(originally aired March 5, 1995)
I remember as a kid, I thought Jay Sherman was a real person. Considering the huge amount of celebrity guests on The Simpsons, I just assumed Jay was another one of them. It wasn’t until later in middle school I saw The Critic late night on Comedy Central and discovered he was merely a refugee from another show. The story with this episode was The Critic was starting its second season on FOX, premiering right after The Simpsons, and James L. Brooks proposed this crossover episode to help launch the show. Matt Groening was upset at this for sorted reasons, mainly that he felt the crossover defied the rules of the Simpsons universe, and that he felt fans would be upset that the episode would basically be one big commercial for The Critic (which ultimately, it kind of was.) Whether he didn’t want to raise a big stink about it, or he just had no real power to halt production of this episode, he chose to just remove his name from the credits, the only Groening-less episode to date. Now, The Critic is an absolutely fabulous show in its own right, and the idea of a crossover doesn’t feel too alien a concept. I think this episode works perfectly well as a Simpsons episode, just featuring a character from another show.

How do you bring Jay Sherman to Springfield? Host a local film festival and invite him as a judge, obviously. It’s a fair enough premise, paired with Homer feeling undermined in his own house by an intellectual Jay. Even with an acknowledged nod to the cheap nature of the crossover (“I really love your show. I think all kids should watch it! Eww… I suddenly feel so dirty,”) the show is pretty unremarkable up until the middle mark, where Burns attempts to submit a movie to improve his heinous image. The result is an absurd fluff piece, aping off classic films like E.T. and Ben Hur to elevate Burns to sainthood. The prize film of the night comes from Barney, an incredibly heartfelt and artfully produced film of his alcohol-induced sorrows. With it getting Marge and Jay’s vote, and Quimby and Krusty paid off by Burns, it’s up to Homer to break the tie. He, however, is enthralled by another film, Hans Moleman’s “Man Getting Hit By Football,” whose name pretty aptly reflects the content.

The various films from our beloved Springfieldians are pretty much the only thing of note here, but they’re so strong that they make up for any slack the episode might have carried. There are other select funny bits, but overall, it’s not quite a strong Simpsons episode, perhaps because it had to cater to its specific purpose of promoting The Critic. Was it a bit shameless? Yeah, maybe. But Jon Lovitz had done so many voices on the show, Jay just feels like another one of them, so it’s not so jarring to see him here. And how could I be completely down at an episode that gave us George C. Scott getting hit in the crotch by a football? It’s a pretty fine show. So is The Critic. You should watch that. Like, right now, go watch it. I’ll be here when you get back.

Tidbits and Quotes
– Simpsons characters and references popped up on The Critic from time to time. My favorite is probably when a low-brow family switches off Jay spouting intellectual platitudes in favor of Homer stepping on a rake and saying “D’oh!” (“Now this I understand.”) I can’t find that clip though, but here’s another good one.
– I like the Eye on Springfield opening. It’s reused footage with new bits sprinkled in, but it feels like something a local news station would do, cycling in new clips with the old. The new bits are really great: Brockman in the winning locker room getting dumped with Gatorade… then with cement, and Krusty leading hoards of wild animals into Krusty Burger, presumably to slaughter.
– I love Krusty performing as FDR. Not only does he get out of the wheelchair, but he’s still in full clown make-up as always. What kind of a production is this?
– The scene with Ned’s movie gone awry with Todd getting caught up down stream is pretty crazy as is before God takes a literal hand in saving the child, giving Ned an A-OK sign from the heavens and a cordial “Okily-dokily!”
– The “Coming Attractions” segment really does feel straight out of The Critic, almost as if Rainier Wolfcastle was a guest on his show. “McBain: Let’s Get Silly” looks like a fantastic film (“The film is just me in front of a brick wall for an hour and a half. It cost eighty million dollars.”) Rainier later confronts Jay on slyly insulting him on the show, only to be tricked into believing his shoes are untied as Jay makes his escape (“On closer inspection, these are loafers.”)
– It’s really really dumb, but I always laugh at Homer erasing and re-writing “Simpson” over and over at the airport.
– Once Burns gets in the episode, the jokes really kick in: his response to market research showing people see him as an ogre (“I ought to club them and eat their bones!”), his liking toward the idea of making a film (“A slick Hollywood picture to gloss over my evil rise to power like Bugsy or Working Girl,”) and of course Steven Spielberg’s non-union Mexican equivalent, Señor Spielbergo.
– What more can be said about “Man Getting Hit By Football”? It’s perfect: the title card and jangly piano intro feels like something someone as old as Moleman would include, and the premise itself is like an old slapstick bit. Homer’s over-reaction is priceless of course, reminiscent of the similar incident in “Homer Goes to College” (“The ball! His groin! It works on so many levels!”)
– Smithers does damage control when everyone boos Burns’s film: they’re actually saying “Boo-urns.” Burns consults the crowd about it, who then boos him further. Hans, however, was saying “Boo-urns.”
– Great newspaper headline (“Incontinent Old Man Wins Miss Teen America”) with an equally disturbing picture.
– Hilarious reading from Krusty when asked why he voted for Burns’s movie (“Let’s just say it moved me… to a bigger house! Oops, I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet.”)
– Homer watches Barney’s film a second time to give it another chance, and is so moved by it he vows not to ever drink again. Then of course, a man walks by selling beer and he takes ten. Very easy joke. Why was he there in the first place when Homer was having a private screening? Then we get basically the same joke later when Barney wins and vows to be sober, and the prize is a life supply of Duff. The reading of “Just hook it to my veeiiiins!” saves it though.
– Minor stupid quibble: Itchy & Scratchy wins for best animated short, but this was a film festival for local residents. Why would a studio production be eligible?
– Really great biting goodbye when Jay starts to propose if the Simpsons ever want to come on his show, Bart cuts him off (“Nah, we’re not going to be doing that.”)

(originally aired February 26, 1995)
This is one of those episodes that kind of falls into the ether of the classic seasons. We all remember the Stonecutters and Bart’s comet, but is anyone’s favorite episode the one where Patty and Selma lend Homer money? Probably not. It’s a more low-key, character driven episode, similar to what we’d see in season 2 or 3, but with decidedly more wacky jokes and bits. Look no further than the source of Homer’s money woes: sinking his whole life savings in pumpkin stocks (“They’ve been going up the whole month of October and I got a feeling they’re going to peak right around January,”) leaving him broke very quickly. Similar to what we’ve seen before, Homer keeps the family money woes from Marge. His sole role in the family is to be the provider, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way. His final resort brings him to his lowest point: agreeing to take a loan from Patty and Selma, who of course are quick to take advantage of him at every turn.

Around this, we have a B-story featuring Bart getting stuck in ballet for P.E. Odd that a school so underfunded as Springfield Elementary would have many, many choices for a grade school physical education concentration. What school has that? Anyway, it isn’t long before Bart is overtaken by the allure of the dance, as tutored by the ballet instructor, voiced by Susan Sarandon. It’s mostly an empty plot that’s sort of an extensive set-up to a predictable pay-off. Not wanting to be the subject of ridicule, Bart does his first public performance in a mask. The bullies, who previously had been shown to have daintier tendencies, are enthralled by the performance. Inspired by this, Bart reveals his identity and defends doing what he loves… and is chased out by the bullies anyway. It’s the typical Simpsons subversion you can see from a mile away, but I do like how in the end, Bart undoes himself by attempting to leap over a chasm and failing. The bullies are satisfied (“Well, as long as he’s hurt.”) Also, Sarandon’s advice to Bart (“Leap like you’ve never leapt before!”) seems like a reference to one of the very first Simpsons shorts where Homer urges Bart to leap into his arms.

It may be small in scale, but this episode is incredibly solid, where each bit of information in the main story is integral. Homer attempts to repay his dues by working as a limo driver, only to be pulled over and told he must apply for a chauffeur’s license at the DMV, leading to a final confrontation with the gruesome twosome. Patty and Selma nitpick Homer at every turn, of course resulting in a failed test. The two are so overstimulated with joy that they instinctively light their cigarettes, getting them in hot water with their supervisor, threatening to deny them their promotions, which is what they came over the house for to celebrate in their first scene. What started as a simple bit at the beginning ends up as being a big piece of the final climax. It’s small stuff, but it makes these episodes feel more meaningful. Also upon arriving at the DMV, Marge comments how she doesn’t like seeing her husband and her sisters fight all the time (a sentiment she very rarely seems to express), which later makes Homer feel guilty for taking pleasure over the two getting in trouble, and ultimately saving them in the end, a gesture and sacrifice he makes solely for his wife’s sake. It’s really a shining moment for Homer, and may be one of my favorite endings to any show.

Tidbits and Quotes
– Great moment where Homer lights his cigar with a dollar bill like a showman, then immediately puts it out and back into his wallet, which is filled with other slightly burnt bills. Lenny comments, “Hey, Homer! How come you’ve got money to burn? Or singe, anyway?”
– Lovely bit of animation where Homer pulls the couch out of the house, dumps his sisters-in-law out on the lawn and pulls it back in. I also like how the sisters clung their nails into the couch prior, implying previous incidents where Homer has physically thrown them out. Marge tries to do some damage control (“I’m sorry: Homer doesn’t mean to be rude, he’s just a very complicated man.”) Homer appears from the upstairs window, smashes a plate over his head and yells, “Wrong!” I always like how cruel Patty and Selma are to Homer as well, and aren’t shy on telling Marge (“Granted, you got some kids out of him, but when the seed have been planted, you throw away the envelope.”)
– Gotta mention dear ol’ Rat Boy (“Bart, I told you before, stop gnawing on the drywall.”)
– Bart greets a glorious morning (“The sun is out, birds are singing, bees are trying to have sex with them, as is my understanding.”)
– The drawing of Homer with his fake grin when Patty and Selma show up at the house in the second act is so fucking funny. So much care was put into these classic years, where even though the show isn’t that visually elaborate, the drawings themselves still elicit laughs, as good animation should.
– I like how Lenny and Carl are planning on stopping by Moe’s for a Zima (“Homer, quit wallowing in self-pity. Pull yourself together and come get drunk with us.”)
– The ballet teacher isn’t so in touch with American youth when Bart complains about his required attire (“But so many of your heroes wear tights: Batman, for example, and… Magellan.”)
– Great moment when Patty and Selma force Homer to act like a dog, then Marge comes in and asks what’s going on. Homer tries to give an explanation, but he’s still locked into talking like Scooby-Doo while on his knees. Then we have the big reveal of the I.O.U. note, illuminated by the lamp. Not only does it make no sense for the light to shine through, but it lands face up so it wouldn’t even be oriented correctly on the wall. Regardless, Marge completely saves it with the great line, “Homer! Is this projection accurate?”
– I like the risque carnival gag paper with the headline of Bart being World’s Greatest Sex Machine. What kind of carnival was this they’d give that to a child?
– I guess I should comment on Mel Brooks… fine appearance, I guess. I really haven’t seen a lot of his films, so there’s not really much I can say about his scene.
– Like “Flaming Moe’s,” we get another great bit of Homer completely failing to be subtle in his sarcasm (“Okay, Marge, I’ll get along with them. Then, I will hug some snakes… yes! Then, I will hug and kiss some poisonous snakes. …now that’s sarcasm.”)
– I like how panicked Homer gets during the driver’s test. He’s at the end of his rope and is quickly learning he’s in a no-win scenario (“Being a jerk. Minus a million points!”)
– I absolutely love Homer’s flat delivery as he sucks down both cigarettes, coughing (“I am in flavor country.”) The supervisor asks is they’re both his, he responds, “It’s a big country.”

(originally aired February 19, 1995)
In 1993, asshole American punk Michael Fay was arrested in Singapore on multiple counts of wanton vandalism and was sentenced to a brief prison stay, and to be whipped with a cane several times as punishment. Needless to say, the States went apeshit, crying it to be barbaric and set to do anything they could to prevent the besmirchment of a pure American ass on foreign soil. Even President Clinton got involved in this, and as a sign of good will, the president of Singapore reduced the caning from six times to four. What a ridiculous current event. It’s just the right kind of fodder for South Park to tackle. But since that show doesn’t exist yet, The Simpsons swooped in to parody it. While I saw “Homie the Clown” dozens of times in syndication and loved it from the first watch, this is an episode that slowly grew on me, and between the loads of other mixed quality travel episodes, and knowing more about the Fay case, it became one of my favorites, with an incredibly strong plot that equally skewers both America and Australia, having its cake and eating it too, as the Simpsons create an international incident in a believable, hilarious way.

I love how innocently the episode begins only to have it snowball out of control. Lisa informs Bart that water always drains counter-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the Southern (another in a long line of things I’ve learned from this show.) Bart is stunned to learn this (as was I), and being a typically bratty brother, he aims to prove her wrong by making multiple long distance calls to southern countries. His calling spree ends with him bamboozling an Australian boy, keeping him on the line for hours on end, and because he accepted the collect call, ends up racking up a rather high bill. What I like here is Bart tricks the kid at first, but it wasn’t his intention to keep him on the line that long. Late that night he returns to the phone having completely forgotten about his previous activities, being the attention deficit child he is. The Aussies get hoppin’ mad, they do, as Bart’s hoopla makes its way up to the Prime Minister. Enter Evan Conover from the US State Department (Phil Hartman, perhaps his most understated character,) who urges the family must go to Australia to make a public apology to mend American-Aussie relations.

We get a few bits of the family touring Australia, but the story remains focused on the plot of having Bart doing his phony apology, only to have an additional punishment sprung: a public booting. As the Simpsons hide out at the US embassy, Conover deals with the Aussies on the most precarious of negotiations (“Then it’s agreed: during the bargaining session, we each get two candy apples… all right, one candy and one caramel.”) Eventually a deal is struck: the Prime Minister will boot Bart once through the embassy gates with a wingtip shoe, a bargaining down similar to the Fay case. There’s so many things I love about this plot, mostly how the Simpsons ends up as pawns for the government, with Conover being true to his name and selling them out to prevent international controversy, and when that falls flat, they almost begrudgingly agree to help them. Bart of course screws over everyone by mooning the Prime Minister (one of the greatest scenes of the entire series), and the family makes their swift exit back to America. It’s an episode that feels as real as it is nuts, and is without a doubt the best travel episode.

Tidbits and Quotes
– Great joke when Marge catches Bart digging his hands in the toilet (“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Bart, use the plunger!”)
– I’m not sure if it was a syndication cut or I just forgot about it, but when I saw this on DVD for the first time and the Hitler scene came up, I was like, “….wha?” It’s such a crazy joke, the idea Hitler is still alive somehow, but every time I hear Harry Shearer’s “Eine minuten, eine minuten!” I laugh hysterically.
– I like the impetus for Bart to abandon his Australia call for Milhouse appearing at the window (“Hey, Bart! The bakery caught fire and all of downtown smells like cookies! Wanna go smell?”)
– Homer argues with his brain over the ramped up phone bill, with him wondering whether he made the calls himself and just forgot. When he considers consulting Marge about it, his brain sways him otherwise (“Why embarrass us both? Just write a check and I’ll release some more endorphins.”) He signs off a check and immediately writhes with pleasure.
– Hank Azaria as the Australian kid’s father is so goddamn funny, he’s such a loud, stupid, boorish character. Right from the start he’s hilarious; his son tells him the American call was from the International Drainage Commission, he responds in shock, “Oh my God! There’s nothing wrong with the bidet, is there?” The call between him and Bart is so frigging fantastic, where Bart just fucks with this guy repeatedly. Azaria and Nancy Cartwright do an amazing job playing off each other.
– Conover’s initial proposal is imprison Bart for five years. Homer thinks for a moment, then responds, “That’s tough, but fair. Boy, go with the man.” Marge, of course, will have none of it (“I’m not going to have my son go to jail over some silly tiff with Australia. You’ll just have to find some other country to have relations with.”)
– The pan through the entire planet is a clever transition, with Vishnu operating in the Earth’s core, to seeing the plane landing upside down.
– The American toilet at the embassy is amazing for many reasons. First, it’s a nice button on the initial spark of the episode. Second, it’s such an inconsequential device. Like me, I’m sure no one even knows or pays attention to what way the water drains, making it the perfect stupid indulgent expense to preserve American “exceptionalism .” Third, of course, is Homer tearfully singing “My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee” as it flushes.
– Homer jumping back and forth from America and Australia is a tad jerkass, but made up for it with his family being embarrassed and the marine punching him out (“Here in America, we don’t tolerate that kind of crap, sir!”)
– The pub features three great jokes in a row: “I see you’ve played Knifey-Spooney before,” Homer being disappointed by Australia’s famous giant beers, and the bartender’s inability to fathom someone ordering anything else but beer (“C… O…” “B… E…”)
– A quick insane joke of the Parliament building apparently being from Austria, with the additional letters penciled in, as if the Australians stole the face of Austria’s Parliament building and brought it back with them.
– I love the Australian version of the Pimply Faced Teen, who is not so won over by the bullfrog’s name (“That’s an odd name. I’d have called them ‘chazzwozzers.'”)
– I like the very ending with the bullfrogs decimating Australia’s agriculture, if only because it was set up in two earlier great scenes, but I don’t like how Marge and Lisa take amusement out of the situation. Sort of similar to how they participated in the food fight in “Homer Loves Flanders.” But a minor quibble, I loved that episode, and I love this one too.

(originally aired February 12, 1995)
There are quite a few episodes I remember seeing run in syndication constantly. Either they’d repeat them more often than others or I just so happened to catch them over and over. Some of them I’ve grown a bit tired of. This one, I’ve seen it at least fifty times and I still absolutely love it. Not only is it hilarious start to finish, it has so many perfect elements in its story and characterizations. There’s no real overarching theme I can highlight, so let’s just go point by point. First off, this is some of the best Krusty stuff ever on the series. We haven’t seen him much this season, and boy did he come back with a vengeance. His first two scenes are brilliant, starting off with his tireless wacky showman persona, then immediately switching to the disgruntled, sell-out shill he is as soon as the show curtain falls. The jokes come flying fast, but all illustrate Krusty’s personality: stealing George Carlin’s routines, ordering roses for Bea Arthur’s grave (who wasn’t dead at the time), and pushing the release of more shoddy merchandise to get him out of a financial hole while he’s already burning money (literally.)

Krusty’s accountant urges he open a clown college to train imitation Krustys to create extra revenue. This brings us to Homer, and an over-the-top examination of powerful subliminal advertising. He’s so excited for “new billboard day” that he causes multiple pile-ups by abruptly stopping to look at each one, creating a mental list so he can buy all the marketed products. Initially he is unfazed by the clown college ad, but the image has permeated his subconscious, as he visualizes his family and co-workers as clowns with circus music playing. It’s not long before he’s convinced that his life’s mission is to go to clown college. It’s less of a biting satire on marketing and more of showing how easily a mush head like Homer can be manipulated. Homer turns out to be a semi-competent clown, who only starts to enjoy himself when he learns he can reap discounts from local merchants posing as the actual Krusty, which he of course tries to push to the nth degree.

As set up in act one, Krusty is in pretty deep debt with Fat Tony and ends up fleeing the country when his time is up. This leaves Homer clear in Tony’s sights, who is easily mistaken as the genuine jester. The two clowns come together when Krusty returns to face the music, creating a bit of a dilemma. The two must face off with Don Vittorio, a self-described old Italian stereotype, whose violent retribution can only be dissuaded if the two perform an elaborate routine on a miniature tricycle. The final scene is so spectacular because, again, all of the groundwork has been set. The very first scene is Krusty doing the trick, then we see Homer attempt multiple times to do the same at the college. Seeing Krusty and Homer bumble, but then succeed with flying colors is very satisfying, especially when Homer gets in the last big finish. We end on the conflict of the episode being exposed as nothing: Vittorio won’t kill Krusty, but still demands payment… of forty-eight dollars. Some could cry it’s a stupid cop-out ending, which I guess I can’t argue that fact, but I love me that stupid cop-out ending something fierce. This episode’s so perfect to me. It was one of my favorites when I was younger, and still is today.

Tidbits and Quotes
– Bart continues to speak great reverence of his hero Krusty (“He can take a simple, everyday thing like eating a bicycle and make it funny.”)
– Great direction with Krusty tilting his head grinning and waving as the curtain falls, then as he is submerged in backstage darkness, he immediately grimaces and lights up a cigarette. What a perfect visual representation of his two-faced nature: it’s like the stage lights literally bring him to life, and when they’re gone, he’s back to his disgruntled, bastard self.
– So many great bits in that first scene: “Put five thousand bucks on the Lakers. Hire Kenny G to play for me in the elevator. My house is dirty; buy me a clean one,” Krusty not wanting to hear the end of any sentences, and continually paying people off with ten grand, placing a double or nothing bet on the opera (his money’s the tenor), the accountant’s brilliant advice on gambling (“Gambling is the finest thing a person can do if he’s good at it,”) and of course the horrendous Krusty products, specifically the Lady Krusty Mustache Removal System.
– I love the build-up toward Homer cracking and enrolling in the college. It’s like the billboard has infected his brain and dulled Homer’s mental functions even further. At the dinner table he sculpts a circus tent out of mashed potatoes (a la Close Encounters of the Third Kind.) The best bit is a worried Lisa turned to her mother for reassurance, but all Marge can respond with is, “I think I’ll have some wine.”
– The clown college gives us more great bits: how “one Krusty per territory” works out… almost, the baggy pants fitting Homer perfectly, the funny place names (Seattle!), Krusty pieing a priggish royal in the face so hard she puts a crack in the wall (Homer takes note, “Kill wealthy dowager,”) and of course Homer’s multiple attempts to do the tricycle loop-de-loop, the final such attempt getting his pants caught in the pedals, leaving him bare-assed (Krusty orders his accountant, “Burn that seat.”) The best line is from one of Krusty’s lessons: “These Krusty brand balloons are three bucks each. But get a cheap one and what happens? It goes off, takes out the eyeballs of every kid in the room! What’s that going to cost you?” Then, to his accountant, “Hey, Bill, what did that cost us?”
– I like how this plot is kind of a behind-the-scenes callback to how Krusty was originally modeled to essentially be Homer with clown make-up. As Matt Groening put it, it was ironic that Bart idolized a man who looked so much like his father, whom he holds in contempt. The Homer-Krusty model is great, with the only differences being Homer has no tuft on the top of his head, and his nose is painted red rather than having a fake nose. I also like how Homer actually gained some skills at college, doing a squirt flower bank shot to spray Lisa and Bart at the same time (he sheepishly takes a compliment, “It was my major.”)
– The first act break is hilarious, with Krusty gleefully smacking his hand-buzzer all over a wailing Homer.
– Oh God… the Krusty Burglar scene is one of the best scenes in the whole series. I love how seriously Homer takes it (“Oh my God! He’s stealing all the burgers!”) and how viciously he beats the shit out of the midget actor (last seen as fake Lisa in “Burns’ Heir.”) Then of course we have the crying child (“Stop it! He’s already dead!”) and the horrified crowd clapping awkwardly as the poor actor lies down in horrible pain (“Please look at my Medic Alert bracelet…”)
– Homer arrives to Milhouse’s birthday party, and whether this was part of his entrance or not, I don’t know, but his car skids on the lawn and crashes into a tree. Then after a second, he crashes through the windshield and greets the children. I like how his act consists of balloon animals, and tiredly dancing like a buffoon as kids throw things at him.
– What a good sport Dick Cavett is, especially since they made him look like a pathetic asshole fame-leech (“Let’s walk and talk. I have some wonderful stories about other famous people that include me in some way.”)
– Another great Springfield product: Gigantic Asses Magazine. You’ll never guess what’s on the cover.
– Classic classic bit of Krusty betting against the Harlem Globetrotters and watching the game devastated (“That game was fixed! They were using a freakin’ ladder, for God’s sake!”) And another quick joke about the fate of the clown college, now under Fat Tony’s ownership (“Kids have a lot of money these days. So after you finish your performance, you might consider robbing them.”)
– The car salesman is a pretty cool and collected customer. He doesn’t even skip a beat once the car is shot at and Homer asks what the holes are (“These are speed holes. They make the car go faster.”) Then the hood becomes riddled with bullet holes and the windshield shatters (“You want my advice? I think you should buy this car.”) Then later there’s the great scene of Ned getting shot twice, first saved by the Bible close to his heart, then a piece of the true cross. Then Homer’s pick axe is hit. Luckily for him, Fat Tony’s men weren’t the most prepared for this assassination (“I told you we should have bought more than three bullets. Let’s just grab him!”)
– I like Homer’s thought process of coming up with fake names for the mob. He first sells out his best friend Barney, then throws out Joe Valachi, who I’m sure he doesn’t know, the worst name he could have picked at random, and then Benedict Arnold, a similarly bad choice.
– More great direction in the build-up for Homer doing the trick where it seems he’s actually going to make it. We see it from Homer’s POV as Vittorio, Tony and the goons look on excited as he goes upside-down… then disappointment as he goes back down the same way and fails. The drawing of Homer flat on his ass is pretty funny too.

(originally aired February 5, 1995)
Y’know, after doing so many of these write-ups, some episodes you just kinda get stuck on what to say about them. This is a spectacular episode full of lots of great character bits, memorable set pieces and a satisfying, heartwarming ending, but I don’t have much to report on besides that. I’m sure I’ll come up with something, though. For how silly this episode can get, it’s very economical, where all the events lead you through the story and pay off in the end. We open with Bart’s brilliant balloon prank, which results in his punishment to help Skinner in his early morning astronomy. The balloon returns to distract Skinner as Bart observes a comet by happenstance and gets the credit. Then at the very end, the comet shoots through the balloon coming into the atmosphere, closing the book on Skinner’s public humiliation… for now.

This episode is also a great look at mob mentality, which is a common theme in this show. A whole mass of Springfield residents arrive at the door of Ned Flanders’s bunker, wielding weapons hoping to get in, but they quickly disperse and apologize when Ned tells them they’re full. Ned thinks better and allows them all in, which leads to the hilarious image of all the townspeople stuffed in a small space, a visual that works wonders. Not only are there small jokes within (Waldo appears briefly, the bottom right with Nelson having Milhouse in a headlock), it’s interesting direction dealing with so many characters in a confined space. Anyway, Homer vindictively casts Ned out to save the rest, which Ned does so willingly of course. Then no sooner after does Homer decry everyone else for the decision he himself proposed (“I’m surprised and disgusted by all of you, especially his children!”) He goes out to join Ned, and the rest of the crowd is soon to follow. Springfield mobs are usually easy to sway, and when they shift focus, they go all out, regardless of any kind of sense (Moe is next to leave: “Hey Homer, wait up, I wanna die too!”)

Umm… ahhm… we see more general incompetence on behalf of local and national leaders. The Quimby-sanctioned plan to stop the comet is to send a missile to blow it up before it gets too close to the planet. The people of Springfield are easily mollified by this, thinking the plan sounds like dynamite. It can’t fail! They walk outside after the town hall meeting, take a look at the menacing comet in the sky, and they just laugh. And then they gather outside at night to watch the comet get destroyed like it’s some kind of fireworks display. It’s all a show, until shit gets real when the missile ends up blowing up the only bridge out of town. Later we see such ineptitude in a higher scale when a bill to evacuate Springfield on the floor of Congress is about to go through, until it is hastily paired with an unorthodox rider: $30 million of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts. The Springfield-slash-pervert bill is instantly defeated (Kent Brockman muses, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: democracy simply doesn’t work.”) Sorry if this review feels kind of half-assed. Some episodes I kinda get stuck on, and while this is a really really great episode, I haven’t much to say about in on a whole. I’ll do better next time, I promise.

Tidbits and Quotes
– Skinner proudly closes science week with the launch of a weather balloon, which Bart seems suspiciously excited about (“‘Hurrah for science, woo’? I can’t say I approve of the ‘woo,’ but the ‘hurrah’ was quite heartening.”) The incredulous repeating of Bart’s excited words is hilarious. Harry Shearer is fantastic in this episode as Skinner, his passion for his amateur astronomy, his deep-imbedded hatred for his rival principal, and his feeble attempts to make things go his way, which always go wrong.
– The big butt Skinner balloon is such a fantastic design. It’s so fantastic, it’s something that really Bart should be praised for making something that creative and elaborate.
– I love the DJ alarm on Bart’s clock at 4 am (“Top of the hour, time for the morning news. But of course, there is no news yet. Everyone’s still asleep in their comfy, comfy beds. Good night, everybody.”)
– I could listen to Skinner read out findings all day. I love after the time lapse he’s still just as eager to read out the coordinates… but it still leads to nothing.
– Great, great line when Skinner manages to capture the balloon (“Got you, my rumpy doppelganger!”) And hilarious act break with a gut punch to Skinner: Bart steals his discovery, which causes him to let go of the balloon, then the paper boy makes his deliver, with headline “Prez Says: School Is For Losers.”
– Lots of great stuff at the town hall meeting, from Quimby’s opening statement (“Fellow citizens, when I learned about the impending crisis, I caught the very next plane to Springfeld… field”), to both the slideshow rendering and Frink’s model demonstration both resulting in Moe’s being singled out as destroyed (both accompanied by Moe reacting, “Oh… dear God, no!”)
– Great quick joke that the armory rocker is labeled, “Aim Away From Face.”
– The news report at the start of act three has some great lines, starting with Kent (“And, like Icarus, the rocket foolishly soared too high, and lost control of its servo guidance mechanism, leaving us with some six hours to live,”) Arnie Pye reporting on cars lunging over the destroyed bridge out of town (“It’s a silent testament to the never-give-up and never-think- things-out spirit of our citizens,”) and finally, Kent’s last-ditch revelation (“The following people are gay,”) a list that consists of a majority of the Simpsons staff.
– The ending with everyone coming together singing “Que Sera” is pretty sweet, and the harrowing fact that the only thing the comet destroys is the bomb shelter. And of course the very end is great with the shocking realization that Homer was right all along that the comet would break up to be no larger than a chihuahua’s head, and to further push that point, it lands right next to one of the tiny dogs just for scale’s sake.