Co-Dependent's Day: Season 15, Episode 15

"I'm in no condition to drive...Wait! I shouldn't listen to myself. I'm drunk!"   

---Homer Simpson

Towards the middle of this episode, Marge is caught drinking and driving.  The viewer knows that Homer was really the one who had been driving under the influence.  When the car crashed, he moved Marge into the driver's seat and ran away so he wouldn't get his license taken away.  Marge, who is unaware of this, believes herself to be an alcoholic and enters rehab for alcoholism.

After learning that Marge would be gone for 28 days, Homer drives straight to the rehab center.  He confesses to Marge that he had been the one driving that night.  Marge is furious, and stomps back to her support group.  She exclaims, "I need a drink!" to which Agnes replies, "Well you're lucky you're in rehab." Each member of the group pulls out a hidden bottle of alcohol and Marge ends up having five drinks.  

On the verge of drunkenness, Marge realizes that she is not happy. The only time she had been happy was when she was drinking with Homer.  After this realization, Marge tells the group that she is a, "Homerholic."  An interesting dialogue occurs after this statement.  Otto asks Marge if he can have some "Homerhol," but Marge reveals to him that what she's addicted to can't be drank, snorted, or smoked.  Otto ponders this for a moment, and then replies, "Hmm. Then you'd better inject it between my toes 'cause my mom checks my arms!"  I think this shows that codependency can be a major problem for addicts.  Not only is Otto an alcoholic, he is also a drug addict.  It is a serious problem, but on the Simpsons, it is projected in a humorous way.

Homer's Triple Bypass: Season 4, Episode 11

"Don't worry, Marge.  America's health care system is second only to Japan, Canada, Sweden, Great Britain...well, all of Europe.  But you can thank your lucky stars we don't live in Paraguay!"

--Homer Simpson

After eating an enormous amount of greasy, fatty food, Homer experiences severe chest pain.  He again experiences severe pain when he is scared by his kids.  At the nuclear plant, the stress caused by Mr. Burns' negative comments pushes him over the edge.  His heart goes haywire, and he collapses to the ground.  Mr. Burns tells Smithers to "send his widow a ham." 

However, Homer pulls through.  He wakes up at the hospital, and asks Dr. Hibbert, "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right?"  Dr. Hibbert chuckles and reveals to Homer that he is weak and feeble because of his massive heart attack.  He teases Homer and pinches his cheeks like a baby.  Homer, who doesn't appreciate this, pleads with Dr. Hibbert.  "Remember your hippopotamus oath!"  

Later, Marge and Homer are in Dr. Hibbert's office.  Dr. Hibbert says that the surgery Homer needs will cost around $30,000.  Upon hearing this price, Homer has another heart attack right in Dr. Hibbert's office.  The doctor responds to this by saying, "I'm afraid it's now $40,000."

Dr. Nick ends up doing Homer's surgery for $129.95.  He had planned to watch a video of the procedure beforehand, but he had accidentally recorded the show, "People Who Look Like Things," over it.  

Before his surgery, Homer prays in his hospital bed. I think a lot of people turn to God in times of distress, and illness can be extremely distressing.

Dr. Nick is successful only because of Lisa's instructions on how to perform the surgery.  Homer makes it through the surgery unscathed, and life with the Simpsons goes back to normal.

Eight Misbehavin': Season 11, Episode 7

"They're a ravenous swarm of locusts, just eating and screaming and grabbing and poking and pulling and drooling...and two have cradle rash.  How do you get cradle rash when you sleep in a suitcase?"

--Apu

This episode reveals the consequences of fertility drugs.  Apu and Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon are frustrated because they have been unable to conceive a child.  Despite Homer's moronic (but well intentioned) attempts at assisting them, the Simpsons and the Nahasapeemapetilons eventually turn to fertility drugs.  Manjula secretly takes these drugs, Apu slips them into her breakfast squishy, and Marge, Bart, and Homer also slip Manjula fertility drugs.  According to Homer, his drugs tasted like strawberry.  He refers to them as, "ovulicous."  This large dosage of fertility drugs results in multiple births, and the Nahasapeemapetilons end up having eight children.  

Homer, who is overwhelmed at merely the thought of eight kids, exchanges this dialogue with Marge:

Homer: "I'm sterile, right baby doll?"

Marge: "Yes dear, from the nuclear plant."

Homer: "Beautiful."

Initially, everything goes great for the Nahasapeemapetilons.  The children are a huge media hit, and the the family is showered with gifts and support from many corporate companies.  However, when a mother in Shelbyville gives birth to 9 babies, the attention and products are whisked away from the Nahasapeemapetilons and given to the Shelbyville mother.  

Apu and Manjula struggle to keep their heads above water.  All eight children develop colic, making the situation even more difficult for their parents.  Apu and Manjula are overtired, overwhelmed, and inadequately prepared for this many newborns. 

Eventually, Apu ends up agreeing to exhibiting his octuplets in a zoo.  In the end, however, he and Homer steal them back.  After they are caught, Homer decides to offer himself up for the cause.  Instead of giving the babies back to the zoo (due to the contract that Apu and Manjula had previously signed), Homer agrees to ride around on a tricycle while holding Butch Patrick on his back and being bitten by cobras simultaneously.  This act will make up for the loss of the octuplets as a zoo attraction.  Apu notes that Homer is quite a good friend.  

King Size Homer: Season 7, Episode 7

"All my life I've been an obese man trapped inside a fat man's body."

--Homer Simpson

This episode deals with the highly relevant topic of morbid obesity.  It showcases the perils of fast food, the effects of obesity, and the humiliation that a lot of obese people encounter when in public.  It highlights some important points about personal health in a humorous but thought-provoking way.

At the beginning of the episode, Homer makes it his personal mission to gain 61 pounds in order to qualify for disability.  He asks the family doctor, Dr. Julius Hibbert, for advice on how to gain this weight.  Dr. Hibbert is appalled and refuses to take part in Homer's scheme.  However, when asked, Dr. Hibbert gladly gives Homer the name of a doctor that will.

Homer visits Dr. Nick Riviera, an unethical doctor with extremely questionable credentials.  Dr. Nick tells Homer that he is "a dangerously underweight individual."  He suggests that Homer rub all of his food on a piece of paper (essentially to test the grease/fat content).  Dr. Nick tells Homer, "If the paper turns clear, it's your window to weight gain!"

Homer proceeds to eat extremely unhealthy foods, and he eventually gains enough weight to work from home.  However, Homer soon finds that morbid obesity and disability are not quite as beneficial as he had imagined.  He ends up wearing a muumuu because he can't find a pair of pants big enough to fit him.  Homer soon becomes bored at home.  He is frustrated because of his lack of mobility, as he can hardly move and has to use a broom to close the window shade.  He can't dial phone numbers because his fingers are too fat.  He is refused a ticket to the movie theater because the seats are not big enough.  He encounters many other humiliations and unintended consequences due to his obesity.

In the end, however, Homer's weight ends up saving the town. Homer had not been paying attention to his computer work while at home, and he essentially caused a possible meltdown.  He had to make his way to the power plant as fast as possible.  Just when the nuclear hatch was about to explode, Homer fell down, therefore plugging the entire capsule.  Bart says, "I think it's ironic that for once, Dad's butt prevented the release of toxic gas!" He is subsequently yelled at by Marge.

For his health and his wife's happiness, Homer resolves to become "thin" again with the help of Mr. Burns.  Mr. Burns attempts to train Homer and get him to exercise, but he gives up quickly and agrees to pay for liposuction.  Upon this revelation, Homer exclaims his trademark, "Woohoo!"

Weekend at Burnsie's: Season 13, Episode 16

"We'll also provide you with a prescription bong."      -Dr. Julius Hibbert 

In this episode, a strange and unrealistic series of events occurs.  Eventually, Homer's eyes are nearly eaten by a murder of crows.  He goes to the hospital in extreme pain, and Dr. Hibbert asks Homer if he would be opposed to using medicinal marijuana for pain management.  Homer eventually accepts.

Before using the medicinal marijuana for the first time, Homer reads the prescription bottle label aloud.  It says, "Toke as needed. Caution: objects may appear more edible than they actually are." 

This episode shows controversial medicinal methods.  Eventually, medicinal marijuana is outlawed in Springfield, which I think is a good thing.  Homer, although still not very bright, becomes a bit more lucid and is able to function normally again.

Homer the Moe: Season 13, Episode 3

"Woah! Hemorrhage-a-mundo!"

-Homer Simpson

At the beginning of this episode, Bart is digging a hole in the backyard.  No one in the family can figure out the reason for his digging, but it continues throughout the night.  Eventually, Marge invites Dr. Coffman over to deal with Bart.  Dr. Coffman is "a special kind of talking doctor," according to Marge.  He is the stereotype of psychologists/psychiatrists.  He is in a tweed suit jacket with glasses perched in the middle of his nose.  He is an older male with a little bit of facial hair.  Although Bart says few words, Dr. Coffman scribbles feverishly on his notepad throughout most of the short visit.  This episode pokes fun at the stereotypical psychologist/psychiatrist and reveals the perceived ideas associated with those professions.

There is another small part in the episode dealing with health.  Homer wants to change a song on the jukebox, so he punches it and then realizes that his hand is all bloody.  He then proclaims, "Woah! Hemorrhage-a-mundo!"  Luckily for Homer, his injuries (regardless of the seriousness) always seem to heal completely within the 22 episode and are gone by the next show.

Double, Double, Boy in Trouble: Season 20, Episode 3

"That boy has become a Dennis-level menace."     -Homer Simpson

Although this episode is not exclusively about health or medicine, it brings up an important issue about today's society and its effect on child behavior.  Bart is at a fancy gathering with his family.  He sneaks away to snoop through the multitude of gift bags, and he finds that each gift bag contains a robot vacuum cleaner.  He turns all of them on and lets them loose.  The vacuums proceed to terrorize and even devour the party guests.  

Police Chief Wiggum, Marge, and Homer all come to the realization that it was Bart who had set the vacuums loose.  Bart runs into the nearest bathroom to avoid strangulation from Homer and looks in the mirror.  Bart then says, "I don't mean to be bad...I don't know why I do the things I do."  He proceeds to wolf down a large box of candy and chug a two-liter bottle of Buzz Cola, all within the span of three seconds.  

Bart's activities show how the diets of children are influencing their behavior.  A child who ingests that much sugar and caffeine is bound to be jittery and hyperactive.  All too often, these children are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD.  This is true in some cases, but in my opinion, some kids just need to cut back on the sweets and get more exercise.  Although Bart's case may be an exaggeration of most children, it still portrays a valid point.