Not every Simpsons episode is a classic. The ones that are classics have redefined television already so they can coast. Season openers on The Simpsons aren’t usually anything particularly special except when they get delayed by football so long that they have to open with one of their “Treehouse of Horror” episodes. That’s how it is with “Homerland.” It’s good, not great. Not a classic Simpsons, but still better than the best episodes of most network comedies. On the funniest Simpsons, which aren’t always the best episodes but I’ll get into that later, you can miss a third of the jokes by getting caught off guard and laughing out loud over other jokes. On episodes like “Homerland,” you grin and say in your head “that was funny.” Over and over usually. Still, it’s better than most shows where you groan and ask who wrote this shit? “Homerland” is a riff on the Showtime series Homeland, which I don’t watch, have never seen an episode, so there are probably a lot of in-jokes that are lost on me. The episode starts with a takeoff of the Homeland opening sequence, only with Springfieldians and Grinches taking the place of whoever’s on the show in their credits. And one of those right-wing subliminal messages that The Simpsons writers throw in: After serious statements about terrorism by Presidents Reagan and HW Bush, President Clinton says “I grew up in a little town in Arkansas, who’s name, ironically, was Terrorism.” The episode plays in what I have to assume is the look of Homeland. The cuts and pull-backs and incidental music. The backwards letters in the credits. Flashbacks that don’t pan out until the end of an episode. In a Middle Eastern dirge Homer sings, “It is the climax, what everything’s building to. Hope it pays off for you” and the climax reveals Homer to be Lisa’s perfect dad. While it lasts. The other guest star is Kevin Michael Richardson. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
