Duffless (18 Feb. 1993)

After Homer is arrested for DUI, and loses his driver's license, he is put to the ultimate test when Marge pressures him to give up beer for a month.

Director:

Jim Reardon

Writers:

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

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Santa's Little Helper / Barney Gumble / Duff Brewery Clock / Commercial Announcer #1 / John F. Kennedy / Hans Moleman / Man at Science Fair / Commercial Man #1 / Jub-Jub (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Nelson Muntz (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	'More tomato?' / Commercial Doctor / Phil / Chief Wiggum / Lou / Prison Guard / Wiseguy / Dad at Science Fair / Moe Szyslak (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Principal Skinner / Mr. Largo / Tour Guide / Richard Nixon / Eddie / Reverend Lovejoy / Jasper Beardly / Ned Flanders / Otto Mann / Commercial Man #2 / Baseball Commentator / Train (voice)
Phil Hartman	...	Commercial Announcer #2 / Lionel Hutz / Troy McClure (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / Child at Science Fair / Martin Prince (voice)
Maggie Roswell	...	Miss Hoover / Mrs. Phillips / Judge / Screaming Woman / Maude Flanders / Woman at Science Fair (voice)

Storyline

Homer gets barred from driving and forced to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He decides to use Lisa's bike but only falls off and gets bombarded with bottles from the Duff balloon. However he eventually keeps his promise to Marge to stay Duffless for thirty days and they cycle off into the sunset. Lisa proves that a hamster is more intelligent than Bart in the run up to displaying their science projects but he ultimately upstages her by flying the hamster around the class in a miniature plane.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholics anonymous | giant tomato | giant spider | 2d animation | breathalyzer | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 February 1993 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Film Roman Productions, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Principal Skinner: Well, Edna, for a school with no Asian kids, I think we put on a pretty darn good science fair.

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Connections

References The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951)

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Soundtracks

"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
(uncredited)
Music by Burt Bacharach
Lyrics by Hal David
Vocal Performance by Kipp Lennon

User Reviews

Hamster dance! It's another Simpson blockbuster

The fourth and sixth seasons of The Simpsons are the best of the series. In particular, something amazing happened in season 4- seven fantastic episodes, including some of the best episodes of the whole series, ran back to back between December 17, 1992 and March 11, 1993. They are Homer's Triple Bypass, Marge vs. the Monorail, Selma's Choice, Brother from the Same Planet, I Love Lisa, Duffless, and Last Exit to Springfield. Duffless comes right in between two of the greatest episodes ever, so it's no surprise that it too is great.

In it, Homer is caught drinking and driving after visiting the Duff brewery, and Marge, concerned that Homer is an alcoholic, asks him to go without beer for a month. Homer unhappily takes on the challenge, but finds himself tempted at every turn. However, he loses weight, is in better health, and saves money. In the mean time, Bart wrecks Lisa's science fair project and Lisa gets her revenge by subjecting Bart to some humiliating (and painful) experiments designed to prove he's dumber than Lisa's new hamster. When the end of the month finally arrives, Homer can't wait to go back to the bar, but when he gets there he decides he can turn down a beer, and goes back home for a date with Marge.

This is a consistently funny episode with depth- it explores the problem of alcoholism and addiction, which is typically unfunny. Additionally, we can laugh at Bart failing his intelligence tests, and the hamster is cute. For those of us obsessed with continuity (and the producers of The Simpsons have been known to mock those who are), this episode may have problems- Homer beats his alcohol addiction here but in later episodes is still drinking. And what happened to Lisa's hamster? How did Chief Wiggum survive that explosion unharmed? Yet, I think the point may be that while Homer may still be largely hooked on beer, he takes a step towards being able to say no to alcohol. As the song "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" is skillfully used to suggest, he is "free." Homer and Marge riding their bike into the sunset is a notably sweet, feel-good ending.