It's time to ask a serious question: When did Jerkass Homer really start? We've covered eight episodes of the first season of The Simpsons, and what we've seen of Homer Simpson is far removed from what he would eventually transform into. In these episodes we've seen a more authoritative Homer, who is the one embarrassed by his family, not Marge. We see a Homer who tries to be the teacher to his children, despite his advice being terrible. We see a Homer that tries to be a good provider for his family, despite the weight of the world constantly coming down on him. A man who at one point feels like such a failure that he almost commits suicide. But the question again is when does Homer show his first signs of being a jerkass?
Right here. And I'll explain why that is with "Life On The Fast Lane", first aired March 18th, 1990.
It's another shortened opening this time as we go straight into the story. It's Marge's 34th birthday (oh my god, I'm literally a year younger than Marge. That depresses me) and the kids prepare her breakfast in bed. They've also made sure to only get her the best stuff, like Lisa's macaroni art and Bart's smelly perfume. And Homer... forgot. Granted, we're all due to forget certain dates, but it sets the precedent that will lead to why Homer is terrible in this episode. He panics, obviously, and drives off to the Springfield Mall in hopes to find the perfect gift. But, as Patty and Selma remind Marge about, he always ends up buying something for himself. Be it a tackle box or a Connie Chung calendar.
So it's no surprise to anyone when at the birthday dinner, Homer ends up buying a bowling ball. It would be bad enough to get your wife something that she has no interest in, but the added knife to the gut of ENGRAVING YOUR OWN NAME? The Simpsons will continue to delve deeper into the flaws that surround the Homer and Marge relationship. How after every single thing he's done throughout their marriage she's stuck with him. Maybe it's out of love, or just the ultimate realization that this bald oaf can't manage on his own. Or, in how this episode goes, she could wind up with far worse. Either way, I feel this is what represents Homer at his primordial jerkass. The fact that this isn't an isolated incident, but something he's done over and over again proves how selfish and ignorant he is.
To spite Homer for his ignorance, she decides to use the ball after all and goes to bowl at Barney's Bowlarama. It's here she meets a lothario of the lanes named Jacques, played by Albert Brooks, who makes yet another guest appearance. The two hit it off and he begins to teach her how to bowl properly. Meanwhile back at Home, Homer's trying to hold things down at home, but while still willfully ignorant that his marriage is in jeopardy, he is slowly starting to fall apart. However the kids are also slowly starting to go through their own stages of grief for a dying family.
Marge and Jacques continue to get closer to one another. First he gives her a bowling glove as a gift, then the two are going out for brunch (and being nagged by town gossip Helen Lovejoy), then Jacques invites her to his place at the Fiesta Terrace. Marge passes out, which leads to a really beautiful dream sequence. People tend to laud season one for "not being funny", but I feel that it's a season that allowed the show to be more experimental in the quality of what they brought to the table. And this moment right here best represents what the show was trying to accomplish. While all of this is going on, Homer finds the bowling glove and finally realizes that his marriage might be screwed.
Interesting note. Well, not so much interesting as it is depressing. This episode premiered the same day a little leaguer died from an arrant baseball to the head. That's some terrible timing right there.
Ultimately, after going down a street that makes her think about her marriage, Marge ultimately stands up Jacques and heads to the power plant to greet Homer. And we end the episode with a nicely done take on the ending to "An Officer and a Gentleman", only with more implied sex. In the end, while one could argue that Marge shouldn't stay with Homer for his dickishness, there is still signs of love in the relationship. Enough to keep Marge from making the terrible decision to live the life of a pin jockey with a creep like Jacques.
"Life on the Fast Lane" for being the first major episode to focus on the trouble in paradise between Homer and Marge does a good enough job. I mean, they manage to make Homer unlikable, but still manage to give Marge a far worse alternative. There's some good humor with gags like the kids going through grief, as well as some really nice visuals like the dream sequence. It does suffer from feeling way too rushed by the end, and Jacques just being forgotten about by the end seems to feel like a serious time crunch that ultimately hurts this episode. But in the end, it's still a decent episode from the show's primordial era.
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FIRST APPEARANCES:
JACQUES
HELEN LOVEJOY
LENNY LEONARD
CHARLIE
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NEXT TIME ON 'ROUND SPRINGFIELD:
HOMER'S NIGHT OUT
HOMER'S NIGHT OUT
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