"Don't Fear the Roofer" is the sixteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. The episode aired on May 1, 2005 in the U.S. Although it was advertised as the 350th episode, it is actually the 351st episode ("Future-Drama" is the 350th and "The Heartbroke Kid" is the 352nd). Ray Romano guest stars as Ray Magini, a new friend that Homer meets at a bar. Simpsons redirects here. ... Download high resolution version (650x911, 78 KB)Promo card for Dont Fear the Roofer. This work is copyrighted. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Al Jean (left) and David Mirkin (right), have both been writers for The Simpsons for more than ten years. ... Kevin Curran is an american television writer. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Mark Kirkland is a director of episodes of The Simpsons. ... Bart writes The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes of The Simpsons. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... It has been suggested that puzzle globe be merged into this article or section. ... Matthew Abram Groening (born February 15, 1954[2] in Portland, Oregon;[1] his family name is pronounced , rhymes with raining) is an Emmy Award-winning American cartoonist and the creator of The Simpsons, Futurama and the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. ... (left to right) Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Homer, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer guest starred in the heavily promoted season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. This is a list of guest stars who appeared on The Simpsons. ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ... Raymond Romano (born December 21, 1957 in Queens, New York) is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated, American actor and comedian best known for his starring role on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond. ... The Simpsons 16th season (November 2004 - May 2005) began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 (FABF) production line. ... is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Treehouse of Horror XV is the fifteenth Halloween episode of The Simpsons, airing November 7, 2004, one week after Halloween in the US, the latest any Halloween episode has ever aired. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sleeping With the Enemy is an episode from the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... She Used to Be My Girl is the fourth episode from the sixteenth season of the animated TV series The Simpsons. ... Fat Man and Little Boy is the fifth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season and the last new episode of 2004. ... Midnight Rx is the sixth episode of The Simpsons from its sixteenth season. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Homer and Neds Hail Mary Pass is a Super Bowl themed episode of The Simpsons that aired after Super Bowl XXXIX. 23. ... Pranksta Rap is the ninth episode of the The Simpsons sixteenth season, which originally aired February 13, 2005. ... Theres Something About Marrying is the tenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... On a Clear Day I Cant See My Sister is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, which originally aired on March 6, 2005. ... Goo Goo Gai Pan is the twelfth episode from the sixteenth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired on March 13, 2005. ... Mobile Homer is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season; it first aired in the US on March 20, 2005. ... The Seven-Beer Snitch is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, first aired on April 3, 2005 in the US. While the family visits Shelbyville, the citizens of Shelbyville call Springfields residents hicks. ... Future-Drama is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Star is Torn is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season. ... Thank God Its Doomsday is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season. ... Home Away From Homer is the twentieth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season. ... The Father, The Son, and the Holy Guest Star is the last episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Future-Drama is the fifteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Raymond Romano (born December 21, 1957 in Queens, New York) is an Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated, American actor and comedian best known for his starring role on the sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ...

Plot

A very strong thunderstorm has hit Springfield, and Marge rebukes Homer when their roof starts profusely leaking. Homer sets up a Hot Wheels track to the mailbox. But Lisa's hamster slides down the track, and when he goes through the mailbox, Lisa opens the door to find her hamster, causing the track to break, the hamster to get sick, Bart's refreshment snacks for his homework party to be ruined, and Snowball II to sink in the litter box. Angry at this, Homer leaves for Moe's. A thunderstorm, also called an electrical storm or lightning storm, is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its attendant thunder produced from a cumulonimbus cloud. ... Springfield is the fictional city in which the animated American sitcom The Simpsons is set. ... Marjorie Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons and is voiced by Julie Kavner. ... Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Dan Castellaneta. ...

When he gets to Moe's, he finds a surprise party being set up for Lenny. However, he accidentally ruins the surprise and then sits on the cake (shaped like Lenny's favorite bar-stool) and gets kicked out unfairly. Lenford Lenny Leonard, MPhys is a fictional character in The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ...

Homer feels angry that nobody listens to him or his opinions. He says they'll feel sorry for him when he invents the world's great-tasting cola, and share it with no-one. He holds up the recipe for the cola (sugar, water and bubbles), which gets blown away by the wind. He then sees an even seedier, and fancy bar located on Route 98.

The bartender at the bar is too busy to talk to him, but he meets a friendly guy, Ray Magini, who offers to share his nachos and beer with him. Ray is a very good friend to Homer, listens to him, and just happens to be a roofer, so Homer asks him to fix his roof, to which Ray readily agrees. “Nacho” redirects here. ...

The next day, Homer assures Marge that his new friend will be taking care of the roof. Just as she and the kids leave on some errands, Ray shows up. The two of them get up on the roof and use nailguns to nail the boards onto the roof, but they start shooting nails at each other, some hitting Flanders next door. Ray leaves later and, as Homer runs on the roof, he crashes through the small part of the roof that they fixed, landing on Marge's goodwill pile.

Meanwhile, Marge takes Bart, Lisa, Maggie and Santa's Little Helper to the retirement home for one quick visit to Grampa. But Santa's Little Helper jumps out of the car because "he must smell leftovers (senior citizens)." Grampa and the other old people are overjoyed about the dog, and Marge, Bart and Maggie agree to let the dog stay with them. But Lisa states an explanation of what will happen when a dog lives with very old people, but is cut off by the old people, saying "Thank you. Why don't you find a parade and rain on it?"

When Marge arrives home, she is surprised to see the hole even bigger. She tells Homer to buy some shingles and fix the roof himself. Homer says that Ray would not like it. Marge assures him that he is not married to Ray. Homer replies "If I was, we'd have taller kids."

The next day, Bart and Homer go to the Builder's Barn, and Homer meets Ray there. Ray apologizes to Homer for not having finished the job and promises that he will stop by soon to work on the roof. Bart hurts the Squeaky Voiced Teen, who has 45 minutes to get ready for the prom, after using a chainsaw. The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products. ...

Marge, Lisa and Maggie arrive back at the retirement home, only to discover that Santa's Little Helper has become on of the old people. They permanently take him back home.

At home, Homer sits on the roof waiting for Ray, after painting two pictures on the house: one of Ray, and the other of a furious Marge.

Finally, late at night, Marge tells him that Ray is not real, only a figment of his imagination. Homer refuses to believe it.

Marge then takes him to the Calmwood Mental Hospital (as seen in "Hurricane Neddy"). Dr. Hibbert tells Homer that Ray doesn't exist; he was created by Homer's mind as Homer was feeling lonely and unappreciated. All the people that Homer thinks saw Ray (Bart, Flanders, and the "Knockers" bartender) claim they didn't, and Lisa reveals that "Ray Magini" is an anagram for "imaginary" (this scene is a parody of A Beautiful Mind). Hibbert administers electroshock therapy (parody of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). Hurricane Neddy is the eighth episode of The Simpsons eighth season which originally aired December 29, 1996. ... This article contains a list of recurring characters from The Simpsons with descriptions. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 biographical film directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. ... Electroconvulsive therapy, also known as electroshock or ECT, is a controversial type of psychiatric shock therapy involving the induction of an artificial seizure in a patient by passing electricity through the brain. ... One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a 1975 film directed by Miloš Forman. ...

Seven weeks and several hours of shock therapy later, Homer is now sure that Ray does not exist. As he is being discharged, he sees Ray again in the room, and everyone can see him. He did really exist the whole time: the bartender did not see Ray as he had an eye patch on and that Ray was on the view of it and Ray could not be seen by Flanders as he was behind the chimney. Bart still became skeptical for seeing Homer talking to thin air, but Stephen Hawking says that Bart could not see Ray, at the hardware store because of a miniature black hole caused directly behind Ray which absorbed the light from Ray and made it look like as if Homer was talking to himself. An eyepatch is a small cloth patch, usually black, that is worn in front of one eye. ... Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA, (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist. ...

Marge asks Ray why he started fixing the roof, and then just disappeared. Ray says he is a contractor. Everyone laughs, and Marge says "That's right, you're all crooks!"

Hibbert apologizes to Homer then almost leaves. But Homer is sick of everyone not listening to him, abusing him, and thinking he's insane. So, as revenge, Homer makes him fix his roof for him without any break, while he and Ray lounge on the roof, talking about Everybody Loves Raymond which is broadcast on CBS on Mondays at 9:00pm. Regardless of Homer asking him questions about what network, what day and what time, Ray patiently tells him the answers to the questions. Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS from 1996 to 2005. ...

Cultural references

• The bar Homer meets Ray Magini at (Knockers) is a reference to the Hooters restaurant chain.
• The episode title is a reference to the popular Blue Öyster Cult song "Don't Fear the Reaper." The song was played over the end credits to the episode "The Parent Rap."
• The song that plays from the jukebox is "Do That To Me One More Time" by Captain & Tennille.
  • In the episode, Ray and Homer have a nailgun fight. In an episode of King of Queens, in an episode which Ray Romano guest stars, Ray's character and Doug are watching TV and Ray mentions that "it would be cool if they had a nail gun fight."