{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = Homer at nuclear plant.jpeg | caption = Homer attempts to avert the nuclear meltdown. Shadows and [[backlighting (lighting design)|back-lighting]] were used in this scene to increase the tension. | season = 3 | episode = 5 | director = [[Mark Kirkland]] | writer = [[Howard Gewirtz]] | production = 8F04 | airdate = {{Start date|1991|10|17}} | guests = * [[Jon Lovitz]] as Aristotle Amadopolis and Avery Devereaux * [[Magic Johnson]] as himself (credited as Earvin Johnson Jr. ) * [[Chick Hearn]] as himself | blackboard = "I will not squeak chalk" (Bart squeaks the chalk while writing it)<ref>{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]] |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonscomplete00groe/page/66 66] |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} }}.</ref> | couch_gag = An [[extraterrestrial life|alien]] is sitting on the couch and escapes through a [[trapdoor]] as the family rushes in.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page5.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040521193616/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season3/page5.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 21, 2004 |title=Homer Defined |access-date=2008-04-12 |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> | commentary = [[Matt Groening]]<br>Al Jean<br>Mike Reiss<br>[[Dan Castellaneta]]<br>Howard Gewirtz<br>Mark Kirkland | prev = [[Bart the Murderer]] | next = [[Like Father, Like Clown]] }} "'''Homer Defined'''" is the fourth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on October 17, 1991.<ref name="Penner"/> In the episode, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] accidentally saves the [[Springfield Nuclear Power Plant]] from [[Nuclear meltdown|meltdown]] by arbitrarily choosing the emergency override button using a [[Counting-out game|counting rhyme]]. Homer is honored as a hero and idolized by his daughter [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], but feels [[Impostor syndrome|unworthy of the praise]], knowing his apparent heroism was blind luck. Meanwhile, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] is downhearted after learning that [[Milhouse van Houten|Milhouse]]'s mother forbids the boys to play together anymore because she thinks he is a bad influence on her son.
The episode was written by freelance writer [[Howard Gewirtz]] and directed by [[Mark Kirkland]]. Basketball player [[Magic Johnson]] of the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] made a guest appearance in the episode as himself, becoming the first professional athlete to do so on the show. He appears in two sequences, one in which he calls Homer to congratulate him on saving the plant, the second during a game sequence in which Lakers sportscaster [[Chick Hearn]] also guest stars.
The episode has received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly Johnson's appearance.
In its original airing on Fox, "Homer Defined" acquired a 12.7 [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]]—the equivalent of being watched in approximately 11.69 million homes—and finished the week ranked 36th.
==Plot== While eating donuts at the [[Springfield Nuclear Power Plant]], [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] splatters jelly on the nuclear reactor core's temperature dial. The donut filling obscures the panel and the plant approaches a [[nuclear meltdown]]. Unable to remember his safety training (because he was playing with a [[Rubik's Cube]] at the time), Homer chooses a button at random with a [[Eeny, meeny, miny, moe|counting rhyme]], which miraculously averts the meltdown. [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]] is saved and Homer is hailed as a hero.
[[Mr. Burns]] names Homer [[Employee of the month (program)|"Employee of the Month"]]. [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]], often embarrassed by her dim-witted dad, starts to worship him as a role model. Homer feels guilty that his so-called heroism was nothing but blind luck. His despair deepens after he receives a congratulatory phone call from [[Magic Johnson]] (who used the [[Lakers]]' last time out to call Homer personally), who tells him frauds are eventually exposed.
Meanwhile, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] is upset when he learns that he was not invited to [[Milhouse Van Houten]]'s birthday party the other day because Milhouse's mother, [[Luann Van Houten|Luann]], thinks Bart is a bad influence and forbids the boys from being friends. Mad and deprived of his best friend, a depressed Bart resorts to playing with [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]]. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] visits Luann and persuades her to let the boys be friends again. Using the Krusty the Clown walkie-talkies Bart gave him for his birthday, Milhouse invites Bart to his house. Realizing that no one else would have stood up for him, Bart thanks Marge.
Burns introduces Homer to Aristotle Amadopolis ([[Jon Lovitz]]), the owner of the nuclear power plant in the fictional neighboring city of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)#Shelbyville|Shelbyville]]. Burns forces Homer to deliver a motivational speech to the Shelbyville workers. During Homer's fumbling address, an impending meltdown threatens the Shelbyville plant. In the control room, Amadopolis asks Homer to avert the disaster. Homer repeats his rhyme and blindly presses a button. Although Homer once more averts a meltdown, Amadopolis is irate to find that Homer's supposed heroism was by sheer dumb luck. Soon the phrase "to pull a Homer", meaning "to succeed despite idiocy," becomes a widely used [[catchphrase]], even employed by Johnson after he slipped on the wet court of the [[Kia Forum|Forum]] which caused the basketball he was dribbling to hit the referee and go into the basket for a game winning [[three point field goal|3 pointer]], and by [[Barney Gumble|Barney]] when he fell from his barstool at [[Moe's Tavern|Moe's]] and found a pretzel on the floor.; its dictionary entry is illustrated by Homer's portrait.
==Production== The episode was written by [[freelance]] writer Howard Gewirtz. It was one of many stories he pitched to the producers of the show.<ref name="Gewirtz">{{cite video |people=Gewirtz, Howard |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> According to executive producer [[Al Jean]], Gewirtz's script ended up featuring one of the longest first acts (an act being the amount of time between commercial breaks) in the history of the show when the episode was completed.<ref name="Jean">{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Gewirtz's script originally contained two uses of the word "ass", once from Bart ("bad influence, my ass") and once from Burns ("...{{nbsp}}kiss my sorry ass goodbye"). This was the first time a character in the show had used this word, and it led to problems with the network [[Censorship|censors]].<ref name="Jean"/> Eventually, the censors forced the producers to remove one instance, so Burns’ line was changed to "kiss my sorry butt goodbye".<ref name="Reiss">{{cite video |people=Reiss, Mike |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> However, in the first rerun of the episode, this decision was reversed, with Burns saying "ass" and Bart saying "butt".<ref name="sprcon">{{cite book |last1=Reiss |first1=Mike |last2=Klickstein |first2=Mathew |title=Springfield confidential: jokes, secrets, and outright lies from a lifetime writing for the Simpsons |date=2018 |publisher=Dey Street Books |isbn=978-0062748034 |page=77|location=New York City}}</ref> (The official DVD release and the Disney+ release contains the dialogue from the reruns.)
[[File:Magic Lipofsky.jpg|thumb|200px|Basketball player [[Magic Johnson]] was the first professional athlete to guest star on ''The Simpsons''.]]
Basketball player [[Magic Johnson]] of the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] guest stars in the episode as himself. He was the first professional athlete to do so on the show.<ref name="SI"/><ref name="Brown"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lesdessousdusport.fr/20-ans-de-sport-chez-les-simpsons-8742 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231225615/http://www.lesdessousdusport.fr/20-ans-de-sport-chez-les-simpsons-8742 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-12-31 |title=20 ans de sport chez les Simpsons |last=Hervé |first=Par |date=2009-12-14 |work=Les Dessous du Sport |language=fr |access-date=2010-04-05 }}</ref> Johnson appears in two sequences: first in a scene in which he calls to congratulate Homer on saving the plant,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sports Today |date=1991-10-16 |work=[[The Buffalo News]] |page=D2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=TV Watch |last=Yandel |first=Gerry |date=1991-10-16 |work=[[The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution]] |page=E/9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Washington Delivered A Historic Peep Show |last=Rosenthal |first=Phil |date=1991-10-16 |work=[[Daily News of Los Angeles]] |page=L20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Magic' On TV |date=1991-10-17 |work=[[Press-Telegram (Long Beach)|Press-Telegram]] |page=C1}}</ref> and later in the episode during a basketball game when he "pulls a Homer" by accidentally getting the ball into the basket after slipping on the floor. The recording of the episode was done during the [[National Basketball Association]]'s regular season, so the producers had a hard time scheduling Johnson's session. With the deadline approaching, the producers traveled to Johnson's home to record his lines.<ref name="Jean"/> According to the ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]'', the recording equipment brought to his home did not work at first and "almost doomed the guest spot".<ref name="Brown">{{cite news |title=Eat My Sports: A Retrospective — Some Of The Sports World's Brightest Stars Knew They Hit It Big When They Guest-Starred On The Iconic Series |last=Brown |first=Daniel |date=2007-07-22 |work=[[San Jose Mercury News]] |page=1C}}</ref> Lakers sportscaster [[Chick Hearn]] also guest stars in the episode, commentating on the game that Johnson plays.<ref name="Penner">{{cite news |title=Cowboys' Owner May Be in Hot Water with Visitors |last=Penner |first=Mike |date=2009-09-22 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Jean"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Today's TV Tips |last=Curtright |first=Guy |date=1991-10-17 |work=[[The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution]] |page=D/10}}</ref>
Another guest star in the episode was actor [[Jon Lovitz]], who voiced Aristotle Amadopolis and an actor on a [[soap opera]]. This was Lovitz's third appearance on the show.<ref name="Jean"/> Amadopolis was modeled on the Greek shipping [[Business magnate|magnate]] [[Aristotle Onassis]].<ref name="Jean"/> The character's dialogue was written to emulate Lovitz's comedic style, such as his talent for rapid mood swings.<ref name="Jean"/> Amadopolis returned a few episodes later in "[[Homer at the Bat]]", though in that episode he was voiced by cast member [[Dan Castellaneta]] rather than Lovitz.<ref name="Castellaneta">{{cite video |people=Castellaneta, Dan |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
Milhouse's mother, Luann Van Houten, makes her first appearance in this episode. She was designed to look very similar to Milhouse.<ref name="Jean"/> [[Maggie Roswell]] was assigned to voice the character and she originally based it on Milhouse, who is voiced by [[Pamela Hayden]]. The producers felt her impression sounded out of place so she ended up using a more normal sounding voice.<ref name="Reiss"/> It was Gewirtz who in this episode gave Milhouse his last name, Van Houten, which he got from one of his wife's friends.<ref name="Gewirtz"/>
Director Mark Kirkland wanted the Springfield Power Plant to "look the best it had to date" and inserted shadows and [[Backlighting (lighting design)|back-lighting]] effects to make the panels in Homer's control room glow.<ref name="Kikrland">{{cite video |people=Kirkland, Mark |date=2003 |title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
During the scene in which [[Grandpa Simpson|Grandpa]] and the other residents of the retirement home are watching ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'', there was originally going to be a joke about comedian [[Redd Foxx]], but because Foxx died six days before the episode aired, the joke was removed out of respect for Foxx and replaced with the ''Wheel'' bit at the last minute.
==Reception and analysis== In its original airing on Fox, the episode acquired a 12.7 [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] and was viewed in approximately 11.69 million homes. It finished the week of October 14–20, 1991, ranked 36th, down from the season's average rank of 32nd.<ref name=Rating>{{cite news |title=World Series no strike Out in Nielsen |work=Lakeland Ledger |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q4UwAAAAIBAJ&pg=1515,1180515&dq=nielsen+ratings&hl=en |date=1991-10-24 |access-date=2010-03-07}}</ref> It ranked second in its timeslot behind ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', which finished 24th with a 15.5 rating. The episode tied with ''[[In Living Color]]'' as the highest rated show on Fox that week.<ref name="Nielsen">{{cite news |title=Nielsen Ratings/Oct. 14–20 |date=1991-10-23 |agency=Associated Press |work=[[Long Beach Press-Telegram]]}}</ref>
"Homer Defined" has received generally positive reviews from critics. The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', [[Gary Russell]] and [[Gareth Roberts (writer)|Gareth Roberts]],<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://doctorwho.org.nz/archive/tsv51/garyrussell.html|title=Gary Russell: From Peladon to Placebos|author=Preddle, Jon|date=June 1997|magazine=Time Space Visualiser|issue=51|access-date=20 August 2020|publisher=The New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club|quote=I've just done my first non-fiction book, Oh No It's A Completely Unofficial Simpsons Guide for Virgin, co-authored with Gareth Roberts which has, to be frank, been more of a nightmare than it needed to be [the book was published as I Can't Believe It's An Unofficial Simpsons Guide, with Gary and Gareth writing under the pseudonyms Warren Martyn & Adrian Wood].}}</ref> described it as an excellent episode which added new depth to the show in the scene with Marge trying to convince Luann to let Milhouse play with Bart again. They added that Lisa's "faith in her heroic father makes a nice change", and said that the episode's ending, in which Homer enters the dictionary, "is most satisfying".<ref name="BBC" />
Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide commented that after the episode "[[Bart the Murderer]]", this episode marks a regression, saying it was almost inevitable that it would not match up to the previous episode. He went on to say the subplot with Bart and Milhouse was more entertaining.<ref name="dvdmg">{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonthree.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (1991) |access-date=2010-03-07 |author=Jacobson, Colin |publisher=DVD Movie Guide}}</ref> Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed rated the episode a{{nbsp}}4 (of 5), writing that he enjoyed the Homer story but found the Bart and Milhouse subplot more interesting. He added that "Milhouse's mom won't allow him to play with Bart because she thinks Bart is a bad influence. It's rare for the show to allow Bart to feel genuine emotion, but there is plenty of it in this episode that makes for a nice character oriented story."<ref name="Meyers">{{cite web |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=6129 |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season |last=Meyers |first=Nate |date=2004-06-23 |publisher=Digitally Obsessed |access-date=2009-03-08 |archive-date=2016-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313103432/http://digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?id=6129 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Johnson's performance has also been praised. In 2004, [[ESPN]] released a list of the top 100 ''Simpsons'' sport moments, ranking his appearance at number 27.<ref name="ESPN">{{cite news|last=Collins |first=Greg |title=The Simpsons Got Game |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=2004-01-23 |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=simpsons/part4 |access-date=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824185754/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=simpsons%2Fpart4 |archive-date=2007-08-24 }}</ref> ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' listed Johnson's cameo as the fifth best athlete guest appearance on ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="SI">{{cite web |title=The Simpsons' best sports star guest appearances |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/daily_list/archive/2007_07_22_index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117090145/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/daily_list/archive/2007_07_22_index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 17, 2007 |work=[[Sports Illustrated]] |access-date=2010-03-08 |author=Whitaker, Lang |date=2007-07-27}}</ref> Meyers wrote that the episode "makes a lot of good points about the public making heroes in a rash, hysterical manner", and this point is made "with an amusing cameo by Earvin 'Magic' Johnson".<ref name="Meyers" />
''[[The San Diego Union]]''{{'}}s Fritz Quindt said the animators "did [Johnson's] likeness good," and noted that in the game the "colors on the Lakers jerseys and the [[The Forum (Inglewood, California)|Forum]] court were correct. Chick Hearn and [[Stu Lantz]] were almost lifelike, announcing at courtside in Sunday-color-comics sweaters. And Chick's play-by-play was so real Stu couldn't get a word in."<ref name="Quindt">{{cite news |title=Basically, CBS toys with unusual mix for Series success Magic has a cow, man On campus Tater tots |last=Quindt |first=Fritz |date=1991-10-21 |work=[[The San Diego Union]] |page=D–2}}</ref> Johnson's appearance was broadcast on [[CNN]]'s ''[[Sports Tonight (American TV program)|Sports Tonight]]'' the day before the episode originally aired, and host [[Fred Hickman]] said he did not find it humorous.<ref name="Quindt"/>
In his book ''Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality'', Jonathan Gray discusses a scene from "Homer Defined" that shows Homer reading a ''[[USA Today]]'' with the cover story: "[[Number 2 pencil|America's Favorite Pencil – #2 is #1]]".<ref name="gray"/> Lisa sees this title and criticizes the newspaper as a "flimsy hodge-podge of high-brass factoids and [[Larry King]]", to which Homer responds that it is "the only paper in America that's not afraid to tell the truth: that everything is just fine".<ref name="gray"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-02-06-usatoday_x.htm |title=1 brush with fame for USA TODAY |date=2003-06-02 |work=[[USA Today]] |access-date=2010-04-05}}</ref> In the book, Gray says this scene is used by the show's producers to criticize "how often the news is wholly toothless, sacrificing journalism for sales, and leaving us not with important public information, but with America's Favorite Pencil".<ref name="gray">{{cite book |title=Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality |last=Gray |first=Jonathan |year=2006 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=101 |isbn=978-0-415-36202-3}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_3#Homer_Defined|Homer Defined}} {{Portal|The Simpsons}} *{{Snpp capsule|8F04}} *{{IMDb episode |id=0701110}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|3}} {{Good article}}
[[Category:The Simpsons season 3 episodes]] [[Category:1991 American television episodes]] [[Category:Magic Johnson]] [[Category:Television episodes about nuclear accidents]] [[Category:Television episodes set in the 1980s]] [[Category:Fiction set in 1980]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Mark Kirkland]]