Homer Alone
| "Homer Alone" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
| File:Simpsons 8F14.png | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 |
| Directed by | Mark Kirkland |
| Written by | David M. Stern |
| Original air date | February 6, 1992 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | "I will not spank others" |
| Couch gag | The family forms a pyramid |
| Commentary | Matt Groening Al Jean Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Mark Kirkland Brad Bird |
"Homer Alone" is the 15th episode of The Simpsons' third season and the 50th episode of the series. The title is based on the film Home Alone. The episode is written by David M. Stern, the brother of actor Daniel Stern, who co-starred in Home Alone and its first sequel.[1]
Plot
Marge decides she needs a vacation, after all the stress at home causes her to have a mental breakdown. She leaves for a place called "Rancho Relaxo", putting Bart and Lisa into the care of Patty and Selma and leaving Maggie at home with Homer. Homer invites Barney over to help him take care of Maggie, but he soon realizes how much he needs Marge to take care of things. Maggie, upset about her mother's absence, makes her way out of the house looking for Marge and goes missing. After a long search from Homer and Barney, Homer calls a baby search. Meanwhile, Marge has done everything she wanted to do in her vacation and calls Homer to tell him she is coming back and he should pick her up at the train station. Maggie is found on the edge of the top of an ice-cream shop and is returned to Homer just in time for Marge's arrival, and everything is back to normal.
Production
In the episode Saturdays of Thunder, the song "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin is played when Homer is on hold, then gets tears while listening to the music being played. This scene was replicated for "Homer Alone", with "Baby Come Back" by Player being used, and Homer also gets tears from it.
Cultural references and allusions to earlier episodes
- In the beginning when the screen freezes on Bart and Homer, the reference is to the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons.
- Marge growls "Get Out!" at Bart and Lisa in a deepened voice, à la The Exorcist.
- At the train station, the list of stops is a reference to the Jack Benny radio show.
- The song that plays while Homer is on hold on the missing child hotline is "Baby Come Back" by Ambrosia. The same scene where Homer is on hold on the phone, and music playing and Homer getting tears on hearing the music happened earlier in the season in "Saturdays of Thunder".
- Les Claypool, the bassist and founding member of the band Primus, named his house Rancho Relaxo after the hotel in which Marge stays.
- When Marge is at one of the bowling stores, you can see a picture of Jacques from the episode Life on the Fast Lane on the wall.
- When Marge is on the Springfield Bridge and the bus driver says "Look lady, this better be good" Marge reacts with a lion's roar, a sped-up version of the Leo the Lion roar from the MGM logo[citation needed].
- When Bart rummages through Patty and Selma's closet, finding a large cone bra he says: "I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Ay Caramba!". This first happened in Krusty Gets Busted, commenting the sisters' slideshow.
- Homer's reaction to finding Maggie missing from her crib is a reference to the movie Home Alone from the famous aftershave scene. The title is also a play on the title of the movie.
- When Homer first loses Maggie, he looks around the house for her. In the basement, for a split second, you can see the Olmec stone head they received in Blood Feud.
References
External links
