Realty Bites (S09, E09-187)

I need to buy a house... right after I buy some lumber.

Plot Summary
On a lazy Saturday, Marge grows tired of sitting around and doing nothing.  She convinces Homer to take her somewhere, and Homer does... to a police auction.  There, Homer is able to buy a car, a hot rod to be specific, but its original owner, Snake, sees this and promises to kill Homer for buying it.  Homer takes Marge on a crazy drive in it, but before long she demands he let her out.  Walking home, Marge sees Lionel Hutz putting a house up for sale.  Turns out, Hutz has picked up a new career in real estate.  Marge realizes how good it could feel to help people find a home, and decides to take it up as well.

After passing the test with relative ease, Marge gets a job at the same real estate company Hutz works at.  On the job, though, Marge's truth-telling tendencies do not aid in her attempts to sell less-than-premier homes.  Though she's pleased to hear that people like her frank honesty, she then learns that sometimes one has to 'bend' the truth in order to sell homes, and furthermore if Marge isn't able to sell a home within a week she gets fired.  Meanwhile, Snake sees Homer drive his car near the prison, and noticing that Homer has failed to fill the tank with premium gas, Snake has had enough, and abuses the jail's honor system to leave via a back door.

Later, Marge tries to sell a home to the Flanders, but once again her honesty prevents a sale.  Near the end, the two spy a wonderful house.  Marge learned earlier that this house is where a famous murder took place some time ago but has yet to be resold because of that.  However, the Flanders seem unaware that its that house, and so Marge is barely able to withhold that information, and is able to sell the house to the Flanders.

However, it doesn't take long for Marge to regret her decision, and the day after the Flanders move in to the house, she visits them and tells them the truth about the house.  At the same time, Snake ambushes Homer in the car, and the two get into a fight while the car is still moving.  Chief Wiggum is woken up as they pass by, and gives chase.  The Flanders realize that, yes, they did buy the murder house, but they're even happier than they were before, and are more than willing to stay there.  At that moment, Homer and Snake crash their car into that very house, and Wiggum does the same, causing the house to collapse.  Ned then gets his deposit check back from Marge, and tears it up.

With the real estate company assessed damages for the house, hot rod and police car, not to mention Marge giving back the deposit check, Hutz, who is apparently the boss at this company, fires Marge.  Though Marge is sad she wasn't able to bring in even one check, Homer eases her pain by taking her to the unemployment office, and everything is okay.

Quick Review
This is a sad episode for a specific reason.  This episode features the last speaking appearance of Lionel Hutz, as his voice actor Phil Hartman would die five months after this episode aired (he has one final speaking appearance as Troy McClure in Season 10).  So this episode having Lionel Hutz move out of law, where he was pretty incompetent, to real estate where he seemed to be doing okay, seems like a fine send off to a character that was well liked for the six plus seasons he was around.  Gil Gunderson, a rather inept real estate worker who was introduced in this episode, would have the proverbial torch passed to him as the inept lawyer in future seasons, though Gil would also be featured being inept in other things as well.

As for the episode itself, I liked it quite a bit.  Homer's hot rod sidestory was brief, but Snake's antics helped make it enjoyable.  The main plotline was fine, getting better when the Flanders became involved in the story, and for his final speaking appearance, Lionel Hutz was pretty good as well.

Final Score: 9.0

The Day the Violence Died (S07, E18-146)

Milhouse: "Look out, Itchy!  He's Irish!"

Plot Summary
With the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon celebrating its 75th anniversary, a parade is to be held.  Homer, Bart and Lisa try to get there early, as in the night before kind of early, and though they get a chance to see some I&S related memorabilia, they oversleep and miss a big chunk of the parade anyway.  Bart separates from the group and joins the parade directly, which brings cheer for some reason.  The parade, which was poorly routed, goes into Bumtown, and speeds off quickly.  Bart is unable to keep pace and catches a bum throwing tomatoes at the parade.  Bart confronts the bum over Itchy & Scratchy, but the bum reveals that he was actually the one to create Itchy, a character that Roger Meyers Sr. stole, and that he invented cartoon violence in general.  He even has a old movie to prove it: "Manhattan Madness", a film made in 1919 where Itchy kills an Irishman and President Teddy Roosevelt.  As Bart decides that this bum, Chester J. Lampwick, is legit, the movie reel falls apart and crumbles to ash, destroying the last known proof of Chester's work.

Regardless, Bart is determined for Chester to get what's his.  Talking to the head of I&S Studios now, Roger Meyers Jr., does not help, so Bart and Chester take them to court, Bart getting the $1000 fee from Homer.  As expected, not having the film makes Chester's case near impossible to prove, but then Bart remembers a frame of Itchy that he saw the night before the parade that looked just like the Itchy in Chester's film.  He borrows $750 rather quickly from Homer to buy the frame of Itchy, and within it reveals that Chester did indeed draw that Itchy back in 1919.  Chester wins the case, and gets $800 billion in restitution (which was probably less after appeals).  However, the case also leaves I&S Studios bankrupt, essentially killing Itchy & Scratchy, much to Bart's unprepared shock.

After being unable to deal with the replacement edu-tainment cartoon, Bart & Lisa decide to try and get I&S back.  However, Roger Meyers Jr. has no money, and nobody they can talk to is either able or willing to spend money to get the cartoons back.  They're about to give up and tackle another problem (getting Apu out of jail for public indecency), when Marge gives them a confidence booster.  They finally find a 'perfect' solution to the I&S problem, but when they go to present it to Meyers, they find that they've been beaten to the punch.

It turns out that the post office's character "Mr. Zip" is a knockoff of Meyer Sr.'s actual original character "Manic Mailman", and as a result the government gives Meyers a huge cash settlement, allowing I&S Studios to go back into business.  The people responsible for finding this?  A young boy and girl by the names of Lester & Eliza, who would look suspiciously like Bart & Lisa if this had been animated eight or nine years prior.  They also solved Apu's nudity problem, and also reunited Krusty with his estranged wife, a problem Bart & Lisa weren't even aware of!  Though Bart and Lisa are happy Itchy & Scratchy are back, they can't shake that unsettling feeling of being beaten to the punch by a seemingly unrelated pair of kids, especially when Lester rolls on by on his skateboard giving Bart a suspicious look.

Quick Review
I really loved the way this episode ended.  Throwing in Lester and Eliza, most notably their appearances, was well devised and brought something new to the table, not that the "Bart and Lisa solve everything" angle had gotten tired yet.  Other things such as Lionel Hutz's false advertising (Works on Contingency?  No, money down!), Homer's seemingly endless supply of money and the many cartoon parodies, such as the ones from Fritz the Cat and Schoolhouse Rock, really give the episode some shine as well.  Its one of Season 7's best episodes.

Final Score: 9.8

'Round Springfield (S06, E22-125)

"Ya see, the kids, they listen to the rap music, which gives them the brain damage.
With their hippin and the hoppin and the bippin and the boppin, so they don't
know what the JAZZ... is all about!  Ya see, jazz is like a Jello pudding pop-
no, actually its more like Kodak Film- no, actually, jazz is like the new Coke,
it'll be around forever, heh heh heh."

Plot Summary
On the day of a big history test, as Bart struggles to tell Marge anything that would imply he studied, he inadvertently eats a special jagged metal Krusty-O in his cereal.  The O tears him up inside, but both Homer and Marge think he's faking it to get out of taking the test, with only Lisa believing he's in real pain.  After taking the test in school, Bart barely makes it to the nurse's office, now run by lunchlady Doris, before passing out.  At the hospital, its learned that the O has inflamed his appendix and its promptly removed.  Bart's family and friends visit him, and as Bart shows off his new scar to the other kids (which, combined with the prospect of missing school, convinces the other kids to get their appendixes removed as well), Lisa overhears someone playing a saxophone.

Turns out, that person is Bleeding Gums Murphy, whom Lisa first some time ago.  Although its never explained why he's in there, the two reminisce and Bleeding Gums opens up about his life, including the one album he released in his career.  A short time later, Lisa is going to perform at a band recital at school.  She visits Bleeding Gums again, and the two play a saxophone duet.  Afterwards, Bleeding Gums gives Lisa his saxophone for good luck.  At the band recital, most of the band is unavailable after having their appendixes removed, and with only Lisa at sax, Martin Prince at triangle, and Ralph Wiggum playing a flute with his nose, the recital starts off poorly.  However, Lisa takes over and plays a passionate cover of Stars & Stripes Forever, which garners much praise.  Later, Lisa is thrilled to tell Bleeding Gums about the recital, but she learns that Bleeding Gums has passed away.  Saddened over the loss, Lisa tries to talk to other people about death, but nothing seems to help.  At the funeral, which only Lisa attends, she decides to vow that the entire town of Springfield knows the name Bleeding Gums Murphy.

Meanwhile, Bart has sued the Krusty Corporation over the metal O incident, and after some poor deflecting by Krusty, he and Bart's lawyer (Lionel Hutz) agree to a $100,000 settlement.  Hutz and his lawyer team take away much of the money, leaving Bart with just $500, which he's more than happy to get.

Lisa goes to the jazz radio station, but it doesn't possess Bleeding Gums' album.  What's more, even if Lisa found the album, the station has poor reception (albeit the best reception among jazz stations in the United States), and chances are not many people will be able to hear it.  Despite that, Lisa finds a copy of the album, but its priced at $250, soon bumped up to $500 when the owner learns Bleeding Gums had died.  A short time later, Bart enters the store with his $500 looking to blow it on something.  Almost ready to buy a massive Steve Allen pog, Bart notices the album and a sad Lisa walking by, and decides to buy to the album instead as Lisa was the only one who believed Bart was ill after he ate that O.  He's not even concerned about losing his $500, as the new batch of Krusty-O cereal now features flesh-eating bacteria.

With the album in hand, Lisa gives it to the jazz station to play as a tribute, noting that she's done all she's can. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hits the station, vastly improving its reception so much so that radios all across town turn on and immediately switch to the jazz station somehow.  Lisa learns that this divine intervention was done by Bleeding Gums himself.  After chasing away two James Earl Jones characters that died in their respective franchises as well as James Earl Jones himself (who isn't dead), Bleeding Gums and Lisa partake in one last jazz session.

Quick Review
'Round Springfield is perhaps an underrated episode.  Granted, Bart's storyline provides the majority of the laughs throughout the episode, and the best bit during the main plot was when Bleeding Gums mentioned his appearance on the Cosby Show, but those moments along with a few others combined to make another excellent entry for the season.  Its marks the first time a recurring character died, and though people don't like Lisa-centric episodes at times, this episode shouldn't be looked down upon because of that.  Its a very good episode once you take the whole package in.

Final Score: 9.1

Marge on the Lam (S05, E06-087)

"Ah, ballet..."

Plot Summary
After Marge foolishly gives money to public television, she earns two tickets to a ballet.  Homer, mistaking ballet for a circus act where a bear drives around in a mini car, is initially excited, then less so when Lisa clues him in on what ballet is.  The night of the ballet, though, a coin-less Homer notices a crystal soda machine and, with no money, decides to put his arm in the machine to grab a can, trapping it.  After getting his free arm trapped in a candy machine, Homer somehow finds a way to call Marge to tell her he can't make it home in time.  Distraught, Marge gets an opportunity to invite her neighbor Ruth Powers (previously in New Kid on the Block) to the ballet.  The two have fun, and as Homer makes it home (turns out, his arms were only stuck because he wouldn't let go of the soda/candy), he becomes somewhat irked that Marge has found a friend to go out at night with.

The next night, Marge and Ruth go out again.  Jealous, Homer decides to have fun too, though he needs a babysitter for Lisa and Bart.  Lionel Hutz just happens to be outside scrummaging through garbage, and Homer pays him $8 to keep an eye on the kids for the night, which is an adventure of itself.  Marge and Ruth, meanwhile, have a great night doing this and that, and to cap off the night, go to the hilltop where a large Hollywood-esque "Springfield" sign stands.  After a little reminiscing, the two decide to head on back.  Just after they leave, Homer arrives, his previous attempts at having fun not working out, and Chief Wiggum stumbles upon him.  Wiggum decides to take Homer home.  His cop car ends up behind Ruth's car on the way back.  Wiggum notices that one tail light is smaller than the other, and turns on the siren.  Ruth then lets Marge know something important: after her ex-husband failed to pay child support, Ruth stole his car.  Not wanting to get caught, Ruth speeds off, turning off her lights in the dark to confuse and scare both Wiggum and Homer.

That morning, Ruth drops Marge off at a gas station slash diner combo, advising Marge not to get involved and to take a taxi home.  However, after seeing several instances of friends (or waffles) sticking together at the diner, Marge decides to stick with Ruth to the end.  Wiggum and Homer see the two head back the other way and call the entire Springfield police force to give chase.  The ladies get close to the state line, but a line of cop cars appear in the way.  With Ruth about to give up, Marge refuses to let Ruth do so, turning the car into the open.  Soon, though, they are heading towards the "Great Chasm", not aware of it either.  Homer, still in Wiggum's car, tries to talk to Marge, and warns the two of the chasm.  They stop in time, but Wiggum's car drives right into the chasm... and into a giant dump of garbage within the chasm that saves their lives.

In the end, Ruth keeps the car and forces her ex to pay the child support, Lionel Hutz is paid the $8 for 32 hours of babysitting, Marge is forced to pay 5 cents for shooting antique cans plus $2000 in emotional damages, and Homer is sent to an Army chemical facility for testing, which he gladly agrees to do.

Quick Review
Marge on the Lam has its best moments with the sidestories, whether its Homer getting his arms stuck in vending machines or Lionel Hutz spending more time burning away his identity than actually babysitting.  The main plot with Marge and Ruth has its moments, but not really enough to claim it among Season 5's best episodes.

Final Score: 8.7

Marge in Chains (S04, E21-080)

"History's greatest monster", now with a new do!

Plot Summary
As the episode begins, Homer and some others purchase an orange juice maker, one shown on TV by Dr. Nick, and is high in demand despite being obviously inefficient.  In an Osaka shipping plant for the juicer, a worker has the flu, which carries into the juicer packages, later infecting the people who ordered them.  Soon, Springfield is plagued by the "Osaka Flu", including some of the Simpson family.  Marge finds herself stressed out and overworked trying to cater to her sick family, and Grampa as well.  At the Kwik-E-Mart, she had put a bottle of bourbon (for Grampa) into her coat pocket and forget to have it paid for; upon leaving the store she is found out and is arrested for shoplifting.

With Apu unwilling to drop the charges as per store policy, Homer and Marge get Lionel Hutz to defend them in court.  Unfortunately for them, the odds are stacked against them as Hutz has had trouble with Judge Snyder in the past (kinda running over his dog, except replace "kinda" with "repeatedly" and "dog" with "son").  What's more, as news about Marge's arrest spreads, so do rumors about her, giving off the notion that she's crooked.  At the trial, the gossipy Helen Lovejoy conveys as much, and though Hutz actually does a good job at discrediting Apu, he later blows it by giving his closing statement while wearing no pants.  Marge is sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Almost instantly the family struggles without Marge.  With neither the kids nor Homer able to wash dishes or clean clothes, the house begins to fall apart, becoming a huge mess.  Marge's impact isn't truly felt, though, until the bake sale when several customers learn that they can't purchase any delicious marshmallow squares because it was Marge that baked them.  The loss of those squares, $15, was exactly the amount needed for the bake sale to have enough money to purchase an Abraham Lincoln statue.  Instead, with the smaller amount of money, the town buys a Jimmy Carter statue instead, which causes an angry riot of course.  Soon, though, Marge's 30 days are up and she returns home with a crowd happy she's back and sorry she left.  They make it up to her by giving her a statue, though its just the Carter statue modified to have Marge's hair.

Quick Review
Marge in Chains, like pretty much all of Season 4, is an excellent episode.  The bits with the flu at the episode's start were done well, everything involving Lionel Hutz was comedic excellence, and the town rioting over the Jimmy Carter statue - and the events leading up to it - were well done as well.

Final Score: 9.5

Bart Gets Hit by a Car (S02, E10-023)

Bart gets hit by a car.

Plot Summary
Bart Gets Hit by a Car begins with Bart getting hit by a car.  The driver of the car, Mr. Burns unsurprisingly, eventually gets the boy to the hospital.  After a flirtation with the afterlife (and the proclaimation from the Devil that Bart won't die until the Yankees win a pennant - in a hundred years - whoops) Bart regains consciousness and he (and the family) notices a strange man in the room.

That man, who is voiced by Phil Hartman making his first guest appearance on the show, is the "lawyer" Lionel Hutz.  Although Bart ended up with only a broken toe and a bump on the head, Hutz is willing to exaggerate the truth so that Homer can sue Mr. Burns for tons of money.  The family hesitates at the offer, however the next day Homer is offered $100 from Burns himself, which he turns down.  Its at this point he goes all in with Hutz, who promises Homer a payout of a million dollars.

We also see for the first time the "doctor" Nick Riviera, who gives a completely different diagnosis for poor Bart.  Turns out, Bart is actually very ill!  With that "knowledge", Homer goes ahead and takes Burns to court.  Early on the jury is on Bart's side, what with Burns already vastly hated and all.  Feeling the pressure, Burns invites Homer and Marge to his manor to make a settlement offer: $500,000.  Burns leave the two alone to discuss the offer, but he and Smithers instead spy on the two, there they overhear Homer angrily reject the offer but, more importantly, Marge saying that with the fake doctor and all, they should probably take the offer while they can, which Burns quickly rescinds upon gaining his newfound information.

So the next day Burns pulls the obvious next move: putting Marge on the stand.  Obligated to tell the truth, Marge lets everyone know that Dr. Riviera is probably not a real doctor and the Bart is actually pretty okay.  With that knowledge, Homer is forced to take Mr. Burns' next settlement offer: $0.  Then the episode takes a weird turn as, after losing out on a million dollars because Marge told the truth, never mind the shady means he took in his attempts to get the million, Homer is implied to be wavering on a decision on whether to kill himself.  Marge realizes this, and forces Homer to look at her to determine whether he still truly loves her.  He does, and the marriage is saved, again.

Quick Review
The episode, which had been alright most of the way, did end on that weird note.  Supposedly the ending was pitched by James L. Brooks, trying to add a little emotional distress to an otherwise zany affair.  Frankly, I didn't like it.  Regardless, up to that point there was a lot of good going for the episode, including the introduction of a few great recurring characters.  Still, its going to receive the weakest score of Season 2 and I doubt there'll be another episode that'll score as low for awhile.

Final Score: 7.0