Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
The producers decided to create this episode in part because many fans were unhappy about the sad ending to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".
A routine physical exam at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant reveals that Homer is sterile after being exposed to radiation.
Homer plans to buy a vibrating chair as a replacement for the living room couch, which Bart and Lisa have broken while goofing off.
Herb repays Homer's loan and buys several gifts for the Simpsons, including a new washer and dryer for Marge, an NRA membership for Bart, and a monthly book club subscription for Lisa.
Herb forgives Homer for ruining him earlier and buys him the vibrating chair to reward his faith and generosity, and the Simpsons use the original $2,000 to replace the broken couch.
As a result, the writers, animators, and producers had to work longer hours than normal to be able to finish the extra episode, which became "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
"[4] The idea for the scenes involving the Spinemelter 2000 originated when one of the writers bought a vibrating chair to relax after working 20 hours a day on the episode.
[7] In addition, the producers decided that they enjoyed Danny DeVito's guest starring as Herb in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
[6][8] Cast member Hank Azaria noted that DeVito was less enthusiastic in his second performance as Herb: "Some people come in and you can tell they kind of regretted doing it.
[10] Show runner Al Jean has stated that Frazier was hard to record, especially him saying the word "excellence" in the title of Mr. Burns' award.
[8] The scene in which Homer flips on the switch that turns on the Christmas sign was, in contrast to the rest of the episode, created via Animatics.
[4][6] The scene where Homer bemoans Herb's treatment of him to Marge in bed was taken from another episode because they decided to explain the plot a bit more.
[12] While Homer relaxes in the Spinemelter chair at the store he sees images in his head that are a reference to the penultimate scenes of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
[1][13] In one scene, Homer reminisces about sitting on his old couch while watching Dallas, Hands Across America, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C..[2] Lisa mentions seeing an ad for "The Great Books of Western Civilization" in New Republic For Kids: "Each month a new classic will be delivered to our door: Paradise Regained, Martin Chuzzlewit, Melville's twin classics Omoo and Typee."
[7] Herb gets Lisa that subscription to The Great Books of Western Civilization, telling her "You'll receive a new one every month,, from Beowulf to Less than Zero", starting with Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome.
The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide were positive of the episode, particularly praising the scenes involving Homer's fixation for vibrating chairs and Maggie speaking to the family through the baby translator.
Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed stated that Herb is "a perfect sibling for [...] Homer, with the two characters having a harmonious give-and-take comedic style.
a near-perfect score of 99/100, praising it for "the jokes about what the money could be spent on (including one of the best bits ever in a Simpsons episode—Homer sitting on a high-tech vibrating chair) and a good impetus to reintroduce Herb.
DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said he enjoyed seeing what happened to Herb, "and DeVito's performance helps make the show more successful; they really need to bring him back one of these days.
