"C.E.D'oh", or "C.E.(Annoyed Grunt)", is the fifteenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 16, 2003. The episode was written by Dana Gould and directed by Mike B. Anderson.

In this episode, Homer forcefully takes over the power plant from Mr. Burns after accidentally taking a business class. The episode received mixed reviews.

Plot

A sleepy Marge is too tired on Valentine's Day to have sex with an eager and well-prepared Homer, who dejectedly leaves the house. He sees a billboard for a school offering extension courses. He goes to the school and attempts to take a course on stripping for his wife, which Dr. Hibbert teaches, but is kicked out for hogging the stripping oil. By accident, Homer winds up in a different class that teaches strategies for workplace success.

Inspired by the lessons, he begins to investigate problems at the power plant and propose solutions to Mr. Burns, who rejects them all without reading them. Homer later overhears Burns state that he has made a canary named Canary M. Burns the legal owner of the plant in order to avoid any consequences of wrongdoing. With help from Bart, he devises a plan to overthrow Burns by setting the canary free.

Homer tricks Burns into believing that a team of inspectors is visiting to check conditions at the plant; when Burns is unable to find the canary, he panics and names Homer as the new owner. Homer's first act is to throw Burns from the office balcony, allowing a throng of employees in the parking lot to crowd-surf him into a waiting taxi. Burns and Smithers flee to Marrakesh, Morocco, intent on purchasing a large quantity of opium.

The responsibilities of running the plant soon force Homer to spend most of his time at work instead of with the family, and he becomes miserable after having to lay off employees and listen to business analysts discuss the plant's troubles. Burns visits Homer one night (informing him that Smithers has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for drug possession) and takes him to the cemetery, showing him the graves of people whose relationships with Burns suffered because he worked so much - including his wife. Homer decides to return ownership of the plant to Burns, who drugs him into unconsciousness and begins to wall him up inside one of the cemetery crypts. However, he is so slow and weak at building the wall that Homer easily steps over the few bricks he has laid after waking up. Leaving the plant in Burns' hands, Homer returns home to have a barbecue with his family and enjoy his old life again.

Production

The live-action flipbook couch gag was intended for another episode but it was placed into this one instead. The couch gag director Mike Frank Polcino hired a hand model to play the part of the animator. It was a reference to the way animators flip through recently drawn images to make sure the action flows properly. As the chosen couch gag is often dependent on the length of the episode, this relatively short one was placed into this episode, which is a longer Simpsons episode than the one for which it was originally intended.

The writers said that they did not want to watch characters "walking around" as it was not funny, and instead wanted them to "go from joke to joke". However, they noted that the end of the first act consists of Homer wandering through town seeing things. They justify it by explaining that a "sweet romantic" mood is being built and that a slower pace was needed.

The prank that is pulled in the 1973 film American Graffiti is parodied in the Itchy & Scratchy short "Bleeder of the Pack".

The episode ends with the theme song to the 1969-1972 television series The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode was watched by 12.96 million viewers, which was the 20th most watched show that week.

Critical response

Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide was confused why an episode taking place on Valentine's Day aired in March. Although liking the parts with Mr. Burns, he found the episode "not that entertaining."

Jackson Cresswell of Collider thought the episode was the best one of the season. He liked the focus on the characters' interactions instead of having them in "extreme circumstances."

On Four Finger Discount, Guy Davis and Brendan Dando thought the episode was a "mixed bag" with three different plots occurring in sequence.

In 2014, The Simpsons writers picked "Bleeder of the Pack" from this episode as one of their nine favorite "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes of all time.

References

  • The Complete & Definitive History of Mr Canary M. Burns
  • Canary M. Burns at SimpsonsWiki.com