Saturdays of Thunder

I really miss episodes like this, where it was shown that despite all his flaws, Homer was a loving father deep inside.

Later episodes made Homer a really horrible father, and his abuse (specially towards Bart) is treated as nothing more than a joke, with the very few instances of genuine good fatherhood reserved only towards Lisa.

Back then, Homer Simpson used to be more than just a "drunken, childish buffoon" as he was described at one point in the series.