There's No Disgrace Like Home

] It was an early episode for Mr. Burns, who was voiced by a different actor than in later seasons. Originally, the character was influenced by Ronald Reagan, a concept which was later dropped. The idea that he would greet his employees using index cards was inspired by how Reagan would greet people. The episode marks the first time Burns says "release the hounds". It is also the first time Smithers appears yellow, as in the previous episode he was mistakenly animated black, although his hair is still blue. The episode also marks the first appearance of Eddie and Lou, although Lou is yellow instead of black, as he would become later. Lou was named after Lou Whitaker - a former Major League Baseball player. It is also the first appearance of Dr. Marvin Monroe and the first series appearance of Itchy & Scratchy, who had previously appeared in the shorts.

The idea behind the scene in which the family takes turn to electrically shock each other was based on Laurel and Hardy throwing pies at each other, albeit played out more sadistically. The scene was rearranged in the editing room, because when it was first produced it played out differently. The edits made to the finished product were preliminary, however they were received well and remained unchanged.

Cultural references

The scene where the family goes to Burns's Manor holds two cultural references. The Manor resembles Charles Foster Kane's castle in "Citizen Kane" directed by Orson Welles from 1941. The family refer to it as "stately Burns Manor", a reference to the "Batman" TV series. In addition to that there is a reference to "Freaks", the Tod Browning cult horror film about sideshow "freaks," in the repetition of the line "one of us". The family shocking scene is reminiscent of the 1971 film "A Clockwork Orange".

Reception

The authors of the book "I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide", Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, note: "It's very strange to see Homer pawning the TV set in an attempt to save the family; if this episode had come later Marge would surely have taken this stance." They continue, "A neat swipe at family counselling with some great set pieces; we're especially fond of the perfect version of the Simpsons and the electric-shock aversion therapy." In a DVD review of the first season, David B. Grelck gave the episode a rating of 2.0/5.0, placing it as one of the worst of the season. [cite web|url=http://www.wdbgproductions.com/cinerama/reviews/simpsonsseason1.htm|title=The Simpsons: The Complete First Season|accessdate=2008-01-14|year=2003|author=Grelck, David B|publisher=WDBG Productions] In its original broadcast it finished 45th in the Nielsen ratings for the week. [cite news|title=Nielsens|date=February 4, 1990|accessdate=2008-05-09|page=8|publisher="Austin American-Statesman"|author=AP]

This episode was one of the first seen by British viewers. It was the first episode to be broadcast on terrestrial television by the BBC on November 23, 1996 on a Saturday at 5.30pm, because the episodes were shown out of order. The episode was screened with five million viewers that was slightly less than the show, "Dad's Army", which previously held the timeslot. The episode also faced competition from ITV's screening of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch". [cite web|url=http://www.offthetelly.co.uk/comedy/simpsons/bbc.htm|title="THAT IS SO 1991!"
accessdate=2008-01-24|month=March | year=2005|author=Williams, Steve; Ian Jones|publisher=Off The Telly]

The scene where the family takes turns electrically shocking each other later appeared in the movie "Die Hard 2".

References

External links

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*imdb episode|id=0756399|episode=There's No Disgrace Like Home
* [http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0104.htm "There's No Disgrace Like Home"] at The Simpsons.com
* [http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/theres-no-disgrace-like-home/episode/1289/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;3 "There's No Disgrace Like Home"] at TV.com