The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star
| "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
Homer with Father Sean (Liam Neeson)
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| Episode no. | 356 |
| Directed by | Michael Polcino |
| Written by | Matt Warburton |
| Showrunner(s) | Al Jean |
| Production code | GABF09 |
| Original air date | May 15, 2005 |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons are depicted as parade balloons that float to the couch. The Homer balloon, however, ends up getting popped by Snowball II. |
| Commentary |
Al Jean Matt Warburton Matt Selman Tim Long Michael Price Tom Gammill Max Pross Hank Azaria Tress MacNeille Michael Polcino |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Liam Neeson as Father Sean |
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Season 16 episodes
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| Seasons | |
Liam Neeson as Father Sean
"The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" is the twenty-first and last episode of The Simpsons' sixteenth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 15, 2005. Originally supposed to air April 10, the episode was dropped from the week's schedule due to the death of Pope John Paul II, since this episode revolved around Catholicism. This episode is also the 350th episode in production order (in broadcast order, "Future-Drama" is the 350th episode).
Springfield Elementary School is holding its medieval festival. All the students are given roles: Lisa is queen, Martin is king, and Bart is the cooper. Bart is mad about his role and is treated terribly by everyone, especially Lisa. Against his will, Groundskeeper Willie is chosen to play the village idiot, and seeking revenge for his cruel treatment, Willie unleashes a pie with hundreds of rats inside. Bart is blamed for this prank and is expelled from school. After looking through other schools, Marge decides to enroll Bart in St. Jerome's Catholic School. There, Bart's hip, rebel attitude is frowned upon.
While holding out two dictionaries as a punishment, Bart meets Father Sean (voiced by Liam Neeson), who converted to Catholicism after he was beaten by his father and St. Peter told him to repent. He is sympathetic to Bart and gives him a comic book about the saints and he is drawn into it. At home, Marge becomes concerned over Bart's interest in the Catholic Church, mainly due to the Catholic ban on birth control. Lisa incorrectly calls Latin 'the language of Plutarch (who actually wrote in Greek). Homer goes to the school to confront Father Sean, but reconsiders after having a pancake dinner and playing Bingo. After an expansive confession session (with Homer concluding that he has been "masturbating eight billion times" and "has no intention of stopping", which was a first for the series, since no character prior to this episode ever discussed such subject matter, due to fear of censorship). Homer decides to convert to Catholicism as well to be absolved of his sins (and that becoming a Catholic involves more than just wailing on Unitarians). With Bart and Homer both considering joining the Church, Marge (worried she might be alone in Protestant Heaven while Bart and Homer are in Catholic Heaven and Lisa possibly in Nirvana) seeks help from Rev. Lovejoy and Ned Flanders, who agree to get them back. While they are learning about First Communion, Marge, Lovejoy, and Ned capture Bart.
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