Deep Space Homer

"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' fifth season. It is also the source of the Overlord meme. The episode was written by David Mirkin, who was an experienced producer of the show, with "Deep Space Homer" being his freshman writing credit for the series.

In spite of Homer being chosen to go into space, he is very nervous about going. He runs from the space shuttle and talks with Marge on the phone, and she says that Homer ought to take advantage of going into space. He agrees and gets into the Corvair space shuttle, with its name a reference to the car that was widely considered to be unsafe. The launch is also a Nielsen ratings smash. When on the shuttle, Homer smuggles potato chips ("Careful! They're ruffled!") on board. He opens the bag, but is unaware that they will clog the instruments. His appetite seems to save the day as he floats after the chips in zero-G to the tune of The Blue Danube, but he flies into an ant farm, destroying it, sowing panic across the world as the ants are set free thanks to Kent Brockman's rather premature assessment of the situation.

Although James Taylor comes in to make a modified adaptation of "You've Got a Friend", the disaster continues on board, with Kent Brockman reporting that the space shuttle has been taken over by giant space ants. The ants destroy the navigation system but, luckily, James Taylor suggests that they blow the bugs out the front hatch. The astronauts do, but Homer fails to put on his "shuttle belt" and is sucked out of the hatch. Buzz pulls him inside but due to the vacuums' sheer force, Homer breaks the handle. He inadvertently uses the carbon rod to seal the door shut. They return to Earth, landing at a journalist convention.

The return of the Soviet Union

"Simpson Tide" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. The episode first aired on March 29, 1998. The episode title puns on the film Crimson Tide. Guest starring Rod Steiger as Captain Tenille, Bob Denver as himself and Michael Carrington as the Drill Sargeant. This was the last episode Al Jean and Mike Reiss show-ran together, both would return in season 13 with Jean as show runner and Reiss as produce (...)

Homer fails to find his way back to Springfield, and ends up going entirely the wrong way, ending up in Russian waters. This is interpreted by the United States government as an attempt to hi-jack the sub, and the media brands Homer a traitor. This event creates a political schism between the USA and Russia; the Russian government reveals that the Soviet Union still exists, and that its fall was merely a ruse. As such, the diplomat switches his name plate to "Soviet Union" mode, and curious changes occur in Russia. Tanks emerge from within floats depicting teddy bears in a parade in front of the Kremlin, goosestepping troops parade, the Berlin Wall reappears from nowhere (still with guards and dogs on it) and Lenin returns from the dead saying as he comes back "Must... crush... capitalism!".

The Simpsons and the Powers of Ten

The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. The couch gag changes from episode to episode, and usually features the Simpson family's living room couch. A typical gag features the Simpson family running into the living room, only to find some abnormality with the couch; be it a bizarre and unexpected occupant, an odd placement of the couch, such as the ceiling, or any number of other situations. In more recent seasons, the couch gags have tended to be more outlandish and absurd. (...)

One of the longer couch gags to date is "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner"'s 45-second spoof of the short film Powers of Ten. After the family runs in and sits on the couch, the camera pulls up through the roof and continues pulling back - past Springfield, the United States, Earth, the Solar System, Kang and Kodos outside their broken spaceship, and finally the entire Milky Way galaxy. As the scene continues receding, the galaxies turn into atoms, which become molecules, which become strands of DNA, which become skin cells, which become Homer's head. Homer then says "woooow" (later changed to "cool" in subsequent airings.) The early part of the sequence is accompanied by Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra on the music track, until Kang and Kodos are encountered, followed by a generally eerie and suspenseful underscoring until Homer's scalp is finally revealed.

Damned Scots! They ruin Scotland!

A clip from the Simpsons episode "Milhouse doesn't live here anymore" with Groundskeeper Willie discussing natural enemies. (...)

Willie: Brothers and sisters are natural born enemies! Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damned Scots! They ruined Scotland...
Skinner: You Scots sure are a contentious people.
Willie: You just made an enemy for life!

The Evolution of Homer

The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. The couch gag changes from episode to episode, and usually features the Simpson family's living room couch. A typical gag features the Simpson family running into the living room, only to find some abnormality with the couch; be it a bizarre and unexpected occupant, an odd placement of the couch, such as the ceiling, or any number of other situations. In more recent seasons, the couch gags have tended to be more outlandish and absurd. (...)

Originally airing on March 25, 2007 the episode "Homerazzi" used a prolonged couch gag where Homer is the basis of about a dozen organisms depicting the mankind's evolution. When he walks upright, Homer walks through a few period scenes before walking through the Simpsons' front door to sit down on the couch (Marge asks 'What took you so long?'). By the time this episode had aired on the East Coast, the show's message board at the Internet Movie Database had several threads declaring this the best, or greatest, or most innovative couch gag in the series' history. This sequence is clearly inspired by the music video for the Fatboy Slim track Right Here Right Now in both the larger idea and smaller details.