Why Homer Simpson is the great lost mind of his generation

I love the Simpsons. Way, way, way too much. I have a complex theory about how the reality the characters experience is constantly in flux to get away with the various inconsistency's in the time-line on the show (Homer and Marge getting together in the 70s and 90s). One of the things I think about is the fact that Homer, every once in a while, shows flashes real knowledge or insight. He can understand complex issues in an instant, but most of the time he's classed as the quintessential happy-idiot. Another thing is that the level of his stupidity changes moment to moment. Sometimes Homer can't understand the simplest of things , for example responding to a new name:

But when he changes his name to Max Powers he instantly knows what's what. My theory is as follows: Homer Simpson is an incredibly smart man. However, due to circumstances beyond his control his intelligence is severely limited - he just can't assess much of his brain.



The following list outlines the main contributing factors to Homer's stupidity.

1) Repeated Blows to the head

Quite early on we saw Homer getting hit in the head, and it just keeps getting more and more intence. Theres an episode where a drawbridge closes on his head, and numerous times we've seen him hit by baseballs etc. Also, Homer was once hit repeatedly hit by Drederick Tatum:

This could be a lot worse if it wasn't for...

2) Homer Simpson Syndrome
Homer suffers from a completely unique genetic defect called Homer Simpson Syndrome. Its like he has a hard-hat on under his skull. These kinds of blows to the head could kill a normal man, or leave him a vegetable, but due to his condition Homer is able to absorb most of the blows. Its unsure if the condition effects his intelligence, but it seems to be implied that he has a smaller brain because of it - this one could go either way.

3) The Simpson gene

Homer used to be as smart as Lisa in school, but slowly his intelligence started to fade due to the Simpsons gene which effects only men in the family. Bart is effected by the same condition, and sadly his intelligence faded too. Homer was once a bright young individual, this has been proven.

4) Other Brain damage
Homer has mentioned various incidents in this past that could have caused brain damage - Holding his breath until he passed out, taking part in lab tests for medication etc. Also his raging alcoholism - the amount of booze he drinks can't be good for his brain, and we all know how hard it is to think with a hangover. Not to mention the dangerous chemicals he comes into contact with every day at the power-plant. Its not exactly an ideal environment.

5) The crayon in the brain

This is the big one. If it wasn't for the crayon in the brain Homers startlingly  high intelligence would only be muted by the factors above. While Homer was a child he passed the time shoving crayons up his noise. Most of them came back out, but one remained in his head - and its been there ever since. Its been shown when Homer has the crayon removed from his brain, his intelligence sky rockets. He's no Einstein, but certainly above average - able to function above most of Springfield. Tragically, Homer is happier as an idiot so he has Moe put the crayon back ('That's right - I'm a surgeon!').

My point being, Homer was above average after the crayon was removed - think of how smart he'd be without the other things holding him back! If he never got hit in the head, if he didn't drink all night and work in a hazardous environment all day, if he wasn't subject to the various genetic defects that plague him. What a waste of a potentially brilliant mind.

Amazingly, Homer can still overcome these things and have moments of amazing insight or shows of intelligence. Shown in the episode where they go to China (You guys are commies? Why am I seeing signs of rudimentary free markets?) or Italy (Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Transport water from distant cities? / Why couldn't you remain a series of independent states, trading and occasionally going to war?) He can also have flashes of insight in a more emotional sense - undertading a situation and doing what's needed to make it better for his family.

So, what do you think? Is Homer the great lost mind of his generation? Can you think of any other contributing factors to his low-intelligence?

Find out for yourself by watching from The Simpsons - The Complete First Season or reading Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1-20

I'm going to add more examples to his article as time goes on.

The Office s07e20 review

When I heard that Michael was leaving The Office I didn't really know what to think. The UK version was centred around David Brent, but the US version has grown to so much more. They might be able to pull it off, the writing is so good. Ricky Gervais talks about why the show needs to continue in his blog: (there's no direct link so I'm just gonna copy and paste the entry)

There are lots of cynics (or maybe just people not in the actual business of making TV shows) asking the question, "Oh why don't they just axe The Office?" I of course pulled the plug on the original version after a measly seven or so hours of television. I stand by that decision and believe it's part of the reason why it, and the franchise in general, has been so successful ever since.

So why isn't the American version afforded the same reverence?

I suppose it has gone on a very long time and the loss of Steve Carell could mean the end of an era, but let me explain something; In the US TV industry, a show as successful as The Office will never stop.

Here's why.

If you can keep going for about 70 episodes you can get a low level syndication. That is, sell the series you've already made and been paid for to a second broadcaster at 100% profit.

The real magic number though is about 100 episodes. Then you can strip the show across 4 days a week at a given time for about 6 months a year. (We're on about 150 episodes at the moment and have another season commissioned.)

200 episodes means you can do this the whole year and then start again. This can be done on more than one channel of course, and in as many countries as will take it. One network alone could pay $100 million to show the reruns.

Now ask that question again; "Oh why don't they just axe The Office?"

Seems like a silly question now doesn't it?

So, y'know, its all about the money. There's some rumours flying around about who's gonna take over, Catherine Tate being one of the options (urgh), but if this new episode isn't just some one-off guest apprentice it looks like Will Ferrell is set to take over. I have no idea how I feel about that.

I don't have anything against Will Ferrell, his man-child ways and easy slapstick comedy does piss me off in large doses, but so did Steve Carell before I first got into the Office. Ferrell seemed to have calmed for the show, and it does work I guess. He's a little too high-profile for me too watch the show and really believe it, with the exception of Carell I didn't know any of the main cast before the show started and to me the cast are the embodiments of their characters. I know Ferrell from too many other things.

I think the show started off well, when Ferrell started talking to everyone he seemed to fit okay, if I could put his fame out of my mind - then he started abusing Andy and telling Jim and Pam he didn't care about their kids - the funniest stuff in the episode, but a meanness that didn't feel right in the show. There's something about the comedy that's so light-hearted and fun, even when things get serious, that made Will Ferrell's power-mad antics seem awful within the context of the show. I think that was my main problem with it.

Well, lets see how it goes. This could be awful, the Office could be one of those shows that were once great but begin to become awful, or the quality of the writing could carry the show through even with questionable casting. (I'm thinking the show should finish with Carell leaving, but that's just me.)

Overall I'd give this episode MIXED THUMBS UP.

Watch the classics, before it all got weird with The Office: Seasons 1-5