[The long of it]
Isaiah. Jeremiah. Nathaniel. Ezekiel. Homer. Well, the name sounds antique enough, but I'm not quite ready to accept Homer as a new prophet. And neither will anyone else, after they see "Thank God It's Doomsday." At least Homer's good for a laugh.
Like the more traditional prophets, Homer doesn't set out to spread the word, but rather the word comes to him. While fighting at the mall barbershop, Bart and Lisa manage to lose most of their hair. To avoid a school photography club bent on taking embarrassing pictures, Homer and the kids duck into a movie theater. "Left Behind," a movie about Armageddon, is playing, and it spooks Homer into thinking that the End is Near. A few coincidences convince him, and he's off on a mission to save as many people as possible.
Although the themes will be familiar to those who have watched the series for a few years, "Thank God It's Doomsday" has some interesting new ideas. His motivation into prophecy is one rarely seen in organized religion: Homer figures he can't get into Heaven on his own merits, but if he warns people about the Apocalypse, he might be able to slide in on a technicality. (A literal saving grace, if you will.) His earnest but half-baked approach is fun. When trying to use some fancy math to pin down when the world will end, Homer at one point subtracts the number of Filipinos mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. That number is zero, as it turns out. Homer's salvation instinct doesn't extend to the Flanders flock, though. When Ned shows up at one of Homer's Rapture meetings, Homer tries to shoo him away by claiming it's a meeting of gay witches for abortion.
Jokes like that are funny, but the most compelling part of the show might be scenes in Heaven which dominate the third act. As Homer envisions it, Heaven is like a particularly posh spa, with helpful Eurotrash concierges, a concert hall, and even a waterslide (coming soon). It speaks volumes about Homer that his Heaven is more about material rather than spiritual comfort. Homer's audience with the Almighty (one of the longest sequences with God that I can remember in the series) is also good.
Occasionally, a scene will fall a little flat, like the ones featuring Krusty's celebrity-filled blimp. Most of "Thank God" is strong humor- wise, though, from the showdown between Bart and Lisa at the start of the show, to the visual spoof in the closing scene.
I can't canonize it as an all-time great episode, but "Thank God It's Doomsday" is a fine show that finds a creative spin on a somewhat familiar situation. And that's something to be thankful for.
[The short of it]
Homer may not be much of a prophet, but at least he's good for a laugh. I liked Homer's unusual motivation to warn folks about Armageddon, and the half-baked way he went about doing it. The third act has an interesting take on Heaven, as Homer sees it. Some of the scenes are a little flat, but the majority of the humor here is strong. I can't canonize this as one of the all-time greats, but this is a fine show that finds a creative spin on a somewhat familiar situation -- something I can be thankful for. (B+)
[DYNs]
... the family in the "Left Below" movie is set up nearly the same as Homer's family (husband, wife, older boy, middle sister, and a baby)? ... David Crosby, Bette Midler, and Ron Howard can be seen in the background in the shots from Krusty's blimp? ... Ned and his children manage to get seats on Homer's rapture bus anyway? I'm surprised Homer didn't make them walk. ... Lisa looks resentful for many of the scenes on the mesa? ... Maggie can climb out of her crib and open her bedroom door unassisted? ... apparently, Los Lobos perished in the blimp crash?
[References]
Thank God It's Friday! (saying) - episode title a spoof
"Peanuts" (comic strip) - Ralph wants Charlie Brown's haircut
"Who Let the Dogs Out?" (song) - sung with parody lyrics as Bart and Lisa fight
"Left Behind" (series of novels) - "Left Below" parodies the popular, Christian-based novels about the Apocalypse - also, there's a "Left Behind" movie
Genesis 29 - 35 - Jacob and Rachel's relationship
iPod (MP3 player) - Christian bookstore has an iGod poster - the poster a dancing deity shown in silhouette, like in the iPod TV commercials
"... for Dummies" books - Homer consults "Rapture for Dummies"
"Black Sunday" (book and movie) - I was too young to be in the target audience when this movie came out, but the clips made it look like it involved a blimp crashing into a football stadium [OT bonus fact: The guy who wrote "Black Sunday" also wrote "The Silence of the Lambs" and its related books]
Nostradamus (soothsayer) - Jeff Albertson calls Homer "Nostra-dumb-ass"
Tokyo Rose (WWII propagandist) - the name of Moe's sushi bar is "Tokyo Roe's"
"Chicken Soup for the Soul" (book) - Homer throws out "Chicken Soup for the Damned Soul"
"Tuesdays with Morrie" (novel) - Homer tosses "Tuesdays with Morrie in Hell"
Farah Fawcett (actress) - her famous 70s pinup poster is one of the pictures in Homer's Heavenly bedroom
"The Pope of Greenwich Village" (movie) - there's a dining establishment in Heaven called, "The Pope of Sandwich Village"
"Superman" (movie) - Superman reversed time by flying around the Earth really fast, causing it to rotate backwards
"The Last Supper" (painting) - final scene at the restored Moe's Tavern staged to resemble this famous DaVinci painting
[Previous Episode References]
[3F18] Lisa's hair mangled at a barbershop
[DABF18] Baha Men are on the soundtrack, and parodying their hit
song, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
[AABF14] The Rapture is shown
[BABF22] Homer uses math for religious purposes (in this case to
disprove the existence of God)
[9F01] Homer extols a religious philosophy
[5F05] Everyone believes the world is coming to an end (well,
everyone but Lisa, who is skeptical)
[9F19] Bette Midler seen
[5F19], [BABF02] Ron Howard guest-stars[FFF]
Cool mall barbershop:
Da Buzz Club
YOU
CAN'T
PUT A
PRICE
ON
COOL! COOL
HAIRCUTS
$30Sign by the photo club:
SPRINGFIELD
ELEMENTARY
PHOTOGRAPHY
CLUBNewspaper in "Left Below":
AMERICA TODAY
PERMISSIVE
LIFESTYLES
ON RISEBIBLE MOCKED
Cake store:
IN'N'OUT
DEVIL'S FOOD CAKESOutdated (but cheap!) Armageddon book:
1989
THE YEAR
OF
ARMAGEDDONHomer's reading material (at the kitchen table):
RAPTURE
FOR ANY DAY NOW!
DUMMIESHomer's end-times equation:
12 - 333 X 666 =
2
(a X b ) > 2 = 7
2
(2 + 2b ) = 144,000
- 0 = 3:15, 05/18 [Later, Homer replaces the 12 with a 13, and gets "5/19" as
the result]Screen caption:
MAY 18TH ... JUDGEMENT DAY
Moe's bar:
TOKYO ROE'S
SUSHI BARHomer's reading material (at the garbage can):
Chicken tuesdays with
Soup for the Morrie
Damned in Hell
SoulInteractive TV screen in Heaven:
Heaven
Welcome Dining
[Heaven's]
[ gates ]
Spa EntertainmentDesk paperweight:
I BELIEVE IN ME
Clock labels:
NEW YORK LONDON TOKYO HEAVEN
[Oops!]
The typeface for Da Buzz Club's sign changes when the kids run out of the shop.
[Personal Comments & References]
The Lord invokes the phrase "deux ex machina" to restore Moe's back to normal. The phrase refers to an ending where things are "reset" back to normal in a contrived or magical way. (Like by divine intervention, for instance.) To make it extra fitting, the phrase literally means, "God from the machine."
Dean Martin -- Singer. He popular about the same time Sinatra was, and in fact was a part of Sinatra's "Rat Pack." As he implied in this episode, Martin was a prolific artist, recording many albums of music, many in the smooth crooning style associated with Las Vegas nightclubs.
Warren Harding -- America's 29th President, 1921 to 1923. Harding's term in office was a troubled one, and he's most famous for his association with the Teapot Dome scandal, which was a shady land deal. Harding probably wasn't personally involved, but several of his top officials were. Halfway through his term, Harding passed away, leaving the Presidency to Calvin Coolidge.