This week that mighty yellow television juggernaut, The Simpsons, reached its 550th episode, in this its 25th year. Few shows, animated or otherwise, have ever managed such an achievement and even fewer have reached said milestone with as much interest and as many fans as The Simpsons. So what is the key to the world's favourite fictional family's success? D'oh! It's a real no-brainer - much like the man himself. A big reason why the family has endured is surely due to the impulsive, inept yet totally endearing Homer Simpson. When The Simpsons began (after first appearing in shorts in The Tracey Ullman Show) in 1989, pre-teen tearaway Bart Simpson was the star of the show. However, the production team soon realised they had created a finer comic character in Homer and the show was given a new focus. Ever since, Homer has been responsible for a large portion of the series' greatest moments, both hilarious - with the character often stealing the best lines and sight gags - and touching, unlike most animated series, The Simpsons has never shied away from the odd emotional scene. So sit back in your couch groove, with a Duff beer in one hand, your son's neck in the other, and relax (remember, if something's hard to do, it's not worth doing) as we run through the very best of Homer Simpson.
25. Homer Enters The Third Dimension
From: Treehouse of Horror VI (Season 7, Episode 6) This week's episode in which Homer wakes up to discover everyone in Springfield is made out of Lego is certainly not the first time that the Simpsons have broken out of their cartoon world. In one segment of the show's sixth Halloween special, Homer discovers that behind a bookcase in the Simpson's home lies a portal to a 3-D world! As well as flaunting a bit more hi-tech animation than usual, this short provides some classic Homerisms; the strange happenings remind Homer of 'that Twilight-y show about that zone' and at one point he stands ogling the place, saying 'I feel like I'm wasting a fortune just standing here', referencing the expense of CGI. The icing on the cake, though, is when Homer finds himself in our own life-action dimension at the segment's close. The first thing he does upon discovering a brave new world? Go into an 'Erotic Cakes' shop. Trust Homer.
