[The long of it]
Just last week, after watching "Marge's Son Poisoning (GABF20)," I argued that a Homer-Lisa bonding episode would be easier to mine for laughs because it was intrinsically funny to watch Homer try to be on his best behavior for Lisa. Now that I've seen "See Homer Run," I'll add that it's equally funny to see Lisa play against type, too.
The best moments in "See Homer Run" come when Lisa throws a rare temper tantrum in the schoolyard. It seems that Homer didn't appreciate her homemade Father's Day gift, in yet another let-down for Lisa. This must have been the one that pushed her over the edge; blaming men in general for her woes, she lashes out by pelting Martin with pens, pushing Milhouse in the mud, and throwing Wendell's Thermos over the fence. She even clonks Skinner with her saxophone, prompting him to retaliate by putting one of those frowny stickers on her permanent record. We don't often get to see Lisa blow up like this, but I think it goes a long way to humanizing her character. (I mean, have you ever seen fellow goody-goody Martin even get peeved?)
"See Homer Run" has plenty of other good set-pieces as well. I liked Homer's imagined "Father's Day Eve," which featured a Daddy Claus who flew through the air in a golf bag-equipped recliner. Later, Homer imagines himself using the Swiss Army knife he got for Father's Day to save Marge from a band of pirates. Springfield's emergency service providers once again show their incompetence at a chain-reaction traffic collision. I also liked the way Homer tried to win Lisa's respect by rescuing people trapped in the collision. Even the episode's recall election plot tangent generated laughs, which is a noteworthy feat since I figured this story was pretty much played out last year. There were plenty of good little moments, too: The way Dr. Pryor emerged from the shadows at the parent-principal conference, Cletus and Brandine's conversation before the crash, and the way Homer shouts, "Expand my brain, learning juice" as he prepares for a run at Springfield's mayoral office (another move intended to win Lisa over). There were also some poignant moments as well. Lisa's homemade picture book, showing her and Homer as a father-daughter unicorn team, was adorable. The final picture of two unicorns riding horses into the sunset was delightful, even if Homer didn't much appreciate it.
Fox's promotions department decided to play up this episode's election angle, and I suspect that will leave some viewers feeling the plot was poorly paced. After all, we don't get to the electoral stuff until the second half of the show. I'd say this show was truly about the relationship between Homer and his daughter, with the election (and Homer's run as Safety Salamander) just being ways Homer employs to win Lisa's respect. Taken in that light, the plot was well-focused.
The world probably wasn't asking for another Homer-Lisa bonding episode (especially since we just got a parent-child bonding show last week), but I won't reject a solid episode like "See Homer Run." It was a quality show from start to finish, consistently funny, with good portrayals of Homer and Lisa, and nice bit of poignancy. This is the first time I've seen Stephanie Gillis's name in the credits as the head writer, so I'll assume it's her first time in that role. If so, she's off to a good start. There's no need to recall "See Homer Run;" it's a winner as-is.
[The short of it]
Ready for another Homer-Lisa bonding episode? At least this was a good one, giving Lisa a chance to play against her character with a rare schoolyard tantrum scene. Many of the show's other scenes were funny, as well; my favorites included Homer's "Father's Day Eve," his pirate fantasy, the chain-reaction collision, and (surprisingly) the mayoral elections. I liked Lisa's homemade Father's Day gift, even if Homer was indifferent. The plot was well-focused, if you consider the election plot as being a variation on the "win Lisa over" theme. This is a fine debut for Stephanie Gillis as lead writer. There's no need to recall "See Homer Run;" it's a winner as-is. (A)
[DYNs]
... Marge looks slightly bustier in Homer's pirate fantasy than she does in "real life"? ... Lisa used the pipe cleaners to make the spirals for her "Daddy and Me" book? ... Lisa throws a dodgeball, one of her shoes, and her sax at Principal Skinner? ... Comic Book Guy campaigns under that name, as opposed to his real one? ... Mayor Quimby wasn't at the Mayoral debate? ... one of Homer's signs implied 25 candidates, but only seven were at the debate (not counting Brockman, who moderated)? Perhaps it was only for the leading candidates?
[References]
"Dick and Jane" (children's books) - one of the signature lines is "See Dick run. Run, Dick, Run"; episode title appears to be a spoof of this
"Joy to the World" (Christmas carol) - Homer uses this tune as the basis of his "Father's Day Eve" song
Santa Claus (Christmas icon) - Homer wishes there was a "Daddy Claus"
the Easter Bunny (Easter icon) - he also hopes there's a "Super Bowl Bunny"
Toblerone (candy bar) - Quimby uses "tough Toblerone" as a retort
"The Old Gray Mare" (folk song) - news tagline calls Quimby the "old gray mayor" who "ain't what he used to be"
~Jerry Springer (former mayor of Cincinnati) - one commandeered a city bus, the way Quimby tried to do with an airplane
California recall election - Springfield's mayoral recall similar (See "Personal Comments & Observations" for more)
Arnold Swartznegger (California governor) - Ranier Wolfcastle accused of some of the same stuff Swartznegger has been: groping women, being a has-been movie star, and being the kin of a Nazi (Swartznegger's father was supposedly in the SS) - I think both Wolfcastle and Swartznegger are for increased stem- cell research
Swift-Boat Veterans for Truth (political group) - campaigned against John Kerry by attacking his war record; Nuclear Plant Workers for Truth hopes to do the same for Homer by attacking his work record
Budweiser (beer manufacturer) - Milhouse uses the pass� "Wazzup" tagline from this brewer's commercials
[Previous Episode References]
[7G03] Homer Simpson, safety advocate
[FFF]
Banners at Springfield Mall:
YOUR FATHER'S DAY
HEADQUARTERS ASK ABOUT OUR
STEP-DAD
DISCOUNTSSome of the stores at the mall:
Simply WICKED
Shoes EXCESST-shirt Lisa holds:
Have A
SHREK-TASTIC
[Shrek in ]
[shirt and tie]
FATHER'S DAY!Craft store:
do it yourself,
you lazy assLisa's fridge magnet:
HAPPY
BirthdAy
DAD!
FROM LISAMovie poster:
Princess
ROCK STAR WITH
EUGENE LEVY
AS THE KINGSign on Cletus's truck:
SOUR MASH
ENTERPRISESNews tagline:
THE OLD GRAY MAYOR
AIN'T WHAT HE USED TO BECampaign booths at the park:
VOTE Luigi OL' GIL
FOR MAYOR VOTE COMIC BOOK GUY VOTE
FOR WOLFCASTLE
BEST MAYOR EVER! OR ELSE!Jimbo's political funding disclaimer:
PAID FOR BY VICTIMS OF JIMBO
Homer's campaign sign:
HOMER SIMPSON
FOR MAYOR
THE LESSER OF 25 EVILSBart's good-luck banner:
Good Luck At The
Press Conference, DadAnti-Homer commercial:
NUCLEAR PLANT WORKERS
FOR TRUTHCandidates at the debate (left to right):
- Miss Springfield [that's gotta put a strain on her relationship
with the Mayor]
- Eleanor Abernathy
- Gil
- Bumblebee Man
- Ranier Wolfcastle
- Homer
- Dr. HibbertQuimby campaign sign:
CHANGE IS BAD
More Homer campaign signs:
ELECT SIMPSON HONESTY. FAIRNESS.
FOR THE FUTURE AVAILABLE FOR PARTIES
[Personal Comments & Observations]
Smithers complains that Homer "hardly ever comes to work anymore," possibly referring to how rarely we see Homer at the plant, or to his numerous alternate jobs.
Miss Springfield butchers a few bars of Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American."
This is mainly for people in countries where they don't have a Father's Day. The holiday was created as a balance for Mother's Day. Both started off as a day of appreciation for parents. Both evolved into card- and gift-giving occasions, but Mother's Day is definitely more popular, in spite of Homer's efforts to bolster "his" day with a Father's Day Eve. Maybe this is because, as Lisa found out, dads are notoriously hard to shop for. With mom, you can buy a little perfume or some jewelry, but the things dad can use are either too mundane (like shaving cream) or too expensive (like a new built-in grille) to make for practical gifts.
Jessica Simpson -- Pop singer better-known for starring on "The Newlyweds", a reality show on MTV, than for her actual singing ability.
Eugene Levy -- Actor and comedian who first rose to prominence on "SCTV Network," and when on to play a variety of nerdish, un-hip characters. He'd be an unlikely casting choice for king of a rock star kingdom.
Ben Affleck -- Actor known for his leading-man good looks, his roles in "Good Will Hunting" and "Gigli" (though he'd probably like to forget the latter one), and his messy breakup with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. I don't think he's a major political mover and shaker, though.
"The Scream," a famous painting by Edvard Munch, actually was stolen a couple of years ago. The authorities have yet to recover it. Maybe someone should tip them off about Dolph ...
Homer isn't the first one to point out a peculiar dichotomy. Public- safety advocates have long made it a goal to get children in the habit of buckling their seat belts when they ride in a car. Yet, we turn around and make children ride on school buses that have no seatbelts at all, except maybe for the driver. In fact, the thin seats with exposed steel frames look like they'd be rather hazardous in a crash. School officials point out that get thirty or forty unruly children to individually buckle up would take a tremendous amount of time and, besides, their buses have an impeccable safety record. Even so, newer buses are now rolling off the line equipped with safety belts, so kids can now buckle up on their way to and from class.
Cletus drives an early-50s Chevrolet pickup. He runs into Lenny's Volvo. (I'm not sure about the model. A 960, perhaps?) Lenny, in turn, runs into Carl's red Corvette which looks the generation made between 1983 and 1990 or so.
California gave the rest of the nation an unintentional civics lesson last year, with its gubernatorial recall election. A "recall election" is essentially a voter do-over. Called under special (and supposedly hard-to-trigger) circumstances, voters in a recall election decide whether to keep the incumbent candidate in office, or elect a new person. (Not every state in the U.S. has this option, by the way. It depends on how that state's constitution has been set up.) California's election got under way when state representative Darrel Issa got fed up with the state's unpopular governor, Gray Davis. He was able to round up enough petitions to force new election. We presume his plan was to replace Davis as governor, but things quickly got out of his -- and everyone else's -- control. More than a hundred people qualified as candidates for office, some more serious than others. Homer, campaigning as Salamander Man, would barely have distinguished himself. California's real-life field included former child actor Gary Coleman and a former porn star. The most famous and viable candidate proved to be Arnold Swartznegger, the Ranier Wolfcastle-like action star. In a move that perhaps fits California's celebrity-driven culture, he announced his candidacy on the "Tonight" show. Unlike Wolfcastle, Swartznegger successfully unseated Davis, thereby winning the prize of governing a large, fractious, debt-ridden state.
Hmmm. Maybe Mayor Quimby, who kept his job, got stuck with what he deserved after all.