History Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E5HomerDefined

* AccidentalHero: Homer

* {{Bowdlerization}}: Mr. Burns originally said "Well, there's nothing left for me to do but kiss my sorry butt goodbye" after Smithers told him about the impending meltdown while Bart in a later scene says, "'Bad influence', my ass!" after Milhouse tells him why he wasn't invited to his birthday party. In most reruns (including the "Every Simpsons Ever" marathon), the lines were changed so that way Mr. Burns says "...sorry ass goodbye," while Bart says, "'Bad influence,' my butt!"

* {{Bowdlerization}}: Mr. Burns originally said "Well, there's nothing left for me to do but kiss my sorry butt goodbye" after Smithers told him about the impending meltdown while Bart in a later scene says, "'Bad influence', my ass!" after Milhouse tells him why he wasn't invited to his birthday party. In most reruns, the lines were changed so that way Mr. Burns says "...sorry ass goodbye," while Bart says, "'Bad influence,' my butt!"

* ShoutOut: A license plate in the parking lot rears [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident Three Mile Island]].

* SpecialGuest: Jon Lovitz as Aristotle Amadopoulos

* AsHimself: Chick Hearn; Basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson (who was diagnosed with HIV three months after the episode aired, making that scene where he slips, scores a basket, and slides into the arms of some sexy cheerleaders a little uneasy to watch since he admitted he got HIV from unprotected, heterosexual sex[[note]]at the time, many people believed AIDS and HIV was a disease among homosexuals and drug addicts who used needle drugs, like heroin[[/note]]).

* ForcedMeme: The episode attempted to make "Pull a Homer"[[note]]The phrase could apply to AchievementsInIgnorance or succeeding despite incompetence.[[/note]] an American slang term. It never worked.

* AsHimself: Chick Hearn; Basketball player Magic Johnson (who was diagnosed with AIDS three months after the episode aired, making that scene where he slips, scores a basket, and slides into the arms of some sexy cheerleaders a little uneasy to watch since he admitted he got AIDS from unprotected, heterosexual sex[[note]]at the time, many people believed AIDS and HIV was a disease among homosexuals and drug addicts who used needle drugs, like heroin[[/note]]).

It's just another Monday at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer's napping on the job after a donut break, and not paying a bit of attention to his control panel. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the core temperature is dangerously rising...

Meanwhile, on the way to school, Bart gives Milhouse a birthday present of Krusty the Clown walkie-talkies (one for each boy), making up for the fact that his mom wouldn't let him have a birthday party. Except, everyone on the bus seems to be gushing about what a great time they had at Milhouse's that weekend. It's not until Otto wishes Milhouse a happy birthday and thanks him for inviting him to his party that weekend that it hits Bart: Milhouse ''did'' have a birthday party, and didn't invite him. Bart is crushed.

Back at the plant, alarms go off as the core starts to reach meltdown-level temperatures. Everyone in the plant panics, and as news spreads across Springfield, the town braces themselves for destruction. Homer wakes up from his nap to realize that this is ''his'' problem, and he needs to remember what to do in this situation. With his instruction manual being too complex to read, and the fact that he didn't pay attention during training, Homer's left with one solution: pick a button on his panel with the old "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" method. He presses the right one and the town is saved.

Back in the B-plot, Bart confronts Milhouse at lunch, and finds out why he wasn't invited to his party: Milhouse's mom doesn't want the two to be friends anymore, saying Bart is a bad influence. Bart is dejected over this, and later, throws his walkie-talkie in the trash.

At work, Homer is showered with praise, and Mr. Burns makes him Employee of the Month. Homer starts to feel like a fraud, however, since he only stopped the meltdown through sheer dumb luck. He doesn't feel any better at home, as the family also considers him a hero, and Lisa even starts looking up to him as a role model. The next day at work, Mr. Burns introduces Homer to Aristotle "Ari" Amadopolis, owner of the Shelbyville Power Plant. Ari wants Homer to come to his plant and give a motivational speech to his workers.

Marge notices how lonely Bart is without Milhouse, and she visits the Van Houten household to have a good talk with his mother. Mrs. Van Houten is at first determined not to have the boys see each other again, but Marge points out how much they need each other as friends. Cue Bart picking his walkie-talkie out of the trash, hearing Milhouse say that they can be friends again, and asking him to come over and play.

At the Shelbyville plant, Homer struggles with his pep talk, only to be interrupted by a familiar alarm; this plant's having a meltdown, too! Homer is pressured into repeating his heroic actions, so he does exactly what he did the last time: pick a button at random. Homer is exposed as lucky idiot, and soon, everyone starts using the phrase "to pull a Homer" to refer to succeeding through dumb luck.

* AsHimself: Chick Hearn; Basketball player Magic Johnson (who was diagnosed with AIDS three months after the episode aired, making that scene where he slips, scores a basket, and slides into the arms of some sexy cheerleaders a little uneasy to watch since he admitted he got AIDS from unprotected, heterosexual[[note]]at the time, many people believed AIDS and HIV was a disease among homosexuals and drug addicts who used needle drugs, like heroin[[/note]] sex).

** In the commentary, it's noted that everyone behind the show was hoping this would catch on for real, and were quiet disappointed when it didn't.

* SpecialGuest: Basketball player Magic Johnson (who was diagnosed with AIDS three months after the episode aired, making that scene where he slips, scores a basket, and slides into the arms of some sexy cheerleaders a little uneasy to watch since he admitted he got AIDS from unprotected, heterosexual[[note]]at the time, many people believed AIDS and HIV was a disease among homosexuals and drug addicts who used needle drugs, like heroin[[/note]] sex).

* SpecialGuest: Basketball player Magic Johnson (who was diagnosed with AIDS three months after the episode aired, making that scene where he slips, scores a basket, and slides into the arms of some sexy cheerleaders a little uneasy to watch since he admitted he got AIDS from unprotected, heterosexual[[note]]at the time, many people believed AIDS and HIV was a disease among homosexuals and drug addicts who used needle drugs, like heroin[[/note]] sex.

* SpecialGuest: Basketball player Magic Johnson

* EmergencyBroadcast: A news bulletin shows Kent Brockman interviewing Mr. Burns, who – despite the imminent danger and increasing wail of the emergency sirens – nonchalantly tries to assure the public that experts are trying to resolve the problem and that the public is safe.

-->'''Homer:''' AAAAAAHH!!! IT'S ''MY'' PROBLEM!!!
* RunningGag: The title of this episode comes from a running bit where Homer imagines his picture as being next to the dictionary definition for various words: "stupid", "lucky", "hero", and "fraud". It ends with the phrase "to pull a Homer" ending up in the dictionary for real.

--'''Homer:''' I'm sure whoever's problem this is, I'm sure they'll know how to handle it.