YMMV / The Simpsons S3 E5 "Homer Defined"

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Magic Johnson, in the middle of a game with the Lakers, calling Homer to congratulate him for his heroics becomes sadder to watch knowing that the HIV diagnosis which ended his career with the team came less than a month after this episode aired.
  • The Soap Opera Marge and Maggie are watching (Search For the Sun) features a lecherous office manager sneaking up on his secretary and trying to grope her, the secretary after expressing mock shock and horror and "complaining" that she "can't work under these conditions," the boss firing her ... and then the two engaging in a passionate lip-lock before the cut to the news bulletin about the emergency at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. While this episode aired around the time of the Senate-held Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas (who had been accused of sexual harassment), few would bat an eye for more than 25 years. Now, given the sexual misconduct scandals that began exploding in the mid-2010s (and especially with the #MeToo movement in 2017), this scene seems downright creepy.
  • Marge, talking to Milhouse's mom about letting him spend time with Bart again, points out that they don't really have anyone but each other as they're "too young for girls." Later in the season, "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" shows that's not quite true with Milhouse getting his first girlfriend. Later seasons would further see Bart putting Milhouse through such trials as contriving to have him pursued by the FBI, hooking him into helping with a Faked Kidnapping that ended with his dad getting thrown in jail, scheming to break up his divorced parents a second time after they attempted to reconcile, and more. Maybe the poor kid really would have been better off staying away from Bart.
  • "Lisa's Sax" in Season 9 does a bit to explain why Bart is so attached to Milhouse: he was the first person at school, students and teachers included, to show Bart any kindness at all.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • A very minor one, but still worth pointing out to a keen-eyed Simpsons fan. The chalkboard gag has Bart writing "I Will Not Squeak Chalk", while a squeaking sound effect is played as he's writing it down. There was virtually no sound effect for Bart writing on the chalkboard before this, but starting with the chalkboard gag for "Saturdays of Thunder", every single chalkboard gag is accompanied with a squeaking sound effect (albeit a different one, but still).
  • Word of God was disappointed that the expression "I pulled a Homer" never really took off. In 2015, in the period leading up to the release of The Force Awakens, Mark Hamill, who'd appeared as himself and Leavelle in "Mayored to the Mob", urged fans "Not to pull a Homer" (i.e. don't reveal spoilers), referring to "I Married Marge" when Homer inadvertently gave away the big plot twist of The Empire Strikes Back.
  • Overlaps with Heartwarming in Hindsight. As a running joke to go along with its title, Homer frequently imagines himself as being a part of dictionary entries ("stupid", "lucky" and "fraud") with the last entry as being defined as a "Homer", which is either A) a bonehead, or B) to succeed because of idiocy. Lisa even mentions that he is one with the ages. Some years later, Homer was defined, albeit it was his famous catchphrase that ended up being added to the dictionary.
• Unintentional Period Piece:
  • Bart getting Milhouse a pair of Walkie-Talkies for them to stay in touch firmly dates this episode to the era before cell phones were something everyone carried, even kids as young as Bart and Milhouse.
  • This episode featured Magic Johnson playing for the Lakers, airing less than a month before he announced his retirement from the team after testing positive for HIV.

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