 |
| Nothing gets kids in line like promoting old stereotypes and violence! |
Bored, Bart and Milhouse decide to tie a string to a fly. The fly heads into Flanders' house via an open window, and boys go in to find its been eaten by a cat. None of the Flanderses are home, so the two decide to cause chaos inside, even finding Ned's secret Beatles tribute room, causing loads of trouble within.
Ned eventually comes home and calls the police, but doesn't file charges in hopes that the two will simply get constant adult supervision, and Marge makes it a point to follow, separating Bart from Milhouse and starting up a Springfield chapter of the "Pre-Teen Braves", some youth group. Homer is initially the head of the group, but after he fails to do a good job, Marge takes over. Under Marge, the group - which consists of Bart, Nelson, Database and Ralph - meets an actual Native American who tells them about the blight of litter, and the group decides to chip in. Before they can, however, the park they planned on cleaning is already taken care of by a rivaling youth group: the Cavalry Kids, led by Milhouse and his father. With the Girl Scouts already in control of the south side of town, the two groups realize there's not enough room left for both of them and they go to war.
Soon, a contest is announced where the youth group that sells the most cookies will be invited as honorary bat boys at an upcoming baseball game. Homer takes the reins of the group again to lead a plan to ensure the Braves' victory. They secretly inject laxatives into the candy sold by the Cavalry Kids, and at first it seems they're ruined. However, the Cavalry Kids win anyway, as their candy became a big hit with the elderly. Homer isn't finished yet, though. On the day of the baseball game, Homer diverts the Cavalry Kids away from the stadium, then has the Braves dress up as the Cavalry Kids so that they can make the Kids look bad. The real Cavalry Kids arrive just in time anyway and get into a fight with the Braves, inciting a riot. Marge can't help but cry over what's happened to everyone, which gets caught on the jumbotron. Everyone feels deep regret and sings a national anthem that promotes peace instead of violence: Canada's, giving the lesson that violence isn't the answer unless you're America.
Quick Review
Meh.
I really do just want to say meh and end it, and hell I can probably get away with it, too. Not much went right for the episode, as the Pre-Teen Braves portion really didn't do much, and that shoved-in 'hey being anti-American is funny now' bit at the very end was awkward, too. The episode was hardly ever funny.
This (maybe?) is also the first episode which really delves into the supposed saga of Nelson's missing father, last seen in Season 9, which becomes a bit of a running gag until an episode is devoted to it in Season 16.
Final Score: 6.3
No comments:
Post a Comment