YMMV / The Simpsons S5 E15 "Deep Space Homer"

• Alternative Joke Interpretation:
  • Homer is passed up for a Worker of the Week Award that he is contractually required to win at least once in favor of an inanimate carbon rod. Is it because Burns still can't remember that Homer even exists as usual, or because Homer is such an incompetent employee that an object is considered a better worker than he'll ever be?
  • The Itchy and Scratchy content warning that only airs after the episode; a backhanded attempt at one by the channel airing I&S, or a part of the episode itself?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: The idea of NASA sending ordinary people up into space to promote the space program is played for laughs here, but was based on the real-life (and ill-fated) Teacher in Space Project.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: As funny as the scenes are, Homer turning into both Popeye and Richard Nixon during his mission training and the rocket launch, respectively has nothing to do with the rest of the episode.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • An episode of Home Improvement showing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor running over his neighbor, Wilson...then casually adding that he's going back to jail. Which makes more sense if you know that Tim Allen had actually spent two years in prison for drug possession before reaching stardom.
  • Homer trying to read Bart's writing of "Insert Brain Here" on the back of his head, and ending up on the ground still trying to read it, whimpering dejectedly all the while. His family goes from hysterical laughter to embarrassed silence.
  • Done in-universe with the Itchy & Scratchy episode featured, "Scar Trek: The Next Laceration." A viewer advisory for children ends up being shown after what happened to Scratchy where his head gets blown up in space. And was shown on the compound where poor Homer was staying (and is sweating bullets and whimpering in reaction) while Bart and Lisa laugh hysterically at what he just watched.
• Designated Villain: The inanimate carbon rod that Homer loses the Worker of the Week award to. Though Homer's furious with the carbon rod, it's either his own fault for being that bad of a worker or Mr. Burns inability to remember that he exists, depending on your interpretation, and neither of those things are the carbon rod's fault.
• Franchise Original Sin: This is the episode where Homer's New Job as the Plot Demands issue really started to get unbelievable, especially since the entire episode showcases how unqualified Homer is to be an astronaut. It's mostly saved thanks to the jokes and the satirical explanation as to why NASA would hire him.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • The concerns over whether the shuttle will survive reentry are more painful since the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia in its reentry in 2003.
  • Also, Homer's line of "I don't see any sign of Barney 'Let's-Crash-The-Spaceship-Into-The-White-House-And-Kill-The-President' Gumble." became this after 9/11 as that was rumored to be one of the intended targets/objectives of the terrorists, only to be deterred by the passengers/crew of United Airlines Flight 93.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Homer regrets not going to the mall to meet Mr. T. Come LEGO Dimensions, where Homer can finally meet B.A at long last.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • The nigh-legendary "And I for one, welcome our new [X] overlords" meme.
  • To a less legendary degree, as Barney Gumble goes from sobered-up and fit to drunk again, "It BEGINS!".
  • The guy on TV laughing at Homer.
• Signature Scene:
  • Homer eating potato chips in zero gravity to the tune of "The Blue Danube Waltz".
  • Kent Brockman's "insect overlords" news report.

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