(originally aired November 3, 1996)
Let’s start off by saying this episode is definitely in my top 5, and is on many fans top lists as well. A quick run through first: Homer gets a new job at Globex Corporation, meaning the family must move up state to the luxurious estate of Cypress Creek. The first act break of all our favorite Springfieldians saying goodbye to the leaving family is a great sequence. It’s almost as if this is starting a brand new spin-off, and they’re bidding farewell to the audience. As a senior member of the power plant, Homer is assigned as supervisor for a team working on God knows what, and he seems to be doing pretty well for himself. The rest of the family, not so much: with a house that literally tends to itself, Marge is left with nothing to do but drink wine, Bart is bumped down to the remedial class to learn about the letter ‘A,’ and Lisa finds she’s allergic to just about everything in the town. As in many flashback shows, this episode is ultimately about Homer having to sacrifice his happiness for the greater good. He’s quite pleased with his new respectable position, but deep down he knows his family must come first.
In many cases, it’s difficult to really pin down exactly why an episode is your favorite, but here, a key element is very clear. Two words: Albert Brooks. He’s played many classic characters on the series before this, but this episode showcases his greatest role of all: affable super villain Hank Scorpio. He’s one of the best characters the show’s ever seen, with every one of his lines memorable, hilarious and all building of who he is and his relationship with Homer and his employees. At the start, he shows up at the Simpsons new doorstep with a cordial, giving nature, at first just giving a stark contrast to Homer’s former greedy miserly employer. On his first day, we see him really pump Homer up, get him to trust him and motivate him. He’s like this awesome showman, and a great boss, what’s not to like? Then we find out he’s a super villain bent on world domination. But y’know what, I’d still work for him. Although at times it appears that he’s just pandering to his employees needs disingenuously, it really does seem he’s sincere. To get people to go along with his schemes, he needs to be kindly and accommodating. My favorite scene is the very end where in the midst of a militaristic attack on his operations, Hank takes the time to hear out Homer’s problems, and insists he do what’s best for his family. I don’t think it’s false modesty, Hank is really a swell guy, who just happens to be a criminal mastermind. His character also had so much potential. Despite the outlandish ending of him allegedly “conquering” the east coast, they could have found some way to bring him back somehow. But if they did it on the show now, I’m sure they’d just fuck it up, so I hope they don’t.
As Hank puts it, it’s the little things that make up life, and there are loads of little details in this show that just make it so perfect. Upon returning home, Homer rips the ‘Abandoned’ sign off the door and opens the door, watching his family walk in and smiling. It could have just been a simple stage direction for them to just walk back in their house, but it just further emphasizes how much Homer loves his family and knows he made the right decision. They encounter Otto sitting on a blanket drinking a beer squatting in their house, who, upon seeing the Simpsons, must wake up his girlfriend and leave. Very funny, but even better that it was set up earlier when he was a prospective buyer (“Windows? I don’t know if I can afford this place.”) From this, we can put together that Otto came by later and saw it was labeled ‘Abandoned,’ and figured he could just live there. This is all pulled from a mere ten seconds, and the full twenty two minutes is filled with more great material, I catch new things every time I watch this one. There were a few animated nuances on Hank that I caught, and for some reason I never quite registered Bart’s sighting of a baseball made out of Secretariat. No joke falls flat, every scene is memorable, Hank Scorpio’s one of the greatest characters ever… this one’s basically flawless.
Tidbits and Quotes
– Before they go after Homer, Globex tries to sway Smithers into their web, with temptations of an impressive salary and health benefit for him and his life partner. Little do they know Smithers is already working for his life partner. The line, “What’s wrong with this country? Can’t a man walk down the street without being offered a job?” is even funnier/more devastating considering the job climate today.
– If ever there was a line that completely exemplified a character, it’s this one from Marge: “I’ve dug myself into a happy little rut here and I’m not about to hoist myself out of it.” And we’re only two minutes in.
– The Cypress Creek promotional video is as great as you’d think, especially of course the bum fading into a mailbox. And even a stupid joke like that gets a callback later, when Marge comments to Hank Scorpio that the town is so nice, she expects to get the bum’s rush. Hank replies, “We don’t have bums in our town, Marge, but if we did, they wouldn’t rush, they’d be allowed to go at their own pace.”
– I love the cavalier attitude Marge has about the house falling apart; first we see the chimney collapse outside the window behind her, then later Bart breaks through the ceiling from upstairs, and Marge casually pokes him back up with a broom while still talking to Homer.
– We get a one scene wonder for Apu showing up at the Simpson open house (“Hello. I am not interested in buying your house, but I would like to use your rest room, flip through your magazines, rearrange your carefully shelved items and handle your food products in an unsanitary manner. Ha! Now you know how it feels!”)
– I’ve always remembered, and loved, the Simpsons new address: 15201 Maple Systems Road. It’s such a perfect name, fusing nature with corporate efficiency.
– Brooks is on fire off the bat as Scorpio, with his Popeye-papayian run and throwing his moccasins away and screaming at them (“Ever see a guy say goodbye to a shoe?” “Heh heh. Once.”) There’s just something about his voice that’s so engaging, Brooks is a dynamite performer.
– I love the bit where Hank illustrates there are no walls in his building after asking Homer to hang up his coat. And he didn’t even give it to him at all! Homer is shocked and notices Hank with a big grin on his face and his coat on backwards. This is why I think he’s an earnest character, he’s doing his best to win over a new employee. Yeah, because he wants him to work for him to help with his evil schemes… but in a good way.
– The great Hank lines come hard and fast (“These gentlemen here will be your eyes and your ears, and should the need arise, they’ll fill in for any other part of your body.”) I also love when he picks up the phone and botches Homer’s trust fall, his quick, “Oh my God, the guy’s on the floor!”
– The details, the details! Homer’s new workstation has a poster reading, “There’s No ‘Me’ In ‘Team.'” …yeah, there is.
– Cypress Creek Elementary is so advanced, it has its own website. Which at the time made sense.
– I love the dramatic music cue when Marge takes a sip of wine, and her later musing of it (“I’ve been so bored since we moved here, I found myself drinking a glass of wine every day. I know doctors say you should drink a glass and a half but I just can’t drink that much.”)
– Classic, much quoted line from a kid in the remedial class (“I moved here from Canada, and they think I’m slow, eh?”) I also love the end of the scene where a kid pats Bart on the back, which gets increasingly harder into a slap. It’s just so bizarre.
– Hank’s hammock discussion is absolutely brilliant, as is the concept that a ‘hammock district’ would ever exist. The scene is also a great example of how Hank is almost working overtime to bowl Homer over, but Homer’s just so thick he does not register anything he’s saying (“There’s a little place called Mary Ann’s Hammocks. The nice thing about that place is Mary Ann gets in the hammock with you. Ha ha, I’m just kiddin’!” “Oh.”) He also of course does not notice any wrongdoing, even when Hank gives a threatening proclaimation to the UN and blows up the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan while Homer’s in the room with him.
– Why did Hank have sugar in his pockets? And where was he keeping the cream? Probably best not to think about it…
– Another great callback where we see Lisa happy in the forest befriending a li’l chipmunk, who later betrays her by blowing a dandelion in her face to aggravate her allergies more.
– The James Bond scene is perfect. Firstly it’s James Bont to avoid legal concerns; he’s clearly a completely different character now. Then Hank’s line, “I don’t expect anything from you except to die and be a very cheap funeral.” See, even his mortal enemy he respects enough to give a funeral for, he is an awesome guy. Then Homer blindly tackles Bont, and Hank is quite pleased (“When you get home tonight, there’s going to be another story on your house!”) Then guards proceed to shoot Bont to death. In the next scene, Homer comments to his family at the dinner table about how he tackled a loafer at work. So goddamn funny…
– I mentioned the last Hank scene, but his final moment is just great (“Homer, on your way out, if you wanna kill somebody, it would help a lot.”) He then leaps out into the field, using a flamethrower on some foot soldiers. Then later we see he’s conquered the east coast and has given Homer the Denver Broncos. What a guy. There’s also the Bond-esque “Scorpio!” song at the end, which is such a perfect parody, and well performed (“And on Fridays the lunchroom serves hot dogs and burgers and beer! He loves German beeeeeeeeeeeer!”) I fucking love Hank Scorpio. Watching this show, I remembered that he was originally supposed to be the antagonist for the movie, which could have been amazing, but they scrapped that idea, and created a new character for Brooks to play. But I’ve got ten more seasons to get through before we can touch on that.
Me Blog Write Good 
Great review … I’ve been waiting to hear your thoughts on this one for weeks! My favorite line of the entire series is “As a matter of fact, I didn’t even give you my coat!” Other classic moments have to include Scorpio’s “crisis” with the partially eaten lunch and the debate at the UN about taking a chance. A true classic episode, and my all time favorite. Thanks for reviewing!
Every time I said “I should mention this!” you already did, especially the bum turning into the mailbox. One of the best jokes ever in my mind.
Add me to another lover of the Hammock District spiel, which was all improvised like most of Scorpio’s other lines.
Eh, I’ve always found this one extremely overrated. There are some funny moments no doubt, but neither Marge nor Lisa’s little plots in the episode are that interesting. I will admit I like Bart’s plot at the new school though. And as for the main Homer plot, well, whilst I like Hank Scorpio as a character, I just don’t seem to love him as much as everyone else. I can see what’s so great about him, but I just don’t feel it myself. Personally I find Frank Grimes to be a much more interesting one time character.
As for the rest of the episode before the Cypress Creek bit, I just find it extremely forgettable. I can barely remember what happens before they move. Still about a B+ episode, just doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea.
I’ll admit that this episode grew on me over the years. I always thought it was good, but several rewatches helped me catch all of the little nuances of the whole story (like the bum morphing into the mailbox, and learning how much of Scorpio’s dialogue was improvised).
I’ve always found YOUR FACE a little overrated lol just kidding
I absolutely love this episode, but for some reason, I keep forgetting about it when I make my top 10 favorite episode lists. Same goes for the episode later on with Homer and the cook off.
But Marge, we can’t move. This is the only time I’ve ever been good at my job. Mr. Scorpio says we’re way ahead of the weather machine and germ warfare divisions
– The mere fact that Homer is the one to finally get James Bond killed is hilarious on its own.
– I love the expression on the one of the remedial kid’s face as he says, “I start fires!”
– “So, you never learned cursive?” “Well, I know ‘hell’ and ‘damn’ and ‘bi-.'”
This episode is definitely in my top 10. I loved it since the moment it first aired, but then I loved it even more when I watched the entire James Bond franchise about ten years ago. Homer being the one to take out Bond, I mean Bont, is freaking hilarioius. What makes it even more hilarious is how oblivious he is to the whole thing. Especially when he is walking up to Scorpio to tell him he is quitting and doesn’t pay attention to the battle going on. Such a wonderful episode.
Although, I think my favorite moment is when he asks Hank for sugar and he pulls it out of his pocket and then asks if Homer needs cream. Homer’s face in that scene is priceless.
What makes this episode’s ending even funnier this instant though is living in Denver and hearing about the shitty season the Broncos have had. HAHA!
Oh, and Marge going crazy of boredom is also hilarious. This whole episode is hilarious.
Another moment that really aches right now is that my wife got laid off last month and she has been having a hell of a time getting a new job due to the time of the year. Smither’s comment at the beginning is really pain inducing.
This episode is very funny, and Albert Brooks’s performance here is great enough to justify the episode’s inclusion in the list of classic Simpsons episodes, but I guess this episode is my “one bad episode,” to borrow DHS’s label for Marge Be Not Proud (or perhaps this blog for Homer’s Enemy). Here are things I don’t like about it:
1. The premise itself is just so far-fetched, like this obviously fictional archetype shouldn’t actually exist in the “reality” of the Simpsons. It almost feels like it should be a Treehouse of Horror story. Actually, it makes sense that Scorpio was originally conceived to be the bad guy in the movie; he’s not a real-life character the way other memorable one-off characters were, like Frank Grimes or Brad Goodman or the mall security guy from Marge Be Not Proud.
2. Lisa’s plot twist is very….out of nowhere. I realize they set it up with her coming upon the wildflowers and exclaiming, “We don’t have these back in Springfield!” so she wouldn’t have been exposed to these allergens before, but ehhh. I find it hard to believe Lisa never exhibited any allergy symptoms before, but then they became this HUGE problem for her. Wouldn’t Homer’s new family healthcare plan cover allergy medication for her anyway? Just seems like the writers couldn’t think of another reason for Lisa to dislike the town.
3. Marge’s plot is actually insulting, and I don’t care that they lampshade it with the dramatic music as she pours herself a glass. By this point in the series, Marge had already been: a power plant employee, a cop, a successful artist (even getting commissioned to paint Burns’s picture), Bart’s teacher (when the PTA disbanded), and an actress, to name just a few. Marge loves her happy little rut, but she’s also clearly been a woman of many interests and talents. But oh no, her beautiful new house cleans itself, guess Marge has literally nothing else to do with her life but get sad and start drinking. Too bad she didn’t decide to explore the town she just moved to, or get into a new hobby, or talk to Bart’s school about his academic placement, or take Lisa to the allergy doctor, or really anything at all. It just felt like such a rude way to regard a beloved character, and strangely lazy too. Maybe Marge didn’t personally need a reason to dislike Cypress Creek; maybe she just could have sensed that her kids hated it, and that’s enough for her to want to move back too. But no; the oven cleans itself, so that’s it for her. Ugh.
4. I realize this was just part of a patented Simpsons misdirection joke, but Homer’s the next most senior employee at the power plant after Smithers? Really?? Burns never even recognizes Homer! I have to assume Smithers has been by Burns’s side at the plant for a long time–there is no way Homer was hired so early into Burns’s reign.
4b. Homer’s actually really good at his job of doing nothing but standing over his employees while they work, I guess? Despite never being portrayed as anything but an incompetent boob at his job at the Springfield plant. Again, I know I’m taking a joke just a bit too seriously, and the writers just needed to show that Homer actually felt validated and valued at his new job. But what we end up seeing is some weird mix of Homer not really having anything to do besides wear his Tom Landry hat and “motivate” his team WHILE ALSO somehow increasing Globex’s productivity and being a key new hire for Scorpio (loafer-tackling skills notwithstanding). It’s not quite a “telling instead of showing” problem…more like a discrepancy between the different aspects we’re shown of his new job.
So yeah. This is an enjoyable and funny episode from the twilight of the show’s golden years. But in it I see the seedlings of problems that would become much bigger over time: ridiculously implausible/vaguely sci-fi plots; not knowing what to do with their female characters, even main characters; Homer suddenly becoming good at thing. So I can’t love this episode as much as most fans do. The signs of decay weren’t at critical levels yet, and Season 8 as a whole ends up being one of the strongest of its first decade, but I can see some of them in this episode.
I am NOT a crackpot.
ALL YOU DO IS WHINE!
I agree with you on most of those points. I had high expectations for You Only Move Twice going in from how much other people on the internet had praised it, but…to me it didn’t feel as great as they said it was. It wasn’t bad, but it was still kind of boring. In a way, it reminded me of a The Powerpuff Girls episode known as Town and Out.
Town and Out is one of my favorite PPG episodes, so that’s a high comparison for me.
Perfect episode in my books and one of the many reasons that season 8 is my third favorite of the series. Hank Scorpio is the ultimate guest character with the whole James Bond villain thing going on and Globex Corporation trying to take over the world. It’s a perfect setup for the family to pick up and move without seeming too far-fetched.
Everything in Cyprus Creek was just great and each character had a solid story. The action climax at the end with Homer completely oblivious to Scorpio and everything going on around him was classic.
I’m surprised nobody mentioned perhaps the funniest line in this episode, not even 5 seconds after starting the promotional tape, Homer says “Eh, let’s watch something else.”
I don’t blame you for thinking they would mess up Hank Scorpio if he came back in a new episode, but I honestly think that would be an exciting premise if he became the main antagonist to the Simpsons for an episode and they didn’t mess up his character. It would be even more cool if he teamed up with Sideshow Bob!
I’m just afraid that no matter how many underused characters get an interesting episode focusing on them (see Sleeping With the Enemy, Funeral for a Fiend and Dial N for Nerder), you just think that it ruined them, or it was boring anyway no matter how good it is, because just the episode being in a later season automatically gets it a worse reception from you. I think it would be terrific if Sky Police, Fruit Bat Man, Pie Man and Bartman had to foil Hank Scorpio’s evil plan, but then the real bigger bad turns out to be Jason Simpson as Jason Simpson, who turns out to be the evil mastermind behind every single character derailment in The Simpsons, from Marge’s self-indulgence in Wedding for Disaster to Lisa losing her moral center in Flanders’ Ladder.
Jason Simpson? Isn’t that O.J.’s son?
But seriously, is that from some fan fiction or a script you wrote or something?
Not really. I was just throwing some good ideas for a script around in my head and figuring out how to piece them together. It sounds crazy, I know. I didn’t “write” anything yet. Hey, did you see the Spongebob Christmas episode with the jerktonium? No, Jason Simpson is not O.J.’s son. Well, he might be, but I was thinking of using the Jason Simpson who was a voice actor Sausage Party.
My favorite Simpsons episode used to change quite a bit back then. It was “Bart Vs. Thanksgiving”, then “Flaming Moe’s”, then “I Love Lisa”, then “Homer Loves Flanders”, then “Homie the Clown”, then “22 Short Films”. However, my favorite episode has now never changed in over 23 years. Since watching its premiere, “You Only Move Twice” has remained my favorite episode of this series, and one of the best episodes of any television series.
First off, I love Hank Scorpio. He’s the main reason this episode shines. He’s a great parody of Bond villains who also has a great charisma. I love the contrast between his extreme villainy and his incredibly kind nature. He’s also pretty unhinged, given all his funny quotes. Brooks gives a powerhouse performance here, perfectly encapsulating the deranged affable supervillain.
The jokes with Scorpio? My goodness, he makes up more than 80% of this show’s hilarious moments, I believe. From the very start, we have his “Popeye papyian” bit, and his greeting with the family: he gives us the excellent bit about the lack of bums (“they’d be allowed to go at their own pace”) and the bit where he throws his shoe while yelling at it (“Ever see a guy say goodbye to a shoe?” “Yeah, once.”) To this day, people still debate what he means.
The Scorpio bits continue in the workplace. He’s got great banter with Homer (“my butt’s for sitting, not for kissing”), as well as the wonderful moment in not believing in walls (“I didn’t even give you my coat!”… the fact that he’s wearing it backwards is a nice touch, too, and the look on his face is just fantastic)… oh, and the part where he lets Homer fall because somebody called him on the phone (“Don’t chalk that up to mistrust now!”… “Somebody ate part of my lunch!”).
What’s that? I’ve got more to say on Scorpio? Yep! There’s his whole talk about the hammock district (all on Third, as well), as well as his meeting with the UN where he blows up the 59th state bridge (“Maybe it collapsed on its own?”). All while Homer’s in the same room. Then we have him in his lab, wherein we have the amazing parts with the sugar (“Sorry, it’s not in packages. Want some cream?” … “No.”), asking Homer about his least favorite country (“Nobody ever says Italy.”), and during the climactic battle, where Homer talks about his troubles (“Stay here with me. We’ll go bowling.”). I also love his maniacal laugh while using the flamethrower, and his parting words with Homer (“If you’d like to kill somebody on the way out, it would help me a lot.”) I especially love that Homer does end up killing somebody by inadvertently kicking a grenade away from him on the way out. Classic.
By far the best Scorpio bit is the Bond scene, though. It perfectly parodies Bond movies by having the Bond expy fail spectacularly. I love how Homer’s randomly there trying to get something from the vending machine. We have some great Scorpio banter with Bont (“I expect nothing of you except to die and be a very cheap funeral. You’re gonna die now!”) Then Homer tackles Bont after he escapes. (“When you get home tonight, there’s gonna be a second story on your house.”) Then Scorpio’s henchmen shoot Bont to death. I swear, I nearly pissed myself laughing the first time I saw this episode. That was such a hilarious moment, it might be my favorite part of the entire series. And of course we have the great bit with Homer afterward (“I tackled a loafer at work today.”)
But Scorpio’s not the only fantastic part of this episode. We also have the family. First off, the catalyst of them moving is great. I love how dilapidated the house is, with the roof falling over and all. We have some great moments where they sell the house, especially with Otto (“Windows? I don’t think I can afford this place.”) and Apu (“Now you know how it feels!”, excellently followed by Homer’s “Thank you, come again.”). I also love them driving away and all the side characters saying goodbye. It tells so much about this episode’s quality that the side characters who receive little focus still have some excellent and memorable bits.
The family’s got great bits in Cypress Creek, of course. I love Marge’s wine plot, and how it’s played so dramatically is especially funny. The best part is of course the reveal that she isn’t even drinking the proper amount. Bart’s got some great moments in his side plot at the school (love the website joke, mainly because it’s so dated now), such as him not knowing cursive (“hell, damn, bi-“), and the other kids in his class. I love the Canadian (“I moved here from Canada and they think I’m slow, eh?”) and some of the other kids (“I start fires!” and the one who slaps Bart harder and harder… so bizarre and funny.) Even Lisa’s subplot, despite not being super focused on, has some good bits. I love the vengeful chipmunk who blows flowers at her face, making her sneeze a bunch. Then later, an eagle gets it. Take that, am I right? The family’s got a great role here, especially when they factor into the resolution of the plot.
Some other great moments not really related to the above exist, too. We have more great side character bits with Smithers (“Can’t a man walk down the street without being offered a job?”), and the fact that Otto moved in to the house. We also have Flanders trying to earn his stolen items back, which of course doesn’t work. Speaking of side characters, I love Scorpio’s secretary. She received much less focus, but she’s pretty great. And the fight scene moment where she snaps a guy’s neck? I always thought that was badass. There’s also the Cypress Creek video (like you, I love the hobo turning into a mailbox), as well as Homer literally wanting to stop watching it not even five seconds in. The new address for them is great, too. I also love the ending with Homer earning the Broncos instead of the Cowboys. The turnaround in their real life careers make this joke even funnier in hindsight. Those bits make up little small moments in this fantastic episode.
We even have a small amount of emotion in this episode. Homer’s saddened look as he walks into Scorpio’s lair says more than any dialogue ever could. It’s pure genius. The best part is that there’s clearly an emotional undercurrent there, but it’s not there too much. There’s still jokes going on, and the episode never dwells on it enough to feel sappy. It’s handled flawlessly, and that’s what I like.
No review of this episode would be complete without mentioning the song. This song is one of the best Simpsons songs, for sure. It perfectly summarizes Scorpio’s personality, as an evil super villain who is also very affable. It also feels just like a Bond villain theme, in a good way. It’s a fantastic song.
So what more can I say about “You Only Move Twice”? It’s my favorite Simpsons episode. It has just about everything I love in one package. We have the astounding one-time character who is incredibly memorable in spite of being in only one episode. We have the many, many, many hysterical jokes from characters everywhere. We have not only great one-off characters, but great bits with the main and side characters everywhere. There’s some excellent satire and parody (here, with Bond movies.) There’s some emotion at times that is never heavy-handed. There’s a brilliant song. There’s so much more than these, even. What more could I ask for? I couldn’t ask for a better episode from this series. It will always remain my favorite episode.
It’s funny how the family’s plight varies from Marge (who needs to just woman up and get a job or a hobby or something, she’s literally living every human’s dream) to Bart (who made his own bed and now he has to sleep in it) to Lisa, who legitimately NEEDS to move for her health. But they’re all treated as equal problems.
The class Bart attempted to win over with an armpit fart was so amazing. That brief moment of realism sneaking into the setting..
I love that they worked Castellaneta’s reaction to Brooks’s ad-libbing into Homer’s sort of inability to keep up with Scorpio.
Boy, Bont has no luck with Homer, does he.. First the casino, now this.
Homer being a good motivator actually makes sense. He’s a lazy worker, so he understands their pain. Would a regular supervisor think of hammocks? Sometimes laziness is productive.
Yeah, between a villain who treats his employees well and another who is just an old, withered bastard, it’s no contest. I’d send Scorpio my resume.