Deep Space Homer

"Deep Space Homer"
The Simpsons episode
A scene of news anchor Kent Brockman announcing his surrender due to the belief that Ants taking over the world
A scene where Kent Brockman is convinced that ants are going to take over the world. This scene inspired the "Overlord meme".[1][2]
Episode no. 96
Directed by Carlos Baeza
Written by David Mirkin
Showrunner(s) David Mirkin
Production code 1F13
Original air date February 24, 1994
Couch gag The family runs to the couch, only to find an obese man sitting on it. They squeeze in to the left of him.[3]
Commentary
Guest appearance(s)
Season 5 episodes
Seasons

"Deep Space Homer" is an episode of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It is the 15th episode of the fifth season, and was first broadcast by Fox on February 24, 1994. In the episode, NASA selects ordinary man Homer Simpson for a space mission, hoping to boost public interest in spaceflight. However, chaos ensues when the navigation system on the space shuttle is destroyed due to Homer's incompetence.

"Deep Space Homer" was directed by Carlos Baeza and is the only episode of The Simpsons written by David Mirkin. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and musician James Taylor guest-starred as themselves. The episode contains several parodies of the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As some Simpsons staff, including creator Matt Groening, feared the concept was too unrealistic, some jokes were pared down and greater focus was placed on the Simpson family. The episode was well received, with many critics and fans calling it one of the best Simpsons episodes. A copy of the episode is available for astronauts to view at the International Space Station.

Plot

At the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer Simpson believes he will win the "Worker of the Week" award. When a carbon rod wins instead, Homer feels that no one respects him. Meanwhile, NASA decides to send an "average shmo" into space in response to a drop in its Nielsen ratings. After he calls to complain about a boring space shuttle launch, Homer believes he is in trouble for the call, and blames barfly Barney. The NASA employees ask Barney to be their astronaut, promising him the respect of his peers. Homer rushes to take credit and NASA takes both for training to compete for the astronaut job.

At Cape Canaveral, Homer and Barney compete through various training exercises. Under NASA's alcohol ban, the sober Barney develops superior skills and is selected to fly with astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon. However, when Barney toasts his victory with a non-alcoholic drink, he assumes he has consumed alcohol, reverts to his alcoholic self, and escapes. Homer is selected for space flight, but becomes nervous and runs away during the takeoff preparations. His wife Marge convinces him to return. The shuttle launch achieves good ratings.

Homer smuggles potato chips aboard the shuttle. Due to the weightlessness of space, the chips disperse and clog the instruments. As Homer eats them, he flies into the ant farm and the loose ants destroy the navigation system. Newscaster Kent Brockman, reporting the mission, mistakes the ants for giant aliens about to enslave humanity. James Taylor, who radios in to sing, suggests they blow the ants out the hatch. However, Homer fails to put on his harness and is nearly blown into space. As Buzz pulls him inside, Homer accidentally bends the handle, preventing the hatch from closing. Defending himself from the furious Race, Homer pulls the carbon rod from a wall and inadvertently uses it to seal the hatch.

The shuttle returns safely to Earth. Although Buzz champions Homer as a hero, the press only celebrates the carbon rod; it appears on the cover of Time and receives a ticker-tape parade. At home, Homer is disappointed, but his family honors him.

Production

The writer of Deep Space Homer; David Mirkin. Taken in 2012
"Deep Space Homer" is the only episode that David Mirkin (pictured in 2012) wrote for The Simpsons.

"Deep Space Homer" was written by executive producer David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza.[4] Mirkin based the story on NASA's cancelled Teacher in Space Project that planned to send ordinary civilians into space to increase interest among the general public.[4][5][6] The writing staff felt sending Homer into space was too large an idea, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening said it gave the writers "nowhere to go".[4][5][6] Several gags were toned down to make the episode more realistic, including an idea that everyone at NASA was as stupid as Homer.[6][7] The writers focused more on Homer's attempts to achieve the respect of his family.[4][6]

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, and musician James Taylor guest-star as themselves.[8][9] Concerned that Aldrin might consider his line "second comes right after first" an insult, the writers wrote an alternative line, "first to take a soil sample", as a backup. However, Aldrin had no problem with the original line and it was kept in the script.[4][6] A version of Taylor's 1970 single "Fire and Rain", containing altered lyrics, was recorded for the episode. Taylor also sings Carole King's 1971 "You've Got a Friend". Taylor's original recording session was included as an extra on the DVD.[4][6] The potato chip sequence was directed by David Silverman instead of the episode's director, Carlos Baeza.[10] The chips were partly animated on an Amiga to smooth the chip rotation.[11]

Parodies

"Deep Space Homer" contains several references to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The scene in which Homer floats in zero gravity and eats potato chips uses the waltz "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II, also used in 2001.[1] Homer watches an episode of the Itchy and Scratchy Show in which Itchy tortures Scratchy in an EVA pod, referencing the Discovery craft of the film.[4][6] Bart throws a marker which rotates in slow motion before a match cut replaces it with a cylindrical satellite, parodying a transition in the film, including the use of the piece Also sprach Zarathustra.[3][12]

Broadcast and release

"Deep Space Homer" aired at 8:00 p.m. EST on February 24, 1994.[9][13] It finished 32nd in ratings for the week of February 21–27, 1994, with a Nielsen rating of 11.1,[13] equivalent to approximately 10.3 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on Fox that week.[14] It did not perform as well as the prior week's episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", which had a Nielsen rating of 11.6, equivalent to 11 million viewing households.[15]

"Deep Space Homer" is included on the DVD and Blu-ray of the show's fifth season, with commentary by Simpsons staff Groening, Silverman, James L. Brooks, Mirkin, Conan O'Brien, and Jim Reardon.[16] The episode is also included on the Simpsons: Risky Business boxset,[17] and is available to stream at the Simpsons World site run by FXX.[6]

Reception

Buzz Aldrin's Astronaut portrait. He guest starred in this episode.
Buzz Aldrin (pictured in 1969) received praise for his performance in the episode.

In 1994, Empire declared "Deep Space Homer" a "contender for the greatest episode ever", listing it as the third-best Simpsons movie parody.[5] In his 2004 book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner cited the episode as one of his five favorites. He described the sequence with Homer eating potato chips in the space shuttle and the speech by newscaster Kent Brockman, who believes that alien ants have taken over the shuttle, as "simply among the finest comedic moments in the history of television".[18]

In 2011, The Daily Telegraph named the episode among their ten favorites for its cameos and jokes.[19] In 2017, MSNBC named "Deep Space Homer" its fourth-favorite Simpsons episode, describing Homer's realization that Planet of the Apes is set on Earth as "pure genius".[5][20] Aldrin and Taylor received praise for their performances; IGN[21] and Phoenix.com ranked Taylor among the show's greatest guest appearances.[22]

The episode is a favorite of Silverman,[11] but contains one of Groening's least-favorite jokes: Homer's face morphs into those of Popeye and Richard Nixon while exposed to g-forces, which Groening felt made no sense in context.[7] At the request of astronaut Edward Lu, a copy of the episode was placed on the International Space Station for astronauts.[5][23][24]

The Simpsons game Tapped Out held an event based on the episode in which players train Springfield citizens for a space mission.[25][26]

Overlord meme

Kent Brockman's line "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords", uttered when he believes that alien ants have taken over the shuttle, is the source of an internet meme.[5] The quote is commonly used to express mock submission[2][27] or suggest that a powerful entity or group, such as robots, might be powerful enough to rule over humanity.[28] In 2007, New Scientist used the phrase when reporting the British government's research into aliens;[29] in 2011, Ken Jennings, host of the gameshow Jeopardy!, used it in reference to the computer Watson.[5][30]

References

  1. 1 2 "The best Simpsons episode ever". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Overlord Meme". The Atlantic.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Deep Space Homer". Simpsons Archive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mirkin, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Goertz et al. 2018, p. 36.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Deep Space Homer staff. Episode Commentary. The Simpsons at Simpsons World. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  8. ↑ Gale 2007, p. 2652.
  9. 1 2 Pearlman, Robert Z. (September 10, 2014). "Woo Hoo! Buzz Aldrin's Role on 'The Simpsons' Leads to Action Figure". collectSPACE. Retrieved August 6, 2018 – via Space.com.
  10. ↑ "3 Simpsons Showrunners Reflect on New Fans and the 'Classic Era' Myth". Vulture.com. September 23, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  11. 1 2 Silverman, David (2004). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Deep Space Homer" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  12. ↑ Booker 2006, p. 58.
  13. 1 2 "TV listings". tvtango.com. Tv Tango. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  14. ↑ Williams, Scott (March 3, 1994). "CBS skates to easy ratings sweep victory". Sun-Sentinel. p. 4E.
  15. ↑ "Nielsen Ratings /Feb. 14-20". Long Beach Press-Telegram. February 24, 1994. p. C5.
  16. ↑ Butts, Steve (17 December 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season". IGN. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "SIMPSONS, THE – Risky Business (DVDs) | Rare Records". Rare Records. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  18. ↑ Turner 2004, p. 69–70.
  19. ↑ Walton, James (September 27, 2011). "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes (In Chronological Order)". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  20. ↑ Enwright, Patrick (July 31, 2007). "D'Oh! The top 10 'Simpsons' episodes ever". MSNBC. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
  21. ↑ Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  22. ↑ "The Simpsons 20 best guest voices of all time". The Phoenix.com. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Deep Space Homer Information". The Simpsons.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  24. ↑ Richmond & Coffman 1997.
  25. ↑ "Tapped Out Event". Adweek.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  26. ↑ Torchinsky, Jason. "The Mystery Of The Space Shuttle In That Simpsons Episode Where Homer Went To Space". Jalopnik. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  27. ↑ Turner 2004, p. 300.
  28. ↑ "I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords". NPR.org. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  29. ↑ "The British government welcomes our new insect overlords". New Scientist magazine. Archived from the original on September 12, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  30. ↑ Maerz, Melissa (February 16, 2011). "Watson wins 'Jeopardy!' finale; Ken Jennings welcomes 'our new computer overlords'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
Bibliography

  • Booker, Keith (2006). Drawn to Television. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018.
  • Gale, Thomson (2007). Video Sourcebook: A Guide to Programs Currently Available on Video in the Areas Of: Movies/entertainment, General Interest/education, Sports/recreation, Fine Arts, Heal. Gale / Cengage Learning. p. 2652. ISBN 978-1-4144-0099-0. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  • Goertz, Allie; Prescott, Julia; Oakley, Bill; Weinstein, Josh (2018). 100 Things The Simpsons Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-64125-109-9. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  • Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia, eds. The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.
  • Hersch, Matthew (October 8, 2012). Inventing the American Astronaut. ISBN 978-1-137-02529-6. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  • Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.
  • "Deep Space Homer" at The Simpsons.com
  • "Deep Space Homer episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.
  • "Deep Space Homer" on IMDb
  • "Deep Space Homer" at TV.com

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