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| "Come on, boy, give your old man a little credit.", he says just before this moment. |
News of an oil tanker spill on 'Baby Seal Coast' appears on TV, and seeing celebrities clean off animals inspires Lisa. She convinces Marge to drive 400 miles to help out, leaving Bart and Homer alone to themselves for a week. As Marge and Lisa have their own difficulties, with the celebrities having 'claimed' the animals and there's nothing left to clean but rocks, Homer and Bart lazy it up for awhile, but Bart finally decides to get some fresh air and go to the park. There, Milhouse is carefully flying a model airplane, but Nelson grabs it and flies it into the roof of a large, fenced house. The kids are scared of the house due some myth or another, but fearless Bart climbs a tree and quickly retrieves the plane. While showboating, Bart slips, knocking over a gargoyle, and falls into the bushes, where he is met by the owner of the house.
She takes Bart back home, and tells Homer she won't press charges if Homer punishes him. Though Homer is reluctant to do so, the idea of the woman coming back to tell Marge changes Homer's mind quickly. Trying to do "what Marge would do", Homer then insists on having Bart do chores for the woman, Belle, at the house. Bart then learns that the house is actually a burlesque house, and is happy to help out. Homer later learns of the house when picking Bart up late, and is too intrigued with the house to do anything regarding Bart. Later, Principal Skinner sees Bart on his visit, and quickly gets the church brigade (Reverend Lovejoy, Ned Flanders and their wives) on the investigation. Homer insists that Bart continue working there, just as Marge returns from a rather unsuccessful cleaning voyage.
Marge learns of and is disgusted by the burlesque house, and meets with Belle in the hopes of having her leave. That falls through, so Marge decides to take action. In the next town meeting, she and the church brigade confront the town over the house, shaming everyone by showing pictures of various townsfolk visiting the house, including the mayor. Panicked, the town hastily agrees to form a mob to destroy the house. Homer is able to save the house by leading a song that convinces everyone, including the church brigade, that the house is as part of Springfield as anything else, and is its heart and soul. Of course, Marge isn't around to hear it, she returns having rented a bulldozer but only afterwards. She tries to get people back on her side with a song of her own, but before she can really get started, she accidentally drives the bulldozer into the house. With everyone mad at her now, she makes it up the only way she can: doing a ventriloquist act at the house.
Quick Review
This ends up being one of Season 8's better episodes. A lot of the jokes around the burlesque house, and the people who don't want to admit to being there, were really good as was Homer's 'parenting' early on. The "We put the 'Spring' in Springfield" song is a classic, and boosted this episode's score as well.
Final Score: 9.5
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