Continuity issue: Santa's Little Helper burying stuff in backyard :copyright: 1985. They didn't get the dog until Christmas 1989.
[8.0/10] A really fun parody of the up-and-down trajectory of a band, with plenty of well-done Beatles references. There’s not really much depth to this one, and even the story is really just aping the standard rise and fall narrative than teaching us much about the characters or situation. There’s a little bit there about Homer missing his family, but really, this is just a silly adventure.
But what an adventure! This is where the show is firing on all cylinders comedically, and whether it’s the random little interludes at the swap meet, to all the music industry-spoofing material, to the absurd humor of the guy jumping into the harbor at Homer’s description of the Statue of Liberty, this episode is just chock full of laughs. I also love the B-plot of Wiggum getting kicked out of the group and harboring a grudge until this very day. The show’s irreverent sense of whimsy about the world of music in general and the Beatles specific trajectory in particular is just tons of fun.
Overall, this isn’t one the show’s deepest or most heartfelt episodes, but it grafts itself onto the Behind the Music-style jump and crash story that the show would later parody directly, and makes superb comedic hay out of it.
Shout by Mista LukaBlockedParent2022-01-27T14:40:13Z
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is yet another classic season premiere for The Simpsons that sees Homer recall the story of how he achieved fame in the 1980s with "The B Sharps." While the premise for this episode is a retcon, given this quartet has never been brought up or alluded to in previous episodes, this is a highly entertaining and well-written flashback episode with great spoofs to boot. Also, "Baby On Board" is a highly catchy song, perhaps the best this show has produced so far.
Overall, high-quality premiere.