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| "Not this crap again", thinks the ol' Reverend. |
The Simpsons break their couch during their latest couch gag. Homer quickly orders a new one just like in, but in the shipping facility in Brooklyn hoards of bedbugs sneak their way into the couch. After it arrives, the family remains unaware of the bedbugs, and Bart even has a sleepover with some of his friends, setting up a fort from the couch's cushions. This allows the bedbugs to sneak into those other kids, spreading them once the kids leave the house. Soon enough, the entire town is dealing with a bedbug infestation. Seeking answers, everyone goes to church the following Sunday in desperation, but Reverend Lovejoy brings only insomnia relief. Just then, the ol' Parson shows up. He institutes a second Reverend to liven things up: Reverend Elijah Hooper who helps the congregation forget about the bedbugs by helping everyone remember good times by referencing anything and everything. It works and everyone loves Reverend Hooper, leaving Lovejoy somewhat unloved.
Eventually, the bedbugs are dealt with, and Marge gets all of the family's clothes dry cleaned, but learns in horror that her wedding dress has been mixed up with Krusty's clown suit. Quickly, Marge goes to Krusty to learn what happened, where Krusty tells her that after using the dress in a skit, he threw it out in a dumpster. Marge is left depressed, but Lisa reveals she dug into the matter further, learning that a garbage man picked the dress out of the dumpster, selling it to a local theatre company. After the company goes broke from producing a failed effort of "Mamma Mia!", the dress went on auction and was purchased by a young couple. The two meet up with the couple, who are using the dress to get unceremoniously married. Marge is happy the dress is being put to its intended use.
Revered Hooper gets to know Homer and decides to make him a Deacon, aware that if everyone sees someone like Homer get into religion, they could as well. The move stuns Lovejoy, who realizes church is no longer fit for him, and he quits. Homer embraces his new job as church Deacon, especially the parts where he can put Ned Flanders into less respectable positions. Bart is somewhat upset by this as now he can no longer team up with his father in mischief. He sees Ned similarly upset, and the two decide that Lovejoy needs to come back to return things as they were.
Lovejoy, though, has taken a liking to his new job as a hot tub salesman. Bart then realizes that he can start up a frog plague to force Hooper out. Flanders takes Bart to the police over this, so a short time later Bart brings Milhouse instead to the pond alongside bags of dead bedbugs. Using the bugs, the two are able to lure hundreds, thousands of frogs into town, causing mass panic everywhere. Just as church comes to an end, the frogs stop the congregation from leaving. Reverend Hooper tries to calm everyone down with more references, but the people aren't buying it this time. Just then, rolling in on a closed hot tub is Lovejoy, who preaches out one of his typical sermons, which is powerful enough to put the frogs to sleep, ending the threat. Hooper apparently quits, and Lovejoy is back as the only Reverend at the church, while Homer gives up his Deacon position to pull another prank with his son.
Quick Review
This ends up being an alright episode. Homer as a Deacon has its moments, as does the scenes involving the bedbugs. I wasn't particularly fond of Reverend Hooper, who was kinda like a microcosm of the show nowadays that I don't think the writers are even aware of, even after having Lenny say "enough of your references" to the guy late in the episode. The wedding dress subplot was too short to be of much worth, though, and the bits at church besides Homer were lackluster as well.
Final Score: 7.0
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