Thank God, It's Doomsday

Last updated

"Thank God, It's Doomsday"
The Simpsons episode
Thank God, It's Doomsday.png
Homer meets God in his dream
Episode no.Season 16
Episode 19
Directed by Michael Marcantel
Written by Don Payne
Production codeGABF14
Original air dateMay 8, 2005 (2005-05-08)
Guest appearances
Baha Men sing "Who Wants a Haircut?"
Los Lobos play their version of the end credits
Episode features
Couch gag Everyone in the family looks like Moe Szyslak--including the female members.
Commentary Matt Groening
Al Jean
Don Payne
Ian Maxtone-Graham
Tim Long
Michael Price
Matt Selman
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Michael Marcantel
David Silverman
Jeff Westbrook
Episode chronology
← Previous
"A Star Is Torn"		Next →
"Home Away from Homer"
The Simpsons season 16
List of episodes

"Thank God, It's Doomsday" is the nineteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. The episode was written by Don Payne and directed by Michael Marcantel.

Contents

In this episode, Homer calculates the date of the Rapture and angers the townsfolk when it does not occur, but he realizes he calculated the date incorrectly, resulting in only him ascending to Heaven. Musical groups Baha Men and Los Lobos appeared as themselves. Executive producer Al Jean claims that the commentary recording session for this episode was the last time he saw Payne. The episode received negative reviews.

Plot

Marge tries to cut the kids' hair at home, but is stopped when Homer takes them to get haircuts at a new barbershop in the mall. The kids' haircuts are done so badly, due to Bart and Lisa messing each other's up, that they hide with Homer in a movie theater showing the film Left Below, a parody of Left Behind: The Movie . In response to the kids losing their hair, Marge later makes them wigs using the leftover hair trimmings. Homer now fears that the Rapture will soon be coming. Despite being consoled by Marge and Lisa, who think God would not end the world unless He announced it, Homer encounters signs suggestive of the Rapture. He uses numerology to calculate the date and time of the Rapture and concludes that it is only a week away.

Homer predicts that "stars will fall from the sky", then a blimp accident at the Krusty Celebrity Salute to Specials causes some celebrities, or "stars", to fall to their deaths. His prophecy causes many of Springfield's residents to believe that the world will end and they go with him to the Springfield Mesa to wait for the Rapture. A few hours pass without incident, and the people go home. All of them are annoyed at Homer, particularly Moe, who had sold his tavern to be converted to a Japanese sushi bar. Homer goes home and realizes that he has made an error in his calculation, so he returns to the Mesa with no support after getting ostracized by his family. Suddenly, he finds himself naked and ascending into Heaven.

Homer arrives in Heaven, where he is greeted by the tour guide who shows him around. He is then shown to his room where he requests to see his family on the big TV screen in his room. Marge and the children are shown being tormented by the devil. He has a talk with God about saving his family. When God refuses to help, due to Jesus' suffering on Earth, Homer becomes angry. He runs around vandalizing Heaven and gets stopped by security. God finally agrees to undo the Rapture by turning back time. Homer later wakes up on the mesa and is reunited with his family and discovers Moe's Tavern to curiously be back in its normal set up.

Production

The musical group Baha Men reprised their roles as themselves. They previous appeared in the fourteenth season episode "Large Marge". [1] The musical group Los Lobos also appeared as themselves dying in a blimp crash. They also play a version of the Simpsons theme over the end credits. [2]

Execute producer Al Jean claimed that the final time he saw writer Don Payne before his death was for the recording of the DVD commentary for this episode. [3]

Cultural references

The Left Below film watched by Homer, Bart and Lisa is a pastiche of the Left Behind franchise. [4] [5] Homer says that the 1984 film Cannonball Run II haunted him for the rest of his life. In the final scene, Homer, his fellow bar patrons, and Moe form a tableau of the painting The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. [4]

Release

The episode aired at 8:30 PM ET/PT immediately following the previous episode. [6] [7]

Reception

Viewing figures

The episode earned a 3.6 rating and was watched by 10.05 million viewers, which was the 36th most-watched show that week and more that the preceding episode. [8]

Critical response

Walter J. Keegan, Jr. of TV Squad said the "storylines are getting thin" to be writing an episode parodying the Left Behind franchise. [4]

Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said the series does not "tend to handle religious subjects very well" and felt the episode lacked direction and jokes. [9]

On Four Finger Discount, Brendan Dando thought the episode was uninteresting since he was not religious, and Guy Davis, having a more religious background, thought the episode did not go deep enough into the Left Behind franchise. [10]

Awards and nominations

Writer Don Payne was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 58th Writers Guild of America Awards for his script to this episode. [11]

Related Research Articles

"Three Gays of the Condo" is the seventeenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 13, 2003. The episode was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Mark Kirkland.

"The Ziff Who Came to Dinner" is the fourteenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 14, 2004. This is the third of nine episodes to date written by The Simpsons voice actor Dan Castellaneta and his wife, Deb Lacusta, and the episode was directed by Nancy Kruse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile Homer</span> 13th episode of the 16th season of The Simpsons

"Mobile Homer" is the thirteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on March 20, 2005. The episode was written by Tim Long, and was the first to be directed by Raymond S. Persi.

"The Seven-Beer Snitch" is the fourteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 3, 2005. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"The Way We Weren't" is the twentieth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 2004. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Mike B. Anderson.

"Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is the twelfth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 15, 2004. The episode was written by David and Julie Chambers and was directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"My Big Fat Geek Wedding" is the seventeenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 18, 2004. The episode was written by Kevin Curran and directed by Mark Kirkland.

"Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" is the eighth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 4, 2004. The episode was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Bob Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Co-Dependents' Day</span> 15th episode of the 15th season of The Simpsons

"Co-Dependents' Day" is the fifteenth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 21, 2004. The episode was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Bob Anderson.

"Marge's Son Poisoning" is the fifth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 13, 2005. The episode was the first one written by Daniel Chun and was directed by Mike B. Anderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last of the Red Hat Mamas</span> 7th episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"The Last of the Red Hat Mamas" is the seventh episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 27, 2005. The episode was written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpsons Christmas Stories</span> 9th episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"Simpsons Christmas Stories" is the ninth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 18, 2005. The episode was written by Don Payne and directed by Steven Dean Moore

"We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 29, 2006. The episode was written by Kevin Curran and directed by Nancy Kruse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Seemingly Never-Ending Story</span> 13th episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" is the thirteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 2006. The episode was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Raymond S. Persi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play</span> 22nd episode of the 17th season of The Simpsons

"Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play" is the twenty-second and the final episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 21, 2006. The episode was written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Bob Anderson

"Bart Has Two Mommies" is the fourteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 19, 2006. The episode was written by Dana Gould and directed by Michael Marcantel.

"The Wettest Stories Ever Told" is the eighteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 2006. The episode was written by Jeff Westbrook and directed by Mike B. Anderson.

"Regarding Margie" is the twentieth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2006. The episode was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Mike Frank Polcino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homerazzi</span> 16th episode of the 18th season of The Simpsons

"Homerazzi" is the sixteenth episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 25, 2007. The episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

"Crook and Ladder" is the nineteenth episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 6, 2007. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Lance Kramer.

References

  1. ↑ Lynch, Joe (March 21, 2022). "Here's Every Musical Guest on 'The Simpsons,' in Chronological Order". Billboard . Archived from the original on August 6, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  2. ↑ Gunning, Cathal (November 30, 2021). "Every Celebrity The Simpsons Has Killed Off". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  3. ↑ Jean, Al [@AlJean] (August 28, 2014). ".@everysimpsons #everysimsponsever Doomsday written by late great Don Payne. A nicer guy there wasn't. Recorded commentary--last I saw him" (Tweet). Retrieved September 29, 2024– via Twitter.
  4. 1 2 3 Keegan, Walter J. Jr. (May 8, 2005). "The Simpsons: Thank God its Doomsday". TV Squad . Archived from the original on May 11, 2005. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ Carey, Jesse (August 21, 2014). "7 Christian Culture References to Look for During the 'Simpsons' Marathon". Relevant . Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Episode Title: (SI-1614) "Thank God It's Doomsday"". The Futon Critic . Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Episode Title: (SI-1613) "A Star is Torn"". The Futon Critic . Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings". ABC Medianet. May 10, 2005. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  9. ↑ Jacobson, Colin (December 11, 2013). "The Simpsons: The Complete Sixteenth Season [Blu-Ray] (2004)". DVD Movie Guide. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  10. ↑ Davis, Guy; Dando, Brendan (December 8, 2022). ""Thank God It's Doomsday" Podcast Review (S16E19)". Four Finger Discount (Simpsons Podcast) (Podcast). Event occurs at 7:00. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  11. ↑ McNary, Dave (December 14, 2005). "Peacock laffers have the write stuff". Variety . Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.