Homer Simpson in: Kidney Trouble


Homer decides to take Marge and the kids down to Bloodbath Gulch, a ghost town turned tourist destination. On their way there, Homer's car breaks down, right in front of the Springfield Retirement Castle, leaving Grampa to assume that they have come to visit him on his birthday. Homer tries his hardest to start the car up again, but is eventually forced to take Grampa with them after he is able to reach them. While in the town bar, Grampa drinks too much sarsaparilla and just as the family is leaving, says he needs to go to the bathroom. Homer refuses to stop, saying that he needs to get home in time to watch an episode of Inside the Actors Studio featuring F. Murray Abraham. Grampa is forced to hold it in for hours and as a result, his kidneys explode. Homer ignored this at first, thinking he needed a new muffler for the car. Dr. Hibbert informs the family that Grampa does not have much time to live, and that the only way he can be saved is if Homer donates one of his kidneys. Homer happily agrees, and is admired and pampered for it by his wife and kids. However, he becomes frightened after finding out about the risks involved in the operation and, while he makes it to the hospital, jumps out a window at the last minute.

Guilt-ridden and ashamed, Homer deems himself unworthy of living amongst civilized people and decides to start a new life at sea, climbing aboard Captain McAllister's ship, described as "the ship of lost souls" (though the back of the ship reads, "Honeybunch", because McAllister never painted over the name). While there, he meets several strange people including a man who looks and sounds like Peter Lorre, who have their own tales of misery. Homer tells them his story but is kicked off of the ship when he mentions that he ran away and left his father to die. Homer eventually drifts back to shore, where he witnesses a father and son build a sand castle and laments how he never had such a relationship with his own father or his kids. Homer decides determinedly to rectify his mistake and takes off for the hospital, trampling the sand castle in the process.

Homer arrives in time, reconciling with Grampa and apologizing for his behavior, but ultimately panics and flees again when Dr. Hibbert says "...this may sting a little". Homer's mad dash from the hospital is stopped by an oncoming truck. While the driver (Hans Moleman) manages to hit the brakes just in time, one of the cars it was carrying slides off and lands on Homer. Homer later wakes up in traction in a hospital bed, and is greeted by Dr. Hibbert, Marge and the kids. Believing Grampa is dead, Homer sadly vows to visit his grave after he gets better. However Grampa, who is alive and well, appears in the doorway and declares that he's never felt better. From the sheepish look of the others in the room, Homer looks down and discovers that, while he was unconscious, they took out one of his kidneys. Angry at first, Homer vows to get it back, but settles down after his family tells him that he did the right thing for Grampa. They engage in a group hug, and Homer proceeds to consider Bart as a potential donor for himself.

Dead Putting Society

When Homer is mowing his lawn with obvious frustration, his next-door neighbor Ned Flanders invites him into his basement rumpus room for a beer. Upon seeing Ned's house and observing his exaggeratedly perfect relationships with his wife and son, Homer erupts at Ned, accusing him of showing off. Ned angrily asks Homer to leave in response. Later, however, he feels guilty and writes a letter to Homer saying that he is really sorry and that he loves him as a brother. Homer is amused by Ned's sentimentality and reads the letter to the family at the breakfast table. Marge is not happy with the family's reaction, despite being unable to control her laughter, and chastises Homer for making light of Ned's sincere apology. Afterwards, Homer takes Bart and Maggie to Sir Putt-A-Lot's Merrie Olde Fun Centre for a round of miniature golf. They unexpectedly run into Ned and his son Todd, and end up going golfing together.

The game does not go well for Homer, who is obviously still jealous of Ned. Meanwhile, Bart and Todd find out about an upcoming children's miniature golf tournament, with a first prize of $50. They enter it, and although Todd is very good at miniature golf, Homer becomes confident that Bart will win. He tells Bart that it is not okay to lose and forces him to stare angrily at a picture of Todd for 15 minutes every day. Later, when Bart looks at his meager collection of trophies in his room, Lisa offers to help him practice. Utilizing spiritual books that calm Bart's mind, they meditate. Meanwhile, Homer makes a bet with Ned on whose boy is a better golfer: the father of the boy who does not win the tournament will mow the other father's lawn in his wife's Sunday dress.

On the day of the tournament, Homer threatens Bart to win no matter what. In an extremely close match, Bart and Todd each do well, and tie by the time they reach the eighteenth hole. Bart and Todd agree that the competition is not worth the stress, that they are equally good and that they should call it a draw, splitting the award evenly. As a result, Ned and Homer are forced to wear their respective wives' Sunday dresses and mow each other's lawn. People around the neighborhood laugh at them and Ned actually enjoys it (commenting that it reminds him of his fraternity days), much to Homer's dismay.

I can't remember a single moment of Kidney Trouble, so I'm voting for Dead Putting Society unless someone makes the case that I should watch the other one.

Dead Putting Society is great.

This is unrelated to any one episode's overall quality but I've always found the way Homer treats Grampa to be kind of a bummer