New Kids on the Blecch (S12, E14-262)

"Don't mind us, we're just ruining this already average episode!"
They didn't actually say but were probably thinking.

Plot Summary
Feeling inspired from watching an Olympics story, Homer decides to run in the Springfield marathon.  He doesn't do all that bad in it, relatively, but Bart decides to join the race at the finish line, disguised as an Italian.  His ruse lasts long enough for him to claim the trophy, yet not long enough for him to leave, as his cover is blown.  A stranger helps Bart escape the incoming mob.  The stranger, L.T. Smash, takes Bart home and, once there, offers Homer and Marge the chance to have Bart become a member of a boy band, boy bands being popular at the time.

Bart, the designated "bad boy" of the group, joins a band consisting of himself, Milhouse, Nelson and Ralph, calling themselves the "Party Posse".  As the four of them sing terribly, Smash uses a voice enhancing machine to make them sound much better, also much older.  Soon enough, the boys become a smash, even garnering the praise of fellow boy band N'Sync, who were popular at the time.  A music video featuring Party Posse makes its way to TV, but Lisa finds a particular part of the video odd: it features a trio of scantily clad women chanting the phrase "YVAN EHT NIOJ".  Ever the suspicious one, Lisa investigates further and finds two things: that phrase backwards is "join the navy", and a recruitment poster flashes on the screen for a split second.  Lisa comes to the conclusion that Bart's band is being used to display subliminal messages for the purposes of recruitment.

Lisa tries to talk to L.T. Smash about this, but realizes that he is part of the Navy himself: Lt. L.T. Smash.  Undeterred by Lisa's knowledge of the subliminal boy band plan, Smash hosts a Party Posse concert on an aircraft carrier.  During the concert, Smash learns from a superior that the operation is to be halted, because Party Posse is about to be parodied by Mad Magazine, and their recruiting power will become insignificant.  His dream of a fighting force to defeat a hippie-infested future dying, Smash gains control of the carrier, taking it to New York to destroy Mad's house of operations.  Party Posse, still on the carrier, try to figure out some way to stop Smash.  N'Sync arrives just in time to help, but they and Party Posse bicker on what to actually do, and Smash fires at Mad's building, destroying it though everyone inside is just fine.  Smash is arrested, Party Posse is done, and N'Sync reminds the audience that the Navy is juuuust fine.

Quick Review
This was not a good episode.  N'Sync's appearance and subsequent "jokes" were just terrible, a lot of it was just finding ways to get all five members to throw in some kind of line, and their entry dance was cringe-worthy.  The boy band plot wasn't doing the episode any favors either, and the revelation that it was a Navy conspiracy plot didn't help it much either.  This was just an awful episode all round.  Its not the worst episode of all time, but it is close.

Final Score: 4.4