TVSquad

(S06E10)

Homer (talking about his father): He said I was an accident. He didn't want to have me.

Marge: You didn't want to have Bart.

Homer: I know, but you're never supposed to tell the child.

Marge: You tell Bart all the time. You told him this morning.

Homer: But when I do it it's cute.

I don't think I would want to see Abe "Grandpa" Simpson made the center of every episode, but I like it when they occasionally give his character a little more dimension than just being a simple satire of elderly people. "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" is a great example of such an episode, but this one isn't too bad, either, and it gives ol' Grandpa a chance to venture outside the rest home and actually do something.

The episode begins with Homer and Marge trying to bring the spark back to their love life, but they're either too distracted or just not in the mood. When it finally seems they might be getting down to some funky lovin', Bart barges in on them because he's afraid there's a UFO outside his window. Marge won't let him sleep in their bedroom, but she does let him sit on the roof with a baseball bat just in case the aliens return. Homer and Marge also try a self-help tape read by Paul Harvey called "Mr. and Mrs. Erotic American," but it proves to be useless, too. Grandpa figures out what's wrong and mixes up a special love potion that turns Homer into "Rex Harrison and Paul Anka rolled into one" according to Marge.

At this point the story takes a turn and becomes about Homer's relationship with his father, which has always been strained. They travel from town to town selling their Simpson and Son Revitalizing Tonic, but Abe chastises Homer for his poor salesmanship, and an argument culminates in Abe telling Homer he was a mistake. Hurt, Homer leaves his dad abandoned on the side of the road.

Meanwhile, the kids of Springfield can't figure out why their parents keep disappearing, but they piece together a conspiracy theory involving saucer people and reverse vampires. Homer decides he doesn't want to treat his kids the way he was treated, but Bart explains to him that "your half-assed under-parenting was a lot more fun than your half-assed over-parenting." Homer replies, "But I'm using my whole ass."

Finally, Homer returns to the home he grew up in, and both he and his father manage to accidentally burn it to the ground. Abe apologizes to Homer and tells him he's proud Homer isn't a short man.

Best line: "You look like a man who needs help satisfying his wife."