Deep Space Homer

"Deep Space Homer"
The Simpsons episode
A scene of news anchor Kent Brockman announcing his surrender due to the belief that Ants taking over the world. This scene inspired the "Overlord meme" which uses the scene to mimic entities taking over the world.
Kent Brockman pledges his allegiance to ants which he mistakenly believes are about to conquer the world. This scene went on to inspire an internet meme.[1][2]
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 15
Directed byCarlos Baeza
Written byDavid Mirkin
Production code1F13[3]
Original air dateFebruary 24, 1994 (1994-02-24)
Guest appearances
Episode features
Couch gagThe family runs to the couch, only to find an obese man sitting on it. They squeeze in to the left of him.[4]
Commentary
Episode chronology
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The Simpsons season 5
List of episodes

"Deep Space Homer" is the fifteenth episode[5] of the fifth season of American animated television series The Simpsons, which was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on February 24, 1994. In the episode, NASA selects Homer Simpson to participate in a spaceflight to spark public interest in space exploration and boost low ratings of the launches. Once in space, his incompetence destroys the navigation system on board the Space Shuttle.

The episode was written by showrunner David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and musician James Taylor guest-starred as themselves. Some of The Simpsons' staff, including creator Matt Groening, feared the concept was too unrealistic, resulting in some jokes being pared down and greater focus placed on relationships within the Simpson family. However, the episode was well-received, with many critics and fans praising it as one of the best of the series.

  1. ^ "The best Simpsons episode ever". Stuff.co.nz. Independent Newspapers. January 17, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "Overlord Meme". The Atlantic. Emerson Collective. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  3. ^ Fink 2019, p. 186.
  4. ^ "Deep Space Homer". Simpsons Archive. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Butts, Steve (December 17, 2004). "The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season". IGN. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.