The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson (S09, E01-179)

For a typical New York day, Homer sure found it pretty infuriating.

Plot Summary
As over 90% of traffic accidents in Springfield involve the six regular patrons of Moe's Tavern, Moe is forced to implement a designated driver program.  Much to his horror, Barney is chosen as the designated driver for the night, which makes for bad timing as its the same night Duffman (in his first appearance) comes in celebrate Barney's love of Duff.  Not being able to partake in that, combined with the usual harshness of sobriety, leaves Barney jaded and ill of mind when he drops everyone off in Homer's car.  A drunken Homer tells Barney to bring back his car the next day, but the delirious Barney drives off and disappears.

Two months later, Barney reappears in the trunk of limo that drops him off at Moe's.  Homer angrily confronts Barney, but Barney barely remembers anything from the past two months.  That night, he gets a letter from the city of New York.  Turns out, Homer's car is currently parked in Manhattan illegally, and Homer has 72 hours to move it or lose it for good.  The news depresses Homer, as he hates New York.  His family inquires, and Homer reveals that he had been in New York once before, a terrible time in his life when for the short time he was there he was repeatedly stolen from, had garbage dumped on him, was chased by a pimp, and then had to deal with CHUDs.  Still, the family doesn't feel that sorry for Homer, and with Bart willing to pay the $9 for bus fare to New York, everyone but Homer is eager to go, and thus Homer is forced to deal with the city he hates once more.

There, the family insists on spending the day touring New York while Homer retrieves his car.  Homer finds the car parked at the World Trade Center (the episode having been produced before 9/11 obviously), with tickets overflowing on the windshield and a parking boot attached to the front wheel.  He calls a number on the boot to have a parking officer come to remove the boot, but he doesn't know when he'll arrive and is forced to wait by the car.  With people giving him change under the mistaken assumption he's a bum, Homer eventually gets hungry, but the only thing close enough for him to reach is a stand for Klauh Karesh, which is... something, anyway.  Washing it down with can after can of crab juice (as Homer finds Mountain Dew disgusting), Homer soon finds himself needing to use the bathroom.  However, the nearest tower has just one bathroom 100+ floors up.  Unable to hold it in any longer, Homer goes to that bathroom, then to the other tower's bathroom as the first one was out of order.  While Homer is relieving himself, the parking officer arrives with the worst of timing.  He leaves before Homer can get back, have written another ticket for failing to remain by the car.

With sundown nearing, Homer has had enough of New York, and decides to drive away with the boot still intact, completely pushing the car to its limits in doing so.  Going at a snail's pace, Homer comes across a construction site, and is able to get a jackhammer to remove the boot, though he accidentally causes far more damage to the car in the process, including shattering his windshield.

The rest of the family concludes their wonderful time in New York, which included stops in Chinatown, Mad Magazine HQ (for Bart), and a Broadway musical, wrapping up with a carriage ride in Central Park.  Homer busts in as angry as can be in his car, driving in front of the carriage and hastily forcing his family into the car.  The family reflects on their time in New York fondly, as Lisa hopes they can visit again, but Homer, mind-numbingly mad and dealing with waste from a garbage truck ahead of him, only says "we'll see".

Quick Review
Season 9 opens with a bang of an episode.  Homer's various difficulties in New York make for good viewing, while the sights the rest of the family sees have some good gags as well.  The "I'm Checking In" musical number was clever as well.

Final Score: 9.8

Team Homer (S07, E12-140)

Perfect?  Homer's head isn't nearly big enough!

Plot Summary
The episode starts off with what ends up being the subplot, where Bart and Milhouse buy a Mad Magazine.  Among other things, the magazine gives Bart the idea to wear a shirt to school with the phrase "down with homework" causing a mass frenzy throughout the school.  In response, Principal Skinner introduces uniforms, rather dull, gray affairs that successfully drain the life out of the students that wear them.  Soon, they lose all sense of identity and become as dull and lifeless as the uniforms themselves.  However, the uniforms aren't protected against water, and a timely rainfall washes in a rainbow of color into each uniform, reigniting the student's spirit and willpower, and causing another mass frenzy throughout the school.

Meanwhile, Homer goes to a particular empty Moe's, with Barney, Lenny and Carl all tending to "mistresses".  Homer and Moe decide to go bowling, but are not allowed to actually play because its 'league night'.  Apu is also turned down from playing, but Homer gets the idea to have the three of them become a team, and later the nearby Otto (playing a claw game endlessly) because a team needs four bowlers.  The team also needs a $500 sign up fee, which stuns Homer, who eventually decides to try and ask Mr. Burns for it.  Lucky for Homer, he catches Burns in the middle of an ether high and Burns, mistaking Homer for the Pillsbury Dough Boy, happily gives Homer the money.

Named the Pin Pals, in the team's first match Homer is able to rally the team for a late victory.  The team goes on a roll from there, setting up a championship matchup with the Holy Rollers, consisting of Ned & Maude Flanders as well as Reverend Lovejoy and his wife Helen, a team that has won the title five years in a roll.  Despite that, Homer still declares the team to be unstoppable.  Just then, Mr. Burns finds out he gave $500 for bowling during his ether high, and learns he gave it to Homer.  Upon confronting the team, Burns has a 'change of heart' and decides to join the team.  Given Burns his is boss, Homer has no choice but to let Burns join, kicking out Otto in the process.

Though Burns improves in his game, being able to get the ball all the way to the end (in the gutter) in one push, he's still terrible and the group goes on a losing streak leading up to the big match.  Moe and Apu both push Homer to kick Burns off, but on the day of the championship Burns presents the group with special Pin Pal jerseys, and the group lets him bowl in the game.  Sure enough, Burns drags the team down, but they're down by only two somehow with just Burns left to go.  After a gutter ball, Burns' second attempt is just barely able to avoid the gutter, clipping two pins on its way out.  At the same time, Otto claws onto a screw on the claw machine, causing it to fall over, the impact forcing those two pins to also fall over.  The Pin Pals win the trophy, but Burns has another 'change of heart' and takes the trophy for himself.  Regardless, the team, with Otto will still cherish that they're a team, though later attempts by the 'team' to steal the trophy back from Burns proves painful.

Quick Review
Team Homer is good episode, but a step down from the other episodes thus far in the season.  The quantity of gags and jokes were just a bit less than in other episodes for the season, but its still a high quality episode.

Final Score: 8.5