Father Knows Worst

Season 20, Episode 18, Aired

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8.3
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Homer takes an overbearing approach to parenting Bart and Lisa with disastrous results. Meanwhile Marge takes a liking to the new sauna she discovers in the basement.
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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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  • Truly terrific episode! Had me laughing the whole way through! :)

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By kikimarie593, Mar 06, 2011
    This was one of those episodes where you don't actually find out what it's about until about halfway through. One event just lead to another. Fortunately, every one of those events happened to be completely hilarious. The main plot was Homer deciding to be a better father to Bart and Lisa and help them out at school. Homer helping out his kids? Yeah, right. Good effort though, Homer. Homer does Bart's school project for him, which is cheating and Bart tells the truth that he didn't really do it himself. That was so great that Bart did something good. Telling the truth was great character development for him, even though in the next episode he'll probably be back to his bad-self. Lisa discovered that she prefers to be a loner rather then a popular kid. I kind of new from the very beginning, but whatever. It's better for Lisa to be who she really is then who everyone else wants her to be. Poor Maggie only had one scene in this episode, but she was still cute in that one scene. In the sub-plot Marge discovers that they have a sauna hidden in their house. She showed it to Homer at the end of the episode and they relaxed together. That was kind of cute, but I'm glad it wasn't that big a part of the episode. Anyways, I literally laughing out loud throughout the whole episode, and I don't do that very often. It's funny how for a while the Simpsons wasn't very good, but the past few episodes have been fabulous. Half a point off the episode for unoriginality though. The thing with Homer doing Bart's project has been done on other shows, but it was still funny. Looking forward to more great episodes! :)moreless

  • So so so funny!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By KingBoo112, Mar 06, 2011
    Homer, Bart, and Lisa visit a carnival by the sea and Homer eats all but accidentally swallows a fire stick and his mouth goes on fire and he strangle Bart while doing this lol! The food he ate hurt his tounge for a few days ,except cafeteria food Lisa brings home. He decides to come to Springfield Elementary to eat during lunch, embarrassing Bart in the process. He sits at a lunch table and meets a mother who's a "helicopter parent".Homer sees how stupid Bart acts and how unpopular Lisa is and helps them out. He and Bart compete in the Plywood sculpture assignment, but the Washington Monument choice is too bad by Skinner's standards, so Homer goes for the hardest one of all, the "Westminster Abbey" model. He also helps Lisa get into the in-crowd with the help of a popularity book and a cellphone cover party. But Homer just causes problems with them. meanwhile Marge finds a sauna in the basement :D This episode was waaaay too funny.

    Final grade
    Amoreless

  • An episode that was oh so so funny.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Iverson82094, Mar 06, 2011
    When Homer observes Bart and Lisa struggling in certain aspects of their academic and social lives at school, he becomes a proponent of "helicopter parenting," the process of closely monitoring a child and forcing them to succeed. Homer takes hovering to a new level when he chooses a nearly impossible subject for Bart's balsa wood model-building competition and gives Lisa some not-so-friendly advice on how to make friends. Meanwhile, Marge discovers a sauna in the Simpson family's basement that she finds hard to resist. An episode that had many funny jokes. When season 20 comes to mind this episode is surely one I will remember.moreless

  • Poor

    4.0
    "Poor"
    By futuramarama, Mar 06, 2011
    OK, Homer tries to become a "helicopter" parent, meaning he helps Bart and Lisa with projects, Bart with homework and Lisa with becoming popular. It works for a while but at the end of the episode, Bart and Lisa just want to go back to the way they used to be. Homer thinks he has failed as a parent, but he learns from Marge he hasn't.

    OK, bad episode I thought. Homer acted really dumb in some parts, even for him. I absolutely loathed that part at the beginning when he tries to breathe fire on Bart. Just seemed way too unrealistic. Overall grade- D+/C-moreless

  • I feel like I've died and gone to hell.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By amazingwebhead, Feb 20, 2011
    This week we see Homer continue his recent investment within his children's lives, this time focusing on both when he realises they aren't doing as well in school as he thought. After the previous couple of episodes that were high in other elements outside of comedy, Father Knows Worst is a return to the much more standard form for the show. What characterisation that is present here is perfunctory, but not useless. Overall, it's simply a decent and pretty funny Homer episode that has its moments and does well not to overdo things. Of the two loosely connected stories, I found Bart's to be the most engaging simply because Lisa's felt too much like an afterthought, but both share common themes and offer up a few laughs here and there. Not the best from the season, but certainly not the worst either; enjoyable.moreless
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    • In 2009, Dan Castellaneta won the Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for playing Homer Simpson in this episode.

    • Blackboard Joke: I will not put hot sauce on the CPR dummy. Couch Gag: Set before the couch is an Olympic sized pool. Everyone selects a lane and swims to the couch, except Homer who floats face down in the water near the starting line. Billboard Gag: Principal Skinner: I Paint Houses.

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    • Black Hawk Down "Helicopter" Homer utters this phrase twice after crashing into the locker outside of Bart's classroom and falling to the ground. Black Hawk Down is a 1999 novel about the US Army Rangers and other military units attempt to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Mogadishu. An intense battle occurred between the military units and the local citizenry and militia. A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down and a rescue attempt was mounted soon after which is where the phrase originated. The book was made into a movie in 2001.

    • Popeye When Homer realizes that Marge is not worrying about the kids and therefore he has to, he says "Help me, Mayonaise", downs a quart of it, and flexes his bicep. This alludes to Popeye the Sailor who utters a similar sentiment about spinach just before downing a can of the same, then seeing his muscle mass of his arms instantly increase.

    • Father Knows Best The title of this episode is a play on the title of the 1950's sitcom Father Knows Best.

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