Homer's Paternity Coot 3526301 225898088 2008-07-15T22:34:45Z 69.231.136.47 {{Infobox Simpsons episode | episode_name = Homer's Paternity Coot | image = [[Image:HABF03.jpg|220px]] | image_caption = Mason Fairbanks's boat, "The Son I Never Knew". | episode_no = 366 | prod_code = HABF03 | airdate = [[January 8]], [[2006]] | show runner = [[Al Jean]] | writer = [[Joel H. Cohen]] | director = [[Mike B. Anderson]] | guest_star = [[Michael York (actor)|Michael York]]<br> [[William H. Macy]]<br> [[Joe Frazier]] | blackboard = "I am not smarter than [[George W. Bush|the President]]".<ref name="TVSQUAD">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/01/09/the-simpsons-homers-paternity-coot/| title=TV Squad's "Homer's Paternity Coot" Review|accessdate=2008-05-11|date=2008|publisher=TV Squad}}</ref> | couch_gag = The family sits on the couch. A photographer comes in and takes the family's picture, setting off a series of future family pictures; the family is normal in 2006 and 2007, Homer dies in 2008, Marge marries Lenny in 2009, Lenny and Carl marry and care for the Simpson kids in 2010, Marge returns and marries Jimbo Jones in 2011, Homer returns as a robot in 2012, and the family become robots in 2013.<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> | season = 17 }} '''"Homer's Paternity Coot"'''<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> is the tenth episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' [[The Simpsons (season 17)|seventeenth season]], and first aired on [[January 8]], [[2006]], being the first episode of [[2006]]. Mail from forty years earlier is discovered, and a letter from Homer's mom's old boyfriend states that he is Homer's true father. Homer sets out to find his new father, leaving Abe Simpson behind.<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> It was written by [[Joel H. Cohen]] and directed by [[Mike B. Anderson]].<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> The episode guest stars [[William H. Macy]] and [[Joe Frazier]] as themselves, and [[Michael York (actor)|Michael York]] as Homer's new father, Mason Fairbanks.<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> During it's first airing, the episode originally garnered 10.1 million viewers,<ref name="HPC">{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonschannel.com/cgi-bin/newspro/addons/iSay.cgi?Page=Comments&ID=EEFyllZkyFFRobvPeS| title=Homer's Paternity Coot|accessdate=2008-05-11|date=2008|publisher=Simpsons Channel}}</ref> higher than [[Simpsons Christmas Stories|the previous episode]].<ref name="SCS">{{cite web|url=http://www.simpsonschannel.com/news/monthly-archive-12-2005.html| title=Simpsons Christmas Stories|accessdate=2008-05-11|date=2008|publisher=Simpsons Channel}}</ref> ==Plot== As Marge goes shopping, a toll booth appears, but Marge and other Springfield residents take "The Ol' Cheapskate Trail". Mayor Quimby enforces tire spikes and blocks off the escape route. The next time Marge comes up to the booth, she backs up, causing many car's tires to become severely damaged. The tires are thrown in the tire fire, melting some of Mount Springfield and revealing a mailman, which has been frozen for 40 years. One of the forty year old letters is delivered to Homer's Mother, Mona Simpson. It is from her old lifeguard boyfriend, whose name begins with an M, who writes that if Mona replies to the letter, she has chosen him, and if she does not, she is choosing to stick with Abe. But he also writes that "in his heart he'll know that the baby she carries is his." Homer goes to the library to find his supposed father by looking in "Lifeguards of Springfield in the Twentieth Century." The only person in there whose name begins with M is Mason Fairbanks (voiced by [[Michael York (actor)|Michael York]]). Homer goes to his relatively large house pretending to be a reporter. He tells him that he is interviewing people who wear sweaters, and he is let inside. Mason shows him around his home, and he even shows him his ship, ''The Son I Never Knew.'' Homer eventually tells him that he thinks that he is his father, and Mason is delighted. He takes Homer and the rest of the family (excluding Grampa) on a ride on his ship and tells them the story of a lost emerald treasure, which impresses the family. However, when they come home, Grampa angrily accuses Mason of having tried to steal his wife and now trying to steal his family, and is deeply saddened that Homer would even think that Mason could be his real father. They decide to have a DNA test, and after a suspenseful wait, Homer is thrilled to learn that his real father is Mason Fairbanks. While Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie are having an awkward, uneventful visit with Grampa, Mason and Homer are underwater (which is terribly polluted by [[nuclear waste]]) in their own individual submarines looking for the lost treasure. Homer gets separated from Mason, and he follows a small light that he thinks is him. It is actually a glowing fish, but it is too late, because Homer gets stuck in some coral. As his oxygen begins to run out and he starts to lose consciousness, he sees poignant flashbacks including him and Abe. They show Abe entertaining a child Homer, praising teenage Homer's (poorly drawn) picture of Abe, and supplying for Homer's marriage some money (which a bird subsequently steals, leading Abe to sadly say, "I gave you all I had, and it still wasn't enough.") When his last bit of oxygen runs out, the last thing he sees is Mason heading towards him. When he wakes up, he is in the hospital, and Bart tells him that he has been in a coma for three days. Grampa starts to leave, but Homer grabs his arm and asks Mason, Marge, and the kids to leave. He tells Grampa of his memories and says he has been just like a father. Grampa then tells Homer that he is actually his father -- he switched the labels on the DNA samples, and that he wanted Homer to be happy. They share an emotional moment, and it is official: Abe is Homer's real father. The episode ends with Mason teaching Homer, at Homer's request, "that the stove is hot" on his ship.<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> ==Cultural references== *When Ralph gets his head stuck in a tuba, he says he is C3-D2, a combination of the names of ''[[Star Wars]]'''s [[C-3PO]] and [[R2-D2]].<ref name="IMDB">[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701125/ "The Simpsons" Homer's Paternity Coot (2006)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> *The song "[[Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper song)|Time After Time]]" by [[Cyndi Lauper]] is heard in Homer's fantasy of playing with a question mark.<ref name="IMDB"/> ===Previous Episode References=== *In this episode's couch gag, the family portrait from 2013 shows Marge as a robot (along with everyone else in the family). In the season 13 episode, [[Gump Roast]], one of the crazy future storylines for "The Simpsons" is Marge becoming a robot. ==Reception== Ryan J. Budke of [[TV Squad]] gives the episode a strong positive rating, quoting its ingenuity and charm.<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> He calls it a funny episode with a lot of heart, and quotes that it was a great episode by comparing it alongside his other favourite, "[[The Girl Who Slept Too Little]]".<ref name="TVSQUAD"/> ==References== {{reflist}} ==[[External links]]== {{portal|The Simpsons}} *[http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/1710.htm "Homer's Paternity Coot"] at The Simpsons.com {{wikiquote|The_Simpsons#Homer.27s_Paternity_Coot_.5B17.10.5D|"Homer's Paternity Coot"}} {{portal|The Simpsons}} [[Category:The Simpsons episodes, season 17]] [[Category:2006 television episodes]] [[es:Homer's Paternity Coot]] [[fr:Les deux font le père]] [[pl:Homer w rozterce]]