butt. Production Although "Homer the Great" was written by John Swartzwelder, the story was suggested by executive producer David Mirkin. Mirkin did not have enough time to write the episode and asked Swartzwelder to do it. Mirkin came up with the idea while driving home from a rewrite early in the morning and listened to a religious radio station where they were talking about Freemasonry. Mirkin decided it would make a great episode, where many people in Springfield were members of a Masonic society and Homer was left on the outside and felt neglected. The song "We Do" was not included in the original script and was suggested by Matt Groening. It was written by the writers' room, who threw in as many things that annoyed them as they possibly could. It was described as "one of the series' best musical numbers" by Colin Jacobson at DVD Movie Guide, and was later included in the clip show "All Singing, All Dancing". The episode guest stars Patrick Stewart as Number One. Stewart said, "I think my appearance in The Simpsons and an appearance that I did on Sesame Street—in praise of the letter B—were perhaps the two most distinguished bits of work that I've done in the US." Mirkin has said that Patrick Stewart is "one of the best guest performances" because "he was so committed to [the] character". Cultural references The term "Stonecutters" and the organization's symbol are references to Freemasonry. The Stonecutters are in possession of the Ark of the Covenant and when they burn Homer's underwear in it, spirits escape, which is a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark. When crowned "The Chosen One", Homer, dressed in finery, enters through some curtains, a reference to the 1987 film The Last Emperor. The name of Stewart's character is a reference to his series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which at the time had recently ended its seven-year run, and in which "Number One" is a nickname used by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (portrayed by Stewart) for his first officer William T. Riker (portrayed by Jonathan Frakes). Reception Critical reception Since airing, the episode has received universal acclaim from television critics and is often cited as one of the best episodes of the show. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called it "a brilliant