The Simpsons: 10 Real Unaired Pitches (And What They Could Have Been About)

9. Homer Privately Tells Bart He Loves Him Best

This idea was initially pitched by writer Ken Keeley. Homer and Bart, despite regularly choking one another throughout the years, have had many stories where the duo have worked together, as well as many incidents of causing mischief and some tender moments. "Saturdays Of Thunder", where Bart and Homer build a soapbox derby racer together springs to mind as an example of this. Despite all the choking and arguments (and the fact that Bart nearly always refers to his dad as Homer), they still love each other and as the only men in the Simpsons house, you would expect a closer bond between the two. Not much can be found about this episode idea but it doesn't take much to imagine how an episode around this concept would go. Despite Lisa being by far the most successful Simpson, any moment of success for Bart is always heralded by the family - witness Bart's D- test go on the fridge next to Lisa's A+++ in "Bart Gets an F." Bart could go on to achieve a dream that Homer has always wanted to do (quite what this would be I don't know, as Homer as achieved so much) and receives the focus of the family's attention, much to the chagrin of Lisa. He would ultimately go on to fail in a way only the Simpson men could do (previously discussed in "Lisa The Simpson"). The episode could end with a tender moment, conducted either on the Simpsons doorstep or when Bart is in bed, as Homer tells Bart that despite loving all his family and all their arguments, he loves Bart the most and kisses him on the head. The idea of who Homer loves the most has always been an interchangeable idea, for instance Homer has all of Maggie's baby photos covering his workstation in "And Maggie Makes Three." Threads of similar stories have been in other episodes but it's such a simple, organic idea that you have to wonder why it didn't get produced and made into an episode.