Much Apu About Nothing (S07, E23-151)

"Say, lets take a relaxed attitude toward work and watch
the baseball match.  The Nye Mets are my favorite squadron."

Plot Summary
"A large, bear-like animal, most likely a bear, has wandered down from the hills in search of food, or perhaps employment."  Kent Brockman states to start the episode.  The bear is quickly tranquilized, however Homer starts up a bear panic with the neighborhood and an angry mob confronts Mayor Quimby over it.  Quimby vows to stop any and all bear intrusions from now on much to the joy of the mob.  Soon, high tech bear patrols roam Springfield, but the cost of maintaining it means taxes go up ever so slightly, again enraging the town.  Finding true leadership within himself to duck this issue, Quimby rests the blame solely on illegal immigrants, and states that a vote will be held a week from now - Proposition 24 - to determine whether to deport illegal immigrants.  The mob is again appeased, and xenophobia quickly sets in town.  Homer is apart of this, even after learning that Apu is an illegal immigrant, and has no idea what to do if 24 passes.

Later, when Marge visits Apu, he tells his story.  Having been the highest ranked graduate out of a million or so at Calcutta Technical Institute, Apu is granted a visa to continue his studies in the United States, which he does.  When his visa expired, though, Apu was unwilling to leave as he had made so many friends in Springfield, and just stayed around.  Marge decides then to vote 'no' on 24.

However, it still seems 24 will be passed easily.  Desperate for an answer, Apu sees Kearney's newest fake ID and inquires him on where he got it.  Soon, Apu makes a deal with the mob for forged documents which 'prove' Apu was born in Green Bay, and Fat Tony encourages him to act American to avoid suspicion.  However Apu is neither able or willing to keep the ruse going for long, and breaks down after Homer becomes suspicious.  Seeing Apu in tears, Homer finally decides he'll vote 'no' on 24 as well, and decides to help Apu stay in America as well.

Its suggested by Bart that Apu could stay if he married a citizen, however the one person they tried, Selma Bouvier Terwilliger Hutz (!?) McClure, didn't want to marry for once.  Then, Lisa realizes that, since Apu has been in American long enough, he can simply take the citizenship test.  However, with the test just a couple of days away, he really needs to cram.  Homer tries to teach him, but Apu remembers none of Homer's lessons, much to Apu's fortune.

Apu is able to pass the test and become an American citizen.  At a celebration, Homer encourages the crowd to vote 'no' on 24, however 24 still passes by a 95% landslide.  Still, Apu is happy he can stay in American and in fact only one person is deported following the vote: poor Groundskeeper Willie.

Quick Review
This is another one of those 'start fast, finish slow' kind of episodes.  The whole thing with the bear at the beginning was wonderfully done, and Mayor Quimby's 'leadership' was humorous as well.  Once the episode settled in on Apu and Prop 24, the jokes died down a bit but overall this episode is another strong entry for Season 7.

Final Score: 9.1