"Colonel Homer" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 26, 1992. In the episode, Homer and Marge quarrel after he embarrasses her at a movie theater. Later Homer visits a redneck bar, where he discovers Lurleen Lumpkin, a talented singer-songwriter, waiting tables. Homer becomes her manager, unaware she has fallen in love with him. When Marge grows upset because she suspects Homer is cheating on her, he must remain faithful to her after Lurleen makes romantic advances toward him.
The episode was written by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, and directed by Mark Kirkland. It is the only episode of the series for which Groening received an individual writing credit. American singer and actress Beverly D'Angelo guest starred in the episode as Lurleen. Although the character makes several cameos after this episode, Lurleen makes her second full-time appearance sixteen years later in "Papa Don't Leech". The episode features cultural references to songs such as "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. and "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" by Herman's Hermits, and the films Deliverance, Look Who's Talking and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
Since airing, "Colonel Homer" has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It attained a Nielsen rating of 14.8, and was the highest-rated show on Fox the week it aired. The episode was selected for inclusion in a video collection of selected episodes, titled The Last Temptation of Homer, which was released on November 9, 1998. An action figure set based on "Colonel Homer" was released in March 2002, and two of Lurleen's songs from the episode appeared on the Simpsons compilation album Songs in the Key of Springfield.
Plot
The Simpsons visit the local multiplex. After Homer makes distracting sounds and loudly reveals the film's ending to the audience, Marge berates him and the other patrons heckle and pelt him with refreshments. Marge tries to apologize on the way home, but Homer is so angry that he drops Marge and the children at home and drives into the night.
Homer stops at a redneck bar, where an attractive waitress and singer-songwriter named Lurleen performs country songs on stage. After she sings a song that perfectly matches Homer's predicament, he drives to her mobile home several days later to beg a copy. When Lurleen reveals she has not recorded the song, Homer persuades her to join him at a recording booth, after which they are approached by a representative for a local radio station. Lurleen's songs are instant hits on the station.
Marge disapproves of Homer seeing Lurleen because she fears they will form a romantic relationship. Her fears increase after Homer becomes Lurleen's manager, and she buys him an expensive white cowboy suit, which he wears at home. Homer denies having an affair with Lurleen, but insists he will manage her career, with or without Marge's approval. Marge becomes angry when Homer gambles his whole family's future by using the life savings to pay for a recording studio for Lurleen, and her new single, a suggestive love metaphor called "Bagged Me a Homer", angers her further.
Homer gets Lurleen a gig on the country western television show Ya-Hoo! Homer and Lurleen spend the night before her performance in her mobile home. When she sings a new song asking Homer to "bunk" with her, he realizes that would violate his marital vows and leaves.
During Lurleen's performance, Homer is approached by a business agent who asks to buy Lurleen's contract, but he refuses. When Homer becomes locked in an embrace with Lurleen in her dressing room, his love life flashes before his eyes, and he remembers Marge saying she will always love him. Homer tells Lurleen that he only wanted to share her voice with the world, and leaves to avoid committing adultery. He sees the agent again outside the dressing room and sells him Lurleen's contract for $50.
Marge is watching Ya-Hoo! at home when Homer returns. Lurleen's bluesy song reveals what Homer did – and did not – do with her, saying she knows how lucky Marge is. Marge forgives Homer and they kiss passionately.