R&R: Homer Alone

[The Sovereign]

5/5

good episode and jokes, and great use of Barney

[Tamaki Suoh]

Rewatched this yesterday and loved it. Can't really see any flaws with it, actually.

The episode excelled as a character study for Marge, and it's one of those episodes that reminds me why I adore classic era Marge: her sweet, loving, timorous, innocent, internally-contained, and even a bit maudlin characterization makes her one of my favorite characters. Her breakdown seemed a bit unconvincing at first but grew more and more understandable as the episode went on; what's most notable about it is that she didn't become too out of control or even angry, she just displayed built-up sadness and lostness that was very effective emotionally and character-wise. This episode also explored one of my favorite aspects of Marge's character: how her family can sometimes make her quietly sad but ultimately is the one thing that makes her happiest.

It was great seeing Maggie's connection to Marge as well. It was undeniably sweet and touching, and the sequence of her searching for Marge was artful and poignant. Bart and Lisa's misadventures at Patty and Selma's were effective and humorous. Homer's characterization was perfect, balanced between sweetness, naivety, and innocent deviousness. It was a classic example of Homer trying to do the best he could but of course, finding out that his best wasn't good enough.

The scenes featuring Homer searching for Maggie were genuinely suspenseful despite knowing that everything would return to the status quo. I usually don't care for Barney's appearances, but he was actually quite funny in this one. And the Rancho Relaxo scenes were both funny and expertly-crafted to show the extent of Marge's relaxation and the healing effect it had on her. One of my favorite Rancho Relaxo scenes was Marge ordering her sundae, chocolate chip cheesecake, and bottle of tequila, then taking a bath while eating her ice cream and watching "Thelma and Louise". It perfectly captured the feeling of escape and hedonistic bliss that they were going for.

Of course, the ending was flawless as well. The family all clinging to Marge and kissing her, pleading that she never leave again, was very sweet as was the scene of them all sleeping together in the bed and assuring Marge they will help her out more around the house. Just a fantastic episode. Possibly in my top 10. A+

[Jesse Pinkman]

4/5, a wee bit boring but still great

[qwertyuio]

Homer: Hello, Maggie! Sorry, honey. Mommy went crazy! And went far, far away. So, it's gonna be this [missed word] for a while. Just you and me.

This one has to be one of my favorites scenes ever in The Simpsons. It's a touching and hilarious illustration of Homer at his classic role, both extremely negligent and likeable. This is what made him the best character on TV.

As for the episode, I have never noticed it till this last review but it's really a flawless piece. Tamaki Suoh said everything about the analysis of Marge's lifestyle so I won't insist on that point. The whole episode was a series of characters showing a great balance between humour and characterization. Bart and Lisa at the scary home of Patty and Selma, Homer's clumsy fatherhood with Maggie, followed by a hilarious Barney, Marge enjoying her vacation and not realizing anything, the fight between Quimby and Wiggum for Marge Simpson, Arnie and Kent covering the story... And the result was consistently funny, one of the pure gagfests of The Simpsons. But always respecting the limits for the characters. I understand it being a favorite, though I would rather choose other episodes, because it's a nice epitome of the old Simpsons' class. 10/10

[Nauru-1]

Saw this recently and it's actually a little underrated, like a number of season 3 episodes. Very funny and great emotion throughout. 5/5

[Bella Drape 'er]

4/5, a wee bit boring but still great

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion I guess. I think it's a fantastic episode, one of my favourites. Homer and Maggie's tale was woven together so perfectly. 5/5

[bartyboy]

5/5. Great episode.

[Jesse Pinkman]

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion I guess. I think it's a fantastic episode, one of my favourites. Homer and Maggie's tale was woven together so perfectly. 5/5

well i just think it starts off a little boring. I still think it is a really great episode.

[Simpsonsfan1981]

Actually this episode was average for me. Nothing was wrong with per se -good characterization, script, dialogue and so on but it still felt a little flat to me and not that interesting (and no, I'm not one of the ones who needs a whole lot of action or ridiculous plot twists for the episode to be enjoyable). Nevertheless, even given all that, it was a good episode and will get a 4.5/5 from me

[SIR oinks alot]

great quotes and great story, this depicts homer and marges relationship perfectly and you could feel the bottled up anger in marge in the beggining.

Homer: I know you do, Marge, but come on, you know what our vacations are like. Those three monsters in the back seat: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" And let's face it; I'm no day at the beach either: "Marge, can I have another sandwich? Marge, can I have another sandwich?"

and

barney: I am gonna make you.... an ommlette!

5/5

[SUPERFOX5]

5/5

It is nice to see that Marge got a break from her family to go on vacation.
I especially enjoyed Maggie Simpson on her search for her dear mother.

Also, who would agree that Patty and Selma would be horrible parents?

[cloneasaurus]

B/B+. Had an (understandably) slow start but it really picks up as the episode goes on. I don't think I really laughed much, or at all, but that didn't bother me because there were many amusing moments, they just weren't exactly laugh worthy. It did feel a bit sitcommy, but that didn't bother me too much. Can't say it's a classic, but it's a nice look in to Marge's role in the family and another solid if not spectacular episode from season 3.

[cinco]

This one is a perfect example of how flawless Simpsons-episodes could be in the early years.
Great pacing, nice and sometimes subtle character moments, a balanced use of secondary characters and a great equilibrium between humour and heart.

[Prune Tracy]

This episode was okay. Some laugh-worthy moments, but not spectacular. 4/5, but just barely.

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

5/5 and 9/10

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

What you would call an average episode from an above-average season. Each season has one, this is one of them. 3.5/5.

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

Season 3 - The same season that has 'Mr Lisa goes to Washington', 'Bart the Murderer', Treehouse of Horror II, Lisa's Pony, Saturdays of Thunder, Flaming Moe's, Burns verkaufen der kraftwerk, I Married Marge, Radio Bart, Lisa the Greek, Bart the Lover, Homer at the Bat and Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes? - is certainly better than "above average".....

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

In celebration of the 500th episode. I have decided to go through every milestone episode and write a review based on it; now without further to do, the 50th episode!

Homer Alone

One of the many things "The Simpsons" have been known for is it's family dynamic; they're not the generic sitcom family that inhabits other sitcoms or the cartoon family that is clean cut and perfect; they're a realistic family with real personalities, real moments and real situations. This episode is one of the fine examples of that family dynamic and one of the finest to ever grace the show.

It takes the plot of Marge taking a personal vacation for herself and expand that into a narrative that manages to show a decent contrast between the three individual plots while also shining the spotlight on Marge herself. The narrative is helped by the decent editing which knows when to cut to which family member and which scene to show. I was impressed by the scenes they chose; one minute you have a situation that seems slightly bad then you have another one in where the situation is worse then you have the relaxful situation. Adding to that the appropriate length of the scenes shown and the content/context of the scenes; the fact that it didn't need to on and on about Marge relaxing or how bad the situations are just enhances the quality of the episode as a whole; it also gives great attention to the plot, the character and the overall pacing of the episode in general, which is very, very nice.

Speaking of character; one of my favorite moments of the episode has to be the focus on Marge in the beginning which helps set the ground and the mood for the entire episode. One of the things that make it stand out is it's length, it's slow progression and it's showing of the actions that she does; what we're witnessing is the day in the life of Marge with the Simpons family itself playing the secondary roles, it's showing us that she's a daily part of their lives and while she does the housework, she's essentially not happy doing so. The antics stay realistic throughout the episode but they build up and up and up to a point where she just breaks, the seemingly natural actions that any housewife would be doing naturally comes to a breaking point where the wife can't take enough and just breaks down on the spot and parks her car in the middle of the bridge.

The way that the moment (including the ones on the bridge that would of taken up the whole episode) transcends into our main plot was both seamless, tricky and wonderfully done. Most people would be fooled into thinking that most of the moments that happen in the first part of the episode constituted the episode but I'd think that they work well in a Simpsonsy vibe and I think that they certainly helped the episode.

The three plots regarding the Simpsons family (Homer & Maggie, Bart & Lisa, and Marge) work in tandem with each other to provide a nice look into our characters life and to provide a decent contrast. Homer & Maggie is something that you rarely get to see (due to her being mainly associated with Marge.) and for those of you who wanted to see more of them together, this plot in the episode is your godsend. The sweet moments between Homer & Maggie are done in a way that's both sweet, relevant and even adds up to the plot which was sudden, but expected. The connection between Maggie & Marge is also explored upon somewhat in this plot; it shows that no matter how hard Fathers try, babies always prefer the one closest to them. Homer tries so hard to take care of Maggie but despite all those efforts, he doesn't get through to her. That leads to her journey which added more to the episode and also lead to some fun avenues in regards to Marge lookalikes of which there are a ton of them in the episodes; sure, they may be fun to us but it's also relevant to Maggie and it shows.

The Bart & Lisa plot showcases one of the most realistic aspects of life, having to be somewhere that's familiar but disgusting; in this case, Patty & Selma's apartment. While it is the shortest of the three, it still adds to the contrast of which the makers of the episode were going for. Watching Bart and Lisa in Patty & Selma's is such a delight; just them trying to live with the situation at hand, going through the objects trying to have some fun; there is a certain charm to watching a bunch of kids dreading the situation that they're in, even if it's temporary. It also showcased some sides of the apartment life of Patty & Selma that we don't see, granted it is stuff we've seen before but we've never seen it from the perspective of the kids; and that's nice. It could of been longer but considering the whole episode, the length of the segments and their reactions all make up for it.

The Marge relaxation plot is kind of like the peanut butter and jelly that fits between the two pieces of bread; it may not contain the most action but it does show a contrast and it is an essential part of the episode. Seeing Marge relax amid the situations that are going on with the Simpsons family feels satisfying and engaging as a whole; the spa itself she goes to is grand but it's a smaller part of the Marge story and I think that works because we don't get any stuff about the spa itself, we just get Marge relaxing with some small shows of character; and it's always a delight to see Troy McClure in whatever film/video he appears him.

Those three plots work together to provide a structure that helps drive the episode and provide most of the episodes good moments, most of which play off other moments in other plots. There are some moments which don't make sense but the good moments more then outweigh it. It serves as a testament to the writers ability to actually create plots which are as compelling as they are distinctive; something which the current staff tried to replicate but failed miserably. Watching this episode, it's evident that the writer (or writers) put his ideas into the episode but he balanced that out with the care and consideration he took when he was writing this episode; that leads to a script where barely anything is out of balance and everything is in it's proper place. A wonder if you will; it's just amazing how the various scenes fit together and the writing supports that, like harmony; just goes to show that writers cared for their product back then.

There is also the atmosphere in which the jokes and the dialog thrive; alot of the moments that happen in the episode tie into the plot of the episode as a whole; even if some of the moments (like the one in the beginning) don't do so initially. The Simpsons have always had moments that have had dual meanings; moments that have added more to the episodes that they're in and this is no exception. It's always nice that they take the time to add these moments into the episode, it's like they appreciate us or something. The jokes here are funny and enjoyable and they come in all kinds of varieties, some even employing a sense of misdirection. Out of all of the jokes, I find the ones involving dialog the most interesting; it's just intrigues me that they manage to incorporate a piece of dialog that doesn't seem like a joke but then it becomes a joke almost instantaneously, almost as if something takes a life of it's own; that alone is amazing in it's own right.

And the family dynamic; well it just goes to show that these people are real people with real situations, each forced to deal with it in their own way. The situations that they're put in is surreal, the actions that they're do are similar to a real life family and even though they're dysfunctional, you can relate to them in the most common of ways. I'm sure the thousands of husbands who watch this can relate to the situation at hand, especially with the way it's shown. Of course, I can't give all of the credit to the dynamic, the voices (even though some are off) and the dialog helped too.

So... I think I got it all, Homer Alone is a classic milestone episode and while other people may not think the same way; I think it's a must see. The family dynamic here is pushed to full effect, the plot is done amazingly well, the aspects they added to the plot help it, the jokes are funny and it's such a wonder to watch. Granted there are some flaws and the pacing isn't 100% perfect but it's still a fine episode. There are lot of enjoyable moments here and the appeal of this episode cannot be denied, the Simpsons first milestone episode is something that you must see now.

9.5/10

[Blobulle]

Really great episode, I wonder if I prefer Black Widower or this episode.
5/5

[The Angry Animated Comedy Nerd]

What a wonderful character driven storyline.

Shows us how important Marge is and what makes her tick.