page_title: Homer Alone
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: Homer Alone / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: David M. Stern in 1992. Cropped from Image:Simpsons writers2.jpg
context_page_description: "Homer Alone" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' third season and the fiftieth overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 1992. In the episode, stress from household chores and her family's demands causes Marge to suffer a nervous breakdown, so she vacations alone at a spa. She leaves Bart and Lisa with Patty and Selma; Maggie stays at home with Homer but leaves home looking for her mother, causing Homer to frantically search for her.
  The episode was written by David M. Stern and directed by Mark Kirkland. Stern had noticed that most of the writers were pitching stories about Bart and Homer, and he thought a "deeper vein of comedy" could be reached by having Marge suffer from a nervous breakdown. Originally, Marge's trip was to a distressed mother's institute rather than a spa. However, the plot was not well received at the table read for the episode and much of it was re-written. The episode's title references the film Home Alone, which starred David Stern's brother Daniel.
  "Homer Alone" contains references to the Wile E.
context_section_description: "Homer Alone" was written by David M. Stern. He had noticed that most of the writers were pitching stories about Bart and Homer, and he thought a "deeper vein of comedy" could be reached by having Marge suffer from a nervous breakdown. Executive producer James L. Brooks immediately approved the idea. Originally, Marge's trip was to a distressed mother's institute so they could show "what made Marge tick". However, the plot was not well received at the table read for the episode.
  The writers then re-wrote much of the episode, switching the institute to a spa. They also added a video appearance from the fictional actor Troy McClure, voiced by Phil Hartman. According to executive producer Al Jean, the writers often used McClure as a "panic button" when they felt an episode needed more humor. The episode's title is a play on the 1990 film Home Alone; David Stern's brother Daniel had starred in the movie as one of the main antagonists.
  The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland. The scene at the train station where Marge leaves for Rancho Relaxo includes a brief cameo appearance of a character modeled after Simpsons director Jim Reardon. Reardon dislikes flying, and took trains whenever possible, so the animators always tried to include him in scenes at a train station. Susie Dietter served as assistant director for the episode and animated several of the scenes for the subplot with Bart, Lisa, Patty and Selma. In a scene where Homer sings a song to Maggie, he was designed to look dishevelled because the writers had wanted him to look drunk, although no attention was called to it.
caption: David M. Stern wrote the episode.
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