The Simpsons
Home Away from Homer
TV Flash files “Home Away from Homer” as hour 355 of 802 in the TV Flash guide — The Simpsons (1989–present) on Fox, season 16, episode 20, aired 2005-05-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S16E20: listed hour 355 of 802 in the The Simpsons guide, hour 20 of 21 in season 16. It aired 2005-05-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Thank God It's Doomsday” (S16E19). Next is “Father, Son and Holy Guest-Star” (S16E21). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Financial trouble inspires Ned to rent his rumpus room to a pair of college-aged women, who end up running a soft-core webcam from the Flanders' home without their knowledge. When Ned becomes the laughingstock of Springfield and moves his family to their dream town, "Humble, PA - Home of the Humble Figurines," an unruly neighbor moves in, forcing Homer to beg for Flanders to return. Jason Bateman guest-stars as himself. Later, after Bart is falsely blamed and then expelled for a mishap at the school-sponsored Medieval festival, Fat Tony, guest-voiced by Joe Mantegna, suggests to Marge that he enroll in a private Catholic school. After a rough introduction with a nun on his first day, Bart meets and instantly likes an Eminem-quoting priest named Father Sean, guest-voiced by Neeson. Father Sean shows Bart the cooler parts of the religion through graphic stories and comic books. Bart's growing interest alarms his parents and ultimately drives Homer to visit the church. He, too, finds himself attracted to the religion after Father's offerings of beer, pancakes and games. It's up to Marge to bring her family back to their roots.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Home Away from Homer sit in the The Simpsons guide?
S16E20 is listed hour 355 of 802 — hour 20 of 21 in season 16, season 16 episode 20.
When did The Simpsons S16E20 air?
Home Away from Homer aired 2005-05-15 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start if I am not watching all 800 episodes?
Start with the 1989 Christmas premiere, then a handful of golden-age hours from seasons four through eight. Treat the rest as a library, not a novel.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as a living joke encyclopedia, not a series you owe from pilot to present. The early years still teach how American satire learned to reset weekly; the later catalog is optional weather. You already speak Springfield. This is how the grammar got written.
The first image is a couch, and then it is not. The Simpsons treats the opening gag as a weekly contract: we will reset the living room, and we will still find a new joke about the country that owns it. Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989 after the Tracey Ullman shorts, and the half-hour that followed did not merely popularize adult animation. It installed a shared vocabulary. People who stopped watching still speak Springfield.
Filed against
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson
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- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson
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- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
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- Hank Azaria as Moe / Chief Wiggum
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- Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns / Ned Flanders
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