Friday, March 25, 2016

The Marge-ian Chronicles (S27, E16-590)

Lisa's never going to be a pro book cleaner with that attitude!
Plot Summary
Homer learns Flanders is raising chickens to have fresh eggs.  When he and Bart decide to steal some, they find that they taste delicious, but Flanders prevents them from stealing any more.  Homer gets his own chickens to raise to have his own fresh eggs but he's disappointed as the thrill of the theft enhanced its flavor.  Realizing he'd rather just steal Flanders' eggs again, he decides to donate his chickens to "Exploration Incorporated" a scientific institute whose sole purpose is to colonize Mars in a 10 year time frame.  Excited by the possibility, Lisa volunteers for the mission.  Given that once one goes to Mars, one can't come back, Marge forbids Lisa from doing it.

Homer, however, advises Marge to support Lisa's plan under his theory that Lisa, like all women, will eventually lose interest if she's supported along the way.  Marge does so but Lisa's interest in the Mars mission remains absolute.  Homer takes the plan one step further and has the entire family enlist in the mission as well.  Lisa catches on to Homer's ruse and realizes she just needs to be patient until everyone in the family quits.

As part of a process to select astronauts for the mission, candidates must live a week in a simulated colony.  Marge particularly does well here as most of her tasks are no different than common housework, a revelation which frustrates Lisa to no end.  At the end of the week, only Marge and Lisa are chosen to be astronauts for the Mars mission.  Lisa has enough and calls Marge out on her bluff but Marge refuses to back down and continues "supporting" Lisa until Lisa quits.

This almost reaches a head when Exploration Incorporated is forced to move its launch date all the way up to "Thursday".  Marge and Lisa finally realize their errors but not until the two are in the launch rocket.  Thankfully, the rocket was a fake and the scientists are proved to be underfunded (despite heavy endorsements) and poorly managed.  Lisa and Marge only hope to agree they won't be so stubborn towards one another in the future.

Quick Review
The plot sounds dry but the comedy in the episode was excellent.  Despite being an episode focused on Lisa and Marge, Homer's involvement in the episode was top-notch.  The scientists weren't particularly unfunny, not too much of Lisa's usual comedic failings show up and several gags worked out wonderfully here.  Season 27, despite its many lows, has another good episode to salvage itself with.

Final Score: 8.2

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