Fland Canyon (S27, E19-593)

Hehe, mule.  (I'm gonna get a laugh out of this episode somehow)

Plot Summary
In an attempt to get Maggie to fall asleep, Homer tells the baby a story.  Trying to recall a boring story, Homer eventually recalls a memory from two years prior.  In it, the Flanders' family is rewarded for their charity work with a trip to the Grand Canyon, but its a two-family trip.  Reverend Lovejoy, whose wife definitely does not want to go with the Flanders', suggests they take the Simpsons, who reluctantly agree.

At the Canyon, the Simpson family and the Flanders family find their own ways to annoy one another.  However, on a trek through the inner part of the canyon, the families lose their guide, and lose their way.  Stranded, Homer and Ned make the decision to set out and find help.  Eventually, the two stumble upon a "campsite" full of rich media elites who have an extravagant setup despite the locale.  The two agree to steal some of their bountiful food and supplies, escaping via a raft.  With that, the two families are eventually rescued and Homer and Ned form a friendship, supposedly.

Having finished his story (and putting both Maggie and Lisa - who came in halfway through - to sleep), Ned reveals through the window that he'd been listening in as well.  Homer decides to be a good pal to Ned and take him on a trip: to the postcard museum, which Ned deeply enjoys.

Quick Review
Well, its not offensively bad, nor is it reference heavy.  Its just boring and overall unfunny.  So, it could be worse, but it could've been good and its not.  (I guess you could say it was 'Bland Canyon' but you probably shouldn't, its too corny).

Final Score: 6.3

The Kids are All Fight (S26, E19-571)

One action doesn't really quite equal the other here.

Plot Summary
Homer finds an old roll of film in his suit jacket, and Moe offers to develop it.  He returns the photos to the family, which turns out to be nothing but four year old Bart and two year old Lisa fighting each other.  Homer and Marge start to remember life with the two kids six years ago, and recall that, yeah, those two kids always fought with one another.  Constantly.

One day, the Flanders' invite Homer and Marge to brunch, Ned offering to let his Grandma Flanders babysit the kids.  However, Bart and Lisa scare Grandma Flanders to death with their religious ignorance.  Fearful of what they did, the two run back home.  While Homer and Marge delayed going to the brunch to have a quick "snuggle time", they still don't hear the kids trying to get back inside.  The two instead hear an ice cream truck and give chase.

Following the brunch, Homer and Marge learn their kids have run off and are presumed missing, going through every effort to find them.  Meanwhile, young Bart and young Lisa start to build a dynamic where Lisa's smarts and Bart's, hm, "ingenuity", work in tandem to help them survive.  That still doesn't stop them from being hostile towards one another, but after Bart nearly lets Lisa crash into a tree, Lisa officially gives up and just lets Bart win all arguments.  Later, Homer and Marge finally find and rescue the two kids who found themselves ontop the tire fire.  The two kids' new dynamic of tolerance survives to this day, and Homer is credited (by Moe) to be a competent parent.

Quick Review
Well, this episode tried to be funny.  There were jokes, a good amount of them.  Many of them weren't funny.  Some were very unfunny.  There were a few references.  Two specifically, Grandma Flanders and Bart's clown bed, were from Lisa's First Word and the episode seems to try to act as a continuation of that flashback story.

This episode also really tries hard to establish itself as some kind of canon, from deliberately avoiding framing itself in any period of time, to making a note of Homer's "first" chokehold of Bart, to the seemingly first meetings between the two kids and the likes of Milhouse, the bullies, and so on.  It seems really forced, in short.

A lot of it really seemed unnatural as well.  I know I've never been much of a stickler for continuity, but two year old Lisa in this episode seemed far more intelligent than three year old Lisa did in Lisa's Sax.  There was a lot of dialogue that didn't really "fit" with any of the characters in either time period either.  The entire time watching this episode, I felt there was something completely "off" about how this episode presents itself.  I don't know if its the try-hard mentality of it, the fact that so many jokes were awful, or what.  This was a pretty awful episode, even by this season's standards, and while its better than the last two flashback episodes, its by no real means any improvement, either.

Final Score: 5.8

Dangerous Curves (S20, E05-425)

Become a couple after they both failed to break up another couple, how about that.

Plot Summary
The family is on a 4th of July weekend road trip, and they pick up a pair of hitchhikers, who are in love.  The scene then flashes back to 20 years ago, when a young Homer and Marge are riding their bikes down the same road, however an accident leaves them unable to continue riding.  Just then, they meet for the first time for real the younger Ned Flanders and his newlywed wife Maude.  The pair let Homer and Marge ride in their car where they reveal they're still on their honeymoon.  After a brief scene in the present time, the episode flashes back to just five years ago when Homer, Marge, Patty and Selma are returning from a picnic that didn't go so well.  Homer tires of his sisters in law constantly mocking him, and he tosses them out.  A short time later, his car runs out of gas.  Marge is pretty mad at this point but as the two walk to get gas they stumble upon a mansion that's hosting a party, and the two partake for a moment.  Homer comes across a young woman, Sylvia, whose fun-loving style Homer can relate to.  Marge sees the two having fun in horror, and confronting Homer doesn't do any good, and Marge ends up accidentally falling into a pool as she angrily walks away.

In the present, the Simpsons drop off the young couple and reach their destination, the Kozy Kabins, where the scene flashes back to 20 years ago again when the Flanders couple drives up to the same lodge.  Ned ensures that Homer and Marge can't have any pre-marital "snuggling", separating their rooms on each end of the one where he and Maude will enjoy their honeymoon.  Marge calls her sisters in law, who once again try to convince Marge that Homer is no good.  The scene shifts back to five years ago when Homer and Sylvia are still having fun.  Marge is crying her eyes out in a changing room when the host of the party, Alberto, walks up to where Marge is and helps her change into something dry.  He admits he has had his eyes on her since she came to the party, and with Homer's continued partying with Sylvia, Marge agrees to go with Alberto on a glider.  The two land at the very same Kozy Kabins and rent a room.  Just then, Homer and Sylvia arrive nearby, and as Sylvia checks in, Homer notices Marge nearby.  He goes to investigate, panicking Marge and Alberto, the latter hiding in a chest.  Marge and Homer, both trying to hide their intentions, use a make up "snuggle" in a continued attempt to prevent their original intents from being known.  Marge convinces Homer to drag the chest outside, where Homer is quickly able to toss Sylvia into without even noticing Alberto, and he and Marge make up inside the cabin.  In the present day, Homer and Marge "convince" the kids to go away in a paddle car, while at the same time a married Alberto and Sylvia arrive at the cabin with their daughter.  They both recognize Marge and Homer, and thank them for what they did five years ago.  Homer and Marge both realize that their reconciliation five years ago was built on layers of lies, and the two get mad at each other again.

As Bart gets lost with the paddle car, the scene shifts back again to 20 years ago.  While Ned and Maude continue to ensure Homer can't do anything too lewd with Marge, he does take her on a nice walk in the woods, and carves a heart into a nearby tree stating he'll be in love with her forever, though because the tree has so many carvings already Homer has to climb it to find space to carve his heart.  In the present, Homer comes across that same tree, and decides to show Marge the carving in hopes of saving their marriage.  Marge arrives in time ready to talk things out with Homer, but she accidentally knocks the tree over, landing above a cliff to a river.  Homer is hanging on barely by the piece of bark he had partially carved out, and Marge goes to rescue him.  The attempt goes bad, and now Homer rescues her as his bark continues to give way.  As the two once again reconcile their differences, Bart and Lisa arrive in their paddle car to give the two a safe place to land.  The end shows the various couples in love departing the lodge in their various yet kinda merged time frames.

Quick Review
What was this episode?  Its a combination of a marriage episode - that's never good - and a flashback episode which, after That '90s Show, you can't really trust to be good anymore.  The plot continuously jumps from the three timelines, albeit in a smoother fashion than how I tried to explain it above, but the episode makes a critical mistake, one that it seems to be making more often nowadays.  In the effort to have an 'unique' storyline, which is really just a convoluted flashback-marriage episode hybrid, little effort was spend on comedy of any kind.  I spent more time trying to figure out what the hell the episode was trying to do than I was laughing, and I didn't even spend that much time on the former.  It was just a weird episode all around.

Final Score: 5.6

That '90s Show (S19, E11-411)

Lenny is kind of missing the point.

Plot Summary
On a cold night, the Simpsons are trying to warm up a fireplace because Homer refuses to pay for heat.  In a desperate attempt to keep the fire going, Bart almost tosses in Marge's memory box.  It opens up to reveals a degree Marge got from Springfield University, something that had not been known until now.  Lisa thinks about it, and realizes, hey, if Homer and Marge are almost 40, and Bart is 10, then there's no way Homer and Marge could've had Bart right out of high school.  Homer and Marge are reluctant to get into that period of time, but decide anyway to tell their kids of their young adult lives, all the way back in the 90s.

Homer and Marge have moved into an apartment, where Marge surprises Homer by having been accepted into Springfield University.  Homer is upset at first, but relents and agrees to help pay for college by getting work from his dad.  Homer is also part of an R&B group featuring himself, Lenny, Carl and Lou for some reason.  In college, Marge becomes a bit infatuated by a typical 90s radical-thinking professor, Stefane August, whose 'wild' theories over how all of the Presidents at that point were straight, white men completely blows Marge's mind.  August begins to return some of that love, and attempts to get Marge into a relationship with him by making her question her current relationship with Homer.  It eventually reaches a head when Homer tries to find Marge in the college, which to his horror is nothing like Animal House, only to find Marge having a pleasant conversation with August.  Homer can't deal with this, and decides to take his R&B and change it into a grunge band called "Sadgasm", grunge supposedly being a thing back in the 90s.  Marge tries to talk to Homer over his new attitude, but the conversation doesn't go well, and the two break up, with Marge immediately being swooped away by August.

Homer's grunge band becomes a huge success, but Homer just can't find any happiness without Marge.  Meanwhile, Marge is finding August's demeanor less and less appealing.  When Marge finds out about August's "radical" opinions against marriage, she breaks up with him.  A saddened Marge sees Homer on TV, and learns that Homer has broken up Sadgasm amidst rumors of his narcotics abuse.  Marge rushes over to Homer's side where she sees a needle in his arm, takes it out and nurses him back to health, though that needle was actually full of insulin because Homer's addiction to frappuccinos made him diabetic.  The two get together again, leading to their fateful 'snuggle' at the mini-golf's castle.  In the present, suspiciously familiar-looking repairman fixes the heat, and Homer and Marge share another kiss.

Quick Review
Going in, I had mixed feelings about this episode.  Its true that, given the ages of Homer, Marge, and Bart, there is a lengthy period of time that's left unaccounted for.  By all accounts, if the two did have Bart right after high school, the two should be near or at 30 for their age, though past episodes have implied they didn't have Bart until a few years after high school.  This episode, though, implies the two didn't have Bart until a full decade afterwards, and then flat out states that decade was the 90s.

Its hard to really fault the writers for using the 90s for this instance on its own.  Again, nobody in the show ages, but the show had been running at this point for 19 years.  In I Married Marge, Bart was born in 1981.  If that fact remained fully canon, Bart would be 32 by the end of Season 24.  At the same time, though, if the show wants the family to remain part of the modern age and, therefore, be aware of things like the internet, mobile phones, and the current political scene, it can't just freeze itself in the early 90s all of the time, continuing to pretend the current President is the first George Bush and such.  The Simpsons run on the most slippy of sliding timelines, so there's bound to be continuity contradictions the longer the series runs.  Based on that alone, I have no problem with the show flashing back to an era where the show itself had its best run of episodes.

What I did have a big problem with, though, was how the episode went about its business.  It spent a lot of time just simply going "Hey, this is the 90s, remember the 90s?  These crazy things were popular in the 90s, can you believe it?  Look at all of these 90s references, we know about these because we lived in the 90s, are we cool yet?"  The professor was also very unlikeable, which I guess was the point, but it also led to very limited opportunities for his character to be funny.  Everything about Sadgasm was painfully unfunny as well, and is the main reason the episode scored as poorly as it did, though the hidden marriage-themed episode wasn't a plus, either.

So, in summary, I don't have a problem with the show 'retconning' itself because of its inconsistent timelines.  However, the episode is ruined by its awful execution of the above idea.  This episode, back-to-back with the nearly as bad E Pluribus Wiggum, creates a massive hole of terrible quality that ruins what had been a decent season thus far.

Final Score: 4.0

The Way We Weren't (S15, E20-333)

Coincedence: the flashback episode.

Plot Summary
Bart and Milhouse somehow coerce Sherri, Terri and their kissable cousin into a game of spin the bottle.  After coincidentally drinking the beer that is being tossed out for the bottle, a waking Homer goes to investigate, only to be accidentally kissed by Milhouse.  Brushing that aside, Homer gets mad at Bart for using his beer in this fashion.  Marge intervenes and has the two go to "Simpson family court", which is as lame as it sounds.  In his defense, Bart tries to claim that Homer was kissing girls when he was 10 as well.  Marge says that Homer's first kiss was her, when they were in high school, but Homer reveals that he did kiss another girl before then, much to Marge's shock.

Homer tells the story of when he was 10, his father took him to a camp for underprivileged boys.  However, because the camp had to pay lawsuit money for a previous incident, Homer and the other boys are forced to be servants at the girls' camp across the lake.  As the boys are doing dishes in a hidden room next to the cafeteria, a rather familiar-sounding girl accidentally leaves her retainer on her dinner tray.  Homer happily returns it back to the girl, and after some minor flirting, the two agree to meet each other later that night.  A short time later, a switchblade accident causes an injury to Homer's eye, and he's forced to wear an eye patch to his date.  Homer hitches a boat ride and does just that, meeting a brunette girl ontop a hill.  Back in the present, Marge reveals that she was, in fact, that girl, but Homer did something so unforgivable during those days that if she knew that boy was the same Homer, she never would've married him.

Marge tells her side of the story, where she went to a camp intended to help young girls bag men.  After her chance encounter with Homer (who, after overhearing how lame a name 'Homer' is, tells her his name is Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabbar), the two agree to the date.  Marge tries to iron her hair, a style at the time, but ends up burning her hair, and she's forced to go as a brunette.  The two meet up at the hill as previously mentioned.  After a few moments of awkwardness, the two finally decide to kiss, which becomes the best moment of their respective lives.  Homer gives Marge a heart-shaped rock as a memento of the night.  The two agree to meet again the next night, however the next night only Marge shows up, with Homer nowhere to be found.

Homer looks like a pretty bad guy, but he tries to explain what happened.  Shortly after he and Marge shared the kiss and left one another, Homer accidentally falls off a cliff and into the lake.  The next morning he washes ashore at the fat camp and, given his portly state, is believed to be part of said camp.  He's unable to escape in time, and thus is unable to meet with Marge.  The next day, Homer finds an opportunity to escape and promptly takes it.  However, Marge is devastated by what's happened and decides to leave camp.  She throws away the heart-shaped rock, and it splits in two.  Homer arrives just after Marge leaves, and after a horrifying experience with Patty, sees one of the halves of the rock and realizes its too late.

Back in the present, Homer hopes the explanation is enough to help Marge understand, but she's still mad at him over what ended up being years of trauma towards boys.  Finally, Homer reveals that he kept the heart-rock half he found at the girl's camp because he couldn't stop thinking about that girl until he met Marge.  Marge then reveals that she kept the other half as a reminder of how big a jerk Homer was, but the two decide to make up and make out, Homer role-playing as the eye patched Elvis, and Marge as the brunette anonymous girl.

Quick Review
This was an alright episode, it has its moments and there's hardly anything bad with it (even with the retconning, not that I care all that much about continuity), but as is common with these newer episodes, the quantity and quality of jokes prevents it from achieving anything truly great.

Final Score: 7.5

Lisa's Sax (S09, E03-181)

Ah, the old pastime of laughing at the elderly.

Plot Summary
After Homer & Marge do the All in the Family opening, Homer and Bart are trying to watch a new documentary on Krusty when Lisa's saxophone practicing gets on Homer's nerves.  He sends Bart to get Lisa to knock it off, but the two have a confrontation, leading Lisa's saxophone being thrown out the window, subsequently run over by a car, a truck and Nelson.

As Lisa cries over her loss, she notes that she's had the saxophone for as long as she can remember.  Homer is astonished that Lisa doesn't remember getting her sax, and begins to tell the tale about how Lisa got her sax... by talking about Bart's first day of school five years ago (in 1990, which is weird because the episode aired in 1997), which was terrible for him.  Homer & Marge do another All in the Family bit, with Apu brought in to finish a rhyme.

Marge takes over the storytelling, though the story still focuses on Bart.  Struggling in school with a downer of a teacher, and having no friends or fun, Bart becomes depressed, and scarily so.  Homer and Marge seek advice from the school's counselor, bringing Lisa along because they have nowhere else to leave her.  As the counselor advices that Bart stop trying to be an individual, he notices Lisa complete a complex jigsaw puzzle.  After asking a couple of questions, the counselor tells the parents that Lisa is gifted, and that they should find some way to nurture that gift as soon as possible.  However, most things that allow said gifts to nurture cost a lot of money, and the Simpsons just do not have much at that time.  However, Homer had saved up $200 for an air conditioner, just in time for an intense heat wave, but Marge has him hold off on buying one until they can figure something out for Lisa.

A short time later, Bart, still depressed, realizes that he can make other people laugh with jokes and such.  Gathering a crowd, Bart makes a five-year old ass of himself, and as Principal Skinner tries to set Bart back on the right path, Bart tells Skinner to 'eat my shorts', thereby turning Bart into the rapscallion we're familiar with today.

Meanwhile, as Homer takes Lisa to buy an air condition, spying one for $200, Lisa points out a shop for musical instruments.  Learning that musical instruments can encourage a gifted child, he takes Lisa in.  Lisa becomes enamored with a saxophone, but it too costs $200.  Homer waffles between the sax and the air conditioner for a few moments, but decides to buy the sax.  In the present day, Marge reveals that they have money saved up in the air conditioner fund again which can buy Lisa a new sax.  Despite Homer's initial protests, he buys a new saxophone for Lisa anyway, and afterward he, Marge and Apu take a moment to laugh at Grampa's temporary blindness.  Good times.

Quick Review
Lisa's Sax is an exceptional episode.  Bart's kindergarten days were fun to watch, with the bullies all wearing such neat shirts, and the appearances of Apu and Grampa really enhanced the comedy as well.  It all combines to make one of the best episodes of the season.

Final Score: 10

And Maggie Makes Three (S06, E13-116)

Truly, one of the most memorable images of the early seasons of the show.

Plot Summary
As the family watches another thrilling installment of Nightboat, the crime solving boat, Marge turns off the TV as the family had agreed to one hour of "family time".  With the hour moving along at a crawl, Marge decides to look in the family album, specifically baby pictures, specifically pictures of baby Bart sleeping.  However, there seems to be no pictures of Maggie in the album.  The story behind that, as Homer tells, takes about the length of an episode.

Two years prior (no longer setting solid dates for these things), Homer finally pays off all of his debt, enabling him to begin his grand plan.  He quits his job at the nuclear plant, making a public mockery of Mr. Burns and literally burning the bridge on his way out.  Next, he easily gets a job at his dream place: the bowling alley.  Working as a pin monkey, Homer doesn't make nearly as much money as before but with no debt he is able to set up a budget that will work for him, Marge, Bart and Lisa.  To celebrate, he and Marge have a night out, which results in the ever successful act of procreation.

As Marge quickly becomes pregnant, Homer has the time of his life at the bowling alley.  Not only is he enjoying his work, he's actually good at it, too.  Still, Marge decides not to tell Homer about the new baby until the time is just right, which may as well be never.  Patty and Selma learn about this, and while promising not to tell Homer about it, they instead tell two of the biggest gossips in town, who quickly spread the news.  Despite being congratulated for "hard work", "a bundle of joy" and "way to get Marge pregnant", Homer takes these all to refer to his work at the bowling alley - even the last one - and remains ignorant of what's happened.  He comes home to a baby shower held by Marge's sisters, still not figuring out what's going on.  Maude finally actually congratulates Homer for his work at the alley, and only then does Homer figure out that Marge is pregnant.

Distraught, Homer knows that his current salary at the alley isn't enough to pay for the new baby.  He tries to get a raise at the alley, actually deserving one for once, but business at the alley isn't busy enough for Homer to get one.  One failed attempt at getting business later, and Homer has no choice but to quit his dream job and literally crawl back to his old job at the nuclear plant.  As punishment for Homer's previous departure, Mr. Burns has a plaque placed in Homer's work station that says "Don't forget: you're here forever."

Complete demoralized, Homer finds himself unable to bear the burden or even get excited about the baby.  Soon enough, Marge goes into labor, and though Homer remains lethargic about it, once the baby is born he perks up and shows love and care towards the newborn Maggie.  Back to the present, Bart points out that the original query of where Maggie's pictures are remains unanswered.  Homer remarks that those pictures do exist, but are at his workstation to remind him that he's working at the plant for Maggie, having covered up the plaque to read instead: "Do it for her".

Quick Review
This episode, a rather compelling tale of tragedy and triumph, is one of the season's best episodes.  Its funny enough on its own, but its the touching ending that really gives the episode its cherry on top, another heartwarming spectacle that really showcases the best of what the series has to offer.

Final Score: 10

Homer's Barbershop Quartet (S05, E01-082)

Poor Wiggum, poor poor Wiggum.

Plot Summary
Season 5 starts off with a flashback episode, and a somewhat odd one at that.  Its not about Homer and Marge, nor is it about any of the kids.  No, this flashback episode details Homer's time as a member of a barbershop group.  How many people could see that one coming?

The story is brought up during a Springfield Swap Meet, when Bart and Lisa spy a peculiar album made by a group named "The Be Sharps", with Homer's face on it.  When inquired, Homer more than happily tells the two about the group.  The year is 1985 (one year after Lisa's once-canon birth in Lisa's First Word), and Homer, alongside Apu, Principal Skinner and Chief Wiggum, sing barbershop songs around town amidst increasing popularity.  A talent agent sees them perform and wants to make them famous, except for Wiggum whom he feels is "too Village People", demanding him to be replaced.  As Homer dumps Wiggum into the middle of nowhere late at night, the remainder of the group has difficulty finding a replacement.  After several failed auditions, they group hears a wonderful singing voice emanating from the bathroom in Moe's.  The three soon realize its Barney crooning, and make him the new fourth member, much to Wiggum's continued dismay.

With Homer as the group's songwriter, the group records its first #1 hit: "Baby on Board", based on the sign Marge bought to stop people from intentionally ramming into her car.  With that hit, the Be Sharps rise to national fame, even winning a Grammy in the process.  However, time changes all things, and as the group starts to fatigue from their work (and Barney becomes super hipster thanks to being in a relationship with a Japanese "artist"), they learn that the group is not only not "hot", but also "not".  With that, the group breaks up and everyone goes back to their lives.

Back home from the swap meet, Homer sends the kids off to bed after telling them the story.  Looking at the album again, Homer feels a little nostalgic, and gets the group together to sing another song on Moe's rooftop, which is enjoyed by most except for the still-bitter Wiggum.

Quick Review
This ended up being a very enjoyable episode.  Wiggum proves to be the best source of comedy as he struggles with being kicked out of the group, and the references throughout the episode are neat to find and look at as well.  Even with the odd premise, its a strong start to Season 5.

Final Score: 9.5

Lisa's First Word (S04, E10-069)

"If you should die before you wake~"

Plot Summary
In this flashback episode, in what seems like the third in a series, we learn what the first words of Bart, Lisa and Maggie all were.  As the family tries to get Maggie to say her first word, its asked what Bart's first word was: "Ay caramba!" after sneaking in to see his parents "snuggling".  Opting not to actually tell that story, Marge instead tells them about Lisa's first word.

The year starts off at 1983, two years following Bart's birth as seen in I Married Marge.  Homer and Marge, now living in an apartment by themselves along with Bart who refuses to call Homer anything but "Homer", have their share of adventures.  One day, though, Marge reveals she's pregnant, and because the apartment just can't handle two kids, they decide to go house shopping.  After several bad houses are tossed aside, they come across a good house (the current Simpson house), but find they can't afford it.  Homer asks his father for money, and his agrees to sell his old place so Homer can have the money to buy the house.  Homer, grateful for his father's gift, agrees to let him stay at the house - something that only lasts three weeks, much to the amusement of the family today.

Baby Bart, though, just can't seem to settle into the new place.  After annoying Marge, Homer is able to settle him for a bit by watching Krusty the Klown, who is offering a free burger if the US wins certain 1984 Olympic events (most of which were rigged in favor of the Soviets - who then boycotted those Olympics, which costs Krusty millions).  At a later point Bart refuses to give up his crib for the new baby, so Homer builds Bart a bed.  Remembering Bart liked Krusty, but also with Homer's rather limited ability, the bed becomes a twisted clown abomination that scares Bart immensely.

Soon, though, Marge goes into labor, and Bart is forced to stay at the Flanders' house, where even more unfun times are had.  With all these bad things happening at once, when Bart finally gets a chance to see baby Lisa, he just hates her.  With more unfortunate occurrences that happen to Bart afterward, he tries to get rid of Lisa one way or another, but fails.  Eventually he decides to run away, but before he can he hears Lisa mutter her first word: "Bart".  Happy, he takes Lisa to Homer and Marge and she repeats the word there, among other things (including calling her daddy "Homer") much to everyone jubilation.  Bart and Lisa share a bonding moment there, not so much in the present day.  From that, Homer takes Maggie to bed and hopes she doesn't start speaking for awhile yet.  Just then, Maggie speaks her first word: "Daddy" (as voiced by the late Elizabeth Taylor).  Its so heartwarming its heart-melting.

Quick Review
Compared to the other flashback episodes, its an improvement over I Married Marge though still not as great as The Way We Was.  The whole Olympic sidestory and the clown bed were the best parts of the episode.  Standalone, its another solid entry in what has been a superb season thus far.

Final Score: 8.5

I Married Marge (S03, E12-047)

"Let's see: Bart, Cart, Dart, E-art... nope, can't see any problem with that!"

Plot Summary
The second flashback episode continues some time after the first flashback episode, The Way We Was.  This time, worries that Marge might be pregnant again has Homer recalling the first time Marge was pregnant, with Bart.

The year is established as 1980, six years after the set year in The Way We Was.  At this point, Homer is living with Marge and the rest of her disgruntled family and working at the mini golf place, spinning the windmill around.  Homer and Marge have themselves one fun night, culminating with them makin' babies within a castle at the mini golf place, and makin' babies they were: a short time later, Marge is pregnant (the scene is which Dr. Hibbert delivers the news is mostly the same scene as the one in The Way We Was).  Under his father's advice, Homer decides to marry Marge.

Despite not really having much of a job, Homer purchases a wide variety of things, mostly for the baby but also including Marge's wedding ring.  In an attempt to get money, Homer applies for the power plant, but that doesn't go well at all.  Eventually, the repo men come and take back all the baby stuff as well as Marge's ring.  Depressed over how events have turned out, Homer decides to leave Marge, choosing not to see her again "until he's become a man", and giving her what little he earns in the meantime.

Patty and Selma later see Homer working at a fast food restaurant, and though Patty doesn't want Marge to know, the more sympathetic Selma can't stand Marge being so sad, and tells her where Homer is.  Marge finds Homer at the restaurant, and tells him that any ring will be fine (Homer puts an onion ring on her finger as a testament to that).  Motivated by that, Homer attempts to get himself hired at the plant again, this time going directly to Mr. Burns himself, and sternly informing him that Homer will be as big of a suck up, yes-man doormat as Burns wants him to be.  Impressed with Homer's fiery yet spineless display, Burns hires Homer as a nuclear technician.  Now having money to spare, Homer rushes to the hospital in time to see Marge give birth to Bart.

As Homer finishes the tale, he reiterates how blessed he was when Bart, Lisa and Maggie were all born, though when Marge returns saying she's not pregnant, the two are quite ecstatic.

Quick Review
This ended up being a good episode, not one of Season 3's strongest episodes to be sure, and not as good or heartwarming as The Way We Was, but it holds its own overall.

Final Score: 7.9

The Way We Was (S02, E12-025)

OH THOSE 70s MAN, THOSE CRAZY SEVENTIES

Plot Summary
The episode begins with the family watching two movie critics insulting one another personally, but then the TV breaks down.  While the kids are upset, Marge notes that before they were born she and Homer hardly ever watched TV.  Intrigued about the past, Lisa inquires about how Homer proposed to Marge.  Marge declines to answer (the Season 3 episode I Married Marge answers that, using the same scene as the one featured here), and deflects it away to tell the story of how Homer and she first met, and fell in love.

It was 1974, which could make Homer and Marge 56 years old this year if, you know, things made sense like that.  Anyway, though they were both high school seniors, they had not yet met.  Homer, along with his pal Barney, was a slacker and did his own thing, drank, smoke, etc.  Marge, meanwhile, was a budding activist, taking part in forensics and making stands and such.  Homer and Barney both get caught smoking and are sent to detention.  A short time later, Marge's demonstration outside involving burning a bra for some reason catches the attention of the principal as well and he gives her detention too.  As such, inside the detention room, Homer and Marge meet for the first time.

Immediately in love, Homer tries to get advice from his dad, which doesn't pan out, and his guidance counselor, who doesn't give advice on love normally, but he does let Homer know that Marge is on the forensics team.  Homer signs up and, on a debate on whether the speed limit should be reduce, gives a simple rebuttal: "NO WAY" literally on his ass, fully displaced to everyone.  Its with that backdrop that Homer tries to set something up with Marge, having her ask 'trusted' people about Homer in the process.  Finally, learning that Marge is a french tutor, claims that he's struggling in the class and needs her help.  He's able to invite her over to study french, and after the lessons convinces Marge to dance a little.  The plan is working, and Homer is able to ask Marge out to the prom, which she accepts.  However, knowing Marge likes honesty, Homer lets her know that he never was in a french class, and it was just an excuse to get to know her better.  Angered, Marge storms out and tells Homer she hates him.  Homer, however, still believes the date is still on, and goes out of his way not to see Marge until the prom to make sure of it, skipping school in the process.

Meanwhile, Marge's forensics classmate Artie Ziff (voiced by the ever so wonderful Jon Lovitz) asks Marge out to the prom.  Having essentially dumped Homer, Marge accepts.  It creates an awkward moment the night of the prom, as both men are there to pick Marge up, but its made clear (to the relief of the Bouvier household) that Artie is Marge's date, not Homer.  Homer, having paid for the limo and two dinners, goes to the prom anyway, but is left on the sideline as Artie and Marge win homecoming King and Queen.  Marge sees Homer afterward and though Homer admits that being with Marge is the first things he's ever really been sure about, Marge says that he is just wrong.

After the prom, Homer's time with the limo runs out and is forced to walk home.  Meanwhile, Artie and Marge have time to themselves, but Artie is a little too forward and his efforts tear Marge's dress.  She slaps him and insists she take him home.  On the way, she sees Homer walking along the side of the road, and she remembers just how much he loves her, and though she overhears the family again putting down Homer and talking up the somewhat lecherous Ziff, Marge decides to find and pick up Homer.  Homer then says that once Marge stops the car, he'll hug her, and he'll kiss her and he'll never want to let go, and he never has to the present day.  Its a great conclusion to a great story which Lisa loved hearing (Bart not so much).

Quick Review
The Way We Was is the first of many flashback episodes of the show, and its among the best episodes not just among other flashback episodes, and not just among Season 2 episodes, but among the best episodes of the entire series.  Its a very heartwarming tale wrapped around so much fun and hilarity that it makes for a great episode to watch time and time again.

Final Score: 9.2