The Springfield Files (S08, E10-163)

"The following tale of alien encounters is true, and by true
I mean false.  It's all lies, but they're entertaining lies,
and in the end isn't that the real truth?  The answer is no."

Plot Summary
Leonard Nimoy introduces this episode's tale: its Friday, evidenced by several gags that prove as such.  Homer goes to the bar that night and gets drunk on some dog-infused beer.  Too drunk to drive, Homer decides to walk home, but gets lost along the way stumbling into a forested area.  Freaked out by several scary occurrences, Homer stumbles and sees a strange glowing creature, perhaps an alien, bringing love.  The act causes Homer to run away in terror.

Homer tries to tell his tale to others, but nobody will believe him.  News of Homer's story reaches the FBI, where Agents Mulder & Scully (of The X-Files show that FOX had been airing at the time) decide to investigate further.  However, Homer isn't able to identify the alien amongst the ones the FBI have in stock, and an attempt to locate the alien in the forest only yields Grampa, so the two Agents give up, leaving Homer back where he started in terms of credibility.  That night, Bart reveals that he believes Homer's story, because Homer is "so damn sure" he saw an alien.  Rejuvenated, Homer decides to go back to the forest next Friday to see it again.  He and Bart camp out that night, and indeed see the alien again.  Though Homer botches a greeting by stepping in the campfire, forcing the alien to flee, Bart is able to videotape it, giving the two the proof they need.  Nimoy concludes the tale there, but the episode still has 10 minutes to go.  Ol' Spock finds someway to run from his obligation anyway.

Some time later, footage of the alien is sold (or given, probably given) to the news, and that it'll likely reappear on Friday night again.  The forested area has a huge turnout that night, and indeed the alien pops up once more.  However, given Springfield's mob mentality, they advance to attack the alien.  Just then, Lisa (who had been skeptical the entire episode), reveals the true identity of the 'alien': Mr. Burns.  Smithers arrives on the scene to explain that, every Friday night, Burns undergoes a series of treatments - including severe chiropractic procedures, painkillers, and a vocal scraping - that leave Burns twisted, disoriented, and well-meaning.  The glow is attributed to Burns' years working at the nuclear plant.  Just as Burns comes down from his painkiller high, Dr. Nick gives Burns a booster shot, renewing his ecstasy and leads the town in a joyous song.

Quick Review
Its odd that nobody gives this episode flack for crossing over with the X-Files while A Star is Burns is criticised for being a crossover of a different show.  Was it because the X-Files was popular and therefore crossing over with it was okay?  Odder yet was that this episode was guest-written by Al Jean & Mike Reiss, who wrote The Critic, the show crossed over from A Star is Burns.  To find little criticism for this episode after the criticism that occurred for the other episode seems rather odd to me.  Odd.

As for the episode itself, well, it actually ends up being one of the best episodes in the series, oddly enough.  Leonard Nimoy's appearance was well done, the Friday night gags were great, and the references to X-Files and other alien-related things were good as well.  The story behind the 'alien' was hilarious, particularly Dr. Nick's line "the best part was when he gave me my money".  In all, a superb episode, another shining moment in what has been an excellent season thus far.

Final Score: 10

Marge vs. the Monorail (S04, E12-071)

"Mono- d'oh!"

Plot Summary
After a long day of work, Homer goes home Flintstones-style, crashing into a chestnut tree in the process.  Meanwhile, Mr. Burns and Smithers take the opportunity to dump some toxic waste in the park (opting not to do the playground as all those bald children are raising suspicion), however they get caught in the act.  As a punishment for total disregard for human life, Burns is ordered to pay $3 million.  Soon, the town has a meeting on how to use that money.  After some discussion, Marge brings up the idea of using the money to fix Main Street, which has been torn apart and is full of potholes.  After Grampa unintentionally rallies support for the idea, it seems like that was going to be the plan.  However, one Lyle Lanley interrupts, and informs the crowd that they could use the $3 million instead toward building a monorail across town.  With some smooth talking and a nifty song, he quickly convinces the town to go for the monorail.

As the monorail is being built, Lanley holds a conductor course to determine who would get to operate the train.  Homer decides to sign up for this course, and after three weeks, Lanley half-assedly gives Homer the job.  A short time later, the family checks the train out, but Marge finds a family of possums in a compartment (Homer calls the big one "Bitey").  Looking to address the issue with Lanley, Marge stumbles upon a notebook with drawings that imply Lanley is gonna flee with tons of money while the train crashes and burns.  Later, Marge investigates the matter by going to a town Lanley had previously said the monorail had put on the map: North Haverbrook.  However, this town is decrepit, run down and its inhabitants scared or crazy.  Suddenly, a man by the name of Sebastian Cobb appears, having overheard Marge.  He informs her that he worked on the North Haverbook monorail, but Lanley cut corners everywhere and made off with the excess money.  As a result, the train was a literal wreck and left the town in ruins.  With the Springfield monorail due to go the next day, Marge and Cobb try to hurry back.

However, they come back too late (Cobb shouldn't of gotten that haircut).  The monorail, with Leonard Nimoy as the special guest, has taken off.  Lanley ran off with the money just before the train started up, but on the flight, it makes a stop at North Haverbrook and he gets his.  Meanwhile, the monorail quickly falls apart from the inside, leaving it speeding up with no immediate way of stopping it.  As the mayor and police chief argue over who has power in an emergency (and later how many "lasses of virtue true" they get in their positions), Marge and Cobb are able to contact Homer, with Cobb advising Homer to use an anchor to slow the train down.  Using the "M" in the train's name from outside, Homer is able to create a makeshift anchor which eventually finds a firm grasp within a giant donut at a donut shop.  Everyone is safe, and Marge narrates on how that was the last time the town wasted money, except for those other instances they did.

Quick Review
Marge vs. the Monorail is the best episode in Season 4, and is one of the best episodes in the entire series.  There is just so many bits, so many jokes, and nearly all of them are excellent.  Both Phil Hartman (as Lanley) and Leonard Nimoy provide superb guest spots as well.  I don't want to call this episode perfect, as that's just a silly word to use for anything, but damn if it isn't close.

Final Score: 10