Team Homer (S07, E12-140)

Perfect?  Homer's head isn't nearly big enough!

Plot Summary
The episode starts off with what ends up being the subplot, where Bart and Milhouse buy a Mad Magazine.  Among other things, the magazine gives Bart the idea to wear a shirt to school with the phrase "down with homework" causing a mass frenzy throughout the school.  In response, Principal Skinner introduces uniforms, rather dull, gray affairs that successfully drain the life out of the students that wear them.  Soon, they lose all sense of identity and become as dull and lifeless as the uniforms themselves.  However, the uniforms aren't protected against water, and a timely rainfall washes in a rainbow of color into each uniform, reigniting the student's spirit and willpower, and causing another mass frenzy throughout the school.

Meanwhile, Homer goes to a particular empty Moe's, with Barney, Lenny and Carl all tending to "mistresses".  Homer and Moe decide to go bowling, but are not allowed to actually play because its 'league night'.  Apu is also turned down from playing, but Homer gets the idea to have the three of them become a team, and later the nearby Otto (playing a claw game endlessly) because a team needs four bowlers.  The team also needs a $500 sign up fee, which stuns Homer, who eventually decides to try and ask Mr. Burns for it.  Lucky for Homer, he catches Burns in the middle of an ether high and Burns, mistaking Homer for the Pillsbury Dough Boy, happily gives Homer the money.

Named the Pin Pals, in the team's first match Homer is able to rally the team for a late victory.  The team goes on a roll from there, setting up a championship matchup with the Holy Rollers, consisting of Ned & Maude Flanders as well as Reverend Lovejoy and his wife Helen, a team that has won the title five years in a roll.  Despite that, Homer still declares the team to be unstoppable.  Just then, Mr. Burns finds out he gave $500 for bowling during his ether high, and learns he gave it to Homer.  Upon confronting the team, Burns has a 'change of heart' and decides to join the team.  Given Burns his is boss, Homer has no choice but to let Burns join, kicking out Otto in the process.

Though Burns improves in his game, being able to get the ball all the way to the end (in the gutter) in one push, he's still terrible and the group goes on a losing streak leading up to the big match.  Moe and Apu both push Homer to kick Burns off, but on the day of the championship Burns presents the group with special Pin Pal jerseys, and the group lets him bowl in the game.  Sure enough, Burns drags the team down, but they're down by only two somehow with just Burns left to go.  After a gutter ball, Burns' second attempt is just barely able to avoid the gutter, clipping two pins on its way out.  At the same time, Otto claws onto a screw on the claw machine, causing it to fall over, the impact forcing those two pins to also fall over.  The Pin Pals win the trophy, but Burns has another 'change of heart' and takes the trophy for himself.  Regardless, the team, with Otto will still cherish that they're a team, though later attempts by the 'team' to steal the trophy back from Burns proves painful.

Quick Review
Team Homer is good episode, but a step down from the other episodes thus far in the season.  The quantity of gags and jokes were just a bit less than in other episodes for the season, but its still a high quality episode.

Final Score: 8.5