Episode 8F07
Written by Ken Levene and David Issacs
Directed by Jim Reardon
Also starring: JoAnn Harris, Pamela Hayden, Russi Taylor
Special guest voices: Phil Hartman (as Troy McClure), Larry McKay

Premise: After realising he's a very bad father, Homer tries to get involved with Bart's attempts to win the local Soapbox Derby. However, once Bart adopts the injured Martin Prince's vehicle, Homer feels redundant and excluded. In desperation, he turns to Ned Flanders for help.

Features: Troy McClure, Dr Nick Riviera, Patty, Selma, McBain, Milhouse, Lewis, Richard, Martin Prince, Wendell, Nelson Muntz, Dr Hibbert, Ned Flanders, Barney, Moe, Mayor Quimby.

Couch: The sofa collapses in on itself, leaving the Simpsons' legs in the air.

Trivia:

• Videos for hire at Video Village include in the foreign section Da Da Da, Border Siesta and in the spoils section The Bad Football, Speedboat Bloopers, Frisbee 1991, Super Jock III, Go Fight - A Cheerleader's Story, Death by Knockout, Bench Clearing Brawls, Blood on the Ice and Football's Greatest Injuries.
• At the hairdressers, Patty reads Idle Chatter magazine, while Selma pores over Peephole.

Homage: The McBain movie seen at the start of the episode, with its scenario of the retiring cop being shot, is drawn from Lethal Weapon (Richard Donner, 1987). The race recalls the chariot scenes from Ben-Hur (William Wyler, 1959) and Days of Thunder (Tony Scott, 1990). The closing song is Wind Beneath My Wings, a hit for Bette Midler in 1985, used as the theme to Days of Thunder.

Hi, I'm Troy McClure, you may remember me from: Such TV series as Buck Henderson, Union Buster and Troy and Company's Summertime Smile Factory.

Look out for: Homer's Foam Dome hat. Martin Prince steals the show with his impassioned bed scene and the scene where he burns up and is ignored by a team of firefighters.

Notes: 'Men-do-za!' The best McBain clip is only one highlight of this fine episode, which is centred around Homer's fractured relationship with Bart.