Homer the Moe
Encyclopedia
“Homer the Moe” is the third episode of The Simpsons
’ thirteenth season
. The episode first aired on the Fox network
on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe
, following advice of his former bartending professor, decides to modernize his bar. The bar's new image attracts several customers, but leaves Moe's four regular customers, Homer
, Lenny, Carl, and Barney
feeling alienated, which in turn prompts Homer to open his own private bar, disguising it as a hunting club to avoid liquor license
restrictions.
The episode was directed by Jen Kamerman
and was the first episode Dana Gould
wrote for The Simpsons. Gould based the part about Homer's bar on his own father, who opened a hunting club in order to sell alcohol without having to acquire a liquor license. The episode featured R.E.M.
, who appeared as themselves. It received mixed reviews from critics following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
and Blu-Ray.
tells a story about Bart
digging a hole in the backyard for no apparent reason other than to make it deeper and bigger, Moe
complains about the monotony at his tavern. Recalling his days at Swigmore University, he decides to return there for some inspiration, and leaves Homer in temporary charge of the bar. At the university
, Moe finds his old professor
, who is dying. After advising Moe to modernize his bar, the professor drowns himself in the campus
lake. Soon, the tavern is renovated by Formico, the self proclaimed "Dean of Design", into a swanky nightclub renamed “M” and with a post-modern
decor.
Homer and his bar-buddies Lenny, Carl and Barney
find that they do not fit in with the new, affluent crowd, and miss their old tavern experience. Homer decides to convert his garage into a new tavern for himself and his friends. Meanwhile, Moe realizes that he does not fit in with his new clientele either, and leaves to find Homer. Arriving at the Simpsons’ home, he finds that the new garage bar has quickly become quite popular, and even has the alternative rock
band R.E.M.
playing. When confronted by Moe with the fact that it is illegal to operate a bar in a private residence, Homer claims that it is in fact a hunting
club, citing a law book. Moe consults the book and determines that the club must engage in the sport of hunting. Homer decides that he will hunt for a turkey
for Thanksgiving
dinner, and Lisa exclaims, "Hunting? Dad, no!"
Homer sets out the next day to find a turkey, but Lisa and Moe scare off his quarry, using a whistle that sounds like a cougar. However, Homer mistakes the whistle for an actual cougar, and shoots Moe in the leg. After Homer apologizes, he, along with Moe, R.E.M. and the rest of the Simpson family return to Moe’s tavern, reverted to its original decor, for a Thanksgiving meal of a turkey, made “entirely of tofu
and gluten
” and provided by Michael Stipe, who is an environmentalist.
Jen Kamerman
directed "Homer the Moe", which was the first episode Dana Gould
wrote for the show. It was first broadcast on Fox
in the United States on November 18, 2001, four days before Thanksgiving.
In the DVD commentary for the episode, Gould says that, when the team were thinking of a way to start the show, George Meyer said, "I like how kids will just dig a hole." Homer's story ends with a Chinese satellite spying on Bart. This was an attempt by Gould to write a bizarre joke in the style of fellow Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder
. Moe's plot in the second act was also created by Meyer, who suggested that the bartending school that Moe attended would resemble the law school on the 1970s television series The Paper Chase
, and that the school's professor would be based on the professor from the earlier series.
Gould remembered how his father opened a hunting club and could sell alcohol without having to obtain a liquor-license. This inspired the idea of Homer's club. Also, the "crossed-fishing-pole-and-rifle" insignia that can be seen in Homer's garage is the same insignia that Gould's father uses for his hunting club. Homer's bar was originally the center of the episode, but became the third act when the writers came up with the renovation of Moe's bar and made it the main storyline.
Alternative rock
band R.E.M.
guest-starred as themselves in the episode. “We had been told that R.E.M were big fans of the show”, says executive producer
and showrunner for the episode, Mike Scully
, adding that their appearance in the episode was a “fairly last-minute addition”. Unlike The Who
, who made an appearance in the episode “A Tale of Two Springfields
”, R.E.M did not want their former drummer Bill Berry
to be animated in the episode. The drummer seen in the episode was instead drawn to resemble one of their session drummers at the time. Moe's professor at Swigmore University was voiced by the series' regular voice actor Dan Castellaneta
, the voice of Homer among many others. Formico, who renovated Moe's tavern, was portrayed by Hank Azaria
, who also voices Moe as well as several other characters in the show.
. The professor working at Swigmore University is based on Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. from the television series The Paper Chase. Moe's new bar M is a parody on the luxury boutique hotel W
in New York
that Gould had visited once. The monitors showing eyeballs are based on similar decorations found in the elevators in the St Martin’s Lane hotel, where the Simpsons staff hosted a Simpsons festival. The doorman in front of M was modeled after special effects creator and actor Greg Nicotero. The dance that Homer, Carl and Lenny perform in Moe's bar is a takeoff on the dancing in the comedy
/drama
film Coyote Ugly
, in which the dancers performed on the bar counter, much like Homer, Carl and Lenny do in the episode.
, making it the most watched television show of its timeslot that night. The episode received a 7.1 rating/17 share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49, meaning it was seen by 7.1% of the population between ages 18 and 49, and 17% of people in this demographic
watching television at the time of its broadcast. On September 14, 2004, "Homer the Moe" was released, along with the episodes "Homer's Night Out
", "The Mansion Family
" and "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
" on a DVD
set entitled The Simpsons – Gone Wild. The episode was later included in The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-Ray set, released August 24, 2010.
Giving the episode a rating of C−, Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict
described the episode as a “tepid remix of previous Simpsons plots”. Ron Martin of 411Mania called the plot “unimaginative” and wrote “I suppose there’s only enough episodes you can go through before Moe’s has to modernize in the most hideous way”. IGN
reviewer R.L Shaffer wrote that "Homer the Moe," "The Frying Game
," "The Old Man and the Key
," and "Sweets and Sour Marge
" were some of the worst episodes of the whole series. However, Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that, even though the episode was too similar to the third season episode “Flaming Moe's
”, the episode “works reasonably well”. He gave the episode a favorable review overall, calling it “one of the year's best episodes”. Adam Rayner of Obsessed With Film wrote that the story was “told very well and continued to show the strength of the character of ‘Moe’, who would go on to be one of the only genuinely funny characters in the following barren years for the show”. Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com described the episode as one of the best of the season, and Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest stated that the episode was one of his personal favourites.
In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
listed R.E.M's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named R.E.M. his tenth favorite musical guests on The Simpsons out of a list of ten in 2011.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
’ thirteenth season
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
. The episode first aired on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on November 18, 2001. In the episode, Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
, following advice of his former bartending professor, decides to modernize his bar. The bar's new image attracts several customers, but leaves Moe's four regular customers, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, Lenny, Carl, and Barney
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
feeling alienated, which in turn prompts Homer to open his own private bar, disguising it as a hunting club to avoid liquor license
Liquor license
-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...
restrictions.
The episode was directed by Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman is a former animation director on The Simpsons. She is married and has one son.-Simpsons episodes:She directed the following episodes:Season Eleven*"Kill the Alligator and Run"Season Twelve*"Tennis the Menace"...
and was the first episode Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
wrote for The Simpsons. Gould based the part about Homer's bar on his own father, who opened a hunting club in order to sell alcohol without having to acquire a liquor license. The episode featured R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, who appeared as themselves. It received mixed reviews from critics following the thirteenth season's release on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-Ray.
Plot
After HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
tells a story about Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
digging a hole in the backyard for no apparent reason other than to make it deeper and bigger, Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
complains about the monotony at his tavern. Recalling his days at Swigmore University, he decides to return there for some inspiration, and leaves Homer in temporary charge of the bar. At the university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, Moe finds his old professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, who is dying. After advising Moe to modernize his bar, the professor drowns himself in the campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
lake. Soon, the tavern is renovated by Formico, the self proclaimed "Dean of Design", into a swanky nightclub renamed “M” and with a post-modern
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
decor.
Homer and his bar-buddies Lenny, Carl and Barney
Barney Gumble
Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. The character is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend. His capacity for...
find that they do not fit in with the new, affluent crowd, and miss their old tavern experience. Homer decides to convert his garage into a new tavern for himself and his friends. Meanwhile, Moe realizes that he does not fit in with his new clientele either, and leaves to find Homer. Arriving at the Simpsons’ home, he finds that the new garage bar has quickly become quite popular, and even has the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
playing. When confronted by Moe with the fact that it is illegal to operate a bar in a private residence, Homer claims that it is in fact a hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
club, citing a law book. Moe consults the book and determines that the club must engage in the sport of hunting. Homer decides that he will hunt for a turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
dinner, and Lisa exclaims, "Hunting? Dad, no!"
Homer sets out the next day to find a turkey, but Lisa and Moe scare off his quarry, using a whistle that sounds like a cougar. However, Homer mistakes the whistle for an actual cougar, and shoots Moe in the leg. After Homer apologizes, he, along with Moe, R.E.M. and the rest of the Simpson family return to Moe’s tavern, reverted to its original decor, for a Thanksgiving meal of a turkey, made “entirely of tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
and gluten
Gluten
Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye...
” and provided by Michael Stipe, who is an environmentalist.
Production
Jen Kamerman
Jen Kamerman is a former animation director on The Simpsons. She is married and has one son.-Simpsons episodes:She directed the following episodes:Season Eleven*"Kill the Alligator and Run"Season Twelve*"Tennis the Menace"...
directed "Homer the Moe", which was the first episode Dana Gould
Dana Gould
Dana John Gould is an American comedian and comedy writer born and raised in Hopedale, Massachusetts. His upbringing and his extended family lent themselves to his stand-up routine, which has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, among other places.-Career:After high school, he studied...
wrote for the show. It was first broadcast on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States on November 18, 2001, four days before Thanksgiving.
In the DVD commentary for the episode, Gould says that, when the team were thinking of a way to start the show, George Meyer said, "I like how kids will just dig a hole." Homer's story ends with a Chinese satellite spying on Bart. This was an attempt by Gould to write a bizarre joke in the style of fellow Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
. Moe's plot in the second act was also created by Meyer, who suggested that the bartending school that Moe attended would resemble the law school on the 1970s television series The Paper Chase
The Paper Chase (TV series)
The Paper Chase is a television series based on a 1970 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., as well as a 1973 film based on the novel. It follows the lives of law student James T. Hart and his classmates at Harvard Law School.-Production:...
, and that the school's professor would be based on the professor from the earlier series.
Gould remembered how his father opened a hunting club and could sell alcohol without having to obtain a liquor-license. This inspired the idea of Homer's club. Also, the "crossed-fishing-pole-and-rifle" insignia that can be seen in Homer's garage is the same insignia that Gould's father uses for his hunting club. Homer's bar was originally the center of the episode, but became the third act when the writers came up with the renovation of Moe's bar and made it the main storyline.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
guest-starred as themselves in the episode. “We had been told that R.E.M were big fans of the show”, says executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and showrunner for the episode, Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, adding that their appearance in the episode was a “fairly last-minute addition”. Unlike The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, who made an appearance in the episode “A Tale of Two Springfields
A Tale of Two Springfields
"A Tale of Two Springfields" is the second episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons and is the 250th episode of the series overall in both broadcast and production order. The episode originally premiered November 5, 2000 on Fox Broadcasting Company.The episode was written...
”, R.E.M did not want their former drummer Bill Berry
Bill Berry
William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....
to be animated in the episode. The drummer seen in the episode was instead drawn to resemble one of their session drummers at the time. Moe's professor at Swigmore University was voiced by the series' regular voice actor Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, the voice of Homer among many others. Formico, who renovated Moe's tavern, was portrayed by Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, who also voices Moe as well as several other characters in the show.
Cultural references
Swigmore University, which Moe attends in the episode, is a parody of Skidmore CollegeSkidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
. The professor working at Swigmore University is based on Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. from the television series The Paper Chase. Moe's new bar M is a parody on the luxury boutique hotel W
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership and management organization, headquartered in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
that Gould had visited once. The monitors showing eyeballs are based on similar decorations found in the elevators in the St Martin’s Lane hotel, where the Simpsons staff hosted a Simpsons festival. The doorman in front of M was modeled after special effects creator and actor Greg Nicotero. The dance that Homer, Carl and Lenny perform in Moe's bar is a takeoff on the dancing in the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film Coyote Ugly
Coyote Ugly (film)
Coyote Ugly is a 2000 romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City. The film stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia...
, in which the dancers performed on the bar counter, much like Homer, Carl and Lenny do in the episode.
Reception
In its original American broadcast on November 18, 2001, “Homer the Moe” was watched by 14.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, making it the most watched television show of its timeslot that night. The episode received a 7.1 rating/17 share among adult viewers between ages 18 and 49, meaning it was seen by 7.1% of the population between ages 18 and 49, and 17% of people in this demographic
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
watching television at the time of its broadcast. On September 14, 2004, "Homer the Moe" was released, along with the episodes "Homer's Night Out
Homer's Night Out
"Homer's Night Out" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on March 25, 1990. It was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart orders a mail-order spy camera, which he uses to secretly take a photograph of Homer dancing with an exotic...
", "The Mansion Family
The Mansion Family
"The Mansion Family" is the twelfth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 23, 2000, and was watched in around 11.3 million homes during the broadcast. In the episode, Mr...
" and "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday
"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 31, 1999, just after Super Bowl XXXIII. In the episode, while buying new tires for his car, Homer meets a travel agent called Wally Kogen...
" on a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set entitled The Simpsons – Gone Wild. The episode was later included in The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-Ray set, released August 24, 2010.
Giving the episode a rating of C−, Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
described the episode as a “tepid remix of previous Simpsons plots”. Ron Martin of 411Mania called the plot “unimaginative” and wrote “I suppose there’s only enough episodes you can go through before Moe’s has to modernize in the most hideous way”. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer R.L Shaffer wrote that "Homer the Moe," "The Frying Game
The Frying Game
"The Frying Game" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 19, 2002. In the episode, after accidentally killing an endangered screamapillar, Homer is sentenced to two weeks of community service. As part of...
," "The Old Man and the Key
The Old Man and the Key
"The Old Man and the Key" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on March 10, 2002. In the episode, Grampa Simpson falls in love with Zelda, an old woman who has just moved in to the senior home in which Grampa lives...
," and "Sweets and Sour Marge
Sweets and Sour Marge
"Sweets and Sour Marge" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 20, 2002. In the episode, Homer gathers several of Springfield's citizens to participate in creating the biggest human pyramid in the world...
" were some of the worst episodes of the whole series. However, Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that, even though the episode was too similar to the third season episode “Flaming Moe's
Flaming Moe's
"Flaming Moe's" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 1991. In the episode, Homer tells Moe Szyslak of a secret alcoholic cocktail that includes cough medicine and fire that he calls "Flaming Homer"...
”, the episode “works reasonably well”. He gave the episode a favorable review overall, calling it “one of the year's best episodes”. Adam Rayner of Obsessed With Film wrote that the story was “told very well and continued to show the strength of the character of ‘Moe’, who would go on to be one of the only genuinely funny characters in the following barren years for the show”. Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com described the episode as one of the best of the season, and Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest stated that the episode was one of his personal favourites.
In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
listed R.E.M's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. Andrew Martin of Prefix Mag named R.E.M. his tenth favorite musical guests on The Simpsons out of a list of ten in 2011.
External links
- "Homer the Moe" at The Simpsons.com