{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox Simpsons episode | image = | caption = | season = 7 | episode = 17 | director = [[Steven Dean Moore]] | writer = [[John Swartzwelder]] | production = 3F14 | airdate = {{Start date|1996|02|25}} | couch_gag = The Simpsons are wearing [[Fez (hat)|fezzes]] and drive to the couch in minicars.<ref name="BBC"/> | commentary = Bill Oakley<br>Josh Weinstein<br>Steven Dean Moore | prev = [[Lisa the Iconoclast]] | next = [[The Day the Violence Died]] }} "'''Homer the Smithers'''" is the seventeenth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 7|seventh season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] in the United States on February 25, 1996.<ref name="BBC"/> In the episode, [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]] takes a vacation and hires [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] to temporarily replace him as [[Mr. Burns]]' assistant, reasoning he will do such a poor job as to not risk Smithers being replaced, only for this to lead to Mr. Burns becoming so self-reliant that Smithers is fired on his return.
The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]] and directed by [[Steven Dean Moore]].<ref name="book"/> The plot came from another writer on the show, [[Mike Scully]]. The episode features cultural references to ''[[The Little Rascals]]'', a series of comedy [[short film]]s from the 1930s, and the 1971 film ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a [[Nielsen rating]] of 8.8, and was the fifth-highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
==Plot== As employee night at the Springfield [[Drag racing|drag races]] ends, [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]] fails to protect [[Mr. Burns]] from being harassed by a drunken [[Lenny and Carl#Lenny Leonard|Lenny]] (although he was only thanking him). Smithers tries to make amends the next day but again bungles his duties. When he attempts to drown himself in a [[water cooler]], Burns demands he take a vacation once a suitable replacement can be found. Seeking a substitute who will not outshine him, Smithers selects [[Homer Simpson|Homer]].
Homer is scolded for being unable to perform any of his duties to Burns' satisfaction. He is soon exhausted after waking up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare Burns' breakfast, assist him at the office all day, and cater to his every whim late at night in his mansion. After enduring Burns' constant abuse for several days, Homer loses his temper and knocks him unconscious with a punch. Fearing he has killed his boss, Homer flees to his house in panic. At [[Marge Simpson|Marge]]'s urging, he returns to the plant to apologize, but a frightened Burns turns him away. Stranded in his office, Burns gradually learns how to complete all of his tasks single-handedly, and soon embraces his newfound self reliance. After thanking Homer for helping him acquire a more independent lifestyle, Burns fires a now-obsolete Smithers upon his return.
Unable to find another job, Smithers enlists Homer's help in a scheme to get his job back: he plans to save Burns from a phone call from his abusive 122-year-old mother, the one task he still cannot handle alone. Homer accidentally disconnects Burns' mother and tries to impersonate her voice. He is caught by Burns, who berates him and Smithers. A furious Smithers attacks Homer in Burns' office. During the tussle, Burns is accidentally pushed from a third-story window and seriously injured, forcing him to rely on Smithers completely again. In gratitude, Smithers sends Homer a fruit basket with a thank-you note.
==Production== [[File:John Swartzwelder Brighter Sharper.jpg|thumb|170px|left|The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]].]] The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]],<ref name="book"/> who got the story from another member of the writing staff, [[Mike Scully]]. When the [[show runner]]s of this season, [[Bill Oakley]] and [[Josh Weinstein]], took over the job from [[David Mirkin]], they wanted to "take the show back" to the Simpson family. Their goal was to have at least fifteen episodes per season that revolved around the family or a member of the family, but they still wanted to do the annual [[Treehouse of Horror (series)|Halloween episode]], a [[Sideshow Bob]] episode, an [[Itchy and Scratchy]] episode, and a "format bending" episode, which in this season was "[[22 Short Films About Springfield]]". They wanted the family episodes to be realistic, and Oakley thought "Homer the Smithers" was a good example. When Scully pitched the idea to the writers, Oakley was surprised that it had not been done earlier on the show. He thought the story sounded like something that would have been done by the [[The Simpsons season 3|third season]] because it was "simple" and "organic".<ref name="Oakley">{{cite video |people=Oakley, Bill |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Smithers" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
Weinstein said that this episode was an opportunity for him, Oakley, and Swartzwelder to "go nuts" with the "Burns-ism". He said that they enjoy writing for characters such as Burns and [[Abe Simpson]] because of their "out-datedness", and because they get to use thesauruses for looking up "old time [[slang]]". For example, Burns answers the phone by saying "Ahoy, hoy!", which was suggested by [[Alexander Graham Bell]] to be used as the proper telephone answer when the telephone was first invented. Burns' kitchen is full of "crazy old-time" devices and contraptions. For inspiration, Weinstein brought in "a bunch" of old books with designs of old kitchen devices.<ref name="Weinstein">{{cite video |people=Weinstein, Josh |date=2005 |title=The Simpsons season 7 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Smithers" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Oakley commented that the stuffed polar bear had always been in Burns' office, and they were excited to "finally" have a use for it.<ref name="Oakley"/>
[[Matt Groening]] has noted the challenges of sound mixing with this episode, the results of which influenced future episodes of the show and Groening's other series ''[[Futurama]]''.<ref name="FuturamaVol6SimpsonsRef">{{cite video |date=2011 |title=Futurama Volume 6 "Professor Farnsworth's Science of a Scene |medium=DVD/Blu-ray Disc |publisher=20th Century Fox |quote='''David X. Cohen:''' Matt Groening really laid the foundation of the sound of ''Futurama''. I remember a classic lesson he taught me was when people are having a fight you emphasise the sounds of the person who is getting hurt, rather than the person who is grunting and attacking the other person. He's worked out a lot of the comedy theory of the sound mix.}}</ref> When the animation for the episode returned, the production staff found the scene of Homer fighting Smithers "horrifying", as the sounds of character exertion made it seem too violent.<ref name="FuturamaVol6SimpsonsRef2">{{cite video |date=2011 |title=Futurama Volume 6 Professor Farnsworth's Science of a Scene |medium=DVD/Blu-ray Disc |publisher=20th Century Fox |quote='''Matt Groening:''' This goes back to an episode of ''The Simpsons'' in which [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] was in a big fistfight— with [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]] of all people— and when we got the animation back it was just horrifying. Because there was all this sound of exertion, and then we took out all the sounds of exertion after many different kinds of experiments, and when we just left in sounds of pain and misery— agony— people started laughing.}}</ref> After experimenting with the sound, they were eventually able to make the scene humorous by only leaving in sounds of the characters' agony.<ref name="FuturamaVol6SimpsonsRef2"/>
==Cultural references== When Homer gets up early to make Mr. Burns breakfast, he wakes up [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] in bed. She says: "Homie, it's 4:30 in the morning. ''Little Rascals'' isn't on until 6", referencing ''[[The Little Rascals]]'', a series of comedy [[short film]]s from the 1930s.<ref name="BBC"/> Smithers uses a [[Macintosh computer]] with the [[Classic Mac OS|Mac OS]] [[operating system]] to search for his replacement.<ref name="book">{{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/198 198] |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} }}.</ref> At the end of the episode, Burns is lying in bed in a body cast, chewing loudly and pausing his speech for Smithers to [[spoon-feed]] him, as in the film ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' when a bedridden [[Alex (A Clockwork Orange)|Alex]] is spooned steak. The manner in which Burns becomes injured is also similar to Alex: they both take a potentially life-threatening fall.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season7/page17.shtml |title=Homer the Smithers |access-date=2009-01-04 |last1=Martyn |first1=Warren |author-link1=Gary Russell |last2 = Wood |first2=Adrian |author-link2=Gareth Roberts (writer) |year=2000 |publisher=BBC |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309194119/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season7/page17.shtml }}</ref>
==Reception== In its original broadcast, "Homer the Smithers" finished 60th in the ratings for the week of February 19 to February 25, 1996, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 8.8.<ref name=ratings>{{cite news |title=Nielsen Ratings |date=March 1, 1996 |page=4 |work=[[The Tampa Tribune]]}} Retrieved on January 4, 2009.</ref> The episode was the fifth-highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following ''[[The X-Files]]'', ''[[Beverly Hills, 90210]]'', ''[[Melrose Place]]'', and ''[[Married... with Children]]''.<ref name=ratings/>
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics.
Dave Foster of ''DVD Times'' said that "Homer the Smithers" shows "just how dependent upon Smithers Mr. Burns is". He added that the staging and animation of the scene in which Homer tries to apologize to Burns "will remain engraved in your memory in the same way as some of the series finest dialogue can".<ref>{{cite web |access-date=2008-12-01 |url=http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60554 |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season |publisher=DVD Times |date=2006-02-25 |author=Foster, Dave }}</ref>
''DVD Movie Guide''{{'}}s Colin Jacobson enjoyed the episode and commented that "any doubts about Smithers' sexuality will not last long when we see his vacation". Jacobson would have liked to see more scenes from Smithers' vacation, but he still thought the episode offered "nice exposition" for the character. He added: "It’s fun to see more about his pampering of Burns, and it’s amusing to watch Homer take over for him."<ref name=dvdmovieguide>{{cite web |access-date=2008-12-01 |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonseven.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season (1995) |publisher=DVD Movie Guide |date=2006-01-05 |author=Jacobson, Colin }}</ref>
Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict considered the best part of the episode to be the scenes of Smithers on vacation. She concluded her review by giving the episode a grade of A−.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2008-12-01 |url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason7.php |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=2006-01-16 |author=Malkowski, Judge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204055914/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason7.php |archive-date=2008-12-04 }}</ref>
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=https://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> called it a "very good episode, and an unusually straightforward one for this surreal season".<ref name="BBC"/>
Gwen Inhat writes "Balancing a heavy dose of hilarity with an equal amount of heart, 'Homer The Smithers' winds up being a perfect fit in sentimental season seven, with a momentarily ambitious Homer and the fitting reunion of one of ''The Simpsons''’ most enduring duos."<ref>{{cite news| last=Inhat| first=Gwen| title=The Simpsons (Classic): Homer the Smithers| date=May 18, 2014| work=[[The A.V. Club]]| url= https://www.avclub.com/the-simpsons-classic-homer-the-smithers-1798180550}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_7#Homer_the_Smithers|"Homer the Smithers"}} {{Portal|The Simpsons}} *{{Snpp capsule|3F14}} *{{IMDb episode|0779667}}
{{The Simpsons episodes|7}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Homer The Smithers}} [[Category:The Simpsons season 7 episodes]] [[Category:1996 American television episodes]] [[Category:Television episodes written by John Swartzwelder]] [[Category:Television episodes about vacationing]] [[Category:Television episodes directed by Steven Dean Moore]]