Homer's Paternity Coot
Encyclopedia
"Homer's Paternity Coot" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons
' seventeenth season
, and first aired on January 8, 2006, being the first episode of 2006. Mail from forty years earlier is discovered, and a letter from Homer Simpson
's mother's old boyfriend states that he is Homer's true father. Homer sets out to find his new father, leaving Abe Simpson
behind. It was written by Joel H. Cohen
and directed by Mike B. Anderson
. The episode guest stars William H. Macy
and Joe Frazier
as themselves, and Michael York
as Homer's new father, Mason Fairbanks. During its first airing, the episode originally garnered 10.1 million viewers, higher than the previous episode
.
goes shopping, a toll booth
appears, but Marge and other Springfield
residents take "The Ol' Cheapskate Trail". Mayor Quimby
enforces tire spikes and blocks off the escape route because he desperately needs the money in order to “de-python
” the town fountain. The next time Marge comes up to the booth, she backs up, causing many cars' tires to become severely damaged. The tires are thrown in the tire fire, melting ice on Mount Springfield and revealing a mailman, which has been frozen for 40 years. One of the forty year old letters is delivered to Homer's Mother, Mona Simpson
. It is from her old lifeguard boyfriend, whose name begins with an M, who writes that if Mona replies to the letter, she has chosen him, and if she does not, she is choosing to stick with her husband Abe. He also writes that either way, in his heart he knows that the baby she is carrying is his.
Homer goes to the library to find his supposed father by looking in "Lifeguards of Springfield in the Twentieth Century." The only person in there whose name begins with M is Mason Fairbanks (voiced by Michael York
). Homer goes to his relatively large house pretending to be a reporter. He tells him that he is interviewing people who wear sweaters, and he is let inside. Mason shows him around his home, and shows him his ship, The Son I Never Knew. Homer eventually tells him that he thinks that he is his father, and Mason is delighted. He takes Homer and the rest of the family, excluding Abe, on a ride on his ship and tells them the story of a lost emerald treasure, which impresses the family. However, when they come home, Grampa angrily accuses Mason of having tried to steal his wife and now trying to steal his family, and is deeply saddened that Homer would even think that Mason could be his real father. They decide to have a DNA test, and after a suspenseful wait, Homer is thrilled to learn that his real father is Mason Fairbanks.
While Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are having an awkward, uneventful visit with Grampa, Mason and Homer are underwater (which is terribly polluted by nuclear waste) in their own individual submarines looking for the lost treasure. Homer gets separated from Mason, and he follows a small light that he thinks is him. It is actually a glowing fish, and Homer gets stuck in some coral. As his oxygen begins to run out and he starts to lose consciousness, he sees poignant flashbacks including him and Abe. They show Abe entertaining a child Homer, praising teenage Homer's (poorly drawn) picture of Abe, and supplying for Homer's marriage some money (which a bird subsequently steals, leading Abe to sadly say, "I gave you all I had, and it still wasn't enough.") When his last bit of oxygen runs out, the last thing he sees is Mason heading towards him. When he wakes up, he is in the hospital, and Bart tells him that he has been in a coma for three days. Abe starts to leave, but Homer grabs his arm and asks Mason, Marge, and the kids to leave. He tells Abe of his memories and says he has been just like a father. Abe then tells Homer that he is actually his father; he switched the labels on the DNA samples after seeing how happy Homer was with Mason.
".
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...
The Simpsons (season 17)
The Simpsons' seventeenth season originally aired between September 2005 and May 2006, beginning on Sunday, September 11, 2005. It broke Fox's tradition of pushing its shows' season premieres back to November to accommodate the Major League Baseball games airing on the network during September...
, and first aired on January 8, 2006, being the first episode of 2006. Mail from forty years earlier is discovered, and a letter from Homer Simpson
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...
's mother's old boyfriend states that he is Homer's true father. Homer sets out to find his new father, leaving Abe Simpson
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
behind. It was written by Joel H. Cohen
Joel H. Cohen
For the film director, see Joel Coen.Joel H. Cohen is a writer for Saturday Night Live, Suddenly Susan and The Simpsons...
and directed by Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson
Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is a television director who works on The Simpsons and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. While a college student, he directed the live action feature films...
. The episode guest stars William H. Macy
William H. Macy
William Hall Macy, Jr. is an American actor and writer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Jerry Lundegaard in Fargo. He is also a teacher and director in theater, film and television. His film career has been built mostly on his appearances in small, independent films, though...
and Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
as themselves, and Michael York
Michael York (actor)
Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
as Homer's new father, Mason Fairbanks. During its first airing, the episode originally garnered 10.1 million viewers, higher than the previous episode
Simpsons Christmas Stories
"Simpsons Christmas Stories" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season.-The First Do'h-El:When Reverend Lovejoy can not attend the Christmas sermon due to a horrible train wreck , Flanders immediately takes over. However, he gets a paper cut and faints...
.
Plot
As Marge SimpsonMarge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
goes shopping, a toll booth
Toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road or canal. Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries...
appears, but Marge and other Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
residents take "The Ol' Cheapskate Trail". Mayor Quimby
Joe Quimby
Mayor Joseph "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed "Diamond Joe," is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Bart Gets an F". A member of the Democratic Party, Quimby is the mayor of Springfield, and is a...
enforces tire spikes and blocks off the escape route because he desperately needs the money in order to “de-python
Python (genus)
Python, from the Greek word , is a genus of non-venomous pythons found in Africa, Asia and Australia. Currently, 7 species are recognised. A member of this group, P. reticulatus, is among the longest snakes known.-Geographic range:...
” the town fountain. The next time Marge comes up to the booth, she backs up, causing many cars' tires to become severely damaged. The tires are thrown in the tire fire, melting ice on Mount Springfield and revealing a mailman, which has been frozen for 40 years. One of the forty year old letters is delivered to Homer's Mother, Mona Simpson
Mona Simpson (The Simpsons)
Mona J. Simpson is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She has been voiced by several actresses, including Maggie Roswell, Tress MacNeille and most prominently, Glenn Close. Mona is the estranged wife of Abe Simpson and the mother of Homer Simpson...
. It is from her old lifeguard boyfriend, whose name begins with an M, who writes that if Mona replies to the letter, she has chosen him, and if she does not, she is choosing to stick with her husband Abe. He also writes that either way, in his heart he knows that the baby she is carrying is his.
Homer goes to the library to find his supposed father by looking in "Lifeguards of Springfield in the Twentieth Century." The only person in there whose name begins with M is Mason Fairbanks (voiced by Michael York
Michael York (actor)
Michael York, OBE is an English actor.-Early life:York was born in Fulmer, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the son of Florence Edith May , a musician; and Joseph Gwynne Johnson, a Llandovery born Welsh ex-Royal Artillery British Army officer and executive with Marks and Spencer department stores...
). Homer goes to his relatively large house pretending to be a reporter. He tells him that he is interviewing people who wear sweaters, and he is let inside. Mason shows him around his home, and shows him his ship, The Son I Never Knew. Homer eventually tells him that he thinks that he is his father, and Mason is delighted. He takes Homer and the rest of the family, excluding Abe, on a ride on his ship and tells them the story of a lost emerald treasure, which impresses the family. However, when they come home, Grampa angrily accuses Mason of having tried to steal his wife and now trying to steal his family, and is deeply saddened that Homer would even think that Mason could be his real father. They decide to have a DNA test, and after a suspenseful wait, Homer is thrilled to learn that his real father is Mason Fairbanks.
While Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are having an awkward, uneventful visit with Grampa, Mason and Homer are underwater (which is terribly polluted by nuclear waste) in their own individual submarines looking for the lost treasure. Homer gets separated from Mason, and he follows a small light that he thinks is him. It is actually a glowing fish, and Homer gets stuck in some coral. As his oxygen begins to run out and he starts to lose consciousness, he sees poignant flashbacks including him and Abe. They show Abe entertaining a child Homer, praising teenage Homer's (poorly drawn) picture of Abe, and supplying for Homer's marriage some money (which a bird subsequently steals, leading Abe to sadly say, "I gave you all I had, and it still wasn't enough.") When his last bit of oxygen runs out, the last thing he sees is Mason heading towards him. When he wakes up, he is in the hospital, and Bart tells him that he has been in a coma for three days. Abe starts to leave, but Homer grabs his arm and asks Mason, Marge, and the kids to leave. He tells Abe of his memories and says he has been just like a father. Abe then tells Homer that he is actually his father; he switched the labels on the DNA samples after seeing how happy Homer was with Mason.
Reception
Ryan J. Budke of TV Squad gives the episode a strong positive rating, quoting its ingenuity and charm. He calls it a funny episode with a lot of heart, and quotes that it was a great episode by comparing it alongside his other favorite, "The Girl Who Slept Too LittleThe Girl Who Slept Too Little
"The Girl Who Slept Too Little" is the second episode of The Simpsons seventeenth season, which originally broadcast on September 18, 2005. 9.79 million viewers watched the episode.-Plot:...
".
External links
- "Homer's Paternity Coot" at The Simpsons.com