History Recap / TheSimpsonsS12E5HomerVsDignity

** FridgeBrilliance: Probably race, since Carl is black and, for all of Burns' contempt for anyone who's not as rich as he is, viewers have never seen Mr. Burns be racist or sexist.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many people complain about how bad the episode is, but few know that it could have been worse: the original ending had Homer throwing pig's blood at the crowd while wailing, "Merry Christmas! God help me!" [[GainaxEnding Then, the scene flashes forward to the future, where an elderly Homer tells a group of future children that, because of him, Christmas is now celebrated with pig's blood being thrown at people.]]
** Would they [[ContinuityNod have pig's blood being thrown at people]] in future [[ChristmasEpisode Christmas episodes]] [[ContinuitySnarl or not]]?

** Would they [[ContinuityNod have pig's blood being thrown at people]] in future ChristmasEpisodes [[ContinuitySnarl or not]]?

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many people complain about how bad the episode is, but few know that it could have been worse: the original ending had Homer throwing pig's blood at the crowd while wailing, "Merry Christmas! God help me!" [[GainaxEnding Then, the scene flashes forward to the future, where an elderly Homer tells a group of future children that, because of him, Christmas is now celebrated with pig's blood being thrown at people.]]

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica,"[[note]]and a slew of other episodes, such as "The Boys of Bummer," "The Principal and the Pauper," "That '90s Show," "Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble," -- pretty much any episode made during Mike Scully's and/or Al Jean's reign as showrunner that pissed off a lot of long-time fans, and not just bored them to death or gave them fleeting hope that maybe the episode they're watching will be "season 3 to 8" good, rather than "season 9 to 10" tolerable crap[[/note]] this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time of this episode, ''FamilyGuy'' was better known as a somewhat mediocre ''Simpsons'' clone with cutaway jokes rather than the BlackComedy-laden SadistShow it has become ever since it got revived in 2005. In the DVD commentary, the producers and writers attribute the critical failure of this episode to the fact that most of the viewing audience has never seen the movie ''The Magic Christian'', which, like this episode, is centered on people embarrassing themselves for money.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many people complain about how bad the episode is, but few know that it could have been worse: the original ending had Homer throwing pig's blood at the crowd while wailing, "Merry Christmas! God help me!" [[GainaxEnding Then, the scene flashes forward to the future, where an elderly Homer tells a group of future children that, because of him, Christmas is now celebrated with pig's blood being thrown at people.]]
* WholePlotReference: This episode's plot is quite similar to the 1969 movie ''Film/TheMagicChristian''.

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica,"[[note]]and a slew of other episodes, such as "The Boys of Bummer," "The Principal and the Pauper," "That '90s Show," "Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble," -- pretty much any episode made during Mike Scully's and/or Al Jean's reign as showrunner that pissed off a lot of long-time fans, and not just bored them to death or gave them fleeting hope that maybe the episode they're watching will be "season 3 to 8" good, rather than "season 9 to 10" tolerable crap[[/note]] this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time of this episode, ''FamilyGuy'' was better known as a somewhat mediocre ''Simpsons'' clone with nonsensical cutaway jokes and yet another sign that FOX likes to [[ScrewedByTheNetwork screw with shows that show a glimmer of being good in some people's eyes]] due to ''Family Guy'' getting its timeslot shifted and being pitted against popular sitcoms that brought in bigger ratings. In the DVD commentary, the producers and writers attribute the critical failure of this episode to the fact that most of the viewing audience has never seen the movie ''The Magic Christian'', which, like this episode, is centered on people embarrassing themselves for money.

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica,"[[note]]and a slew of other episodes, such as "The Boys of Bummer," "The Principal and the Pauper," "That '90s Show," "Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble," -- pretty much any episode made during Mike Scully's and/or Al Jean's reign as showrunner that pissed off a lot of long-time fans, and not just bored them to death or gave them fleeting hope that maybe the episode they're watching will be "season 3 to 8" good, rather than "season 9 to 10" tolerable crap[[/note]] this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time of this episode, ''FamilyGuy'' wasn't nearly as gross or comedically sociopathic as it would later be (back then, it was known for being a crudely animated ''Simpsons'' clone that was 50% more politically incorrect, was more infamous for its cutaway jokes, and was sure to fail due to low ratings and shifting timeslots).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many people complain about how bad the episode is, but few know that it could have been worse: the original ending had Homer throwing pig's blood at the crowd while wailing, "Merry Christmas! God help me!" [[GainaxEnding Then, the scene flashes forward to the future, where an elderly Homer tells a group of future children that, because of him, Christmas is now celebrated with pig's blood being thrown at people.]]

Our story begins with Homer taking his family out for an expensive dinner in honor of Bart's first "A" (which he got while forcing himself to drown out the noises of Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner having sex). However, when Homer's credit card is rejected and they have to entertain the customers to pay off their debt. Plus, Homer sold off pieces of the car for gas money (which he spent on a novelty horn). A visit to Lindey Naegal makes the Simpsons learn that they're having severe money troubles (so severe that they'll need to file for bankruptcy several times over and, even if they did, they would still lose money long after they're dead and gone, and their graves with go untended and vandalized by an elderly Nelson Muntz).

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica,"[[note]]and a slew of other episodes, such as "The Boys of Bummer," "The Principal and the Pauper," "That '90s Show," "Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble," -- pretty much any episode made during Mike Scully's and/or Al Jean's reign as showrunner that pissed off a lot of long-time fans, and not just bored them to death or gave them fleeting hope that maybe the episode they're watching will be "season 3 to 8" good, rather than "season 9 to 10" tolerable crap[[/note]] this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time of this episode, ''FamilyGuy'' wasn't nearly as gross or comedically sociopathic as it would later be (back then, it was known for being a crudely animated ''Simpsons'' clone that was 50% more politically incorrect, was more infamous for its cutaway jokes, and was sure to fail after being canceled twice).

Our story begins with Homer taking his family out for an expensive dinner in honor of Bart's first "A". However, when Homer's credit card is rejected and they have to entertain the customers to pay off their debt. Plus, Homer sold off pieces of the car for gas money (which he spent on a novelty horn). A visit to Lindey Naegal makes the Simpsons learn that they're having severe money troubles (so severe that they'll need to file for bankruptcy several times over and, even if they did, they would still lose money long after they're dead and gone, and their graves with go untended and vandalized by an elderly Nelson Muntz).

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica,"[[note]]and a slew of other episodes, such as "The Boys of Bummer," "The Principal and the Pauper," "That '90s Show," "Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble," -- pretty much any episode made during Mike Scully's and/or Al Jean's reign as showrunner that pissed off a lot of long-time fans, and not just bored them to death or gave them fleeting hope that maybe the episode they're watching will be "season 3 to 8" good, rather than "season 9 to 10" tolerable crap[[/note]] this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time, ''FamilyGuy'' wasn't nearly as gross or comedically sociopathic as it would later be (it was mostly weird, a little politically incorrect, and mostly known for its cutaway jokes).

Our story begins with Homer taking his family out for an expensive dinner in honor of Bart's first "A". However, when Homer's credit card is rejected and they have to entertain the customers to pay off their debt. Plus, Homer sold off pieces of the car for gas money (which he spent on a novelty horn). A visit to Lindey Negale makes the Simpsons learn that they's having severe money troubles.

At the Springfield Zoo, Burns has Homer dress up as a panda named "Sim-Sim", where in an infamous scene, is painfully shocked and accidentally attracts the sexual lust of the zoo's male panda. When Homer attepts to excape, he gets caught in a barbed-wire fence and is sprayed upon by skunks. Lisa discovers him there, seeing that her father has sunk to a new low.

Lisa tries to convince Homer to stop being Burns' "prank monkey" and put his dignity before money. Homer is convinced to use his money to donate to the needy and buys a bunch of toys at Costingtons. Impressed with Homer's generosity, the store recruits Homer to play Santa Claus for Springfield's Thanksgiving parade. As Homer is parading down the streets throwing toys to children, Burns shows up in his own float tempting Homer with a million dollars to throw fish guts onto the crowd.

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica," this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs. A lot of unfavorable comparisons to ''FamilyGuy'' have been made to this episode, though, at the time, ''FamilyGuy'' wasn't nearly as gross or comedically sociopathic as it would later be (it was mostly weird, a little politically incorrect, and mostly known for its cutaway jokes).

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica," this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs.

* {{Retirony}}: The TropeNamer. Mentioned when Chief Wiggum tells his financial planner that he's not going to create a retirement fund since he's a police officer, and, according to cop shows and movies, a police officer who's only X amount of days from retirement will always get murdered on the job.

Much like "Saddlesore Galactica," this episode is considered the nadir of the series, due to blatant plot recycling (seriously, how many times have The Simpsons gone through financial trouble? And wasn't Homer Mr. Burns' assistant before?) and the writers relying on disgusting shock humor (Homer dressed as a baby in need of a diaper change in the men's bathroom and Homer getting sexually assaulted by a panda) for laughs.

* RecycledScript: We have the family in financial trouble, Homer filling in for Smithers while he's away ("Homer The Smithers"), Lisa worrying over a Simpson male's soul ("Bart Sells His Soul") and Homer dressing up as Santa Claus ("Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire").

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Many people complain about how bad the episode is, but few know that it could have been worse: the original ending had Homer throwing pig's blood at the crowd while wailing, "Merry Christmas! God help me!" Then, the scene flashes forward to the future, where an elderly Homer tells a group of future children that, because of him, Christmas is now celebrated with pig's blood being thrown at people.

This episode is considered one of the most controversial among fans, citing that the show was JumpingTheShark with Homer (presumably) getting raped by a panda.

* ChristmasEpisode

* RecycledScript: We have the family in financial trouble, Homer filling in for Smithers while he's away ("Homer The Smithers"), Lisa trying to gte Homer to find his soul ("Bart Sells His Soul") and Homer dressing up as Santa Claus ("Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire").
* RefugeInAudacity: The "panda rape" scene.
* {{Retirony}}: The TropeNamer

* RefugeInAudacity: The "panda rape" scene.

* EyeScream: The pudding being thrown into Lenny's eyes

--> '''Mr. Burns''': ''What'' are you doing, man! That's Carl!

At the Springfield Zoo, Burns has Homer dress up as a panda named "Sim-Sim", where in an infamous scene, is painfully shocked and is presumably raped by the zoo's male panda. When Homer attepts to excape, he gets caught in a barbed-wire fence and is sprayed upon by skunks. Lisa discovers him there, seeing that her father has sunk to a new low.

* JumpingTheShark: Many fans say the show has jumped it in regards to the "panda rape" scene, to the point where "raped by a panda" has become an alternate term for the trope.

!!Tropes:

* RecycledScript: We have the family in financial trouble, Homer filling in for Smithers while he's away ("Homer The Smithers"), Lisa trying to gte Homer to find his soul ("Bart Sells His Soul") and Homer dressing up as Santa Claus ("Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire").

* ForTheEvulz/ForTheLulz: Burns paying Homer to make a fool out of himself.

When it appears that "Santa" is throwing fish guts onto everyone, Lisa thinks that Homer has "sold his soul". However, it turns out Homer declined the offer and it's Burns himself pelting everyone. Homer thanks Lisa for helping him get his dignity back.