Do you want to feel old? One of the greatest gags ever Simpsons The story has just gotten older than several members of the My city Staff. That’s right, on this day in 1997, the instant classic eighth season episode “Homer’s Phobia” premiered. In it, Bart befriends John, the owner of an antique shop (played by the legendary filmmaker, author and small mustache owner). John Waters). Fearing that John’s influence will turn Bart “gay,” Homer obsessively searches for hypermasculine activities the two of them can do together to preserve his son’s heterosexuality.
The most memorable of these manly activities is the father and son’s visit to the Ajax steel mill to see “all-American Joes doing what they do best.” Homer assures Bart, “You’ll thank me on your wedding night.” But oops! It turned out that the men of the mill weren’t quite what Homer had hoped for.
After a shirtless guy in booty shorts strolls past Homer with a vat of molten steel, foreman Roscoe declares, “We work hard, we play hard.” As C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat” blares from every direction, Homer protects Bart’s eyes from the Boogie-Oogie Hardbodies.
You’ll be surprised to know that while I’m a bit Simpsons Superfan, I didn’t actually have this auspicious day circled in my Troy McClure calendar. I was alerted to the anniversary by a tweet from Josh Weinstein, writer, producer and showrunner of the 1992-1998 animated classic.
According to the DVD commentary for season 8, recorded in 2006, Waters immediately accepted his invitation to appear as a guest star, stating that if it was “good enough for Elizabeth Taylor” (who appeared in two episodes of the fourth season), it was good enough for him. In early designs, the burly steelworkers were originally intended to be longshoremen, but revitalizing the shipyard was too costly, so they relocated to the mill. And honestly, the idea that Moe Homer would say, “The entire shipping industry is gay” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
If with all this talk about gay steel mills you’re in the mood for a classic Simpsons Antics: Disney+ offers a whopping 34 seasons of the series for instant streaming. (“Homer’s Phobia” is Season 8, Episode 15.) So your long weekend is sorted.
