See Homer Run

Infobox Simpsons episode
episode_name = See Homer Run
episode_no = 362
prod_code = GABF21
airdate = November 20, 2005
writer = Stephanie Gillis
director = Nancy Kruse
blackboard = None
couch_gag = The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. The camera zooms out to reveal that they are a part of a zoo on Kang and Kodos’s home planet, Rigel VII.
guest_star =


image_caption = Homer as the Safety Salamander.
season = 17
"See Homer Run" is the sixth episode of the 17th season of "The Simpsons." The title is a reference to the Dick and Jane books. The plot is a takeoff of the 2003 California recall election.

Plot

On Father's Day, Homer is impressed by Bart's gift – a Leather Buddy multi-function knife, and proudly tells Bart that it is the greatest gift any father could eat. As for Lisa's gift (a book she created, with caricatures of herself and Homer as unicorns), it does not go over so well. In a half-hearted attempt to make Lisa feel better, Homer hangs the book on the refrigerator, but it quickly becomes a water-soaked glob of paper when the book falls into the refrigerator's water dispenser. Homer blames the magnet, which turns out to be a magnet that Lisa gave Homer for his birthday.

Lisa takes out her frustrations at school, leading her into trouble, and her parents are called to talk with Principal Skinner. School psychiatrist Dr. Pryor (last seen on the season nine flashback episode Lisa's Sax) determines Lisa is going through a developmental condition and could wind up hating all men in the world, which can only be resolved by Homer trying to make amends for everything. He does so by deciding to dress up as the Safety Salamander and giving safety talks at school. However, a fireworks display during a school assembly causes a massive fire in the auditorium.

Meanwhile, Bart – on a dare from the bullies – steals a "Bart Blvd." street sign. This leads to a fiery multi-car pileup when Cletus is unable to find Bart Boulevard so that he and Brandine can go to the hospital to deliver a baby. Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances race to the scene but crash into the wreck, making matters even worse. Homer, still dressed in his Safety Salamander costume, runs to the rescue, extricating people who were trapped in their cars just before the pileup explodes in a giant fireball.

Homer gets a rousing reception, and Mayor Quimby is immediately blamed for the bumbling response. Springfield residents pick apart Quimby's administration for other failures, and demand a recall election, which Quimby brought on himself by taunting the crowd with the lack of options but first stating the word "recall". The media notes his increasingly bizarre behavior.

On Lisa's suggestion, Homer decides to run for mayor, playing on his popularity as the Safety Salamander and building a huge lead in the polls. After Marge washes the costume, it falls apart during a debate forum (where we learn that the Crazy Cat-Lady's real name is Eleanor Abernathy and is very intellectual despite her deranged rantings) and the crowd turns on him. Eventually, none of the new candidates gain the 5% of master vote needed to oust Mayor Quimby. Nevertheless, Lisa confides in Homer that she is very proud of him and glad he is her father.

Cultural references

The Springfield mayoral recall election, Rainier Wolfcastle's campaign in particular, is an obvious parody of the 2003 California recall election, which saw incumbent governor Gray Davis ousted and replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, who in this episode is represented by Wolfcastle. Leather Buddy is a parody of Leatherman. One of Mayor Quimby's bizarre acts is to jackknife a plane to anywhere "girls are going wild."