Dancin' Homer

"Dancin' Homer"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no. 18
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Written by Ken Levine
David Isaacs
Showrunner(s) James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
Production code 7F05
Original air date November 8, 1990
Chalkboard gag "I will not trade pants with others".
Couch gag The family (except for Maggie) sits on the couch; Maggie then peeks her head out of Marge's tall hair.
Guest actors Tony Bennett as himself
Tom Poston as the Capital City Goofball
Daryl L. Coley as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy
Ken Levine as Dan Horde
Commentary Matt Groening
David Isaacs
Ken Levine
Mike Reiss
Mark Kirkland

"Dancin' Homer" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons' second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 8, 1990. In the episode, Homer fires up the crowd at a Springfield Isotopes baseball game and is chosen to be the team's new mascot. He immediately becomes a popular attraction and the Isotopes start a winning streak. As a result, Homer is promoted to a team in Capital City, the Capital City Capitals. The Simpson family moves there, but Homer fails to enthrall the crowd, and the family returns home.

The episode was written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs and directed by Mark Kirkland. It was Kirkland's first directing role, and he has since directed many episodes. Singer Tony Bennett guest starred as himself and actor Tom Poston guest starred as the Capital City Capitals's mascot, the Capital City Goofball. Homer's chants are a reference to American baseball fan Wild Bill Hagy, who received fame for his chants at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 14.9, and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.

Plot

One night while drinking beer at Moe's Tavern, Homer tells the story of how he got his big break. He begins with the family attending "Nuclear Plant Employee, Spouses and No More Than Three Children Night" at the Springfield Isotopes baseball game at the Springfield minor league baseball stadium. At the game, Homer's hopes of letting loose at the ballpark are ruined when his boss Mr. Burns sits next to him. To Homer's surprise, Mr. Burns buys him several rounds of beer to show good company relations, and the two begin taunting the Isotopes together. The team is expected to lose their twenty-seventh consecutive game, reportedly the longest losing streak in professional baseball. However, when a drunk Homer fires up the crowd with an impromptu dance to the tune of "Baby Elephant Walk", the Isotopes win the game.

Homer is offered the job as team mascot of the Springfield Isotopes by the team's owner. He accepts, and because of his enthusiasm at the games, the Isotopes go on a winning streak. Homer is soon informed that he is going to be promoted to the "big leagues" in Capital City, where he will fill in for the Capital City Goofball as the mascot of the Capital City Capitals. The Simpson family pack up their things, say goodbye to their friends, and move to the big city. Homer's first performance becomes a disaster as his small-town routine flops before the big-city crowd, and he is booed off the field and promptly fired. Homer sadly finishes his story, only to find that Moe's regulars are very impressed with his tale.

Production

A video camera is being pointed at a bearded man who is wearing glasses. Some other people stand in the background.
James L. Brooks came up with the idea of the wraparounds.

The episode was written by Ken Levine and David Isaacs, and directed by Mark Kirkland. It was the first episode of The Simpsons Kirkland directed. He has since directed over 50 episodes.[1] Executive producer James L. Brooks came up with the idea of the Moe's Tavern wraparounds at the beginning and the end of the episode. It was added because the writers did not know how to end the episode.[2] Levine had worked as a minor league baseball announcer before the episode was produced so he was able to give directions to the animators on the characters' looks and ambiance of the episode.[3]

Many of the new characters introduced in the episode were named after Levine's friends from his announcer career. The minor league announcer in the episode, that Levine voiced, was named Dan Hoard after his broadcasting partner in Syracuse, New York. The major league announcer was named Dave Glass after Levine's partner in Norfolk, Virginia, and the Capital City Capitals owner who fires Homer was named Dave Rosenfield after the general manager of the Tidewater Tides.[3] The episode features a guest appearance by singer Tony Bennett, who was the first guest star to appear as himself on The Simpsons.[4] Bennett appears in a scene in which the Simpson family meets him while taking a tour of Capital City. He also sings a song called "Capital City" over the closing credits. The lyrics and music of the song were written by Simpsons writer Jeff Martin. Tom Poston guest starred in the episode as the Capital City Goofball. The mascot has appeared in many episodes later on in the show, but he has only spoken once since "Dancin' Homer" and has been reduced to making minor background appearances.[5] Ron Taylor was meant to reprise his role of Bleeding Gums Murphy, who he had played in the first season episode "Moaning Lisa", but was unable to record the part; Daryl L. Coley filled in for him.[6]

"Dancin' Homer" was, together with "Old Money", selected for release in a video collection titled The Best of The Simpsons that was released May 3, 1994.[7] In 2000, it was included on video collection of selected episodes, titled: The Simpsons: On Your Marks, Get Set, D'oh!.[8] Other episodes included in the collection set were "Faith Off", "The Homer They Fall", and "Lisa on Ice".[8] The episode was again included in the 2004 DVD release of the On Your Marks, Get Set, D'oh! set.[9] The episode was also included on The Simpsons season two DVD set, which was released on August 6, 2002. Levine, Isaacs, Kirkland, Mike Reiss, and Matt Groening participated in the DVD's audio commentary.[10]

Cultural references

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Dancin' Homer" finished twenty-fifth in the ratings for the week of November 5–11, 1990, with a Nielsen rating of 14.9, equivalent to approximately fourteen million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week.[14]

Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said it was "probably the best episode" of the season, and commented that "Dancin' Homer" offered a "consistently satisfying show. Like the better episodes, it packed a lot of action into its twenty-three minutes, as Homer’s saga took on a near epic feeling. It also contained more wonderfully bizarre asides than usual at this point in the series’ run. From the Rastafarians who appear in the crowd when Homer performs 'Baby Elephant Walk', to the existence of the Players’ Ex-Wives section at the ballpark, the episode provided a fun and rich program."[15] In a review of the second season, Bryce Wilson of Cinema Blend said "Dancin' Homer" felt "a bit flat", but "even in [its] lowest points, humor is easy to find."[16] Dawn Taylor of The DVD Journal thought the best line of the episode was Homer's "Marge, this ticket doesn't just give me a seat. It also gives me the right — no, the duty — to make a complete ass of myself."[17] Jeremy Kleinman of DVD Talk said lines from the episode such as "A Simpson on a T-shirt, I never thought I'd see the day" show a "humorous self-awareness of the emergence of The Simpsons as cultural phenomenon".[18]

The episode was by Jerry Greene of the Orlando Sentinel named the third best episode of the show with a sports theme.[19] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette named it second best sports moment in the history of the show.[20] Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, wrote: "Understanding baseball isn't really a requirement for this episode, as the humor doesn't come from the games so much as the personalities. Tony Bennett's cameo is great, and Homer's dance has rightly become legendary."[11]

References

  1. ↑ Kirkland, Mark (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Dancin' Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  2. ↑ Reiss, Mike (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Dancin' Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  3. 1 2 Levine, Ken (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Dancin' Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. ↑ Turner 2004, p. 393.
  5. 1 2 3 Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 39.
  6. ↑ Henderson, Randi (1991-06-11). "'L.A. Law' 'case' gives actor chance to sing anthem at Orioles game". The Baltimore Sun. p. 1C. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  7. ↑ "The Simpsons Collection — Dancin' Homer / Old Money". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  8. 1 2 "Simpsons, The — On Your Marks, Get Set, D'Oh (VHS)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  9. ↑ "The Simpsons: On Your Marks, Get Set, D'Oh (DVD)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  10. ↑ "The Simpsons — The Complete 2nd Season". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  11. 1 2 Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Dancin' Homer". BBC. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
  12. ↑ Merron, Jeff. "The most memorable anthems". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  13. ↑ Nawrocki, Tom (November 28, 2002). "Springfield, Rock City". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  14. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings /Nov. 5-11". Long Beach Press-Telegram. November 14, 1990. p. C12.
  15. ↑ Jacobson, Colin. "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Bryce (April 19, 2004). "The Simpsons — The Complete Second Season — DVD". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  17. ↑ Taylor, Dawn (2002). "The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season". The DVD Journal. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  18. ↑ Kleinman, Jeremy (August 1, 2002). "The Simpsons — The Complete Second Season". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  19. ↑ Greene, Jerry (April 7, 2004). "D'oh! The end may be near for The Simpsons". Orlando Sentinel. p. D2.
  20. ↑ "Sports and The Simpsons". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 26, 2002. pp. C–2.
Bibliography

External links

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