Homer's Enemy - Hit or Miss?

I should concede that this episode isn't particularly hilarious. Its humor is more subtle and understated, not to mention dark at times. So I can see why someone wouldn't like it. If one went in expecting belly laughs, such as with wacky episodes like "Homer Goes to College" or "Homer Badman", they're gonna be disappointed.

But, I think the episode makes up for that in everything that's been talked about in this thread. Any episode that gets such a reaction from people, whether they like the episode or not, is worth its weight in gold in my book. At least if you hated something, you were more involved in the story than if you were apathetic towards it, and the work was interesting enough to give you a reaction, whether good or bad. The worst forms of entertainment are those that don't get any reaction whatsoever from the viewer. They just exist on the screen.
 
I was homeschooled since grade four and between regular school and homeschool i moved, so i never had that sort of chance to develop that sort of social contact which could be of use to me gaining employment. atm i'm looking for office work (mostly because of my typing speed and because it seems like a normal type of job people do) but i'm finding it hard as my mother is the only reference i have on my resume. But i don't let that stop me. I try my best, and that's all one can be asked to do. But i think it's unfair some lazy beatnik type can land a position like that just because of social connections... it's positively Darwinist...
 
Yeah, I feel so bad for Homer in this episode. He was just being himself. And as SirLemming noted he really didn't DO anything bad in the episode. All of the things Grimes hated him for were things that Homer had no idea other people would find offensive or were completely unintentional. I think the scene that always gets me is Homer sitting alone in his car trying to force himself to go to work. I think we've all faced a similar situation where a petty spat has made us dread going someplace. Homer even took the opportunity to actually try and better his work habits which he has NEVER done before. He REALLY wanted Grimes to like him and he only scoffed at his efforts. This is Homer Simpson at his most human.

The end with Homer sleeping through the funeral was actually kind of touching for me. The great thing about the character is he is never completely unhappy for long. His moods turn on a dime and I thought that once he no longer had a person who hated him and was trying to impress he finally felt he could go back to normal. (And no doubt the strain of the past few days made him tired!:) ) The affirmation of love from Lenny and the town with a perhaps cruel, but perhaps affectionate "That's our Homer!" basically lets us know that Homer IS a person that can be liked for simply being himself.
 
I didn't see what there was to complain about this episode when I first saw it. Definitely not the funniest, but a good episode. I felt kinda bad for FG, but yeah. For someone 'real' to enter that show is funny, and how Lenny and Carl just accpeted the fact that Homer lives such a wonderful life without doing so much is funny too. But hey Homer does work for his living. Not in the way that Frank does however.
 
It's the first episode where you truly notice Homer's incompetance in the power plant, and you say to yourself: "Crap, this guy really could cause a problem, end up killing a lot of people, and wouldn't even care about it...".

And, I just end up sympathizing with Grimes even more once he gives his little speech after he finds out about all of Homer's accomplishments.

That, and the fact that not just Homer, but the entire town wound up ignoring him, and screwing him over.

He may have just been being himself, but in doing so, he played a part in his death, and to a lesser extent, the death of Maude Flanders. That I cannot forgive.
 
The joke of Homer working in a power plant has and always will be that it's a job that he probably shouldn't be working at. And no Homer would care, this has been proven in the show as he risked his life to save the plant after almost causing a meltdown or explosion.
 
Really? I thought the first time was in Simpson and Delilah where Smithers revealed that accidents in Homer's section went down after he was promoted. Or in Homer's Oddessy where he acknowledged that he was responsible for a few "doozies" that no one had found out about. Or in Homer Goes to College when he locks the rest of the plant inside during a meltdown drill. Or in King-Size Homer where he goes off his post to see a movie and the plant actually HAS a meltman. Or, ad infinatum.

As for Grimes death, it was his own damn fault. He was a spiteful person who if he had just LET IT GO would have had a chance at a successful life. But, NOOOOOOO! He just HAS to prove what a jack-ass Homer is. News flash, Grimey: EVERYONE in Springfield is a jack-ass!
 
To which I would like to add: YOURSELF INCLUDED!

Hey, remember that scene where Homer almost drinks the sulfuric acid, thinking it's water? After the contest, I would've liked to see a scene where Homer's about to do it again, and Grimes decides, "This time I'll let him, it will prove he's a moron." Only Grimes doesn't know it really is where Homer keeps his drinking water, and when Homer survives, that's when Grimes should've snapped.
 
I liked Homer's Enemy....In my opinion,Grimes should've just accepted that everyone was OK with Homer being an incompetant idiot...but then again,he's had to work hard for everything he had,while Homer has everything practically handed to him....The only thing that bothered me the first time I saw the episode was the ending(everyone laughing at Homer at the funeral)...
 
I'm not sure why he should be admired for being himself. I mean, Hitler was being himself when he murdered thousands of people, should we commend him for that? No, I'm not comparing Homer to Hitler, I'm just saying that "being one's self" is not in and of itself an admirable trait. Actually, sometimes being one's self is a negative trait.

To me, the funeral part was basically the final slap in the face to Grimes. I mean, not only does he get no where in life, but even in death no one cares about him and people are too busy laughing at Homer to notice him.

And I guess the thing that pisses me off is that it does kind of reflect reality a bit. There's a lot of people who are pretty freakin stupid who have great jobs and I'm having trouble finding a job. I suppose you'd say I should learn from this episode and stop having a chip on my shoulder. But, the thing is, I've lived my whole life having no self confidence, always thinking that other people are better than me, even though my grades would indicate that I'm much smarter than them. When is it my turn to be better than other people? Unfortunately, if I go with what this episode has taught me it doesn't matter how smart I am, it doesn't matter how hard I try, dumbasses will always be better off than me.

Hmmm...I could definitely see myself flipping out and having a Grimes-esque death a few years down the line.
 
This episode was good, I guess. I remember being a little shocked myself when Grimes bit it. It has been a while since this episode has been reran in syndication, I'd like to watch it again and analyze it.
 
HE's the episode where being "only stupid, no thinky" is the first episode where that glamourized that version of Homer, but NOT EVERY SINGLE episode since then had him like that...until the end of the Season 9 when that Homer came back--but with a vengence with the added jerkass factor.

And obviously I'm trying to get a point across, duh, or I'm just typing this just to keep my hands busy.



A "Human" Homer would've had some negative interactions with Frank at work, talked with Marge, and then apologized, instead of trying to look "professional."



I never said Homer was mean, I said he was stupid as hell. Also, if you want a more 'human' ideal, Frank could've quit at any time. No one was forcing him to work there. (Although that would've made the episode a bit shorter.)
 
I'm not going to post in this thread anymore, simpspin, as you obviously have a very different idea of how the episode should have played out and what the characters should have done than anyone else posting in this thread, besides Atomius.



Then he wouldn't have been Homer.
 
To me, I think Homer blaming Grimes for the acid destroying the wall and causing him to have his pay cut in half was far worse than anything Grimes did. Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't have been pissed off if someone blamed you for something on the job and it caused your pay to be cut in half?
 
From memory:

*Burns walks past, notices the new hole* "Who did this?"
*with no real sign of malice, Homer gestures to Grimes* "Is this true?"
Grimes: "Well, you see, sir-"
Burns: "Meet me in my office" *leaves*
*Grimes looks sad as Homer leans in to say like an idiot* "He likes you!" *Grimes frown turns into a glare*

So not really blaming Grimes. Burns asked a question, Homer gave an honest answer. It's the intentional absurdity of the situation and characters that lands Grimes in trouble (Burns chews him out for 'wasting my precious acid')
 
Burns asked who caused the destruction of the wall, and Homer said "He did" while pointing to Grimes.

Though, I am a bit curious as to why so much of Grimes hate was focused on Homer, when Mr. Burns seemed to be the main cause of his aggravation. I mean, Mr. Burns decided to give the job of associate director to a dog rather than Grimes.
 
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