(originally aired September 30, 1993)
There aren’t many shows are multi-layered as The Simpsons. That’s why it manages to entertain all age groups. This is an episode that is basically one big Beatles parody, but as a kid, I was still able to enjoy it on a story and character level, with the references still being humorous because they weren’t overt and didn’t stand out from the flow of the plot. The idea of the barbershop quartet mirroring the career of the Fab Four is interesting, and the writers certainly took the ball and ran with it, but while a lesser show (or modern Simpsons) would blatantly hit you over the head with it, here it’s done with a bit more tact. Even when the winks and nods get very familiar, like Barney coming in with a Yoko Ono-type, they’re still funny. “Number 8” was funny to me then, and now it’s even funnier that I know of “Revolution No. 9.” The point is that even in a reference-heavy episode, classic Simpsons still has a resonance even if the culture is beyond your years.

At the local swap meet (home to a series of great gags), Bart and Lisa discover a record with their father’s face on it. Homer recounts the great tale of his past, when he, Apu, Skinner, and Chief Wiggum were part of a barbershop quartet. They were relatively small-time before an agent offers to represent them, in exchange for booting Wiggum out for Barney, who is revealed to have a gorgeous singing voice. Barbershop music seems like a peculiar choice, but it’s all part of the joke (Homer recounts: “Rock and roll had become stagnant, ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ was seven years away; something had to fill the void. That something was barbershop,”) and plus a vocal harmony group makes more sense than them playing instruments. It also gave us “Baby on Board,” one of the greatest songs of the entire series. It quickly becomes the band’s first #1 hit, and their launch to super stardom had begun, from winning a Grammy to meeting George Harrison (though Homer is more interested in the brownie he’s eating.)

Even throughout the music parodies, the episode still manages to sprinkle an emotional element in with Homer’s growing disconnect from his family whilst on a world tour. You even feel a little bad for Wiggum, the Pete Best of the group, in his desperate attempts to rejoin. The episode ends on a sweet note as the Be Sharps reunite on the rooftop of Moe’s where it all began to belt out “Baby on Board” one more time (George Harrison, acknowledging the reference, dismissively comments, “It’s been done.”) It’s a swell episode even with its reference-heavy, ridiculous plot. There’s a great scene where Bart and Lisa question the loose ends of the story, and Homer chuckles them off, saying he’ll save them for another episode… I mean, night. It expands the backstory of the show, its characters and its whole crazy world, and gave us one of the greatest Beatles TV parodies ever. That and the Powerpuff Girls episode “Meet the Beat-Alls,” an exercise to see how many Beatles references could be jammed in 11 minutes. But that’s for another blog.

Tidbits and Quotes
– The swap meet is yet another amazing Simpsons set piece full of great bits: Quimby’s utter contempt about being there (“Human roaches, feeding off each others’ garbage! The only thing you can’t buy here is dignity,”) Bart, Milhouse and Nelson’s enthusiasm about Ned’s religious trading cards (until they realize they’re learning), Skinner’s nostalgic reverie in finding his old Vietnam prison helmet, and Homer tossing off various valuable historical artifacts as junk (“Stradi-who-vious?”)
– The Dapper Dans, most famous for performing on Main Street at Disneyland, provide most of the vocals for the Be Sharps’s songs. Way back when I went on vacation to the West and went to Disneyland, I was hoping they’d be there and I could request they sing “Baby on Board.” Alas, they were nowhere to be found.
– I like Nigel changing Apu’s last name to “de Beaumarchais,” shortening it to fit on a marquee, when it’s really not much shorter than “Nahasapeemapetilion.” Also Apu’s response is classic (“That is a great dishonor to my ancestors and my god, but okay!”)
– I love just how quick the mob Wiggum gathers together ends up turning on him. A mere ten seconds into the band’s first number with Barney, they are immediately swayed, and apparently have prepared signs that praise Barney and defame Wiggum, as the chief sheepishly leaves the bar. We also get the first “Huh?!” from Moe, which is sorta kinda his catchphrase.
– I’m really surprised they could get away with showing a bong on TV, let alone Homer identifying it as such.
– I love Homer’s first attempt writing a big song involves just recalling things he saw on TV (“There was nothing in Al Capone’s vault, but it wasn’t Geraldo’s fault...“) I also love the quick line Marge gives regarding the ‘Baby on Board’ sign (“Now people will stop intentionally ramming our car!”) which is one of those great bits of dialogue that says a lot in a little.
– The press conference in New York is a trifecta of perfect jokes: Apu’s defense of accusations that he is Hindu, Skinner confirming he’s the funny one of the group, and Barney revealing he was found on the men’s room floor (complete with a single tear as the reporters laugh uproariously at his “joke.”)
– I never really got the continual Grammy bashing on this show. They ridicule most award shows for being superfluous, but the Grammys has gotten considerable scorn over the years. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the few awards the show hasn’t won.
– I love that ALF is on the cover of the latest TV Guide, and Skinner’s grim announcement that on the “What’s Hot and What’s Hot,” the Be Sharps are “not.”

(originally aired May 13, 1993)
So we reach the star-studded conclusion of our fourth season. Even with all of the guest stars this episode has, each one is highlighted and given a standout moment, contrasted with what wastes of time celebrity appearances would turn into. But before that, we’re introduced to the phenomenon that is Gabbo, the precocious ventriloquist dummy act that usurps Krusty’s spotlight. The massive media hype leading up to this electric new show is not let down at all when it finally airs: Gabbo is pretty damn impressive. He appears to be a traditional puppet, but has his own song-and-dance routine. There are also scenes where Gabbo and his handler Arthur Crandall exchange bits of dialogue while they’re not performing, implying that Arthur may have some kind of personality disorder. I’d like to watch a show that exclusively dealt with his personal mania.

Anyway, Krusty is unable to deal with the dummy’s wave of fame and his show ends up cancelled, and eventually he himself goes destitute. Bart and Lisa assist their hero in his time of need, and noticing framed photos of Krusty’s showbiz friends on his wall, they suggest he do a spectacular comeback show to reignite his star power. The glut of celebrity guest stars works as a mimicry of similar gala TV events, but also because each one is given their time to shine. Who could forget Bette Midler’s accosting cars of littering drivers on the freeway? Or Johnny Carson lifting a Buick over his head? Or Flea’s overenthusiastic “HEY MOE!!” As I mentioned, the episode dances around celebrity overload, but provides enough classic moments to keep it at bay. Also, once again, what kind of show is Krusty putting on? He’s a children’s performer who opens with an emotional rendition of “Send in the Clowns” (wonderful, by the way) and has Hugh Hefner and Playboy bunnies on his show. But whatever, it’s a big hit, and Krusty is restored to glory.

The episode’s rather trim storyline is helped with plenty of laughs. Itchy & Scratchy’s Eastern European replacement Worker & Parasite is absolutely amazing, a spot-on parody of bizarre foreign experimental animation. Krusty’s dumb-founded expression at its conclusion is hilarious. As is the appearance of Crazy Old Man (who now is Old Jewish Man, because I guess the joke was too subtle for modern Simpsons). His “Old Grey Mare” routine is a hilarious response to Krusty’s “Will Drop Pants For Food” sign, then comes back in a fantastic act break where he apparently got his own TV special in a matter of minutes. This is another one of those episodes where the story is nothing to write home about, but the fantastic use of gags and other funny bits makes it a memorable and classic outing.

Tidbits and Quotes
– The epic build-up for Gabbo is great manipulative marketing. Bart smells blood in the water once the mystery is uncovered (“That cute little character could take America by storm. All he needs is a hook.”) Gabbo proceeds to spout his catchphrase (“I’m a bad wittle boy”) and Bart responds with his own (“Aye carumba!”)
– Gabbo’s dancing during his musical number is wonderfully animated, again illustrating that this is one insanely sophisticated puppet. Who also does a tremendous imitation of Vin Scully. And travel back in time. I suppose that’s the doing of clever video editing… or is it?
– I love Krusty’s perverse joy in “slaughtering” the Special Olympics in the ratings.
– Krusty’s attempts to win back his audience are great: he tries his own ventriloquist act (with a giant prop mustache to disguise his poor lip sync), but the dummy is so shoddy, it very quickly falls apart and scars children for life. His next attempt also fails (“Every time you watch my show, I will send you forty dollars!” Followed by a quick voice-over, “Checks will not be honored.”)
– Quimby goes beyond sleazy to criminal in admitting to having his political enemies murdered, but gets away with it by parroting Gabbo’s precocious catchphrase. Next day’s paper has a sub-headline that more bodies surfaced in Springfield Harbor, but that’s not as important as Gabbo news.
– Gabbo’s crank call to Krusty is a great segment right off the bat (“Is this the callback for that porno film? Look, I was a little nervous that day, but I’m all man. I can assure you.”) Why anyone would want to see an old grotesque clown in porn is beyond me, but hey, people got all kinds of fetishes. I also love Krusty’s over-enthusiastically racist “WOAH! ME RIKEY VERY MUCH!” Sort of foreshadows his giant teeth and dickey bit from many seasons later.
– Gabbo is unstoppable, even after on-air calling children S.O.B.s. He’s saved by Kent Brockman doing the same, but he’s almost immediately fired for his blunder on his own show.
– I never really understood the Elizabeth Taylor segments. I suppose that’s some kind of inside joke about her turning down projects… I think? I guess the writers felt they couldn’t just blow their opportunity actually booking Taylor to have her say just one word in “Lisa’s First Word,” just like they re-used Barry White in the opening of this episode.
– I love Sideshow Mel’s quiet dignity in his fast food uniform at his cushy job at the Gulp-N-Blow. Mel is such an underrated character, similar to Sideshow Bob in that they’re clearly very intelligent thespians stuck in undermining jobs, but Mel seems more pleased with his position and handles himself with a modicum of respect. His reunion with Krusty at the start of his comeback special is unusually touching.

Season 4 Final Thoughts
I can’t say for certain until I rewatch next season, but season 4 feels like the bridge between 3 and 5. Dumb statement, of course it is, but I’ll explain. The Simpsons began as a traditional sitcom, very grounded and realistic to a point, but also very progressive in its content. The first three seasons never really pushed things too far in terms of wacky cartoonish content. My memories of season 5, and most of 6 too, are really off-the-wall. Latter classic Simpsons is a bit more unhinged and ridiculous, with lots of silly gags and concepts, but still made palatable by the foundations of the characters, and its fair share of emotional moments. Season 4 is the lead-up to this: we’ve seen in numerous instances with crazy stories (“Marge vs. the Monorail”) and other bizarre gags (the giant spider, Lisa’s acid trip) that the show is going to this weird place. But the balance isn’t there yet. Season 4 has a lot of fantastic episodes and great moments, but as a whole, doesn’t feel as cohesive as season 2 or 3. The show will continue to evolve, but into something just as astounding. I still salute you, season 4. Thanks for the funny. I’ll be back this weekend, roaring and ready to go for season 5.

The Best
“A Streetcar Named Marge,” “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie,” “Lisa’s First Word,” “Homer’s Triple Bypass,” “I Love Lisa”

The Worst
“Marge Gets A Job” and “Brother From the Same Planet” stand out, only in that they don’t really stand out.

(originally aired May 6, 1993)
By the end of a long production season, the writers must be running on fumes and going a bit mental. I’ve noticed with other shows, and with my own work as well, when you’re at the tail end, you get a bit wackier and more impulsive, producing some unusual, but sometimes great stuff. “Marge in Chains” is a very silly episode. Not silly in the ways of “Marge vs. the Monorail,” but in a more grounded sense. Marge going to prison for petty shoplifting is a pretty easy summarization for this episode, but it doesn’t account for the ridiculousness that exists around that story, from the visible and vindictive flu clouds at the beginning to the really stupid, but hysterical ending.

We open with another great infomercial tag team with Troy McClure and Dr. Nick, but an ill factory worker from Osaka, Japan causes a nasty flu that invades Springfield. Marge is seemingly immune, but has her hands full with the demands of her sick husband and kids. Run ragged, she leaves the Kwik-E-Mart accidentally not paying for a bottle of bourbon and an unusually vindictive Apu presses charges. I guess my only gripe with the episode is how petty Apu appears to be in persecuting Marge. At this point in the series, he wasn’t quite family friends with the Simpsons, but he at least acknowledged Homer as one of his best customers. However, hearing Apu say to Homer’s face that he’s going to “put this bitch on ice” is a pretty extraordinary moment. After a spectacular legal battle (one of Lionel Hutz’s best, if not the best), Marge is sentenced to thirty days in prison. The payoff of a Springfield-less Marge is absolutely ridiculous: without her lemon squares, a local bake-off is out an expected fifteen dollars. Unable to buy a statue of Lincoln, they settle on Jimmy Carter (with the amazing “Malaise Forever” placard,) leaving the town to violently riot.

As insane as the ending is, there’s a running theme of mob rule and the evils of gossip throughout the episode. A frantic, inattentive mob desperately looks to Dr. Hibbert for a cure for the flu, only to go mad and knock over a truck carrying boxes of bees (one even eats one: “I’m cured! I mean, ouch!”) In the main story, hearsay spreads through the town regarding Marge’s crime, from the highest rung of society in Mayor Quimby’s soapbox proclamation to town busybody Helen Lovejoy. Spectacle always seems to overshadow fact, and it’s sort of a subtle message to the episode, and gives some explanation for Marge’s conviction. The final mob scene responding to the Carter statue is one of the wildest in the series; they get so infuriated so quickly by the unveiling (the best line of the show is from one particularly irate crowd member: “He’s history’s greatest monster!”) The scene moves so quickly; in ten seconds, they’re using the statue to smash store windows, fires are started, and chaos ensues. It’s absolutely nuts, but hey, that’s Springfield for you. Truly an underrated episode.

Tidbits and Quotes
– I’ll be honest, not one of the best infomercials. I think they pushed it too far by only having the machine produce one droplet of juice from a bag of oranges; I don’t think even Homer could overlook something like that. But the add-on product is great: Sun-and-Run, the suntan lotion that doubles as a laxative. McClure, having just applied it to his face, dashes off-camera upon hearing this.
– The visible flu germs are pretty silly, almost like out of a Halloween show. I do like the POV shot of the germ pursuing Wiggum, who attempts to open fire at the illness, and then later the POV of Arnie Pye’s vomit falling from the sky onto an unfortunate suntanning Otto.
– “Germs of Endearment” is one of my favorite Itchy & Scratchys. Jumping out the window, Scratchy manages to cram his internal organs back in his body, in a reverse manner with the brick still tied to them. Of course, that makes things okay… until he lands on a cactus. The spikes piercing both his pupils is pretty gruesome.
– Great line from Grampa demanding Marge get him bourbon (“Stir it into my mush! Either way, just gimme gimme gimme!”)
– I like that Apu felt the need to get Marge’s height (8 1/2 feet with her hair). What other woman is going to have a three-foot beehive of blue hair?
– Great Psycho parody of Maude peering in on Marge using her bathroom.
– Hutz’s genius is all over this one: the smoking monkey, his dread over Judge Snyder, his vision of a world without lawyers, his attempt to intercede the jury’s verdict with his own (“This verdict is written on a cocktail napkin! And it still says ‘guilty’! And ‘guilty’ is spelled wrong!”) The best scene is his attempting to discredit Apu’s memory by asking him what tie he’s wearing, and his lengthened stall as he attempts to remove it. His tie-less reveal shocks the jury, even though they must have seen Hutz removing it.
– Before being escorted to jail, we get a ridiculous fantasy of a crossdressing Bart seducing the warden to get his keys, and a sweet goodbye from Homer (“I’m going to miss you so much. And it’s not just the sex. It’s also the food preparation, your skill with stains of all kinds, but mostly I’ll miss how lucky I feel each and every morning.”)
– There’s a great winking line from Lisa commenting that she feels like she’s been wearing the same red dress forever. Homer recommends she check the attic, as he walks down with full wedding regalia, clearly Marge’s from the rips and tears to fit his frame. He even put on the garter, and daintily lifts his skirt as he walks down the stairs. It’s obvious that he just wanted to wear the dress.
– I kind of wish the Carter statue with Marge hair had become a staple item like the Olmec head, where it would pop up every now and again in the background. Alas, it’s never been seen again.

(originally aired April 29, 1993)
Whacking Day is one of those classic, long-staying Simpsons hallmarks. Mention it to even a casual fan and they’ll be able to tell you all about the questionable Springfield holiday. This is because it’s a brilliant concept, this satire of out-dated, almost barbaric local events continued to present day for the sake of remembering one’s history (the similarly themed “Weird Al” Yankovic song “Weasel Stomping Day” nails it with the perfect lyric: It’s tradition, that makes it okay.) However, as great an idea as this is, it doesn’t quite fill a whole episode. The holiday isn’t even brought up until the second act, where we have our main story of Bart being expelled and later home-schooled. I find the best episodes are the ones that are extremely focused, where everything in the entire twenty-two minutes, even if it’s an outlandish gag, is still related to the one story. Episodes like these may not reach those ranks, but are still solid stories and hilarious enough to justify themselves.

Our first act features the introduction of Superintendent Chalmers, a man even more no-nonsense than Skinner, who here is a scrambling wreck attempting to suck as much ass as he can to his superior and sweep all the troubled elements of his school under the rug, namely Bart and the other bullies. The interplay between Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria as these characters is stellar; we may not have “SKINNER!!” yet, but there’s no doubt that this is a fantastic relationship from scene one, seeing that Bart’s tormentor has one of his own. Speaking of, Bart wrecks everything, of course, and a livid Skinner expels him, leading him to become home schooled by Marge. This really takes up most of the second act, and around it are preparations for Whacking Day. We get a little bit of the history of the fabled event, and Lisa’s ever growing concerns about the ethical nature of pummeling innocent creatures to death en masse. There’s plenty of great material to be had, from Homer’s use of a long whacking stick to really excite his wife to Reverend Lovejoy bullshitting a Bible verse in a feeble attempt at justifying the holiday.

Despite my earlier criticisms, the two stories do come to a head in a manner that makes sense. Homeschooling makes Bart more studious, and through most of the second half he’s seen with his head in a book. Visiting Ye Olde Springfield, he questions the factual accuracy of Jebediah Springfield participating in the very first Whacking Day. At the climax, he manages to come up with a clever plan to lure the snakes to safety and reveals to an angry mob the sham the holiday truly is. Skinner is impressed by the applied knowledge and invites Bart back to school. It all works pretty well, and is a satisfying weaving of the two plots. They also have pretty great use of their special guest star, with Barry White’s deep bass saving the day. It turns into a bit of a music video, but hey, who can complain? Ohhhhhh baby.

Tidbits and Quotes
– The density of the deceived bullies is great, they just can’t comprehend that they’re not getting mountain bikes. Also, a small point, the shot of Skinner jumping down from high in the utility room and locking the boys in is pretty dynamic, sort of from down below but with a little skewed perspective. Classic Simpsons really had some interesting direction, something that has mostly evaporated nowadays.
– The Skinner/Chalmers scenes are just hilarious, with all of Skinner’s plans immediately backfiring. Highlighting the fawning banners, Chalmers dryly responds, “Nothing but transparent toadying.” Skinner backpedals without skipping a beat, “It was the children’s idea. I tried to stop them.” Also great is his much-too-prolonged laugh over Chalmers’s “not made of stone” quip and his cover of Ralph’s “What’s a battle?” (“So you hear ‘r’s as ‘b’s?”)
– I love positing about the lives of less-than-one-shot characters: what happened to the comely Scottish lass Willie assists? I’m sure he banged her. Then dumped her. Big Willie style.
– The tractor’s tempting of Bart, with the red tonal shift, is pretty neat, with the great chicken joke (“He’s insulting both of us!”) and a decent act break joke.
– Two great coming attractions for Eye on Springfield: The Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz, where are they now? (a cemetery) and a nudist colony… for animals!
– I love the delayed reaction by Homer to Bart being expelled, and his indigence over his son becoming a cockney boot black.
– Gotta show some love for the Evil Homer scene, but the flashback crown has got to go to Abe’s WWII story, in one of the greatest, most disturbing flashbacks in series history. I crack up at Hitler’s outrage every time (“Das is nicht eine booby!”)
– Great Itchy & Scratchy, guest directed by Oliver Stone, recreating the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. I love the dramatic music and “Oh God!” immediately juxtaposed by the bouncy I&S outro music.
– Fantastic animation of Homer’s Whacking Day training, as well as some more dynamic direction, particularly the close-up shot of his mouth screaming a war cry.
– Olde Springfield Towne has a lot of great bits, like the auditions for village idiot and the story behind Fort Sensible. Marge and Bart being escorted out by security is good, but was done better in “Homer Alone.”
– Again, Barry White is fantastic. With that voice, I could listen to him for days. I love his shocked reaction about hearing exactly what the hell he’s actually in Springfield for (“Oh God, no. You people make me sick!”)
– Miss Springfield’s “Gentlemen, start your whacking!” has got to be the second dirtiest joke of the entire series, following the sperm bank sign in “Selma’s Choice.” Prove me wrong, seasons 5+.
– I love the stereotypical Irishman, who’s popped up a few times since, who appears to be in good spirits about Whacking Day’s Irish-bashing origins (“‘Tis true. I took many a lump, but ’twas all in good fun!”)
– Quimby has a great running bit of having his aide prepare pre-whacked snakes, only to hold them in triumph immediately after the masses have turned their opinions. Quimby is outraged (“I’m sick of you people! You’re nothing but a pack of fickle mush heads!”) Surprisingly, the crowd agrees (“Give us hell, Quimby!”)

(originally aired April 15, 1993)
Not every episode needs to feature a rich, focused storyline. Here, we have two smaller scale plots running side-by-side, with nothing too extraordinary or grandiose at stake. And you know what? I still loved it. It’s almost like they’re two mini-episodes, depicting bizarre days-of-the-lives of the characters, all topped off with the fantastic “The Adventures of Ned Flanders” at the end. I always thought this show could retain its freshness with doing smaller scale stories, sometimes involving secondary characters, instead of always feeling the need to go big and brash with wacky set pieces and action sequences. Clearly the writers went the other way, though. I think the whole series could have benefited with a few episodes like this a season.

Plot the first: Bart and Lisa moonlight as Itchy & Scratchy writers under Abe Simpson’s alias. We get some great meta humor in seeing depictions of the staff writers, the “How to Write Cartoons” book by John Swartzwelder, and animation jokes about repeating backgrounds. It all comes to a head in a finale at an award show where Grampa has been nominated. We see how scathing and sharp this show can be in the matter of seconds: the “How to Buy Action Figure Man” clip, which is all of four seconds, exquisitely encapsulates all the merchandise-driven 80s cartoons and how crappy they were. Then they take a well-deserved shot at Rea & Stimpy creator John K for never finishing his goddamn work on time. Plot the second: Homer and Marge attend their high school reunion, where Homer is exposed for not having actually graduated, leading him to take a night class to get his GED. There’s lots of great stuff at the reunion with the perfect class clown type and Homer’s various trophies. The night class stuff is a bit thin, but what we see of it works, and the joke of Homer never having passed remedial science, yet he’s still a nuclear technician is enough fuel to get us through.

I really want to talk about the Ned Flanders thing at the end. Its origins were that this episode was too short and they needed something to fill thirty seconds, so they whipped this short together, sort of parodying the quick single page Archie comics that bookend the actual stories. I absolutely love it, it’s one of the best things the series has ever done. As I mentioned above, it shows how genius and impacting the series can be in such little time. The chorus singers, the title card, the classic set-up and punch, and the outro; so succinct, quick and perfect. I only wish we’d have seen more stuff like this, little skits from different characters serving as outros. But maybe it’s for the best that “Everyone Loves Ned Flanders” is one-of-a-kind; it makes it that much more special.

Tidbits and Quotes
– I love how angry Krusty gets at his special guest chef bringing up his heritage (“I don’t do the Jewish stuff on the air!”) Guess he’s gone right back to stereotypical self-loathing after his tearful on-air reconciliation with his rabbi father.
– The lackluster Itchy & Scratchy at the start is great. Shearer’s “Ow”s and Castellaneta’s Itchy giggling really make me laugh, as does their on-point, direct into the camera anti-drug message as their big finish.
– Bart’s fantasy of hijacking Santa’s sleigh at gunpoint is one of the more disturbing, but hilarious dream sequences of the series. And that includes the later one in the episode of Grampa as a beautiful belle in the old west.
– I love Bart & Lisa’s internal logic regarding rock-paper-scissors; my friend and I mimicked this basically every time we or some other friends of ours had a face-off.
– When Bart asks Grampa what his first name is, Abe’s knee-jerk reaction is perfect (“You’re making my tombstone?!”)
– Not quite sure why the I&S scripts are so long. I’d imagine a typical short would fit on one script page, two tops.
– Homer mixing up his real life with Happy Days is a subtle comment on how pop culture infuses itself into our memories. It’s also really funny.
– Dan Castellaneta subs for Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff at the reunion, now a pompous rich guy. Oddly, his indecent proposal conversation to Homer later became an episode. I guess not so odd, since one of the writers probably re-watched this later on and thought, “Hey, that’s good enough for a show.”
– I love Homer’s sense of pride in winning so many unflattering awards, from Most Weight Gained (“I discovered a meal between breakfast and brunch”) and Least Distance Traveled to get to the reunion. Stripped of his winnings after being exposed for not graduating, Homer vows to regain his pride… and his Most Improved Odor trophy.
– Abe looks damn sharp in his new suit, and I love the explanation he gives Homer about his new job (“They pay me eight hundred dollars a week to tell a cat and mouse what to do!”) In reaction to this, Homer envisions carting his demented father off to the nut house.
– More Homer bartering with his brain in psyching himself for his final exam (“All right brain, you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. But let’s just get me through this, and I can get back to killing you with beer.”) His brain accepts these conditions.
– The plunger at the very end may be the longest possible callback, but I still love it, and it’s the perfect way to resolve the Homer story.