First, a little back story on this one. The DVD set was released in August 2005, but there was a new gimmick introduced: character head DVD cases. Now as you know, DVD collectors fear change, and Simpsons fans are very OCD about continuity, so this move pissed off more than a few people. And indeed, the Homer head looks very weird on the shelf surrounded by all of the other “normal” DVD cases.
However 20th Century Fox included a surprise with the DVD set: call a number and they would send you a new, “normal” case, and as a result of the negative reactions, all future Simpsons DVDs shipped with normal cases. Well I think they wanted a few bucks for shipping but yeah. For whatever reason, mainly me being in high school and not yet having a checking account, I never attempted to get the normal case. But you know what? It actually doesn’t bother me. My Simpsons DVD collection will never be uniform, but I’m kind of okay with that. Or am I?
As for the season itself, the show had originally been airing on Thursday nights starting with Season 2 I believe, but FOX moved it back to its original Sunday night slot (where it remains today) when the show started beating The Cosby Show in the ratings week in and week out. I was in kindergarten this year and wasn’t watching, but obviously other people were.
This season is also Matt Groening’s favorite season, but will I hold it as highly? Let’s find out, shall we?
Disc 1
“Bart of Darkness”
A record heat wave is blasting its way through Springfield, not unlike the one that hit the real world in the summer of 2011. Or 2010. Or 2009. Or 2008. Or 2007. Or… well you get the picture. After Bart and Lisa develop a taste for swimming thanks to Otto’s Poolmobile, they convince Homer to buy a pool. Of course, with great pool comes great popularity as the children of Springfield all want to become friends with Lisa so they can come swimming. Bart, however, falls off the treehouse due to an exposed epidermis and breaks his leg. Welcome to my summer of 2002. Forced to stay inside all day, Bart finds entertainment with Lisa’s telescope, spying on the neighbors ala Secret Window and its ripoff Disturbia. Things go awry when he allegedly witnesses Ned Flanders murder his wife Maude. Lisa, no longer popular due to Martin building a bigger and even better pool, invades the Flanders home to search for proof. After being confronted by Bart and Lisa, Flanders finally confesses the horrible truth! Eh I won’t spoil it for you.
“Lisa’s Rival”
A new girl in Lisa’s class, Allison (played by pre-thief Winona Ryder), is not only smarter than Lisa, she’s younger AND a better saxophone player! OH MY! Lisa feels threatened by Allison and can’t stop competing with her, but decides to try and be friends with her anyway. After a dinner at Allison’s house, where her father tries to get Lisa to form an anagram about Jeremy Irons using the letters in his name, Lisa seeks the help of Bart to finally one-up her. Their plan involves stealing Allison’s diorama during the annual Diorama-Rama, which will humiliate her in front of her peers. But the guilt eats away at Lisa, and she admits the truth and lets Allison win. But in a SWERVE~! the winner is Ralph, with his collection of VINTAGE STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES! Still in their original packaging! Including Principal Skinner’s favorite, Chewbacca! What’s a diorama? The B-Story here is hilarious, as Homer steals 500 pounds of sugar from a crashed truck and tries to sell it around town for a buck per pound as some sort of Scarface parody. This one gives us some of my favorite Simpsons lines, such as “Oww, my glasses” from when Milhouse is being chased by the FBI and “I bent my Wookiee” from Ralph. Awesome stuff from head to toe.
“Another Simpson Clip Show”
Marge talks about romance and we see clips of the various romantic escapades of the Simpson family members. Next.
“Itchy and Scratchy Land”
OH GOD YES. Bart and Lisa are dead! Dead serious about going to Itchy and Scratchy Land that is. Marge is reluctant because the family vacations always end up making everyone miserable due to the embarrassing antics of Captain Wacky. Our favorite family drives there, leading us to great gags such as standing in the “five corners” and a great SWERVE~! involving the family falling asleep on the road. They finally make it to the theme park, leading to another great line: “Remember, we’re in the Itchy lot!” I also frequently quote “possib-blie go wrong.” The theme park itself is an obvious parody of Disneyworld, right down to the Itchy and Scratchy Bucks that are accepted by zero stores. While Marge and Homer stick around on Parents Island, where it’s constantly New Year’s Eve (“The bartender even looks like John Travolta!”), Bart and Lisa gallivant around on their own. Bart gets in trouble by beating up the guys in the character suits, and eventually an embarrassed Marge has to bail Bart and Homer out of the detention center. The vacation is further ruined when the parade robots go crazy, and the Simpsons are left alone in the park to fight them off. They discover that camera flashes stop the robots and things work out well for everyone. Well, not for Euro Itchy and Scratchy Land. More awesomeness here, as this one gives us gags such as Maggie stuck in a ball pit and, of course, everyone in the park being named Bort.
“Sideshow Bob Roberts”
Sideshow Bob begins calling in to a Republican radio show hosted by a Rush Limbaugh spoof and convinces the citizens of Springfield to protest to get Bob out of prison (“Really now, they don’t give out Nobel Prizes for ATTEMPTED chemistry!”). The Republican Party chooses Bob as their candidate for the upcoming Springfield mayoral election, and he defeats the incompetent Quimby in a landslide, giving us an awesome parody of Citizen Kane. As mayor, Bob exacts his revenge on the Simpsons, placing Bart in Kindergarten (giving us another one of my favorite gags featuring Bart playing with a talking Flintstones phone) and trying to destroy the Simpson home to build the new Matlock Expressway. Lisa does some snooping, and with the help of Mr. Smithers finds that the election was rigged by listing dead humans and animals as voters (“The dead have risen and they’re voting Republican!”). Bob admits his wrongdoings in court, and everything returns to normal, although Bart will never get to find out who the Dish ran away with. Awesome episode that gets better now that I’m older and understand a little bit about politics. The subtle jabs at Republicans were great, being a liberal myself.
“Treehouse of Horror V”
Three AWESOME spoofs here, as this is the debut of three straight up stories without any sort of narration, story or “main” spoof. All we get is a brief intro from Marge warning of the episode’s scariness.
The Shinning: First off, this is most definitely NOT a spoof of a certain Stephen King novel and movie, I tell you what. Mr. Burns hires the Simpsons to live in one of his mansions, but cuts off access to cable and beer, which makes Homer go something something. Go crazy? DON’T MIND IF I DO! Groundskeeper Willie tells Bart to use his “shinning” to call Willie if he ever gets into any sort of trouble, but that just sets up the running gag of Willie being killed with an axe. A portable TV stops Homer’s rampage (“Television! Teacher. Mother. Secret lover.”) until the Tony Awards come on.
Time and Punishment: Homer somehow gets his hand jammed in the toaster and has to repair it, but accidentally turns it into a time machine that takes him back to the Jurassic era each time he uses it. But even touching the tiniest bug changes the future in a significant way. Sometimes Ned Flanders is the unquestioned ruler of the universe, and sometimes the Simpsons are rich and it rains donuts. Willie tries to help but is murdered with an axe by Maggie, who is voiced by James Earl Jones in a great cameo. Eventually Homer lands in a not-so-normal universe that’s close enough.
Nightmare Cafeteria: Detention is becoming too overcrowded, and budget cuts are causing Lunchlady Doris to use Grade F Meat. Principal Skinner comes up with an idea to solve both problems: eat the children! You might say we ate Uter and he’s in our stomachs right now! The teachers become obsessed with cannibalism and wind up eating all of the students but Bart, Lisa and Milhouse. The three try to escape with the help of Willie, who is again murdered with an axe, but it all winds up being a dream of Bart’s. Bart wakes up and realizes he is safe, and nothing can hurt him except for that fog that turns people inside out. Episode ends with a weird musical where the family wishes us a Happy Halloween.
“Bart’s Girlfriend”
The children’s’ Sunday morning is ruined when it’s time to go to church. Bart takes notice of Reverend Lovejoy’s daughter Jessica (voiced by Meryl Streep), but she doesn’t return his affection. Bart tries to become more religious to get her attention, but finds she doesn’t notice him unless he’s pulling pranks and being his usual self. Turns out Jessica is even more of a hellion than Bart is. Bart does a “haters gonna hate” strut when Jessica invites him to dinner, which I’m surprised I haven’t seen on the Internet. Bart earns the ire of Jessica’s parents when he talks about the FOX network’s use of the word “butt,” but Jessica follows Bart and the two raise hell in a great montage. Bart finds he’ll do anything for the girl he loves, despite Jessica demanding they keep their relationship a secret. One day at church Jessica steals the money from the collection plate and frames Bart. Lisa won’t allow Jessica to get away unpunished and convinces the congregation to search Jessica’s room where they find the money. Days later, Bart and Jessica meet again, where Jessica tells him the secret of all women: they can make men do anything they want. Sad but true.
Disc 2
“Lisa on Ice”
During an assembly at school, Principal Skinner announces the creation of academic alerts, to immediately inform students and parents of the subjects they are failing. This gives us one of Ralph’s greatest lines: “Me fail English? That’s unpossible!” Lisa is shocked to receive a notice that she is failing gym, and has to join a little league team to pass. She fails miserably at multiple team tryouts until Apu notices she has a natural talent for goaltending when she attends one of Bart’s hockey games. So Lisa joins the team and Homer as the pushy parent obsessed with pitting his kids against each other in the name of competition is hilarious stuff. As is Bart trying to be a better student since Lisa is a better hockey player. And naturally, Bart and Lisa’s teams end up competing against each other for the championship, causing the two to fight at home before the big game. Bart is going to swing his arms like this, and if Lisa gets hit, it’s her own fault. Same with Lisa and her air kicking. And Homer and his pie eating motions. So of course it comes down to penalty shots where Bart must shoot and Lisa must defend, but Bart and Lisa’s love for each other prevails over violence in one of those baawwww moments that only The Simpsons are able to pull off. Excellent episode.
“Homer Badman”
Oh man oh man oh man. Homer has tickets to the Candy Industry Trade Show, but he only has two tickets and takes Marge because she can smuggle more candy home. The children are left with Ashley Grant, a feminist graduate student who keeps Bart under control with the promise of letting him play video games. And Homer steals the ultimate prize – a gummy Venus de Milo (stolen with an awesome explosion caused by mixing Pop Rocks with soda) that winds up stuck to the butt of the babysitter. He grabs it as she leaves the car, but she believes him to be sexually harassing her, especially when she looks back to see the trademark Homer drooling. And the next day, a large group of protesters camp outside the Simpson home giving us a great fantasy of the Simpsons living “Under the Sea.” One night Homer receives a call from God…frey Jones of television’s Rock Bottom asking him to come on their program and explain his side of the story. But it’s a SWERVE~! that only The Simpsons can deliver. Television continues to betray Homer with FOX’s Movie of the Week: “Homer S.: Portrait of an Ass Grabber” starring Dennis Franz as Homer. Portrait? Sounds classy! Kent Brockman’s infrared camera is awesome stuff (“He’s literally stewing in his own juices!”) as is the parody of talk shows like Sally. One show, Gentle Ben, even has a bear as a host! In the end, Homer is proven innocent by the secret spy cameras of Groundskeeper Willie, aka “Rowdy Roddy Peeper,” another one of my all-time favorite Simpsons gags. This is one of the greatest episodes of the show, Top 5 material, and I hope I did it justice with this long recap.
“Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy”
Homer and Marge are having a tough time spicing up their love life, leading to a trip to the local book store to find a book on how to improve things. Lisa becomes the first person to buy a copy of the new Al Gore book! Celebrate good times, indeed. After a failed trip to a romantic hotel, Grampa reveals to Homer his homemade bathtub love tonic. Homer and Abe go into business selling the tonic together, leading to the parents of Springfield disappearing. Bart, obsessed with aliens after seeing a UFO, is convinced that aliens are behind everything. Of course Homer and Abe begin fighting over Abe’s parenting skills leading to Homer returning to his childhood farmhouse to discover his roots. Decent episode, but we’ll see both of the storylines from this episode reused in future episodes. Some multiple times in fact!
“Fear of Flying”
Homer gets kicked out of Moe’s for pulling a prank on prank night and the ole Sugar-Me-Do is too much. Homer winds up at “The Little Black Box,” an airport bar for pilots, after a strenuous search that also takes him to the Cheers bar. Naturally Homer gets selected to fly a plane and gets free tickets to anywhere in the United States (minus Alaska and Hawaii, the good states) as hush money when disaster nearly strikes. But it turns out that Marge has a fear of flying that dates back to her childhood when she found out that her father was lying about being an airline pilot. Not a great episode, but not horrible either.
“Homer the Great”
Yesssssss. Homer can’t help but notice all of his friends receiving really nice, really secret stuff and wants to find out what exactly is going on. After some stalking of Lenny and Carl, Homer finds out that a secret society called the Stonecutters are running Springfield, and Homer can’t join. But Grampa is a member which makes Homer a member, though not before being hazed and initiated not unlike a fraternity. Patrick Stewart plays Number One, the Leader, and is nothing short of genius. After singing the Stonecutter theme song (“WE DO!”), Homer ruins the Stonecutter’s ceremonial rib dinner by using their constitution as a bib. But when he is forced to remove his official Stonecutter clothing, the Stonecutters notice his birthmark, shaped like the Stonecutter logo, which proves that he is the Chosen One that the sacred parchment foretells of. But Homer ultimately feels unsatisfied on top, just as Lisa warns, and tries to turn the Stonecutters into a charitable organization. But the Stonecutter members are sick of Homer’s antics and decide to form a new club, a No Homers Club (they’re allowed to have one. Guh-hoy!). Oh yes, this is another classic.
“And Maggie Makes Three”
Sweet, another flashback episode. Lisa wonders where all the baby pictures of Maggie are so Homer retells the tale of Maggie’s birth. The Simpsons are a family of four living happily on Evergreen Terrace. Homer becomes debt-free one payday and quits his job at the SNPP, literally burning his bridges on the way out. He goes to work at his dream job, as a pin monkey at Barney’s Bowl-a-rama. Homer has enough money for the four Simpsons to live a perfect life, but just the four of them. Of course Homer and Marge have a romantic evening to celebrate his new job, and, well, you know. So Marge is pregnant but can’t tell Homer, and despite all of the obvious warning signs, Homer is too stupid to realize it. Things go further awry as Patty and Selma tell the two biggest gossips in town, but Homer mistakes everyone as congratulating him about his new job. It takes a surprise baby shower for Homer to finally find out, and we also learn how Homer lost all his hair. Homer is forced to quit his dream job and go back to the SNPP, crawling through the supplicant door to reapply. Burns informs Homer that he’s there forever, even giving him a plaque telling him so. And that’s where all of Maggie’s baby pictures are, the one place where Homer needs the most cheering up. Good stuff, as usual with the flashback episodes.
“Bart’s Comet”
Bart vandalizes Principal Skinner’s new weather balloon and is forced to help him map stars at 4:30 a.m. as punishment. Bart accidentally discovers a comet, thus ruining Skinner’s dream of discovering something and having it named after him. One day Bart notices his comet in the sky, and Professor Frink calculates that the comet is going to crash right into Springfield. With Moe’s Bar at ground zero. Homer is the only one not worried, predicting that the layers of nuclear pollution in the atmosphere will disintegrate the comet. Frink develops a rocket that will be used to blow up the comet, but disaster strikes when the rocket misses and blows up the only bridge out of town. Certain death is imminent, and the citizens try to take refuge in Ned Flanders’ fallout shelter but one person needs to leave. Everyone agrees the future won’t need Left-Handed stores, so Flanders is kicked out. But the citizens feel bad and choose to die together. However, Homer’s prediction proves RIGHT and the town is saved. I know, kids, I’m scared too.
Disc 3
“Homie the Clown”
Krusty is burning through money and owes Fat Tony a bunch of cash. The only thing left to do is open a clown college to train regional Krustys for local appearances. Homer signs up thanks to his need to do everything that billboards tell him to do. Homer makes a horrible clown, naturally, making horrific balloon animals at Milhouse’s birthday party and beating up the Krusty Burglar at the newest Krusty Burger. Homer is ready to quit but soon realizes he can get out of speeding tickets and get free stuff because people think he’s Krusty. Including the mob, who is after the real Krusty for betting all of his money AGAINST the Harlem Globetrotters. So the Italian Stereotype Mob Boss decides to let Krusty off the hook, as long as he and Homer can ride a miniature bicycle through a loop at the same time. Why yes, this one rocks.
“Bart vs. Australia”
Oh heck yeah. Bart becomes obsessed with finding out which way water drains in the southern hemisphere and racks up a huge phone bill making international calls. A ticked off Australian eventually gets Bart indicted for fraud, and the Simpsons are going to Australia! Lots of Australia references follow, such as “Knifey-Spooney” and Fosters gags. And how can you hate the gag where Homer jumps between the boundaries of the US Embassy and Australia? Anyway the United States arranges for Bart to make a public apology but things go bad when the Australians demand to boot Bart in the rear end with the Pride of Australia – a giant, oversized work boot. Bart and Homer run away and make it back to the US Embassy where a new deal is reached to boot Bart, who decides to go through with the act for America. But in typical Bart fashion he ends up mooning the Prime Minister and the mob of Australians. As the family escapes via helicopter they see that bullfrogs, brought to the country by Bart, have reproduced and are eating the Australian crops. Because that’s what happens when you introduce a foreign species into a new environment. Cue the evil koala that has hopped onto the helicopter. Amazing stuff, even if I wasn’t around in the late 1980’s Aussie craze and thus don’t get half of the references.
“Homer vs. Patty and Selma”
Homer notices pumpkin stocks soaring in October and decides to invest. Bad things happen of course and Homer is broke. The bank is threatening to foreclose on the Simpson home so Homer is forced to borrow money from the evil Patty and Selma. But the two force Homer to be their slave, and if he doesn’t comply then they spill the beans to Marge. Marge eventually finds out about the money problems, and Homer picks up a part-time job as a chauffeur driving around celebrities such as Mel Brooks. Did you know Young Frankenstein scared the hell outta Homer? Well Homer gets pulled over and doesn’t have a license and is forced to talk to Patty and Selma at the DMV. Obviously they do nothing to help him but when Homer takes the blame when they are caught smoking, they call off the debt. The B-Story involves Bart being late to school on gym class sign-up day and is forced to take ballet. But he’s shocked when he learns he actually LIKES it. This one was a lot better than I remember.
“A Star Is Burns”
Oh BABY. Brief backstory: ex-Simpsons producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss had left to create a show called The Critic for ABC and came back to make this one. Matt Groening saw it as nothing but commercialization for the show and took his name off of the credits. Springfield is in need of help to lift its image and attract tourists so Marge decides to throw a film festival with a celebrity guest – Jay Sherman the Critic, voiced by Jon Lovitz. A few minutes in and we get McBain’s “That’s the joke” that is used all over the Internet and by me when you people don’t understand the brilliant jokes I spew out on a regular basis. Anyway, Jay Sherman comes to Springfield in another cheap cartoon crossover except this one isn’t crappy like Bart thinks. So Mr. Burns decides to make a biopic of himself, directed by Steven Spielberg’s non-union Mexican equivalent, and enter it into the film festival. The film festival gives us great films such as Burns’ A Burns for All Seasons, Barney’s drama Pukahontas and Hans Moleman’s Man Getting Hit by Football which features Moleman getting hit in the groin with a football. The judges are split (half of them bribed by Burns) and it’s up to Homer to make the tiebreaker, but he votes for Moleman’s movie. Eventually Homer makes the right decision, and Burns attempts to bribe himself into winning an Oscar. Fantastic stuff from start to finish, and it overtakes the Monorail episode as the most quotable episode. I mean this one gives us “Boo-urns” for crying out loud! And Krusty saying the loud part quiet and the quiet part loud is great too. Excellent, excellent episode.
“Lisa’s Wedding”
We’re used to the flashback episodes but this was the first “future” episode and also won an Emmy and tons of awards as well. At the Springfield Renaissance Festival Lisa wanders into a fortune teller’s tent where she hears about her first love. It’s the year 2010 and the world is a different place: Lisa is in college, robots and holograms are everywhere and a black man is president. Lisa is annoyed by a British student named Hugh, who is just as smart and cultured as she is. They fall in love after hating each other, a process not understood by robots. Hugh proposes to Lisa while they visit Hugh’s parents, but now it’s time for Hugh to meet the Simpsons. Gasp! Hugh is aghast at the Simpson’s behavior and is continuously injured hanging out with Homer and Bart. Despite Hugh having a miserable time with the Simpsons, he still plans on marrying Lisa. Well until Lisa and Homer want him to continue the family tradition of wearing pig cufflinks. Back to 1995 where the fortune teller reveals she only tells fortunes involving relationships where you get jerked around. More great stuff here (especially the Milhouse segments and Smithers trying to find a cure for Burns’ 17 stab wounds), although Marge’s line about FOX becoming a hardcore sex channel never came true, which is a problem when dealing with futuristic stuff.
“Two Dozen and One Greyhounds”
Santa’s Little Helper is acting energetic and destructive, more so than usual, but it turns out he’s just in heat and on a trip to the race track he ends up having a one night stand with a bitch. But that’s what she is, a female dog! So the two live together at the Simpson house until She’s the Fastest has puppies, 25 of them in fact. But the Simpsons can’t take care of them and decide to give them away for free or best offer. Mr. Burns winds up stealing the puppies in an act Smithers points out is lacking effort. Burns plans on killing the puppies and making a tuxedo out of their fur, and he shows off his animal wardrobe via a song, “See My Vest” which is obviously a parody of a certain Disney song. Bart and Lisa come to the rescue and Burns realizes that he can’t kill neither the puppies nor the children. He raises them to become racing greyhounds and they earn him millions of dollars and make Homer HANG around the basement. Eh? Eh? Eh, okay, he doesn’t hang himself, he just bats around a lightbulb. The song makes this episode, although I personally enjoy the various Disney movie parodies.
“The PTA Disbands!”
Springfield Elementary is out of money, and can’t afford the trip to Fort Springfield (now operated by Diz-Nee Historic Parks Division, a favorite gag of mine), the Teachers Union decides to go on strike. Each student takes the news of the strike differently. For example, Lisa goes crazy and needs to be constantly evaluated. Bart needs to cause mayhem in various places such as banks. Milhouse can’t do anything as his parents instantly hire a tutor. Skinner can’t give into the teachers’ demands unless he raises taxes, and the citizens of Springfield don’t want their taxes raised so the PTA disbands! The school winds up hiring people from the community to teach classes, and Marge winds up in the 4th Grade, embarrassing Bart and forcing him to rethink his booby traps. Jasper teaches 2nd Grade, and you better BELIEVE that’s a paddlin’. Bart eventually tricks Skinner and Krabappel, head of the union, to going into Skinner’s office together and locks them in until they work out a deal. Eventually they decide to install jail cells in the classrooms, earning money from the overcrowded prison systems.
Disc 4
“’Round Springfield”
Brief Backstory: Ex-Producers Al and Mike got to produce an episode in exchange for coming back to work on “A Star is Burns” and this is that episode. Bart gets sent to the hospital one morning after digesting a jagged metal Krusty-O and has to have his appendix removed, resulting in a parody of Madeline with all of the children wanting their appendixes removed too. While in the hospital, Lisa discovers that her old jazz musician friend Bleeding Gums Murphy is in the room right next door. They get reacquainted but soon Bleeding Gums passes away. Lisa desperately wants to find a way to honor his memory but needs to donate his only record to the local jazz radio station. And Comic Book Guy has just raised the price of the record to $500. Luckily, Bart receives $500 as a settlement from Krusty for his surgery and decides to buy the record for Lisa since she was the only person who believed he was sick. After the radio station plays the record, Bleeding Gum’s spirit comes back to play saxophone with Lisa one final time. Lots of people hate this one but I rather enjoyed it.
“The Springfield Connection”
After apprehending the criminal Snake one evening, Marge has a sudden desire to spice up her life and gets a job with the Springfield Police Department. However her strong desire to do good takes its toll on her family, especially Homer, who regularly plays cards in the kitchen with his drinking buddies. Homer ends up being arrested by Marge when she grows tried of him thinking he can get away with breaking the law because his wife is a police officer. Homer is released and comes home to play more poker, but it turns out that one of the players, Herman the one-armed military store owner, is leading a counterfeit jeans operation from Homer’s garage, or as Moe calls it, car port. What do YOU call it, Mr. Fancy Pants Frenchman? Anyway, it’s Marge to the rescue, as she arrests the criminals, and nabs Herman as he tries to escape using counterfeit jeans to slide through a rope. When Chief Wiggum won’t arrest Herman due to lack of evidence, Marge quits her job due to the corruption in the police department.
“Lemon of Troy”
Oh man, I love this one. Marge catches Bart writing his name in wet cement and lectures him about town pride. The next day, the kids of Springfield all congregate around the historic Springfield Lemon Tree, where they are verbally assaulted by children from the neighboring town of Shelbyville. This is Milhouse at his finest, my friends. “I’ll kick your butt… at Nintendo.” After a lemon fight, the Shelbyville children vow revenge. Suddenly an old man talks; it’s Grampa, who explains the history behind the lemon tree and the Springfield/Shelbyville rivalry. The next day, Nelson discovers that the lemon tree has been stolen by the children from Shelbyville and the Springfield kids wage a guerrilla war to get the tree back. This leads to all sorts of great stuff like Bart infiltrating the group of Shelbyville kids, which all look like alternate versions of the Springfield kids, and Martin and Nelson being forced to team together as “Team Discovery Channel.” We also get my family’s all-time favorite Simpsons line, “Hey look, someone’s attractive cousin!” along with my other often quoted Milhouse lines from where he meets the Shelbyville Milhouse (“So this is what it feels like when doves cry!”) and taking credit for the use of the word “radical.” Eventually the kids find the lemon tree in the Shelbyville impound lot, and with the help of their parents (and Ned Flanders’ RV) they are able to return the tree to Springfield. This may be another Top Fiver for me, but it’s Top Ten for sure.
“Who Shot Mr. Burns?”
This one is pretty well-known. While burying the 4th Grade gerbil Superdude, Groundskeeper Willie discovers oil underneath Springfield Elementary School, making the school rich. Greedy Mr. Burns, however, wants to maintain his energy monopoly and creates Burns’ Slant Drilling Company in order to steal the oil, leaving the school bankrupt and forced to cut jobs such as Groundskeeper Willie’s. When Burns’ drill is tapped, the oil sprays right into Bart’s treehouse, breaking Santa’s Little Helper’s leg. The toxic fumes from the well force Moe to close his bar. Mr. Burns also continuously forgets Homer’s name, despite the Simpsons sending Burns and Smithers a box of candy with a family portrait inside. Burns’ oil well also causes the retirement home to sink. With his “enemies” vanquished, Burns then reveals his ultimate diabolical scheme to block out the sun, forcing Springfield into darkness and forcing them to use Burns’ energy. Smithers quits because of Burns’ evil scheme and finds solace with liquor. Basically everyone in town has a reason to want to kill Mr. Burns. The climax comes at a town meeting when Burns makes an appearance to inform everyone that while they might want to kill him, nobody has the guts. But shortly after Burns finally unleashes his sun blocker, someone DOES have the guts to shoot him, off-screen of course, leaving us with our first season ending cliffhanger. And everyone in town is a suspect! I won’t spoil this one because you really have to see the conclusion in Season 7.
ThoughtS:
Well this is creator Matt Groening’s favorite season of the show and I have to agree with him. This one has several of my favorite episodes featuring many of my most quotable lines. That third disc... man, it owns. But really, can you go wrong with ANY episode from the Trifecta of Amazing that is Seasons 4-6?
Coming Soon: Season 7!
No comments:
Post a Comment