2016, p. 209.
  15. ^ Irwin, Conard & Skoble 2001, p. 120.
  16. ^ Hersch 2012.
  17. ^ Cantor 2003, p. 89.
  18. ^ a b "TV listings". TV Tango. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Williams, Scott (March 3, 1994). "CBS skates to easy ratings sweep victory". Sun-Sentinel. p. 4E.
  20. ^ "Nielsen Ratings /Feb. 14–20". Long Beach Press-Telegram. February 24, 1994. p. C5.
  21. ^ "Simpsons, The – Risky Business (DVDs) | Rare Records". Rare Records. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  22. ^ "Tapped Out Event". Adweek. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Torchinsky, Jason. "The Mystery of the Space Shuttle in That Simpsons Episode Where Homer Went To Space". Jalopnik. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on August 27, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ "A Dozen Doozies". TV Guide. January 3–9, 1998. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  25. ^ Turner 2004, pp. 69–70.
  26. ^ Walton, James (September 27, 2011). "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes (In Chronological Order)". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Enwright, Patrick (July 31, 2007). "D'Oh! The top 10 'Simpsons' episodes ever". MSNBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2007. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; June 22, 2007 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "The Simpsons 20 best guest voices of all time". The Phoenix. Phoenix Media/Communications Group. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "Deep Space Homer Information". The Simpsons.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ Richmond & Coffman 1997.
  32. ^ Turner 2004, p. 300.
  33. ^ "I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords". NPR. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ "The British government welcomes our new insect overlords". New Scientist magazine. Archived from the original on September 12, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ Maerz, Melissa (February 16, 2011). "Watson wins 'Jeopardy!' finale; Ken Jennings welcomes 'our new computer overlords'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Bibliography
Wikiquote has quotations related to "Deep Space Homer".

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