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.〕 |couch_gag=The family rush into the room, crash into each other, and shatter into pieces. Then, as take 2 is called, the family morph into one disfigured creature. Finally, on take 3, the family run into each other and explode. |focus=Homer |guest_star=George Harrison as himself David Crosby as himself The Dapper Dans as the singing voices of The Be Sharps. |commentary=Matt Groening Mike Reiss Al Jean Jeff Martin Hank Azaria Jon Lovitz Mark Kirkland |season=5 }} "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is the first episode of ''The Simpsons'' fifth season. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Mark Kirkland. It features The Be Sharps, a barbershop quartet founded by Homer Simpson. The band's story roughly parallels that of The Beatles. George Harrison and David Crosby guest star as themselves, and The Dapper Dans provide the singing voices of The Be Sharps. The episode begins with the Simpson family as they attend a swap meet. There, Bart Simpson and his sister Lisa notice a picture of their father, Homer, on the cover of an old LP album. Homer explains to his family that he, Principal Skinner, Barney Gumble, and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon recorded a barbershop quartet album in 1985, which catapulted them to national fame. He narrates to his family the story of how the band formed, reached the pinnacle of success, and eventually folded. At the end of the episode, the group reunites to perform a concert on the roof of Moe's Tavern, singing their number-one hit "Baby on Board". Throughout the episode, several references are made to The Beatles and other popular culture icons. In its original American broadcast, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" finished 30th in ratings, with a Nielsen rating of 12.7. It was praised for its The Beatles cameo, despite being a leftover episode from the previous season. Reviews that criticized the episode's inconsistent humor blamed it on the change of writers before the episode's creation. ==Plot== At the Springfield Swap Meet, Bart and Lisa Simpson notice Homer on the cover of an LP album. Homer explains that he, Principal Skinner, Barney, and Apu recorded a barbershop quartet album in 1985, which catapulted them to national fame. He then tells his family the story of how the album came to be. While performing at Moe's Tavern, an agent offered to represent the group as a band, but only on the condition that they expel Chief Wiggum, who was the band's fourth member at the time. After Homer abandons Wiggum in the woods, an audition is held during which the band rejected candidates to fill Wiggum's position, among others Jasper Beardly, Groundskeeper Willie and Wiggum disguised as Doctor Dolittle, the trio returned downheartedly to Moe's Tavern, where they recruited Barney after hearing him sing in a beautiful Irish tenor voice. The four members then brainstormed on a name for the group, eventually settling on The Be Sharps. In the present, Homer brags that he sold his car's spare tire at the swap meet. On the way home, one of their tires blows out. While Marge walks to a gas station to get a new tire, Homer continues his story. He tells Bart and Lisa that after Marge bought a Baby on board sign, Homer wrote a song inspired by the fad. The song "Baby on Board" appeared on the group's first album, ''Meet The Be Sharps'', and the song became a hit. The Be Sharps performed the song at the Statue of Liberty's centennial in 1986, and they later won a Grammy Award for Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year for ''Meet The Be Sharps''.〔 Back in the present, the Simpsons are at home, where Homer explains that The Be Sharps became so popular that they were featured on merchandise, including lunch boxes, mugs, and posters. The band later released their second album, ''Bigger than Jesus''. While The Be Sharps grew in fame, creative disputes arose when Barney dated a Japanese conceptual artist (a parody of Yoko Ono), which eventually led to his leaving the group. Barney and his girlfriend recorded a song in which his girlfriend repeatedly says "Number 8" over tape loops of Barney's belches (a parody of The Beatles' "Revolution 9"). Ultimately, the group realized they were no longer popular. The latest issue of ''Us Weekly''s What's Hot and What's Not confirmed this, noting that the band was no longer "hot". The band then split up; Principal Skinner returned to the Springfield Elementary School, Apu to the Kwik-E-Mart, Barney back to Moe's Tavern, and Homer to the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where his position has temporarily been filled by a chicken. Returning to the present day, the group reunites to perform a concert on the roof of Moe's Tavern, singing their number one hit "Baby on Board". Pedestrians stop and listen to them singing their comeback concert, including George Harrison of The Beatles, who dismissively remarks, "It's been done."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Homer's Barbershop Quartet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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