Top 10 Worst Things That Happened to Homer
D'oh! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most impactful yet pitiable physical and emotional hardships endured by the patriarch of the Simpsons.
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00:00 "Stop pummeling me!
00:02 It's really painful!"
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most impactful yet pitiable physical
00:10 and emotional hardships endured by the patriarch of the Simpsons.
00:14 "Dad, 10% of $120 million isn't $12,000.
00:19 It's…"
00:20 "Cold blue!
00:21 Cold blue!"
00:22 10.
00:23 "Trapdoor" While the cat's away, the mice will… plummet.
00:29 Homer accidentally triggers the trapdoor and burns his office, only to tumble through subterranean
00:35 construction, bouncing around scaffolding before landing headfirst in a cement mixer.
00:40 "Ow!
00:41 I'm drowning in cement!"
00:44 "Uh, it's actually concrete."
00:46 "Woohoo!"
00:47 "Of which cement is an ingredient."
00:49 The incident puts him in traction for the rest of the episode, burdening Marge to the
00:53 point of forcing her to need consoling.
00:55 "I never said this.
00:57 But did you ever think we cling to these guys because we're afraid to admit we were wrong?"
01:03 "Do you really think that?"
01:05 Things don't exactly turn around when the Simpsons take Burns to court, as they both
01:09 end up falling outside of the courthouse and getting hit by a truck.
01:18 It looks like a villainous trapdoor can cause even more trouble when it isn't working
01:22 properly.
01:23 9.
01:24 New York City Homer is reluctant to pick up his car after
01:29 Barney loses it in New York City.
01:31 "I don't want to go to New York City."
01:33 "Why not?"
01:34 "New York is a hellhole.
01:35 And you know how I feel about hellholes."
01:38 As bad as his first trip was, this one is even worse.
01:42 He waits all day by his car to dispute countless parking tickets, only to miss the parking
01:47 officer while going to the bathroom.
01:56 Homer finally snaps, driving his booted car through impossible traffic, ornery New Yorkers,
02:02 and dangerous construction sites.
02:04 He can't even make it over the bridge without a garbage truck littering on him through his
02:08 busted windshield.
02:22 This juxtaposition with his family's perfect holiday makes for brilliant satire of the
02:27 mixed myths of the Big Apple.
02:29 There's certainly no convincing Homer that it's the greatest city on Earth.
02:33 8.
02:34 Lost Thumb A wild day for the whole Simpsons family
02:38 starts particularly wildly for Homer.
02:40 He's so eager to sample some freshly baked brownies that he reaches for one while Marge
02:45 is still cutting the batch.
02:56 This costs him his right thumb.
02:59 Because the police are convinced that this was deliberate, the couple have to drive to
03:02 the hospital themselves.
03:04 With all the hurdles along the way, it looks like Homer will be permanently down a digit.
03:19 Luckily everything works out when a mob doctor quickly, if painfully, reattaches the thumb.
03:32 It still may be one of the Simpsons' most harrowing farces, as if Homer weren't already
03:38 a cautionary tale about greedy eating.
03:41 7.
03:42 Unnecessary Treatments Feeling unappreciated by friends and family,
03:46 Homer is eager to show off his suspiciously perfect new friend, Ray Magini.
04:02 He becomes so belligerent when the roofer fails to turn up that Homer's loved ones
04:05 conclude that Ray is just a desperate hallucination.
04:09 There is strong evidence supporting that theory, but after six weeks of painful therapy, Homer
04:14 receives an alarming visitor in the hospital.
04:27 It turns out that Ray is real, but was improbably obscured to everyone else whenever he ran
04:33 into Homer.
04:34 All that treatment was for nothing.
04:36 Homer finally gets some appreciation in the most awful way possible.
04:45 At least Dr. Hibbert makes it up to him by having to complete Ray's contract work.
04:50 6.
04:51 Coma An April Fool's Day prank goes horribly wrong
04:55 when Bart sticks one of his father's beers in a paint shaker.
04:59 When Homer opens the can, the fizz is so explosive that he ends up in the hospital.
05:11 There a falling vending machine knocks him into a coma.
05:14 He regains consciousness weeks later, having lost a good 5% of his brain.
05:26 The family just laughs off this disturbing tragedy, but it struck audiences so hard as
05:31 to inspire a popular fan theory about The Simpsons' floating timeline.
05:36 Season 34 even humored the idea that The Simpsons' increasingly far-fetched adventures were dreamed
05:41 up in Homer's coma.
05:53 However long it lasted, or has been lasting, it's not much of a laughing matter.
05:58 5.
05:59 Marked for Death Homer's thoughtless antics have earned him
06:03 many enemies through the years.
06:18 Certainly the late Frank Grimes can be ruled out as the culprit behind multiple murder
06:22 attempts.
06:23 But with SciShowBob's help and a Mardi Gras parade as a trap, the police are able to apprehend
06:27 Frank Grimes Jr., the would-be assassin's identity-divided viewers, with its jarring
06:32 twist.
06:41 With the entire episode exploring the worst things Homer did to others, maybe it's fitting
06:46 to end on a reminder that he drove a man to a fatal breakdown.
06:57 This tragic accident still can't justify Frank Jr.'s suspenseful campaign for revenge.
07:02 Homer is enough of a gruesome danger to himself.
07:06 4.
07:07 Heart Attacks Before Homer's poor health became a gluttonous
07:11 running gag, it led to one of the most dramatic early episodes.
07:30 A day of particularly bad eating and stress leads to a massive heart attack, which necessitates
07:35 coronary artery bypass surgery.
07:37 The situation becomes more urgent when the estimated cost causes Homer to have another
07:42 heart attack on the spot.
07:55 With yet another cardiac episode nullifying their insurance policy, the Simpsons have
08:00 to resort to the cheap and incompetent Dr. Nick Riviera.
08:13 By the miracle of sitcom predictability, Homer's surgery is a success.
08:18 This period of facing his own mortality was still deeply traumatic for the whole family.
08:23 You'd think it would be enough to get Homer to worry more about his health.
08:27 3.
08:28 Fell Down Springfield Gorge Ford's obsession with daring stunts might
08:33 have ended in the usual family sitcom manner.
08:36 Sure enough, Homer prevents his son's dangerous jump over Springfield Gorge by threatening
08:41 to do it himself.
08:57 But then he loses control of Bart's skateboard and makes the jump anyway.
09:01 Since a moment of triumph would betray the cautionary tale, Homer then graphically plummets
09:06 into the gorge.
09:08 He takes another plunge when the ambulance crashes immediately after loading him.
09:12 This was a watershed gag for the Simpsons.
09:15 It showed just how far the animators will take physical comedy to make a point.
09:19 Homer may have since endured harsher injuries, usually just for a joke, but this first big
09:25 injury is still referenced as one of the show's most shocking moments ever.
09:34 2.
09:38 Being Accused of Misdeeds This episode was a triple threat.
09:43 Of its era, ahead of its time, and evergreen all at once.
09:47 Homer drives the babysitter home after attending a candy trade show.
10:01 As he removes a gummy stuck to her pants, she misconstrues the gesture as groping.
10:06 Homer wakes up the next day to protesters accusing him of harassment.
10:21 The steamy scandal quickly gains national attention, only getting worse when Homer does
10:26 an interview that is selectively edited to make him look guilty.
10:45 This whole Homeric debacle was pointedly a satire of the tabloid mass-market journalism
10:51 that was on the rise in the 90s.
10:54 But it definitely resonates, though in a very different way in our current cultural landscape.
11:13 1.
11:16 Abandoned by Mom Homer's taken a lot of physical damage,
11:20 but nothing compares to the emotional damage of losing his mother, Mona.
11:35 He thought she died when he was a kid, until it was revealed on the show that she'd actually
11:40 been on the run as a radical environmentalist.
11:42 This meant she could never stay in Springfield for long.
11:45 Homer's complicated feelings about the absentee Mona finally reached a head in this episode
11:50 when she died.
12:01 These traumas then manifested in several ways for Homer.
12:04 It's speculated by many fans that much of his reckless behavior is rooted in maternal
12:08 abandonment issues.
12:15 And that's the rare sort of tragedy that not even The Simpsons can turn into a joke.
12:21 What darker moments on The Simpsons have stuck with you?
12:24 Tell us in the comments.
12:35 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Worst Things
12:40 Homer Simpson Ever Did.
12:49 For this list, we're looking at some of the most deplorable actions ever committed
12:52 by Homer J. Simpson, but we're excluding genuine accidents.
12:58 10.
12:59 Pitting Bart and Lisa against each other It sure can be hard to love your kids equally.
13:04 What's a father to do when put in this situation other than have his offspring compete against
13:09 each other and love the winner best?
13:12 After all, if your kid really wanted your love, they wouldn't lose, right?
13:21 In case you couldn't tell, everything up to now has been sarcastic, though Homer likely
13:26 would have agreed with it all.
13:35 To avoid failing gym class, Lisa joins the hockey team, which sparks an intense rivalry
13:40 with Bart.
13:41 Instead of assuring them that he loves them both, as a normal father would do, Homer eggs
13:46 them on into a competitive fury.
13:50 9.
13:53 Winning the family up for shock therapy Impressing the boss is important, especially
13:59 when that boss is the richest man in Springfield.
14:02 At a company picnic, the Simpsons fail to live up to Homer's hopes, leaving him feeling
14:07 embarrassed.
14:08 Noticing how much Mr. Burns likes the more "normal" families, he decides to "fix"
14:13 his family.
14:14 In his infinite wisdom, he takes them to a therapist who's been advertising on TV
14:18 with the sales pitch "Family Bliss or Double Your Money Back."
14:30 Of course, none of it works and they end up resorting to shock therapy, which they all
14:34 happily inflict on each other until the town's power nearly goes out.
14:41 8.
14:45 Making Bart getting hit by a car There are certain opportunities that only
14:49 come up once in a lifetime.
14:51 These are the sort of moments you must recognize and make the most of.
14:55 One such moment for Homer Simpson was when Bart got hit by Mr. Burns' car.
15:00 In Homer's defense, he doesn't immediately jump to legal action, but only does so after
15:05 his boss offers him a pitiful 100 bucks as compensation.
15:17 Homer's wounded pride prompts him to ride Bart's injury as far as it'll take him,
15:24 with little regard for the well-being or wishes of his family.
15:28 7.
15:29 Being reckless with firearms We can't really fault Homer for this one.
15:34 It's just a fact of life that TV remotes often get lost.
15:43 And it's another fact of life that sometimes you want to change the channel.
15:46 When these two eventualities collide, what's a body to do other than reach for a firearm
15:50 and proceed to shoot at the dial until you find the channel you're looking for?
16:03 The mere fact that a person as irresponsible as Homer Simpson could get a firearm is horrifying
16:08 to consider, but the ways in which he wields his gun are downright dumbfounding.
16:15 Say what you will about the NRA, but at least their fictional on-screen counterparts kicked
16:19 out this gun nut.
16:21 6.
16:22 Forcing Flanders to leave his own bomb shelter When a comet is discovered heading straight
16:27 for Springfield, the town naturally panics.
16:31 As it turns out, Flanders owns the only bomb shelter in town, and so when doomsday draws
16:36 near, the entire town goes to old Ned-arino for help.
16:48 Being the stand-up guy he is, he lets them all in, only to find that the door won't close.
16:54 Realizing there's one person too many, Homer, being the jerk that he is, convinces the town
16:59 to kick Ned out of his own shelter.
17:08 Sure he feels guilty later and goes out to join Flanders, but he wouldn't have had cause
17:11 for remorse had he not behaved like a monster in the first place.
17:15 5.
17:16 Urging Bart to kill a reindeer Homer got along great with his new friend
17:21 John until he found out he was gay, and then became paranoid that Bart had been turned
17:26 gay.
17:27 Imagine the fact that that is not how that works.
17:34 So Homer, being Homer, tries to sway Bart from his supposed budding sexuality.
17:39 First he takes him to a steel mill, only to discover that all the employees there are
17:43 also gay.
17:45 Logically, he then takes him on the second most stereotypical straight pastime he can
17:51 imagine, hunting.
17:53 This is Homer at his most offensive, ignorant, and disappointing.
17:57 4.
17:58 Sabotaging Flanders' business Some people work hard at life, go to church,
18:03 raise a great family, and treat their wife well.
18:06 And apparently, by Homer's estimation, those people don't deserve nice things.
18:10 Homer hates the insufferable but well-intentioned Ned Flanders.
18:14 So when Ned opens a new business for left-handed people, Homer makes it his personal mission
18:18 to sabotage it.
18:20 To achieve this, he wishes on a wishbone.
18:27 And sure enough, the business begins to fail, with Homer relishing every moment of it, until
18:32 things finally take too dark a turn even for him.
18:42 In this particular example of bad behavior, Homer's ill-placed malice nearly cost Flanders
18:47 his home.
18:49 3.
18:50 Wasted Christmas money You know it's bad when the very first episode
18:53 of the series sees the patriarch doing something messed up.
18:57 In this inaugural story, Homer discovers he will not be getting a Christmas bonus from
19:01 Mr. Burns.
19:02 Having already spent a small fortune on getting Bart's tattoo removed, Homer takes up a second
19:07 job in order to be able to afford gifts.
19:10 Once he learns how low the pay is, however, he quits and opts instead to bet the family's
19:15 entire Christmas budget on a dog race.
19:20 What a great example to set for your kids.
19:23 Of course, he loses.
19:24 But hey, at least they end up with a new pet.
19:27 2.
19:28 Ruining his father's kidney Take a lesson from Homer.
19:32 Old people are an inconvenience.
19:34 Who cares that your dad raised you?
19:36 Stopping the car to let him use the bathroom is poor time management, right?
19:44 In this episode, Abe's kidney explodes because Homer refuses to pull over.
19:49 That's pretty messed up.
19:56 Luckily Homer agrees to help his dad out and donate his own organ.
19:59 In true Homer fashion, however, he gets cold feet and tries to get out of the surgery.
20:04 Abe survives, but not because Homer does the honorable thing.
20:08 In his cowardice, he gets into an accident and they simply take the kidney while he's
20:12 on the operating table.
20:13 Oh well.
20:15 One bad turn deserves another.
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20:36 1.
20:38 And Marge for DUI From the very first season, it was clear that
20:43 Homer Simpson had a drinking problem.
20:45 For Homer, alcohol has seemingly always been the cause of and solution to all of life's
20:51 problems.
20:52 Heck, he even created his own drink, the Flaming Homer.
20:55 In this episode, however, things go too far.
20:58 Everything initially seems great as he and Marge bond over drinks at a wine tasting,
21:02 but things soon go downhill quickly when they continue to drink for several days and he
21:07 ultimately crashes the car.
21:15 Being the great guy he is, he frames Marge because it would have been his last strike.
21:20 Really?
21:21 This is a truly despicable move that really makes you question why Marge has stuck with
21:26 him for so long.
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