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14
10
Pray Anything
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pray_Anything
Homer becomes depressed when he sees that Ned Flanders seems to be better off than him. To remedy this, he begins to pray constantly. Meanwhile, the Simpsons discover that tree roots have clogged up their plumbing. The house becomes too run down to live in, and Homer prays for a solution. Homer is injured while attending church; he sues Reverend Lovejoy and is awarded the deed to the church. He throws a huge house-warming party, in which all of the partiers drink and engage in sinful activities. It suddenly starts raining and the town begins to flood. The townspeople flee to the roof of the church. Homer tries praying again but the flood keeps rising. Reverend Lovejoy returns in a helicopter and leads everyone in prayer, asking God to forgive them, and the rain stops. Guest stars: Lisa Leslie and Ken Burns.
At a WNBA game which the Simpson family are attending, the announcer offers a $50,000 prize for successfully shooting a half-court basket. Ned Flanders kneels and prays before shooting the basket, and makes it. He declares he will donate the money, much to Homer's dismay, which is then doubled to $100,000 by the Rich Texan. After Ned's car is blocked from leaving the parking lot, Homer witnesses the Flanders family being allowed to drive a Hot-Dog-mobile home instead. The following day, Homer asks Ned what his secret is, and Ned replies it is hard work, clean living, and prayer; since the first two would require effort on his part, Homer focuses on prayer, which he believes to work after achieving minor feats such as finding the remote control and creating a new snack (fudge-covered bacon). After noticing his excessive praying for a plumber when a water pipe leaks, Marge tells Homer that he should not ask God to do everything for him, which he bluntly refuses to consider; as a result, the plumber fails to help, and the Simpson house is eventually destroyed. On a Sunday, Homer is walking towards the church and prays to God for a better house. Not looking where he is going, he falls into a shallow hole. A lawyer convinces Homer to sue the church. In court, the jury finds in Homer's favor and he receives the deed to the church, after Reverend Lovejoy admits he cannot pay the original sum of $1 million. Despite Marge's objections, he moves the family there and throws a house warming party. Meanwhile, Lovejoy sets up a temporary congregation at Barney's Bowlarama, but the sermon is a disaster, rsulting in a disheartened Lovejoy leaving Springfield, much to Ned's dismay. Homer's party goes on for several days and the church becomes a bar and hangout for the townspeople, and Ned observes that they have violated all Ten Commandments. As Marge worries that Homer is incurring God's wrath, a rainstorm begins and Homer is struck by lightning in the mouth (God's way of smiting him for his blasphemy, sacrilege and heresy). The town begins to flood, and the townspeople flee to the roof of the church. Just as the townspeople are about to angrily advance on Homer for causing their impending doom, Reverend Lovejoy returns in a helicopter and leads everyone in prayer, asking God to forgive them. The flood subsides, and afterwards Lisa gives logical reasons for the cause of the events that had happened, with the storm and flood caused by bonfire and trees being cut down, but when questioned about why the rain suddenly stopped, Lisa just sarcastically suggests Buddha. The camera then pans to God, Buddha and Colonel Sanders watching from Heaven, rationalizing that the humans have suffered enough, with God asking for Colonel Sanders' popcorn chicken.
302
14
11
Barting Over
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barting_Over
Bart learns that he was once a child actor in commercials and that all the money earned was spent by Homer. In retaliation, Bart petitions the court to have himself legally emancipated from his parents and moves out of the Simpson house. Bart is initially miserable in his new apartment, but discovers that skateboarder Tony Hawk lives on one of the floors above. He and Hawk become friends, and Bart is content with his new life. Homer apologizes to Bart and requests that he return home. Bart accepts the apology, but tells his family that he is going on tour with Hawk. At an event, Homer speaks to Bart and finally promises Bart that he will never treat him badly again. Guest stars: Blink-182 (Travis Barker, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus), Tony Hawk, and Jane Kaczmarek.
While Bart and Lisa are cleaning the garage, they find a commercial where Bart is cast as a baby with bad breath. Bart does not remember being a child actor (stating he doesn't remember being in any commercial, before eating a Butterfinger candy bar), and Marge reassures him that he earned a lot of money from it. Homer confesses that he had spent Bart's money. When he asks why Homer would be so selfish in doing so since Marge promised to put that in a trust fund for his future, he explains that he needed the money. Homer had to buy back incriminating photos of himself endangering Bart's life from a hotel balcony to avoid a scandal. Furious, Bart decides that he can no longer live with Homer and appeals to be emancipated. During the trial, Homer's anger issues prove that Bart is not safe living with him, and Homer is no longer his legal guardian. Furious, he tries to attack Judge Harm, but is stopped by the bailiff and dragged away for contempt. Bart sadly says goodbye to Marge and Lisa, then moves into a loft. Homer struggles to cope with Bart's disappearance and plans to prove that he can be a better father. That night, Bart is scared away by a rat and runs into the elevator, which takes him to the hangout of Tony Hawk and Blink-182. He befriends Hawk and decorates his loft with luxuries, and when the rest of the family visit him, Bart prefers his new life and still refuses to come back. Hawk invites Bart to his Skewed Tour, where Homer, Lisa, and Marge follow him. To win back Bart's respect, Homer beats Hawk in a skateboarding duel. After Homer promises that he will never mistreat him again, Bart accepts his apology and moves back in. Homer starts to earn back Bart's money by acting in an advertisement for an impotency drug and which he's embarrassed of. Bart reassures him that no one will remember it in 50 years. On Homer's death 50 years later, an elderly Nelson Muntz laughs at his grave before coughing from the attempt.
303
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12
I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Spelling_as_Fast_as_I_Can
Lisa competes at a spelling bee and earns the right to compete in the Spell-lympics, becoming the pride of the town. The host of the show George Plimpton, asks her to intentionally lose so that a more popular boy can win. Lisa refuses and continues to compete, but accidentally misspells a word and loses. Meanwhile, Homer tours with a group obsessed with eating Krusty Burger's latest sandwich. Guest star: George Plimpton.
While watching a horror movie show hosted by Boobarella (the show's take on Cassandra Peterson's Elvira character), a commercial plays for the Ribwich (the show's take on McDonald’s McRib sandwich), a new Krusty Burger sandwich in which meat from an unknown animal is processed and molded into the shape of ribs. Homer excitedly samples the Ribwich, recently arrived at the Krusty Burger in Springfield, and becomes addicted. The next day, Principal Skinner holds a spelling bee at the school. Lisa is excited when she wins the spelling bee, for which she is awarded a scale model of the planet Mars (a kickball with the word "Mars" written on it). She continues to the state spelling bee, and wins again, qualifying her for the Spellympics to be held in Calgary. Marge suggests they celebrate by going to a movie, but Homer says he has "important daddy business" — which turns out to be eating Ribwiches with Lenny and Carl at Krusty Burger, only to find that the limited-time-only Ribwiches are out of stock. However, a "Ribhead" (a fan of the Ribwich) tells Homer that it is being tested in other markets, so he decides to follow a group of Ribheads as they track the release of the Ribwich tour schedule. At the Spellympics, hosted by George Plimpton, Lisa wins the semi-finals and secures a spot in the finals. The other two finalists are Sun Moon, a Korean girl, and Alex, a cute boy with big round glasses and a speech impediment who proves to be extremely popular. Plimpton takes Lisa aside and tells her that if she lets Alex win, she will be given a free scholarship to any Seven Sisters college and a free George Plimpton hot plate. Lisa is torn between wanting to win the Spellympics and free college, and asks Marge whether they can afford to send her to college. Marge is unsure, but promises to do whatever it takes to get Lisa into college, but Lisa is still uneasy since she is aware of Homer's low salary. In San Francisco, Krusty informs all the Ribheads that the Ribwich will no longer be made, as the animal from which it was made is now extinct. He tosses the last one into the crowd. Homer catches it, fighting off the others. An Italian Ribhead offers Homer the lease to his car for the last Ribwich, and Homer remembers Lisa and the Spellympics. He agrees to the trade and takes off in the car, reaching the Spellympics finals just in time to see Lisa spell "intransigence" and encourage her. Lisa, happy to see her father, tells everyone that she was told to take a dive, but then unintentionally misspells her word. Lisa loses, and since she did not do it on purpose, Plimpton rescinds his offer. On the way back to Springfield, Homer tries to cheer up Lisa when she admits that she let down everyone in town. However, she finds that in coming second she has become Springfield's most successful native ever (even outachieving the Springfield woman who once dated Charles Grodin). In her honor, the town carved Lisa's face on the side of a mountain.
304
14
13
A Star Is Born Again
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Star_Is_Born_Again
During the annual Jellyfish Festival, Ned Flanders realizes that he is lonely and becomes depressed. One night, he meets a beautiful woman, who asks him out on a date. He soon learns that the woman is Sara Sloane, a famous actress. Sloane is charmed by Flanders' wholesomeness, and they continue to date to the point at which she asks that he move to Hollywood. Flanders, worried that Hollywood would conflict with his conservative Christian values, refuses, so Sloane instead chooses to stay in Springfield. However, their relationship does not work out, due to his insistence on marriage. Guest stars: James L. Brooks, Helen Fielding and Marisa Tomei.
During the annual Jellyfish Festival, which welcomes back the Stinging Red Jellyfish to the shores of Springfield, Ned Flanders becomes depressed because he is alone. The other adults have partners with whom to spend a romantic evening at the Jellyfish Cotillion, and this is Ned's first festival without his wife Maude. Ned returns to the Leftorium to work on his taxes and take his mind off things. A woman comes in, looking for a pair of left-handed eyelash curlers. After chatting with Ned she asks him out on a date. After she leaves, Ned notices a movie poster with her face on it; she is Sara Sloane, a movie star. Sara and Ned hit it off, with Sara loving Ned's simple, quaint lifestyle and honesty. They go on several dates, though they encounter some problems, especially from tabloid reporters following them. Also, Sara is much less inhibited than Ned, causing some tension. When her movie wraps, Sara asks Ned to return to Hollywood with her. Ned has a horrible dream about the bad things of Hollywood in a sequence that includes a cameo by series producer James L. Brooks, and also the "Hollywood" sign reading "Hollyweird", and refuses. Sara therefore tries staying in Springfield, to be with Ned. She slowly starts settling in with the locals, joining Marge's book club hosted by author Helen Fielding and going shopping with Ned. At a concert, to which Sara wears a low-cut dress, Sara tells Ned she wants to have sex with him. Ned eventually relents, but insists on marriage if they are to continue a sexual relationship. Sara is unwilling to get married, and they break up and she returns to Hollywood. She gets a quickie marriage and divorce to Bob Balaban. Ned finds that he is now more attractive to women because of his famous relationship.
305
14
14
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Spritz_Goes_to_Washington
An air traffic route is redirected so that airplanes start flying directly over the Simpsons' house. The noise starts to disrupt their lives and, desperate for a solution, the family turns to their Congressman. However, he dies of a heart attack, so they ask Krusty the Clown to run for Congress so that he can help them. Krusty is successful in his campaign, but finds that his air traffic bill is ignored by the veteran Congressmen. He soon becomes disillusioned with the system, so the Simpsons, with guidance from Walter Mondale, help him out by blackmailing one of his opponents and attaching the bill to a more popular one. The bill passes, and the air traffic is re-routed. Guest star: Joe Mantegna.
After their house is shaken by a tremendous rumble one morning, the Simpsons discover that they're living directly beneath the newest flight path to Springfield International Airport. A complaint to an airport official has no effect, and the house is now unsellable. Homer and Marge then go to their congressman Horace Wilcox, who has been Springfield's representative since 1933. While Wilcox is eager to help, he is so upset by their misfortune that he suffers a heart attack and dies. Bart asks Krusty the Clown to run for Congress and he agrees, thinking he can also eliminate everything with which the Government is harassing him. He is adopted as the Republican candidate. His campaign starts badly because he has offended so many minorities with his politically incorrect jokes, but Lisa helps him turn his campaign around by having him connect with regular families and citizens. With this advice and a very helpful Fox News programme, he is elected. To Krusty's chagrin, no-one pays attention to a freshman Congressman, and he is appointed to useless committees, or set to work cleaning the graffiti off the walls. He, and the Simpsons, are about to give up, but Walter Mondale, who is working as a janitor in Congress, explains to them how a bill really becomes a law. With his help, Bart blackmails a key congressman with a videotape that shows him abusing the free mail policy. Homer manages to get another congressman drunk (and himself as well). Finally, during a session in Congress, Mondale and Lisa, with Homer's drunken diversion, fix the Air Traffic Bill with a paperclip to another bill giving orphans American flags. When the bill comes up for a vote, both the blackmailed congressman and the drunk one consent, and it is passed. Krusty praises the processes of democracy. At home, the Simpsons are happy to get the peace and quiet that they heroically fought for. Homer says that the planes are now flying where they belong — over the homes of poor people.
306
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15
C.E.D'oh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.E.D%27oh
Homer tries for a promotion at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and suggests several ideas to Mr. Burns, all of which are rejected. One night, Homer overhears Burns admit that the plant's real owner is a canary to protect Burns from responsibility for any wrongdoing by the power plant. Homer releases the bird and tells Burns that nuclear inspectors have arrived for a surprise inspection. Burns, desperate to find a scapegoat, names Homer the new owner. As his first act, Homer fires Burns and takes control of the Plant. However, he finds that his work life as a CEO is conflicting with his family life. Homer returns to his old job and gives ownership back to Burns.
A sleepy Marge is too tired on Valentine's Day to have sex with an eager and well-prepared Homer, who dejectedly leaves the house. He sees a billboard for a school offering extension courses. He goes to the school and attempts to take a course on stripping for his wife, which Dr. Hibbert teaches, but is kicked out for hogging the stripping oil. By accident, Homer winds up in a different class that teaches strategies for workplace success. Inspired by the lessons, he begins to investigate problems at the power plant and propose solutions to Mr. Burns, who rejects them all without reading them. Homer later overhears Burns state that he has made a canary named Canary M. Burns the legal owner of the plant in order to avoid any consequences of wrongdoing. With help from Bart, he devises a plan to overthrow Burns by setting the canary free. Homer tricks Burns into believing that a team of inspectors is visiting to check conditions at the plant; when Burns is unable to find the canary, he panics and names Homer as the new owner. Homer's first act is to throw Burns from the office balcony, allowing a throng of employees in the parking lot to crowd-surf him into a waiting taxi. Burns and Smithers flee to Marrakesh, Morocco, intent on purchasing a large quantity of opium. The responsibilities of running the plant soon force Homer to spend most of his time at work instead of with the family, and he becomes miserable after having to lay off employees and listen to business analysts discuss the plant's troubles. Burns visits Homer one night (informing him that Smithers has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for drug possession) and takes him to the cemetery, showing him the graves of people whose relationships with Burns suffered because he worked so much - including his wife. Homer decides to return ownership of the plant to Burns, who drugs him into unconsciousness and begins to wall him up inside one of the cemetery crypts. However, he is so slow and weak at building the wall that Homer easily steps over the few bricks he has laid after waking up. Leaving the plant in Burns' hands, Homer returns home to have a barbecue with his family and enjoy his old life again.
307
14
16
'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Scuse_Me_While_I_Miss_the_Sky
A snobby British filmmaker named Declan Desmond begins making a documentary about student life at Springfield Elementary School. When introduced to Lisa, he tells her that she has too many goals and suggests that she pick one career. Lisa focuses on astronomy, but cannot watch the stars because of light pollution. She convinces Mayor Quimby to decrease the light's intensity during the night, which only results in an increase in the crime rate. Quimby bows to public pressure and switches the lights back on permanently. Lisa overloads the generators at the Power Plant, causing a power outage, and is able to watch a meteor shower undisturbed by light. Guest stars: Eric Idle and Joe Mantegna.
Declan Desmond, an opinionated British documentary film producer, films a documentary at Springfield Elementary School on the students' lives. He interviews Bart as he gets hit by a ball of dirt thrown by Nelson and breaks down in tears. Later, Declan belittles Lisa as she talks about the multiplicity of her interests, insinuating that she could neither be happy nor successful juggling too many hobbies or passions. Hurt by his criticism, Lisa resolves to find a single passion to which she can devote herself; astronomy. She convinces Homer to buy her a telescope, but discovers that light pollution from the city is blocking her view of the sky. After a discussion with Professor Frink, Lisa starts a petition to reduce the city's light pollution. After gaining enough signatures, Mayor Quimby agrees to turn off the streetlights, leading to a clear view of the stars, at which many people from Springfield marvel. Meanwhile, Bart is looking for a way to regain his popularity after being humiliated. After seeing Nelson parading around with stolen car hood ornaments, he decides to steal one off Fat Tony's car. Milhouse and Bart are foiled on their first attempt because Quimby is pressured to switch the lights back on due to rising crime. Yet the light level is set too high which means that no one can sleep so Lisa, still wanting to see the light pollution reduced, and Bart, still wanting to steal Fat Tony's hood ornament, take a now sleep-deprived Homer to the power plant and overload the generators causing a power outage, which ends the light pollution, but before the angry citizens can attack, Lisa points out a meteor shower and the town looks on in wonderment while Bart sneaks off and steals Fat Tony's hood ornament, with Don McLean's song "Vincent" playing in the background. The show ends with a montage of clips from Declan's documentary.
308
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17
Three Gays of the Condo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gays_of_the_Condo
While searching in his closet, Homer discovers an old letter from Marge that states that she no longer loves him. He begins to think that she only married him because she became pregnant and so moves out. He finds a new apartment in Springfield's gay district and moves in with a gay couple, Grady and Julio. Marge and Homer attempt a reconciliation dinner, but Homer becomes intoxicated and arrives late. Homer goes to Moe's Tavern, where he continues drinking and gets alcohol poisoning. At the hospital, Dr. Hibbert shows Homer a videotape that documents Homer's first alcohol poisoning. It shows Marge's compassion for the unconscious Homer, as she tells him she loves him. Back in the present, Marge comes into the hospital room and says that she still loves Homer and they kiss. Guest stars: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Ben Schatz and Scott Thompson.
The family is creating an enormous jigsaw puzzle. After they realize a jigsaw piece is missing, the family look for it. Homer looks through Marge's memory box and sees a poster of Moe's Tavern's opening (advertised as Meaux's Tavern) with Marge's writing on it. It says that Homer made the opening the worst day of her life due to him becoming drunk and ditching her to play Asteroids on an arcade machine with his friends, after which he was sent to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. This leaves Homer concerned about why Marge stayed with him; he then finds a hospital appointment card dated two days later, confirming she was pregnant with Bart. When Homer confronts Marge about the letter, she says she was just upset that night but is forced to admit that Homer did, and still does, things that annoy her. Homer then realizes Marge has been resenting him behind his back. The next day, they argue again and Homer leaves the house. He spends some time at Kirk Van Houten's apartment, but the generally depressive mood of the apartment complex where he lives drives him out. Homer then reads a newspaper saying that there is a place available. Finding out that the place is in Springfield's gay district, Homer moves in with a gay male couple, Grady and Julio. Homer has a visit home after taking Bart and Lisa out, but Marge and Homer still argue. At a gay bar, Homer tells Grady and Julio that his relationship with Marge is on the rocks. The next day, Homer sees Marge and the kids, who have brought "Weird Al" Yankovic and his band, who play a song called "Homer and Marge", a parody of John Mellencamp's "Jack & Diane", to tell Homer that Marge loves him. Marge then asks Homer out on a date, but he is nervous while preparing for his date and drinks too much margarita. Meanwhile, at the venue of the date, Marge anxiously awaits Homer's arrival. When he arrives, she is upset that he is late and drunk, and leaves him. Back at the apartment, Grady tries to comfort Homer by telling him that he will find someone else, and kisses him romantically. Homer realizes that Grady is in love with him and jumps out of the window, heading to Moe's Tavern to get some advice from Moe. Homer is about to come to the realization that all of his problems are caused by alcohol when Moe forces beer down Homer's throat, giving him alcohol poisoning. After Homer awakens, Dr. Hibbert tells him that the incident was not as bad as the night he first treated him for alcohol poisoning. Homer says it was the night that destroyed his marriage. Hibbert disagrees and plays a tape from the past of Homer's first alcohol poisoning. Marge says that she loves him in the tape. Marge appears and says she still does, and they reconcile. Years later, an elderly Dr. Hibbert is watching the tape and remarks that he made tapes because he suspected a nurse of stealing sponges. Then, for the first time, he sees footage of the nurse sneaking past the hidden security-camera while gathering a huge armful of sponges.
309
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18
Dude, Where's My Ranch?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dude,_Where%27s_My_Ranch%3F
When challenged to think up a new Christmas carol, Homer instead writes a song about how much he hates Ned Flanders. The song becomes such a hit that the Simpsons become sick of hearing it and take a trip to a dude ranch. Lisa develops affection for a local boy named Luke but becomes jealous when he hears him talking to a girl named Clara on the telephone. One night, she meets Clara and gives her the wrong directions, leading her to become lost. After Lisa discovers that Clara is actually Luke's sister, she rushes to find her. She saves Clara, and tells Luke what happened, but he is offended and dumps her. Meanwhile, Bart and Homer decide to help a tribe of Native Americans who want a beaver dam removed so they can reclaim their land. Guest stars: David Byrne, Andy Serkis and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
At Christmas time, the Simpsons go caroling around Springfield before the Blue-Haired Lawyer wrongly orders them to stop, citing copyright infringement. In response, Homer tries to write his own carol but when Ned Flanders tries to help, he soon creates an anti-Flanders song titled "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders", produced by and featuring vocals from David Byrne of Talking Heads. The song becomes so popular that the family, annoyed by its constant presence, leave for a dude ranch. As the family drives to the ranch, Byrne tell them he's made a new salsa mix of the song. As he is dancing to it on the hood of his car, Byrne slips and falls into Moe's (who was driving directly behind Byrne). When Byrne asks Moe to take him to the hospital, he instead drives past it and ask Byrne if he's ever seen the movie Misery. When Byrne replies that he hasn't, Moe says this will all be new to him. At the ranch, Lisa meets a cowhand named Luke Stetson, with whom she begins to bond. Meanwhile, Homer and Bart meet a tribe of Native Americans who want a beaver dam removed so they can reclaim their land. They are confronted by the beavers while attempting to dismantle the dam and eventually destroy it after luring the beavers away. Lisa overhears Luke expressing his love to a girl named Clara over the phone. When a jealous Lisa encounters her, she tricks her into going the wrong way on the path to a dance. Lisa finds out that Clara is Luke's sister and runs to the beaver dam with Bart. They find Clara standing on a rock in the middle of a torrential river. Bart taunts some beavers and scales a tree; the beavers chew through the tree, causing it to fall and create a bridge that Clara can cross. When Lisa comes clean about what happened to Clara, Luke is offended and leaves her. As the Simpsons return to Springfield, they hear a song entitled "The Moe Szyslak Connection" on the radio, sung by Moe Szyslak and produced by Byrne, and turn around to spend another week at the ranch.
310
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19
Old Yeller-Belly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Yeller-Belly
The Simpson family's dog Santa's Little Helper fails to save Homer from a treehouse when it is on fire. Consequently, Homer declares him a coward and disowns him. One day, a photographer finds Santa's Little Helper playing with a Duff Beer can and takes a picture. The picture becomes popular and SLH becomes the new mascot for Duff Beer while the old mascot, Duffman, is fired. Homer earns a lot of money but SLH's original owner shows up, claiming that the dog is rightfully his. Bart fears that he will never see Santa's Little Helper again. The Simpsons conceive a plan to get Duffman rehired as Duff's mascot by showing what a coward Santa's Little Helper is. At a Duff-sponsored beach event, Homer pretends to be drowning (while floating on a keg of beer) but is attacked by a shark. The shark bites the beer keg and becomes drunk, and wins over the crowd on the beach. The shark is named the new mascot of Duff Beer and Santa's Little Helper returns to the Simpson family. Guest stars: Stacy Keach and John Kassir.
Bart and his friends in his treehouse try to eavesdrop on Lisa and her friends having a tea party, and the treehouse gets destroyed in the ensuing fight. The Amish build a grand new one but, ignorant of electricity, install the wiring wrongly. There is a fire at the party to mark the completion of the treehouse. Everyone gets out safely except Homer. Santa's Little Helper is there, but does not even try to save him. Snowball II climbs up to save him, scratching him hard to restore him to consciousness. Homer becomes very fond and appreciative of Snowball II and very cold towards Santa's Little Helper, whom he labels a coward for leaving him for dead. The dog follows him everywhere trying to regain his acceptance, but Homer rebuffs him. Snowball II is a local hero. The local dog park is renamed the "Snowball II Municipal Cat Park". In an interview with Kent Brockman, Homer declares, "I have no dog!" Santa's Little Helper is tethered in the backyard. There is an empty beer can there. Santa's Little Helper flips the can into the air, balancing it on his nose and drinking the last few drops. A Springfield Shopper reporter sees this and takes a photo, which appears on the front page of the newspaper. This gets the attention of Duff Beer, who announce that Duffman will be replaced with Santa's Little Helper, as their new mascot, Suds McDuff. Suds McDuff boosts sales of Duff Beer and the family's fortunes explode. However, this prompts Santa's Little Helper's original sleazy owner and racing trainer (from the first episode) to visit the Simpsons and prove that he owns the dog by showing the interview footage of Homer disowning him. He becomes Suds' owner again and takes the earnings for himself. The family manage to find Duffman, figuring that if they can get him to replace Suds as the Duff mascot, they can get their dog back. He is eager to join their scheme: he will help them get Santa's Little Helper back at a Duff Beer-sponsored beach volleyball event. At the event, Homer pretends to be drowning, while he is actually floating on a keg of beer. As Homer expected, Santa's Little Helper is not brave enough to save him. However, when Duffman is called to save Homer, a shark is seen and Duffman refuses to go in. The shark tries to bite Homer, but bites the beer keg open instead and gets drunk. The crowd at the beach likes the shark, and Duff Beer announces that the shark — named Duff McShark — will be their new mascot. Santa's Little Helper returns to the Simpson family.
311
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20
Brake My Wife, Please
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_My_Wife,_Please
Homer becomes obsessed with using new gadgets in his car. One day, he becomes distracted and drives off a pier, losing his driver's license. Unable to use a car, Homer starts to learn the joys of walking. Meanwhile, Marge shoulders the burden of Homer's driving duties and becomes stressed out. One day, as Homer sings about the virtues of walking, Marge accidentally runs him over with her car. Later, as Homer recuperates from the accident, he begins to suspect that Marge is trying to hurt him. They fight and go to see a marriage counselor. The counselor advises Homer to perform one completely unselfish gesture to win Marge back. Homer holds a party with all of her friends and a surprised Marge tells Homer that she loves him. Guest stars: Jackson Browne, Steve Buscemi and Jane Kaczmarek.
After Homer leaves the family stuck at the hospital for hours because Marge couldn't contact him to bring in their health insurance card, she insists Homer purchase a cell phone. Homer quickly goes overboard with fun devices to go along with his new phone, but unfortunately that leads into a one-car accident caused by his recklessness, forcing Marge to do all the driving when Homer somewhat unfairly has his driver's license revoked. Homer is forced to walk everywhere, and despite being bitter at first, he begins to enjoy his new method of travel. As Homer begins to enjoy walking, Marge begins finding her duty of driving everyone places increasingly stressful. One day, as Homer walks with other Springfieldians, Marge accidentally runs him over with her car. As Homer is now completely reliant on Marge to care for him, their relationship suffers after Marge spills hot soup on Homer and then kicks out the cane he is using, leading a horrified Homer to state that Marge is now trying to hurt him on purpose. Marge admits she hates him, not only for losing his driver's license, but also for now taking her for granted. They see a marriage counselor who advises them to write down the people important to their lives, but Homer just writes his own name. As Marge sadly leaves, the counselor advises Homer to perform one completely unselfish gesture to win Marge back. Homer invites all the people of Springfield (except for the Flanders family, whom Homer tricks into thinking Jesus wants to meet them in Montana) to the Simpson house for a backyard barbecue in Marge's honor. Marge—returning in a foul mood after driving—walks to the backyard and is welcomed by everyone. After the barbecue, Marge tells Homer that she loves him. Homer and the other guests, including Jackson Browne, toast her before Homer turns on the sprinklers once dinner is over to get everyone to clear out.
312
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21
The Bart of War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bart_of_War
After destroying Flanders' shrine to The Beatles, Bart and Milhouse are punished by being put in community groups. Bart joins the Pre-Teen Braves along with Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz and Database. Led by Marge, they start engaging in community activities. However, they soon become rivals with The Cavalry Kids, led by Milhouse. The two groups try to outdo each other and become involved in a contest to sell the most candy. The Cavalry Kids win the prize of singing the national anthem at a baseball game. However, the Pre-Teen Braves pretend to be The Cavalry Kids and sing their own version of the national anthem. As the crowd becomes enraged, the real Cavalry Kids arrive and a massive stadium-wide brawl erupts. Marge becomes upset, and the fighting ends when an image of her crying is shown on the JumboTron.
Marge disapproves of Bart and Milhouse watching South Park, so she unsuccessfully tries to get them to watch Good Heavens on PAX. The boys soon find themselves outside the house and bored, and decide to tie a thread to a fly. When the fly enters the Flanders house and is eaten by a cat, Bart and Milhouse find themselves inside the home, unsupervised. They take the opportunity to cause mischief, and discover Ned's collection of Beatles memorabilia in the basement. They drink from cans of a 40-year-old novelty beverage and start to hallucinate, with Bart seeing Milhouse as John Lennon through various stages of his life. When Ned, Rod and Todd return home and discover the damage caused by Bart and Milhouse, they flee to their panic room and call the police. Chief Wiggum and his crew subsequently catch the boys in the basement, and call their parents. They decide that Bart and Milhouse should spend all their time under parental supervision. Bart is also forbidden from playing with Milhouse, who Marge believes incites Bart into his bad behavior. Marge subsequently establishes a peer group based on Native American life, called the "Pre-Teen Braves" — composed of Bart, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz, and Database, with herself as tribe leader after Homer fails in his leadership skills.: 167–168  Later, when Marge takes the boys on a nature walk, they meet a Mohican man who shows them a field that is in need of cleaning up. The Pre-Teen Braves agree to the job, but discover that it has already been cleaned by another peer group, the "Cavalry Kids" — led by Milhouse's father, Kirk Van Houten, composed of Milhouse, Martin Prince, Jimbo Jones, and a nerd named Cosine.: 169  The two groups try to outdo each other in doing good;: 169–170  for example, when the Cavalry Kids bulldoze the house of the homeless from the Pre-Teen Braves and post a pre-fabricated in place, the Pre-Teen Braves retaliate by setting it on fire with arrows. When the Cavalry Kids sell candy in the hope of becoming batboys at a Springfield Isotopes game, the Pre-Teen Braves try to thwart them by lacing their candy with laxatives. Unfortunately for them, the senior citizens, in need of relief from constipation, buy the Cavalry Kids a win. At the Isotopes game, in another attempt to defeat the Cavalry Kids, Bart and Homer divert them away from the stadium with a fake "free VIP parking" sign, and the Pre-Teen Braves then disguise themselves as their enemies before singing their own version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". The crowd becomes angered by this, and when the real Cavalry Kids arrive, a fight breaks out between everyone. Marge, appalled by this, she breaks down, and when this is shown on the Jumbotron, the fighting stops and the Sea Captain suggests that everyone should sing a sweet, soothing hymn like Canada's national anthem instead of a "hymn to war" like "The Star-Spangled Banner". Everyone present sings "O Canada" to Marge and joins hands to form a maple leaf on the baseball field. Bart and Milhouse then agree that war is not the answer — "except to all of America's problems."
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Moe Baby Blues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Baby_Blues
Moe Szyslak becomes lonely and attempts to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. However, he inadvertently saves Maggie Simpson when she is sent flying from the Simpsons' car window and into his arms. He starts playing with Maggie and becomes attached to her, telling her the story of The Godfather. Homer and Marge become upset about how much time Moe is spending with Maggie and forbid him from seeing her again. One night, Maggie wakes up and hears Fat Tony and the Springfield Mafia outside the house and follows them. When Homer and Marge find her missing, they automatically assume that Moe kidnapped her. When Moe is told that Maggie is missing, his request to help find her is granted by Homer. Maggie follows the mobsters to Luigi's restaurant, where Fat Tony's gang gets into a gun battle with a rival family. Homer, Marge and Moe track Maggie down and Moe goes inside and save Maggie. After Moe saves Maggie's life, Homer allows the two to spend more time together. Guest star: Joe Mantegna.
The whole town goes to the Springfield Botanical Gardens to see the blooming of a Sumatran Century Flower. Because the huge crowd is exactly one person over the maximum legal capacity, Chief Wiggum decides to eject the most bitter and unpopular person there from the ceremony: Moe. However, when the flower opens, it emits a horrible smell, sickening the townspeople and destroying the entire garden. When the townspeople start to drive away from the Botanical Gardens, the Simpsons become trapped in a traffic jam. Lisa tries to warn Homer that the traffic is moving, but he accelerates too hard and hits the brakes suddenly. The force sends Maggie flying through the sunroof after her cheaply made safety belt breaks. Moe, who is getting ready to leap to his death from a ledge, accidentally catches Maggie just as she is about to fall into the river below the bridge. Moe is then instantly declared a hero, much to his surprise, and he instantly bonds with Maggie. The Simpsons let Moe babysit Maggie all the time and Marge is happy that she has had plenty of time to get things done, but Homer feels left out of Maggie's life and worries because she is his last chance to be a good father after his complete failures with Lisa and Bart. Later, Moe tells Maggie the story of The Godfather. When he gets to the part where Don Corleone plays with his grandson, Moe demonstrates how the Don scares him by sticking a cut-up orange in his mouth, and Maggie enjoys it. When it comes to Maggie's birthday party, Moe annoys everyone with his behavior and his gift to Maggie: a toy-sized rendition of his bar, featuring "Classic Drunk Barney" and "Drunk Talking Homer". When Marge and Homer learn that Moe has installed his own baby-monitoring system in Maggie's room, they decide enough is enough and evict Moe from their house for good. Moe reverts to being depressed, to the point of him imagining the barflies as Maggie. One night, the family is asleep, and Maggie wakes up and hears the mafia outside the house, plotting to kill the Castellaneta family. When one of the mobsters feels hesitant, Fat Tony does the Godfather-orange routine to cheer him up, and Maggie recognizes it and decides to follow the mobsters. When Homer and Marge find her missing, they assume that Moe kidnapped her, and they track him down with the aid of the police. They see Moe at his oven, and they think that Maggie is inside, but it turns out to really be a ham. When Moe is told that Maggie is missing, he offers to help the Simpsons find her. Searching the Simpsons' house yard, the group find the cut-up orange that Fat Tony used, and Moe works out that Maggie must have followed the mobsters. Maggie follows the mobsters to Luigi's, where Fat Tony's gang and the Castellanetas are having a meeting. Maggie enters the restaurant where the two gangs are about to start a gun battle. The situation deteriorates when both groups of mobsters are aiming weapons at each other and Maggie is in the middle of an "Italian-American Mexican standoff". Homer, Marge and Moe are standing outside and Moe decides to go inside and save Maggie. Moe goes inside, and to prevent being shot, tells the gangsters about Maggie's innocence and how it redeemed his life. They start to cry, and Moe and Maggie leave safely. The family apologizes for their injustice against Moe, and Homer and Moe decide to have a "playdate": Homer spends quality time with the ham, and Moe spends more time with Maggie.
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Treehouse of Horror XIV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_XIV
Reaper Madness – Homer enjoys his new life as The Grim Reaper after killing the old one and plaguing the world with immortality, but becomes conflicted when Marge is next on his death list.Frinkenstein – Prof. Frink wins the Nobel Prize in science, but is sad that his dead father is not with him to share in his success, so Frink rebuilds him out of his father's real body with mechanical parts, but the latter is not happy with this and he will steal the body parts of other corpses.Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off – Bart and Milhouse order a stopwatch from the back of a comic book that possesses the power to manipulate time.Guest star: Jerry Lewis, Dudley Herschbach, Jennifer Garner and Oscar De La Hoya
Introduction Bart and Lisa, dressed as Charlie Brown and Lucy van Pelt from the Peanuts series, discuss their Halloween treats, and Lisa claims that hers are better than Bart's. The two then fight violently until Homer intervenes and orders them to stop fighting. He throws a burning log at them, but misses and hits Grampa, though he complains that he's still cold. Homer gets Bart and Lisa rolled up in the rug and starts to "beat the lumps". A gun-wielding Marge intervenes and says that she does not approve of Homer's parenting techniques, and shoots him. Homer's blood splatters on a nearby wall, spelling the title of the episode. Meanwhile, from their spaceship, the two aliens Kang and Kodos criticize the Simpson family for airing a Halloween special in November, as they are already set up for Christmas. Reaper Madness The Grim Reaper enters the Simpson house attempting to take Bart, but the family goes on a Benny Hill-style chase to elude him. Death eventually manages to pin Bart's shirt to the wall with his scythe. As Death is about to sentence Bart to an eternity of pain, Homer kills him by cracking his skull open with a bowling ball in revenge for the deaths of Snowball I and President John F. Kennedy. The Simpsons find that no one can die since Death is dead. The scene cuts to two examples of a world where no one can die: Frankie the Squealer (last seen in "Insane Clown Poppy") surviving an execution by the Springfield Mafia, much to their frustration, and Moe attempting to hang himself from the ceiling of his tavern. On trash day, Marge tells Homer to take Death's corpse to the curb. Homer does, but puts on Death's robe, inadvertently turning himself into the new Grim Reaper. At first, he refuses to reap souls, but when the cloak begins to crush his groin, he complies. He kills many people who are on God's list (and some who are not), until he is asked to kill Marge. Homer does not want to kill his wife (or himself, an alternative he is given but quickly rejects), and pleads with God that he wants to get out of the job after leading Him to believe that he killed Marge. God agrees, but he finds that Homer tricked him by substituting Patty's body (which God initially mistakes for Selma's) for Marge's. The annoyed deity tries to punish Homer, but gives up after a chase, proclaiming that he is "too old and too rich". Marge thanks Homer by giving him extra pork chops. Homer then jokes that he will make sure to not kill Marge every week from now on. Frinkenstein In a parody of the 1931 film Frankenstein, Homer gets a call from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences telling him that he is the winner of the Nobel Prize; however, Lisa learns that it is actually for Professor Frink for his invention of a combined hammer and screwdriver. Frink is depressed because his father, an adventurer, had a falling out with him and died from a shark bite before they could reconcile. Frink, who kept the corpse frozen, reanimates his father. Unfortunately the revived Frink Sr. decides to steal body parts in order to improve himself. Eventually, Lisa convinces him to stop when he realizes he is causing his son anguish. At the awards ceremony in Stockholm, Frink Sr. tries to make amends with his son for his recent behavior; however, he goes on another rampage through the audience, killing many and taking their brains. Frink Jr. manages to stop his father by kicking him in the crotch, fatally wounding him. Before dying, Frink Sr. is proud of his son for standing up to him. However, Frink Jr. is able to hold on to his father's soul, which talks to him from a box. Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off In a parody of the 1963 Twilight Zone episode "A Kind of a Stopwatch", Bart and Milhouse get a stopwatch through an advertisement in an old comic book that actually allows them to stop time. Realizing the power behind the watch, they set off to prank Springfieldians with impunity, such as giving Principal Skinner a pantsing and stealing Homer's donuts and clothes. They have a blast using the watch to terrorize the town, but they are eventually outsmarted by Mayor Quimby, who laid an ultraviolet powder on the floor at the town meeting where they committed their most recent joke. Upon discovering the perpetrators, a lynch mob goes after Bart and Milhouse. Just as the mob is about to converge on them, the boys use the watch to freeze time once again. The watch then breaks, leaving the two in a frozen world. For a time, they have some fun with the entire world (such as giving the Pope a wedgie and punching Oscar De La Hoya in the stomach), but soon become bored. They find an 8-hour-long watch repair manual, but it takes the two 15 years to repair the device. Just before they re-activate the watch, and realizing that they need a scapegoat to avoid the lynch mob's wrath, they place Martin in the middle of the mob that was about to attack them; he is subsequently killed when time restarts (as De La Hoya exclaims "This kid is fun to hit!"). Later, Lisa makes light of the fact that Bart is much older, and asks to play with the watch. She finds a secondary function that changes reality, altering the family in many ways (including causing them to switch genders, and become bobble-heads, TV Guides and the Fantastic Four). Homer has her stop when the family, now normal with Bart at 10 years old again, is playing with hula hoops.
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My Mother the Carjacker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Mother_the_Carjacker
Homer's mother returns, and after being cleared of all charges, is re-imprisoned on a technicality.Guest star: Glenn Close
On Kent Brockman's Channel Six "Oops Patrol" segment, he displays a humorous headline ("Mayor Unveils Erection to Cheering Crowd"), noticed and submitted by Marge, for which she receives a free T-shirt and other perks from the town. An envious Homer, after trying on and stretching out Marge's shirt, attempts to find his own funny headline so he too can win a T-shirt. Homer spends the following night with newspapers plastered over his bedroom wall, exhausting himself in his search. He finds an article entitled "World's Biggest Pizza". The first letters of each line spell out an invitation for Homer to meet someone at Fourth Street Overpass at midnight. He wakes Bart so they can both go. When they reach the overpass, the mystery person reveals herself to be Mona Simpson, Homer's mother. At the Overpass Diner, Mona explains that the government is still hunting her because of her crime of sabotaging Mr. Burns' germ warfare lab. Her nostalgia aroused by a macaroni pencil case Homer had made for her when he was five, her liberal links at the Springfield Shopper published the story of the giant pizza to lure Homer. Chief Wiggum, Lou, and Eddie arrive at the diner, and Lou recognizes Mona. Waitress Hora lets Homer, Mona, and Bart escape through the back after they increase her tip. After they drive off, Homer rams into the police station, where Mona is arrested. At the trial, during which it is implied by Homer afterwards that Mona's ex-husband Grampa testifies against her, Homer is put on the stand and, after a long clueless pause, gives a heartfelt request that they do not take his mother away from him again. The jury, deeply moved, acquit Mona, much to Burns' fury. Mona catches up on Homer's missed childhood; giving Homer a bath, watching Homer in the school play, knitting for Homer, teaching Homer how to ride a bike, and seeing a reenactment of the birth of Bart. To make Mona more welcome, Homer steals a whole room from Ned Flanders's house so she can have her own private bedroom. Burns renames his Germ Warfare Laboratory the "Grandma Simpson Peace Museum and Kid-teractive Learnatorium" to a crowd of cheering onlookers. Burns asks Mona to be the first to sign the museum's guest book. However, it is revealed to be a confessional trap when after signing the document, Mona says to Burns that she signed under false names while at national parks, which is a federal offense. Federal agents jump out and arrest her. Lisa tells Homer she disagrees with what the government did with Mona, and unintentionally gives Homer the idea to break Mona out of prison. The next day, Homer and Bart trick the bus which is transferring female convicts to prison into pulling over by changing a sign overhead to display a warning of a snowstorm ahead. As the drivers get off to put chains on the tires, Homer steals the bus and liberates the convicts as the police give chase. Not wanting Homer to be imprisoned and leave his children like she did, Mona tases him and pushes him out of the bus onto an abandoned bed. Homer watches as the bus flies off a cliff into a lake, where it explodes and is covered by a rockslide. The Simpsons hold a funeral for Mona and pay their respects, but the coffin (filled with last week's garbage) suddenly slides away and into a forest. Later at night, Homer pores over newspaper headlines and finds an article in which the first letter of each row spells out "IMOK" over the front and back side of the page. Taking this to be another message from his mother that she is still alive, he goes to sleep. However, he overlooks an article about a giant taco, in which Mona encoded a long message that explains she escaped from the bus before it crashed and hitched a ride out of town.
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The President Wore Pearls
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_President_Wore_Pearls
In this loose parody of the musical/movie Evita, Lisa is elected Student Body president, but is unaware that the school staff is using her for their own devices and as a scapegoat if something goes wrong.Guest star: Michael Moore
Springfield Elementary School holds a casino night as a fundraiser, hosted by student body president Martin Prince. Homer wins big, but when Martin says his winnings can only be redeemed for cafeteria scrip and not real money, the angry casino patrons riot. After the chaos has cleared, Principal Skinner tells Martin he must resign as the president. An election for a new president is announced and Lisa signs up. However, initially popular Nelson Muntz is favored to win, providing students (and some teachers) with answer keys to tests. During a debate in the school auditorium, she sings a song ("Vote For a Winner", a parody of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina") about how she will fight for student rights, winning them over. Lisa easily wins the election. Worried by her determination and popularity, the faculty discusses how to control her. Following Mrs. Krabappel's suggestion that a woman's weakness is vanity, they sing another song ("I Am Their Queen", a spoof of "Rainbow High") and make Lisa over into a fashionable Eva Perón lookalike. She is initially resistant, but gives in since she reasons she will still be able to fight for the kids. The students love the new Lisa more than ever, but the faculty uses her as a scapegoat for dropping music, gym, and art from the curriculum to save on the budget, getting her to sign the paperwork without looking at it in exchange for a skeleton key to the school. Facing an outraged student body, Lisa resigns as president, goes back to her old red dress and spiky hair, and leads the students into a strike. Filmmaker Michael Moore shows up to take their side, stating that children who do not receive music, gym and art are more likely to become unemployed and end up in one of his movies. The police arrive at the school, but Lisa convinces them to take their side too. Realizing there is no other way out of the crippling strike other than disposing of Lisa, Skinner has her transferred to a school for the "Academically Gifted and Troublesome". As her bus departs, her classmates and the rest of Springfield are saddened, but she reassures them by telling them that "[they] can still reach [her] via email ("Smart Girl Six Three", a parody of "Eva's Final Broadcast"). Just as Lisa arrives at her new school, Homer pulls up and refuses to let her attend, not wanting to deal with the extra driving time. Springfield Elementary is eventually able to restore music, art and gym by cancelling flu shots and selling loose cigarettes. As an endnote, the writers say that at the advice of their lawyers, they have absolutely no knowledge about a musical based on the life of Eva Perón.
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The Regina Monologues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Regina_Monologues
After making over $3000 from his own museum featuring a $1000 bill, Bart takes the family to London (on the suggestion of Grampa), where Homer is arrested for treason after crashing into the Queen.Guest star: Tony Blair, J.K. Rowling, Ian McKellen, Jane Leeves and Evan Marriott
Mr. Burns withdraws a $1000 bill from an ATM, but he drops it and an updraft carries it away to the Simpsons' house, where it is found by Bart and Milhouse. Marge makes Bart and Homer put up fliers so that the person who lost the bill can reclaim it. No one can describe it correctly, so Lisa suggests that they spend the money on something for Marge. Marge desires a dream vacation, but decides against this because Homer always manages to ruin any trip they go on. After realizing he can make money from the bill, Bart displays it in a museum in his tree house. Mr. Burns visits and reclaims his money, forcing Bart to close his museum. However, Bart has made over $3000 from the museum, so he reconsiders Lisa's suggestion and decides to spend the money on a vacation for Marge. Grampa suggests they go to Britain, where he hopes to meet his long-lost love, Edwina. During World War II, he made love to her the night before he was shipped out to the front lines on D-Day (having been unaware that he actually was). Upon their arrival in London, the family is greeted by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, whom Homer mistakes for Mr. Bean. They visit London's tourist attractions, and later meet J. K. Rowling and Ian McKellen. Grampa tries to contact Edwina, whilst Bart and Lisa go on a "sugar rush" after discovering the joys of British candy. Homer and Marge rent a Mini Cooper and start to drive around London, but get stuck on the roundabout at Hyde Park Corner. After literally driving in circles for hours, Homer decides to break out of it, plows straight through the gates of Buckingham Palace and slams into Queen Elizabeth II's horse-drawn carriage, and is beaten by the Foot Guards. At the Old Bailey, Homer is put on trial for causing harm to the Queen as well as wrecking her carriage. Representing himself (which Marge assumed would have made no difference), he humiliates himself by calling the Queen an impostor, since her luggage is inscribed "H.R.H." which he believes is short for "Henrietta R. Hippo", and mistaking the judge for a woman due to the wig he is wearing. The Queen, highly offended, demands that he be executed. At the Tower of London, where he awaits his execution, he is called from outside by his family and Lisa tells him that he can use a secret tunnel that Sir Walter Raleigh built to escape. However, the tunnel leads straight into the Queen's bedroom, and she calls her guards. Homer pleads with the Queen to find it in her heart to forgive him, and she allows him to leave the country on the condition that he and the rest of his family take Madonna back to America with him. As they prepare to leave, Edwina appears and introduces Abe to her daughter Abbey, who is essentially a British female version of Homer. Realizing he is her father, Grampa runs away quickly to the plane, while Homer appears smitten by his half-sister.
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The Fat and the Furriest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fat_and_the_Furriest
Homer is humiliated when he appears on the news running from a bear that nearly attacks him at the city dump. After Grampa scolds him, he swears to fight the bear himself.Guest star: Charles Napier
Homer goes to Sprawl-Mart, and he buys Marge a "Kitchen Carnival" for Mother's Day, a machine that houses a cotton candy maker, a vat of liquid caramel, and a deep fryer. Eventually Homer uses it to make a giant ball of deep-fried, caramel-covered, cotton candy. When it becomes too dirty and inedible, Marge orders him to take it to the dump. While there, he is confronted by a large grizzly bear, from whom he cowers. The bear eventually wanders off without attacking, annoyed by Homer's tearful cowering. The incident becomes well known due to a nearby hunter with a camera. Homer becomes a nervous wreck, hallucinating and seeing bears like Winnie-the-Pooh, Paddington Bear, Smokey Bear, the Snuggle Bear, Teddy Grahams, the Chicago Bears, and an "Intensive Care Bear." To add insult to injury, the hunter's tape is shown on the news, and Homer is mocked by many. Homer hires the hunter, named Grant, to assist him in confronting the animal. Homer makes a near-useless suit of armor: despite Marge's objections, Bart, Lenny and Carl join him as they start on their quest. The four of them make camp in the woods. As his homemade armor is hot, Homer eventually takes it off and bathes in a stream, where he is again attacked by the bear. With Bart, Lenny and Carl dancing to the radio and paying no attention, the bear drags Homer to his cave. Deciding to die facing the bear as a man, Homer later discovers that the bear is only angry and hostile because of the painful electrical prod that Grant attached to the bear's ear. To make sure of it, Homer takes the tag off the bear and tries it on himself, resulting in a lot of pain before taking it off. Because of being freed from the electrical prod, the bear reverts to his friendly state, licking Homer and giving him a bear hug as a thanks. Realizing this, Homer becomes friends with the bear. In the meantime, Marge and Lisa have discovered Homer, Bart, and the suit of armor missing, and Marge hires Grant to help track Homer down, though Lisa disapproves of Grant's methods to take down the bear. Homer decides to take the bear to a nearby wildlife refuge, but on the way, they are attacked by Grant and other hunters. To ensure the bear's survival, Homer dresses the bear up in the homemade armor, which surprisingly resists the gunfire and allows the bear to reach the wildlife refuge where he is promptly attacked by Stampy the elephant, but then fights back against him for good. It is then the whole family declares to be proud of Homer for his efforts of saving the bear from the hunters, to which he responds that he loves nature.
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Today I Am a Clown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_I_Am_a_Clown
Krusty discovers that he never had a bar mitzvah as a child. He quits his show to have it as an adult, with the help of his father, Rabbi Krustofski. Meanwhile, Homer hosts a late-night talk show à la Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher as a replacement for Krusty's show.Guest star: Jackie Mason and Mr. T
One morning, the family is visited by Dr. Hibbert, who says that Santa's Little Helper has impregnated his purebred poodle, Rosa Barks, and he gives the puppies to the Simpson family, making them their problem. Bart and Lisa give out the puppies to people, including Krusty the Clown, who takes his new puppy for a walk to his old neighborhood in the Jewish community of Springfield, where he sees the Jewish Walk of Fame. He finds out that he does not have a star on the sidewalk, and goes to register for one. However, when the person Krusty goes to asks for the date of his Bar Mitzvah, Krusty confesses that he never actually had a Bar Mitzvah. The person tells him that since he never had a Bar Mitzvah, he is not really Jewish. Krusty runs into Bart and Lisa outside, and he tells them of his problem. Bart and Lisa wonder how Krusty could not have had a Bar Mitzvah, especially considering that his own father is a rabbi. They go to Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky to ask why Krusty never had a Bar Mitzvah, and Hyman reveals that it was because he was afraid that Krusty would make a mockery of the whole ceremony. Lisa points out that Krusty can still have his Bar Mitzvah as an adult, as there is nothing in Judaism that forbids it. Hyman agrees to help his son reach his goal, teaching him all about Judaism. With this happening, Krusty cannot do shows on Saturdays (the Sabbath day for Jews); therefore, he must seek a replacement, and gets Homer to replace him for the day. Homer's replacement show is a talk show, which becomes a success in its own right; meanwhile, Krusty continues to learn his Jewish traditions. In response to The Homer Simpson Show's surprising success, Krusty's show is eventually cancelled by Channel 6. Lisa suggests that Homer put his power to good use, but ratings decline and Homer's show is also cancelled thanks to Lisa's suggestion. Meanwhile, Krusty pitches his Bar Mitzvah to the Fox network. When the Bar Mitzvah ("Krusty the Klown's Wet 'n' Wild Bar Mitzvah"), featuring Mr. T as a guest, airs, it becomes a ratings smash, but the spectacle disappoints his father. Krusty feels guilty, and after the show, he holds a real Bar Mitzvah the traditional way at a Jewish temple.
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'Tis the Fifteenth Season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Tis_the_Fifteenth_Season
Homer realizes how selfish he is after he spends all the family's Christmas money on a present for himself. He becomes the nicest guy in town, making Ned Flanders jealous.
At the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, the employees of Sector 7G have a Secret Santa. Homer receives a DVD player and the first series of Magnum P.I. from Carl, but Homer himself, at the very last moment, gets Lenny a wrap of Certs from the vending machine, much to everybody's chagrin. Instead of a Christmas bonus, Mr. Burns gives Homer a Joe DiMaggio baseball card. He sells it to Comic Book Guy and earns a small fortune, then takes the family Christmas shopping at upmarket shops. Homer promises to buy a large Christmas tree, but instead spends the majority of the money on a talking astrolabe for himself, meaning that the only Christmas tree Homer can buy with the leftover money is a cheap, dry, twig-like tree that catches fire if rubbed; after hearing the astrolabe talk, the family are disappointed by his selfish behavior. That night, after being made to sleep on the couch by Marge, Homer watches Mr. McGrew's Christmas Carol and after imagining seeing his name in the show, realizes that he must change his ways. Now more charitable, Homer apologizes for his mistakes, donates his old clothes to the homeless shelter, gives Marge the last porkchop at dinner, and builds a public skating rink in his backyard, as well as giving Lenny a decent Christmas present to make up for the Secret Santa: a cube made of photographs of Lenny and his friends. At church, Ned Flanders becomes jealous of Homer's position as the new nicest person in town, and sets out to buy gifts for everyone to regain the title. Meanwhile, Lisa tells Homer about her Buddhist beliefs that people would be happier without material goods. For his next 'good deed', on Christmas Eve night, Homer sneaks into the citizens' houses and steals their presents. In the morning, an angry mob confronts Homer and Flanders. Flanders calms them by reciting a Bible verse, while Homer shows a Christmas star (in reality, a distress flare fired by Hans Moleman), before he and Ned give everyone back their presents and everybody sings "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". The episode ends with Snake stealing Homer's astrolabe and running away.
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Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_vs._Singles,_Seniors,_Childless_Couples_and_Teens,_and_Gays
When a group of singles, seniors, childless couples, teens and gays band together to protest having to accommodate families (including paying property taxes used to teach children they do not have) after a riot at a children's concert, Marge takes up the cause for the families, with some help from Bart and Lisa.
When Bart and Lisa fight over what to watch on TV, they accidentally change the channel to a show hosted by a children's singer and guitarist named Roofi, a parody of Canadian-Armenian children's singer/songwriter Raffi Cavoukian. This does not appeal to Bart and Lisa, but Maggie adores the show, and after Bart and Lisa accidentally say there is a CD so that they can get the TV back, Marge buys the disc and plays it everywhere, much to the annoyance of Bart, Lisa, and Homer, all the while Marge is oblivious to their feelings due to pleasing obsessed Maggie. Marge goes as far as to even buy tickets to the concert, which is to be held at Cletus Spuckler's farm, in a parody version of the original Woodstock concert. However, because the concert was oversold, it ends up packed, and the Teletubbies are the opening act, dismissed by Marge as repetitive. As it starts to rain, Roofi appears on stage to sing "The Nonsense Song", but is then hit in the face with a baby bottle, abruptly cuts the show short and gets on a helicopter. Soon, the babies riot against the police sent to contain them, an event referred to in the news as the "Tot Offensive", as reported by Kent Brockman. In a response to the disaster, all the adults of Springfield who do not have children (single people, the elderly, couples who do not have children, teenagers, and homosexuals) are up in arms, because Kabul has declared they will no longer be Springfield's sister city and Mayor Quimby forcibly takes $1 million from the audience to cover the damages. Lindsay Naegle arrives to form an anti-youth group named "Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays Against Parasitic Parents" (SSCCATAGAPP) to rid the town of anything that provides comfort to families. A statue to America's deadbeat dads is erected, a school bus ignores kids waiting at the stop to take senior citizens on a gambling junket, and a new ordinance allows children who act up in public to be tasered. A furious Marge lobbies to get an initiative: "Families Come First", as she lobbies "Proud Parents Against Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" (PPASSCCATAG). Her lobbying efforts do poorly at first, and she fends off a $50,000 offer from America's tobacco lobby, but fair support grows after Mr. Burns loans his signature on Marge's petition because he cares about children (specifically, their "supple young organs"). Other Springfield residents follow his lead, and Proposition 242 gets on the ballot. When the opposition slanders Marge with an ad where an actress posing as Marge says even she is against Prop 242, Homer tries to help with the campaign but screws up badly by placing the wrong information on bumper stickers and buttons for the voters, and his Rudy Giuliani-featuring advertisement is also a disaster. Bart and Lisa soon concoct a plan. When everyone goes to the voting polls, they are stopped in their tracks by the (literally) infectious hugs of children. Proposition 242 passes easily, and Homer decides to celebrate by dumping his kids at an R-rated movie with no supervision while he and Marge go to some nice place by themselves.
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I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_(Annoyed_Grunt)-bot
Homer builds a battle robot to win Bart's respect, and places it in a tournament against other robots. What Bart does not know, though, is that the robot is actually Homer in costume. Meanwhile, Snowball II dies and Lisa tries to find a replacement cat.
Bart is taunted by school bullies Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney because he does not have a 10-speed bike as they do. In order to get Homer to buy him one, Bart places his current bike so that it is run over and destroyed by Dr. Hibbert. Homer buys the 10-speed for Bart, but refuses to pay the small assembly fee and builds it himself. Bart is happy since it looks great and works perfectly at first, but it falls apart when he moons the bullies. Homer, wanting Bart to be proud of him, tries to build a battle robot for the show Robot Rumble. He fails to construct one, and instead assumes the identity of one, which Bart names "Chief Knock-a Homer". Unaware of Homer's ruse, Bart enters the robot in the Rumble. Meanwhile, Dr. Hibbert's car runs over and kills the Simpsons' cat Snowball II, shortly after crushing Bart's bike. A devastated Lisa recites a poem tearfully at the funeral, where Snowball II is buried next to Snowball I. Lisa adopts a ginger cat, which she names Snowball III, but he drowns in the fish tank. The next cat, Coltrane (Snowball IV), jumps out of a window after hearing Lisa play her saxophone. The owner of the cat sanctuary refuses to give Lisa any more cats, but the Crazy Cat Lady wanders past and throws a cat at Lisa that strongly resembles Snowball II. Although Lisa tries to shoo it off, worried that it will meet the same fate as the others, it survives a near miss on the street when Gil Gunderson swerves to avoid hitting it while driving and crashes into a tree. Lisa decides to keep the cat, officially naming it Snowball V; however, the family will call it Snowball II in order to maintain the status quo. Principal Skinner comments disparagingly on the choice, but relents when Lisa points out that the same had previously been done for him. Homer defeats numerous opponents and makes it to the finals, despite being injured from the battles with the other robots. In the final match against Professor Frink's undefeated super-robot, an ED-209 look-a-like, Bart finds Homer in the bot after the grueling first round. Caught, Homer apologizes to Bart, but Bart is impressed because of all the pain Homer went through to win his son's admiration. In the second round, ED-209 squeezes Homer out of the robot, but immediately stops as soon as it sees him. Frink explains that the robot follows Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and has been programmed to serve humans rather than harm them. ED-209 sets out a chair for Homer and pours him a martini. Homer wins the match (although one of the commentators points out that the tournament rules prohibit any human combatants) and Bart is proud of him.
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Diatribe of a Mad Housewife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatribe_of_a_Mad_Housewife
Marge writes a romance novel with characters based on Homer and Ned Flanders that becomes a hit. Meanwhile, Homer gets fired from the power plant again and becomes an ambulance driver.Guest star: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Thomas Pynchon and Tom Clancy
After his reckless driving causes an accident, Homer is fired from his job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer attempts to become a car salesman but ends up purchasing a 1959 ambulance; he begins acting as a paramedic. Meanwhile, Marge is inspired to write a novel after a visit to a bookstore and begins to write about whaling times. The main characters in Marge's novel are inspired by herself, Homer (who is the villain), and Ned Flanders, while romance is the central theme; she had originally intended for the Homer-inspired character to be the romantic hero, but was dissuaded when Homer asked her to use the computer to take down a dinner order. She completes the book, titled The Harpooned Heart, and after it receives positive reviews, she decides to get it published. Helen Lovejoy soon begins to spread rumors that the novel is based on Marge's life. After Homer is teased by several people, who imply that Ned is Marge's secret love, Homer decides to read the book. However, after falling asleep on page one and lying to Marge that he had read the book and approved of it, he listens to the audiobook version (read by the Olsen Twins). After arguing with Marge, Homer decides to confront Ned. Lisa tells Bart that she fears that Homer and Ned's altercation may end the same way as The Harpooned Heart, in which both the hero and villain died. When Ned flees, Homer chases him in his ambulance. Ned is sure Homer is going to kill him when he is cornered, but is stunned when Homer drops to his knees and begs Ned to show him how to be a good husband. Marge arrives in a panic but is relieved that Homer and Ned are speaking. Homer declares that the book was a wake-up call for him. Homer and Marge then decide to create a novel, titled "Who Really Killed JFK".
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Margical History Tour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margical_History_Tour
When the local library proves to be useless for the kids' class project, Marge tells Milhouse, Bart, and Lisa three Simpsons-style historical accounts: Henry VIII's (Homer's) attempts at siring a son, Lewis and Clark (Lenny and Carl) exploring the USA's wilderness with Sacagawea (Lisa), and Salieri (Lisa again) out to ruin piano-playing virtuoso Mozart (Bart).
Marge takes Bart, Lisa, and Milhouse to the library to study. When they go inside, they realize that the library has removed all the books except for the popular ones. Marge makes the best of this situation by telling stories about history. Henry VIII King Henry VIII (Homer) is a gluttonous slob who stuffs his face while singing, "I'm Henery the Eighth, I am." A herald (Sideshow Mel) announces the entrance of Henry's wife, Queen Margerine of Aragon (Marge), who tells him to stop singing. Henry wipes his face with Magna Carta and gripes that Margerine has born him only a daughter (Lisa). That night Henry dreams of a son (Bart) and strangles him, screaming, "Get out of my dreams and into my wife!" When Anne Boleyn (Lindsay Naegle) promises to produce a son were she his wife, Margerine intervenes and drags Henry to a marriage counselor (Doctor Hibbert). Henry explains that he wants to marry Anne, but cannot execute his wife because her father is the King of Spain. The counselor tells him that while his feelings are valid, marriage is hard work. Henry then threatens to behead the terrified counselor, who quickly reverses his position. The Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More (Ned Flanders), protests that divorce is not permitted in Roman Catholic Church. The King retorts that he will start his own Church. More objects, prompting Henry to "cannon-ize" him in honor of his principles by shooting him out of a cannon from the roof of Hampton Court. Henry's new Church grants him his divorce, yet Margerine's lawyer (the Blue-Haired Lawyer) orders Henry to give half of his kingdom to Margerine; he rips a map of the British Isles in half, giving her Ireland. As Henry marries Anne Boleyn, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Reverend Lovejoy) alters the Sign of the Cross by saying, "In the Name of the Henry, the Hank, and the Holy Harry. Amen...Henry." Nine months later, Anne bears Henry another daughter, and is quickly beheaded by an executioner (Chief Wiggum) on Tower Hill. Henry marries a total of six times, including to the squeaky-voiced Jane Seymour (Miss Springfield), the unfeminine Anne of Cleves (Otto Mann), and the elderly Catherine Parr (Agnes Skinner). He still fails to produce a male heir, and executes his wives whenever he tires of them. This prompts a courtier (Moe Szyslak) to inform Henry nervously that they are running out of pikes, resulting in his own beheading. Finally, in a scene set to the tune of "Greensleeves," Henry is old and sick, lying in his bed with Margerine by his side. He apologizes for having locked her up in a dungeon and asks her to become his Queen again. Margerine accepts tenderly, then violently smothers Henry with a pillow. Milhouse leaves eagerly to start his school report on Henry VIII, only to be tripped by Nelson, who steals his notes. Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea Meriwether Lewis (Lenny) and William Clark (Carl) are assigned to explore the West by President Thomas Jefferson (Mayor Quimby). They meet a Shoshone tribe, whose chief, Smoked Lodge (Homer), offers them the guidance of his daughter, Sacagawea (Lisa), whose name means, "Little know-it-all who will not shut her maizehole." They are accompanied by her husband (Milhouse), until he is slaughtered by Sacagawea's brother (Bart). Sacagawea gives them many tips on how to survive the land, including how to scare a mountain lion, but quickly becomes fed up with Lewis and Clark's stupidity. Finally, she leaves them and sets off back home. She encounters a mountain lion, but before it can attack, Lewis and Clark save her using the advice she gave them. The party arrives at the Pacific Ocean and a heavy downpour begins, prompting Lewis and Clark to name the rain-soaked place Eugene, Oregon. The two explorers promised Sacagawea national recognition, but it was not until modern day that she was retrospectively honoured with the creation of the Sacagawea dollar – which Marge explains can be exchanged at the bank for a real dollar. Mozart and Salieri Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Bart Simpson) is a big hit in Vienna, playing sonatas on the grand piano and pushed along by his overbearing, money-hungry father (Homer Simpson). Antonio Salieri (Lisa Simpson) is resentful of her brother's talents, especially when Mozart wins the award for best composer. At Mozart's flatulence-themed opera, The Musical Fruit, Salieri serves the Emperor (Montgomery Burns) drugged wine. The opera is a success until the foppish audience sees the Emperor asleep and mimics him, leaving Mozart stunned. The failure of his opera leads to Mozart's fall from popularity, after which he develops a high fever and becomes deathly ill, enduring heavy leechings at the hands of an incompetent doctor (Dr. Nick Riviera). At her brother's deathbed, Salieri tells him she wanted to ruin his life, not kill him. Mozart confesses that he thought highly of Salieri's work, believing that it would be remembered more than his – but his youthful death ensures he and his music will be immortalized forever. He then says, "Eat my pantaloons", and dies. The next day, Salieri visits the Emperor's court to submit Mozart's Requiem as her own. The Emperor, however, is already focused on Ludwig van Beethoven (Nelson Muntz), whose performance of "Ode to Joy" on the piano prompts him to declare all other music obsolete, to which, Beethoven laughs at Salieri to the tune of the opening of Symphony No. 5. Crushed, Salieri throws the Requiem away, boards a carriage filled with lunatics, and laughs maniacally as it drives away. Epilogue Lisa realizes that Marge's telling of the lives of Mozart and Salieri is clearly based upon the movie Amadeus. She calls the movie completely inaccurate, explaining that Mozart worked hard on his music and that Salieri was a celebrated composer in his own time. Homer recalls that Tom Hulce starred both in Amadeus and in Animal House, and he sings an inaccurate rendition of the Animal House theme over the epilogue. The episode ends with a facetious epilogue followed by closing credits accompanied by Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik:
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Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milhouse_Doesn%27t_Live_Here_Anymore
Bart finds a friend in his own sister Lisa after Milhouse moves away to Capitol City to live with his divorced mom. Meanwhile, Homer goes into panhandling to buy anniversary gifts for Marge. Later on Milhouse returns and Bart goes back being friends with him.Guest star: Isabel Sanford, Nick Bakay, William Daniels, Dick Tufeld and Casey Kasem
During a school field trip, Bart notices a change in Milhouse's behavior. Milhouse talks back to Mrs. Krabappel and wanders away from the group. He causes mischief with Bart, and tells him that he does not care what anyone thinks of him anymore. Finally, Milhouse reveals that he is moving to Capitol City with his mother. Bart visits Milhouse in Capitol City, only to find that Milhouse has dyed his hair blonde, is wearing fashionable clothes, and is cultivating a "bad-boy" image, even going so far as to give Bart a wedgie in front of his new Capitol City friends. At home, seeing how depressed Bart is (who even cries), Marge suggests he spend more time with Lisa. The two begin to bond by washing the car and riding bikes, and after they discover an Indian burial mound together, they become best friends. Meanwhile, at Moe's Tavern, Apu and Manjula are celebrating their anniversary, and Homer realizes he does not have a gift for Marge for their anniversary. After being thrown out of the bar, Homer sits on the street and people start giving him money. He dances and earns enough money to buy Marge some flowers. He also does a rendition of the song "Mr. Bojangles" and asks for money. Homer continues his panhandling, and eventually makes enough money to buy Marge a pair of diamond earrings. When he continues panhandling afterward, angry bums bring Marge to see what Homer is doing. Marge is mortified and angry, but cannot bring herself to throw the earrings away. Milhouse returns to Springfield when his father wins custody of Milhouse via court order. After she finds out Bart told Milhouse about their secret Indian burial mound, Lisa feels that Bart is acting like their friendship never existed and that he has been using her to fill a void. Bart, however, shows her that he still values her as a sister by giving her a set of cards with nice things he will do for her on them, and the two hug. The episode ends with Isabel Sanford at the TV and Radio museum, pointing out how sitcoms usually resort to using sappy endings for their episodes.
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Smart & Smarter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_%26_Smarter
When Maggie does better than Lisa on an IQ test, Lisa becomes upset over no longer being the smart one and tries to lead Maggie astray.Guest star: Simon Cowell
The family visits Wickerbottom's Pre-Nursery School, where Apu and Manjula are sending two of their octuplets. Homer and Marge have a talk with Dr. Hibbert about getting in, and decide to have Maggie go in. However, Maggie fails the initial screening because she cannot talk, until Lisa discovers some traits of intelligence. Henry accepts Maggie after the second screening. The results show that not only is Maggie brilliant, but her IQ of 167 is higher than Lisa's IQ of 159. Lisa is no longer considered "the smart one" of the Simpson family, much to her chagrin. Lisa attempts to prove everyone that she is smarter than Maggie and teaches Maggie false information. However, Marge, realizing this, scolds her for trying to sabotage her sister's education and that if that is how she really feels, then she should not be her sister's role model. Heartbroken, Lisa leaves the house and hides in the Natural History Museum, where there is no chance of Homer and Marge finding her, until Chief Wiggum, Lou and Eddie find her belongings in there. The family goes into the human body exhibit, but Maggie gets distracted and accidentally presses the swallow button, swallowing Homer, Marge and Bart. Maggie presses many buttons until she finally presses the evacuate button, following a visual cue from an apologetic Lisa as to its red color. After the family returns home and wonders why Maggie did not press the red button first, Henry arrives and tells the family Maggie is no longer welcome at the school. The family watches a video tape of Maggie's audition and it turns out Lisa was showing her answers, which Lisa does not remember doing, but it is explained she subconsciously did that as she wanted Maggie to succeed. Henry starts criticizing Maggie which leads an angry Homer to start punching him, while Henry criticizes his punches until he is knocked unconscious. In the end, Lisa assures Maggie she does not care what anyone else thinks of her and that she is brilliant to her. However, Maggie plays Lisa's saxophone perfectly, showing another sign of intelligence. A shocked Lisa reclaims her saxophone and tells her that it is "not for babies". In the credits, Simon Cowell criticizes everyone who had worked on the show.
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The Ziff Who Came to Dinner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ziff_Who_Came_to_Dinner
The Simpsons go on a late-night attic search after Bart and Lisa (who are freaked out over a horror movie Homer let them watch) begin hearing voices — and find Marge's ex-prom date Artie Ziff, who's on the run for cheating the shareholders of his company.Guest star: Jon Lovitz
Homer takes Bart and Lisa to see The Wild Dingleberries Movie and he has to bring Ned Flanders' children with him, because Ned volunteered to take the senior citizens for ice cream for Jasper's birthday. However, at the Googolplex Theatre, the movie and every other kid-friendly movie is sold out, and Rod and Todd will not let Homer see a raunchy comedy called Teenage Sex Wager since it is one of many movies condemned by a Christian publication called "What Would Jesus View?". After hearing Lenny mention he had a small part in the horror movie The Re-Deadening as a gardener, Homer takes the kids to see the movie. The movie is very scary, causing it to scare Bart and Lisa at home, who think they hear noises from the attic. But when they look in the attic, their fears scare them away. When Bart and Lisa ask Homer and Marge to look in the attic, they discover Artie Ziff living there. Artie explains that he was living in the attic because his Internet business, Ziffcorp, crashed in the dot-com bubble, and he lost all his money after spending it on many extravagant items which then got repossessed, including the repo vans. He chose to live with the Simpsons, claiming that Marge was the closest thing he ever had to true love - although Marge quickly points out that she and Artie only had one date where he almost raped her on their high school prom night. Artie promises that he will not hit on Marge if he stays with them, which Marge objects to, but Homer, Bart, and Lisa do not. While living with the family, Artie connects with Lisa by reading her The Corrections. He then tries to buy ice cream for Bart and Milhouse, but when his credit card gets cut up, he unsuccessfully attempts to hang himself. Homer gets Artie down and takes him to Moe's. Marge sees on the news that the SEC is looking for Artie, who is playing poker with Homer and his friends. Homer wins 98% of Ziffcorp's outstanding stock. The SEC sweeps in to arrest Artie, but Homer says he owns 230 million shares of Ziffcorp, making him the majority stockholder. To protect himself, Artie has Homer take the blame. Homer is taken into SEC custody, placed on trial, and ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison. Blaming Artie for this and angered by his selfishness, Marge kicks him out of the house and tells him she never wants to see him ever again. Visiting Moe's Tavern, Artie encounters Patty and Selma, and Selma takes Artie to her apartment after he mentions putting Homer in prison. As they spend the night together, Artie makes a plan to turn over his corporate books in order to admit he is the real crook. He turns himself in, and Homer is released from prison. The family takes one last look at their "Uncle Artie", who is using a squirt bottle to put out the prisoners' cigarettes, much to their anger.
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Co-Dependents' Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-Dependents%27_Day
Homer and Marge's bond becomes stronger when they both get drunk on wine, but soon the bond unravels when Homer blames Marge for crashing the car and Marge gets sent to rehab. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa complain to Randall Curtis (a George Lucas-esque science fiction movie director) about his latest film.Guest star: Brave Combo
Homer, Bart, and Lisa see the newest Cosmic Wars film, The Gathering Shadow, and the movie turns out to be less than what they expected. At home, Marge suggests that Bart and Lisa write a letter to Cosmic Wars creator Randall Curtis. Two weeks later, they get a reply from Curtis, which completely ignores their criticism, having sent them Jim-Jam merchandise. This forces the Simpsons to go on a trip to California, where Homer and Marge go to wineries, and Bart and Lisa go to the Cosmic Wars Ranch. The kids visit Curtis, and tell him that his Cosmic Wars movies have lost their way. Curtis dismisses their criticisms, until Lisa explains that improved technology does not count for story and characterization. Curtis agrees, and decides to go back to his storytelling roots by watching more samurai films and Westerns for inspiration. Bart and Lisa rejoin Homer and Marge, who are both drunk from free samples of the wine. Back in Springfield, Homer and Marge go to Moe's Tavern and drink more wine. Moe opens a bottle of Château Latour 1886 vintage wine, clearly unaware of its value. Homer and Marge then continue to drink heavily for several days, until Marge suffers a particularly painful hangover. She tells Homer that they should not be drinking, and he agrees. Unfortunately, when they go to an Oktoberfest featuring Grammy-winning nuclear polka band Brave Combo, Marge, who tries to go through the night without drinking, gives in and ends up drunk along with Homer. He tries to drive them home, but in a drunken stupor overturns the car. In order to avoid an arrest, Homer makes things look like Marge (who is drunker than he is) was the driver. She is arrested, but he bails her out. Later, Barney suggests that Marge go to a rehab clinic for a month, and when Marge is gone, Homer lets Ned Flanders take care of the kids. When he sees her at the clinic, he confesses, but Marge is angry and drinks again. Later on, the other rehab patients help her discover that she likes being with Homer more than she likes drinking, and forgives him and returns home, though she makes him promise to cut back on his drinking.
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The Wandering Juvie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wandering_Juvie
Bart gets sent to juvenile hall after faking a wedding to keep the gifts from the wedding registry. He then breaks out and goes on the lam with Gina, a cool girl he meets inside.Guest star: Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charles Napier
When the Simpson family is at the Costington's department store, Bart uses the wedding gift registry as a prank to register himself and his bride, "Lotta Cooties", for wedding presents. Bart invites many people to his so-called "wedding" and plans to take all the unused gifts back for store credit, but he is stopped by Chief Wiggum, who arrests Bart and rejects his bribe of the wedding presents. Bart is sentenced to six months of juvenile detention by Judge Constance Harm. At the detention center, Bart is afraid he will be buried alive in the sandpit or photographed being punched while going down a slide. He soon notices that the girls' Juvie is on the other side of a chain-link fence. Bart attempts to schmooze with these girls, only to have them attack and immobilize him. One of the girls, Gina Vendetti, uses a knife to destroy Bart's uniform, threatening to castrate him next time he comes near their fence. Bart's problems continue when two weeks before his release he is partnered with Gina for the dance by the warden. When they are dancing, Gina escapes with Bart using a rope, finding themselves on a window ledge. Due to the fact that they are handcuffed together, Gina is forced to bring a reluctant Bart along before the window can be closed, though he only comes after she kisses him. Slowly, they gain each other's trust. On the lam, the duo look for a blacksmith who can remove their cuffs. They are freed, but after it happens, Gina is alone and forlorn. She starts crying and admits to Bart that she has no family. When he sympathizes with her, she angrily tackles him until the police come and arrest them (and a bear that Cletus correctly predicted would attack Wiggum). Feeling terrible for causing Bart's sentence to be extended, Gina confesses that she was behind the escape, clearing Bart of further charges. In the end, the Simpsons and the warden step in to help Gina feel better for being without family, offering a Mexican food feast in her cell.
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My Big Fat Geek Wedding
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Big_Fat_Geek_Wedding
After hearing that Skinner is getting cold feet about their wedding, Edna leaves Skinner at the altar and, after sending back one marriage gift, hooks up with Comic Book Guy. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge have an argument about if their marriage is still solid or not.Guest star: Matt Groening
As Seymour Skinner and Edna Krabappel are preparing to marry, they each have their bachelor party, with Edna having hers at the Simpson house with Duffman and a topless Chief Wiggum as strippers, and Principal Skinner having his at Moe's with Homer. However, at his party, Skinner admits that he has doubts about marrying Edna. On the day of the wedding, Edna realizes that Skinner does not want to marry her, and after picturing a future anniversary in which Skinner is still unable to commit, she runs away from the ceremony. After the wedding is called off, Homer and Marge try to get Skinner and Edna to be engaged again, but their own marriage problems impede their progress. Edna returns a wedding gift to the Comic Book Guy, and the two soon fall in love. Homer gets Skinner to serenade Edna using a band made up of Bart, Milhouse, and Martin, but that fails when he learns that the Comic Book Guy and Edna are in a relationship. The family goes to the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con to confront Comic Book Guy, where they see The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Comic Book Guy, proposes to marry Edna, and the room is ready for a Star Trek-themed mock Klingon wedding ceremony. Skinner, dressed up as Catwoman (who he thought was Catman) battles the Comic Book Guy. Edna interrupts their fight to declare that she will not marry either man. When she tells the Comic Book Guy how they had fun but are very different, he accepts her decision, though Skinner is still upset. Later, at the Simpson house, Homer asks Marge to remarry him, which is conducted in the Klingon language, and she accepts (although she accidentally agrees to give their children a Klingon upbringing).
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Catch 'Em If You Can
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_%27Em_If_You_Can
After a ruined movie night, thanks to Bart and Lisa, Homer and Marge take a vacation away from them, but decide to go to Miami instead of going to see an uncle. When Bart and Lisa catch wind of their parents' secret plan, Bart steals Rod's credit card (just like Homer stole Ned's) and go after them.
Bart lectures the other students on the bus on the topic of water balloons. After he hits Lisa with one she fights with him all the way home. Marge stops them and tells the pair that they are going to Ohio to celebrate Uncle Tyrone's birthday. Bart and Lisa are saddened with the idea as Tyrone complained last year about why he is still alive. Homer and Marge relent and allow the kids to stay home; but Marge insists they do one family activity together. They all rent a romantic film; Bart and Lisa are unimpressed by it such that they ruin any moment the film might have created for Homer and Marge. Homer and Marge look forward to their trip without the children as they ruin every possible chance of intimacy for them. At the airport the next day, they see people in another queue, dressed in Hawaiian shirts and skimpy tops, going to Miami. This causes them to reminisce on their less-than-stellar honeymoon at a beach billboard in a run-down area of Springfield. On a whim, they decide to forego visiting Tyrone and get on the plane to Miami as a second honeymoon. As the flight is overbooked, they are upgraded to first-class, much to their delight. Bart, Lisa and Grampa learn on the news that the hotel in Dayton where Marge and Homer are supposed to be staying has been completely wiped out by a tornado. They suddenly get a call from Marge, informing them that all is well. Suspicious, Bart uses last-call return to find out the last incoming phone number and discovers their parents are in Miami. He and Lisa get Grampa to take them there. Homer and Marge see the children waiting for them outside their hotel room door, so they run from the ready-to-track-them-down pair, causing Bart and Lisa to summon a hot pursuit of their parents in an instrumental musical montage and an animated sequence. They will not have any trouble paying for their chase, considering Homer has borrowed Ned Flanders' credit card and Bart has borrowed Rod Flanders' credit card. Meanwhile, in Miami, Grampa finds companionship with an old man named Raúl who responds by turning his hearing aid off. Homer and Marge finally find themselves at the Niagara Falls, only to find the children are already there. When Bart and Lisa confront them, they agree to let them mess about in the room, making them even more despondent. The next day, Bart and Lisa, feeling a little guilty, decide to give their parents some space, and go to an amusement park, inadvertently running into Homer and Marge who snuck off for some time alone. Refusing to allow Lisa to explain, an angry Homer and Marge start running away again and find refuge in a giant inflatable castle, which their lovemaking antics cause them to fall into the Niagara River. The Canadian and American rescue teams start to fight over who is to rescue as the couple floats towards the falls and certain death, only to be saved by their large flotation device. They pass by the Maid of the Mist, whose captain asks them if there is anyone alive. Homer and Marge shout they are more alive than any of the boat's squares from inside the inflatable castle, as it floats away, and they engage in martial artistic sexual intercourse underneath the falls. Bart and Lisa, watching from a telescope, decide that everything worked out just fine. Meanwhile, back in Springfield, Ned and Rod Flanders receive their monthly credit card bills and gasp at the charges Homer and Bart have run up.
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Simple Simpson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Simpson
Homer becomes "Pie Man", a masked vigilante who delivers a pie in the face of justice to evildoers. However, after attacking Mr. Burns, Burns hires him as a personal hitman, until Homer is ordered to attack the Dalai Lama.Guest star: Nichelle Nichols
After seeing a commercial where he could win a free tour of "Farmer Billy's Bacon" factory, Homer goes on a pursuit to find the golden ticket. He, however, only wins a silver ticket, which allows him to be the judge of the pig competition at the Springfield County Fair. At the fair, Lisa's entry in the place setting competition is wrecked by the Rich Texan, who then mocks her, which causes Homer to want to retaliate. Recalling a warning from Chief Wiggum that he will be arrested if he commits another assault felony, Homer disguises himself as a masked superhero, the "Pie Man", and throws a pie straight into the Rich Texan's face, leaving him humiliated and the crowd laughing. The next day, after Homer hears that the Comic Book Guy has ripped off Bart, he arrives as the Pie Man (with a newer look) and throws a pie in his face, humiliating him in front of Nichelle Nichols, whom the Comic Book Guy invited for tea and some chit chat, and then promptly leaves as soon as she sees his face with pie (saying she would not date William Shatner for the same reason). As the days go by, the Pie Man becomes big news, pieing many of "Springfield's scoundrels". Springfield's citizens anticipate that the Pie Man will come to the opening ceremony for the new cosmetic surgery clinic, which Mayor Quimby has built in place of the previous occupant, the Springfield Children's Hospital. Chief Wiggum also has a trap planned for the Pie Man, who has been skipping "bike safety lectures". As expected, Pie Man arrives, but as the trap is sprung on him, Pie Man escapes, though not before being shot in the arm. He also saves Marge from being trampled by the panicking crowd and steals a kiss from her, which causes Marge to become infatuated with Pie Man. Returning home and after prying the bullet out of his arm, Homer is exposed as the Pie Man by Lisa, who had suspected him to be the Pie Man after repeatedly getting his mail. Homer reveals his secret life in the "Pie Cave", which is just the basement, where Lisa pleads with Homer to stop his Pie Man persona before he gets more seriously hurt. Homer promises to stop. Yet the next day at the power plant, Homer cannot cope with Mr. Burns's bullying of him and his co-workers. After imagining a conversation with pies, Homer decides to be Pie Man one last time to get back at Burns. After pieing him, Homer tries to run off, but falls asleep on a couch right behind Burns and Smithers, who capture and expose him. Burns promptly blackmails Homer to be his "personal hitman", to pie those that Burns hates, or else be ratted out to the police and forced to do community service. After pieing himself and later a Girl Scout selling cookies, Homer is tasked by Burns to pie Tibetan Buddhism spiritual teacher, the Dalai Lama (as according to Burns "all his talk of peace and love is honking off my Red Chinese masters"). Appearing at the Lama's gathering, Homer sees Lisa is present and is stuck between breaking his promise to her and Burns' threat. Just as he prepares to pie the Lama, Homer stops and decides to reveal himself as the Pie Man. However, no one believes Homer is the Pie Man, even at his own insistence, due to their own stupidity, believing that Pie Man had other powers including the power to talk to animals and spit acid. Lisa then tells Homer that he had created a hero that he himself could not live up to. Agreeing, Homer takes Lisa home, relieved that he is finally free from Burns' control. That night, Marge admits that she also knew Homer was the Pie Man, saying it was clearly him in that suit. Homer then stands on the roof, declaring that the Pie Man will return to help people who get mistreated, along with his new sidekick, The Cupcake Kid (Bart). Marge then asks them to clean out the gutters since they are already up on the roof, much to their irritation.
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The Way We Weren't
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_We_Weren%27t
Homer and Marge recall the story of their first kiss at a summer camp when they were children—an event which was not all happy, as Homer (unwillingly) betrayed Marge by standing her up on their second date.
Bart and Milhouse steal and empty a bottle of Homer's Duff Beer to play spin the bottle with neighborhood girls. Homer interrupts the game and is accidentally kissed by Milhouse. The Simpson family holds a mock trial to determine Bart's guilt, with Lisa presiding as judge. Bart doubts that Homer had never kissed a girl as a 10-year-old, but Marge proudly states that Homer's first kiss was with her in high school. Homer confesses that it was not his first kiss, but that he met a girl at summer camp. Homer recalls that when he was Bart's age, he went to a camp for underprivileged boys, Camp See-A-Tree, where he met Lenny, Carl, and Moe. The campers were forced to work in the kitchen of the neighboring girls' camp, Camp Land-A-Man. Homer found a retainer left behind on one of the trays and returned it to its owner using the dumbwaiter. Through the wall, the girl asked Homer to see her later that night, but before he could make it, he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with a switchblade knife, and had to wear an eyepatch to the date. Marge surprises the family by revealing that the girl in question was actually her, and if she had known, she would never have married Homer. Marge gives her side of the story. She attended Camp Land-A-Man alongside her sisters Patty and Selma, Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten and Cookie Kwan. She fell for the boy who returned her retainer, but, embarrassed by his real name, Homer gave the false name "Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabbar". While ironing her hair for the date, Marge accidentally burned it, and became a "brunette" for the evening. She and Homer met and shared a passionate kiss. They parted ways after Homer gave Marge a heart-shaped rock, agreeing to meet again the following night. However, "Elvis" never showed up for the planned second date, and as a result, Marge was unable to trust another boy for years. Homer explains why he did not show up. Right after the date, he was so dazed with bliss that he accidentally fell off a cliff into the lake and drifted to a fat camp, Camp Flab-Away, which counted a younger Mayor Quimby, Chief Wiggum and Comic Book Guy as its campers. He was caught by the Camp Instructor, who mistook him for a camper. Meanwhile, a devastated Marge decided to leave the camp and threw the rock that he had given her away, breaking it in two. Homer managed to escape the fat camp and make his way to Marge's camp, but she had already left. Despite knowing the truth, Marge is unable to let the heartache go after nursing it for so long. However, Homer proves that he really did care about her for years after the date by showing her a piece of the broken rock that he had found. Pleasantly surprised, Marge reveals that she had kept the other piece (albeit for the very different reason of reminding her of the cruel things men can do) and forgets about the past. The two then put the rock together to form a heart and share a passionate kiss.
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Bart-Mangled Banner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart-Mangled_Banner
After receiving an injection from Dr. Hibbert, Bart becomes temporarily deaf, which makes him impervious to being bullied, until he accidentally moons the American flag during a donkey basketball game, prompting everyone in town to accuse the Simpsons of being unpatriotic under the new "Government Knows Best" Act.
Homer and Marge take the kids to get their shots. Just before Dr. Hibbert is about to inject Bart, he escapes. After a chase through town, Hibbert finally outsmarts Bart, by having Barney (as well as Moe) wear a latex mask, and finally injects him. However, the shot causes Bart's earholes to swell shut as a side effect, making him temporarily deaf and Hibbert also tricks Homer into signing a malpractice waiver. Marge wants Bart to stay home from school; however, Bart wants to play in the donkey basketball game. While at the Springfield Elementary School donkey basketball game, Bart taunts a donkey with a carrot, unaware that the school is reciting the national anthem. After he places the carrot in his shorts, the donkey takes it and literally eats Bart's shorts. While Bart is bent over to keep his privates covered with his shirt, the US flag is put up behind him and a photo is taken, which results in the crowd assuming that Bart is mooning the US flag. Shortly afterwards, the Springfield Shopper takes the story and completely turns it around, making it seem as if Bart had deliberately mooned the flag. Marge tries to tell Skinner that Bart was deaf at the time; however, because of Bart's history of similar pranks, Skinner is not convinced. Bart and his family soon are hated by all of Springfield. The Simpsons are later asked to appear on a talk show and tell their side of the story. Homer advises Marge to not take it too far. However, due to the several misunderstandings, the host declares that Springfield hates the US. The US then turns their back on Springfield (though there is widespread celebration in praise of Springfield in the Middle East), so Mayor Quimby frantically decides to change the name of Springfield to "Libertyville." Everything in town is quickly patriotized; the traffic light colors are changed to red, white, and blue, and everything costs $17.76. While at church, Lisa speaks her opinion about patriotism, and the Simpsons are arrested by SWAT, in violation of the "Government Knows Best Act." The Simpsons are taken to the "Ronald Reagan Re-education Center", a prison which houses Michael Moore, the Dixie Chicks, Elmo, Al Franken, and Bill Clinton, as well as a man who moans "My only crime was driving a van full of explosives in from Canada!". Marge feels bad that she took it too far after Homer warned her not to. With some help from the last-registered Democrat, the Simpsons escape the prison (in a parody of the escape scene from The Blues Brothers), but realize that the re-education center is actually Alcatraz Prison. While they are swimming to land (choosing to swim to Oakland instead of San Francisco because they "aren't made of money"), they are picked up by a French freighter and are brought to France. They are well adjusted, but still miss the United States, mainly because it is where all their stuff is. They then move back to the US dressed as 19th century immigrants from Europe where Homer speaks of plans of integration into the United States.
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Fraudcast News
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraudcast_News
Mr. Burns buys out Springfield's media outlets after the local news mistakenly reports his death, and Lisa's homemade newspaper is next on his list.
Springfield holds a ceremony dedicating their newest national park, Geezer Rock, a rock formation which resembles the face of an old man in profile. As Lisa Simpson prepares to read a poem there at the behest of Mayor Quimby, Homer notices that there is a small tree growing in the eye of the rock. Fearing that it will destroy Geezer Rock over time, he rushes over and pulls it out. This causes Geezer Rock to fall apart, and everyone runs for their lives — except for Mr. Burns, who winds up in a landslide. Smithers is fearful he has lost Mr. Burns. Lisa is saddened that no one ever heard her poem, and she publishes it on Marge's suggestion. Meanwhile, it turns out that Burns survived the horrible landslide through slithering his way out and subsisting on centipedes, insects and mole milk. However, Springfield's local news instead reports on the destruction of Geezer Rock and then labels Burns as being a hateful man nobody liked. Lisa distributes the very first issue of her newspaper, The Red Dress Press, which is well received. She enlists the help of Bart, Milhouse Van Houten, Martin Prince, Nelson Muntz, and Ralph Wiggum among others, to publish her newspaper's second issue. Meanwhile, to improve his image after the landslide, Burns acquires all media outlets in Springfield except Lisa's newspaper. He even makes an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show promoting nuclear power. Later, Burns tries to bait Lisa with ponies in an attempt to acquire her newspaper, but she will not give up. Lisa is saddened when all the other employees of the newspaper leave her, but is relieved when Bart decides to stay and help Lisa publish more issues. Burns gets back at Lisa by cutting off the Simpsons' power, so Lisa is forced to write her next issue through an old mimeograph that Principal Skinner used in Vietnam. Burns finally wins the war by interrogating Homer with a truth serum so he can damage Lisa's reputation; the following day's Springfield Shopper boasts the headline, "LISA’S A TOTAL WACKO, IMPLIES FATHER", and goes further by humiliating Milhouse's crush upon her. Lisa writes her final "I Give Up" edition and shuts down the Red Dress Press. Homer responds by creating his own newspaper, The Homer Times, with which he defends Lisa and her journalistic integrity, while many of the townspeople, inspired by Homer, also create their own newspapers to voice their individual opinions. Burns realizes that, while he succeeded in defeating Lisa and her journal, he cannot possibly buy out everyone nor stop people criticizing him. As a result, he is forced to acknowledge that no one besides Rupert Murdoch can truly control the whole media, and goes out on a shopping spree with Smithers for relief.
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Treehouse of Horror XV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_XV
The Ned Zone – Ned Flanders suffers a head injury that gives him the power to foresee doom a la Christopher Walken from The Dead Zone.Four Beheadings with a Funeral – Lisa and Bart investigate the murders of Victorian-era England's most prolific prostitutes.In the Belly of the Boss – The Simpsons go on a fantastic voyage through Mr. Burns's body to rescue Maggie after she gets shrunk down into a pill and ingested.
Opening sequence Kang and Kodos star in a fictional sitcom, entitled Keepin' it Kodos. In it, Kodos is preparing their boss' visit by cooking dinner: Homer on a baking tray (continually eating himself), Bart on a skillet, Marge and Maggie in pies and Lisa in a soup (with Bart seemingly being the only family member to be in pain). The boss gives the meal a delicious rating, but his stomach bursts, liberating Bart. Kang and Kodos are given a hyper-galactic promotion, much to the aliens' delight. Bart is sad about the loss of his parents and sisters, but Kang and Kodos decide to adopt him, which comforts Bart. The theme song from Perfect Strangers plays as the Treehouse of Horror logo appears on the screen; an alien tentacle stamps the "XV" underneath which makes it say the title of the episode in the fashion of the Mark VII Limited company logo. The Ned Zone In a parody of The Dead Zone, Homer tries to get his frisbee from the roof by throwing a bowling ball after it. The ball strikes a passing Ned Flanders on the head. When Ned recovers in Dr. Hibbert's hospital, he has a vision of Hibbert falling out of a window to his death. Homer then asks Hibbert to retrieve his frisbee from a ledge on the hospital. As Hibbert reaches for the ledge, he slips out of the window, causing Ned's vision to come true. Ned realizes that he can see the deaths of people whom he touches. After he gets out of the hospital, he attempts to save Hans Moleman from falling down but has a vision of him being eaten by alligators. In shock, he drops Moleman into an open manhole with dozens of alligators swimming in it. He also predicts the closing of the Rosie O'Donnell musical, which he already suspected. A later vision depicts him shooting Homer, which horrifies Ned and he tries to conceal this from Homer. When Homer finds out, he taunts Ned and even gives him Chief Wiggum's gun to shoot him with, and says he could not even shoot him by accident. Ned refrains from shooting Homer, seemingly changing the future, but then has another vision of Homer blowing up Springfield by pressing the "Core Destruct" button at the nuclear power plant. Ned tries to dissuade Homer from going to work, but Homer goes anyway because of ice cream cake for Lenny's birthday. Ned rushes to the power plant to stop Homer. Unfortunately, Ned's warning is scrambled by static over the intercom, sounding as if he is his conscience encouraging Homer to press the button. In desperation, Ned grabs a nearby security guard's gun to shoot Homer, fulfilling the original prediction, but in his death throes, Homer presses the destruct button with his tongue, much to Ned's fury before the power plant explodes and Springfield is destroyed. Ned and the Simpsons go to Heaven as angels, with Marge accusing Homer of blowing up Springfield just to get out of cleaning the garage (which also entered Heaven as an angel). Just as Homer muses over whether he could blow up Heaven, they meet God (again), who proceeds to give Homer "what he deserves" – his frisbee. Four Beheadings and a Funeral In a parody of From Hell, taking place in 1890, London's prostitutes are being killed with swords in a series of unsolved murders by "The Muttonchop Murderer". Scotland Yard's Inspector Wiggum challenges master detective Eliza Simpson and her easily amazed, goofy assistant Dr. Bartley to solve the crime. Their first piece of evidence is a bloody sword found by a "proper-Cockney flower girl", Marge. Simpson takes the sword to an oddities merchant (Comic Book Guy), who recognizes the sword as part of a set he had sold, called The Seven Swords of Osiris. He goes to check his dusty record books to see who he sold the swords to, but is murdered by the killer. Looking at the ledger, Simpson and Bartley discover the swords were sold to C. Ebenezer Burns, an industrialist who "makes coal out of babies". Bartley knows where to find Burns and tracks him down at Mao's Den of Inequity, an opium den. Burns instantly recognizes the sword, and tells Simpson that he sold them for opium to a "fat man with sideburns", and notices a man nearby who resembles the description, Homer. Simpson and Bartley chase him down and Homer gets caught by Wiggum, who happens to be at the opium den as well, to help his son Ralph go to sleep. Simpson and Bartley congratulate themselves for solving the crime, until they find another body, Selma, stabbed by another Sword of Osiris. Bartley first dismisses the body as having been killed days prior, pointing out the body as bloated and the face rotten, though Selma is alive long enough to say it was just "5 minutes ago". Simpson takes the sword and recognizes a certain scent on the sword handle. The next day, just before Homer is hanged for the murders, Simpson arrives, declaring Homer innocent due to the smell of eel pie on the handle, which Wiggum loves to eat. Officer Lou then reveals that Wiggum has muttonchops as well, exposing him as the killer. He starts to explain that he just wanted to come up with a case that Simpson herself could not solve, but then flees in a hot-air balloon stolen from Professor Frink, but it gets pierced by a steampunk-style flying saucer flown by Kang and Kodos, who consider Earth's air fleet as destroyed. It is then shown that the whole story was an opium-caused dream by Ralph, which Wiggum reveals is part of an even crazier and fantastical dream that both of them are in. In the Belly of the Boss In a parody of Fantastic Voyage, at the "Invention Expo", Professor Frink creates a machine that shrinks objects. Maggie crawls inside a giant pill, thinking that it is a ball pit, which is miniaturized and swallowed by Mr. Burns. When the rest of the family realizes what has happened, they agree to be shrunk within a craft and injected into Burns' body. Homer is the craft's captain, Lisa is in charge of science and research, Bart is in charge of security, and Marge is in charge of helping the deeps of the science. When Homer refuses to follow Frink's instructions, the ship gets stuck in Burns' heart. The crew manage to get the ship free from the outside and are able to reach the stomach by catching a ride on a nerve impulse, which Lisa calls "the body's information superhighway". They manage to save Maggie, but Homer is forced to leave the ship and save the rest on his own when their craft does not have enough power to save them all due to the addition of Maggie's extra weight. Homer becomes initially despondent at his family is forced to leave him behind, but finds consolation in finding a marshmallow in Burns' stomach. The submarine successfully escapes, but there is not enough time to save Homer, who instantly returns to his original size inside Burns' skin, putting them both in extra pain. Even though Homer complains that Burns needs several extra holes, Burns is confident that things will work out. The episode ends with Burns and Homer leading a dance to the tune of "I've Got You Under My Skin" (along with the characters from all three segments and the opening sequence). The Perfect Strangers theme is then played again over the end credits featuring still images from the episode.
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All's Fair in Oven War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All%27s_Fair_in_Oven_War
Marge resorts to sabotage as payback on the contestants who sabotaged her food entry for a cook-off. Meanwhile, Homer finds his old issues of Playdude in the ceiling, which Bart finds (after Marge cuts out all of the centerfolds and other nude photos) and uses as a guide on how to live the bachelor life.Guest stars: James Caan, Thomas Pynchon and Amy Stiller
Discovering that the house next to theirs is up for sale, Homer and Marge marvel at its extensive kitchen. Marge asks Homer to hire a contractor to upgrade their kitchen, but Homer decides to save money by doing the job himself. His ineptitude leads Marge to hire a contractor; the upgrade ultimately takes two years and costs the family $100,000. The first dish that Marge cooks in the completed kitchen earns rave reviews from many Springfieldians, as well as author Thomas Pynchon. While shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart, Marge learns that the Ovenfresh company is sponsoring a baking contest in which the grand prize winner will become Auntie Ovenfresh, the company's spokeswoman. Encouraged by Ned Flanders, she enters her recipe for a dessert styled as hot dogs and is accepted. During the competition, she is constantly mocked by the other contestants, and her dish is later sabotaged and burnt. Marge is able to get her entry into the judging room just before it closes, though Agnes Skinner fails to get her dish into the room. Angered by the behaviour of her competitors, Marge secretly taints their dishes with Maggie's ear medicine to ruin the taste. Lisa sees Marge cheat and confronts her, but Marge defends herself by saying that the others bullied her into it. Marge reaches the finals, competing against Brandine Spuckler, whose dish was not tainted because Marge dismissed it as garbage. Marge changes her mind over cheating again in the final after finding a note from Lisa, and admits her wrongdoing, restoring Lisa's faith in her. Brandine becomes the new Auntie Ovenfresh and leaves her husband Cletus for James Caan. Cletus' friends ambush Caan at a tollbooth and shoot him repeatedly, reminiscent of the death of Sonny Corleone, Caan's character in the film The Godfather. He survives the shooting and angrily says that he will fly instead of drive the next time he needs to travel. Meanwhile, Homer finds his old stash of Playdude magazines while trying to remodel the kitchen, but throws them away after Marge cuts out all the nude pictures. Bart and Milhouse find the magazines in the trash and, after reading them, decide to remodel their treehouse and adopt the lifestyle espoused in the articles. They develop an interest in luxurious living and jazz music and begin speaking in sexual innuendos without understanding their meaning, and the treehouse quickly becomes a popular hangout similar to the Playboy Club. Learning that Bart has read the magazines, Homer has a talk with him about sex. Horrified at what he learns, Bart quickly spreads the word to the other children of Springfield, unsettling them as well and bringing their Playdude fascination to an end.
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Sleeping with the Enemy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_with_the_Enemy_(The_Simpsons)
Feeling unappreciated by her own children, Marge takes in Nelson as her surrogate child. Meanwhile, Lisa's bottom grows too fat and so she purposely starves herself in order to be skinny.
Lisa gets teased by Sherri and Terri about her big butt, making her embarrassed and self-conscious about her weight. Homer only makes matters worse when he tells her about the "Simpson butt", something that all Simpsons have. Bart brings home a geography test with a grade of 100, eagerly expecting a party that was promised to him if he had got a 100. Despite Homer discovering that the watermark of Bart's test is real and that all the answers are correct, he and Marge speak to Bart's teacher. Mrs. Krabappel confesses that she did not bother to fold up the map during the test, so Bart and everyone else received 100. Marge throws Bart a party, which is attended by Patty and Selma, Grampa, Grandma, Ralph, and even Martin. Milhouse can only attend via speakerphone because he is sick with measles. Bart hates the party and to make matters worse, Lisa runs up to her room crying when Marge offers her one slice of cake. Marge thinks her children no longer appreciate her, so when she finds Nelson catching tadpoles from a water fountain at the zoo, she decides to become a mother figure by spending quality time with him. They bond as Nelson tells Marge about his poor life involving his father abandoning him and never coming back. Marge brings him home so he can do some chores. Nelson's mother finds this out and does not want Marge giving them any charity. Later that night, Mrs. Muntz leaves town, and Nelson, having nowhere else to go, stays with the Simpsons. Marge lets him sleep in Bart's room, forcing Bart to sleep underneath his bed. Late one night, Bart sees Nelson sing about his missing father, and sees Lisa eat an entire Labor Day cake as she was unable to take any more starvation. As Bart walks away, Nelson also sees her doing this and after talking about the situation, he offers to help Lisa get back at Sherri and Terri for teasing her. The next day, Nelson unleashes a skunk, which sprays both of them, while Lisa and her friends point and sing a parody of Jingle Bells. Both twins are scared and flee. When Lisa and Nelson return home, they find Nelson's father, who Bart found working at a freak show in a circus. It turns out that Mr. Muntz had really gone to the Kwik-E-Mart, where he had gotten a severe allergic reaction from eating a peanut bar. Coincidentally, the circus had made a stop in the Kwik-E-Mart parking lot, and the unscrupulous ringmaster noted the allergy and kept him as a forced freak for his traveling show. Nelson's mother finally returns, after going to Hollywood and getting the lead role in Macbeth, playing Lady Macbeth. Before returning to his family, Nelson thanks Marge for making him feel good about himself and appreciates what Bart did but says that this is not enough to stop him from bullying Bart. As the family talk about the morals of the episode, Lisa admits that she still has body image issues. Homer tries to get Lisa to talk about it positively, but Lisa says that it is a "very open-ended problem" and that she may never fully be content with her body image. Homer tries to goad Lisa into changing her mind, but she refuses to do so.
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She Used to Be My Girl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Used_to_Be_My_Girl
Marge bumps into an old high-school acquaintance who is now a successful news reporter. While Marge becomes jealous of her friend's success and wonders what may have been had she not stayed with Homer, Lisa becomes inspired by this new, strong woman.Guest star: Kim Cattrall
One day, Marge sees a friend from high school, Chloe Talbot, on TV and is jealous of her success as a news reporter. When they meet, an embarrassed Marge confesses she never left Springfield, but the two are glad to see each other again. Chloe comes to the Simpsons' house for dinner, but her exciting stories annoy Marge and inspire Lisa, who goes out to dinner with Chloe. Marge reveals that she and Chloe were reporters for their high school newspaper, but after high school Marge stayed with her sweetheart Homer after Bart was born, with Chloe leaving her sweetheart Barney when he proposed. With all of Chloe's success, Marge seems to begin to resent both her decision and her family but receives supporting words from Homer. On their way back from dinner, Chloe invites Lisa to the United Nations women's conference, with Lisa saying she would need parental permission. Upon arriving at the Simpsons house, a drunk Marge, who is worried that Lisa likes Chloe more, provokes Chloe and the two fight on the lawn. This leaves Marge with a black eye. After Marge talks with Lisa about what happened, she forbids her to go to the women's conference, but Lisa sneaks out and hides in Chloe's car's trunk. Then, as Chloe drives off, her boss calls her, telling her to cover the story of the eruption of Springfield Volcano. When Lisa pops out of the trunk, Chloe has her be her cameraman after her original one fled at the sight of lava. When Marge and Homer arrive at the women's conference to find Lisa, they see Chloe's live broadcast from the volcano, crediting Lisa behind the camera and the two trapped by a sea of lava. Marge and Homer race to the volcano and the former leaps from rock to rock to rescue Lisa. Moments later, Barney descends in a helicopter to rescue Chloe, who grants him a half hour of pity sex. When Marge imagines her life as a reporter, she screams to her family, who shows little interest.
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Fat Man and Little Boy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man_and_Little_Boy_(The_Simpsons)
Bart becomes depressed about growing older after losing his last baby tooth, and, following advice from Lisa, deals with his problems by writing ironic slogans on T-shirts. Meanwhile, Homer tries to help Lisa make a science project after Bart cuts Homer out of helping him sell T-shirts.Guest star: Eric Idle
After losing his last baby tooth, Bart does not enjoy playing with his toys anymore and feels that he is maturing. To get out of his depression and express his emotions, Bart writes sarcastic and insulting phrases on his T-shirts. The shirts make him popular in town, and Bart sets up a stand in front of his house selling them. His business is shut down for not having a vending license, and he goes to a retailer's convention to obtain one. While leaving, he meets Goose Gladwell, a Willy Wonka-type salesman who sells joke products. Bart agrees to sell his shirts at Gladwell's stores, which turn in a considerable profit. When Homer is caught wearing one of Bart's shirts whilst sleeping on the job at the power plant, he is suspended without pay, and decides to quit since Bart is making so much money from t-shirt sales. Fearing that Bart has replaced him, Homer decides to nurture Lisa. They quickly bond, and Homer sees her entry for the science fair: a history of nuclear physics and a scale model of the first nuclear reactor. However, Martin shows them his project, a childlike robot. Homer helps Lisa ensure her project's victory by stealing plutonium from the power plant and using it to make her reactor fully operational. Meanwhile, Bart learns that Gladwell has sold the rights to the shirts to Disney under a contract that allows him to stop paying Bart. Homer stands up for Bart by threatening to detonate his nuclear reactor and destroy Gladwell's store. Gladwell accepts defeat, giving Bart and Homer all the money he has. As they leave, Bart thanks Homer for straightening things out.
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Midnight Rx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Rx
Mr. Burns cancels the nuclear plant's prescription pill plan, prompting Homer and Grampa to smuggle prescription pills in from Canada to medicate the town. Mr. Burns soon regrets his actions when his faithful assistant Smithers suffers from a goiter and joins Homer and Grampa on one last heist.
Mr. Burns reserves the Springfield Air and Space Museum for a plant company party. While there, Burns acts strangely kind to all of his employees. At the end of the party, Burns announces that he will terminate the prescription drug plan. The workers chase after him, but Burns is able to escape in a wacky flying machine, based on the Pitts Sky Car. At home, the Simpsons try to figure out how they can afford new prescription drugs. Homer decides to get another job, but he cannot have his choice of starring on Friends as Rachel's Irish cousin, and is unable to get a new job. Other companies follow Burns's lead and all prescription drug plans in the town are canceled. Marge and Lisa go to the pharmaceutical company to voice their concerns, but the executive meeting with them instead plays the music video for the Huey Lewis and the News song "I Want a New Drug" and immediately runs off. At the retirement home, all prescription drugs are unaffordable and the staff decide to let the old folks go cold turkey. Grampa Simpson comes up with a plan to get more drugs for Springfield. He and Homer go to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and with help from one of Grampa's Canadian friends, they are able to get unlimited access to the drugs they need. They take them back into the United States and are praised in Springfield as heroes. Later, as Grampa and Homer plan to do more smuggling trips in order to give more support for the town, which is a way to restore the drug plans, Apu and Ned ask if they can tag along with them, stating that their children are desperate to get their medicine. Homer accepts and allows them on the trip, even though Ned tries to convert Apu on the way (despite the fact he claims to be sarcastically congratulating him on his bravery of worshiping an idol). Ned even meets his Canadian counterpart, but takes an instant dislike to him when he offers Ned a "reeferino". A coffee accident fools a border guard into thinking Apu is 'expressing his faith' as a Muslim (despite being Hindu), causing the whole border patrol to hold the men at gunpoint. Homer tries to pacify the situation, but unfortunately, he accidentally slips out a large amount of pills on the pavement while opening the door, exposing their smuggling. As a result, Homer and his gang are arrested, but soon let go and banned from ever returning to Canada. Meanwhile, Smithers realizes that he will die the next day after his thyroid becomes a goiter as he can no longer afford the medicine he needs that was provided under the power plant's drug plan. Burns vows to save his life, which is the only way to return the drug plan, so he takes Homer and Grampa along in his plane, the "Plywood Pelican", which he built for Nazi Germany. After getting the drugs, while flying back to Springfield, the plane loses altitude in a storm and Burns jumps off with Homer and Grampa's parachutes, as they are "gifts" for his nephews. They crash-land in Springfield Town Square, almost crushing Chief Wiggum's squad car. Wiggum arrests Grampa but the people of Springfield protest, as his smuggling has gotten them the medicine they need. Seeing how much Grampa had been helping for the whole town, Wiggum lets Grampa go free. In the meantime, Smithers is revived with a kiss from Burns after receiving his medicine, and Burns, feeling very remorseful, decides to bring back the drug plan to all his full-time employees, much to their delight. In celebration to Burns' rescue of Smithers and the return of the drug plan, Homer gets a new job with Burns as a "freelance consultant" and then wonders what the lump on his neck is.
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Mommie Beerest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mommie_Beerest
When Moe's Tavern is shut down by the health department, Homer takes out a second mortgage without consulting Marge to finance the bar's return, but Marge finds out and decides to protect her investment by becoming Moe's business partner and renovating the tavern into a pub.
The Simpsons celebrate brunch at a fancy restaurant to celebrate Homer finally paying off the mortgage. After Bart and Lisa get in a food fight, Homer goes to Moe's, where the health inspector has come for his regular visit. Since the inspector is a friend of Moe's, he gives the bar a clean bill of health, regardless of numerous violations, but he dies upon consuming one of the expired pickled eggs. The new inspector immediately declares Moe's Tavern to be closed down until the violations are cleared up and the weekly garbage pickup disposes of his predecessor's corpse. Later, while the regulars hold an Irish wake on the sidewalk, Homer is guilty about Moe's Tavern being closed down because of him visiting the tavern all the time, but decides to help Moe reopen the bar by getting a new mortgage for his home, forging with Marge, who becomes the new co-owner. Homer visits a cleaned-up Moe's with Marge running it to protect their investment, and she suggests Homer just concentrate on the kids. Marge also suggests that Moe's should become an English pub and to rename it The Nag & Weasel to improve its image. The Nag & Weasel is a success, and Bart and Lisa observe that Marge now spends more time at the establishment than Homer has ever done, leaving Homer worried. Homer and Marge go to a movie together, only to be joined by Moe, and Homer learns from Lenny and Carl that Marge and Moe are having what is called an "emotional affair". Homer is also scared when Marge reminds him for the 11th time they are planning to attend a bartender convention in Aruba. Homer rushes to the airport, escorted by Chief Wiggum, and gets to the plane as it is about to become airborne. Meanwhile, Moe finally confesses his true feelings for his partner that he has hidden in the dark for so long, spurred on by the alarming display he witnesses from the window seat. He tells Marge he loves her, and in a rush, asks her to marry him. Marge is shocked, but before she can answer, a soaking-wet Homer bursts out of the toilet seat in the bathroom and glares at Moe to leave his wife alone. Moe shouts back that Homer does not deserve Marge at all since he knows nothing about her: her favorite dish, for example. Homer does admit that he does not know much about his own wife, but despite his faults, Marge reassures him that he really is her true love, not the bartender. The three arrive in Aruba, where the miserable Moe attempts to drown himself because of his loss, only to be stopped by Marge and Homer. Marge explains to him that he is sweet enough a man to be loved by someone else, if only he is willing to make a few, minor changes. Moe seems to listen, but nevertheless reverts to his original scheme of sharing a hotel room with Marge (he has changed the booking on the sly). Marge instead forces Moe to share the bed with Homer while she settles down on the couch, only to then realize that no one is watching Bart, Lisa and Maggie, who are shown to have traveled to Paris to enter a hot-air balloon race.
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Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_and_Ned%27s_Hail_Mary_Pass
After Homer inadvertently performs a wild crowd-pleasing dance at a local carnival, he is hired by several sports figures to teach them how to showboat. Meanwhile, Flanders creates ultra-violent, ultra-gory Bible movies à la Passion of the Christ.Guest stars: Tom Brady, Warren Sapp, LeBron James, Yao Ming and Michelle Kwan
The Simpsons go to Springfield Park and find it has become a trash-strewn dump, but they see a nearby charity carnival which is raising money to help the park. Bart wins the grand prize in a carnival game, and then Homer beats him, going into an extended victory dance. Ned Flanders captures the dance on video and Comic Book Guy places it on his website. Soon, the entire world has seen Homer's embarrassing dance, humiliating him. However, several major sports stars ask Homer to teach them elaborate victory dances. Meanwhile, Ned uses his camera to make a movie about Cain (Rod) and Abel (Todd). Everyone loves the film, except Marge, who finds it bloody and disgusting. Mr. Burns decides to finance Ned's next film, "Tales of the Old Testament" (which has a running time of 800 minutes – more than 13 hours). The bloodiness of the film angers Marge and she announces at the screening that she will protest anything that Burns owns. Burns retorts, noting that he owns the town's nuclear power plant and there is no other power source. When the crowd blurt out alternative forms of power they can use Burns admits defeat and says the film will never be seen again, much to Ned's dismay. Homer's victory dances annoy some purist fans but become so popular that he is recruited by professional football to choreograph the Super Bowl halftime show. When he is unable to think of any ideas with the game looming the following night, Homer finds Ned at church. Together they decide to stage one of Ned's Bible stories at the show. At the Super Bowl, Ned and Homer stage the story of Noah's Ark, at the end of which Ned appears and reads a passage from the Bible. The audience jeers and boos, while both Homer and Ned are disappointed. The media and the general public later accuse the Super Bowl of forcing Christianity onto the country via their "blatant display of decency".
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Pranksta Rap
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranksta_Rap
Bart fakes his own kidnapping to get out of being punished for going to a rap concert, but the ruse goes too far when Milhouse's father is implicated as the kidnapper and Chief Wiggum sees this as an opportunity to make a name for himself as a competent police officer.Guest star: 50 Cent
After Santa's Little Helper swallows the TV remote while Homer watches the TV, he ends up changing the channel every time he barks. While the dog escapes and Homer chases him, Bart sees a commercial about a rap concert held by a hip hop artist named "Alcatraaaz". He asks for Homer's permission, he nonchalantly agrees when Bart says he will pay for the ticket himself. However, as he tries to leave for the concert, Marge is infuriated and forbids him from going; and Homer is forced to agree with her, to the point of singing a rap song with Marge about Bart's immaturity, much to his distress. Since Bart paid for the ticket, he sneaks out of his bedroom window to attend the concert. During the concert, Alcatraaaz drops his microphone, which lands in Bart's hands, he therefore challenges him to a rap battle. Bart does an impromptu energetic rap, winning the battle, and gets a ride home from the concert with Alcatraaaz in his limo, meeting 50 Cent on the way. After being dropped off at home, he overhears Marge and Homer who are angry at him for disobeying them and going to the concert. To avoid his punishment, he fakes being kidnapped, writing a ransom note, and goes on the run. Homer and Marge are devastated and the next day, the "kidnapping" is covered by the media. Chief Wiggum vows to solve the case, but is made fun of by everyone due to his reputation as a bad cop. When Bart meets Milhouse and explains that he needs a place to stay until the heat dies down, Milhouse lets him squat at his dad Kirk's apartment. As a joke, Bart calls the Simpson house impersonating the kidnapper, which is being recorded by Wiggum. When he hears how sad Marge is without him, Bart talks to her as himself and tries to reassure her, but is forced to cut the call short when the popcorn he is using begins to explode and Kirk arrives home. Wiggum, determined to redeem himself, listens to the recording and manages to isolate the noise of the popcorn, which he recognizes as his favorite brand Chinty-Pop. He, Lou and Eddie go to the Kwik-E-Mart to ask Apu about who buys Chintzy-Pop, to which he responds that there are only two people cheap enough to buy it: Kirk and Wiggum. After this they arrest Kirk at his house for the "kidnapping", and Wiggum is subsequently promoted to police commissioner. After seeing how badly Milhouse has been affected by his father's arrest, Bart confesses his hoax to Wiggum, who convinces him to keep it secret by showing him that Kirk is far better off in prison, due to having both regular meals and the admiration of numerous women as a result of being a convicted felon. Lisa figures out the truth after discovering a sweater from the concert near Bart's treehouse, but upon showing Homer the evidence, he destroys it (along with his clothes), having made a deal with Hollywood regarding the rights to Bart's story and having spent the money. Undeterred, Lisa and Principal Skinner travel to the home of Alcatraaaz, where they find footage of Bart at the concert. Moments later, Homer, Wiggum and Bart show up and try to convince Lisa to abandon her attempts at exposing them, on the basis that no one has been hurt over the lie, but Homer inadvertently knocks over Alcatraaaz's flat-screen TV. Alcatraaaz suggests they resolve the situation by throwing a pool party, to the delight of everyone but Lisa. During the closing credits, Skinner inquires about a job in the hip hop business, but Alcatraaaz says he has already hired someone else for the job: Superintendent Chalmers, who, dressed as a rapper, orders Skinner to "step off... dawg." As Alcatraaaz's group laughs at him, Chalmers quietly confesses to Skinner that he needs the job as his wife is very sick.
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There's Something About Marrying
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_Something_About_Marrying
Homer becomes a minister after Springfield legalizes gay marriage (to boost their damaged reputation for tourists) and Patty comes out of the closet, much to the shock of her sister, Marge, who was naive to her sister's sexuality.
Bart and Milhouse torment a tourist named Howell Huser (a parody of television personality Huell Howser), who is then chased out of town by bullies Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney. Huser is later revealed to be a media personality, and he appears on a network's morning television show warning tourists against visiting Springfield, causing the Springfield tourism business to collapse. Mayor Quimby holds an emergency meeting at the town hall to solve the problem, and after many senseless suggestions, Lisa suggests that Springfield legalize same-sex marriage to entice visitors to their town. All of Springfield happily agrees with Lisa's idea, and the town makes a commercial that is broadcast throughout America, convincing hundreds of homosexual couples to come to Springfield. However, Reverend Lovejoy insists that the Bible forbids same-sex marriage and refuses to marry any gay couples. Homer, upon learning that ministers are paid $200 per couple, abandons his own opposition to the process and becomes a minister himself with help from the online "e-Piscopal" Church, whereupon he marries every gay couple in town. Meanwhile, at the Simpson family's home, Patty comes out as a lesbian, saying that she is in love with a pro golfer named Veronica and asking Homer to marry them. While Homer accepts Patty's sexuality (briefly improving their relationship), an uncomfortable Marge reprimands her for having not told their family and insists that Patty marry a man. Patty is angered and calls Marge out for being a hypocrite in acting liberal about the issues, pointing out that she cannot accept their family's sexuality for what it is. Before the wedding, Marge accidentally discovers Veronica is actually male. She decides to keep quiet about it since Patty will be marrying a man. During the wedding ceremony, Marge becomes especially touched by Patty's heartfelt declaration of love for Veronica. This prompts Marge to disclose Veronica's actual gender in front of the whole wedding assembly, much to Patty’s horror. "Veronica" is revealed to be a heterosexual cisgender male, named “Leslie Robin Swisher”. Leslie explains that he posed as a woman, so he could get onto the LPGA golf tour. Leslie then asks Patty whether she still wants to marry him, but Patty replies "Hell no - I like girls!", to applause from the congregation. Afterwards, Marge reconciles with Patty after telling her that she has learned a lesson and has accepted the fact that Patty is a lesbian. In a meta-reference to the show's tendency to episodically return to status quo ante, Lisa notes that this is the end of Homer's wedding business. When Bart asks, "Why?", Lisa shrugs her shoulders and makes a non-committal noise. Patty and her other sister, Selma, then go to leave a bag at the airport unattended, as a way to meet security personnel they can date.
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On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_a_Clear_Day_I_Can%27t_See_My_Sister
After years of tolerating his antics, Lisa files a restraining order against Bart, forcing him to live in the backyard. Meanwhile, Homer becomes a greeter for a Walmart-esque department store called "Sprawl-Mart".Guest star: Gary Busey
The students of Springfield Elementary go on a field trip to the almost completely melted Springfield Glacier. Bart repeatedly bullies Lisa because she is enjoying the trip, and as revenge, Lisa obtains a restraining order against Bart that prevents him from coming within 20 feet (6 m) of her. Lisa uses the restraining order - and a 20-foot (6 m) pole made by Homer to enforce it - to continually torment Bart, making him ride behind the school bus in a shopping cart and eat his school lunch outside in the rain, and later forcing him into the "Gay Interest" section of the library in order to humiliate him. Marge decides to get an appeal for lifting the restraining order, but Bart accidentally insults Judge Harm during the hearing by stating she became a judge instead of having a husband and when Harm points out she is married, Bart asks if her husband is blind and deaf, leading Harm to expand the order to 200 feet (61 m), forcing Bart to live in the Simpsons' backyard. He soon realizes that he can live the natural way, taking off his clothes, urinating anywhere he wants and playing with wild dogs. Seeing Bart's feral behavior, Marge suggests to Lisa that she may have gone too far. Lisa responds that Bart has not done any nice things for her recently, but when Marge points out two examples to the contrary, she promises to destroy the order when she thinks of a third thing. She later sees Bart building a statue of her, and is impressed, but when she finds out that it was going to be burned, and Bart lies about why, Lisa says how she misses Bart's lies. She burns the restraining order and the pole, while the family reunites and plays Tijuana Taxi. In the subplot, Homer is hired as a greeter for Sprawl-Mart, replacing his father Grampa following an accident when retrieving a shopping cart. Homer likes the job because there is no pressure to advance. The manager creates a fake Mexican ID card for him, in order to force him to work overtime without a pay bonus under threat of being deported, and Homer and his co-workers are later locked in the superstore late at night, with a chip implanted in the back of Homer's neck. He removes it and his co-workers reveal that they too removed their chips years ago and prefer to steal items each night rather than work. Homer joins in by using a forklift to take away several plasma televisions.
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Goo Goo Gai Pan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goo_Goo_Gai_Pan
The Simpsons are going to China, after Selma (who recently began menopause) lists Homer as her husband in order to adopt a Chinese baby (while Marge poses as Selma and Homer's live-in nanny).Guest stars: Lucy Liu and Robert WagnerNote: This episode was removed from the Disney+ streaming platform in Hong Kong due to references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
While giving Mr. Burns a driving test to replace his long-expired license, Selma experiences a hot flash. She finds out she has entered menopause, meaning she can no longer have children. Afraid of dying alone, she turns to adoption. She almost manages to adopt one of Cletus's many children through a misunderstanding, but that fails when Brandine wants the baby back. Lisa advises Selma to adopt a girl from China. Since the Chinese government only allows married couples to adopt, Selma puts on her application that she's married to Homer Simpson. Selma sponsors a trip to China for the Simpsons. Homer is reluctant to pretend to be married to her, but agrees to do it for Marge. When they arrive in China, Selma claims Bart and Lisa are her children, while Marge is their nanny, ″Ms. October.″ The Chinese adoption agent, Madam Wu, tells them they will get a baby in a few days, as she wants to detail the "marriage relationship" between Homer and Selma, much to both Homer and Selma's dismay. The family then spends time touring through several landmarks in China, including visiting the mummified body of Mao Zedong, whom Homer likens to a "little angel who killed 50 million people." Selma eventually gets a daughter, whom she names Ling. Having lied to Wu on a whim about being an acrobat, Homer is forced into substituting for a performer in a Chinese acrobatics display, being hospitalized after unwittingly pulling off the stunt successfully. Following Selma's adoption, the ruse is quickly revealed when Wu catches Homer and Marge kissing and talking about the false marriage whilst spying on Homer's hospital room. As they are about to leave for Springfield, Wu angrily arrives and takes Ling away, stating that Homer and Selma are not married. As the Simpsons try to console her, Lisa plots with them to get the baby back. At the nursery, they dress and spray-paint Homer to look like a cross-legged golden Buddha statue. According to the customs of feng shui, the Buddha statue must be taken indoors, so Chinese guards drag him into the nursery (by his nose with a hook). When the guards leave, Homer goes inside the nursery and grabs Ling. The Simpsons, Selma and Ling pass through Tiananmen Square, a place where, according to the marker shown in the episode, "nothing happened" in 1989. Wu, in a Type 59 Tank, confronts them and demands the baby back in a way similar to the tanks confronting the Tank Man. After an impassioned speech from Selma and Homer, Wu then agrees to allow Selma to adopt Ling as a single parent—her leniency stemming from the fact that when she herself was just a baby, her father choked to death on a Ping-Pong ball the day before the Heimlich maneuver was invented, and her mother had ultimately raised her as a single parent. Wu also stops Homer from smuggling a panda cub in his luggage. Selma and her new daughter, Ling, and the Simpsons depart China by junk except for Bart, who is replaced by a Chinese child spy masquerading as him to deceive Homer. The episode ends with three dragons flying in the sky and singing while playing an erhu. During the credits, David Silverman shows the viewers how to draw Bart.
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Mobile Homer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Homer
After Homer buys an RV with the family's insurance money, Marge kicks him out of the house and Bart and Lisa, who worry their parents may get divorced, drive the RV back to the dealers to make sure it does not break up their family.
While Marge takes the children on a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive (that the kids don't enjoy), Homer is forced to clean the garage at home. He accidentally gets spiders in his throat, and his neck is almost crushed by the garage door. When his family gets home, a suffocated Homer is saved by CPR by Lisa and Bart (via wrestling). After the incident, Marge insists that the family buy life insurance, but Homer is deemed impossible to insure because of his poor medical history; even boasting that he smokes to impress the consultant, a lie that fails to convince her. After watching a melodramatic "inspired by real-life" made-for-TV film, Marge decides to save money in a very paranoid way by buying imitation brands of cereal and coffee, making Bart and Lisa wear donated clothes from charity (which Nelson points out that people died wearing them) and convinces Maggie to conserve her pacifier. Homer, however, becomes upset with Marge's petty attitude (especially when she will not let him spend even false money to buy a single beer) and tries to argue with Marge, remarking that he has the right to use at least a part of the money since he brings it home, but she denies his request, retorting that he does nothing in his job. Homer, now angry about Marge's new measures, takes the money she has saved and makes a down payment on a new motor home. After he buys his motor home, Marge tells Homer to enjoy it because she is not speaking to him. Homer starts living in the RV, and he and Marge compete for the loyalty of Bart and Lisa. Homer's childish ways give him an advantage. Homer discovers a convoy of RVs at a gas station, and he invites them to stay in his backyard. Marge, annoyed with their behavior, cuts off their electricity, causing Homer's newfound friends to ditch him. Homer and Marge proceed to get into an all night argument, to the point of Homer calling Marge's bed "a loveless slab of bossiness", and fearing that his parents could split up, Bart decides that he and Lisa should return the RV to the dealership for a full refund, and Lisa agrees. Discovering that the children and RV are gone, Homer and Marge give chase in the car. Bart and Lisa accidentally get on the freeway and force their parents to kiss before they will pull over. But after they kiss, Bart asks Homer to raise his allowance, which angers Homer, who in turn strangles Bart. Lisa starts to lose control of the RV, which plunges off an uncompleted runaway truck ramp onto a Turkish container ship. The ship is leaving the port, but Marge convinces the captain to turn around after offering him 300 cans of mushroom soup she bought on sale. With their marriage restored, Homer tells Marge that he will return the RV in the morning for the refund, and uses the ship's crane to put the vehicle on a nearby pier. The RV's weight is too much for the pier to handle. So it collapses and sinks in the harbor, much to Homer's dismay, while Marge is unconcerned about the loss of money, because the Turkish sailors put a small amount of hashish in her food to keep her temporarily content.
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The Seven-Beer Snitch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven-Beer_Snitch
After Shelbyville accuses Springfield of being hicks, Marge convinces the townspeople to fund a Frank Gehry-designed concert hall, which is then converted to a prison when the concert hall goes bankrupt on opening night. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa investigate Snowball II's recent weight gain.Guest stars: Frank Gehry, Charles Napier, and Joe Mantegna
The Simpsons go to Shelbyville to see a musical, which paints Springfielders as hicks and morons. An angry Marge goes to Springfield's Cultural Advisory Board to brainstorm a plan to make Springfield more sophisticated and gets the idea to hire architect Frank Gehry to build a concert hall. Opening night proves to be a bust, and the concert hall falls into shambles from disuse. Mr. Burns buys the hall and turns it into a state prison. Homer applies for a job as a guard, but is rejected after Otto switches his drug-laded urine sample with Homer's. Mr. Burns forces Chief Wiggum to reinstate old and forgotten laws to fill his prison with convicts and make more money. Homer is convicted after getting caught kicking a can five times down the street (which constitutes "illegally transporting litter"). Bart and Lisa notice that Snowball II has been gaining weight. Lisa follows her and discovers she has been visiting and eating food from another family, who believe she is theirs and named her "Smokey". Snowball prefers her second family to the Simpsons, to Lisa's dismay. Bart goes in to set the record straight, but instead the family fills him up with food and teaches him the same trick they taught Snowball. Homer is sent to work in the prison kitchen and becomes a prison snitch after unwittingly alerting the guards of Snake's escape attempt. Homer is rewarded with food, special treatment, and a new plasma TV. The other prisoners learn he is a snitch after Marge shouts it out in the visitation room. After using a fake claim of a prison break to lure out all the guards, the prisoners attack Homer. Using the key to the concert hall given to her as head of the Springfield Cultural Activities Board, Marge finds Homer in the kitchen with the other prisoners on his tail. They take refuge in the gas chamber, where Marge scolds Homer about being an informant. The guards come in with tear gas and riot gear. As they are released, Homer tells Governor Mary Bailey about the prison's deplorable conditions and food. Bailey tells the prisoners that since there is no room left in the prisons they were transferred from, they will be put on a garbage barge and bare-knuckle box until someone emerges as their king, a plan the convicts applaud. Homer is released, which pleases Marge, and heads out to Moe's after she falls asleep. He bumps into Snowball, who is overweight and also approaching the bar. He promises not to tell on her if she does not tell on him. Homer runs into the concert hall, claiming the building is a death trap, in response to a dream he had after watching The Towering Inferno.
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Future-Drama
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future-Drama
Through Professor Frink's future machine, Bart and Lisa see their lives in the year 2013, where Bart steals Lisa's chances at going to an Ivy League school in order to impress a skater girl named Jenda while Homer (now separated from Marge and living in an underwater apartment) fights Krusty the Clown after Marge begins dating him.Guest stars: Amy Poehler and John DiMaggio
In the midst of one of their arguments, Bart and Lisa fall into Professor Frink's basement. Frink uses an astrology-based machine to show the kids their future as teenagers. Eight years in the future (2013), Bart and Lisa are getting ready for their high school graduation and Homer and Marge have separated after Homer blew the family savings on an undersea home. Lisa is graduating two years early and has a scholarship to Yale University, while dating a muscular Milhouse and Bart dates a skateboarder named Jenda. He also shows them a picture of Lisa at age 12 (2009) after she was saved by Milhouse from a fire, which she later learns that he started. After the prom, Jenda wants to have sex with Bart, but Bart has no plans for the future and wants Jenda to marry him and live an aimless life, so she breaks up with him. Bart unsuccessfully seeks advice from Homer on dating. He then shows Lisa a hologram of the prom, and tells her love can be painful; she agrees, noting she broke up with Milhouse and he had an Incredible Hulk-style meltdown. Lisa suggests that to get Jenda back, he must show her he can provide for her. Bart decides to take Lisa's advice and gets a job at the Kwik-E-Mart. While delivering groceries to Mr. Burns, he rescues him from a robbery by Snake Jailbird. As a reward, Burns gives Lisa's scholarship to Bart. He accepts it, seeing it as a way to get Jenda back. He then tells Lisa about the scholarship causing present and future Lisa to both get angry at Bart. Bart reconciles with Jenda, and now has a good future. That night, Jenda again wants to have sex with Bart, but then he goes into Professor Frink's basement and sees Lisa's bleak future with Milhouse on Frink's machine. Jenda is furious at Bart (she notes she never had any problems sparking romance with Todd Flanders), and gives him an ultimatum: leave and they are finished. Bart does head out and saves Lisa from accepting Milhouse's dismal proposal, then tells his sister he is giving her scholarship back and will find a woman who loves him for himself. Professor Frink then tells present Bart he will get one at age 83, then die one minute later, and his brain would be buried in a pauper's grave. Meanwhile, Marge has dumped Krusty and reunites with Homer in the underwater home. During the credits, Bart is shown to find the sequence boring, and instead watches Cletus Spuckler's future as the Vice President of the United States on his way to a funeral for the Sultan of Brunei.
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Don't Fear the Roofer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Fear_the_Roofer
Sick of being unwanted, Homer befriends a man who works as a roofer. No one else can see him and Homer's insistence that the man exists prompts everyone to think he has gone crazy.Guest stars: Ray Romano and Stephen Hawking
A major thunderstorm hits Springfield, and Marge demands that Homer fix their leaking roof. Homer attempts to solve the problem by using Hot Wheels ramps to transport all the draining water from the roof to the front yard through the hallway, the stairway and the mail slot on the front door. Though this plan seems to work well, Lisa's hamster slides down the ramps to the front yard by accident. Shocked, Lisa opens the front door to save her hamster, breaking all the ramps, and leaving the house all wet, ruining Bart's preparations for the homework party and leaving Maggie's teddy bear ringing wet. Marge berates Homer for not providing a more sensible solution to fix the roof. Angered, Homer decides to go to Moe's Tavern, but is kicked out when he ruins Lenny's surprise birthday party and sits on his birthday cake by accident, shaped in the form of Lenny's favourite bar stool. Feeling depressed, Homer finds another bar, "Knockers" (a parody of the restaurant Hooters), where he meets a friendly man named Ray Magini. The two talk, and Homer finds out that Ray is a roofer, so Homer asks him to fix his leak. Ray agrees. The next day, Homer assures Marge that his new friend will be taking care of the roof. Ray, however, does not arrive until everyone else has left. The two of them get up on the roof and use nail guns to nail the boards onto the roof, but they start shooting nails at each other, some hitting Ned Flanders' ride-on lawn mower next door. Ray leaves later and, as Homer runs on the roof to see him off, he crashes through the small part of the roof that they fixed, making the hole bigger. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids leave Santa's Little Helper with Grampa and the Springfield Retirement Home residents, because they seem to like him. When Marge sees the hole, she tells Homer to fix it himself, because she sees no reason to believe that his friend will. The next day, Bart and Homer go to the Builder's Barn, and Homer meets Ray there. Ray apologizes to Homer for having not finished the job and promises he will stop by soon to work on the roof. Lisa, Marge, and Maggie arrive back at the retirement home, only to discover that Santa's Little Helper has become one of the old people. After Lisa succumbs to the same effect, they permanently take him back home. After waiting a long while for Ray to show on the roof, Marge becomes worried about Homer, and tells him that Ray is just a figment of his imagination. When Homer refuses to believe it, he falls off the roof and is knocked unconscious. The next day, Homer awakens inside Calmwood Mental Hospital, having been admitted there by Marge. Dr. Hibbert tells him that Ray does not exist; he was created by Homer's mind as Homer was feeling lonely and unappreciated because of the previous events he had endured. All the people that Homer thinks saw Ray - Bart, Ned, and the "Knockers" bartender - claim they did not, and Lisa reveals that "Ray Magini" is an anagram for "imaginary". When Homer spots Ray outside from the window of his hospital room, Hibbert assigns him to "electro-shock" (or electroconvulsive therapy). Six weeks later, Homer is now sure that Ray does not exist. As he is being discharged, he sees Ray again in the room. Angered by the pain the "figment of his imagination" has caused him, he assaults him. In retaliation, Ray knocks Homer out and everyone is surprised they can see him too. He did really exist the whole time: the bartender did not see Ray as he had an eye patch on (while looking in the direction of Homer and Ray that night, Ray was before his covered eye), and Ray could not be seen by Ned because he was behind the chimney. Bart still viewed Homer with skepticism for talking to thin air, but Stephen Hawking arrives and 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. Marge asks Ray why he started fixing the roof and then just disappeared, to which Ray says he is a contractor. Everyone laughs, and Marge says "That's right, you're all crooks!" Hibbert, seeing how angry Homer is as he was made to go through shock treatment for nothing, offers to make it up to him by doing a free eye scraping for him. Homer agrees on it, but also forces Hibbert to fix the roof without any breaks while Ray and Homer discuss Everybody Loves Raymond on the roof during the credits.
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The Heartbroke Kid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heartbroke_Kid
Springfield Elementary signs a deal with a snack company to install vending machines in the schools—with Bart taking advantage of the situation to the point that he becomes obese and suffers a heart attack.Guest star: Albert Brooks
Principal Skinner is looking for a company to sign a vending machine contract with Springfield Elementary, with half of the machine's profits going to the school. He looks at suggestions of a gumbo machine from the Sea Captain that seriously burned the Sea Captain's hand and a request box from Gil and rejects them, until he gets a suggestion from Lindsey Naegle. The unhealthy vending machines sponsored by hip-hop artists are installed, and most of the students use the machines (save for Lisa, who protests their extremely high sugar content and artificial additives), but Bart is seen using it the most frequently. Due to the high fat and sugar content in the snacks, the high frequency with which he eats them, and the fact that he sold off his skateboard to Groundskeeper Willie to buy snacks, after three weeks, Bart significantly gains weight and becomes obese and, during an in-show parody of the opening credits, he suffers a heart attack after slowly trying to make it home from school. Bart sees Dr. Hibbert, who says that malted milk balls have clogged his arteries, and that a wad of Laffy Taffy is blocking his liver. He informs the family that Bart is addicted to junk food and tells Marge to put him on a diet, although the family's attendance at a milkshake festival fails to persuade him. Lisa discovers that Bart has been hiding junk food in the wall of his room, and the family stages an intervention. When Bart tries to run away, due to his widened and obese frame, he gets stuck in a fence and is caught by two representatives of a maximum security fat camp, Serenity Ranch. Bart ends up there with Apu, Rainier Wolfcastle (who was last seen fattening up for a movie), and Kent Brockman, and the camp's leader is none other than former U.S. Marine Tab Spangler (who is dealing with many anger issues). However, whilst Bart is there, the family is faced with an expensive bill. To pay for the camp, the family converts their house into a youth hostel, which attracts German backpackers. At the fat camp, Bart cheats by sneaking food that is disposed of, so Spangler takes him home to visit the family to show him the horrors that occur. His family is working continually to appease the backpackers staying in their home. The Germans humiliate the family, making Homer sing & dance for change and forcing Marge and Lisa to clean intentional messes while pointing out America's problems one by one. He suggests Bart fight his addiction, and he does, by destroying the vending machines in school. His addiction to junk food is over, and he steals the money from the vending machines, which the family uses to pay for the bill and give the Germans "Das Boot". Homer gets revenge by chasing out the Germans, and tossing one of them out. Spangler says that Bart still has three weeks left of non-refundable treatment, and Homer goes with Spangler (by force from the family, presumably as payback for calling Bart a "freeloading fatso"), where the episode ends with them driving in Spangler's car arguing over the cheeseburger Homer is eating.
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A Star Is Torn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Star_Is_Torn
Lisa participates in a singing competition with Homer as her manager, but helps Lisa's rival after being fired.Guest star: Fantasia Barrino
After being unable to shop at the Kwik-E-Mart because it is being held up, Lisa suggests the Simpsons have a vegetarian meal with ingredients purchased from a nearby stall, which they enjoy until Bart, Homer, Marge, and Maggie feel queasy and begin vomiting. Because she is a vegetarian, Lisa is immune to the "vitamins, minerals, and trace amounts of bug feces". Lisa points out that the rest of them are so used to processed foods that their bodies were not prepared for organic foods. As the family sits on the couch, wrapped in blankets, Lisa feeds them dry toast, and gently sings them to sleep with the "Hush, Little Baby" song. The next morning, the family is feeling better, eating fried chicken while watching TV. They see Krusty make an endorsement for his "Li'l Starmaker" competition, a children's American Idol-style competition where the winner shall be animated in an episode of Itchy & Scratchy. Bart convinces Lisa to enter because he believes she has a great voice. At the competition, another child (played by guest star Fantasia Barrino) sings a fancy version of Lisa's planned song, "Hush, Little Baby", which is declared by Bart to sound like "Whitney Houston brought to life". Lisa starts to panic, but Homer comes to her rescue by going to the nearby piano store and writing a song for her to sing. She sings the song, "I'm Talking Springfield", which praises Springfield (except Ned Flanders), delighting the crowd. Soon, the competition enters its knockout stages. Homer, now Lisa's manager, starts using every means at his disposal to make Lisa feel comfortable. He even gets her the right spotlight by beating up the technician. The competition progresses and contestants are eliminated, with Paul Simon disqualified after posing as a 10-year-old, leaving just fan favorites Cameron and Lisa in the final to take place the next week. However, Homer's aggressive treatment of staff at the competition makes Lisa mad. As a result, Lisa fires him as her manager, causing him to be upset. Later that night, as the rest of the family eat dinner, Homer enters to announce that he has become Cameron's manager. Lisa is sad that Homer is upset with her. During the competition final, Lisa sings a song that she has written herself, called "Always My Dad", dedicated to Homer. The song expresses how much she loves her dad, and how sorry she is for hurting him. After she finishes, everyone loves it. Cameron, now restyled by Homer as "Johnny Rainbow", then sings a rather condescending song called "Privileged Boy" that Homer wrote, the lyrics of which say how much better he is than everyone else. The audience boos Cameron and throw tomatoes at him, and he flees the stage in disgrace. Lisa is thrilled that Homer sabotaged Cameron to help her win, and Homer says he will always be there for her. During the closing credits, Homer teaches Lisa the jazz hands routine, which he taught Cameron earlier, for her next performance. Maggie joins in, as well, though does stumble at first before picking up the routine.
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Thank God, It's Doomsday
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_God,_It%27s_Doomsday
Homer sees a movie about the end of the world and fears the same thing will happen in real life after seeing a chain of random occurrences (celebrities ["stars"] falling from the sky, raining blood, a man in a realistic devil costume) and doing a complicated math equation that predicts the end will come on May 18th, but when the end does not come, Homer discovers a flaw in the equation and ends up in Heaven where he meets God and learns that God is planning The Rapture.
Marge tries to cut the kids hair at home, but is stopped when Homer takes them to get haircuts at a new barbershop in the mall. The kids' haircuts are done so badly, that they hide with Homer in a movie theater showing the film Left Below, a parody of Left Behind: The Movie. In response to the kids losing their hair, Marge later makes them wigs using the leftover hair trimmings. Homer now fears that the Rapture will soon be coming. Despite being consoled by Marge and Lisa (who think God would not end the world unless He announced it), Homer encounters signs suggestive of the Rapture. He uses numerology to calculate the date and time of the Rapture and concludes that it is only a week away. Homer predicts that "stars will fall from the sky", then a blimp accident at the Krusty Celebrity Salute to Specials causes some celebrities (or "stars") to fall to their deaths. His prophecy causes many of Springfield's residents to believe that the world will end and they go with him to the Springfield Mesa to wait for the Rapture. A few hours pass without incident, and the people go home. All of them are annoyed at Homer, particularly Moe, who had sold his tavern to be converted to a Japanese sushi bar. Homer goes home and realizes that he has made an error in his calculation, so he returns to the Mesa with no support after getting ostracized by his family. Suddenly, he finds himself naked and ascending into Heaven. Homer arrives in Heaven, where he is greeted by the tour guide who shows him around. He is then shown to his room where he requests to see his family on the big TV screen in his room. Marge and the children are shown being tormented by the devil. He has a talk with God about saving his family. When God refuses to help, due to Jesus' suffering on Earth, Homer becomes angry. He runs around vandalizing Heaven and gets stopped by security. God finally agrees to undo the Rapture by turning back time. Homer later wakes up on the mesa and is reunited with his family, also discovering Moe's Tavern to curiously be back in its normal set up.
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Home Away from Homer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Away_from_Homer
Flanders rents a room to two college girls who, without his knowledge, use the spare room to broadcast live softcore pornographic web videos of themselves. Upset that no one in town told him this (and that Homer was the one who told everyone), Ned moves to the seemingly perfect town of Humbleton, Pennsylvania, while a brash coach moves into Flanders' house and begins harassing Homer the same way Homer harassed Ned.Guest star: Jason Bateman
Lisa calls in to an unpopular public radio station and wins tickets for four to an Albanian movie called Kosovo Autumn. Homer leaves Maggie with Ned Flanders, who agrees to babysit free of charge, while the rest of the family watches the movie. When Marge picks up Maggie and hastily offers to pay Ned admits to needing extra money as a giant retail store called Left-Mart is threatening his business. Marge suggests he rent out one of his rooms to someone. He agrees, giving the room to Katja and Vicky, two female community college students. Taking advantage of his trusting nature, the two use their room as a staging area for a softcore pornographic website, sexyslumberparty.com. Bart and Milhouse come across a banner ad for the site and share their discovery with Homer, who proceeds to spread the news around town. Marge soon discovers Homer and Bart viewing the website and forces Homer to tell Ned everything. Ned angrily forces the girls to leave, but realizes that everyone has arrived to cheer for them. Horrified at both the town's mockery and Homer's betrayal, Ned leaves town, moving to "Humbleton, Pennsylvania", home of the porcelain "Humble figurines", which he collects. Angered by Homer's actions, Marge and Lisa tell him to be on his best behavior for their new neighbor, "Coach" Clay Roberts, who becomes a cynical bully towards Homer and litters the Simpsons' yard with Ned's fallen trees, cutting their cable, and siphoning gas from Homer's car. Meanwhile, Ned finds the friendly pseudo-Germanic town of Humbleton to be everything he ever dreamed. However, when applying for a job at the Humbleton Figurine Workshop, the manager requests him to shave his moustache, declaring it "hippie-ish" and distracting. Ned briefly considers it, but soon decides it is more important than the opinions of the townspeople, who shun him. Homer drives to Humbleton and pleads with Ned to return, who, upon seeing the judgmental faces of the Humbleton residents glaring at him, agrees. Clay refuses to leave the house, despite Ned pointing out that his $200,000 check bounced, thus he legally still owns the property, but is persuaded once Ned and Homer overpower him by sheer force. A few hours later, Homer obtains a pipe organ, which Ned believes is from the local church, and places it in Ned's backyard for a welcome-home party, which several Springfield residents attend. Ned is happy at the party, which soon irritates Homer.
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The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Father,_the_Son,_and_the_Holy_Guest_Star
Bart gets expelled from school and transfers to a Catholic school, where a hip priest named Father Sean tries to convert Bart and Homer to Catholicism, which worries Marge when she believes that Catholics do not go to the same heaven as Protestants and discovers that Catholic women do not use birth control.Guest star: Liam Neeson
After Bart is expelled from school after being blamed for Groundskeeper Willie's prank unleashing hundreds of rats during the school's medieval festival, Marge enrolls him in St. Jerome's Catholic School, where Bart's rebel attitude is frowned upon. Bart meets a sympathetic Father Sean, who gives him a comic book about saints, and he is drawn into it. Marge becomes concerned over Bart's interest in the Catholic Church, due to the Catholic ban on birth control. Homer goes to the school to confront Sean, but decides to convert to Catholicism as well for easy absolution of his sins. With Bart and Homer considering joining the Church, Marge seeks help from Rev. Lovejoy and Ned Flanders, who agree to get them back. On the road, Marge, Ned and Lovejoy try to bring Bart back to the "one true faith" – The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism – by taking him to a Protestant Youth Festival where Marge bribes him with rock music and paintball. Alerted by Lisa, who agrees with Homer and Bart's desire to join a new faith, Homer and Sean arrive there with a motorcycle, and engage in a Mexican standoff with Ned and Lovejoy. Bart mocks the feuds between the different forms of Christianity, explaining that the topics they disagree on are nothing compared to the topics they agree on. The two groups agree to fight monogamist gays and stem cells, taking Bart's idea to heart. The episode then jumps 1,000 years into the future, when Bart is believed to be the last Prophet of God. Mankind is waging war over whether Bart's teachings were about love and tolerance, or understanding and peace (and whether he was betrayed by Milhouse). Engaging in a bloody battle, one side cries Bart's catchphrase "Eat my shorts", the other cries "Cowabunga".
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The Bonfire of the Manatees
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bonfire_of_the_Manatees
When Homer allows Fat Tony to shoot an explicit movie in the Simpson home, angry Marge leaves and meets Caleb Thorn, an attractive marine biologist.Guest star: Alec Baldwin as Caleb Thorn
Homer gets into trouble with the local mob over football gambling debts. As compensation, Fat Tony wants to use the Simpson home for shooting the adult film Lemony Lick-It's A Series of Horny Events, with the participation of Carl and Lenny. Homer gets Marge and the kids to leave the house by sending them off to "Santa's Village". Marge and the kids return home to find the production is still underway. Marge, outraged by Homer's latest bit of idiocy, leaves. Homer, home alone with the kids, tries to figure out what to do next. Just as Marge is about ready to reconcile with Homer (though she flatly expresses that she is not interested in his gift of Kwik-E-Mart chocolates, half of which have test bites), she encounters Dr. Caleb Thorn, a good-looking scientist with a passion for saving the endangered manatee. Homer and the kids go on a quest to find Marge, and they stop and stay with their "country cousins" (their dog is Santa's Little Helper's brother). Meanwhile, Marge is finding herself while helping to save manatees. Caleb helps Marge realize that Homer is still the man she fell in love with, and the problem is that she still expects him to change. Homer decides to win Marge back by saving a herd of manatees from a gang of abusing jet skiers. The gang initially agreed to leave, but return after hearing Homer calling them 'rubes'. He attempts to organize the manatees to battle the gang, but they all flee. However, the gang is dispersed when Homer's country cousin shows up with a notarized court order to have all jet skiers vacate the waters at once. Despite Homer's failure, Marge is impressed by his efforts to save the manatees and declares she is taking home "the real endangered species": "a devoted husband". The family decides to take a mini-vacation, and Homer gets a manatee sent to the power plant to fill in for his job for the next few days. When the manatee is about to die of dehydration, Mr. Burns and Smithers help him by washing him like a car, which the manatee actually enjoys.
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The Girl Who Slept Too Little
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Slept_Too_Little
When a graveyard is relocated to the lot next to the Simpsons, Lisa has nightmares that prevent her from sleeping.
When construction on a stamp museum wakes up the Simpsons, everyone in Springfield protests against its construction to the beat of the song "Eve of Destruction". Soon, Mayor Quimby moves it to where the Springfield Cemetery used to be, and the cemetery is moved next door to the Simpsons' house. Lisa is the only member of the family whose room overlooks it. She is scared and cannot sleep at night, and ends up sleeping with Homer and Marge. The next night, Lisa meets a white-haired man known as Gravedigger Billy, who is Groundskeeper Willie's cousin. After a hand comes out of a tomb, Lisa goes to Marge and Homer's room and makes a promise that if they go to the Springfield Stamp Museum, Lisa will sleep in her room. At the museum, there is a lecture for Milton Burkhart's book "The Land of the Wild Beasts", and an advertisement based on the book for a restaurant called The Hillside Wrangler. Lisa then feels that she can sleep in her room with the cemetery, but is already afraid, and sleeps in Homer and Marge's room again, much to their consternation. Marge and Homer then spend a night in Lisa's room and find out how scary the view really is. They then try to book a therapist, but find out that it is expensive and Lisa may have to resolve her fears herself, as she was not nurtured enough as a baby. Lisa, however, does not want to go see a therapist, and goes with Santa's Little Helper to overcome her fears at the cemetery. When the gate is locked, Lisa is left alone when Santa's Little Helper flees. Afterwards, Lisa, unnerved after witnessing Dr Nick Riviera grave-robbing, hits her head on a tombstone and faints. She experiences a dream where she is eaten by a skeleton, and then is on a web in a slime pond with a slug resembling Milhouse, and a spider resembling Bart. Lisa then has another vision with the monsters from "The Land of the Wild Beasts", and finds out they are funny, instead of scary, and that it is okay to be scared. Marge and Homer then find Lisa, wake her up, and they go home.
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Milhouse of Sand and Fog
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milhouse_of_Sand_and_Fog
When Maggie gets chicken pox, Homer tries to capitalize on it by throwing a pox party and inviting parents to infect their children. At the party, Milhouse's parents get back together, but Milhouse feels neglected and Bart helps break them up again.
During Reverend Lovejoy's sermon, Maggie is scratching. The family takes Maggie to see Dr. Hibbert, who diagnoses Maggie with chicken pox. Inspired by Ned Flanders' suggestion of purposely exposing his sons to chicken pox, Homer invites all the neighborhood kids over to the Simpson house for a "pox party". He ends up catching it himself, by drinking from Maggie's milk bottle, having no childhood immunity. Milhouse's parents Luann and Kirk attend the party, and after getting drunk on Marge's custom Margaritas, they resume their relationship. Milhouse feels neglected because his parents are not fawning over him as they did while they were separated. He schemes to break them up again, and Bart helps him with a plot borrowed from The O.C.. The boys place a bra, belonging to Marge, on Kirk's bed. Luann finds the bra, assumes Marge is having an affair with Kirk, and informs Homer. When Homer confronts Marge, she angrily denies the allegation and kicks him out of the house. Prodded by Lisa, Bart confesses to Marge that he left the bra in Kirk's bed, but Marge refuses to reconcile with Homer as he still does not trust her. In order to bring Homer and Marge back together, Lisa inadvertently influences Bart and Milhouse to plan to throw a dummy that looks like Bart off a cliff into the river below, while Homer and Marge, after receiving false messages from each other to meet, watch. However, after breaking his glasses, Milhouse accidentally pushes the real Bart off the cliff. Homer leaps into the rapids to rescue him, but they end up clinging on to a rock near a waterfall. There Bart confesses to Homer what he did, causing Homer to strangle him. Marge tells them to trust her, and let go of the rock. They let go and she catches them, swinging from a rope attached to a tree. Once safely on the river bank, Marge and Homer reconcile. They see Milhouse, thinking Bart died, jump off the cliff, leaving his fate unresolved. Marge wonders if Milhouse can swim, to which Bart asks "What do you think?"
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Treehouse of Horror XVI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_XVI
B.I. Bartificial Intelligence – Bart falls into a coma after trying to jump into the swimming pool at Patty and Selma's apartment complex. With Bart incapacitated, the Simpsons buy a robot son, who proves to be a better son than Bart ever was, leaving the real Bart to befriend a group of traveling robots.Survival of the Fattest – Mr. Burns hunts down Homer and a small collection of male ancillary characters as part of a new reality show called "The World Series of Manslaughter."I've Grown a Costume on Your Face – After she loses a Halloween costume contest, a witch turns the townspeople into their Halloween costumes, and Lisa (who is now Albert Einstein) finds out that Maggie (who is dressed as a witch) is the key to revert the spell.Guest stars: Terry Bradshaw and Dennis Rodman
In the opening, Kang hopes to speed up an exceedingly slow and boring baseball game, despite Kodos' protests, but ends up destroying the universe when the baseball players go so fast, they turn into a killer vortex which sucks up the whole universe, even God. When Kodos berates Kang off-camera for destroying the universe, Kang responds by leaving a post-it note on the white void, revealing the title of the episode. B.I. Bartificial Intelligence In this spoof of A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Bart winds up in a deep coma after attempting to jump out of a window into a swimming pool. The family takes in a robotic boy, named David, who quickly proves to be a better son. Three months later, Bart finally wakes up from his coma and competes against David for the affection of the rest of his family. However, Bart is dumped on a road by Homer, who decides to keep David instead. When Bart finds a group of old rusty robots, he steals their parts at night to become a cyborg. Angry that Homer abandoned him, he then returns home and cuts through both David and Homer with a chainsaw after the robot tries to use Homer as a shield. Although the family is now together again, Homer is angry that he has been fused with David's lower half, which soon collapses due to Homer's weight. Suddenly, the whole scenario is revealed to be a dream conjured by Homer's demonically possessed mind as he is being exorcised by a priest. Marge reluctantly says she will call work and tell them Homer cannot make it in, much to his delight. Survival of the Fattest In a parody of the 1924 Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game", men from Springfield arrive at Mr. Burns' mansion to go hunting. Unbeknownst to them, they themselves are the prey to be hunted, with Burns pledging that if they survive by noon the following day, they will be free to go home. The hunt is broadcast on live television as The World Series of Manslaughter, with Terry Bradshaw as a guest analyst. Homer manages to survive the night while the others are killed left and right, but Burns closes in on him in the morning. Just as he is about to be shot, Burns and Smithers are knocked out by Marge with a frying pan in each hand, who then hits Homer on the head for being away from home for 18 hours without calling, before they end up having make-up sex behind the astonished Bradshaw. I've Grown a Costume on Your Face In a parody of The Twilight Zone episode "The Masks", the citizens of Springfield dress in their Halloween costumes for a semi-annual contest party. The winner is declared to be a strange old green-skinned witch. When given the award and asked who she is, she is forced to admit that she is a real witch. As a result, her reward is rescinded because she is not in actual costume. In anger over losing her gift certificate, she turns everyone into their costumed characters, including transforming Homer into a decapitated human, Marge into a skeleton, Bart into a werewolf, Lisa into Albert Einstein, Dr. Hibbert into Count Dracula, Apu into R2-D2, Patty and Selma into two halves of a horse, Milhouse into a bulldozer, Nelson into a racoon (despite protesting that he is the Lone Ranger, and too poor to afford the hat), Hans Moleman into a mole (though he complains that he wasn't wearing a costume), Moe into Hugh Hefner, Principal Skinner into a GI Joe (without genitalia), his mother Agnes into a southern belle, Sherri and Terri into Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Mayor Quimby into Mayor McCheese. The only person who can reverse the spell is Maggie, who was dressed as a witch. After the townspeople are split over being reverted to normal or being left as costumes, instead of reversing the spell, Maggie turns them all into pacifiers with their normal heads and then flies off on a broom. The segment ends as Moe and a transformed Dennis Rodman (who was in Springfield working off a speeding ticket) talk to the audience about the importance of reading.
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Marge's Son Poisoning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge%27s_Son_Poisoning
Realizing that Marge is lonely, Bart decides to spend extra time with her, causing his classmates to call him a mama's boy. Meanwhile, Homer begins exercising and becomes an arm wrestler, with Moe as his coach.
The family visits Paradise Pier, the Ferris wheel of which Marge has been looking forward all her life to riding, only to find out that it is being dismantled with its equipment being too old. Homer purchases a dumbbell, while Marge gets a tandem bicycle. When Marge wants to take the bike for a ride, she finds Homer and the kids unwilling to join her. Marge tries it on her own and repeatedly falls. Realizing that she might actually be lonely, Bart offers to go for a ride with her. They ride into an unincorporated part of the county and come upon a small village that features a tea house. Later, the tea house closes forever, causing Bart to invite Marge to his treehouse for tea. Marge redecorates the treehouse and the pair goes off to get a new tea service; Bart gets a Krusty the Clown Tea Set. Outside the store, the bullies Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney accuse Bart of being a mama's boy, which causes Bart to rebel against her. Marge goes into a depression and eventually sells the bike to Chief Wiggum, Eddie and Lou. Feeling bad, Bart offers to team with her in a karaoke contest. While seeing Principal Skinner and his mother Agnes perform, Marge has visions of a bad future for her and Bart, and she stops the show to prevent that future from occurring. She then lets Bart know that he can find his own way of life and that he should not worry about her because she has to worry about him. To make things better, she gives him a fire extinguisher to spray in front of the audience, including the bullies that tormented him. Meanwhile, at Moe's tavern, Homer shows off the strength in one of his arms he has gained from working with the dumbbell, and Moe has an idea on how to capitalize on it. Moe takes Homer to the arm wrestling championships, where Homer readily wins the grand prize—a refund on his $50 admission fee—but finds that he really misses his wife. He drives home to reunite with Marge at karaoke, stopping to win a pie-eating contest along the way.
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See Homer Run
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/See_Homer_Run
Homer's reaction to Lisa's Father's Day book causes her to develop a disappointment disorder. To get her respect back, Homer dresses up as a mascot known as the Safety Salamander.
On Father's Day, Homer is unimpressed with Lisa's gift, a book she created with caricatures of herself and Homer as unicorns. Trying to make Lisa feel better, he hangs the book on the refrigerator, but it falls into the refrigerator's water dispenser and gets wet and ruined. Worse, Homer blames the magnet, which Lisa gave him for his birthday. Lisa takes out her frustrations at school, leading her into trouble, and her parents are called to talk with Principal Skinner. The school psychiatrist Dr. J. Loren Pryor determines Lisa is going through a developmental condition spurned by Homer's antics and could wind up with a hatred for men for the rest of her life, which can only be resolved by Homer trying to make amends for everything. He dresses up as The Safety Salamander, a mascot meant to warn children about electrical power lines, but on the school bus, causes myriad dental injuries when he has Otto stop the bus promptly, and then a fireworks display during a school assembly causes a massive fire in the auditorium. Meanwhile, Bart—on a dare from the bullies, who plant the idea in his head that he is allowed to steal public property that has his name on it—steals a "Bart Boulevard" street sign. This leads to a fiery multi-vehicle pileup. Homer, still dressed in his Safety Salamander costume, runs to the rescue, extracting people who were trapped in their cars. Homer gets a rousing reception, and Mayor Joe Quimby is blamed for the bumbling response. Springfield's residents criticize Quimby for his many other failures and demand a recall election. On Lisa's suggestion, Homer decides to run for mayor against candidates numbering in excess of 200, playing on his popularity as the Safety Salamander and building a huge lead in the polls. However, after Marge washes Homer's salamander costume after he vomits in it, it falls apart during a debate forum, and the crowd turns on him. None of the new candidates gain the 5% of master vote needed to oust Quimby. Nevertheless, Lisa confides in Homer that she is proud of him and glad he is her father. They then dance in the deserted ballroom.
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The Last of the Red Hat Mamas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_the_Red_Hat_Mamas
Looking for new friends, Marge joins a group of women, whom she gets along with. However, she is conflicted when they plan a heist on Mr. Burns's mansion.Guest Star: Lily Tomlin
At Mayor Quimby's Easter egg hunt, Homer gets into a fight with the Easter Bunny mascot. Marge takes a tour of the mayor's mansion, and she and her friends are embarrassed by Homer's antics. That night, Homer feels guilty and unsuccessfully tries to find Marge new friends. Going for a walk, Marge meets a group of women called the Cheery Red Tomatoes (a parody of the Red Hat Society). She befriends the leader, Tammy, and is inducted into the group. Marge learns that the Cheery Red Tomatoes plan to steal Faberge eggs from Mr. Burns's mansion, after he ruined their fundraiser by backing out on a promised donation. She goes along with this to stay in the group, while Homer finds the heist plans and follows Marge. He mistakenly alerts the police on his way over, who catch the Cheery Red Tomatoes stealing the eggs. They flee the mansion seemingly empty-handed, but Marge reveals that she has hidden one egg in her hair, allowing the Cheery Red Tomatoes to replace the money Burns did not donate. They agree to go their separate ways and stay safe, while Homer reassures Marge that she will always have him as a special friend. Meanwhile, Lisa seeks summer opportunities and decides on studying abroad in Rome. The only requirement Lisa has not met is to speak fluent Italian, so she hires a tutor, who turns out to be Milhouse. To Lisa's surprise, Milhouse is fluent in Italian from having spent summers with his abusive xenophobic Italian grandmother, who beat him with an Olive branch for speaking English (because an American WWII soldier left her pregnant with Milhouse's uncle). Lisa enjoys the special time spent during her lessons and learning Italian culture, and begins to like Milhouse more, but soon comes across Milhouse tutoring another girl in the same way he taught her. Lisa berates him in perfect Italian, chasing him with an olive branch in the same manner his grandmother did.
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The Italian Bob
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Italian_Bob
Homer brings the whole family along when he is sent to Italy to pick up a new sports car for Mr. Burns. There, he runs into Sideshow Bob and his family.Guest Stars: Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Kelsey Grammer
After Mr. Burns gets teased about his old car by the kids at Springfield Elementary School, he sends Homer Simpson to pick up a brand new Lamborgotti Fasterossa car in Italy. The Simpsons fly over on Alitalia, and tour the country. After a huge wheel of mortadella lands on their car and crushes the hood, they push it into a small (fictional) Tuscan village called Salsiccia (sausage), and are told that the mayor speaks English. The Simpsons visit the mayor, who turns out to be Sideshow Bob. He explains that after he last attempted to kill Bart, he decided to get a fresh start in Italy. He helped the villagers crush grapes into wine using his enormous feet, and they elected him mayor. Bob has resisted all intention of killing Bart, and introduces the Simpsons to his wife, Francesca Terwilliger, and his son, Gino. Bob begs the Simpsons not to tell anyone about his past crimes and arranges to have the car fixed. One month later, Bob hosts a farewell party for the Simpson family. Lisa gets drunk on wine and spouts off about Bob being an attempted murderer. He leads her away from the table, but as she stumbles backwards, she rips off his suit to reveal his prison uniform. Upon this revelation, the village sacks Bob as Mayor. Bob swears a murderous vendetta on the Simpsons. The family flees in the fixed car, but Bob follows on a motorcycle. Homer drives into a ditch and onto a Roman aqueduct, landing on top of Trajan's Column in the Roman Forum. Bob's wife and son catch up with him. Francesca professes her love and loyalty to Bob and offers to help him take revenge. The Simpsons are left with no car and no money. Lisa spots a bus with a poster advertising Krusty the Clown's performance in the opera Pagliacci. They meet up with him at the Colosseum in Rome, and he puts them in as extras. Bob, Francesca, and Gino find them and corner them on the stage while Krusty flees through a trap door. Lisa warns the audience that the Terwilligers are about to actually kill her and the family, but Bob tricks the audience by performing the climax of Vesti la giubba. Before Bob and his family can kill the Simpsons, Krusty's limousine picks them up; Krusty needs them to smuggle an ancient artefact back to America. The Terwilligers are disappointed at first, but then walk away plotting revenge together.
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Simpsons Christmas Stories
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpsons_Christmas_Stories
The Simpsons re-enact the Nativity; a World War II tale stars Grampa, Mr. Burns, and Santa; a musical features "The Nutcracker Suite."
The First D'oh-El When Reverend Lovejoy cannot attend the Christmas sermon due to a horrible train wreck on his train set, Ned Flanders immediately takes over. However, when he gets a paper cut and faints, Homer decides to lead the sermon and tells the story of the first Christmas. Mary (Marge) tells Joseph (Homer) that she is pregnant, even though she is a virgin. The angel Gabriel (Lisa) appears to them and explains that Mary is going to give birth to the Son of God. The three wise men (Dr. Hibbert, Principal Skinner, and Professor Frink) tell King Herod (Mr. Burns) that they are going to give gold, frankincense, and myrrh (which Frink is re-gifting) to the King of the Jews. When Herod assumes the gifts are for him, the men explain to him that they are for the infant. Herod becomes angry and plots to kill the baby. At the Bethlehem Inn, the innkeeper (Moe) tells Mary and Joseph that he has plenty of rooms available with brand new carpeting. However, when Mary's water breaks, he forces them to stay in the barn. Mary successfully gives birth to baby Jesus (Bart), and the three wise men, along with the two shepherds (Lenny and Carl) come to see the baby. Joseph is upset because he is not Jesus's father, and when he drinks some wine, the baby turns it into water. When the infant keeps crying, Mary gives him to Joseph. He entertains him by hurting himself and one of the wise men (Skinner). When baby Jesus finally falls asleep, Herod and his troops find the manger that they are staying in. They escape and trick the soldiers by putting Jesus' halo on a duck. On top of the hill, Joseph cuts down a spruce tree, and as it rolls down, the soldiers get caught in it. The soldiers, along with Herod, are arranged like ornaments on the tree, and the duck, still wearing the halo, stands on top of the tree. Mary calls it a Christmas tree, and Homer concludes his service. I Saw Grampa Cussing Santa Claus When Bart and Lisa find Grampa trying to stick a bear trap on top of the chimney, Grampa tells them that he is trying to get his revenge on Santa Claus. When Bart asks why, Grampa recalls how, back in World War II, he and his brother Cyrus (not mentioned before or since this episode aired) were fighting off Japanese planes, accompanied by Mr. Burns, when Cyrus got shot down. Shortly after, Grampa and Burns have their plane's wings shot off and are stranded on an island. After a few months, they see a plane in the sky, and Burns shoots it down. However, when they go over to investigate, they see that it is actually Santa Claus. They build him a new sleigh and gather up all the presents. When Santa is about to leave, Burns knocks him unconscious with a coconut and flies away in the sleigh, intent on keeping all the presents for himself. Grampa catches up to him on Prancer, who has been left behind because Santa could not find him, and jumps on board the sleigh. After he beats Burns with a tricycle, he gives the sleigh back to Santa. As Santa leaves, he tells Grampa that he will be back in a few days. However, he never returns, and Grampa has to get off using a jet ski he made out of coconuts. Bart and Lisa believe that it is just another one of Grampa's far-fetched tales, but when they hear a thump in the den, they find that Santa is there. He tells them that Cyrus did not die, but instead crashed into Tahiti. Santa takes Grampa there, and they meet up with Cyrus and his fifteen wives. Santa explains to Grampa that he did not come back for him on the island due to his procrastination and eventually feeling embarrassed about it. When Grampa comments on Cyrus's fifteen wives and the sex he must have, Cyrus points out that they are wives, not girlfriends. The Nutcracker...Sweet After the children of Springfield Elementary perform The Nutcracker, everyone begins to go about their business singing to the tune of the songs from the play. This is done after mentioning that these songs are in the public domain and thus can be (and are) played constantly for free. After the opening number (sung to the tune of "Marche"), Moe continues his holiday tradition of attempting suicide (done to the tune of "Dance of the Flutes"), first by hanging himself with popcorn string which breaks under his weight, next by riding a sleigh into open traffic only to have all the cars swerve and miss him, and then by shooting himself in the head with a revolver that sends a "Merry Christmas" flag out through his other ear. In a fourth attempt, Moe asks Barney to kill him instead of buying him a present, but Barney has already gotten him a wool hat and Moe gives up on the idea for now. That evening, Marge tells Homer that he will like the present that she got him. Having forgotten to buy her anything and not wanting to upset her, Homer tells her that his present for her is outside; he then frantically rushes out to find a gift (sung to the tune of "Trepak"). Every store is closed, and all Apu has at the Kwik-E-Mart is some jerky made out of trout. Homer searches in garbage cans, gutters, trees, and he even chases down Milhouse, but he cannot find anything. When he gets home, Marge gives Homer his present (done to "Pas De Deux"). He opens it and sees that it is another present with a tag that reads, "To Marge, From Homer." Marge tells him that she knew that he would forget to give her a present, so she gave him one to give to her. He gives it to her and she unwraps it, and Homer sees that it is a picture of him dressed up as Santa with Marge on his lap. They hug and kiss, and Moe unsuccessfully attempts suicide a fifth time by riding a sleigh toward a fully loaded tractor-trailer.
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Homer's Paternity Coot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer%27s_Paternity_Coot
Marge's rage against the new toll road system leads to the discovery of a frozen mailman and his 40-year-old mail. A letter addressed to Abe Simpson shows that Homer is not his son, and Homer sets out to find his real father.Guest Stars: Michael York, William H. Macy and Joe Frazier
As Marge drives on a highway to go shopping, she finds a toll booth, but she and other Springfield residents drive through an adjacent forest trail to avoid paying. A week later, Mayor Quimby enforces tire spikes and blocks off the escape route, needing money to "de-python" the town fountain. When Marge comes up to the booth, she refuses to pay and backs up, blowing out many cars' tires, which are thrown in the tire fire. The heat and smoke from it melts ice on Mount Springfield and reveals a mailman frozen for 40 years. His letters contain many revelations and one is delivered to Homer's mother, Mona Simpson. It is from her old lifeguard boyfriend, whose name begins with an M, who writes that if Mona replies to the letter, she has chosen him, and if she does not, she is choosing to stick with her husband, Abe, and that either way, he knows the baby she is carrying is his. Wondering who his biological father really is, Homer goes to the library to look in "Lifeguards of Springfield in the Twentieth Century." The only person in there whose name begins with M is Mason Fairbanks. Homer goes to his house posing as a reporter, but eventually tells him he thinks he is his father, and Mason is delighted. He takes the Simpson family on a ride on his ship and tells them the story of the lost emerald treasure of Piso Mojado, which impresses them. However, when they come home, Grampa angrily accuses Mason of having tried to steal his wife and now trying to steal his family, and is saddened Homer would even think that Mason could be his real father. They have a DNA test, and after a suspenseful wait, Homer is thrilled to learn his real father is Mason Fairbanks. While Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have an awkward, uneventful visit with Grampa, Mason and Homer are underwater in individual submarines looking for the lost treasure. Homer gets separated from Mason, and he follows a small light, thinking it is him. It is actually a glowing fish, and Homer gets stuck in some coral. As his oxygen begins to run out and he starts to lose consciousness, he sees poignant flashbacks of himself and Abe. After three days in a coma, Homer wakes up in a hospital, tells Abe of his memories, and says he considers Abe his real father. Abe then reveals he switched the labels on the DNA samples after seeing how happy Homer was with Mason and the fully confirmed biological father-son duo share a hug.
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We're on the Road to D'ohwhere
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27re_on_the_Road_to_D%27ohwhere
After Bart steals a key from Principal Skinner's office and gets himself into hot water, Marge and Homer send him to a behavior modification camp. Meanwhile, Lisa and Marge have a yard sale.
While messing around in the school’s underground steam tunnels, Bart and Milhouse trigger a massive escape of steam that destroys the school. Although Milhouse is free to go, Principal Skinner proposes that Bart be sent off to "Upward Bound", a behavioral modification camp for troublemaking children based in Portland, Oregon. Meanwhile, Moe announces that he is treating Homer, Lenny, Carl and Barney with renting a minivan and taking them on a trip to Las Vegas, after a suicide attempt led to him suing the rope company that made a faulty noose and earning a hefty settlement. While the others pack their luggage and load it into the minivan near Moe's Tavern, Homer drives Bart to the airport to send him to the camp before going to Vegas. However, it is discovered that Bart is on the No Fly List after an incident in Atlanta where Bart unbuckled his seat belt before the plane could come to a complete stop. Homer now has to drive Bart to the camp and is annoyed at having to miss the Vegas trip with his friends. While they stop at a roadside diner, Bart pretends to respect Homer in order to escape; his plan works and he heads off home. However, he then reluctantly rescues Homer from almost driving off a cliff and they are soon back on the road, now with Bart chained and duct-taped in his seat, Homer now unable to trust his son. Homer gets Bart to the camp, and leaves him there as Bart sadly watches Homer reluctantly drive away. As he drives to Vegas, Homer begins to feel guilty, and decides to bring Bart back. Meanwhile, Bart is thoroughly enjoying his stay at the camp, and begins to realize he does not have to feel good by doing pranks, until he sees Homer run down a horse with his car, and leaves with Homer to go to Vegas in return for washing the horse's blood off the car. Meanwhile, Marge and Lisa have a yard sale, selling all of Homer and Bart's stuff with the intention of using the profits to buy knick-knacks and curios. It is initially a total failure until Otto discovers that Marge is selling the family's expired prescription drugs. Although reluctant, Marge soon makes much money selling prescription drugs, but Chief Wiggum eventually discovers the scheme and arrests her. Lisa returns home from school and gets two phone messages: one from Marge begging Homer for bail money and another from Homer, who made it to Vegas, but ended up in prison for fighting with a pit boss and losing track of Bart. Lisa tells Maggie that she anticipated the day when the two of them would be the only members of the family left to fend for themselves and states that she will look for work in the morning.
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My Fair Laddy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Fair_Laddy
When Bart accidentally destroys Willie's shack with a game of solid-ice dodgeball, Marge takes in the homeless janitor in a parody of My Fair Lady.
When Mrs. Pummelhorst (the school gym teacher) announces that she will be leaving to undergo gender reassignment surgery and will come back as the shop teacher "Mr. Pummelhorst," Coach Krupt, a substitute, takes her place. Every gym class, he has the students play a game called "Bombardment," which consists of him throwing dodgeballs at the students. When Bart gets sick of the constant bullying, he fills a ball full of water and sticks it in the freezer overnight. The next day, he tries to throw the frozen ball at Coach Krupt, who ducks; the ball crashes through the window and destroys Willie's shack. When Marge picks up Bart from school and sees Willie is homeless, she offers to let him stay at their house, and he eventually accepts. When there, Lisa has Willie realize that his life could be much better, and she decides to turn him into a proper gentleman. Bart, however, does not believe that she can do it, but Lisa bets that she can in time for the school science fair. Meanwhile, Homer comes home with his last pair of blue pants ripped and torn after his seat breaks at the go-cart track. As he searches through town for a new pair, he finds no store that sells his favorite type of pants. When he goes to the factory that sells them, the manager tells him that they do not make blue pants anymore due to poor sales thanks to a disastrous Super Bowl ad. Homer tells him that he will get more customers. He does this by writing "Buy blue pants" on the back of his head. Homer's advertising campaign pays off and soon everyone is wearing blue pants. However, Marge is annoyed when Homer begins putting other advertisements all over his body. Lisa struggles to teach Willie how to act sophisticated. On the day before the science fair, he is still his same old self, but when he sees how disappointed Lisa is, he suddenly surprises both Bart and Lisa by correctly (and with a 'proper' accent) saying a sentence she gave him. At the science fair the next day, he impresses everyone with his politeness and verbal dexterity under the guise of G.K. Willington Esq. No one actually knows that it is the old groundskeeper until Lisa announces it to everyone. Once again, she wins the science fair, and the bet along with it. Even though he is respected by everybody, Willie soon begins to miss his old life and feels out of place working as the maître d' at a fancy restaurant; unfortunately, both his job and his shack were taken by the music teacher. He explains to Lisa that he wishes to go back to the way things were, and she understands. Soon, he is returned to his restored "crap shack", which Lisa has decorated with a new sign on the inside wall reading "Home Sweet Home." Willie, acting very grateful for the gift, asks to be alone. Lisa understands and promptly exits the shack. Upon her leaving, Willie takes the sign and smashes it on the ground, declaring that he liked his shack "the way it was".
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The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seemingly_Never-Ending_Story
While exploring with his family, Homer causes a cave to crumble and finds himself stuck upside-down on the ceiling. To pass the time, Lisa tells him a story, with many layers of nested storytelling involved. Emmy Award winning episode.
While visiting a cave, Homer meddles with a very fragile stalactite, causing the family to fall deep into the caves. Homer is stuck hanging upside down from a narrow hole, and while Marge and Bart try to find a way out, Lisa tells him a story to pass the time. In Lisa's story, a bighorn sheep begins to attack her. She runs to the nearest shelter, Mr. Burns' house, and they hide in the attic. There, Lisa finds a photo of Burns as an employee at Moe's Tavern, and he tells her the origins of it. Burns explains that he and Rich Texan were once involved in a scavenger hunt, with the winner getting all the possessions of the loser. Burns was able to get every item besides one: a picture of himself with a smiling child. The Texan won, and Burns had to get a job at Moe's to regain his fortune. While working, he finds a letter by Moe about his secret treasure. The summer before Edna Krabappel was to begin teaching, she and Moe met and fell in love. Moe wanted to leave Springfield with her but had no money, only for Snake, a polite idealistic archaeologist, to bring a large amount of gold coins he intended to donate to a museum. Moe stole them from Snake, leading him to begin a life of crime. Before Moe and Edna are about to leave, Edna stops by Springfield Elementary School and finds Bart with detention over the summer, claiming he does bad in school because nobody believes in him. Edna tells Moe that she will stay in Springfield to help Bart succeed. Back in the cave, Bart explains that he was lying to distract Edna and help Nelson steal classroom equipment. Moe became depressed and used his coins to play music he and Edna liked on the tavern's jukebox repeatedly. After reading the letter, Burns took the coins from the jukebox and bought his possessions back from the Texan; he complies, but refuses to give the nuclear power plant back until Burns completes the scavenger hunt. The sheep bursts into the attic, and Burns gets hurt defending Lisa. The sheep shows that it found Lisa's pearl necklace and was merely trying to return it. Lisa, in gratitude, takes a photo of her and Burns together, allowing him to get the plant back from the Texan. After Lisa's story, Homer breaks free from the hole. He reveals that he saw the Texan hide the gold coins in the cave, and brought the family there to steal them. Just then, the Texan shows up, and the gold is found. Moe, Burns, and Snake appear, and enter a Mexican standoff. When Marge grabs the bag of coins and drops it into a chasm, everyone realizes how greedy they had been and thank her for getting rid of the gold, except for Burns, who attempts to climb down the chasm to retrieve the gold. The episode is revealed to have been a story by Bart, talking to Principal Skinner as to why he was unable to study for a test. Skinner is unconvinced until he sees Edna making out with Moe outside the school. When Moe asks Edna why she forgives him, she says that she "just wants a man with a healthy libido." Moe is unable to fulfill this request, and the Texan cheers, "Moe can't catch a break!"
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Bart Has Two Mommies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Has_Two_Mommies
A monkey holds Bart hostage while under Homer's care, leaving Marge to figure out how to get her son back. Meanwhile, Marge babysits for Rod and Todd Flanders, conflicting with Ned's overly-safe lifestyle.Guest Stars: Susan Sarandon, Antonio Fargas, Dave Thomas and Randy Johnson
The Simpson family attend a church fundraiser for a new steeple. Ned Flanders wins a rubber duck racing contest and is awarded a computer, although he gives it to Marge because he does not have any use for it. Marge babysits Rod and Todd while Ned attends a left-handed convention to repay the favor. She finds that all the games they play are boring and overly safe, such as a "sitting still contest," and helps Rod and Todd have fun by encouraging them to liven up. At the left-handed convention, Ned meets baseball hall of famer Randy Johnson (who was then playing for the New York Yankees), who is there to pitch his own line of teddy bears called Randy Johnson's Southpawz. After asking Johnson if he has any mailman teddy bears, the pitcher tells Ned that a teddy bear can't be a mailman. Johnson then asks Ned how many doctor bears he wants as they come in a box of 1,000. When Ned tells him he only wants one box, this makes Johnson angry with Ned. With Marge spending so much time at the Flanders' house, Homer, Bart, and Lisa go to an animal sanctuary for retired film animals. Bart sees an elderly female chimpanzee named Toot-Toot and offers her some ice cream, only to be taken into her cage and "adopted." Ned comes home and sees Todd wearing a Band-Aid, having injured himself during one of Marge's games. Marge encourages Ned to let his kids start taking more risks, showing him a flyer for a child-safe activity center. Marge takes Rod and Todd to the activity center. Ned follows her and is surprised to see Rod climbing a structure, yelling that he will get hurt. Rod gets worried and falls, chipping a tooth against the structure. A news broadcast plays about Bart's kidnapping, surprising Marge and causing Ned to view her as a bad mother. Following this, he starts child-proofing the house, although Rod and Todd protest and tell him that they liked having Marge over. Lisa suggests that Toot-Toot is keeping Bart captive because her real son has gone missing. When Marge goes into the cage to talk to Toot-Toot, she escapes and climbs atop the unfinished church steeple. With Toot-Toot's son, Mr. Teeny, Rod climbs up the steeple and Ned encourages him. Toot-Toot happily reunites with Mr. Teeny and lets Bart go. In a mid-credits scene, Maude Flanders looks down from Heaven, proud that Rod is growing up.
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Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Simpson,_This_Is_Your_Wife
Homer's obsession with Lenny's new plasma TV prompts Marge to enter the family in a sweepstakes, and they win a trip to the Fox Studio Lot. Against Marge's wishes, Homer signs them up for a Trading Spouses/Wife Swap-style reality show and is forced to take in a controlling wife, while Marge moves in with a beaten-down husband, Charlie, and his perfect son.Guest Star: Ricky Gervais
Lenny invites his friends in Springfield to a party at his apartment, where he has bought a brand new plasma screen high-definition television. Homer immediately falls in love with its HD picture, and begins to spend all his time at Lenny's home watching HDTV. Marge sends over Bart and Lisa to convince him to come back but they too become enthralled. After a few days, Homer is kicked out by Lenny, and when he returns home he no longer enjoys watching his regular CRT TV, so Marge enters the family in a contest where first-place prize is a plasma HDTV. They later manage to win the third-place prize: a trip to the studios of Fox Broadcasting Company. There, Homer learns of a reality show called Mother Flippers in which the mothers of two families switch places. The grand prize happens to be enough money to buy a new plasma HDTV, so the family signs up for the show. Marge is traded to a nice, easygoing man named Charles Heathbar and his perfect son Ben, while Homer gets Charles' strict wife Verity. Charles dislikes his wife, especially for constantly telling him what to do, so he is surprised to see that Marge is understanding and kind. As Marge enjoys her time with Charles, he begins to develop an infatuation for her. Meanwhile, Homer, Bart, and Lisa are having major troubles with Verity, who disciplines them and objects to everything they do. At one point, Verity makes Bart and Homer write reports on Itchy and Scratchy and CSI: Miami. Charles proclaims his love for Marge by song, but she explains to him that she loves Homer. After Charles expresses his despondency with his married life, including the fact that Ben is not his biological son owing to Verity having an affair, Marge tells him that he should tell his wife how he feels about her. He agrees, and decides to take Marge back to Homer and then get rid of Verity. When the two arrive in Springfield, however, Verity has already decided to leave Charles and found a new partner, Patty Bouvier, brought together by their hatred for Homer. That night Homer plays a guitar and expresses his undying love for his newly bought plasma HDTV and (to a lesser extent) Marge.
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Million Dollar Abie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Dollar_Abie
Grampa is shunned by the town and nearly commits suicide after foiling Homer's plans to make Springfield home to a professional football franchise. However, he gains a new purpose in life as a matador, while Lisa protests him harming animals.Guest stars: Rob Reiner and Michael Carrington
When it is announced that the commissioner of pro football, Bud Armstrong, wants to expand the league, Homer leads the charge to get the new franchise in Springfield. At first, his family does not think he can do it, but Homer manages to put forth a surprisingly strong package for the Springfield Meltdowns and the new park, named the Duff Beer Krusty Burger Buzz Cola Costington's Department Store Kwik-E-Mart Stupid Flanders Park. The commissioner narrows down the choice of the two cities to either Springfield or Los Angeles. L.A. puts forth an anti-Springfield video hosted by Rob Reiner and features a song sung by celebrity impersonators that ends with them singing "Springfield Blows". All the owners decide that Springfield is the lesser of two evils (it does not hurt that the Rich Texan owns slums in Springfield and another owner snaps that she did not kill her husband and seize his team just to put a team in Los Angeles) and the Commissioner awards the new team to Springfield. The town gets "Meltmania" and "Downs syndrome", quickly builds Homer's new park, paints the town in the team colours (orange and purple) and changes all of the street names to football-related names (e.g. Two-Point Conversion Avenue, Off-Season Knee Surgery Blvd). On the day when Springfield is officially announced as the new team, Commissioner Armstrong gets confused by all of the new street names and gets lost. He stops for directions at the Simpsons' house and is greeted by Grampa Simpson, who welcomes him in as he is busy watching Maggie. However, Grampa is watching a TV program about undercover burglars who act just as the Commissioner did (asking for a telephone and a bathroom and, sometimes, taking pictures of the children of the house - he was looking at one with Bart and Lisa when attacked), and sneaks up behind Armstrong and knocks him unconscious with a golf club. The rest of the family arrives home, disappointed that the commissioner did not show, and is shocked to find him tied up in their living room. The commissioner furiously declares that neither he, nor the League, will ever return to Springfield, ending the Meltdowns' history before it began. Homer then gets angry at Grampa not only for costing the town the entire team, but also for losing track of Maggie. The entire town hates Grampa for his actions, and the expensive stadium has to be used for farmers' markets, with even his dentures refusing to smile at him. Grampa is depressed and decides to seek out a doctor called Dr. Egoyan, who will help him commit suicide with a suicide booth called a "diePod". The doctor tells Grampa to reconsider, and Grampa decides that, if anyone calls him in the next 24 hours, he will not go through with his plan. The call never comes and Grampa goes back to the clinic the next day. To make it a more peaceful experience, they project in front of him, at his request, hippies being beaten up by police while music from the Glenn Miller Orchestra plays. Grampa comes very close to dying, but Chief Wiggum ends the procedure just in time, telling the doctor that voters have overturned Springfield's assisted-suicide law. Grampa thinks he is dead and runs through the town, seeing "Hamburger Heaven" and a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. He soon learns that he is not dead, gets a new lease on life and decides to live without fear. Meanwhile, the city decides to turn the unused football stadium into an arena for bull fighting. Despite Lisa's protests, as they go against her vegetarianism, Grampa decides to become a matador. Grampa wins his first fight with a bull, but at home, Lisa tells Grampa that she wants him to stop hurting and killing animals. Grampa tells her that people are cheering him for his success, but Lisa tells him that she has always cheered for him until now. Grampa is not sure about that, but in the next fight, he sees the bull that he is about to kill and decides to spare its life. He releases all the bulls, which immediately start running through the streets of Springfield, causing a great deal of destruction and injuring everyone. One bull takes the elevator up to the press box and attacks the announcer, who is a parody of Spanish-language soccer announcer Andres Cantor. Lisa is proud of Grampa and the two reconcile in two Lawnchair Larry flight-type patio chairs, but they both become in danger by two bulls flying with balloons. In the post-credits scene, a flashback shows that Abe was present at the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings. While he was only there to test out the microphone during preparation time, he names several individuals as members of the Communist Party before being escorted out of the room.
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Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_Kiss,_Bang_Bangalore
Homer learns the nuclear power plant is being shut down and outsourced to India, where the new workers worship him as a god. Meanwhile, Patty and Selma kidnap MacGyver, but soon grow annoyed by his antics.Guest Star: Richard Dean Anderson
After showing a movie about Outsourcing at the nuclear power plant, Mr. Burns announces that the plant is being shut down and moved to India. Homer is the only employee to be transferred due to federal laws, after catching a bouquet tossed by Burns into the crowd. Arriving in India, he seeks help from Apu's cousin Kavi on help with outsourcing. Homer is able to spur the "natives" into a working frenzy — the natives, at first not understanding his confusing speech, assume that if they cheer, they will be allowed to go back to work. Homer, Smithers, and Burns get a positive albeit slightly inaccurate impression from this, and Homer is put in total charge of the power plant while Burns takes time off to have fun floating down the Ganges with corpses he has befriended. Homer, left in charge of a slightly overgrown nuclear power plant on a river in the middle of nowhere, appraises the Hindu deities and decides he might be a god himself. About a week later, Lenny and Carl come to the India plant, invited by a card claiming that Homer is to become a god. Soon, the rest of the Simpson family, worried about Homer, travel to India and, with Burns, journey upriver on a PBR boat and find that Homer is ruling the plant like a god. Horrified, Marge and the kids tell the plant workers that Homer is not a god. They cheerfully explain that they already know, and that they worship him because of the American workplace routines he has instituted, like coffee breaks, early retirement, personal days, and "muffin baskets and mylar balloons on your birthday!". It is revealed that Homer has instituted these routines in the workers' binding contracts, treating the workers as good human beings in exchange for their help for outsourcing the power to Springfield, much to Marge's relief. Lisa then admits that she is proud of Homer for outsourcing the American worker's sense of entitlement and privilege. However, Mr. Burns calls this “madness” and decides to close down the plant and move it to an area where workers are "more desperate and ignorant" — Springfield. He then fires all the workers; however, this makes the workers delighted due to the various firing clauses Homer has written into their contracts ("Golden parachutes for all!"). Meanwhile, back in Springfield, Patty and Selma meet their Hollywood heart-throb, Richard Dean Anderson, who played MacGyver, who stops by to ask for directions to a convention about his newest show Stargate SG-1, only to find that he is totally uninterested in MacGyver and only did it for the pay. Patty and Selma kidnap Anderson from his Stargate SG-1 convention and tie him to a chair. From there, he manages to escape by using one of his contact lenses to focus the sunlight and burning the ropes, only to discover that he loves escaping, and starts having Patty and Selma put him through increasingly complex MacGyver-esque kidnapping trials. Patty and Selma eventually tire of Anderson's antics, and decide to drive him away. They sit him down one night and show him slides of their vacation to the horse-drawn carriage museum in Alberta, Canada. Anderson is so overwhelmed with boredom he jumps out the window for good. However, Patty and Selma later manage to track him down to India and join the Simpson's family.
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The Wettest Stories Ever Told
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wettest_Stories_Ever_Told
When the Simpsons' plans for a nice family outing at the Frying Dutchman turn into a dining disaster, the family (and show writers) try to salvage the night by telling three tales of disasters at sea: in "Mayflower Madman," Pilgrims Moe and Homer fight for the hand of Goody Marge while sailing to Plymouth Rock; in "The Whine-Bar Sea," Bart leads a mutiny against Captain Principal Skinner; and in "Watership D'ohn," The Simpsons (and a collection of ancillary characters) re-enact The Poseidon Adventure.
When the Simpsons' plans for an outing at the Frying Dutchman turns into a disaster due to an uncooperative octopus, the family tells three nautically themed stories. Mayflower Madman In Lisa's story, Bart, Lisa and a widowed Marge board the Mayflower to head for the new world. Homer, fleeing from the police, boards the ship and hides in a barrel. Homer is immediately attracted to Marge, however, Moe is instantly jealous of their friendship. Moe takes Homer down to the storage room to play a drinking game. Homer and the crew get drunk, and Moe claims that Homer is responsible, leading Captain "Flandish" (Flanders) and Reverend Lovejoy to place him in a stock. A storm approaches, and Flandish is knocked unconscious. Homer volunteers to take his place, and leads them safely out of the storm. Homer and Marge get together, and the members of the Mayflower meet the Wampanoag tribe and join them for the first Thanksgiving feast. The Whine-Bar Sea In Bart's story, the Bounty sets sail from England in 1789, commanded by Captain Bligh (Seymour Skinner). During the voyage, Bligh severely mistreats his crew. Willie warns him of a mutiny if he continues, but Bligh ignores him. They arrive in Tahiti, (where Homer and Marge are the rulers of the island) and have a wonderful time until it is time to leave. Bligh continues to abuse the crew, leading First Mate Bart Christian, to mutiny, sending Bligh and Willie off in a lifeboat. Bart, as the new Captain, orders the crews to set sail for Tahiti, but after throwing away the ship's helm, they end up in Antarctica. Watership D'ohn (aka, The Neptune Adventure) Homer tells the final story, a parody of the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, taking place on the luxury liner S.S. Neptune on New Year's Eve during the 1970s. At midnight, Captain Burns fails to notice a massive freak wave, which hits the bridge, capsizing the ship and killing most of the passengers. Led by Selma, the survivors (which include the Simpsons, Lenny, Carl, Sideshow Mel, Comic Book Guy and the Old Jewish Man) decide to climb up the decks to the engine room, during which Lenny falls to his death, saying that it is "too confusing" to carry on. Comic Book Guy swims through a flooded deck to help the others get to the engine room, but he has a heart attack and drowns. The group makes it to the engine room, and are rescued, but Sideshow Mel is killed when he is accidentally set on fire by one of the rescue crew welding a hole in the ship. Once outside the ship, the survivors encounter the skeletons of the Bounty crew who are still trying to get back to Tahiti.
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Girls Just Want to Have Sums
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls_Just_Want_to_Have_Sums
Principal Skinner is replaced by a women's education expert after making a sexist statement about women's math skills during a musical (which was written by a former female Springfield Elementary school student who was a math whiz), who segregates the school by gender. At first, Lisa loves the arrangement, but when she discovers that the girls' classes are more about self-esteem boosting than actual learning, Lisa disguises herself as a boy and attends the boys' classes.Guest Star: Frances McDormand as Melanie Upfoot
The Simpsons see a performance of Stab-a-Lot: The Itchy and Scratchy Musical. Juliana Kellner, the show's director and former student of Springfield Elementary School, greets the reception along with Principal Skinner, who acknowledges Juliana's straight A's at the school but attributes her "B or two" in math to being a girl. Skinner's attempts to defend himself make the situation worse, and he is beaten by the Itchy and Scratchy puppeteers. The next day, the teachers of Springfield Elementary stage a protest outside the school. Skinner holds a conference to address the protest. Nothing he says or does appease the women, and he eventually collapses from exhaustion. Superintendent Chalmers introduces a new principal, Melanie Upfoot, whilst Skinner is demoted to serving as Groundskeeper Willie's assistant. Upfoot segregates the school across gender lines and Lisa initially looks forward to the all-girls school, but discovers Upfoot's math lessons are New Age. Lisa infiltrates the boys' school, where actual math is being taught. Lisa disguises herself as a boy named Jake Boyman and attends the boys' school, where she gets nicknamed "Toilet". After Lisa inadvertently gets into a fight with Nelson, Bart vows to help her blend into the boys' school. Lisa is accepted by the boys, and is recognized for her performance in math. She then reveals her true identity. Bart claims she only did well because she learned to think like a boy. In response, she throws her award at him, and is shocked at her violent behavior. Lisa ends her speech by saying how proud she is of her feminism and her intelligence.
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Regarding Margie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regarding_Margie
Marge goes nuts trying to clean the kitchen in time for a best house contest, but when she inhales the fumes of one too many cleaning solvents, she passes out and bangs her head on a stool. When Marge comes to at the hospital, she is stricken with amnesia, which does not last when she immediately remembers everyone in the family through their quirks—except for Homer. With Marge's memory of Homer erased, Patty and Selma help their sister find a new man.Guest Stars: Sal Bando and Gene Tenace
To earn money, Bart and his friends Milhouse and Nelson go around the neighborhood spray-painting people's addresses on their curbs and making them pay for the unsolicited service. This works on Moe and Ned Flanders, but when Homer does not pay them, they leave with only the first two digits painted. The following day, a mail carrier brings Homer and Marge the wrong mail after reading their curb. Homer receives steaks and an invitation to a wedding, while Marge gets a letter claiming that she has won a contest, with the prize being a maid cleaning her house for a day. Fearing that she will be judged for having a dirty house, Marge cleans until it is spotless, except for a small stain on the kitchen floor. She combines all of her different cleaners, but passes out from the fumes and hits her head on a stool. Marge wakes up in the hospital and is told that she has amnesia, and does not remember her family. When she returns home, the environment quickly jogs her memory of her children, in addition to Flanders and Milhouse. Homer is still a stranger to her due to her mind blocking out an unpleasant memory. Homer tries to remind Marge who he is, but she is disturbed and disgusted instead and forces him out of the house. Patty and Selma take Marge to a speed dating event, and she meets a man who shares her interests. When Marge tells him that she has amnesia and three kids, he immediately leaves. Homer scolds the man for leaving her, saying that she is the most beautiful woman he will ever meet. Marge tells Homer that even though she may not remember him, he knows the most wonderful things about her. As they drive back home, Homer mentions beer, and she suddenly remembers him through his alcoholic tendencies.
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The Monkey Suit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey_Suit
Reverend Lovejoy is appointed to spread the word of creationism in Springfield after Flanders complains about a new museum display about evolution, leading creationism to be taught in schools—and Lisa to fight back with secret classes about Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution. However, she is quickly arrested and a trial against her is initiated.Guest Stars: Melanie Griffith and Larry Hagman
Lisa decides to bring the family to the museum to see a weaving exhibit for her summer vacation, but they soon discover that it has been replaced by a "History of Weapons" exhibit, sponsored by Kellogg's. Faced with an incredibly long line, Homer notices Ned Flanders and his sons at the front of the line and cuts in front of them. Everyone else starts taking advantage of Ned’s kindness as well until the Flanders family is stuck at the end. At the end of the day, they are still waiting, and are denied entry, as it is closing time for the weapons exhibit. They decide to check out the human evolution exhibit next door. Ned is outraged to hear that humans actually evolved from apes and that the creation account in the Genesis is therefore a myth. Covering his sons' eyes, he forcefully drags them out of the exhibit. Ned meets up with the church council to suggest promotion of creationism. The next day, he and Reverend Lovejoy blackmail Principal Skinner into introducing creationism in the school. Lisa is perturbed by this, and at a town meeting asks everyone to make a choice between creationism and Darwinism, as there is only one truth. The townspeople vote for creationism, much to her chagrin, and the act of teaching or learning Darwinism and evolution is made illegal. Lisa therefore decides to start holding secret classes for people interested in evolution. However, just as the first lesson is about to begin, she is arrested by Chief Wiggum. She asks why she is being arrested when there are far worse crimes out there, and embarrassed he tells her they only have enough manpower to enforce the last three laws passed, even stating that this is the worst law system there is (meanwhile Snake is seen at the KwiK-E-mart randomly shooting at people saying you live, you die, while the cops do nothing about it showing just how horrible they are at their jobs). Lisa is brought to trial, which is dubbed Lisa Simpson v. God. Representing her is Clarice Drummond, an ACLU lawyer, while on Ned's side is Wallace Brady, an overweight, southern lawyer. The trial does not go smoothly for Lisa, as Professor Frink gives ambiguous answers regarding God's existence, while a creationist says that evolution cannot be real, as there is no proof of a "missing link" (depicted in a picture as a savage hominid, holding a rock over his head). With Lisa now facing a long jail sentence, her mother decides to help her out. Marge begins reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, which is incorrectly called The Origin of Species, and becomes addicted to it. When the trial resumes, Marge tells Lisa that she now knows a way that she can help her. While Ned is being cross-examined by Drummond, she gives Homer a beer. Homer, ecstatic at getting the beer, tries to open it unsuccessfully. The more he tries, the more primitive he gets, hooting and banging the beer on the bench, disrupting the trial. Ned loses his temper and tells Homer to stop behaving like a monkey. Drummond then asks Ned to compare the picture of the "missing link" and Homer shaking the beer over his head, and asks if he truly believes Homer cannot be related to apes. Ned cannot and concedes victory to Lisa. After the trial, Lisa goes up to Ned and tells him that while she fully respects his religious beliefs, she just does not think it is proper for the church to dominate the school in the same way that he and Reverend Lovejoy do not want scientists taking over the church. Ned finally agrees with this, so he offers to take Lisa and his sons out for ice cream. However Todd (in a homage to joke earlier) turns out to be Nelson instead after he insults Ned and pulls off his mask.
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Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_and_Homer_Turn_a_Couple_Play
A first baseman for the Springfield Isotopes calls upon Homer and Marge to help him with his marriage to a stripper/pop singer named Tabitha Vixx, who upstages him with a racy musical number during one of his games.Guest Stars: Mandy Moore and Stacy Keach
The Springfield Isotopes win first place in the NL West thanks to their new acquisition of Buck “Home run King” Mitchell. During a game at Springfield Stadium, Buck's pop star wife Tabitha Vixx sings the first few bars of the American national anthem, then strips down to lingerie and launches into a lascivious performance of one of her own songs. Buck, humiliated, delivers a terrible performance at that night's game, and even accidentally lets go of the bat while swinging it which accidentally hits Sideshow Mel's fiancé, causing the crowd to boo at him. He later sees Homer and Marge kissing on the Jumbo-Vision. Later that night, Buck shows up at the Simpsons’ front door and asks for help with his marriage in exchange for season tickets. Marge doubts their ability to counsel other couples. Her doubts lead to her and Homer flirting, which Buck sees as an example of what he wants with his own wife. At the first session—taking place in the Simpsons’ living room—Buck confesses he assumed Tabitha would give up her recording career to focus on his minor league baseball career, to which she responds she will not stay in a mismatched marriage. The next session takes place at Buck and Tabitha's mansion and goes much more smoothly. As a result of his now-steady personal life, Buck's game returns to superior form. Tabitha continues her concert tour, and Homer comes to check up on her in her dressing room. There, he gives her a neck rub; her loud moans and Homer's praise of the fried chicken he is eating are overheard through the door by Buck, who misinterprets them and barges in enraged and slugs Homer. Now, with his marriage again on the rocks, Buck goes into another slump. Homer wants to get them back together, but Marge refuses to help. A few minutes later, Tabitha knocks on the door; she tells a shocked Marge that she plans to leave Buck for good. Marge objects, insisting they stay together. During Buck's next game, Homer hijacks the Duff blimp and spells out a message to Buck, supposedly from Tabitha, proclaiming her love. Buck, reinvigorated, hits the ball into the blimp itself, causing it to deflate and crash onto the field; as Homer alone runs from the wreckage, Buck realizes Tabitha had no part in the message. He charges Homer, bat in hand, but Marge dissuades him by saying that Homer was just trying to help, and that marriage is hard work but worth it. Tabitha then comes on the Jumbo-Vision to tell Buck she wants to stay together. The episode closes with another Isotope player, Tito, saying he does not care about the healed marriage because bandits just kidnapped his mother.
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The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mook,_the_Chef,_the_Wife_and_Her_Homer
Lisa becomes friends with Fat Tony's son Michael, who would rather cook than run a crime ring, but when the Simpsons are invited over for dinner and Fat Tony is shot, Homer ends up being the town's newest kingpin. Guest Stars: Joe Mantegna, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Imperioli, and Metallica.
After Bart humiliates him in front of Metallica, Otto spanks him, leading to his suspension from driving the school bus. With this, Marge has to drive carpool to several of Bart and Lisa's classmates, including Michael, the son of Fat Tony. News of Michael's family spreads, and everyone tries to keep their distance from him. However, Lisa chooses to befriend Michael and discovers that he is a talented cook who dreams of being a chef, rather than going into the family business of "waste management". When Fat Tony takes a turn driving the children home from school, they find themselves attacked by the Calabresi family, although Fat Tony manages to elude them. Michael then invites the Simpson family over for dinner, but the Calabresis show up unexpectedly for a sit-down. When soufflés are served to the mobsters, they are at first impressed, but the Calabresis go on to mock Michael after he reveals that he was the one who made them. Fat Tony admonishes Michael for making him look weak in front of his enemies before he is suddenly gunned down by an attack helicopter, leaving him comatose. With no leadership, Johnny Tightlips urges a reluctant Michael to step up as boss, but Homer and Bart volunteer in his place. They then proceed to handle Fat Tony's business, extorting Moe and Krusty, as well as taking several luxury items for themselves. Eventually, Michael notices how the power is corrupting Homer and Bart and seeks to put an end to it. Michael invites the Calabresis to the Simpsons' house for dinner, where he concedes defeat and states that he is out of the family business. They applaud his decision, but end up choking and dying over their meals. Marge discovers the food has been poisoned, and although Michael appears remorseful, Lisa finds out it was intentional. After Fat Tony congratulates Michael for taking down their enemies, Lisa asks Michael why he did not tell Fat Tony it was all an accident. He then bluntly tells her to never ask him about his business.
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Jazzy and the Pussycats
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazzy_and_the_Pussycats
Bart gets a drum kit to work out his aggression after being a nuisance at the funeral of Homer's Vegas wife and becomes top pick for a local jazz band -- a position that the saxophone-playing Lisa has been going after for years. Meanwhile, Lisa begins adopting abandoned animals. Guest Stars: The White Stripes.
Amber, Homer's "Vegas wife", dies of a drug overdose, so the Simpson family attends her funeral. A bored, Bart, plays a game of paddleball, but the game goes awry when the ball flies into several people's mouths, causing mayhem. Homer and Marge are faced with the angry churchgoers, who have had enough of Bart's antics. As a result, he is forced to see a psychiatrist, who suggests Bart get a drum set in order to harness his anger and the energy he has and find the focus and discipline that he needs. Bart gets a kit and shows a natural talent for drumming. He practices non-stop, even while asleep, and, even, has a run in with The White Stripes on the street, earning Bart an enmity with them. Eventually, his continuous drumming drives Homer and Marge mad, and Lisa suggests to her parents that she can take Bart to a jazz brunch. Lisa asks Bart to play along with her quintet, and Bart easily overshadows everyone, including Lisa. When a legendary jazz group asks him to play with them, Lisa is angered, as she is the more experienced and passionate of the two. Lisa then tries to overtake Bart in his passion of skateboarding, which ends in failure. Marge, who does not want Lisa to compete against Bart, decides to let her adopt a puppy in order to make her happy. At the animal shelter, Lisa picks a healthy puppy over a very sick one that would otherwise die. Later that night, the sick dog appears in a ghost-like form to tell her that his fate is doomed because she chose the other dog over him. Lisa decides to go back and adopt the sick puppy, but after seeing how sick many of them are, she decides to adopt them all in order to save their lives. On her way home, many other animals join her, including a group of circus animals. Having nowhere to put them, Lisa puts them in the attic. After dinner that night, Lisa goes into the attic and finds Bart and his jazz group with the animals she rescued. A tiger bites Bart's arm, causing extensive nerve damage that leaves him unable to play. In order to raise money for the operation he needs, Bart organizes a benefit concert. Meanwhile, Lisa is informed that her animals will be taken to a pound and put down if she cannot find a suitable home for them. The concert is a success, and Bart feels empathy for Lisa and decides to use the money to build a home for the animals instead. The other musicians begin to discuss the idea of holding another benefit to repair Bart's arm.
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Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Please_Homer,_Don%27t_Hammer_%27Em
Marge takes an interest in carpentry after reading some books on the subject meant for Homer, but when everyone in town declines Marge's services (because they believe that women cannot be carpenters), Marge uses Homer as a front. Meanwhile, Bart discovers that Principal Skinner is allergic to peanuts and uses his allergy as leverage to make Skinner do his bidding.
On a trip to the extremely rundown Springfield Mall, Homer happens across the Time–Life Carpenter's Library, and Marge encourages him to buy them. Homer's interest in carpentry fades, and Marge decides to use them herself to fix up the house. She begins to learn more about carpentry and Lisa suggests to Marge that she try to earn some money as a handywoman, thus opening up "Simpsons Carpentry". However, potential clients Superintendent Chalmers and Krusty the Clown turn her down, dismissing the idea of a female carpenter. Commenting on how people expect carpenters to be male, Marge develops a plan: she uses Homer as a front to the customers, while Marge, hiding in a red tool chest, does all of the work as Homer rests in the toolbox, and switches back when the customers come to check on Homer's work. Though business is going great, Marge becomes discouraged by Helen Lovejoy and Lindsay Naegle, who taunt her for being Homer's "helper". That night, Marge tells Homer that she feels he is taking too much credit and wishes she would get some recognition for the work. Homer, however, does not want to be humiliated by revealing his wife has done everything. Marge continues to get angry after Homer mocks Marge's carpentry skills with Lenny and Carl, and when he tells her he has been hired to repair Springfield's old wooden roller coaster, "The Zoominator", she quits and tells Homer he will have to do the work by himself. Homer tries to fake his way through being a foreman in front of his newly hired construction crew, but they eventually abandon him when he reveals he cannot pay them and does not know anything about construction. The big reopening day arrives, and Homer stands in front of a crowd gathered to witness the unveiling of the refurbished roller coaster; Marge shows up to witness Homer being revealed as a fraud firsthand. When unveiled, the crowd is in awe at the seemingly repaired roller coaster, but when Homer pops a champagne cork into one of the coaster's segments, it begins to break down rapidly. Still not wanting to admit the truth, Homer attempts to prove the coaster is safe by riding it himself, even though there are large gaps in the track. Acting quickly, Marge repairs each broken piece just before Homer's cart runs over it. Eventually, Homer finally reveals to the crowd that Marge has done all the handiwork. The crowd applauds as the coaster comes to a stop, and just as Marge is about to tell Homer that she loves him, the entire structure comes crashing down on top of Homer. At the hospital, Marge visits Homer, who is immobilized in a full-body cast, and they make amends. Meanwhile, a note is sent out from the Springfield Elementary, informing parents that someone at the school has a "life threatening" peanut allergy so foods containing peanuts will no longer be allowed on school premises. An indignant Bart claims it to be unfair not to disclose the identity of the "kid", but soon discovers the "kid" is actually Principal Skinner. With this newfound knowledge, Bart forces Skinner to publicly humiliate and injure himself by threatening him with a peanut on a stick. After being advised by Comic Book Guy that the only way to stop Bart is to find his "kryptonite", Skinner breaks into the Springfield General Hospital and searches through medical records of Bart in the night, where he discovers that Bart is allergic to shrimp. The next day, Skinner counters Bart's peanut stick with his own shrimp on a stick, and Bart and Skinner clash Star Wars style with their respective "sticks". They eventually end up in a Thai food factory in the "Little Bangkok" section of town. They battle over a rickety catwalk, which is right above a vat of shrimp-peanut mixture. Skinner sees this and attempts to end the battle, but Bart defiantly rushes at Skinner, causing both of them to topple into the vat, and putting them in the hospital in the same room as Homer for their allergic reactions. Skinner is outraged to hear that Marge thinks Bart saved Skinner's life, and the two proceed to throw shrimp and peanuts at each other again, while a disgusted Marge decides to head over to the maternity ward observation room to see the new babies.
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Treehouse of Horror XVII
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_XVII
Season 18's annual trio of Halloween stories."Married to the Blob" - Homer eats a mysterious green substance from a meteorite landing that turns him into a giant blob with an insatiable, cannibalistic appetite."You Gotta Know When to Golem" - Bart discovers a golem backstage at Krusty's show and uses it to do his bidding."The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" - After being fooled by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, the citizens of Springfield in 1938 ignore a real alien invasion set up by Kang and Kodos. Guest Stars: Dr. Phil, Richard Lewis, Fran Drescher, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Marcia Wallace and Maurice LaMarche.
In a dungeon, a crypt opens, revealing a coffin containing Mr. Burns as the Crypt Keeper. Moe interrupts him as he introduces himself, and is consequently killed in an iron maiden, his blood spilling onto the floor and spelling out the title of the episode. Married to the Blob While Homer and Marge make out in the backyard, a meteorite falls nearby, cracking open to reveal a green substance. Homer, despite his family's objections, devours it. Later that night, he experiences intense hunger, and Homer eats all the food present in the house. He also eats Snowball V before attempting to eat Bart, but is stopped by Marge. Over time, Homer gradually mutates into a giant blob monster, rampaging through Springfield and eating all the townspeople he can find. Eventually, Dr. Phil McGraw shows up with the Simpson family and tells Homer to stop for their sakes. In fear of losing Marge, Homer ends his rampage (but only after he consumes McGraw who tell him that "food does not equal love" before disintegrating) and vows to use his insatiable appetite for more constructive purposes. Later, Mayor Quimby establishes a new homeless shelter, but the homeless people are quickly devoured by Homer upon entering. You Gotta Know When to Golem At the end of an episode of Krusty's show, Bart goes backstage to complain about an alarm clock he bought, and finds the Golem of Prague, a creature from Jewish mythology. Krusty tells Bart that in the 17th century, the Golem was sculpted out of clay by a rabbi and would obey any command written on a scroll and placed in his mouth. Although the golem was created to protect Jewish villages, he would obey any scroll placed in his mouth, regardless of intent. Bart then steals the Golem by writing a command for him to come to his home at midnight, and he uses him to carry out several commands, including swinging Principal Skinner up and down like a yo-yo until he splits in half. Lisa thinks the Golem does not like doing the bidding of others and orders him to speak; the Golem reveals that he feels guilty about being forced to commit heinous acts through the years. To help him feel better, the Simpsons create a female Golem out of Play-Doh, and the two are married by Rabbi Hyman Krustofski. Meanwhile, the female Golem convinces Chief Wiggum not to press charges for Skinner's murder with the promise of pan-fried latkes. The Day the Earth Looked Stupid Springfield is fooled by Orson Welles' 1938 The War of the Worlds radio broadcast, leading to mass panic. Marge believes that the Martians will only destroy humans, and suggests that they pretend to be animals to fool the aliens, with Sideshow Mel encouraging his fellow townspeople to cavort naked in the mud to support the ruse. They do this until the following day, when Lisa tells the citizens that it was all a hoax. Angry at being fooled, the citizens of Springfield vow to never fall for such a trick again. Meanwhile, Kang and Kodos, observing the entire event from their spaceship, decide this is the perfect time for a real invasion, and begin destroying what is left of the town. True to their word, the town does not believe that it is a real invasion and ignores it, even as Orson Welles himself comes to Springfield and admits it is not a staged act. Three years later, Kang and Kodos look over the ruins of Springfield and contemplate on why they were not greeted as liberators, while the camera pulls away from the ruins of Springfield as "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots plays.
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G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._(Annoyed_Grunt)
Homer finds himself in an army training camp after trying to get his children out of an agreement to join by age 18. Guest Star: Kiefer Sutherland.
At the Springfield Mall, Bart and Milhouse torment the bullies as they work in a shoe store. When the manager leaves, however, they are stripped to their underwear by the bullies and hung in the store window. Two US Army recruiters fail to tempt Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney. Realizing that even the dumbest teenagers in the dumbest city in the dumbest US state do not want to join the Army, they decide to start targeting children. During a surprise assembly at Springfield Elementary, the recruiters show a short movie depicting the Army as a high-tech adventure. According to the film, soldiers fly around in attack helicopters destroying evildoers by day and rocking out in front of thousands of screaming fans by night. The students are easily swayed and quickly line up to enlist. An excited Bart comes home from school and shows Homer and Marge his delayed entry program form. Though Homer is impressed, Marge is appalled at the idea of Bart joining the Army when he turns 18, prompting her to send Homer down to the recruitment center to get Bart out of his contract. Homer reluctantly forces the two recruiters to tear up Bart's paperwork, though he apologizes for it, saying that it was Marge who told him to do so. Upon learning this, the recruiters prey upon Homer's gullibility and convince him to enlist instead. At the post Homer infuriates his new hard-nosed colonel (Kiefer Sutherland). Homer loves the sound of the colonel's noticeably "awesome" gravelly voice. While the majority of recruits are assigned to the infantry, Homer, and a group of stupid recruits, are assigned to a rehabilitation platoon. During field training exercises at night, Homer and the other stupid recruits are given the role of the opposing force, (China). Upon learning that it is a live fire exercise, with the weapons to be tested on them, the unit tries to hide. Homer, mistaking gunfire for Chinese New Year, accidentally exposes his unit's location by launching a flare gun in the air. The flare blinds the colonel and his men, who were all wearing night vision goggles. Homer and his unit soon escape into Springfield while the Army gives chase as well as invades Springfield. As the colonel and his troops patrol Springfield searching for him, Homer sneaks back home. Marge and Homer are surprised by a camera equipped toy helicopter and (in a scene reminiscent of many classic cartoon chases) Homer attempts to avoid it, running through the entire house, eventually leading the helicopter into a downstairs closet full of TNT and dynamite. He locks the door behind the UAV and the closet explodes. To avoid the army, Homer reluctantly hides out at the Retirement Castle with Grandpa. Marge rallies the Springfield community in coordinated resistance to the occupiers through a word of mouth campaign. The citizens spike the town reservoir with alcohol, intoxicating the occupying forces. The colonel's resulting hangover is so great he reluctantly surrenders to the townsfolk, stipulating only that Homer finish his enlistment. Homer does so by becoming a recruiter. During the closing credits, a martial scoring of The Simpsons theme plays and the colonel voices "frontline infantry" assignments to nearly every cast and crew member (one exception being Kiefer Sutherland, who is assigned to the United States Coast Guard), as the credits roll.
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6
Moe'N'a Lisa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe%27N%27a_Lisa
Lisa discovers that Moe's written rantings are perfect fodder for poetry, but when Moe is invited to a writer's convention, he takes credit for her work. Guest Stars: Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen and J.K. Simmons.
The Simpson family go to see Grampa perform at the Senior Olympics. After they leave, Moe calls Homer to remind him about a fishing trip to celebrate his birthday. When the family returns, Homer realizes he forgot Moe's birthday when he sees Moe sitting outside on their front steps. That night, Moe writes an angry letter to the family, and the dramatic writing inspires Lisa to choose Moe for her "interesting person" report at school. At Moe's residence, a run-down hotel, Lisa finds his notes on the wall and arranges them to form a poem. She submits this to American Poetry Perspectives, and the poem is approved, with author Tom Wolfe inviting Moe and the Simpson family to Vermont to attend a literary conference. After Moe sees another poet ridiculed and exiled for admitting he had help with writing, he falsely claims that he wrote and titled his poem all by himself, devastating Lisa. Moe is featured on a writing panel. Lisa attends and encourages him to share his inspirations, although he insists that he does not have any. However, without Lisa's help, Moe struggles to write a poem in time for a dinner in his honor; when he sees Lisa enter, he improvises a poem about her, thanking her for helping him write poetry. Lisa forgives Moe and they walk out of the dining hall together. Meanwhile, the publisher of American Poetry Perspectives, J. Jonah Jameson, watches the panel on television and turns it off in disgust. He then demands photos of Spider-Man, but after being reminded that he works at a poetry journal, demands poems about Spider-Man.
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7
Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Cream_of_Margie_(with_the_Light_Blue_Hair)
Homer gets fired once again from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and he takes over Springfield's ice cream truck business after his favorite driver dies. Meanwhile, Marge, depressed over seeing women more successful than her and looking for a way to be remembered, creates sculptures from the discarded Popsicle sticks in Homer's ice cream truck.
During a chair hockey game at the power plant with office supplies, Mr. Burns chastises Homer for behaving unprofessionally during the game. Homer gets in more trouble when an ice cream truck passes by the plant, causing him to fantasize that Mr. Burns is an ice cream cone and try to lick him, resulting in Homer being fired as he runs towards the ice cream truck. Homer uses a $100 bill to buy a 25 cent ice cream from the ice cream man, Max, who collapses and dies of a fatal heart attack while changing the bill into coins. Max's widow sells the truck to Homer, and Homer has Otto remodel it à la Pimp My Ride. Meanwhile, the television series Opal — Springfield's version of The Oprah Winfrey Show — has a show about successful women, which sends Marge into a deep depression, as she feels she has not done anything memorable with her life. Marge is inspired by all the Popsicle sticks Homer brings home, and makes sculptures out of them. Kent Brockman sees the sculptures and interviews Marge, who says she creates them, so they will serve as a reminder of her when she is gone. Kent includes her on a news special, Kent Brockman's Kentresting People. Thanks to the publicity, Rich Texan creates an art show to showcase Marge's talent; however, it opens on Saturday, a day with high ice cream sales. Homer promises to return by 3 o'clock to see the art show. He loses track of time and hurries home, but accidentally crashes into his own lawn in the process, destroying all of Marge's sculptures. Marge says that Homer has ruined her dreams and locks herself in the bedroom. Several days later, Homer tries to express how bad he feels by slipping pictures of himself under the door, but falls asleep. When he wakes up, Marge is gone and Grandpa is looking after Bart and Lisa, who tell him that Marge left hours ago. Marge is on top of city hall, where she declares she will show the world how she feels about Homer. She reveals the largest Popsicle sculpture she has ever made, and the subject is Homer. Marge realizes that Homer tried to keep his promise to her and make it on time, not that he did not care, much to the shock of a nearby Opal. Marge apologizes to Homer for the way that she acted, Homer apologizes for ruining her sculptures, and the two reunite. The scene shifts 200 years into the future, where the Homer sculpture is the only remaining element of Western art in a world where iPods have conquered humanity, whipping them with headphones for a hobby.
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8
The Haw-Hawed Couple
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haw-Hawed_Couple
Bart becomes Nelson's best friend, and discovers how possessive Nelson can be. Meanwhile, Homer gets hooked on Lisa's Angelica Button fantasy novels, but worries when he finds out that the book he is reading has a sad ending and tries to hide it from Lisa.
Marge and Homer are making love in their room while playing a fake tape of them arguing, so the kids will not come in. When a flying article of clothing hits the tape recorder and plays America's "A Horse with No Name", Bart and Lisa decide to come in. Bart ends up traumatized by the sight and is an emotional wreck the following day. While he is coping, Nelson coerces Bart and Milhouse for their lunch money, but also invites him and the rest of the class to his upcoming birthday party. Although Bart convinces all his friends not to go to Nelson's birthday party, Marge makes him attend. After the party, Bart becomes Nelson's new best friend and under Nelson's protection, no one dares to mess with Bart. However, there is only one drawback to his newfound friend/bodyguard: he is no longer able to pal around with Milhouse because Nelson has never had a best friend before and is overly protective and jealous. Eventually, Nelson discovers that Bart had been playing with Milhouse, which leads him to no longer consider Bart a friend. He eventually decides to forgive Bart, however Bart tells Nelson that he thinks he is a psycho. Later, during a field trip to some tide pools, Nelson confronts Bart in a cave, telling Bart he is a bad friend. Suddenly, high tide comes and Nelson saves Bart (but only because they were field trip buddies). Later, Bart goes home and remembers the good times he had with Nelson while hugging a "Nelson vest" he had received. Meanwhile, in the B-plot, Homer finds himself hooked on one of Lisa's fantasy books, choosing to read an Angelica Button book to Lisa. Homer eventually reads ahead and finds that one of the characters, Greystash, is killed while trying to save Angelica. Upon hearing that Greystash dying would be the end of Lisa's childhood, Homer is unable to bring himself to read the actual last chapter to Lisa, and improvises a happy ending instead involving Greystash defeating the evil wizard. Afterward, Lisa reads the real ending and nonchalantly decides that Homer's ending was better. During the credits, Homer is seen at Moe's Tavern, still mourning the loss of Greystash while screaming, "No man should have to outlive his fictional wizard!".
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9
Kill Gil, Volumes I & II
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_Gil,_Volumes_I_%26_II
After Gil Gunderson gives Lisa a Malibu Stacy doll reserved for Mr. Costington's daughter, he gets fired as a mall Santa and moves in with the Simpsons. Meanwhile, Homer picks a fight with Ice Capades character The Grumple. Guest Star: Elvis Stojko.
The Simpson family attends “Krusty’s Kristmas on Ice”, with Elvis Stojko appearing as a special guest. The show ends prematurely when the arena needs to be reset for a basketball game, leading to a brawl between the show's characters and the Utah Jazz. Marge and the kids decide to get up and leave, and Homer is spotted down on the ice grappling with one character, the Grumple (a parody of the Grinch) and demanding he give back the Holiday Cheer. The Grumple repeatedly returns throughout the episode, wanting to kill Homer. On Christmas Eve, the Simpsons go to Costington's department store where a sad Lisa sits on Santa's lap and explains the one true present she wanted is the Malibu Stacy Pony Beach Party Set, which is sold out everywhere. Santa Claus, who is really Gil Gunderson (this episode reveals his last name), pities Lisa and goes back to the stockroom and finds an extra play set he had seen earlier. An overjoyed Lisa thanks Gil as a cashier rings up the sale. As Marge and the kids exit the store, an angry Mr. Costington comes out of his office and scolds at Gil for selling the Malibu Stacy play set that he had set aside for his daughter. Then when Gil refuses to take the present away from Lisa, Mr. Costington fires him. Marge and the kids witness the scene and feeling sorry for Gil, Marge invites him over for Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner at home, Gil and the rest of the Simpson family gather around the piano and sing songs. Finishing, Gil gets up to leave; however, Marge insists he stay the night, citing how late and cold it is outside. Gil accepts Marge's offer. On Christmas morning, Gil retrieves items from his bus locker, assuming he had a permanent spot in 742 Evergreen Terrace. Indeed, Gil's weak demeanor and lack of job allows Marge to let him move in, and Homer is too distracted by the Grumple's presence outside the home (where it rhymes about putting Homer's blood in his stew) to pay much notice to Gil. Gil begins to ruin their holiday. However, Marge continually allows him to stay out of guilt, due to a childhood memory when Patty and Selma stuffed her in her own dollhouse when she refused to hide their cigarettes. Homer's patience wears thin after Marge's inability to say "no" causes Gil to walk in on Homer and Marge's “snuggling” on Valentine's Day, and bring his friends to sing and drink on St. Patrick's Day. After eleven months, when Marge discovers that Gil sent a Christmas card to everyone in Springfield (which is in fact an old family photo with a picture of Gil photoshopped onto it), she finally agrees to say no to Gil and kick him out, only to learn from Bart and Lisa that Gil got a job in a suburb of Scottsdale, Arizona, packed up his things and left that morning. Gil ends up becoming a very successful realtor in Scottsdale. Despite the fact that Gil has already left for good, Marge wishes to go there and finally get the pleasure of saying “no” to him. After Marge's display of anger towards him and Gil's cowering display of weakness, the other salespeople are amused by Gil's cowardice and Gil's boss charges out of his office and fires Gil on the spot. Marge is horrified when she realizes that her pleasure of saying "no" just cost Gil another job. Feeling guilty, the Simpsons offer to buy a house in Scottsdale in order to allow Gil to keep his job. At the family's new home in Scottsdale (the mailbox reads The Simpsons and a Jackpot Realty sold sign sits out front), the Simpsons sing Christmas carols, and on the piano, Gil leads them in song. The episode ends with a family of Grumples arriving at the doorstep. Homer lets them in and Gil, the Simpsons, and the Grumples continue happily singing their carols.
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10
The Wife Aquatic
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wife_Aquatic
When Patty and Selma save "Outdoor Movie Night" from going bust by playing an old home movie of their time at Barnacle Bay, Homer decides to surprise Marge by taking her and the kids there -- only to find her childhood vacation spot an abandoned wreck. Guest Stars: Maurice LaMarche and Sab Shimono.
In this episode, which parodies somewhat the film "The Perfect Storm", Marge pines for the excitement she had in her youth after watching Patty and Selma's old home movies of a trip to Barnacle Bay in New England during a town-wide outdoor movie night. Moved by his wife's depression, Homer organizes a surprise trip to the island. However, on the family's arrival, Marge's hopes to relive her youth are dashed as Barnacle Bay has been devastated by overfishing of the Yum Yum Fish, the island's main attraction. Homer refuses to let Marge down and fixes the boardwalk and celebrates with a large fireworks show. The plan backfires as he accidentally starts a fire and the boardwalk burns down. In order to repay the townsfolk, Homer joins a fishing crew and sets out to rediscover the Yum Yum Fish. At sea, Homer mistakenly beer batters and deep fries the fishing hooks, attracting a large haul of Yum Yum Fish. However, their celebrations are short-lived as Homer and the crew become trapped in a storm. Searching for a means of escape, they discover Bart has stowed away and removed the lifeboat in order to hide in its cupboard. The ship sinks, and Marge and the rest of Barnacle Bay believe all hands to have been lost at sea. Homer, Bart, and the crew interrupt a memorial service in their honor, and Homer explains that they were rescued by the Japanese fishing boat Iruka Koroshi Maru (Dolphin Killer). The townsfolk plan to recommence fishing, but Lisa warns them about the dangers of overfishing and how it brought their town to financial ruin. Agreeing with her, the townsfolk decide to go into logging instead, and clear-cut the island's trees, which are scheduled to be sent to a paper mill to be made into issues of Hustler and Barely Legal magazine, much to Lisa's frustration.
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11
Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_Is_a_Dish_Best_Served_Three_Times
Homer's misguided revenge on the Rich Texan combined with an untimely car breakdown leaves Marge, Lisa, and Bart to tell three tales about revenge gone wrong."The Count of Monte Fatso": In 19th century France, Moe (Fernand) breaks up the marriage of Homer (Edmond Dantés) and Marge (Mercedes); for this, Homer swears revenge, now in a French prison."Revenge of the Geeks": Milhouse uses The Getbackinator, an ultra technologic weapon made by Martin, for fight back against the school bullies and the consequences when he goes too far."Bartman Begins": After Homer (Thomas) and Marge (Martha Wayne) are killed by Snake Jailbird (Joe Chill) in a dark alley, Bart (Bruce Wayne) swears revenge with a superhero alter ego, Bartman.
After the Simpsons' car is cut off by the Rich Texan while driving to the airport for their Miami vacation, Homer's motivation for revenge prompts his family to tell three stories concerning vengeance, hoping to convince Homer that pursuing revenge is not a good idea. The Count of Monte Fatso Marge tells a cautionary tale of revenge taking place in 19th century France, parodying the 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Moe breaks up the marriage of Homer and Marge by framing Homer as an English traitor. Moe marries Marge, and Homer, now in a French prison, swears revenge. His cellmate, Mr. Burns, leads him to a buried treasure. With its riches, Homer becomes the Count of Monte Cristo. Five years later, he kills Moe with a homemade machine, expecting Marge to take him back. Marge angrily rebuffs him, showing him the triplets she had with Moe. At the end of the story, Marge's explanation is that revenge can lead to misery and sadness. However, she finds that Homer had got distracted from her story by the car radio, requiring another story. Revenge of the Geeks Titled as a parody on the movie Revenge of the Nerds, Lisa's story revolves around Milhouse's campaign to fight back against the school bullies and the consequences when he goes too far. Tired of being bullied by Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney, the geeks plan their revenge. In the science lab, Martin creates The Getbackinator, a ray gun that makes people perform various playground tortures on themselves such as wedgies and wet willies. Milhouse uses the weapon on the bullies, but then begins attacking anyone who has ever (accidentally or on purpose) wronged him, including his own friends and a new student out of "prevenge". Lisa eventually convinces Milhouse to stop, and he reluctantly throws the device aside. Afterwards, Nelson returns from an absence due to mumps, finds the weapon and ends up using it against Milhouse. Lisa claims the moral of the story is that taking revenge makes a person as bad as those who hurt them. Homer is not convinced and resumes his pursuit of revenge. Bartman Begins Having missed their flight to Miami, Homer begins to approach the Rich Texan to enact his revenge until Bart offers to recount "Bartman's 'origin story'", a parody of the film Batman Begins. After leaving the Opera House, Homer and Marge are killed by Snake Jailbird in a dark alley. Bart swears revenge on Snake, creating his superhero alter ego, Bartman. He is helped by his grandfather, who used to fight crime as the Crimson Cockatoo. Bartman flies around Gotham City, defeating enemies in his way for justice. When Snake attempts to steal the "Stealable Jewels of the Orient" from the Gotham Natural History Museum, Bartman arrives and kills him, using the fangs of a snake statue. Afterward, Lisa reminds Bartman that Snake's death will not bring his parents back. Bartman agrees that she has a point, but adds that he feels better since he finally had his revenge, has now "zillions of dollars" and is free from his parents' control. During the story, Homer is seen to have made amends with the Rich Texan after hearing that they are both from Connecticut. Before the credits roll, a dedication is shown to all the characters who died in the Star Wars films.
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Little Big Girl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Big_Girl
When Cletus ineptly tosses his pipe, Springfield is in danger when the town is about to be hit by a ferocious fire. Bart unwittingly saves the day and is rewarded with a driver's license. However, when he drives to North Haverbrook, he is then engaged with a girl named Darcy who ropes Bart into marriage after declaring that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, Lisa lies about her family heritage in an essay and gets chosen to give a keynote speech at a convention. Guest star: Natalie Portman.
At his farm, Cletus is milking his cow when he accidentally kicks over a lantern, prompting a series of Rube Goldberg-esque events that leads to a chicken starting a fire. Cletus's cow succeeds in extinguishing the fire, but Cletus drops his smoking pipe, leading to a wildfire around Springfield. The townspeople try to extinguish it, to no avail. At Springfield Elementary, Principal Skinner asks Groundskeeper Willie to get the fire extinguisher, but all of them have been stolen by Bart to propel his wagon. As Bart rockets around town, the foam released from the extinguishers puts out the wildfire. Bart is cheered as a hero by everyone and rewarded with a driver's license by Mayor Quimby. Bart starts using Homer's car for his own pleasure, but is eventually tabbed for family errands, mostly chauffeuring Homer. After many inappropriate requests (including inciting a prison riot), Bart flees to North Haverbrook, where he meets a 15-year-old girl named Darcy, who he lies to about being much older than he actually is. They begin a romantic relationship and Darcy soon proposes marriage. At the court house, Bart reveals his age, whereupon Darcy reveals that she is pregnant, much to Bart's depression. Darcy admits that Bart is not the father as they have not consummated the relationship - the real father is a Norwegian exchange student (although this is probably a lie, as she mentions that he went back to his native "Norwegia"), and she wants to get married because her parents would be upset about her premarital pregnancy. Bart agrees to marry Darcy, and they drive to Utah, where marriage restrictions are looser and they can start a new life together. Eventually, Homer, Marge and Darcy's parents catch up with them to stop the wedding, where Darcy's father tries to reason with Bart as he believes that Bart took advantage of a girl much older than him and got her pregnant. Darcy confesses to her parents that Bart is not the father, and that she did not want her parents to be disappointed by her pregnancy. Darcy's mother, thrilled, confesses that she is pregnant too, and the family agrees to pass the two babies off as twins. Darcy and Bart end their relationship, while Bart assures her they will meet again, to which she agrees. Later, Bart admits to Homer that he looked forward to being a father, and Homer cheers him up by going with him on a ride around town at night. In the subplot, when Lisa struggles to find excitement and intrigue in her family heritage for a school presentation, she decides to take creative license. Inspired by Bart's "Indian butter trick" and the well-known kitchen curtains, with their stalks-of-corn pattern, Lisa claims to be Native American, from the "Hitachi" tribe, a name Lisa selects based on the Hitachi brand of the family's microwave oven. The embellishment turns into a web of lies when Lisa is chosen to represent the school and her "people" at City Hall, then as a keynote speaker for the National Native American Tribal Council. She eventually admits she lied about her heritage, but is spared from prosecution when the other speakers admit they are not true Native Americans. Homer compares his daughter to CBS News in a reference to the 2004 Killian documents controversy. As they leave, Homer mentions that his great-great-grandmother actually was a Native American, much to Lisa's chagrin.
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Springfield Up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Up
Declan Desmond returns as he shows a documentary about Springfield's current adult population as children, discussing their future aspirations and meeting up with Homer to see if he followed his dreams. Guest star: Eric Idle.
Eccentric documentary filmmaker Declan Desmond offers an inside look at his documentary, Growing Up Springfield. His film follows the lives of several Springfield residents, returning to them after eight-year intervals to examine how their lives have changed. Particularly featured is Homer, who had wanted to be rich as a child, started a family as an adult, and now lives in an enormous mansion. He explains that he became a success after creating a pen that dispenses condiments. As Desmond is interviewing Marge, Mr. Burns arrives; the mansion is his summer home, and he did not give them permission to use it. He has Smithers, who was tied up by Homer inside a grandfather clock for three days, release attack dogs on the family to chase them away, although he has to go back to Mr. Burns' other home to collect them first and then release them. Desmond follows Homer to try and humiliate him after pretending to be rich, despite Homer admitting to the camera that he had wanted to be the cool person in Declan's documentary. He'd realized that he was only in the documentary to make everyone else look good (before walking away), Desmond tries to end the scene with the words "Strong words from a dumpy man" and that he was indeed only in the program to make everyone else look good before trying to cut the camera. Marge then angrily makes sure that the camera is still filming and speaks to Desmond, telling him that Homer went through a lot of trouble to impress him and that Homer truly is a successful person, she also said that it was a mistake to let him intrude on their lives before slamming the door on him. Feeling sorry for Homer, while drinking in Moe's Desmond speaks to Moe telling him that had he been wrong to judge Homer. Moe tells him that he was wrong to judge Homer as he was married to Marge, had three children, a job and his own home. Desmond produces a compilation of people saying good things about him. When Homer watches it, he realizes that spending time with his family and friends has made him truly happy. Nevertheless, Homer pledges that, by the next Growing Up Springfield film in eight years, he will be a world-famous rock star, and then he and Desmond sing a duet of a song Homer wrote called “Satan You're My Lady” as an exasperated Marge looks on.
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Yokel Chords
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokel_Chords
Lisa becomes a tutor for Cletus Spuckler's children after Principal Skinner bars them from enrolling in Springfield Elementary. Meanwhile, Bart ends up in therapy after scaring his peers with stories of a school chef notorious for cooking children. Guest stars: Peter Bogdanovich, Andy Dick, James Patterson, Meg Ryan, and Stephen Sondheim.
Marge oversleeps, and this forces Homer to make the children's lunch for the day. He in fact gives Lisa a drawing of a sandwich and Bart some of Grampa's medication. Without any food, Bart decides to scare a lunch out of his friends by making up a story about a cannibal cafeteria worker named Dark Stanley, who killed all the students in the cafeteria and put them in his kids' head soup and was eventually hanged for his crimes. According to Bart, Dark Stanley's ghost haunts the site to repeat his act of murder on the current kids. At lunchtime, Bart pretends to be killed by Dark Stanley, leading all the students to run screaming into the woods while he takes their lunches. Groundskeeper Willie is sent to fetch the students back and brings seven extra kids: Cletus's children. Principal Skinner tells Superintendent Chalmers that the kids have been refused education in fear that they will lower test averages and cost the school federal funding, which Lisa overhears. To appease her, Skinner and Chalmers appoint her tutor of the children. Her initial tutoring efforts are unsuccessful, so she decides to take the children to downtown Springfield to introduce them to culture in the outside world. However, her plans are diverted when Krusty spots the kids singing, decides to use them as a musical act for his show, and offers them a contract, which Cletus signs immediately. Lisa is worried about the way that Krusty and Cletus are exploiting the children, so she sends an e-mail to Brandine, who is currently a soldier in Iraq. She arrives by helicopter to tell Krusty that the contract Cletus signed is null and void, as he is the father of only two of the seven children. Cletus tells her that they owe Krusty $12,000, but she assures him that they can live on that, and Cletus is happy to have things back to normal. Meanwhile, Skinner punishes Bart by having him spend five sessions with Dr. Stacey Swanson (Meg Ryan), a qualified psychologist. Bart is initially dismissive, but ends up developing a close bond with Swanson, who uses a Mad Libs-like game and violent video games to get him to open up about Homer's alcoholism and other matters. When his sessions end, Bart starts to miss the time he spent with her and enters into a state of depression. A worried Marge uses the funds she had been saving up for Homer's breast reduction surgery to get her son one more session with Swanson. Bart then reveals that Homer and Marge were young and not ready for parenting when he was born, and that he acts out largely so they will focus on him instead of fighting with each other; he also adds he got the name "Dark Stanley" in part because Homer used to hit him with a Stanley-brand hammer. Happy that he got everything off his chest, Bart leaves therapy feeling good, and upon seeing that Swanson is visibly saddened when he leaves, assures her they will see each other again. Swanson goes to see her own psychiatrist (Peter Bogdanovich) where she says she cannot stop thinking about Bart. It is revealed during this discussion that Dark Stanley is in fact real, and had killed her own son: the therapist believes Swanson is projecting onto Bart, though Swanson claims she is not ready to go into that.
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Rome-Old and Juli-Eh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome-Old_and_Juli-Eh
When Grampa gets kicked out of the retirement castle thanks to Homer declaring bankruptcy (and discovering that bankruptcy laws have changed), Grampa falls in love with Marge's sister Selma, prompting sworn enemies Homer and Patty to team up to break them up. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa con a delivery man into giving them cardboard boxes for a fort, but the delivery men fight back. Guest star: Jane Kaczmarek.
Homer surprises the family with a newly decorated basement, now a recreation room with a pinball machine, a ping-pong table and other luxury items, prompting Marge to ask how Homer could afford all this. He says he has a plan and in the next scene files for bankruptcy before Constance Harm, believing that this will save him from paying his debts. Unfortunately, Harm tells him that the bankruptcy laws have changed and, under the new laws, he has to pay everything back. When looking through the family's expenses, Homer decides to save a lot of money by moving his father out of the retirement home and having him live with the family. The recreation room now doubles as Grampa's bedroom. Homer and Marge go out one night and ask Grampa to babysit Bart and Lisa. Not entirely trusting Grampa's competence as a babysitter, Marge also asks her sister Selma Bouvier to come over and watch Grampa watch the kids. During the evening, Grampa and Selma end up kissing and eventually fall in love with each other, and are unaware that they are caught by Homer, much to his dismay, as he wants his dad to end up old and lonely. However, just as she was when Abe previously dated Selma's mother Jacqueline in "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Marge is happy with the arrangement, noting that Selma and Abe are like a yummy hot dog made from the parts of a pig no one wants. Patty is no happier than Homer and she enlists his help to break them up. Patty impersonates Selma and Homer dresses up as "Esteban de la Sexface", a Spanish lover-type, and the two arrange for Grampa to catch them kissing. Their plan is foiled though, when the actual Selma comes by and catches them. Angry at being manipulated, Grampa proposes to Selma and she accepts. They get married and move in together. With Abe unable to find work, Selma is the sole breadwinner in the family, working hard in her new, more stressful job as department manager at the DMV. Abe, meanwhile, destroys their kitchen with his ignorance of how things work by misusing the appliances, causing a kitchen fire. This makes Selma realise that maybe love is not everything you need after all, and she dances with him one last time. They presumably divorce, with Grampa moving back to the retirement home and Selma moving back to her and Patty's room at Spinster Arms Apartments. Homer and Marge try roleplaying, with Homer as "Esteban de la Sexface" and the two pretending to be having an affair; when Marge says that her husband would be back soon, Homer plays along by jumping out of the window as "Esteban", then bursting into the bedroom as himself, trying to uncover the "adultery", much to Marge's annoyance. Kicked out of the rec room by Grampa, Bart and Lisa order a lot of complimentary shipping boxes from the A.S.S. ("American Shipping Services, not affiliated with the human ass", and itself a parody of UPS), getting the idea from Ned Flanders, and build a fort out of them. When the Wiseguy becomes angry and asks for them back, they refuse, whereupon he threatens to come back and get them by force (while using a cliche Lord of the Rings accent). Bart and Lisa think he is bluffing, but in fact, he comes back with an army of delivery men and women. Bart and Lisa put up a brave fight, first by releasing a barrage of cardboard tubes to trip the enemies, then using cardboard squares to throw like shuriken. The delivery men and women set up a siege ladder and Lisa wraps the lead man in tape and pushes the ladder down. They are aided by Nelson, who arrives unexpectedly to aid Lisa, saving her from a barrage of cardboard arrows. He dives down with twin cardboard tubes and fends off a large number of delivery men and women, while one of the enemies flies overhead, upon a giant, red Fell Beast. The army swarms while Bart uses a cardboard tube to shoot down enemies with bricks, beehives, egg cartons and Snowball II. The A.S.S. legion fails and flees, but the kids immediately lose interest in their fort and melt it with the garden hose (ignoring the dead Fell beast nearby).
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Homerazzi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homerazzi
After the family photo album is destroyed in a fire involving a Krusty doll and a bottle of cologne, Marge restages all of the family's photographs, and when a celebrity dating scandal is captured in the background of one of their photos, the Simpsons strike tabloid gold. Tasting success and seeing money to be made, Homer takes to the streets as one of the paparazzi, capturing Springfield's celebrities at their worst. Guest stars: J.K. Simmons, Betty White and Jon Lovitz.
After failing to blow out all the candles on his birthday cake, an exhausted Homer falls asleep, igniting his party hat on the flames. The burning house is saved by the Springfield fire department, and Marge purchases a fire-proof safe to protect the family's valuables (including the family photo album) as a precaution. Each family member places one item in the safe, but after it is closed, the items combine to start a fire that destroys both them and the safe. Refusing to accept the loss of all their memories, Marge decides to restage all of the family photos. One shot captures a celebrity sex scandal (Duffman dating Boobarella, despite Duffman being in a committed relationship with a homosexual man) and allows the Simpsons to strike tabloid gold. Tasting success and seeing money to be made, Homer takes to the streets as one of the paparazzi. Overnight, Homer becomes Springfield's most valued tabloid photographer, provoking several local celebrities to commit embarrassing or criminal acts and then snapping pictures of them. After he gate-crashes Rainier Wolfcastle and Maria Shriver Kennedy Quimby's wedding, the celebrities turn the tables on him by hiring top paparazzo Enrico Irritazio to get photos of Homer on his worst behavior (showering at a fire hydrant, letting Maggie drive while trying to beat up Enrico, and burning a jury duty card). Seeing these photos in the tabloids prompts Homer to give up the paparazzi business temporarily, but Lenny and Carl persuade him to resume his work, using a camera that Moe had hidden in the ladies' room of his tavern. Immediately after Moe gives Homer the camera, two women enter the bar and ask to use the restroom so they can trade bras and panties, infuriating Moe since he's no longer have the camera to spy on them. Homer bursts in on the celebrities at their favorite nightclub during a party celebrating Homer's assumed abandonment of his paparazzi career and takes many compromising photos (of which include Sideshow Mel eating the American flag, Paris Texan making out with Milhouse, Drederick Tatum snorting the ashes of Secretariat like cocaine, and Mayor Quimby and Kent Brockman dressed in sexual costumes and roleplaying). Wolfcastle, resigned to having everyone's outrageous acts exposed, asks Homer what he plans to do with the pictures. Homer says that he will not make them public, as long as the celebrities start treating their fans with more respect and stop taking them for granted. Wolfcastle agrees and, in a show of good faith, invites the Simpsons to a barbecue at an offshore "party platform" he owns. Here, Marge shows Wolfcastle a screenplay she has written; he quickly flips through it and turns it down. Not long after the party, though, she and Homer find that Wolfcastle has stolen the idea and turned it into a movie, which is now playing at a local theater. Marge does not mind the idea theft, because, in the end, the movie got made.
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Marge Gamer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marge_Gamer
Marge discovers the wonders of the Internet and becomes hooked on an online roleplaying game, where Bart is the game master. Meanwhile, Lisa resorts to cheating to score points with Homer (who is now a referee) during soccer matches. Guest star: Ronaldo
Marge is embarrassed at a Parent-Teacher Association meeting because she does not have an e-mail address. She decides to buy her own computer and is quite taken by the Internet. Quickly becoming bored with her lack of email messages she repeatedly hits the refresh button causing new advertising banners to appear. A banner ad for a MMORPG called Earthland Realms catches her attention. Marge clicks on it and soon creates a character for the game. She begins exploring the local town and interacting with game personas, all of whom are Springfield residents including Apu the gem trader, Seymour Skinner the turkey, Moe who resembles a troll, Edna Krabappel the enchantress, Snake the Cobra King, Chief Wiggum the pig man, Smithers the Barbarian, Comic Book Guy the fully armored crusader-like warrior, and Sideshow Mel as a creature who looks surprisingly like a Tauren. Suddenly, everyone hides as a knight named "The Shadow Knight" appears riding a menacing black horse. The Shadow Knight is the most powerful and deadly character in the game (having once beaten Moe to death with his own life bar). While offline, Marge walks by Bart's bedroom door and unintentionally overhears that Bart is the Shadow Knight. Back in the game, Marge goes to the Shadow Knight's castle and meets Milhouse who is cursed to look like a female servant as a result of an evil spell. Marge constantly frets about Bart and, to Bart's dismay, redecorates his "trophy room" with the Hello Kitty expansion pack. In a fit of rage, Bart smashes many of the decorations with a mace and accidentally kills Marge's character which severely disappoints real world Marge. Meanwhile, Homer referees Lisa's soccer game. His subpar skills frustrate Lisa. Stung by her criticism, Homer learns the rules of soccer and becomes a better referee, briefly impressing Lisa. While playing soccer, Lisa trips when trying to steal the ball from another player. Homer calls a foul and gives the ball to Lisa. Upon getting the ball, Lisa decides to take advantage of the situation and pretends to be fouled hoping that Homer would grant her penalties. When Brazilian footballer Ronaldo points out that Lisa is a "flopper", Homer gives Lisa a yellow card. Angry, Lisa rips up the yellow card, causing Homer to give her a red card for unsportsmanlike conduct and to eject her from the game. Homer and Bart go to Moe's Tavern to escape the troubles that have occurred with Marge and Lisa. Moe gives them surprisingly good advice about their situations. Homer jokingly asks "What have you done with the real Moe?" and everyone laughs. A cutaway shot reveals that the real Moe is bound and gagged in the room next-door. Acting on fake Moe's advice, Bart makes up for killing his mother's character by reviving her with two-thirds of his life force. Revived, Marge tends to the Shadow Knight; however, other characters raid the castle to take advantage of his weakened state and brutally kill the Shadow Knight. Surprisingly, Bart is blasé about his character's death and decides to go outside and play. In the real world, Homer enters Lisa's room. He offers her a BBC documentary produced in cooperation with Canal+ about "floppers", hoping that she will forgive him. Watching the documentary, Lisa realizes it was she that was at fault. Instead of forgiving Homer, Lisa apologizes for her injustice against him. Homer, Bart, Lisa and Maggie play a game of soccer in their back yard; however, Marge continues gaming inside. Feeling sorry for Bart, Marge dons the Shadow Knight armor and begins a revenge campaign for him starting by juggling Moe's character head like a soccer ball as he wonders why he pays $14.95 a month to play the game.
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The Boys of Bummer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_of_Bummer
Bart becomes a town pariah after losing the championship for Springfield's Little League team, and is driven insane to the point of suicide from constant harassment. Meanwhile, Homer gets a job at Costington's Department store as a mattress tester, and finds a mattress that he wants to keep for himself after it reignites his stagnant love life with Marge.
Bart catches a fly ball at a Little League Baseball game, pushing the Springfield Isotopes into the championships. The next day, Marge is shopping at a department store, but Homer is tired and cannot find a place to sit, so he lies down on a mattress and falls asleep. Homer's slumber attracts a crowd, including the store manager. Homer instantly exclaims his love for the mattress and manages to sell five to the Rich Texan, which convinces the store manager to hire Homer as a mattress salesman. In the championship, Springfield leads Shelbyville 5–2 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but Shelbyville has the bases loaded. When their batter hits a pop-up towards Bart, he drops the ball and repeatedly fails to pick it up, letting all four runners score and thus giving Shelbyville the 6–5 victory. The crowd boos Bart and pelts him with beer. Bart's attempt to flee is thwarted by Chief Wiggum, who tricks Bart into his police car and returns to the field so that Bart's ostracization can continue. Bart, now a social pariah, is reluctant to show himself in public. Lisa tries to cheer him up by taking him to see Joe LaBoot, a baseball player who made the same mistake as Bart did in the 1943 World Series. However, this backfires when LaBoot learns who Bart is and turns on him. Meanwhile, the Lovejoys buy a mattress from Homer to address a sex problem, but bring it to the Simpsons' house the next day with their problem unresolved. As Homer writes them a refund check, they begin making out on his and Marge's mattress, and trade their new mattress for it. When Homer and Marge discover that their new mattress is uncomfortable, they sneak in to the Lovejoys' home to steal back their old mattress. The Lovejoys return and catch Homer and Marge having sex on the mattress. Reverend Lovejoy invokes the Judgment of Solomon and cuts the mattress in half diagonally, giving one half to Homer and Marge. On the way, Homer convinces Marge to drive behind a billboard where they try to have sex as they did on their honeymoon with the same bum watching them. One morning, Lisa awakes to find someone has spray-painted "I HATE BART SIMPSON" all over the town. She and the rest of the family eventually find Bart, now at the point of self-loathing, spray-painting on the water tower. Encouraged by a mob, Bart jumps off the water tower and lands in a bush. As Bart recovers at the hospital, Marge is upset by the mob chanting "Bart sucks!" outside, and she scolds them for their vindictive behavior. The townspeople, realizing that they have lived up to a billboard's message of Springfield being advertised as the "Meanest City in America", agree to restage the game to restore Bart's self esteem after Lisa proposes it. Bart regains consciousness in his baseball uniform, and after 78 failed attempts, he finally catches the ball. 60 years later, a 70-year-old Milhouse nearly lets it slip to a 70-year-old Bart that the game was faked, but then claims he was joking when Bart starts crying. The ghosts of Homer and Marge watch and discuss their son, while Homer wants to have sex.
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Crook and Ladder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crook_and_Ladder
When reading a parenting magazine, Marge follows the advice too literally and throws away Maggie's pacifier. However, when the pacifier is thrown in the trash, Maggie goes on a path of destruction in the Simpsons' home. Meanwhile, Homer, Moe, Apu, and Principal Skinner become volunteer firefighters and begin stealing items from the homes whose fires they extinguish.
Marge, following the advice of a parenting magazine, takes away Maggie's pacifier, leading her to destroy the inside of the Simpson home. Marge explains to Maggie that it's for her own good until Lisa reveals the magazine is by Larry Flynt Publications. The family runs out of spare pacifiers, so Marge sends Homer to buy a new one, but he cannot find the right brand, making Maggie cry for several hours. Luckily, Santa's Little Helper gives Maggie his squeaky toy, which calms her, but also makes Homer unable to sleep. He begins using the sleeping drug Nappien, which causes him to unintentionally sleepwalk. Taking advantage of this situation, one night, Bart and Milhouse have Homer drive them around town. When Homer abruptly wakes up, he crashes into the Fire Department house, injuring all the firemen. As they recuperate at a hospital, Homer, Apu, Moe, and Principal Skinner become volunteer firefighters. Mayor Quimby refuses to train them beyond a standard textbook, but the new team is quite efficient. After the first few fires, despite being initially against it, they are rewarded for their efforts. This practice soon spoils the men, and when they save Mr. Burns's house and receive no reward, they feel cheated and steal some of his abundant treasures, claiming they were destroyed by the fire. From then on, they (except Skinner who wants no involvement with it) take items from the places they save and no one doubts their lie. However, Marge and the kids soon catch Homer in the act and Marge gets the kids to make sad faces around him everywhere he goes. Annoyed by this gesture, he decides to stop and convince the others to stop too after saving Moe's and Apu's lives. They then give their loot to the homeless.
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Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Or_My_Dog_Will_Shoot!
When Homer gets lost in a cornfield maze, Santa's Little Helper rescues him and becomes a local hero, which prompts the Simpson family to enroll him in Police Dog Academy, where he dons a new and more stern personality. However, he becomes jaded when he catches Snake Jailbird, who is released on a technicality, and bites Bart, causing the family to give him away. Meanwhile, Bart, missing Santa's Little Helper, gets a strangling snake as a new pet. Guest stars: Stephen Hawking, Maurice LaMarche, and Rudolph Giuliani (in a deleted scene that would later be reinstated in syndicated airings).
Homer, excited about going to Oktoberfest, is disappointed when he discovers that Marge has tricked him and the kids into going to a Harvest Festival which allows no alcohol. While attempting to leave, Homer accidentally leads the family into a cornfield maze. Lisa crafts an escape plan with Tremaux's algorithm, a real life maze-solving method, but Homer is left behind after wrongly assuming that Marge wants to break up when she was suggesting to split up to find a way out. Homer is lost inside the maze for several hours and Santa's Little Helper is called upon by Bart to find him. The dog manages to sniff out Homer and drag him out of the maze. Santa's Little Helper becomes a hero and the Simpsons, persuaded by Chief Wiggum, enroll him in the Springfield Animal Police Academy, where he is teamed with Lou, managing to help fight crime in Springfield. Santa's Little Helper catches Snake Jailbird who is taken to court, but freed on a technicality. This makes Santa's Little Helper jaded, and when he returns home, he bites Bart on the leg out of frustration. Considering the fact that the pressure from the fight against crime is what led to the dog's actions on Bart, the Simpsons send the dog away to live with Lou. As a replacement, Marge buys Bart an African rock python, which he names Strangles. Bart takes Strangles to show and tell at school, where Strangles escapes into a school lab and unintentionally knocks over beakers of ethanol and nitric acid, mixing both substances and creating a toxic cloud. Bart, being the only person still stranded in school trying to find Strangles, collapses from the smoke, (remarking "It smells like some chemicals cut one"). Both Santa's Little Helper and Strangles arrive to save Bart, who chooses his faithful dog to save him. Santa's Little Helper goes back to living with the Simpsons. Groundskeeper Willie adopts Strangles, and places him in the fire hose coil.
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24 Minutes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Minutes
When finding out Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney plan on sabotaging Springfield Elementary School's annual bake sale by releasing the "ultimate stink bomb" (a rotten yogurt cup from Springfield's Nuclear Power Plant), Bart and Lisa enlist the help of Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian. Meanwhile, Marge attempts to make the perfect cake for the school bake sale. Guest stars: Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
To tackle misbehavior, Principal Skinner opens a CTU – Counter Truancy Unit – at Springfield Elementary School with Lisa heading up the operation over Milhouse, Martin and Database. When the bullies Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney play truant, Milhouse is assigned on a mission to spy on them. At the Power Plant, Homer is found to be the owner of a container of expired and highly pungent yogurt and is ordered to dispose of it. Homer tries to return the yogurt to Apu, but Apu refuses to take it due to its unbearable stench and, desperate to get rid of it, takes Homer to the yogurt section and offers him whatever he wants there. While Homer and Apu are distracted, the bullies take the yogurt. Outside, Homer unwittingly breaks Milhouse's cover, and the bullies throw them both into a dumpster and send it rolling down an avenue. Meanwhile, Marge discovers that there is a bake sale at the school that day, and realizes she has just 27 minutes to make a cake. In order to save time, she drastically increases the oven temperature to 1,200 degrees, quickly burning the cake and making it rock-solid. Marge desperately attempts to cover it up with pink and white frosting before rushing to the bake sale. Lisa suggests that Bart help them, though he only agrees after negotiating immunity from punishment for all his past and future pranks (and making Skinner teach him a new swear word). At Jimbo's house, the bullies make a powerful stink bomb (which resembles the canisters of Sentox Nerve Gas from season 5 of 24) from the expired yogurt and a variety of other putrid items, and plan on detonating it at the bake sale. During his investigation, Bart's phone call is accidentally crossed with a call from Jack Bauer of 24, who is busy in a gun battle, and turns it into a prank call against him ("Ahmed Adoudi"). Bart finds out about the stink bomb and informs Lisa. Upon returning to school, he discovers that Martin is a double-agent working for the bullies. Before Bart can tell Lisa about Martin's double-dealing, Martin knocks him unconscious and takes him to the ventilation room, where the bullies tie up Bart. When Willie stumbles upon the bullies, they overpower him and tie him up too. The bullies then return Martin's ant farm, which they had used to blackmail him into working for them, but Martin is devastated to learn one of their ants has joined the bullies' cause. Later, he hangs himself by his underwear on a clothing hook, giving himself a wedgie after putting on his hall monitor sash (as a homage to the suicide in A Few Good Men as well as that of the character Walt Cummings on Season 5 of 24, who is murdered and has his death framed as a hanging). At the bake sale, the bullies start the three-minute timer for the bomb. Bart, still tied up, manages to contact Lisa by his cell phone, telling her to have Skinner dump the hot dog water to short circuit the ventilation fan. Skinner starts filling up the room with the water. Running out of air and floating dangerously close to the sharp ceiling fan blades, Bart swims down with the chair tied to his back to the room's only window, which faces the bake sale room. Chief Wiggum is unable to shoot through the bulletproof glass, but Marge then throws her burnt cake like a discus through the window, breaking the window and allowing Bart, Willie, the bomb, and all the water to flood into the room. Lisa defuses the bomb with one second to spare. Bauer and his CTU SWAT Team then arrive to arrest Bart for prank-calling him, having diverted all CTU's resources into finding him. As he says that, a nuclear bomb explodes in the distance, but to the crowd's relief Bauer assures them that it went off in neighboring Shelbyville.
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You Kent Always Say What You Want
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Kent_Always_Say_What_You_Want
Due to Ned Flanders' meddling, Kent Brockman gets in trouble for blurting a horrible curse word during a soft-news interview about Homer winning Phineas Q. Butterfat's 1,000,000th ice cream cone, and gets fired for allegedly being a cocaine addict. While living with the Simpsons, Brockman teams up with Lisa to create a YouTube video revealing why a politically conservative media empire like Fox would create raunchy television shows. Guest stars: Ludacris and Maurice LaMarche. This is the show's 400th episode.
Driving home after a trip to the dentist, Homer takes the Simpson family to an ice cream parlor, where he buys the store's millionth ice cream cone. This results in Homer appearing on Kent Brockman's TV news talk show Smartline on Channel 6 since both have the same owner. Kent is disgusted that he is forced to do a fluff piece instead of an in-depth, intellectually stimulating discussion of the conflict in the Middle East. During the interview, Homer accidentally knocks Kent's cup of coffee into his lap, making him swear in pain. After the commercial break, Kent apologizes, but is relieved to find that, as the Internet has supplanted television as a source of news information, no one saw his on-air faux pas. However, Ned Flanders reviews the incident and gets people of alike minds to report it to the Federal Communications Commission. The next day, during the newscast, Kent finds out that he is under scrutiny for his indiscretion and that the station has been fined $10 million. He is demoted to weekend weatherman with his rival, Arnie Pye, as the new anchorman. Later, Lindsey Naegle speaks to Kent, assuring him that his job is safe, but fires him on the pretence that he has put cocaine in his coffee cup, ignoring his insistence that it is actually Splenda. Marge invites a suicidal Kent to sleep over at the Simpson house. While watching TV the next day, Lisa wonders why the cable channel Fox News can be so conservative while the Fox Network broadcasts sexualized content. Kent replies that Fox deliberately airs programs with morally reprehensible content so that they will be fined by the FCC, with the fines being funneled to the Republican Party. According to Brockman, everyone in the entertainment business knows this, but no one is brave enough to report the scam. Lisa goads him into blowing the whistle on the scam, using her web camera and uploading the revelation onto YouTube. Kent's subsequent webcast is so successful that Springfield's Republican Party members are less than thrilled about Kent threatening their ill-gotten gains, so Naegle and Krusty the Clown hatch a plan to stop him. The next day, Lisa and Kent are confronted by the party members, who offer him his old job back with a fifty percent raise, which Kent accepts instantly, apologizing to Lisa as he is driven away. At home, Lisa complains to Homer that today's media figures have no bravery or integrity. Homer consoles her by telling a horrifying secret that Kent told him about the Fox network, only for all references to the secret to be redacted with an announcer praising the network's programming. Homer then tries to tell the secret to the show's audience, only to be cut off by the 20th Century Fox Television logo. He then tries again only to be cut off by the Gracie Films logo.