The Simpsons: Every Season 1 Episode Ranked

There’s very little laughs to be found in Homer’s Odyssey. What seemingly starts off as another inoffensive Simpsons yarn swiftly takes a heavy turn. Having just lost his job, Homer struggles to provide financial support for his wife and kids which leads to him nearly attempting suicide over the Springfield bridge until his family stop him. It’s unusually sinister for the nature of the show and clashes with the overall genre.

At least Homer’s Odyssey shows brave writing. It used Homer’s character as a representation of hitting rock bottom and showing how far a person’s actions will go in their darkest hour. Homer’s situation will undoubtedly have hit home for a lot of the audience as the difficulties he faces are so engaging and realistic. The narrative goes on to show that if you power through your struggles for a little bit longer, you can make it out the other side better and stronger.

The problem here is that everything is resolved too quickly. There’s an emotional, intense build-up to the climax but once Homer doesn’t kill himself, the scenes swiftly move on to his new found passion for safety. There’s no pause for thought – he practically forgets that he was contemplating suicide nor do the family show a great deal of sadness or trauma at what may have happened if they didn’t arrive in time. It’s an early example of the producers being daring with their content but not quite going far enough to make their allegory work.

Still, there’s a nice ending about triumph and hope. And there are other notable flourishes. After all, this is the home of where Bart’s classic prank calls to Moe’s Tavern began (in this case, he’s looking for an I.P. Freely). Also, Mr Smithers is black – something you’ll only ever see in Season 1!