Beyond Blunderdome (26 Sep. 1999)

When Mel Gibson becomes convinced that Homer is the only man with the guts to tell him the truth, he insists Homer accompany him to Hollywood to help fix his newest film project, a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Director:

Steven Dean Moore

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator), James L. Brooks (developer),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Krusty the Clown / Mayor Quimby / John Travolta / Senator Payne (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Electaurus Voice / Comic Book Guy / William Milo / Professor Frink / Chief Wiggum / Dr. Nick Riviera / Moe Szyslak / President / Adam West (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Narrator / Ned Flanders / Montgomery Burns / Male Tour Guide / Senate Leader / Rainier Wolfcastle (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Robin Hannah / Irene Ryan (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Saleswoman (voice)
Maggie Roswell	...	Female Tour Guide / Jimmy Stewart's Granddaughter (voice)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Burt Ward (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Burns	...	Edward Christian (voice)
Mel Gibson	...	Himself (voice)

Storyline

Homer test drives an electric car because it'll get him a gift. The gift is that Homer and Marge get to be part of a test audience for the new film of Mel Gibson, a remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Everybody loves the film except for Homer, who totally hates it. Because a very insecure Mel Gibson thinks Homer is the only one who dares to speak his mind he asks Homer to help him change the film. Therefore, Mel Gibson takes Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa to Hollywood.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to jimmy stewart | 2d animation

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1999 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gibson claims he speeds all the time but is never pulled over. In August 2006, he was pulled over for D.W.I.

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Quotes

Homer Simpson: Movies aren't stupid. They fill us with romance and hatred and revenge fantasies. Lethal Weapon showed us that suicide is funny.
Mel Gibson: That really wasn't my intention.
Homer Simpson: Before Lethal Weapon 2, I never thought there could be a bomb in my toilet, but now I check every time.
Marge Simpson: It's true. He does.
Mel Gibson: Do movies mean that much to you, Homer?
Homer Simpson: They're my only escape from the drudgery of work and family.
[to Marge and the kids]
Homer Simpson: No offense.

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Connections

References The Dukes of Hazzard (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Hail to the Chief"
(uncredited)
Music by James Sanderson

User Reviews

Funny!

This episode is like a dedication to Mel Gibson's earlier work, because it makes references to Lethal Weapon and Mad Max, and even a few to Braveheart. It's one of the funnier episodes, and I sometimes can't help but wonder if Mel cracked up laughing when he was filming this episode. In this episode, Mel films a remake of "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", and everyone loves it except Homer, who tells Mel Gibson its not like the work that made him famous(mad max and lethal weapon) and cool, Mel agrees and he and Homer re shoot it to make it better, with hilarious results. It's one of my personal favorite episodes, because I also loved the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max movies. One thing though, Mel tells the producers in this episode he makes action movies because guys like Homer, but I guess Mel also forgot that he filmed the Romance Movie "Forever Young", which was not an action movie, but thats not important. Mel Gibson is the man. If you're a fan of his early work and wouldn't mind seeing it mixed in with some Simpson's humor, you'll love this episode.