Thread by @dailysimpsons

#OnThisDay #OTD November 10, 1996, "The Homer They Fall" (S08E03) first aired on the Fox network. Dir: @markk1914. Wr: @collierjonathan. EP: @thatbilloakley & @Joshstrangehill. Guest-starring Paul Winfield as Lucius Sweet and @MichaelBuffer as himself. #TheSimpsons

@markk1914 @collierjonathan @thatbilloakley @Joshstrangehill @michaelbuffer Writer Jonathan Collier is a huge boxing fan. Knowing that the people on the internet would "give them grief", the writers went to a lot of effort to explain how Homer would be able to challenge for the Heavyweight Title.

A lot of the scenes involving Homer fighting hobos were pitched by @JJSwartzwelder. The montage of Homer fighting various hobos was based on a similar montage in Raging Bull.

@JJSwartzwelder Lucius Sweet is a parody of boxing promoter Don King, and is voiced by Paul Winfield, who had previously played King in HBO's 1995 biopic Tyson. In the script, Sweet was described as "A Don King type who looks and sounds exactly like Don King". (King himself turned it down.)

In the scene in Moe's office, there is a brief shot of a poster advertising "Szyslak Vs. Oakley" and "Kirkland Vs. Silverman", referring to then-executive producer Bill Oakley and Simpsons directors Mark Kirkland and @tubatron.

@tubatron The fathers of Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney make their first and only appearances in the history of the show.

Drederick Tatum, who had appeared a few times in the show already, is a parody of @MikeTyson. The name came from George Meyer, who went to high school with a boy named Drederick Timmins, which Meyer thought was a cool name. This shot is based on a real life photo of Tyson.

@MikeTyson Here's Drederick Tatum conversing with actor Charlie Sheen and Mike Tyson conversing with actor Charlie Sheen.

@MikeTyson During the montage, there is a brief parody of the George Bellows painting "Dempsey and Firpo".

@MikeTyson The song heard over the end credits is a rendition of Barbra Streisand's "People", sung by Sally Stevens. (My dumbass 15 year old self thought this sequence meant it was Moe's last episode.)

@MikeTyson The episode opens with a parody of Bonanza. (video: Onikorp)

@MikeTyson A deleted scene from "The Homer They Fall"