History YMMV / TheSimpsonsS5E11HomerTheVigilante

* ValuesResonance: The residents of Evergreen Terrace form a neighborhood watch group, which under Homer's leadership quickly turns into a VigilanteMilitia in all but name. This had already been a problem going back several decades, but it especially struck a chord in the 2010s, where there was increased awareness of "neighborhood watch" groups that for all intents and purposes are actually vigilante gangs dedicated to keeping people the residents deem undesirable out of their neighborhood.

* GeniusBonus: Homer's NoodleIncident ("Look buddy, your car was upside when we got here....and as for your grandma, she shouldn't have mouthed off like that!") is a reference to the short story ''A Good Man is Hard to Find'' by Flannery O'Connor, in which a SerialKiller tries to help a family trapped in an overturned car, but the grandmother recognizes him and he murders them all to avoid capture.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
** The scene where the kids mistake Homer for Music/MCHammer firmly dates the the episode to the early 90s, when Hammer was still considered a household name prior to his notorious fall from grace into the ButtMonkey of the hip-hop world.
** The gag about the saxophonist being chased by the vigilantes [[DisproportionateRetribution because he purchased the saxophone at Sears]] (and they began the encounter thinking that the saxophone is Lisa's stolen instrument) shows the episode was done during the time that Sears was still a sales giant instead of a dying brand (with only 13 stores left overall - 12 in the U.S. and one in Puerto Rico - as of January 2024).

* GenuisBonus: Homer's NoodleIncident ("Look buddy, your car was upside when we got here....and as for your grandma, she shouldn't have mouthed off like that!") is a reference to the short story ''A Good Man is Hard to Find'' by Flannery O'Connor, in which a SerialKiller tries to help a family trapped in an overturned car, but the grandmother recognizes him and he murders them all to avoid capture.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The scene where the kids mistake Homer for Music/MCHammer firmly dates the the episode to the early 90s, when Hammer was still considered a household name prior to his notorious fall from grace into the ButtMonkey of the hip-hop world.

* MagnificentBastard: [[CoolOldGuy Molloy]] is a resident of the Springfield Retirement Castle who moonlights as the Springfield Cat Burglar. When [[Characters/TheSimpsonsHomerJaySimpson Homer]], head of the new Neighbourhood Watch, was interviewed by Kent Brockman, Molloy phoned in to taunt Homer that he would steal the Springfield Museum's Zirconia and succeeds despite Homer's efforts. When arrested, Molloy gracefully [[GracefulLoser returns all his stolen goods]] before being put in jail, where he tells Homer and Chief Wiggum about where he hid all his stolen loot, leading to the whole town hunting for it. When the location Molloy described is found, all that is present is a note saying Molloy lied and [[KansasCityShuffle used the time they spent searching to escape]]. An archetypical GentlemanThief, Molloy remains memorable despite his only appearance and relatively humble goals.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: The cat burglar's musical theme is a copyright-friendly version of ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' theme music, and the final stretch of the episode features the trope applied to the music from ''It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World''.

* MagnificentBastard: Molloy, a resident of the Springfield Retirement Castle that is in truth the Springfield Cat Burglar, enacted a crime spree across the town. When Homer, head of the new Neighbourhood Watch, was interviewed by Kent Brockman, Molloy phoned in to taunt Homer that he would steal the Springfield Museum’s Zirconia. Molloy succeeds despite Homer’s efforts. When arrested, Molloy gracefully returns all his stolen goods before being put in jail, where he tells Homer and Chief Wiggum about where he hid all his stolen loot, leading to the whole town hunting for it. When the location Molloy described is found, all that is present is a note saying Molloy lied and used the time they spent searching to escape. An archetypical GentlemanThief, Molloy remains memorable despite his only appearance and relatively humble goals.

* ValuesDissonance: In many countries it would be a severe crime to found a VigilanteMilitia, with charges ranging from terrorism to high treason.

* ValuesDissonance: In many countries it would be a sever crime to found a VigilanteMilitia. Charges may range from terrorism to high treason.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Parodied and subverted. The townspeople are inclined to forgive Molloy because he acts pleasantly to them (''after'' he's been caught, mind you), but Wiggum jails him anyway, because a nice criminal is still a criminal. And it turns out that Molloy's contriteness was entirely fake, as at the end, he escapes prison.

* DracoInLeatherPants: Parodied and subverted. The townspeople are inclined to forgive Molloy because he acts pleasantly to them (''after'' he's been caught, mind you), but Wiggum jails him anyway, because a nice criminal is still a criminal. And it turns out that Molloy's contriteness was entirely fake, as at the end he escapes prison.

* MagnificentBastard: Molloy.