Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment

"Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment"
The Simpsonsepisode
Homer proclaiming his love for alcohol to Springfield
Episodeno.	Season 8 Episode 18
Directed by	Bob Anderson
Written by	John Swartzwelder
Production code	4F15
Original air date	March 16, 1997(1997-03-16)
Guest appearances
Dave Thomasas Rex Banner Joe MantegnaasFat Tony
Episode features
Couch gag	The Simpsons are depicted ascowboys;the couch, like ahorse,rides away.
Commentary	Matt Groening Josh Weinstein Dan Castellaneta Dave Thomas Bob Anderson David Silverman

"Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment"is the eighteenth episode of theeighth seasonof the American animated television seriesThe Simpsons.It originally aired on theFox networkin the United States on March 16, 1997.In the episode,Springfieldenactsprohibitionafter a raucousSaint Patrick's Daycelebration. To supplyMoe'sspeakeasy,Homerbecomes abootlegger.The episode was written byJohn Swartzwelderand directed byBob Anderson.Dave Thomasguest stars as Rex Banner andJoe Mantegnareturns asFat Tony.

Plot

AfterBart Simpsonaccidentally gets drunk at aSt. Patrick's Dayparade, aprohibitionistmovement emerges inSpringfield.After it is discovered that a ban onalcoholhas been in effect but gone unnoticed for two centuries,Mayor Quimby,not wanting to alienate voters during an election year, agrees to enforce the law. However, the mob continues to supply the town with alcohol through bribery of local law enforcers, allowingMoe Szyslakto reopenhis bar disguised as a pet shop.There, a group of staunch prohibitionists discover an intoxicatedChief Wiggumand demand his removal. Wiggum is replaced byU.S. Treasuryofficer Rex Banner, who blockades the city entrance and buries all of the alcohol in a mass grave at the city dump.

Homer Simpsonconcocts a plan to continue supplying Springfield with alcohol: he and Bart reclaim the beer disposed of at the dump, pour it into the finger holes ofbowling ballsand, through a intricate network of pipes set up under Barney's Bowl-A-Rama, bowls them straight toMoe's.Upon discovering their scheme,Margeis actually impressed Homer was able to devise it and encourages him to continue, althoughLisaquestions whether Homer should be breaking the law whether or not it may be arcane or unpopular. The media realizes someone is allowing Springfield's underground alcohol trade to flourish, and they dub the still-unknown Homer "The Beer Baron". Banner's unsuccessful policing of Springfield's prohibition law and investigation into the Beer Baron's identity sees him miss or overlook blatant clues that the law is being ignored by the town and that Homer is the Beer Baron (which is effectively anopen secretto the rest of the town).

When the beer supply runs out, Homerdistills his ownhomemade liquorbut eventually hisstillsexplode, leading Homer to cease bootlegging (after one sets him on fire). A desperate ex-Chief Wiggum attempts to mug Homer with the remains of his gun, leading Homer to pity Wiggum and allowing him to turn him over to the police. After confessing to his crimes in public, Homer, originally believing he would be let off with a light punishment, faces expulsion from the town (and likely death) bycatapult,showing how anachronistic the law really was. Marge pleads with the town not to punish Homer as the prohibition law and its punishment make no sense and are robbing people of their freedoms, especially to drink. When Banner steps up to lecture the town on the reasons why the law must be upheld, Wiggum has him catapulted. The town clerk then finds out that the prohibition law was actuallyrepealeda year after it was enacted and Homer is released. Mayor Quimby asks Homer if he can re-supply the town with alcohol, but Homer tells him that he is retired. Within five minutes,Fat Tonyand the mob have the town re-stocked and Springfield salutes alcohol's qualities, with Homer proclaiming his undying love of alcohol by saying, "To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems."

Production

The main plot of the episode is based on theEighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,in whichalcohol was banned in the United States.AsThe Simpsonshas many episodes that have stories and jokes related to alcohol, the writers thought it was strange that they had never done an episode related to Prohibition, and that the idea seemed "perfect."The episode features a vast amount ofIrishstereotyping at the St. Patrick's Day celebration. This was a reference to whenConan O'Brienwas a writer for the show and was of Irish descent, and his use of Irish stereotypes.Various writers were very concerned about Bart getting drunk. This was why he drank the beer through a horn, to show that it was only accidental.This was a toned-down version of what was in John Swartzwelder's original script.Originally Chief Wiggum's first line was "They're either drunk or on thecocaine",but it was deemed too old-fashioned.The discovery of "more lines on the parchment" was a simpledeus ex machinato get Homer freed and to end the episode.

When Homer first enters Moe's "Pet Shop", the man that tips his hat to him outside was a background character used in the early seasons.The riot at the beginning of the episode was taken from footage from the end of the season 6 episode, "Lisa on Ice",and updated.The line "To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems," was originally the act break line at the end of act two, but was moved to the very end of the episode.

Cultural references

The shot of the diner, a reference toEdward Hopper'sNighthawks.

The episodeparodiesthe seriesThe Untouchables,with the character of Rex Banner based onRobert Stack's portrayal ofEliot Ness,and the voice of the narrator being based on that ofWalter Winchell.Barney leaving flowers outside the Duff brewery is, according to show runnerJosh Weinstein,a reference to people leaving flowers at the grave sites of variousHollywoodfigures likeRudolph ValentinoandMarilyn Monroe.The shot of the diner referencesEdward Hopper'sNighthawkspainting.

Reception

In its original broadcast, "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" finished 39th in ratings for the week of March 10–26, 1997, with aNielsen ratingof 8.9, equivalent to approximately 8.6 million viewing households. It was the second-highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, followingThe X-Files.

The authors of the book,I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide,Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "A nice episode in which Homer actually devises a clever plan to keep the beer flowing."TheToronto Stardescribed the episode as one ofBob Anderson's"classics".The Daily Telegraphalso characterized the episode as one of "The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes".Robert Canning gave the episode 9.8/10 calling it his favorite episode of the series.

Homer's line "To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems," was described by Josh Weinstein as "one of the best, most truthfulSimpsonsstatements ever ".In 2008,Entertainment Weeklyincluded it in their list of "24 Endlessly Quotable TV Quips".

A scene in which a Britishchip shopnamed "John Bull's Fish & Chips "blows up was censored in Britain and Ireland but it is no longer.This scene is shown uncensored on theDisney+streaming service.

External links

• "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment episode capsule".The Simpsons Archive.
• "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment"atIMDb