34 years ago today, The Simpsons aired an episode that became such a classic because of its surprise feud for Homer that it even made it to Fortnite decades later. The Simpsons has been going on for over three decades at this point, so it’s no surprise to know that all of the characters have plenty of moments that have been certified as classics after all this time. Homer is not short on any of these moments, but there are a few that really got Homer to a wild new level when he was fighting with another long term character. Especially when it was one of his best friends.
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34 years ago today, on November 21, 1991, The Simpsons aired “Flaming Moe’s” with Fox, and for the first real time split up Homer and Moe over a dispute. Homer had invented a drink that became incredibly popular only for Moe to take the idea and claimed he invented it. This sparked a hilarious feud between the two of them that ended with Homer being at his most theatrical yet, and the titular drink of the episode has become such an iconic image in its own right that you can now use it as an Emote in Fortnite.
Flaming Moe’s Aired 34 Years Ago Today on The Simpsons
The Simpsons Season 3 episode “Flaming Moe’s” sees Moe running out of Duff and needing something to serve, so Homer tells him about a drink he made when he was out of alcohol himself. Combining all sorts of various household elements together like cough syrup, it kicks into high gear when it’s briefly lit on fire with ashes from a cigarette. This creates flaming look of the drink, and Homer calls it a “Flaming Moe” only for Moe to take full credit of it when he sells it later.
Taking off to such a degree that Moe’s gets a lot of business and even gets visits from bands like Aerosmith, Homer then vows revenge on Moe for taking credit and then keeping him out of the bar as a result (complete with a full rendition of the Cheers theme with Homer sadly looking on from the outside). But it’s probably most notable for Homer’s crash out itself as it ends the episode with Homer at his most theatrical as he reveals the secret ingredient and gives away the full recipe to the drink itself.
Why Flaming Moe’s Is Iconic
“Flaming Moe’s” has become one of the major milestones of The Simpsons as it was one of the first real episodes that showcased the kind of stories we’d get from Moe in the years to come. While future episodes had seen Moe changing up his bar to try and get more customers (and pushing Homer and his regulars out in the process), this early incarnation of the idea was probably the best version of it because it got such a notable reaction out of Homer.
The Flaming Moe itself is also just one of those visuals that has stuck out with The Simpsons fans after all this time. It’s made it into Fortnite because there’s just something cool about lighting a drink on fire that this episode just understood implicitly and probably launched decades worth of people trying to capture that same magic on their own. There’s just no beating it even after all this time later.
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