Brother from the Same Planet (S04, E14-073)

"This is even more painful than it looks."

Plot Summary
After soccer practice, Bart is forced to wait around as he promised Homer he'd wait for Homer to pick him up.  Homer, of course, forgets all about it.  Forgets it for awhile too, its not until some time later, while sleeping in the tub, when Homer finally remembers in a dream to pick Bart up.  After sitting through a rather windy rainstorm, Bart is pretty mad at Homer when Homer finally picks him up.  That night, Bart sees a commercial for a "Big Brother" program where kids with no father can have a big brother to spend time with.  Still angry at Homer, Bart decides to take advantage of the program using a fake backstory centered around having a scumbag cardshark of a father who abandoned Bart years ago.  The ploy works, and soon "Tom", a successful, life-enriching man arrives to spend time with Bart.

Homer, however, catches wind of this plot.  Confronting Bart about it, only to be met with "what are you gonna do about it?", Homer decides to take advantage of the non-profit organization as well.  He signs up as a big brother, and quickly finds a disadvantaged kid to spend time with: a poor inner-city youth named Pepi (though Homer mispronounces it as "Pepsi" once).  Homer and Bart confront each other once more after Homer gives Bart's skateboard to Pepi, after which Bart starts to feel slightly remorseful.

In a sidestory, Marge finds the phone bill to be exceedingly high, and learns its because Lisa has been calling the "Corey hotline" for $5 a minute.  Though Lisa pledges she won't have that charge on the phone bill anymore, she can't get over her addiction to the hotline, and calls it from other locales.  She tries it at the school, but when Principal Skinner catches her in the act, Marge decides to take action.  She has Lisa not call the hotline for a full day in hopes that Lisa's addiction will be cured if she takes it one day at a time.  Though Lisa struggles mightily to get through that day, she ultimately does and the story is resolved apparently.

Meanwhile, Homer & Pepi go to an aquarium that's having a "big brother" day.  Tom & Bart go to it as well, though neither pair is aware of the other initially.  After Homer has his hot dog stolen by a dolphin, he sees Bart.  As Tom, who presumes Homer to be stranger at first, takes Bart away, Homer tells him that he's Bart's father.  Believing Homer to be the drunk gambler Bart told him he was, Tom gets into a fist fight with Homer, one that goes all over the place.  Ultimately, the fight ends when Tom knocks Homer, back-first, into a fire hydrant.  Afterward, the truth is learned, and though Tom and Pepi are saddened over no longer having a companion, Bart is able to have to two become a pair themselves.  Back home, Homer's back has healed somehow and Bart decides to spend time with his father by learning how to fight dirty just like dad.

Quick Review
Season 4 just keeps rolling along with these quality episodes.  While the Lisa sidestory was mostly forgettable aside from Hibbert's and Skinner's appearances, the main storyline was excellently done.  At one point, Tom and Bart watch a Ren & Stimpy cartoon, which was alright by its own standards.  The fight at end - and its conclusion - was the best part of the episode, though, and its always great to see a happy ending in a way only the Simpsons could provide.

Final Score: 9.5