Homer has committed many, many awful acts in his lifetime, including several meltdowns at the nuclear plant and poisoning Springfield's water supply in The Simpsons Movie, but one in particular stands out as the worst thing that he's ever done, and that's his treatment of the ill-fated Frank Grimes. Unsurprisingly for such a long-running show, The Simpsons has passed through many eras. The Frank Grimes episode "Homer's Enemy" (and its eventual sequel) mark the passing of Original Homer a dumb clod, but essentially a nice guy trying to do best for his family into Jerkass Homer; a mean-spirited, thoughtless boor who hurts people. Homer is pretty much single-handedly responsible for the death of Frank Grimes, a decent but eternally put-upon fellow who is driven to the brink of insanity by Homer's ridiculous luck, complete idiocy and his insistence upon calling him "Grimey." Frank has had to work extremely hard for everything in his life and is confounded at how easily everything seems to come together for Homer. Grimes fatally electrocutes himself in the middle of a sarcastic rant about Homer: "Oh, hi, Mr. Burns. I'm the worst worker in the world. Time to go home to my mansion and eat my lobster. What's this? "Extremely High Voltage." Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Simp-- " Frank's funeral is still more depressing, with Homer rudely sleeping through the entire thing, only pausing to mutter "Change the channel, Marge" in the middle of his nap, earning a round of laughter and a "That's our Homer!" from Lenny. Even at Frank's funeral, Homer manages to be the center of attention. Years later in Season 14, when Frank Grimes Jr. comes after Homer seeking to avenge his father's death, Homer foils his plot and sends him to jail, thwarting any hope of closure for Frank Jr. It's clear from the tone of these episodes we are meant to sympathize with Homer, and not the unfortunate Grimes family. These episodes form a demarcation line for long-time fans of the series, for many marking the end of the "Classic Era" of the show, and the beginning of the "Scully Era" (driven by Executive Producer Mike Scully) which continues to this day. In recent years we have seen a mellowing of the so-called "Jerkass Homer", but however you spin it, Homer driving a fellow worker to suicide is certainly hard to top.
Hi there, What Culture-ers! I'm William Graff, a 40-year old freelance writer from the wilds of Capitol Hill in beautiful Denver, Colorado. I enjoy many things such as beer, Doctor Who, The Simpsons, record collecting, stand-up comedy, long aimless walks, and of course the Broncos, which is required by law if you live here. I appreciate all feedback for my writing, but I prefer cash and/or deleted Smiths singles in lieu of praise. Rock on!
