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Homer's Enemy |
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- “I'm not your buddy, Simpson! I don't like you! In fact, I hate you! Stay the hell away from me, because from now on, we're enemies!”
- ―Frank Grimes declaring himself Homer's enemy
"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of Season 8.
Synopsis[]
A new employee comes to hate Homer Simpson for being a lovable idiot who has everything good going for him and sets out to prove that Homer doesn't deserve his lot in life. Meanwhile, Bart buys an abandoned factory at auction and uses it as his own personal playground.
Full Story[]
The episode opens with a news report about Frank Grimes, an orphan who was abandoned by his parents, but experienced many hard times in his life, and finally self-educated himself to enter the workplace. Mr. Burns sees the newscast and orders Smithers to hire him at the nuclear plant as Executive Vice President. The next day, Burns forgets this decision and gives the job to a courageous dog, and assigns Grimes to a low-level position in Sector 7G. Shortly thereafter, Grimes crosses paths with Homer and takes an instant dislike to him. It may have something to do with the fact that Homer is lazy and thoroughly unqualified for the job he has, yet he is so well off in life.
Homer annoys Grimes
Grimes' dislike for Homer heats up as he furthers witness Homer's ineptitude. When he brings this up to Lenny and Carl, they see his point but say not to think about it is best. When Homer accidentally almost drinks sulfuric acid, Grimes knocks the beaker out of his hand and ends up damaging the cafeteria wall, for which he then gets blamed for by Mr. Burns after Homer (without mentioning Grimes saving him or his own carelessness with the beaker) instantly points him out as responsible; Burns reprimands Grimes by decreasing his salary. Grimes approaches Homer, declaring his hatred of him and announces that from that moment on, the two of them are enemies.
Meanwhile, on a trip to a local government building, Bart wanders away from Marge and ends up buying an abandoned warehouse at a tax auction for a single dollar. He moves right in, and then hires Milhouse to act as a security guard. Unfortunately, the warehouse collapses in the middle of the night, leaving the rats to swarm Moe's Tavern.
Frank Grimes looks at Homer's life events
Getting advice from Moe, Homer plans to invite Grimes to dinner at his house to try and be friends. He has Marge prepare a lobster dinner and the family dresses in their usual church clothes. However, when Grimes arrives, he only becomes angrier, as this isn't the life he believes someone like Homer should have; a dream house, two cars, a son who owns a factory (he isn't thoroughly informed, see below), Lisa having a high Intelligence level, a beautiful wife, fancy clothes, lobsters for dinner and the various unlikely accomplishments Homer has made in the past (becoming an astronaut, winning a Grammy, going on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins and being friends with former president Gerald Ford). Grimes complains that it's inconceivable that a man who has lived nothing but a life of sloth and ignorance could achieve so much, while he had to work hard for everything since he was four years old and the only things he has to show for it was his briefcase, haircut and a single room apartment between two bowling alleys (the latter of which impresses Homer). Grimes declares that people like Homer are what's wrong with America, doing as little as possible while leeching off honest hard-working people like himself, and that if he had lived in any other country in the world, he would have starved to death long ago. Grimes leaves but does tell Marge and the kids it was a pleasure to meet them.
Grimes rants about Homer
The next day, Homer is unwilling to go to work because Grimes will be there. Marge comforts him, saying that Grimes doesn't hate him, but is simply frustrated that life has always been hard on him while it has been so easy for Homer. She suggests that if Homer cleaned up his act a little, then maybe Grimes will be less hostile. Homer attempts to follow her advice in his own way and appear more professional on the job, but his efforts don't impress Grimes. At break, Grimes once more tries to convince Lenny and Carl that Homer is an idiot, pointing out that the number of accidents and meltdowns have respectively doubled and tripled every year since Homer got his job and how he has never been disciplined or fired; Lenny and Carl clearly understand, but insist everyone makes mistakes and that despite all of his flaws, Homer is a decent person.
Frustrated, Grimes declares that he would die a happy if he could just convince them that Homer has the intelligence of a six year-old. To do so, he tricks Homer into entering a "Design Your Own Power Plant" contest for kids through a flyer by removing areas that show its juvenile theme. Homer decides to participate and prove his professionalism, unaware that it's for kids and that Grimes is trying to humiliate him.
Homer wins the contest
At the contest, Homer's diorama is a crudely-created representation of the current plant, but with fins to lower wind resistance and a racing stripe. To Grimes' horror, Mr. Burns, impressed by Homer's effort, awards him first prize, beating out Ralph Wiggum (whose 'model' was in fact a Malibu Stacy Dream House) and Martin Prince (whose futuristic model was actually generating the power for the auditorium). To add insult to injury, Homer also receives a standing ovation from everyone present.
Frank Grimes gets electrocuted
His plan having backfired, a horrified and outraged Grimes ends up declaring the entire plant insane before suffering a nervous breakdown. He begins to run around the plant, declaring himself to be Homer Simpson while imitating and mocking Homer's habits (such as eating like a slob, peeing on the toilet seat and returning to work without washing his hands). Grimes rushes into Homer's office and approaches an extremely high voltage cable. Claiming that he doesn't need safety gloves because he is Homer Simpson, Grimes grabs the cable and is fatally electrocuted.
At Grimes' funeral, Homer falls asleep and talks in his dream, telling Marge to change the TV channel, causing all the attendees and Reverend Lovejoy to laugh as Grimes' coffin is lowered into the Earth.
Meanwhile, on a trip to a local government building, Bart wanders away from Marge and ends up buying an abandoned warehouse at a tax auction for a single dollar. He moves right in, and then hires Milhouse to act as a security guard. Unfortunately, the warehouse collapses in the middle of the night, leaving the rats to swarm Moe's Tavern.
Broadcast History[]
United States[]
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Behind the Laughter[]
Production[]
"Homer's Enemy" was written by John Swartzwelder, directed by Jim Reardon and executive produced by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. One of the goals of Oakley and Weinstein was to create several episodes in each season which would "push the envelope conceptually." The idea for the episode was first conceived by Bill Oakley who thought that Homer should have an enemy. The thought evolved into the concept of a "real world" co-worker who would either love or hate Homer. The writers chose the latter as they thought it would have funnier results. The result was the character of Grimes, a man who had to work hard all his life with nothing to show for it and is dismayed and embittered by Homer's success and comfort in spite of his inherent laziness and ignorance.
"Homer's Enemy" explores the comic possibilities of a realistic character with a strong work ethic placed alongside Homer in a work environment. In an essay for the book Leaving Springfield, Robert Sloane describes the episode as "an incisive consideration of The Simpsons's world. Although The Simpsons is known for its self-reflectivity, the show had never looked at (or critiqued) itself as directly as it does in ['Homer's Enemy']." In the episode, Homer is portrayed as an everyman and the embodiment of the American spirit; however, in some scenes his negative characteristics and silliness are prominently highlighted. By the close of the episode, Grimes, a hard-working and persevering "real American hero," is relegated to the role of antagonist; the viewer is intended to be pleased that Homer has emerged victorious.[5] In an interview with Simpsons fan site NoHomers.net, Josh Weinstein said:
| “ | We wanted to do an episode where the thinking was "What if a real life, normal person had to enter Homer's universe and deal with him?" I know this episode is controversial and divisive, but I just love it. It really feels like what would happen if a real, somewhat humorless human had to deal with Homer. There was some talk [on NoHomers.net] about the ending—we just did that because it's really funny and shocking, we like the lesson of "sometimes, you just can't win"—the whole Frank Grimes episode is a study in frustration and hence Homer has the last laugh and we wanted to show that in real life, being Homer Simpson could be really dangerous and life threatening, as Frank Grimes sadly learned. | ” |
The animators and character designers had a lot of discussion about what Frank Grimes should look like. He was originally designed as a "burly ex-marine guy with a crew cut", but would later be modeled after Michael Douglas in the movie Falling Down and director Jim Reardon's college roommate. Hank Azaria provided the voice of Frank Grimes, even though such a role would normally have been performed by a guest star. The producers decided Azaria was more suitable because the role involved a great deal of frustration and required extensive knowledge of the show. Azaria felt that the role should instead go to William H. Macy. According to Azaria, "I based the character on William Macy. I can't really copy him vocally, but I tried to get as close as I could and copy his rhythms and the way he has that sort of seething passion underneath that total calm exterior." The producers worked a lot with Azaria to help him perfect the role, and gave him more guidance than they normally would. Azaria felt that it was the role he worked hardest on, adding "I think it's the one we did the most takes on, the most emotional, it felt like the one I worked on the hardest from a performance point of view, in preparation and in execution."
Josh Weinstein has expressed regret about killing off Grimes after only one episode, describing him as "such an amazing character." In an interview with The Believer, producer George Meyer said, "Grimes's cardinal sin was that he shined a light on Springfield. He pointed out everything that was wrongheaded and idiotic about that world. And the people who do that tend to become martyrs. He said things that needed to be said, but once they were said, we needed to destroy that person. I'll admit, we took a certain sadistic glee in his downfall. He was such a righteous person, and that somehow made his demise more satisfying."
The subplot, where Bart buys a factory, was added so that there would be some lighter scenes to split up the main plot. According to Weinstein, "We wanted to have a Bart or Lisa kids story to contrast the heaviness and reality of Frank Grimes."
Reception[]
Critical opinion of the episode is mixed. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, authors of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, described the episode as "one of the series' darkest episodes that ends on a real downer but is nevertheless also one of the wittiest and cleverest in ages." In 2007, Vanity Fair called "Homer's Enemy" the seventh best episode of The Simpsons. John Orvted said it was, "the darkest Simpsons episode ever... To see Grimes fail, and ultimately be destroyed, once he enters Homer's world is hilarious and satisfying." Comedian Rick Mercer called it a "great episode, and one of the darkest ever produced."
Jon Bonné of MSNBC used "Homer's Enemy" as an example of a bad episode of the eighth season and wrote "even now in 2000, when subsequent episodes have debased Homer in new and innovative ways, the Grimes episode stands out as painful to watch." In April 2007, former Simpsons executive producer Mike Reiss listed "Homer's Enemy" as one of his two least favorite episodes, stating, "I just think the episode was in bad taste."
Several members of the staff have included the episode among their favorites. In a 2000 Entertainment Weekly article, creator Matt Groening ranked it as his sixth favorite Simpsons episode. It's a favorite of Josh Weinstein, who cites the scene when Grimes visits the Simpson home as one of his favorite scenes, while The Office creator Ricky Gervais has called it "the most complete episode." In her autobiography My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, praises Azaria's performance as Grimes, and uses it as an example of how "Accent, pitch, pacing, range and intention" can allow an actor to voice many characters. She writes: "Sometimes in voice acting, it isn't even a big change from your regular voice, but the attitude behind it makes all the difference. We were going to have a guest star play Frank Grimes. Hank, at the table-read, just filling in, created such a beautifully crafted character, beautifully psychotic, that no one was used to replace him."
In October 2006, IGN.com released a list of "The Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters", in which they ranked Frank Grimes at number 17, making him the least frequently-shown character to appear in that list.
As time went on, reviews on the episode got more and more positive. Although Grimes is never shown alive after this episode, he was later named one of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters" by IGN. He has since been referenced many times in the show, most notably in the season fourteen episode "The Great Louse Detective", in which his vengeful son plots to kill Homer.