“Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment” is the thirteenth episode of the second season of The Simpsons, which aired on February 7, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets an illegal cable hook-up. Despite their enjoyment of the new channels, Lisa becomes suspicious that they are stealing cable. Her suspicions are confirmed by Reverend Lovejoy and Lisa protests by no longer watching television. Meanwhile, Homer invites his friends over to watch a boxing match, but Lisa's protest gets to him. He decides not to watch the fight and cuts the cable. It is one of a number of Simpsons episodes that have won an Emmy.
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Plot
After seeing Ned Flanders reject an offer from a man to get an illegal cable hook-up, Homer chases after the cable man and wants to be hooked up for free. He likes the new channels he gets, which the family watches with him. Lisa, however, feels suspicious about this. Following a Sunday School lesson regarding the existence and nature of Hell, Lisa becomes terrified of violations of the 10 Commandments, the adherence to which she is assured will keep one’s soul safe from Hell. She fears that because Homer violated the Eighth Commandment, he will go to Hell when he dies.[1] She additionally opposes other examples of common thievery all around her. She convinces Marge to pay the cost on two grapes she has sampled in a grocery store. Lisa pays a visit to Reverend Lovejoy at church, where he suggests that Lisa cannot turn her father in to the police (since she must continue to Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother, according to the Fifth Commandment), but he instead encourages Lisa to not watch anything on Homer’s cable hook-up, setting a good example which he hopes that others will follow.
Homer invites his friends from the power plant, as well as Apu, Moe, and Barney to watch “The Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out!” on cable. (Mr. Burns and Waylon Smithers show up as well). Lisa tries to boycott the party, and this results in Homer making her stay outside. Meanwhile, Bart has set up posters on the back door for his showing of an adult channel for 50 cents (although his age requirement is eight), but he is caught a few seconds later by Homer. Homer’s conscience eventually bothers him, more in the form of his daughter’s distress than a moral objection to stealing cable, and he gives in to Lisa’s protests, begrudgingly choosing not to watch the last minutes of the fight. Marge, Maggie, and Bart (otherwise reluctant) join them as well. He sits the fight out and when everyone leaves, he hesitantly (and unprofessionally) cuts his cable hook-up, despite Bart’s objection. Homer somehow accidentally cuts the electricity to all of Springfield in his random wire-cutting before finally cutting the cable wire.
Production
The episode was written by one-time writer Steve Pepoon, and directed by Rich Moore. It was originally going to be named "Homer vs. the 8th Commandment", but the writers decided to include Lisa in the title because they wanted the cast to feel as if all their characters were equally represented on the show.[2] The episode is based on the Eighth Commandment ("thou shall not steal"), which is one of the Ten Commandments, a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judaism and Christianity tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses in the form of two stone tablets. The Simpsons writer Al Jean said that "whenever people come up to me and say that The Simpsons is just sort of this outrageous show that has no moral center, I always point them to this [episode], where Homer gets an illegal cable hook-up (which many people have done in real life) and suffers enormous consequences."[3] The Simpsons writer Mike Reiss said episodes such as "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" are his favorite episodes to write because they have a "solid theme or an issue" (in this case, religion and theft), that you can "discuss endlessly and just have it present itself in so many different ways."[2] This episode later inspired the season four episode "Homer the Heretic", in which Homer stops going to church on Sundays. Based on the Fourth Commandment, "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy", that episode originated when Jean commented to Reiss, "We had a lot of luck with Homer stealing cable, so maybe we could look to other commandments?"[4]
The episode marks the debut appearance of Troy McClure, voiced by American actor Phil Hartman. McClure was based on the typical "washed up" Hollywood actor, and B movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure served as inspiration for his name and certain character aspects.[3][5] According to show creator Matt Groening, Hartman was cast in the role due to his ability to pull "the maximum amount of humor" out of any line he was given.[5] McClure's visual appearance is similar to that of Hartman himself.[6] McClure became a recurring character on the show after "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment", but was retired in 1998 after the actor's death.[5] In addition to McClure, Hartman also provided the voice of the cable guy. The character Drederick Tatum, one of the boxers in the boxing game Homer and his friends watch, also make his first appearance on the show in this episode. His physical appearance was based on the American boxer Mike Tyson,[2] and he was named after a real boxer The Simpsons writer George Meyer had seen.[3]
Cultural references
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The scene in which Homer stands in front of and is struck by the cable man's truck resembles a famous scene of the Hitchcock's film North by Northwest.[7] Drederick Tatum is obviously based on Mike Tyson, his manager looks exactly like Don King, and his opponent resembles Evander Holyfield.[2] In a joke about Mr. Burns’ age, he recalls watching a bare-knuckle match between Gentleman Jim Corbett and “an Eskimo fellow.” Corbett would later be referenced as “Gentleman Jim Simpson” in a deleted scene in “The Homer They Fall” on the Season 8 DVD boxset. The movies that are watched on the new cable are Jaws, Die Hard, and Wall Street.
Reception
The episode won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour), and was also nominated in the "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special" category.[8]
References
- ^ Though “Thou Shall Not Steal” is listed as the Seventh Commandment in Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism, the Simpsons belong to one of the numerous protestant sects which list it as the eighth.
- ^ a b c d Reiss, Mike. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c Jean, Al. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Jean, Al. (2004). The Simpsons Season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer the Heretic". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b c Groening, Matt. Interview with Terry Gross. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. WHYY-FM Philadelphia. 2004-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-06-09.
- ^ Weinstein, Josh. (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "The Simpsons: Homer vs Lisa and the 8th Commandment - Alfred Hitchcock Wiki". Hitchcockwiki.com. http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/The_Simpsons:_Homer_vs_Lisa_and_the_8th_Commandment. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ Emmy Awards official site "The Simpsons" "1991–1991" emmys.org. Retrieved on August 31, 2007
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment |
- "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment" at the Internet Movie Database
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