Airdate: May 3rd, 1998
Synopsis: After a disastrous outing to a church picnic, Bart realizes that Homer is pathetically out of shape. Homer, disappointed in himself for failing his son, decides to take up an exercise regiment, complete with trips to the “gyme” and eating Powersauce bars. Impressively, with the help of Rainier Wolfcastle, he manages to build up sizable muscles within two months, albeit developing a bit of ego along the way. One particular trip to the “gyme” has Homer and Bart meet up with representatives from Powersauce, and Bart convinces Homer to take up on an offer to climb the super-tall Murderhorn. The executives sponsor the trip along the way, turning it into an ad campaign… even having sherpas help Homer.
Review (SPOILERS): Watching these past few episodes has been like a pendulum. We had “Trillions” show the assassination of satire, “Girly Edition” show the brilliant satire formed over the previous eight seasons, “Trash of the Titans” show Homer getting a job and acting like an asshat all the way, and this episode, actually extending pathos to Homer. Is this the last we’ll see of a sympathetic Homer? Who knows? (Hint: probably.)
This episode chooses to look at one of Homer’s defining physical features- his rotundness, and how it contrasts with society’s expectations of machismo. It’s a bit strange that, given the relative zaniness of these past few episodes (Cuba? Really?), this episode actually has a somewhat realistic portrayal of Homer’s health and what happens when he exercises- even though he gets muscles in two months, he’s still not presented as fit. The way this episode portrays his striving to get healthier actually makes you feel for Homer throughout the entire episode.
Unlike future episodes, which will show Homer becoming macho thanks to the power of a dietician, this episode shows the fraudulence of certain “schemes” to healthy living- that is, food in “health bar” form. This actually shows a realistic viewpoint of that scheme- eating the bars seems to motivate Homer. When the rug is pulled out from under Homer (mmm… Chinese newspapers), he rejects the Powersauce Executives’ fears that he won’t make it to the summit… only to embrace it after almost dying.
He only truly abandons his quest after he learns something about his father. Why? Eh, it’s a plot arc introduced in the third act. I would’ve placed something a bit earlier, but it fit with the pacing of the episode. Still, he realizes that there can be no greater shame than what his father did, and that whatever he does is still more dignified. I won’t spoil it, but it is a pretty dark moment.
While Homer does dip in a little bit of “Jerkass” territory here, it’s relatively minor and somewhat excusable- with the pathos built up, it’s understandable why his ego inflated a bit after gaining some muscle. Likewise, the resolution of the plot is a bit… strange. Still, somewhat alleviated by Homer’s pathos.
Getting back to the macho part, this episode does take some shots at society’s expectations of macho-ness via Wolfcastle. The muscles. the feats of strength. Yet, he won’t do the impossible in real life- climb the Murderhorn. Granted, his reasoning is justified, but still. The Gravity Falls episode “Dipper Vs. Manliness” did a similar episode 15 years later- one that criticized masculine stereotypes. Being that “Manliness” happens to be one of my least favorite Gravity Falls episodes, I find it strange how an episode from the waning years of The Simpsons can best a similar episode of a show that might challenge my all-time favorite.
Not much to say here, really. A good episode, albeit relatively unmemorable (except for “gyme”), probably the last before Scully’s brand of Simpsons fully takes over.
Tidbits
- The mockery of advertising is brilliant. The Powersauce executives are annoyingly hysterical- they’re more callous about death and danger than Mr. and Mrs. Valentino!
- This just in: Powersauce is amazing!
- Note to self: always use “gyme”.
- Apologies for being out for these past couple of weeks. Writer’s block, plus a new blog, plus a new semester, does not motivation make.
One last note: this will likely be the last blog post under the current URL. At the latest, as of the posting of my review of the next Gravity Falls episode, “Northwest Mansion Noir”, the URL will change to starbug1729.blogspot.com. I would preemptively bookmark it, if I were you.Update 3/10/2024: I have since moved again to WordPress.
Favorite Scene: Every scene with Abe and McAllester is brilliantly done. Nothing says character development like those scenes.
Least Favorite Scene: Eh… can’t name a scene that stood out for its weaknesses. All of them were necessary to the plot.
Jerkass Homer Meter: 1.5. Homer gets a bit more aloof and callous when he gets fit, but it’s immediately balanced out by the pathos in the episode.
Zaniness Factor: 2… mainly for the last three minutes.
Score: 7.
Update- 2/2/15: Not related to The Simpsons, but I’ve just learned/realized that Geraldine McEwan, who played Cassandra in Red Dwarf, died recently. In tribute to her, I post this quote from “Cassandra”:
Cassandra: All of the Canaries will be dead within 1 hour, except for Rimmer…
Rimmer: YES!
Cassandra: …who will be dead in 20 minutes.
The Review Nebula 
This is among the Scully era’s greatest oddities. Asides from featuring almost none of the Scully-era issues which were becoming the normal for the show at the time (Homer actually behaving like a functioning human instead of an immature cartoon character, a sympathetic and relatable portrayal of a main cast member (particularly shocking considering that this is Season 9 Homer we’re referring to), a coherent and humourous plot and well-integrated and compelling satire), the episode itself features many elements which harken back to previous classic showrunners’ tenures (the appearance of Rainier Wolfcastle, who pretty much disappears after this episode until somewhere in S13, the plot being fueled by Homer’s desire to instill pride in his son and the unusual (for late S9) number of jokes that land solidly) which provides it with a more ‘Mirkin-esque’ tone (with a little 3G Jean/Reiss thrown in) than the episodes surrounding it. It’s definitely the best of the S9 Scully episodes (alongside “The Cartridge Family”) and is probably one of the final classic-worthy episodes of the show altogether (the only two I can confidentially say approach this status beyond this point are “Lisa Gets an ‘A'” and “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken”).
In regards to the Scully era’s quality as a whole (if we’re talking production seasons/order here), I tend to consider S9 the border region between the classic and Scully eras, S10 to be the first major slide and the final season with any classic “Simpsons”-esque tonal qualities, S11 to be the death of the show and S12 to be a poorly disguised obnoxious early 2000s sitcom. I would presumably break down the overall progression of season 9 as follows:
The Cartridge Family: Plot, satire and humour remain solid from the Oakley/Weinstein seasons, but Homer’s behaviour is gradually beginning to seep into the obnoxious.
Bart Star: The first appearance to hinge on the actions of the increasingly unsympathetic Homer (albeit they at least attempt to saddle him with a motivation behind his exaggerated behaviour), which sours the largely solid (if trope-ish) episode around it.
The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons: The first of the ‘interesting but ultimately arbitrary’ status quo changes of the Scully era (albeit they at least tried with “I’m with Cupid”).
Lisa the Skeptic: The show gradually begins to lose its handle on well-controlled satire and coherency/subtlety despite the jokes and characters (save for Homer, who has now swiftly shed the vast majority of his humanity in favour of ‘Jerkass Homer’). The first of the egregious ‘wacky third-act twists’ also shows up.
Realty Bites: The show begins to drop any concept of satire in favour of Homer-affiliated wackiness and out-of-place cartoon violence (see the Lil’ Bandit subplot and the Kirk van Houten’s arm gag). The first appearance of Gil, the first of the shallow one-note gag characters the show would later adore (although he is tolerable here).
Bart Carny: The first of the Scully-era “Homer gets a wacky job and acts like a braindead jackass” episodes. Bart is now largely reduced to Homer’s straight-man sidekick.
Trash of the Titans: The genesis of the Scully-era formula: a wacky adventure hinging heavily on Jerkass Homer, a lack of material for the rest of the family, random celebrity appearances (albeit U2 at least are not treated as kiddily as later S10-12 celebrities would be) and a wacky third-act twist. The gags are beginning to decline, but are not yet on a complete downturn.
The Last Temptation of Krust: Proof that the Scully-era writing team was becoming unconcerned with the development of secondaries (or any character outside of Homer, for that matter). The first ‘sanctified celebrity’ appearance (Jay Leno).
Dumbbell Indemnity: The beginning of Moe’s downturn turn.
This Little Wiggy: The beginning of Ralph’s downturn turn. Proof that the show is beginning to prioritize wackiness/Homer gags over the variety of comedic styles employed by the classic era, relegating the Bart/Lisa plots into dullfests.
The Trouble with Trillions: The first “wacky cartoonish Homer antics” episode.
Girly Edition: The last occasion on which Marge appears to be genuinely opposed (as opposed to apathetic towards), Jerkass Homer’s increasingly wild antics.
King of the Hill: The final appearance of classic Homer.
Lost Our Lisa: The infamous drawbridge chase and ‘stupid risks’ spiel is the killing blow to Homer’s original characterization, whilst his hijacking of the plot solidifies the ‘Homer-centricity’ of the show going forward into S10-12.
Natural Born Kissers: The final appearance of a more nuanced Homer/Marge chemistry.
When You Dish Upon a Star: The first bad/Zombie Simpsons episode.
Lard of the Dance: The first appearance of the stereotypical “Homer gets a job” plot, which solidifies said plot as normalcy for the show.
The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace: The quality of humour and overall characterizations are noticeably beginning to severely slide. The first episode to focus solely on the wackiness of Homer obtaining a random new profession.
Bart the Mother: Indicative of the show’s lack of interest in writing jokes for characters not named Homer (“when Homer’s not on screen, everybody should be asking “where’s Homer?”), contributing to the dryness of the overall episode. The end of Phil Hartman’s tenure on the show (and the elimination of one of its final consistently bright points).
And thus the decline of the show from an immortal TV classic to below-average is complete. And that isn’t even delving into S10…
LikeLike
Well, that’s an intriguing breakdown of the show’s utter rot during this season.
In retrospect, I think it’s more of a horribly tragic coincidence that Phil Hartman died around the time the series began to slide in quality. Given what the writers have done to the rest of the show’s characters, I don’t see how they would’ve maintained the brilliance of Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure.
But, yeah. This episode is one of the last gasps of sanity from The Simpsons, even if I don’t think it’s the show’s best in terms of comedy. There have certainly been a few good episodes since (admittedly the ones most of the show’s defenders point to as reasons they still stay on), but from here on out, they become fewer and further between.
LikeLiked by 1 person