Season

13

Production Code

DABF13

Episode Number

0

Airdate

28 April 2002

Writer

John Swartzwelder

Director

Chuck Sheetz

Executive Producer

Al Jean

Editor

Jimmy Heenan

Plot Geoff Jenkins, the creator of the well-known cartoon Danger Dog[1] (an allusion to DangerMouse and Underdog), gives a lecture at Springfield Elementary on the perks of a life in animation. Jenkins’ lecture inspires the students to create their own cartoons. Most of the comic strips the kids draw are rip-offs of Danger Dog.

Bart’s Danger Dude comic is rejected by Comic Book Guy and Stan Lee, but Stan Lee convinces him to keep trying. Bart seeks inspiration and realizes that Homer’s everyday antics are very funny to watch. Bart draws a comic book called Angry Dad, featuring funny things that Homer does when he gets angry. It becomes a hit with everyone in Springfield. Lisa objects over this a little for using Homer as a character, but then takes it back after Bart tells her that Angry Dad should get a sidekick called "Know-it-all Sister".

Due to the success of Bart’s comics, a spokesman for the (fictional) Internet company BetterThanTV.com approaches Bart and offers to make Angry Dad into an online animated cartoon series. Bart is unsure, but after hearing the voice actor for Angry Dad sound just like Homer, he accepts. Angry Dad is put on the World Wide Web for a hour, becoming instantly popular (the Internet’s most visited non-pornographic web page). At that point, Homer becomes a laughingstock to everyone in Springfield, much to his sorrow.

When Homer realizes what Bart has done, he initially gets mad (“Stupid Bartoon! (laughs) ‘Bartoon.’ That’s clever. (goes back to anger) I’m gonna kill him!”) and strangles him until the rest of the family stops him and confirm that he has a huge problem with anger. In light of this, Homer vows to give up rage forever, despite Marge’s plea that he give up fatty foods instead. This spells trouble for Bart, as he cannot produce any new episodes of Angry Dad if Homer is docile.

Homer’s mild-mannered attitude is difficult to maintain, especially since rage-provoking incidents continually occur. Homer maintains his composure with great difficulty.

Bart (with the help of Milhouse) sets up a trap for Homer which will provoke his rage. However, when he visits BetterThanTV.com’s office, he finds they have gone bankrupt, so there is no need for Homer to be lured into the trap. But Bart and Milhouse are too late to stop him.

Homer triggers the trap when he enters the treehouse looking for free donuts. A hole in the floor makes him fall and hang upside-down from a rope, while passing between a line of cacti and Maggie's dirty diapers. He ends up falling into a wading pool full of green paint. This causes him to unleash all his pent-up rage, rampaging across town and looking like the Incredible Hulk. After Homer’s rampage causes $10 million of damage on city property, Homer gets arrested by the police and becomes diagnosed in the hospital with suppresed rage. Marge becomes angry at Bart for causing Homer’s rage and the property damage until Dr. Hibbert reveals that if Homer had continued suppressing his rage without being set off by Bart’s trap, the suppression would have overwhelmed his nervous system and he would have died. Once Homer recovers, he thanks Bart for saving his life and forgives Bart by fishing with him.