What? Another Homer episode? Well, if that’s the way it is…
What does Homer see in Moe’s Tavern? He spends a lot of time there. It’s dingy, dark, and rarely has many people in it, few of whom seem to be all that happy about being there or anywhere else for that matter.
But Homer uses it as his personal escape, and this episode sees him trying a different bar, one that makes Moe’s usual aura of doom seem almost cheerful.
Go to Moe’s Homer does, and when he and Moe are almost alone and Moe is out of beer, Homer shows Moe how to make a drink Homer had accidentally invented himself when trying to stave off the feeling of despair that can only come from Patty and Selma’s vacation slides. The drink gets much better after being lit on fire. And then Moe steals credit for it, making Moe’s Tavern into the hip place to go, the home of the Flaming Moe (formerly Flaming Homer).
I mean, just about everybody goes to Moe’s after that. Even Ned and Maude Flanders are there for some reason.
Moe’s sudden success makes his place so big and crowded that you can’t get in without being on a list, and Homer’s angry proclamation that Moe has lost him as a customer means nothing if Moe can’t hear it. Even Bart’s prank calls aren’t working when a guy by the name Bart made up actually is there.
Not that everything is better in Moe’s. Mrs. Krabappel is trying to seduce every man in the joint, some corporate shark is looking to steal the recipe, and Aerosmith is hanging around. That pseudo Cheers homage is even screwier if you’re aware Cheers was still on the air when this episode first aired.
You know, someone around here should really do a Cheers rewatch. Not me, mind you. I have enough on my plate as it is. It’s on Netflix, people.
Homer sees his stolen drink recipe is making Moe rich. Moe even has a snooty waitress now, who was supposed to be voiced by Catherine O’Hara, but her voice apparently didn’t animate well, so they just used one of their regulars doing a Shelly Long impression, all the more appropriate when Moe says at the end the woman left Springfield to pursue a film career, which Moe didn’t think was a bright idea.
Homer is left with few options. He is informed by Lionel Hutz that you can’t copyright a drink, and even the thought that he was making lots of people happy was little comfort. The whole thing drives Homer insane, though not before we learn Marge does know what sarcasm sounds like.
Homer’s insanity manages to have him see Moe’s face and hear Moe’s name everywhere, so he dresses up like Quasimodo and spills the secret to the drink’s success (children’s cough syrup). Moe’s goes back to what it was before, and Homer and Moe make up for some reason. Probably a good thing Homer wasn’t seriously hurt. He took a tumble off that roof rafter after giving out the drink’s secret.
Good thing Aerosmith broke his fall.
Gabbing Geek 