If the player had not purchased Barney's Bowlarama, it could be purchased with it during the event. The episode parodies the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Two episodes give different reasons for his alcoholism. Homer is selected as Barney's replacement, but he grows nervous and runs away during the preparations for takeoff. While under NASA's alcohol ban, a sober Barney develops superior skills and is chosen to fly with Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon. Think about an extremely challenging profession, and an astronaut probably does that on top of several other things. [25] In his 2004 book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner cited the episode as one of his five favorites. Homer thinks no one respects him, and watches television to lighten his mood. "[11], After a long discussion about how the episode should end, the writers decided that they did not want Barney to return to being drunk at the end of the episode. [21] The episode was directed by Neil Affleck, who said that he had "a vested interest in getting Barney sober. Suddenly, the remote breaks and the TV is stuck on a telecast of a Space Shuttle launch, which Homer finds boring. [20], Filmcritic.com ranked Barney 18th on their 2008 list of "The 21 Best Movie Alcoholics of All Time". Jean liked the story, but felt that it was too similar to a script the writers were already working on, "Duffless", so he turned it down. The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. Barney was inspired by the cartoon character Barney Rubble from The Flintstones and by several barflies from other television programs. The episode was well-received, and many critics and fans praised it as one of the best of the series. She is seen in the season nine episode "Simpson Tide". Share the best GIFs now >>> In "Treehouse of Horror XVII", Barney stated that he was Polish, after mistakenly saying he was Irish in a drunken stupor. [6][8], Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, and musician James Taylor guest-star as themselves. The family runs to the couch, only to find an obese man sitting on it. NASA subsequently decides to send an average Joe to space to improve their Nielsen ratings and they choose Homer. Barney. Plow", was released in January 2003. A self-identified alcoholic, Barney eventually decided he was done with alcohol ruining his life, and joined an addiction recovery program in order to gain sobriety. Barney is apremium character in TheSimpsons: Tapped Out ,and is often seen in a drunken, confused state. Despite this, Homer's family still celebrates him as a hero. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is a character from The Simpsons franchise. [11] Part of the reason the writers went in that direction, according to Groening, was because of "a sort of unspoken rule about not having drinking on television as a source of comedy. When Homer saw a news report showing that Barney had become trapped in an avalanche, Homer immediately drove to the mountain and rescued Barney. In "Treehouse of Horror XVII", Barney stated that he was Polish, after mistakenly saying he was Irish in a drunken stupor. Bernard Arnold "Barney" Gumble (born April 20, 1956) is the Springfield town drunk and Homer Simpson's best friend, although to a lesser extent after high school. "[20] However, some of the writing staff was opposed to the episode as they felt Barney sober would not be funny. He described the sequence with Homer eating potato chips in the Space Shuttle and the speech by newscaster Kent Brockman, who believes alien ants have taken over the shuttle, as "simply among the finest comedic moments in the history of television". Nevertheless, alcohol has repeatedly been shown to hamper Barney’s life, as when a dream gig as an astronaut with NASA was compromised due to Barney’s alcoholism. "[26] Entertainment Weekly placed "Mr. "Deep Space Homer" was written by showrunner David Mirkin and directed by Carlos Baeza. Bart is not ashamed, and Marge went through a lot of emotions before settling with realizing that being a spaceman is something he has to do. A gag in "Selma's Choice" suggests that Barney is the father of many local babies born through (presumably, paid) donation of semen and the resulting artificial insemination. After toasting with a non-alcoholic drink, Barney reverts to alcoholism and leaves via a jetpack.