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"Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" is a Super Bowl themed episode of The Simpsons that aired after Super Bowl XXXIX. 23.1 million people watched the episode.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler The Simpsons go to Springfield Park and find it run down. They also find a charity carnival which is raising money to help the park. Bart wins first prize and then Homer beats him, going into his victory dance. Ned captures the dance and Comic Book Guy (revealing that his real name is Jeff Albertson) places it on his eBaum's World-esque website. Soon, the entire world has seen Homer's embarrassing dance. (see Numa Numa)

However, major sports players ask Homer to teach them his dance. Meanwhile, Ned uses his camera to make a movie about Cain (Rod) and Abel (Todd). Everyone loves the film, except Marge, who finds it bloody. Mr. Burns decides to finance Ned's next film, "Tales of the Old Testament" (which has a running time of 800 minutes). The bloodiness of the film angers Marge and she decides to protest Burns. Burns retorts, asking (in what is meant to be a rhetorical fashion) what they would use instead of his nuclear power. When everyone else mentions alternate forms of power they can use, Burns admits defeat and says the film will never be seen again, much to Ned's dismay.

Homer's advice has found criticism, but the football national committee loves them, as Homer's advice has raised ratings. They ask him to choreograph the Super Bowl Halftime show. He cannot get any ideas and runs into Ned at church. Homer than gets an idea for the halftime show, which ends up being about Noah. This is hated and the crowd thinks they are trying to de-secularize the country.

Trivia

• Quarterback Tom Brady, who made a cameo in this episode, led the New England Patriots to victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, which aired immediately before this episode.
• Ned's films seem to insinuate that even the most devout Christians can sensationalize and take "artistic license" with Bible stories and add in violence where there is no need. This satirizes The Passion of the Christ which shows Jesus being crucified and tortured, based more on the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich than the Bible itself. However, there is violence in the story of the crucifixion, and the Passion merely expanded it, whereas there is no violence in the story of Jonah (who was not killed by the whale) or the story of King Solomon (who did not kill the baby).
• We learn Comic Book Guy's real name is Jeff Albertson.
• With 23.1 million viewers, this episode is one of the highest rated episodes in Simpson history.
• Homer is called a "jerkass" by a sports commentator. This is quite likely reference to "Jerkass Homer", which is what many internet fans called Homer during the Scully era (Seasons 9-12)

Cultural references

• Video game character Mario makes a cameo in this episode, where a disgruntled Homer fights with him due to his annoyance. The fight is a direct parody of Donkey Kong with Homer tossing garbage cans like Donkey Kong tossing barrels at Mario.
• Flanders' violent films are an obvious parody of The Passion of the Christ.
• Michelle Kwan's line, "Beware the wrath of Kwan!" is a reference to the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• The outrage over Homer and Ned's halftime show parodies the controversy over the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
• The video of Homer at the carnival is similar to the Numa Numa craze
• The video is played in what looks identical to QuickTime Player
• When Flanders reaches for the video camera on his bookshelf, we can see what appears to be the script for the film "Citizen Kane" on Ned's bookshelf. The other books on the shelf are not labelled, a previous episode (need reference) showed all the books on Ned's bookshelf being different editions and translations of the Bible.

Quotes

• Homer: (singing, after beating Bart in the game) "I'm number one! I beat my son! Victory is mine! So kiss my behind!" (scutting and grunting at Bart) "In your face!" (starts dancing)
• Burns: What would you use instead of nuclear power?
  Marge: Solar.
  Lenny: Hydroelectric.
  Moe: A mix of conservation and wind.
  Burns: Who told you about those?
  Carl: The talking tree in a commercial. audio clip
• Prof. Frink: (after seeing Ned's film, The Passion of Cain and Abel) You have taught me a world of faith beyond the world of science. I would pay to see it again and again and again and again but NOT SIX TIMES!!! audio clip
• Homer: I wish I were a screensaver.
• Comic Book Guy: My name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me "Comic Book Guy".
• Michelle Kwan: Beware the wrath of Kwan!
• Milhouse: Look! It's my hero, Michelle Kwan!
  Michelle Kwan: You remind me of a young Dorothy Hamill.
  Milhouse: I didn't know you could talk!
• The Passion of Cain and Abel
  (Todd (Abel) and Rod (Cain) are together as Rod uses Todd's Shepard stick to sharpen his knife. Ned (Adam), wearing nothing but a leaf on his crotch walks up to them)
  Ned: Boys, I just talked to God. He's vacuuming Heaven to get it ready for when dead people show up and he'd like you both to render a sacrifice.
  Todd: I shall sacrifice my finest grains and livestock.
  (cut to Todd setting his sacrifice on fire. Rod's sacrifice only has a few rotting rodents)
  Todd: Behold. I have found favor with the Lord.
  Rod: So shall my knife find favor with thy belly!
  (Rod begins stabbing Todd. Ned, dressed as the Devil, laughs as he watches Abel's murder. There are several gruesome close-ups to the stabbing and two newspaper headlines appear: "Massachusetts Okays Gay Marriage" and "Stem Cells Cure Alzheimer's". Rod kills Todd and runs off)
  (cut to Ned covering Todd)
  Ned: Now, I must bury my son, while you wander the Earth forever, with the mark of evil upon your face!
  (Rod turns; the left side of his face is now grotesquely deformed, complete with his left eye hanging out of its socket)
  THE END

• Crazy Cat Lady: (calm) Thanks to this psychoactive medication I enjoy brief moments of lucidity.
  Marge: Those are Reese's Pieces.
  Crazy Cat Lady: (goes crazy)

• Frank: Oh, I paid a thousand dollars for this seat and I can't even see the game!
  Marge: Just poke through!
  (Frank then pokes his head through Marge's hair)
• Announcer: The crowd gets ready for the half-time show, sponsored by the new Ford pickups, Citibank, and Moe's Tavern.
  (cut to private skybox, where Moe and the two executives are watching the game)
  Executive 1: How could you afford this?
  Moe: I hustled a lot of pool. Speaking of which, you wanna play? I gotta warn ya though, I ain't that good.
  Executive 1: Alright. (under his breath) Sucker.
  (Moe swings his cue stick full force against the executive's back, possibly killing him)
  Moe: Who's the sucker now!? Huh?!!

• Mother: You try to raise your kids as secular humanists but these show-biz types keep shoving religion down our throat.
  Kid: Mommy, why wasn't I baptized?
  Mother: You see? YOU SEE??

• Yao Ming: 我真得不懂你们的语言. ("I really don't understand your language" in Mandarin)
  Lisa: But I heard you have an excellent knowledge of English.
  Yao Ming: Shut up kid, I've got a good thing going on!

• (the athletes are carrying an ark in Homer's show)
  Tom: You think Homer's mad at me? I waved at him in the parking lot and he stared right through me.
  Yao: I left the People's Republic for this?
  Warren: Yo, Michelle, ya got a boyfriend?
  Michelle: Not in here I don't.

• LeBron: Omelettes for dinner? This is the best day of my life!
  Lisa: Didn't you just sign a $90 million dollar contract?
  LeBron: That was a good day too.

• The Simpsons episodes, season 16