The Simpsons 376-380

Regarding Margie 

This episode premiered on May 7th 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by Family Guy. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Cold Case and The West Wing

The title of this episode is based on the 1991 movie Regarding Henry (so is the plot)

The chalkboard gag is "I will not leak the plot of the movie"and the couch gag is a repeat of the Transformers.

Nelson, Bart and Milhouse are painting street addresses on the curb and changing $5. Ned offers them a $100 if they'll paint his garage however it's not a scam but honest work so they run away. They do Homer's address but he refuses to pay so they leave him one number short, 74, he messes up the rest of the job. Lisa complains. After the Oakland A's drive by he wipes off what he added (see below), the postal delivery woman shows up with a package for 74 Evergreen Terrace, it turns out to be Omaha Steaks so Homer keeps it. Homer and Marge go to a Jewish wedding. The people who's address is 74 Evergreen Terrace win the Clean For A Day contest but Marge keeps the prize, she imagines the cleaning service judging her for her messy house so she does a massive cleaning however she finds a spot and mixes all her cleaning chemicals together and passes out on the three leg stool. At the hospital Dr. Hibbert holds up two fingers and when Marge gives him the right number he puts them back in the jar. Marge has amnesia and doesn't recognize the family. The insurance company kicks Marge out and she has to go home with the family, the first thing Homer does is strangle Bart and she gets mad. Marge recognizes Maggie, when Lisa tells her about sound triggering memory Marge remembers her, then she remembers Milhouse, followed by Bart. However she still doesn't remember Homer. Homer tries using his scrapbook but it's just photos of him in fights. Home wants to "snuggle" but Marge won't go for it. Patty and Selma tell Marge that her brain is trying to save her from Homer. Homer takes Marge out on a date to the mini golf castle where they first "snuggled", but she gets mad at him for how they first got together. Homer has to move out, Bart blames the moving out for his lousy report card. Homer moves in with Abe at the retirement home. Patty and Selma take Marge to a Singles Mixer in Shelbyville, she ends up going to get coffee with someone. Lenny and Carl call Homer to warn him about Marge's date so he rushes to the pier however when she tells her date about the kids he walks out on her. Marge overhears Homer telling the guy off for leaving such a wonderful woman so he drives her home. When Homer mentions drinking beer Marge suddenly remembers him. The End. Marge and Homer talk about remembering the names in the credits. 

Sal Bando and Gene Tenace of the Oakland A's do their own voices.

The chalkboard gag is a reference to The Simpsons Movie. After 5 years they had started production on it but it wouldn't be released until the summer of 2007.

Homer's address paint job 74 Oakland A's-Best Team Ever! Just as he finishes the 1974 Oakland A's drive by and give him a thank you honk. 

The steak package is addressed to Scott & Brenda Weingarten. 

Marge falling on the stool is a spoof on Million Dollar Baby (spoiler alert)

Marge reads Amnesia Monthly "Tips On Finding Your Way Home"

During a tour of the town Sideshow Bob and Bumblebee Man vs Sea Captain and Duffman are having a horsey fight over which kind of cherries are the best. A horsey fight is holding a person on your shoulder while they try to push someone off another person's shoulders, usually in a pool.

Homer's photo album: Him fighting with Bush sr. (Two Bad Neighbors) / Fighting with Bush jr. (Bush jr was President at the time) / punching a bag of apples.

Mrs. Krabappal gives Seymore a birthday tumble in the putt putt castle. 

Welcome to Shelbyville: We'll Put Syrup On Anything. 

The Monkey Suit

This episode premiered on May 14th, 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by Malcolm In The Middle. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, Survivor and The West Wing.

The chalkboard gag is "Je Ne Parle Pas Francais" (I don't speak French)" and the couch gag is a repeat of the photographic flash forward.

Booberella is holding a Labor Day marathon "of blood" and reminds her viewers that soon they have to go back to school, Bart is unhappy, he runs around town doing his summer list in one day. Lisa shows up and says that the family promised to go to the museum and they all groan. Marge is happy the museum has an exhibition on weaving however they just replaced it with The History Of Weapons. Homer is upset that there is a long line so buts in front of Ned Flanders, soon everyone is and Ned gets pushed to the back of the line. At the children's touch wall Maggie finds a switchblade and forces Marge to turn over the candy. Homer tries out the bullet proof vest however his ricochets destroy the rest of the museum. Bart straps Milhouse to the medieval stretcher. By the time Ned gets to the exhibit it's closing, he takes the boys to the Hall Of Man and freaks out that it features evolution and a unisex bathroom. Ned goes to Reverend Lovejoy with his crisis, he sees it as a chance to regain the members he lost to the Episcopalians who had installed vibrating pews. They go to Skinner and insist on Creationism being taught in schools, they threaten to void his car lease with the Christian Brothers Automotive so the school is forced to teach the religious version, Lisa complains. The school makes the kids take a test and all the answers are "God Did It'. Lisa insists Marge choose between Science or Belief, she goes out to join Homer on a trampoline. Lisa goes to the city council to complain about Creationism being taught in schools. The school has to make a choice to only teach one subject, they choose Creationism. Lisa leaves a note on the smart kid's lockers inviting them to a secret meeting in the school's Single Purpose room at lunch. Nelson shows up at Lisa's secret class and is disappointed because he thought they were going to light spiders on fire, it turns out he's in the wrong classroom and the bullies are next door. Lisa's class is raided by the police and she's arrested for teaching evolution, meanwhile Snake is firing a gun from the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart but they don't have the time to stop him. In the trial of God vs. Lisa Simpson her lawyer is ACLU appointed Clarisse Drummond and the religious crowd has Southern lawyer Wallace Brady. The defenses calls Frink who says God is a powerless figurehead. The Creationist says he has a PhD in Truthology from Christian Tech. When Lisa is about to give up Marge reads The Origin Of The Species and comes up with an idea, Bart tries to get Milhouse to take Lisa's place but it's really Nelson in disguise. When Ned is testifying about the Bible Marge gives Homer a bottle without a twist top, Homer acts up and Ned calls him a big ape, and loses the case. Ned and Lisa make up but Rod turns out to be Nelson in disguise. 

Melanie Griffith does her own voice and Larry Hagman does Wallace Brady. 

The plot of this episode was based on the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial

Grandpas Bucket List: Sleep With Esther Williams / First White Man In The Negro Leagues. He thinks he can do both if it wasn't for his trick knee

Bart's Summer Activity List: Win A Baseball Game / Appear In A Summer Stock Play / See A Summer Blockbuster / Have a Summer Romance (the girl's summer list is Kiss A 100 Boys)

Homer's Summer List: Check Out That New Store / Find, Destroy Atlantis / Fake Interest In Son

When Bart plays baseball the coach is based on Boilermaker, the character Walther Matthau played in the 1976 movie The Bad News Bears. When Bart hits a home run the theme from The Natural plays. 

Springfield Community Theater: Grease 2, The musical based on the sequel to the movie based on the musical.

Bart goes to see a version of the 1997 movie Men In Black. The Will Smith character says "Get outta my face your raggedy maggots!" and Bart realizes why people have been saying it all summer. 

The Natural History Museum has an exhibition Looms, Labor and Liberation - A History Of Women Weaving. Marge had showed off her weaving skills in the episode Lisa's Wedding. The exhibit changes to The History Of Weapons sponsored by Kellog's (The show's spelling), there is an image of "Tony the Tiger" being stabbed, shot and with a stick of dynamite in his mouth. 

IMAX: Coming soon, Up Your Nostril. The movie for the exhibit is Nunchuks: Cool But Useless. 

During the museum's Bible creationism display "What A Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers with Kenny Loggins plays. 

First Church Of Springfield message board. Today: Church Council Meeting, Topic: Religion.

When Ned insists Skinner teach alternative forms of evolution he asks if they means Lamarckian, a theory that beings pass on traits to their offspring that they developed throughout their lives such as physical or language adaption. 

Skinner plays a video for Lisa, So You're Calling God A Liar! An Unbiased Comparison Of Evolution and Creationism. The video shows Darwin as a drunkard who makes out with Satan. 

Homer is playing on a trampoline in the back yard. The family had one in the episode Bart's Inner Child

Town Meeting Today: Finding A Husband For Our Sister City.

Springfield Elementary text book: Life In These 38 States. This book would have had to be written between 1876 and 1889 when Colorado was a state but the Dakotas weren't. There is a historical error on the cover, Oklahoma is shown as a state but wasn't admitted to the Union until 1907, at the time it was known as Indian Territory prior to the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889. 

Lisa's secret class is called Viva La Evolution. (a reference to the chalkboard gag perhaps?)

Members of the jury, Kent Brockman / Bernice Hibbert / Barney / Bumble Bee Man / YEEEESSS man from Costingtons / Sea Captain / Sanjay / Kerney / Cookie Quan / Lenny / Carl / Luanne Van Houten

Marge has a picture with Snoopy "Happiness is...Met Life Casualty Insurance" This is a spoof on the 1962 Peanut's book Happiness Is A Warm Puppy and the insurance commercials. 

The Nelson in the Milhouse disguise and puzzle piece fade out is a spoof on the 1966 Mission Impossible TV series. 

 This episode ran in 2006 but is more relevant now with MAGA trying to force religion into schools and ban books. 

Marge And Homer Turn A Couple Play

This episode premiered on May 21st 2006. The lead in show was a Simpsons repeat (Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife) and followed by Family Guy. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, Cold Case and Dateline NBC

The chalkboard gag is "Have a great summer everyone" and the couch gag is a repeat of the furniture attacking the town. 

The title is based on the baseball saying "turning a double play" meaning getting two outs at one time. it's a pretty awkward title.

Homer sees the Isotopes are having a winning season and rushes to see a game. Tabitha Vixx does a sexy version of the National Anthem and her husband Buck Mitchelle has a lousy game. Buck sees Homer and Marge kissing and gets an idea, he comes by the Simpsons house and ask them to help him with his marriage in exchange for season tickets. Marge is worried but Homer talks her into it. Buck says he thought his wife would settle down and support his baseball career. She's tired of being trapped in a pointless marriage. Homer asks Buck to sign a bag full of baseballs. Marge suggests the couple do something together, Tabitha is going to be a presenter at the EPSYs and Buck is up for an award, Marge suggests they go in the same limo. The Simpsons advice is working and Buck is back playing great. The family gets invited to Tabitha's concert, Homer goes back stage and she asks him for a neck rub. Buck overhears them and busts in, he punches Homer in the face. Buck starts playing bad again and everyone is mad at the Simpsons, but Marge doesn't want to help since she's jealous of Tabitha. Tabitha shows up to tell Marge that she's leaving Buck however she tries to help save their marriage. The Duff blimp flies over the stadium with a message from Tabitha saying she loves Buck however it's a trick by Homer. Buck hits a ball into the blimp and it crashes into the stadium. Buck panics because he can't find Tabitha. Buck is about to beat up Homer for lying but Marge comes on the Jumbotron and saves him, Tabitha comes on and says she'll take Buck if he can guess the nights attendance, they decide to stick together. 

Mandy Moore does the voice of Tabitha Vixx and Stacy Keach returns as the voice of Howard K. Duff.

The plot of this episode was based on the 1985 film The Slugger's Wife.

The chalkboard gag is a reference to this being the last episode of the 17th season and the next episode would be on September 10th. 

The Simpsons watch Hunch, a detective show about a guy who "feels" like someone committed a crime. 

Self aware joke, Lisa says it's amazing they got 512 shows out of the premise of Hunch. This is episode 378 of The Simpsons. Right now they are working on episode 776. (Holy crap, I'm almost half way, plus the movie)

The Isotopes are having a winning season so their fair weather fans come out. This was the plot of Hungry Hungry Homer. 

Grandpa said he played baseball in 1942 for the Springfield Floozies. He was exposes when he lost his wig and got drafted. Jasper is also hiding out on the team despite having a full beard and mustache. This is a spoof on the 1992 film A League Of Their Own

The Inquisitor: Krusty's Sad Last Days. The image is of Krusty from the episode Lisa's Wedding. 

Marge reads Married Alive! A Wife-Saving Guide 

Homer has stolen Lisa's 2nd Grade Spelling Champion award, crossed out here name and what she got it for and wrote in Homer and Counselor. It is signed by Skinner and Krabbappal. 

Springfield Coliseum. Tonight--Tabitha Vixx! Warning: First Ten Rows May Get Horney. 

When the Duff Blimp flies over the stadium with a message to Buck from Tabitha the announcer says "Said Zeppelin has a whole lotta love" This is a reference to the 1969 Led Zeppelin song.

The blimp crashing into the stadium is a spoof on the 1977 movie Black Sunday. Buck says "This is the worst blimp crash ever" Grandpa shouts "Too Soon!"

Take Me Out To The Ballgame plays when Homer and Marge drive off.

This was the last episode of the 17th season. Holy crap that's a lot of episodes. Most shows are lucky if they run for 3 seasons. Why did I decide to do this again? Oh well, on to Season 18, and then the movie. 

The Mook, The Chef, The Wife and her Homer.

This episode premiered on September 6th 2006. The lead in show was The NFL Postgame Show and it was followed by American Dad. It ran opposite the movie The Path To 9/11, 60 Minutes and Football Night In America

The title of this episode is based on the 1989 movie The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.

The couch gag is a game of musical chairs. Pop Goes The Weasel plays while the family runs around them, when the music stops everyone sits down except Homer who gives a sad mmmmm.

Bart grabs the last seats on the school bus and puts his skateboard on the the other empty one. When Lisa complains to Otto she breaks his Walkman and he freaks out. The kids help him out by singing Old McDonald Had A Fart. On the way to school he sees Metallica broke down on the side of the road, while he's trying to convince them to hop on the school bus Bart steals the bus and Moleman gives the band a ride. He's left alone on the side of the road. Bart actually drives to school but Otto catches up with him and spanks Bart, Skinner catches him and suspends him. Marge has to drive the carpool, they pick up Michael, the weird shy kid. He forgot his math book so Marge drives him up to the house and that's when they discover that Fat Tony is his father. Suddenly everyone is afraid of Michael. Lisa feels sorry for Michael so she sits with him at lunch. Michael makes Lisa a salad from stuff growing around the playground, Lisa suggests he become a chef even though Fat Tony wants him to go into the family business "waste management". When the Calibrese family tries to run him off the road he uses Milhouse's three ring binder to flatten their tires, they crash into a truckload of baking soda and breath a sigh of relief until a tanker full of vinegar crashes into them, they say the foaming is not that bad and then a truckload of TNT crashes into that and blows them all up. Michael invites the Simpsons over for dinner. It turns out Fat Tony had a meeting with the Calibrese family on the same night. Michael makes soufflés for dinner, Lisa insists he show them to his father, who just made a deal with the Calibrese telling them that Michael would take over and he's relentless, however once they find out he wants to be a chef they disrespect him and plan on killing Fat Tony. The Calibrese show up in an attack helicopter and shoot Fat Tony, he winds up in the hospital for three months. Homer offers to run The Family until Fat Tony recovers. Homer's first job is to collect $50 from Moe, he threatens Homer and makes him pay his bar tab of $50 and then only gives Homer $25 back. Bart goes to Krusty to collect for keeping McDonalds and Burger King out of Springfield. Ned comes buy with Homer's phone bill but offers to pay it himself. Michael sees Homer and Bart at their worst and decides to get out of the business so he holds a sit down, he offers to surrender the family territory in exchange for protection of his family and The Simpsons. At dinner the other mob bosses all drop dead from poisoned meatballs, Michael had used his father's recipe for dinner with his enemies. Lisa asks Michael if the dinner was an accident and he tells her to not ask about his business, then he and the bullies do The Godfather ending, however the door swings open and they are playing Hot Wheels. 

Joe Mantegna return as the voice of Fat Tony, Joe Pantoliano does the voice of Dante, Michael Imperioli does Dante Jr. and Metallica play themselves.

Otto listens to An American Band by Grand Funk Railroad.

Springfield Shopper headline: Local Man Thinks Wrestling Is Real (Picture of Homer cheering)

Michael is based on Michael Corleone from The Godfather.

When Lunch Lady Doris opens up a can of WWII Surplus beans Raiders Of The Lost Ark ghosts come out. 

When Fat Tony tells the carpool kids they'll sleep with the fishes he's referring to a Finding Nemo bedspread. The movie came out in 2003.

When Fat Tony is driving the carpool he's listening to Woke Up This Morning by Coldharbour Lane, the theme from The Sopranos. 

Milhouse has two binders, Garfield and Love Is

Fat Tony uses a Palm Pilot to keep notes. In the modern world they are TouchPads.

Homer says he learned all about the mob from the 2004 film Shark Tale. 

Fat Tony's meatball recipe: Meat / Spices / Poison (Serves 6-10 Enemies)

The Godfather Theme plays over the closing credits.

Jazzy And The Pussycats.

This episode premiered on September 17th 2006. The lead in show was 'Til Death and it was followed by American Dad. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and Football Night In America.

The title is based on the 1970 animated series and 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats. 

The couch gag is most of the family runs into the living room however a King Kong Homer shows up, grabs Marge and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building where he's attacked by biplanes. 

Homer's former wife Amber has died and they hold a funeral for her but Bart keeps acting up. A mishap with a paddle ball causes everyone to yell at Marge. They take Bart to a child psychologist, Homer wants to put Bart on drugs but the doctor suggests the drums, it turns out he's a natural, by imagining the drums are Homer. Bart is playing the drums and seen going down the street with every beat, however at the corner he literally runs into the White Stripes and they plan to kick his butt. They chase him down the street but there is a pause in the beat just as they are jumping across an open span on a bridge and they fall down onto a garbage barge. Bart starts drumming all night so Homer turns on the white noise machine, Bart plays louder so Homer changes the machine over to traffic noise combined with a circus fire. Lisa offers to take Bart to the children's bebop brunch at Jazzy Goodtimes. Lisa invites Bart on stage and several guys in the audience see them, and come over to invite Bart to join them, Lisa is upset. Homer and Marge come by to see him and are very proud. The musicians want Bart to join their combo and Homer wonders if it will lead to a contract with Groove-Tone Records, Lisa is very jealous. She decides to try Bart's skateboard and winds up crashing into spicy salsa in the gift shop. The band calls Bart "Tic-Tock" and Lisa complains that she always wanted a Jazz nickname, so they call her "Downbeat" since she's bring everyone down. Gil tries to convince Bart to let him be his manager but the family just walks away. To cheer Lisa up Marge takes her to the pound to get a puppy. Lisa picks a puppy but the one she left behind haunts her. The next day she goes to get the scruffy one and ends up taking another dog and a bird. Soon she's being followed by various animals including the ones from a closed circus, she hides them in the attic. The animals make a lot of noise so Lisa goes to see what is happening, she finds Bart and the jazz musicians hanging out with the animals. The tiger attacks Bart and damages his arm, ending his drumming career. Homer announces he's now a Mexican Wrestler, Taco Belly. The family gives away the animals until Wiggum shows up to tell them they have until Midnight to get rid of all the animals, then rides off on an ostrich. The jazz musicians ask Bart to get surgery but it's too expensive so they plan on holding a benefit concert for him. Bart feels bad for Lisa so he uses the money to build The Lisa Simpson Home For Abandon Animals. A jazz version of the closing song plays over the credits. 

Meg and Jack White do their own voices. 

The couch gag is a spoof on the 1933 movie King Kong. Homer also played King Kong in the feature King Homer in the episode Treehouse Of Horror III. (Note, I thought Homer tossed Marge off the building but he caught her with his foot)

Funeral Today: Homer Simpson's Vegas Wife. Amber Pia Gow first appeared in the episode Viva Ned Flanders, however (continuity error) she "divorced" Homer in her wedding vows when she married Abe in the episode Brawl In The Family.

The Blue Man Group appear at the funeral. When one of them is choking on the paddle ball ball someone gives him the Heimlich he coughs up several balls and turns yellow.

Child Psychiatrist "Where Imaginary Friends Come To Die"

The psychiatrist is Dr. Brentano, he first appeared as Marge and Homer's marriage councilor in the episode Break My Wife, Please.

When Bart is playing the drums The Hardest Button To Button by the White Stripes plays. The scene is a spoof on their video for the song.

Jazzy Goodtime's is based on The House Of Blues. The Joint Is... Jumpin' / Disappointing / Closed For Inventory. 8-Hour Benefit, 2 songs will be played. 

Lisa's band is her, Datalore, Uter, Martin and now Bart. They play Take Five by Dave Brubaker. Ralph shows up with a Fisher Price toy mower. 

Professional jazz players: Defonzo "Skinny" Palmer / Marcus "Marbles" Le Marquez 

The Skinny Palmer Trio featuring Tic Tock Simpsons.

Jazz magazines featuring Bart: Blowin' / The Sugar Sheet "We ask Bart the questions Blowin' wouldn't or couldn't". Lisa is on the cover of Dream Denied Magazine "Downbeat Simpson"

Springfield Animal Shelter "Were a pet store for poor people"

When Lisa is walking down the street with her new pets Little Green Bag by Jan Visser and George Baker plays, this is a spoof on a scene from the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs.

Richard Sakai appears at the Jazz benefit. He first appeared in the episode One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish (He is a real person and a producers for the show)

This episode was all over the road. Bart acts up in church, becomes a star, Lisa adopts animals, instead of getting the surgery to fix his nerve damage Bart builds an animal habitat. It's also another example of why I don't like Lisa, Bart finds something he's good at and she selfishly destroys it. 

This is also the end of another 5 episodes. They have become rather strange with more and more outlandish plot lines making the overall show more and more cartoonish. I almost dread seeing what is coming in the future. Seriously, why am I still doing this?

Also, I'm back from my vacation, miss me? I went to Universal Studios and rode the Simpsons ride. No spoilers for those who have never been on it but all the original voice actors appear.

The Simpsons 371-375

Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife

This episode premiered on March 26th 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 60 Minutes and The West Wing. 

The title is based on the 1955 TV series This Is Your Life and the plot is based on the British show Wife Swap.

The chalkboard gag is "I will not laminate dog doo" and the couch gag is repeat of the kebab roasting. 

Marge and Homer are going to Lenny's for a party that he is throwing in honor of his new Plasma HD TV. Homer falls in love with it and takes up residency on Lenny's couch. Marge sends the kids to get Homer but they become fascinated by the TV. Lenny tries to set Homer on fire to get rid of him. Marge enters a contest to try to win a flat screen TV but instead the family wins a tour of Fox Studios in Hollywood. While mocking Dan Castellaneta Homer runs into a statue of Mischa Barton (at the time she was starring in The O.C.) When Lisa asks about the show Mother Flippers she points out it's the same as show on another network so they give her a free sweatshirt, with an ABC logo on the back and to keep her quiet they lock her in the American Idol Holding Pen. Homer finds out the prize is enough to buy a new plasma TV so he volunteers for the show. Verity Heathbar is coming to live with Homer, Bart, Lisa and Maggie while Marge goes to live with Charles and Ben. During the introduction Homer and Bart moon the camera, the network uses Ryan Seacrest's head to cover it up. Verity is only doing the show to humiliate her husband. The Heathbars are horrible people and Charles starts to fall in love with Marge. Charles tries to seduce Marge but she admits she loves Homer, Charles says that Ben isn't his real son. Lisa shows up to bring Marge home. Homer has been hiding from Verity and has pizza taped to his legs. Charles shows up to tell Verity he wants a divorce but she's leaving him for Patty. Homer gets his TV. The closing credits has Ricky Gervais doing some of his...well I guess you'd call it comedy even though it's not very funny.

Ricky Gervais does the voice of Charles Heathbar (good thing I have Closed Captioning on, it's a personal thing). When the show was dubbed into German Christopher Marla Herbst did the voice. 

When the show originally aired it featured a live action opening, the camera zooms over a real cooling tower and into a school window, a boy writes I Will Not Eat Things For Money (a repeat of the episode Marge vs. The Monorail), the scenes are skateboarding out the school door, Homer dropping the rod while Mr. Burns checks his watch, Marge and Maggie at the grocery store, Lisa getting kicked out of the band classroom, Homer throwing the rod out of his shirt, Bart skateboarding down the street past the various characters, Marge and Maggie driving down the street, the driveway stuff and then the family plopping down on the couch. The whole thing is clearly British. It was originally shot for Sky One in England but was included since Ricky Gervais wrote the episode. In syndication they went with the animated version but you can see the live action alternative on YouTube.

Continuity error, Homer says Lenny is about to make a big announcement, Marge thinks he going to announce that he's getting married. Depending on which episode you watch Lenny is either single or married according to what the plot needs.

Carl does a version of Ain't No Party Like A West Coast Party by Coolio swapping in Lenny's name, but then he has to stop because he has to go to work in the morning.

Lenny has a Newsfake magazine cover "Man Of The Year". 

Dated Reference: Lenny throws a party to announce he has a new Plasma HD TV. Today you can buy one at Walmart.

Also Sprach Zarathustra plays when Homer takes up residence on Lenny's couch.

Homer watches Two And A Half Men. The show ran from 2003 to 2015.

Homer makes a scrapbook of 40 years of the Family Circus, but doesn't like one of the jokes so he throws it into the fire. The comic strip has run since 1960. At this point Homer would have been collecting them since 1966.

In LA a kid has a roadside stand selling botox for $5 an injection. 

Fox Network. Number Two With Prisoners 18-49. Here's where we make The Best Damn Sports Show, Period (First aired in 2001) and the Worst Damn Comedy Show, Period (A sign with Jody's World with David Spade, a fictional show)

Self aware joke, the family sees Dan Castellaneta (from the Tracy Ullmann show) at the Fox tour. He's does multiple voices on The Simpsons.

Fox shows: Dwarf Or Midget? America Decides / Million Dollar Fart Off / Mother Flippers

When touring Fox studios they give Lisa a hoodie with ABC on the back, now Disney owns ABC and Fox Entertainment. Another Simpson prediction?

Homer has a DVD Homer Gone Wild volume 6. "They'll never let me go near Lake Havasu again". This is a spoof on the Girls Gone Wild videos.  

Charles is an office manager, this is a reference to the 2001 British show The Office. 

Itchy And Scratchy Show, Scratchy is thrown into the guillotine but Scratchy shoots him with a tommy gun instead. Verity makes Bart do a verbal report to the family on the show, Itchy uses an ice cream scoop to scoop out Scratchy's heart and make a sundae. Homer has to give a report on CSI: Miami.

The housekeeper takes Ben to an Irish pub where the violinist plays Danny Boy. 

Fox flies Lisa on Frito Lay's Air Force Yum, "come to the cool ranch and rope in flavors yee-haw"

Charles says he's going to tell his wife "You're fired" like trump. The Apprentice ran from 2004 through 2017. 

Million Dollar Abie

This episode premiered on April 2nd 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The Loop (a short lived sitcom about a guy in Chicago).  It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, Cold Case and The West Wing.

The title comes from the 2004 movie Million Dollar Baby.

The chalkboard gag is "I will not flip the classroom upside down" (the entire scene is upside down)  and the couch gag is a repeat of the TiVo menu screen.

Pro football wants to expand the league, the family says Springfield will be passed over since the only thing they are number one is is heart attacks. Homer vows to get the team for the city and everyone laughs at him. Various sounds are heard from the Simpsons basement including creepy children voice. Homer creates a model of the Springfield Meltdowns who play at the Duff Beer / Krustyburger / Buzz Cola / Costington's Department Store / Kwik-E-Mart / Stupid Flanders Stadium. His model includes a figure of himself puking in a trash can while Lenny and Carl cheer him on. The NFL picks Springfield because they don't like earthquakes and that potty mouth Sarah Silverman. The commissioner of football can't find his way to the stadium because the city changed all the street names to football references like Touch Down Ave and Two Minute Warning Blvd. He arrives at the Simpson's house and asks to use the phone however Grandpa is watching a story on 48 Minutes about criminals that ask to use the phone. Abe knocks him over the head and ties him up. When the Simpsons get home and free the commissioner he announces that the new team will never been in Springfield. Everybody hates Abe. He considers going to a euthanasia doctor but says he won't do it if he gets a call in the next 24 hours. The voters overturn the assisted suicide law just before Grandpa dies, he thinks he's dead and wanders around Springfield. He finds out he's still alive when he wanders into Luigi's where the family is eating dinner. Grandpa decides he needs to live without fear so he eats saltwater taffy and uses a mobility scooter at the skate park, telling the bullies they'll all die in a pointless war. The city holds a meeting on what to do with the new stadium, the leader of Los Souvenir Jacquitos suggests bullfighting (Lisa objects but is ignored). Grandpa volunteers to be the matador he becomes the hero of Springfield, except to Lisa. Grandpa decides he can't kill the bull and sets them all free, they go on a rampage throughout the city. Lisa and Grandpa float away on chairs attached to balloons but then two bulls tied to balloons show up. The closing credit scene features Grandpa testifying about people in the Communist Party.

Rob Reiner does his own voice.

Carmin Electra stars in Boobs, a show about remedial students. 

Jock Center features a slugger on 'roids (looks like Roger Clemens) / Tiger Woods is annoyed (a bird lands on his head) / North Korean Missiles Deployed. (the clip shows Kim Jong Il who died in 2011)

Maggie's words are translated into "Bald Mommy is sure to fail"

L.A. pitch for the football franchise features the song I Love L.A. by Randy Newman and has spokesman Rob Reiner. When comparing the tow cities Reiner talks about L.A.'s highlights and says Springfield has Apu. Rob pastes his name over his father's Walk Of Fame star and Rob Lowe's. 

Reiner mentions that Springfield takes in garbage from other cities (Trash Of the Titans) Quimby is seen holding a sign that says Welcome Vegas Trash. The trash barge has casino signs, used slot machines, dancer costumes and three dead Blue Man Group characters. 

Celebrity impersonators sing about L.A. Jar-Jar Sinks / The Who / Mark Knopfler / Bono / Sting / Bette Middler / Sylvester Stallone / Cindi Lauper / Steven Spielberg / Michale Jackson / Robert deNiro / Freddy Kruger / Quick Draw McGraw aka El Kabong / Quincy Jones directs. Several other people but I can't identify. 

48 Minutes is a spoof on 60 Minutes, which ran opposite The Simpsons, and their run time minus the commercials. The guest is Snake who likes to steal photos of the families and make collages that are a self portrait when looked at from a distance.

First Church Of Springfield Todays Topic: Jesus Hates You (this is meant for Abe after the football fiasco)

Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out) by John Lennon plays while Grandpa wanders around the city. 

The old Jewish Guy gives Abe a number to call, Dr. Egoyan 555-0362. Its a euthanasia doctor. 

The doctor uses a die-Pod (a spoof on an iPod) It features Instant Death / Slow Painful Death / Megadeath

The suicide chamber is a spoof on the death rooms in Soylent Green (spoiler alert)

Grandpa listens to Pennsylvania 6-5000 by Glen Miller while watching cops beat up hippies. 

Springfield Town Hall banner: Town Meeting. Come For The Agenda, Stay For the Addenda. 

Springfield Estadio de Toros Opening Day / Today: Bullfight Tomorrow: Bloody Sand Sale

At the opening of the bull fighting arena Lisa protests with a sign "Stop The Slaughter" and sings Blowin' In The Wind, a Bob Dylan song but made famous by the Peter, Paul and Mary cover.

Taco Pronto sponsors the bullfight broadcast.

Springfield Shopper headline: Old Man Beats Meat.

Lenny says he's smart, not book smart or street smart or something. This is a spoof on the Fredo speech from Godfather II

In the U.S. Bullfighting isn't like the European counterpart, animals are not allowed to be harmed so all the sticks are covered with velcro and stuck to a strip on the bull's back without penetrating the skin. They still do the cape and the bull is not killed at the end of the fight.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bangalor

This episode premiered on April 9th 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and The West Wing.

The title comes from the 2005 movie Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

The couch gag is a repeat of the dealt cards.

Mr. Burns shows a movie about how American workers are happy to be outsourced and then announces that the jobs are being moved to India. He throws a bouquet into the crowd and the person who gets it keeps their job, Homer wins. Patty and Selma go to see their hero, MacGuyver. They are the only two who show up. Richard Dean Anderson shows up looking for directions to SG:1 and insults the show MacGuyver, claiming that it was just a paycheck to him. Patty and Selma show up at the StarGate convention and kidnap Anderson. It takes Homer 65 hours to fly to India, he thinks he was going to Indiana. Homer gets into a fight with a cow over an iPod. Homer has to find Kavi, Apu's cousin, he turns out to be the second person Homer asks. Anderson escapes from Patty and Selma but then he comes back to explain how he MacGuyvered his way out. He asks them to tie him up again so he can try to escape a second time. Mr. Burns pretends to be a cobra rising out of a basket to welcome his Indian employees. Homer is suppose to explain to the workers how to run a nuclear plant so he turns to the management book Marge gave him. He reads some nonsense about fried eggs and the crowd cheers so they can go back to work. Kavi runs several tech support lines and does fake accents for each of them. Anderson keeps showing up asking Patty and Selma to put him in even more dangerous situations. Burns is happy because the plant is putting out 10% more power than the US version and he credits Homer and turns control over to him. Homer decides he's a God. In order to get rid of Anderson the sisters show their slides of their travels so he jumps out a window to escape. Mr Burns returns to the plant to discover that Homer has turned the place into the Apocalypse Now temple scene. it turns out that the Indian workers are only following Homer because he's been telling them about things like overtime, birthdays off and so forth, plus he unionized the staff. Burns moves the plant back to Springfield but the workers are happy because they set up "Golden Parachutes" for themselves. The show ends with a Bollywood dance number.

Richard Dean Anderson does his own voice.

Homer leaves a cutout of Mac Tonight in charge while he's in India. Mac was a mascot for McDonalds in 1986 advertising their later hours

Sons Of Sicily Hall. MacGyver Convent Today Conference Closet Q. Meanwhile across the street at the Coliseum is the SG:1 convention, complete with the Duff Blimp.

The kidnapping of Anderson is a spoof on the 1990 film Misery.

Marge's book for Homer to read on the flight to India, The Cereal Is The Prize. And other management secrets I learned at breakfast.

Homer uses his bodyguard's turban to imitate Carnac. Century Kids probably won't get the joke.

Bart has a new bully, he looks like Sluggo from the Nancy comic strips.

One of Kavi's tech support lines is a fake medium like Miss Cleo. Miss Cleo was an actress that promoted a psychic hotline in the 90's until the company was sued for fraud and deceptive billing practices. Youree Dell Harris, aka Miss Cleo died in 2016.

The End by The Doors plays while Burns takes the family upriver to find Homer. This is a spoof on the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now.

The Booze Cruise band plays Alexander's Rag Time Band by Irving Berlin.

When he thinks he's a god Homer and running the ritual at the power plant he looks like Mola Ram from the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom.

The Bollywood dance number plays Pal Bhar Ke Liye by Kishore Kumar.

The Wettest Stories Ever Told

This episode premiered on April 23rd 2006. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite Extreme Makeover, Cold Case and The West Wing.

The title is based on the 1965 movie The Greatest Story Ever Told

The couch gag is a repeat of the jigsaw puzzle. They've added Homer saying D'oh when the heads are mixed up and then giggling when they are right. The hands are still pink btw.

The family is at the Fryin' Dutchman but their food is delayed because the chef is in a knife fight with an octopus. Lisa tells the story about the Mayflower. Marge and the kids are getting on the Mayflower when Homer comes rushing on board, he's a wanted man for questioning why they call it the Jacobean Era. The family disguises Homer as Marge's dead husband. Ned Flandish is the leader. Moe claims to be engaged to Marge. Homer strangles Bart and reminds Marge of her dead husband. Moe brought along beer for the Natives and tries to get Homer drunk. The ship gets hit by a storm and Moe exposes the crew as being drunk and blames Homer, they lock him in the stocks. Ned is knocked out so Homer takes control of the ship, they follow an albatross to the shore. Wiggum is the chief of the tribe at the first Thanksgiving. (talk about jokes that didn't hold up well)

Marge's name is Constance Prudence Chastity Goodfaith. aka Marge Obedience Temperance Sexwon't.

The Sea Captain shows up with their bill and they complain that they haven't gotten their food yet, so Bart tells another story, his is about The Bounty. Skinner is Captain Bligh, the crew is all the school children. He punishes the crew by pushing their mail overboard. Willie warns the captain about a potential mutiny but he just laughs at them. In Tahiti Homer is the chief of the locals. On the return trip Bligh abuses the crew so they mutiny. The crew sails back to Tahiti however Bart throws the wheel overboard and they crash into Antarctica. 

Pamphlet: The British Navy. Less Scurvy, More Curvy.

Weezer's Island In the Sun plays during the luau scene.

The crew visits Easter Island even though it's 1700 miles away.

The crew sings Row Row Row Your Boat.

Homer tells the story about The Poseidon Adventure. Burns is the captain of the Neptune, he makes several comments referring to capsized ships. The Simpsons are the band and Lisa sings a version of The Morning After. A giant wave hits the ship and it is capsized. Homer still celebrates NYE. Selma read all the brochures and tells everyone to head up towards the hull, Wiggum tells them to remain where they are. Homer goes to the restroom upside down. They head up through the vent shaft to a partially flooded room, CBG takes a rope and swims to the other side where they can reach the engine room, and then drops dead. The people are rescued and just then a haunted Bounty captained by Bart shows up.

70's movies mentioned by Burns: Earthquake / Towering Inferno / China Syndrome / Apple Dumpling Gang

CBG looks for some inspirational music, Alone Again by Gilbert O'Sullivan comes on the radio.

Bart's cursed Bounty crew is based on the 2003 movie Pirates Of The Caribbean. 

The end. The family never got their food btw.

Girls Just Want To Have Sums

This episode premiered on April 30th 2006. It ran in its usual time slot and opposite the regular programs. 

The title is based on the song Girls Just Want To Have Fun and the plot is based on Shakespeare's 12th Night, and the movies She's The Man (2006) and Just One Of The Guys (1985)

The couch gag is a repeat of the surprise party.

Juliana Krellner comes back to Springfield to direct a musical based on Itchy And Scratchy, she graduated top of her class except in math. Skinner comes on stage and starts making comments about women being inferior in math and gets attacked by the cast, and picketed by angry women. Skinner holds a diversity forum and wears a skirt however things go bad when everything he says is judged (The Simpsons predict the Woke Movement). Chalmers replaces Skinner with Upfoot and she divides the school by sexes. Homer and Marge get into a discussion about the inventions of women and men, Homer ends up sleeping on the couch. The girl's math class is trying to find out how numbers make you feel, Lisa complains. She sneaks over to the boy's side of the school and finds out that they are doing real math, she gets caught by assistant groundskeeper Skinner. Marge remembers back to when she was about to pass calculus but Homer distracted her and she never did math again so she disguises Lisa as a boy.  Bart nicknames Lisa Toilet. Milhouse tells Lisa (Jake) that he broke it off with Lisa, she gets mad and when she starts walking away she runs into Nelson, who beats her up on the playground. When Bart gets home he finds out that Lisa is Jake, he offers to teach her how to be a boy with instructions like eat like a slob and puke in CBG's fast food bag. Homer wants to "Wang Chung" with Marge but she's still mad at him over the women vs. men intelligence, he winds up on the couch again, when he makes a comment about being smarter than SLH he winds up in the dog house. Bart makes Lisa pick a fight with a smaller boy so she will finish her training. She goes after Ralph but won't take his lunch money, so Bart shoves her into him. The rest of the guys like her after that. Lisa wins an award for outstanding mathematics. She exposes herself at the award ceremony, Bart takes credit for teaching Lisa how to think like a boy. Lisa is giving a speech about learning but Mr. Largo interrupts her so he can give the award for best flautist, Martin, Lisa hits him with a chair in the middle of his song. 

Frances McDormand does the voice of Melanie Upfoot

Springfield Theater District: Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in $$$ / One Guy Named Moe / Stab-A-Lot The Itchy and Scratchy Musical directed by Juliana Krellner and based on the book by Tom Stoppard.

Stab-A-Lot, based on the musical Spamalot, which is based on the musical Camelot. The play is based on The Lion King The Musical, the artwork is a reflection of the Disney artwork. During the "Circle Of Life" song Itchy pops out and starts slashing the other characters. 

Protest Signs: Skinner + Words = Hate / XX=XY / Why Did I Multiply? (Agnes Skinner) 

Springfield Elementary Banner: Diversity Forum Tonight Public Invited. Albanians Enter In Back. 

The girl's side of the school has paintings by Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe and Cathy Guisewite. 

The boy's side of the school looks post apocalyptic with a bookmobile on fire, a crashed helicopter, a wolf, graffiti, a chalk outline.  

Boy's math book, Real Math, Now Extra Challenging.

Student Achievement Awards (Some Awards Pre-Taped)

At the award ceremony Martin plays Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull, the actual song plays over the closing credits. (I hate Jethro Tull, the music not the guy)

This was another episode that set up a premises and then just sort of said "well, it's over" and left it at that. 

This episode is the end of another five. These episodes seemed to be all over the place and more and more into the cartoon world and less attached to reality.  Oh well, we're closer to the end, though not really, and closer to the movie. Onward to the next five.

Just a quick note. I'm gonna be taking a couple of weeks off from posting these because I have something to do and I won't have time for the show. I'm not quitting watching like I alway threaten to do, I'm just on a temporary break.

 The Simpsons 366-370

Homer's Paternity Coot

This episode premiered on January 8th 2006. The lead in show was a repeat of The Simpsons (Last Of The Red Hat Mamas) and was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 60 Minutes and The West Wing.

The title comes from the legal procedure Paternity Suit. 

The chalkboard gag is "I am not smarter than the President" and the couch gag is a photographer comes in and takes the family's photo, we then see a montage of the family over the years, 2006 modern family / 2007 pretty much the same / 2008 just came back from Homer's funeral / 2009 teen Bart and Lisa, Lenny has taken Homer's place / 2010, Carl has taken Marge's place / 2011, Marge is back and Jimbo is now in Homer's place / 2012 Robotic Homer / 2013 Robotic family. (2013 was 11 years ago btw)

The Simpsons are watching a commercial with a family crying over their house engulfed in flames, it turns out to be an ad for the Smoke Damage Outlet Store. Today only, meet Smokin' Joe Frazier. "I'm only here because my name has Smoke in it". Marge rushes to the store but discovers the city has converted the route to toll road and it costs 75 cents. She decides to take The Old Cheapskate Trail. Quimby wants to force the drivers to take the toll road but he won't let Wiggum shoot anyone. The town puts up tire spikes and blockades across the exit. Marge refuses and tries to back up causing tire damage for everyone behind her. All the damaged tires are throw on the tire fire which causes the glacier on Mt. Springfield to melt. They discover a frozen mailman, Frink determines he's from the 1960's. They go through the bag of undelivered mail,  Mr. Largo's letter is his acceptance to Juilliard and Moe's says he isn't allergic to pollen so he runs to the park to play. There is a letter for Grandma Simpson and it's from her secret lover saying he's the father of Homer. Homer tries to think up good qualities to defend Abe as his father but can't come up with any. Lisa suggests a DNA test but Abe refuses and heads to the mall to talk to people throwing away their trash. Homer finds the name Mason Fairbanks at the library. To find Mason, Homer pretends to be a reporter asking questions about people who wear sweaters. Mason is a sea salvager, finding sunken treasure and his boats is named "The Son I Never Knew". Homer starts to screw up his story so he confesses that he may be Mason's son. Mason is looking for the lost emeralds of Piso Mojado (Wet Floor). The family has a great time with Mason but then come home to find Abe waiting, Marge insists on a paternity test. Hibbert's test reveals that Mason is Homer's real father. Mason and Homer go in a submersible to look for the lost treasures. Homer gets lost and follows a glowing fish, he gets stuck in a coral reef and is running out of oxygen. He passes out and remembers the good times with Abe. He wakes up in the hospital after being in a coma for three days, he tells Abe that he considers him his real dad. It turns out that Abe switched the labels on the DNA sample since Mason seemed like a better father. In the closing credit scenes Mason teaches Homer that the stove is hot.

Michael York does the voice of Mason Fairbanks. William H. Macy and Joe Frazier do their own voices.

This is the first chalkboard gag since the episode The Bonfire Of The Manatees on September 11th, 2005. It is a reference to President Bush Jr. 

The tollbooth operator is reading PlayBooth magazine. A spoof on Playboy.

Springfield Tire Fire, now smelled in 46 states.

Johnny Cash's Burning Ring Of Fire plays while the new tires are being thrown on the heap.

Homer tries to figure out someone who's name starts with an M. He says it might be M. Night Shaymalan and a twist worthy of his ever increasingly horrible films. In 2004 Shaymalan had released The Village (44% Rotten Tomatoes Score) and 6 months later would release The Lady In The Water. (25% Rotten Tomatoes Score)

When Homer wonders about his father, Time After Time by Cindi Lauper plays. He imagines playing catch with a giant question mark, he throws the ball through a window and an angry exclamation point comes out.

Library books: Springfield Lifeguards Of the 20th Century / Springfield Night Watchmen Of The 20th Century / Springfield Fry Cooks A-E

Homer's fake reporter notes: Daddy Smell Good / Too Soon For Hug?

Jimbo, Dolph and Kerney host The Bully Hour on Springfield Public Access TV. This was two months before the launch of YouTube. Their guest is William H. Macy, they beat him up. 

DNA sample labels: Same Ol' Grandpa / Suave New Stranger

Dr. Hibbert has a t shirt for Homer. On the front it says #1 Son and on the back World's Biggest Bastard.

Underwater stuff: Leaking barrels of nuclear waste / Mutant Fish / Dead mobster in cement shoes 

Heart transplants recipients list. Montgomery Burns / Jasper Bearldy (this is the first time we see his last name) / Old Jewish Guy / Jebediah Springfield IV

We're On The Road to D'ohwhere

This episode premiered on January 29th 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and Dateline NBC.

The title comes from the 1985 Talking Heads song Road To Nowhere.

The chalkboard gag is "The teacher was not dumped -- it was mutual" and the couch gag is the Bonanza map, the family come riding up on horses just like on the opening of the classic western TV show. (The Ponderosa, a prequel series, was running on PAX opposite The Simpsons in 2006)

Skinner buys a 1995 Camry, meanwhile Bart is snooping through his desk and finds his secret diary and Dance Contest Submission Tape (Skinner is in a roller disco outfit), there is also the key to the steam tunnels under the school, Bart steals it. Moe announces he's taking the bar regulars on a party bus to Vegas, it turns out he sued the rope company when it broke while he was trying to hang himself and got a large settlement. In the steam tunnels Bart and Milhouse find a crack in the wall and it looks in on the cafeteria loading dock, they are excited to see that they are having pizza tomorrow, Grade "D" Frozen Pizza. The boys find the main valve room, they turn the smallest one that causes a systemwide breakdown, the school is flooded with steam. The steam brings the frogs in the dissection class back to life and they attack the kids, it rusts the instruments so all the kids have to sing "bum bum bum".  Skinner catches Bart and they plan to send him to Upward Bound, a reform camp. When Homer tries to put Bart on the flight to Portland he finds out that Bart is on the No Fly list however Homer decides to drive him all the way. While Homer and Bart are gone Marge digs through their stuff to hold a yard sale, Lisa finds a collection of Malibu Stacey heads. At a diner Bart and Homer laugh at the father and son in the booth next to them. While Bart goes to the restroom Homer orders the big breakfast and after eating discovers that Bart didn't come back. Homer thinks Bart crawled out the window and gets stuck trying to go after him, however Bart was hiding in the stall and goes to tells the cook that Homer is trying to dine and dash,  the cook goes into the restroom and hits Homer with a frying pan while Bart takes off. The only money Marge makes off the yard sale is from Flanders buying back his own stuff. Otto shows up and buys Homer's expired drugs, soon the yard is full of people buying stuff, and pills. Homer sees Bart hitchhiking but is distracted and drives to the edge of a cliff. Only Bart can save him and Homer has to promise to treat him well but when Bart pushes down Homer threatens him, Bart keeps teeetertottering Homer. Marge gets busted by the police for drug dealing. Homer chains Bart into the car and drops him off at the camp where they say they'll make his childhood go away. Homer starts to drive to Vegas to meet up with the bar regulars but starts to have second thoughts about the camp and decides to break Bart out. Bart actually starts to learn to be better when Homer shows up, they head to Vegas. Lisa comes home to hear a message from Marge saying she needs $10,000 in bail and another from Homer saying he is in a Vegas jail, Bart has taken off again. Lisa figures she'll start looking for work in the morning. A Vegas show version of the theme song plays over the credits.

State Comptroller Atkins joins in the discussion about the school damage. His first appearance was in the episode Lisa Gets An A in 1998

Upward Bound is a spoof on the Outward Bound program and the wilderness reform camps. Most of the camps were shut down when it was discovered there were widespread cases of abuse and even death.

Road Sign: You are leaving Springfield, Land Of Milhouse. 

Self aware joke, when Homer is complaining about driving to Oregon he calls it the Birthplace of Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons. Later Homer drives through the log cabin that is Matt Groening's childhood home. 

Homer imagines "Fun Homer" being held by glowing rings while "Serious Homer" guards him. Off to the side is the body of "Intellectual Homer", written in his own blood is Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. (This is a theory about evolution)

Lisa's yard sale sign: Yard Sale / Venta De Garaje. 

Mt. Rushmore, 20 Feet Out Of Your Way, Homer drives on by. 

Homer and Bart go to Skobo's diner. It was first mentioned in the episode The Bonfire Of The Manatees.

CBG comes to the yard sale and buys Homer's Mr Plow jacket.

Mr. Smithers buys all of Marge's old estrogen pills. I wonder what they mean by that joke. 

Lenny is riding the roller coaster at Gold Diggers casino and Nero's Palace is seen in the background. These were first seen in the episode Viva Ned Flanders. The roller coaster has a dinosaur fossil as part of the background, this is from the Disneyland ride Big Thunder Mountain. There is also a volcano like the one at the former Mirage casino. 

Bart's hitchhiker sign: Marine Home For Christmas.

This episode set up a lot of story lines but then does the "well it's over" bit and ends with no real conclusion. 

My Fair Laddy

This episode premiered on February 26th 2006. The lead in show was NASCAR (Auto Club 500) and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Dancing With The Stars, Cold Case and the XX Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies. 

The title and plot are based on the 1964 musical My Fair Lady.

The couch gag is a repeat of the claymation one.

The school gets a new gym teacher Coach Krupt who teaches the kids about the game of Bombardment (Dodge Ball). Homer destroyed his pants at the Go-Kart track and now has to find a new pair in the pants district. Bart decides to get revenge on the coach by freezing a dodge ball, when he throws it he misses, it goes through a window and smashes into Willie's shack who then throws the ball and destroys the school tractor. Bart is punished by helping Willie rebuild his shack, Marge invites Willie to spend the night at their house. When Lisa asks Willie if he wants something better he sings a version of Wouldn't It Be Loverly (Wouldn't it be Adequate). Lisa decides to reform Willie in time for the science fair. Homer found out that his favorite pants are no longer made after a bad Super Bowl ad. Homer promises to create a new ad although he has no ideas on what to do. When the bullies see Lisa trying to make a gentleman out of Willie they make a bet about Kerney going around the world in 80 Days (a Jules Verne novel), Kerney sets off to Istanbul in a hot air balloon. Homer gets a tattoo on the back of his head "Buy Big Blue Pants". While training Willie they do a version of The Rain In Spain and when they kick Homer out of the room he sings "I'm Getting Blue Pants In The Morning", a version of Get Me To The Church On Time. Willie shows up at the science fair as G. K. Willington Esquire while wearing a white tux. Willie sings about being indoors all night to the tune of I Could Have Danced All Night. Bart tries to get Willie to crack in order to win the bet but nothing works. Skinner is about to announce the winner of the science fair so Lisa reveals that Willington is Willie. Once Lisa has won the science fair she has no more training for Willie, she gets him a job at the Gilded Truffle maitre-d. After his success with Blue Pants Homer gets more tattoos, Buzz Cola, Maine Potatoes, Re-elect Fourth Circuit Judge Chavez. Willie sings a song about missing his old life to the tune of On The Street Where You Live. At the restaurant Krusty gets insulting so Willie attacks him and returns to his old job. He starts to sing Heaven but Skinner makes him stop. Lisa adds the sign Home Sweet Home to Willie's new shack but he smashes it because he liked the place the way it was. the exit music from My Fair Lady plays over the closing credits.

Mrs. Pommelhorst is taking a leave of absence and will return as Mr. Pommelhorst in the fall. She was first mentioned in the episode The PTA Disbands.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story came out in 2004.

Stores in the pants district, No Blue Pants / Rainbow Of Pants -No Blue / Blue Pants Cafe - We Do Not Sell Blue Pants

When Bart plans to throw the frozen dodge ball at the coach he gives a version of the sergeant's bathroom speech from the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket

Willie is reading The New York Review of Mops.

The Simpsons have a restroom under the stairs. This is the first, or only time it's ever been seen. 

Homer goes to Worldwide Pants. Their sign says "We Had The Name Before Letterman" in the early days of Late Night, David Letterman would use the Brandiff Airlines logo but was sued since it's still copyrighted so he created his own production company Worldwide Pants. Worldwide Pants (the Simpsons version) is run by Eli Stern VI. 

Big Blue Pants uses Henry Mancini's Baby Elephant March song in their Super Bowl ad. "Big Blue Pants, when you just don't care anymore" The commercial is a reference to the creepy Calvin Klein ads of 1995, that people associated with exploitation porn.

Lisa reads Common-Slob to Brahmin Snob: A Guide to Etiquette / Genteel Ben's Guide to Etiquette.

Moe has a billboard above the bar, "Ladies Go Out With Moe" it almost works until the jaw from his face falls off.

At the science fair Tales Of The Vienna Woods by Strauss plays. 

Willie tells Mrs. Krabappal that he'd be delighted to dine with her on the 12th, while writing Boink Slut in his date book. 

Krusty's girlfriend is Charity Titters. A spoof on Brittany Spears. 

Mr. Largo becomes the new grounds keeper until Willie's return.

The Seemingly Never-Ending Story

This episode premiered on March 12th 2006 and ran in the same time slot and opposite the same programs as the previous episode. 

The title comes from the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story 

The couch gag is the couch comes by on a conveyor belt, Homer is lowered down by a claw and then the couch zips off.

The family goes to Carl's Dad Caverns. Homer tries to chip off a piece of a stalactite and causes a hole to open up, the family falls down it and Homer gets stuck hanging upside down. While Marge and Bart try to find a way out Lisa tells Homer a story about her day. Lisa encounter a sheep which threatens her and chases her into Burns house. They run for their lives while it destroys everything in its path. While hiding in the attic Burns starts telling a story about how he worked at Moe's. Burns is a member of the Excluder's Club, the YeeHaw Texan teases Burns which ends up as a duel but instead they decide to have a scavenger hunt, each guy has to get 10 items. The last item Burns needs is a photo with a smiling child but everyone is terrified of him. The YeeHaw Texan gets a photo with Jimbo. Burns loses everything and winds up working at Moe's. Burns finds a letter from Moe about his hidden treasure. In the letter Moe tells the story about getting hit by a bus that Mrs. Krabappal has just arrived in Springfield on, she tells Moe her ex was a drunk and hates bars. He claims to be a therapist for alcoholics and kicks all the regulars out of the bar. Moe dates Krabappal and things are going great until the bar patrons show up so he threatens them. He plans on leaving Springfield and take Krabappal with him. Snake shows up with a bag of gold coins, he tells the story about how he was an honest archeologist. Moe says the museum is closed so Snake goes across the street to the motel. Moe breaks into his room and steals his gold coins which turns Snake into a criminal. Moe and Krabappal are about to leave town but she has to go to the school and quit and she tells the story about the first time she met Bart. Bart tells Krabappal that he's a screwup and everyone likes Lisa better so she vows to get him through the 4th grade. It turns out that Bart was lying as a cover while Nelson stole microscopes. Krabappal tells Moe that she has to stay so he tells her off and throws her stuff out into the street. He pumped all the gold coins into the juke box to play Fly Me To The Moon over and over. Burns steals the gold to pay off the Texan however to get the plant back he still has to get a photo with a smiling child. Just then the ram breaks into the attic and knocks down Burns, however it was just trying to return Lisa's lost necklace, it then tells the story of how it found it hanging on a tree. To thank Burns Lisa takes a photo with Burns while smiling. Burns gets his plant back, Homer comes crashing through the cave and confesses that he was searching for Moe's stolen coins. He tells the story about how the Texan hid the gold coins in the cave. The Texan shows up looking for the gold followed by Burns and then Snake. Everyone stands around pointing their guns at each other until Marge takes then away and tells them off. She dumps the coins down a deep crack. Snake takes everyone to Shelbyville to help with a youth center, except for Burns who is trying to climb down after the gold coins. However the whole story is being told by Bart as an excuse why he didn't study for his geography test. Skinner doesn't believe him until he looks out and sees Krabappal kissing Moe. 

Maurice LaMarche does the voice of Commander McBragg, the umpire in the scavenger hunt. The character comes from the 1960's cartoon series Tennessee Tuxedo.

Carl's Dad Caverns - Discovered in 1956 by Carl's Dad. This is a spoof on Carlsbad Caverns and has the image of Carl's Dad on the sign. 

The local Native American tribe is the Anahoopi and their god is Tsisnajini.

When Homer gets stuck Marge says they'll get the fireman who cut him out of the teacup ride. In the episode Today I Am A Clown CBG gets stuck in the Teacup Ride.

Pastoral Number 6 by Beethoven plays while Lisa tells her story.

When Burns forgets his password to his panic room it asks him for his place of birth and he types in Pangaea. It emails his password to him. Pangaea is the theoretical super continent that existed 200 million years ago and was split apart into the modern continents by tectonic plates and continental drift. 

Stuff in Burns attic, a big wheel bicycle / candlestick phone / Moe's Tavern Employee Of The Month photo 

Members of the Excluder's Club: Burns / Kent Brockman / Aristotle Amandopolis / Commander McBragg  / Rainer Wolfcastle / Uncle Moneybags / Roger Meyers Jr. / the YeeHaw Texan / Leopold

When challenged to the scavenger hunt the YeeHaw Texan says he's going to win a nucular plant. This is a mocking of George Bush jr. who constantly said "nucular"

Scavengers list: Blue Rose / Suspender (They steal from Lenny) / The Letter "I" (they steal from the Springfield sign) / Peruvian Cockroach / Lard Lad / Tombstone (Burns steals Frank "Grimy" Grimes)  / Homer Hair / Picture of Yourself with Smiling Child / There is something else on the list "Wood" but half the word is covered up so you can't see the rest.

Burns family headstones: Rutherford Burns / Stewart Burns / Cotton Burns / Mildred Burns / Agatha Burns. 

Burns first paycheck withholdings: Federal W/D $11.00 / FICA $10.63 / Medicare $8.00 / State W/H $3.50 / Moe's Special FICA $140.00 

When Moe is dating Krabappal Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra plays. They go to The Cloth Napkin for dinner. 

The Moeview Motel is across the street from Moe's. 

Self aware joke, Bart tells Mrs. Krabappal that he won't even make it through the 4th grade. He had been in the fourth grade for 18 years at this point, however he had graduated from the 4th grade in the episodes, Kamp Krusty /The Summer Of 4'2" / The Secret War Of Lisa Simpson.

Bart spray paints "Munch My Butt" on the wall of Springfield Elementary. 

Snake's son is named Jeromy. 

Bart Has Two Mommies

This episode premiered on March 19th 2006. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and The West Wing.

The title is based on the 1989 book Heather Has Two Mommies.

The couch gag is the couch is protected by a laser grid and the family has to work their way through it, it cuts Homer's head off. 

The family goes to the church's fundraiser carnival. Bart wants to know why God needs money all the time so Homer tells him it's a lot of little things, plus all the other planets he has to support. There is a mirror that shows you what you'll look like in hell, Lisa sees herself withering away while Burns sees himself with a crown and scepter, his candy apple looks like Smithers head on a stick. The reason they are raising funds is to build a taller steeple than the one on the snotty Episcopal church, pretty much describes every religious structure in the world. The big finale of the day is a rubber duck race, first prize is a home computer. Homer brings a gun and shoots other ducks but his duck goes towards the old mill. Homer is just about to win when a real duck drags off his rubber duck, he manages to get his back and throws it across the finish line, however it turns out to be the real duck and Ned wins, however he gives it to Marge because he doesn't want to be "googled". Marge asks Ned if he needs any favors and asks her to watch Rod and Todd, the last baby sitter let them watch Comedy Central and now Rod is afraid Rita Rudner is in his closet. Randy Johnson is selling left handed bears at the South Paw Convention. Marge enjoys her time with Rod and Todd while Lisa and Bart are bike jousting. Homer shows up in a letterman jacket to make out with Marge while she's babysitting, they snuggle on the couch however Ned comes home and Homer runs away. Lisa wants to go to the actor animal retirement home but it's just a bunch of old animals in cages. Outside is a sad ape, Toot-Toot, she was in the movie Teen Tarzan's Eco-Adventure. Toot-Toot kidnaps Bart. When Ned comes home he finds the pull thread from a Band-Ade and wants to know what happened, Rod cut himself on the knife from Christian Clue, The Secular Human did it in the Schoolhouse with Misinformation (picture of a dinosaur). Marge asks where Bart is, he's still in the ape cage. Marge takes Rod and Todd to a play center but Ned comes to spy on her. Rod is enjoying the rock climbing wall until Ned shows up and panics, causing him to slip and fall. Ned accuses Marge of being a bad mother, she starts to defend herself when a news story comes on about Bart being held by the monkey. Homer tries to shoot a tranquilizer dart through a blow tube but swallows it by mistake. Ned goes super crazy on safety and won't let the kids do anything, they want Marge back. Bart starts to enjoy Toot-Toot's attention so Marge charges in and begs for the return of Bart, however Toot-Toot escapes. Toot Toot climbs the new church steeple, Reverend Lovejoy tries to comfort Marge by showing her the dedication plaque, The Bart Simpson Memorial Steeple. Lisa shows up with Mr. Teenie, Toot Toot's son and offers him in exchange. Rod climbs the steeple even though Ned tells him he's going to fall. Marge convinces Ned to cheer him on. When climbing down the church steeple Bart says he doesn't want to touch Rod's hand because it's "Gay", Rod doesn't know what that means so Bart tells him it means to be unafraid so he shouts out that he's Gay and Marge made him that way. In the closing credits Maude is looking down from heaven while Bob Hope makes jokes and God laughs. 

Antonio Fargas does the voice of Huggy Bear, Dave Thomas does Bob Hope. Susan Sarandon and Randy Johnson do their own voices.

Church Fundraiser (carnival) This Does NOT Count As Church. Whack -A-Moses / Holy Roller Coaster / Tunnel Of Abstinence / Halo Toss Three Throws For a Buck / See What You Look Like In Hell.

The grand prize at the church carnival is a new feMac, a computer designed just for women. It's a spoof on a Mac computer. It's a modern one with no tower. The "You've got mail" voice is Susan Sarandon, before the whole 2016 thing.

Rock Of Ages plays during the rubber duck race.

Homer in the old mill is a spoof on the 1937  Disney cartoon The Old Mill

Marge has a Flanders-English Dictionary to figure out what Ned is saying. 

Left Handed Convention. Today's Seminar -- Ambidextrous: Lefties in Denial? 

When Rod and Todd discover the teeter totter Beethoven's Ode To Joy plays.

Marge watches Los Voices Latinos hosted by Bumblebee Man. In the middle of discussing government they are attacked by a wrestler and giant taco with squirt guns. 

Dated reference, the family has a DVD player but all Homer watches is the words Insert DVD bouncing around the screen. 

Lisa wants to go to an animal actor retirement home, Golden Cages. SLH runs off and comes back wearing shoes. Aging Animal House (a spoof on the 1978 film Animal House) Visit our Cemetery of Lassies. (there were 9 dogs that played Lassie, only one was female). Animals at the home: Babe (now a fat boar) / The AFLAC duck / Huggy Bear From Starsky And Hutch (the actual actor)

Ruffintumble's Fun Zone. Ball Pit Dredged For Homeless Daily / Mt. Verticool rock climbing wall.

While child proofing the back yard Ned sings a version of Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N Roses, Welcome To The Jungle Gym.

Kent Brockman does a story on the death of the Hamburgerler followed by Simpson The Chimp Son.

Reunited by Peaches and Herb plays when Toot-Toot and Mr. Teenie get back together. 

Mr. Teenie's real name is Louis. 

When Krusty says he needs a new sidekick he suggests Tom Green. His MTV show had been cancelled in 2000 and he divorced Drew Barrymore in 2002. 

This show ran 10 years before the Harambe incident in which a kid fell into a gorilla enclosure and the zoo keepers shot it to save the boy.

Bob Hope passed away in 2003 at the age of 100.

We've come to the end of another 5 episode. The first three were so so but the last two were more like classic Simpsons. We've reached an era of a mix bag. Will the show redeem itself? I guess we'll find out. 

The Simpsons 361-365

Marge's Son Poisoning.

This episode premiered on November 13th 2005. The lead in show was the NFL Postgame show and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Cold Case and Penn & Teller: Off The Deep End.

The title comes from the ailment Sun Poisoning. 

The couch gag is the couch turns into a monster and chases them out into the street. There we see Mrs Glick beating her couch with an umbrella while it eats Moleman. Grandpa Simpson is in the background about to be attacked by a rocker while SLH runs into the street. Terri and Sherry are watching TV when their couch eats them. Lou and Eddy are in their patrol car while two chairs and a couch try to attack them. Professor Frink is attacked by a flying saucer couch. Moe is shooting the bar furniture. Homer runs into Couch World where he's swarmed. This is the longest couch gag to date at 1 minute. The opening sequence is a spoof on the 1986 movie Maximum Overdrive.

The family goes to Paradise Pier, an oceanside amusement park, Marge has always wanted to ride the Ferris wheel. However when the family arrives the demolition starts, the pier is being replaced by condos. Homer jumps into one of the bumper cars and shoots out into the street where he connects with the trolly power line and crashes into a police car. Homer buys strongman Robusto's last dumbbell. Marge buys a bicycle built for two, later Homer is surprised that she wants to go on a ride. Bart doesn't want to go on a bike ride because he's playing a video game "Go On A Tandem Bike Ride With Your Mother". Maggie fakes being asleep until she falls asleep. Marge tries to ride alone and keeps crashing. Bart feels sorry for Marge and goes with her, they wind up in Springshire and go to a tea house. When Homer goes to Moe's he discovers Moe, Lenny and Carl trapped under the pinball machine, he lifts it off with one arm because he did 50,000 curls with the dumbbell. Moe sets up a scam where he has Homer dress up as a nerd and then challenges the YeeHaw Texan to an arm wrestling match, however when the guy loses he pulls a gun on them, so they go for a walk on the beach to make him happy. Marge is disappointed to find that the tea house has been shut down by the health department but Bart invites her to have tea in the treehouse however the place is a mess so she fixes it up. Bart buys a Krusty the Clown tea set but the bullies make fun of him. He says he's not a mama's boy but just then Marge comes out with matching jackets, The Tea Birds with their names and an image of them riding the tandem bike on the back. Bart gets mad and tells Marge that he only hung out with her because he felt sorry for her. He then trashes the tree house. Marge sells the bike to Wiggum, who makes Lou and Eddy pull him in a sled. Before a match Homer worries that Marge didn't call him but Moe said she did call and hopes he breaks someone's arm. Bart feels sorry for Marge so he invites her to perform in the school Karaoke talent contest. Skinner and his mother perform Ebony And Ivory and Marge imagines an older Bart and worries that he will turn out like Seymour. She hands Bart a fire extinguisher and lets him spray the audience. Homer comes home to find Marge singing Sweet Home Alabama and joins her, he says he'd rather be with her than win all the pie-eating contests. She points out that he was in an arm wrestling contest and he says he stopped on the way home. They go off to "snuggle". The bullies sing My Sharona outside the bedroom window.

Paradise Pier is based on Pacific Pier in Los Angeles.

Paradise Pier Closing. Coming Soon: Condos for Rich Idiots

Paradise Pier booths: Knock Down The Bottles, Win Stuff (even when the booth collapses the bottles won't fall down) / Captain Dodge-Em's Bumper Cars / King Neptune's Salt Water Bath, Cures Imbecility! /  Dr. Lungstrong's Tobacco Lotion / Sulfur Pops. That Loud Pronouncement Means It's Working! / Magnesium-Vapor Soak Tub / Robusto World's Strongest Man

Marge's Goals: Own a tandem bike / Visit Holyland Return Safely / Download something / Never change hairdo / Try Wheat Bread

When Marge is trying to ride alone Bicycle Built For Two plays. 

While riding Bart and Marge sing Sweet Home Alabama.

The Leaf Garret Tea House. A play on the name Leif Garret. (Century kids will have to google this joke)

Bart's comic book, Radioactive Man Side By Side With Pele. They are chasing an alien across the soccer pitch. 

Springfield Mall banner "Restrooms no longer at end of weird hallway!" (I wonder if Century kids get that joke?) Marge buys a new tea set at The China Syndrome, a spoof on the 1979 nuclear disaster movie.

When Marge is wandering around alone the Theme from Midnight Cowboy plays, she even ends up on a bus to Miami with the tandem bike like the movie's closing scene.

Arm-Wrestling Championship. Entry fee $50. Grand Prize $50

The Drunk Paralegal Karaoke Supplier.

Springfield Elementary banner: Karaoke Night, Butcher Your Favorites!

Apu sings Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

I can honestly say I've never seen this episode before. I probably don't want to see it again. 

See Homer Run

This episode premiered on November 20th, 2005. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and The ABC Movie Of The Week (The Poseidon Adventure 2005 version)

The title comes from the Dick and Jane learning to read books.

The couch gag is the family runs in and sits down however they are the Earth Family display on Rigel 7. 

Homer is hanging up his sock, not for Christmas but for Father's Day. He even has a cutout of him frowning. The family is going to the mall to buy Homer presents. Lisa decides to make Homer "something from the heart". Bart gets him a Leather Buddy, a multitool, Homer pictures himself as Dash Superstud rescuing Marge from a pirate ship. Lisa made a book about her and Homer as unicorns. Lisa is upset when Homer doesn't react to it, and then it gets ruined by the fridge water dispenser. Bart sees a sign that says "Bart Blvd', the bullies tell him he should steal it but he can't get it off the post, although he eventually succeeds. To make up for the book Homer takes Lisa to see Princess Rock Star "With Eugene Levy as The King" however when Homer tries to buy her a baby's ticket, for 50 cents less, she storms off. She gets mad and throws her backpack at Martin but misses and it goes through Skinner's window, she then goes on a rampage around the school. Skinner puts a frown face on her file. The school psychologist blames Homer for Lisa's mood so he volunteers to play the school's Safety Salamander. Homer gives a safety demonstration and then sets the school on fire with his fireworks display. Cletus is driving his wife to the hospital but they can't find Bart Blvd. She gives birth and while he's trying to find his knife to cut the umbilical cord he causes a multiple car crash. When all the cars burst into fire Homer rushes in to pull people from the wreckage, Quimby awards him the keycard to the city. Quimby is charged with running a corrupt government and becomes the subject of a recall election. 200 candidates run for mayor but Lisa wants Homer to run so she can control him. To give a speech he wears the Safety Salamander costume. Homer gives the standard speech with vague promises and stunts and everyone cheers him on. Marge makes Homer wash the suit however during the candidate debate the costume falls apart and nobody wants to vote for him anymore. Since no candidate got higher than 5% of the vote Quimby keeps his job and Lisa declares Homer her hero for trying. 

Homer's Father's Day Celebration, Father's Day eve, Daddy Clause and the Super Bowl Bunny. 

Springfield Mall: Your Father's Day Headquarters. Ask about our Step-Dad Discounts. 

Lisa gets Homer a "Have a Shrek-Tastic Father's Day" t shirt with a picture of Shrek in a suit. 

Mall craft store: Do It Yourself You Lazy Ass. 

Cletus's truck sign: Sour Mash Enterprises

When Homer rescues Smithers and Largo from their burning car Largo says they were carpooling and that is it, another joke about Smithers being in the closet.

The recall election is a spoof on California's governor recall election of 2003.

Channel 6 photo caption: The Old Gray Mayor Ain't What He Use To Be. 

Quimby's record: 12 recall elections / infidelity / bribery / extortion / an attempt to hijack a 747 to go where the girls are going wild (Sounds like trump)

Quimby's mistress sings (off key) God Bless The USA. Seriously, this show is another trump prediction.

Rainer Wolfcastle runs for Mayor, this is a spoof on when Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California from 2003 to 2011

Homer Simpson for Mayor, The Lessor of 25 Evils. 

When Bart shoves Milhouse out on stage to play him during the candidate debate he says "wasssupp!" He used the same line in the episode The Bart Wants What It Wants.

The school psychologist was last seen in the episode Lisa's Sax in 1997.

Lisa complaining about everything just reminded me of why she's my least favorite character. 

The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas

This episode premiered on November 27, 2005. The lead in show was Sunday Night Football and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, Cold Case and Shrek. 

The title is based on the 1969 Neil Simon plays The Last Of The Red Hot Lovers.

The couch gag is the couch has been replaced by a nest. After the family sits down a bird flies in and feeds Homer a worm.

At the mayor's Easter egg contest Maggie isn't getting any eggs so Homer goes around and steals all the other kid's eggs. He and the rabbit get into a fight. The mayor has a button that turns his office into a 60's swingers bar. Marge makes an impression on the women at the party until Homer crashes in and embarrasses her, the Mayor's wife cancels the tea party she had planned. Marge is mad at Homer, she goes to sleep on the couch while Homer vows to find her a friend but imagines a dolphin, and then Marge catches them playing and shoots them with a harpoon. Lisa sees an opportunity to spend the summer in Rome, one of the requirements is to speak Italian, however Skinner is busy and doesn't test her. Homer starts stalking women in the store to try to get them to be Marge's friend, he ends up inviting the crazy cat lady over. While walking Marge saves a hat and meets Tammy from the Cheery Red Tomatoes, they ask her to join them. Lisa hires an Italian tutor but it turns out to be Milhouse, he spends every summer with his grandmother in Italy. Marge is initiated as a full member of the Cheery Red Tomatoes and finds out they plan to steal $1 million from Mr. Burns because he promised to donate to the children's hospital. The plan is to steal a collection of Faberge eggs from his secret vault. Milhouse finds out that women love to hear him speak Italian and starts fooling around with other girls so Lisa tells him off in Italian. Homer finds the plans to rob Mr. Burns. Marge is the only one thin enough to squeeze through the grate to open the front gates. Homer tries to save Marge but the police chase him to Burns' mansion. Burns catches the women but lets them go when they return the eggs, however Marge stuffed one in her hair. The group breaks up but Marge and Homer make up and eat on a hot air balloon. 

Lily Tomlin did the voice of Tammy

The heist story is a spoof on the 2001 version of the movie Ocean's 11.

The Red Hat Society was founded in 1998. It is a club for women over 50 however it hasn't been very public since the rise of the MAGA movement.

Today- Mayor's East Egg Hunt. Beware of Rat Poison.

Mrs. Quimby shows up, but then so does the Mayor's mistress.

The rabbit at the egg hunt is named Hugs Bunny but he's legally prevented from hugging children.

Dated Reference, Homer makes his own food stamps, in the modern world people use an EBT card.

Lisa tries to learn Italian For Italian Americans. It includes phrases like "I plan to dump this body in the ocean" and "This is what you get for asking questions". 

Signs at the park: For Sale Martin Prince's Bike, Call Nelson / 2001 BMW. Not For Sale / Speak Italian Send Your Tongue On A Gondola Ride. 

When Marge is wandering around depressed Everybody Hurts by REM plays. The band appeared in the episode Homer The Moe.

The Cheery Red Tomatoes society go for drinks at Johnny Fiestas. They visit the Museum Of Suffering.

The family watches Has Been Celebrity Poker at the Vic Tayback Hotel And Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. Vic Tayback was best known for playing Mel on the 1976 TV show Alice.

Milhouse's middle name is Mussolini. 

Springfield's Little Italy. Birthplace of Beef-O-Ghetti

Lisa and Milhouse riding a Vespa through Little Italy is a spoof on the 1953 movie Roman Holiday. He also dresses like Don Roberto from the 1974 movie Godfather II

Burns' safe combination is R-0, L-0 R-0.

This was another episode that set up several stories but then just so of said "well, they're over" without a real conclusion. Marge is upset that she has no women friends and then gets kicked out of the society, she never complains about it. Lisa learns Italian so she can go to Rome for the summer, and...the story is dropped. And of course it was another Homer and Marge's marriage is in trouble episode. Eh. Personally I would have preferred more of the heist story.

The Italian Bob

This episode premiered on December 11th 2005. The lead in show was King Of The Hill and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Extreme Makeover, 60 Minutes and The West Wing.

The title comes from the 1969 and 2003 remake of The Italian Job.

The couch gag is a hand deals out cards onto the couch. Bart is the Jack, Marge is the Queen, Homer the King, Lisa the Ace and Maggie the Joker. All the cards are diamonds so it's a Royal Flush, the highest hand in straight poker.

The kids are watching a boring video about diversity, Mrs. Krabappal says if they don't like it they can stare out the window. Burns and Smithers are broke down on the side of the road, the kids mock him so he decides to buy a new car and sends Homer to pick it up in Italy. Homer sees a guy in first class using the armrest TV and tries to find one in his seat. He yanks all the cables out and the engine falls off, onto Cletus's property. Marge wants to see more of Italy and talks Homer into taking a side trip on the way to Rome. In Pisa Homer is excited to find that you can get wine at McDonalds. In Pompei (misspelling is on the show) they find the ash bubble remains that looks like the family. The car is crushed by a giant wheel of Mortadella and they have to push it into the town of Salsiccia (a type of Italian sausage). Homer complains that the country should have stayed a series of confederated states instead of being unified by Victor Emmanuel II. The family goes to the mayor of the village because he speaks English, it turns out to be Sideshow Bob. He tells the story of how he failed to murder Bart. He spins the globe to pick a spot but first it lands on Orlando, then North Korea, then Shelbyville and finally Bartova. He finally lands on Tuscany, the people love him because of his big feet and the crushing of the grapes for wine. He is elected mayor and gets married to Francesca. Bob begs the Simpsons to not expose his secrets, Homer says they'll keep quiet if he fixes their car. Wiggum busts into a house and shoots up a kid's birthday party, Lou points out that Sideshow Bob hadn't lived there for months. Lisa gets drunk and exposes Bob's secret, when she falls back on him she pulls off his shirt and he's still wearing the prison jumper. Homer shouts "Sideshow Bob!" and the police pull up his name. The family flees in the recently fixed car. To escape Bob Homer drives down the aqueduct but crashes into Trajan's column in the Forum. Sideshow Bob decides to give up on trying to kill the Simpsons but Francesca says that they dishonored the family and they need to get their revenge. Lisa sees a sign for Krusty doing opera at the Colosseum so the family goes to him to warn him about Bob. Krusty gives them costumes to blend into the cast on stage. Bob is upset that Krusty is doing a horrible job in the opera and his kid charges on to stage with a knife.  Krusty falls through a trap door and Bob shows up to sing the opera, just then his family comes on stage to kill the Simpsons. Krusty shows up with a limo and saves them, he wants them to return the favor by helping smuggle antiques into America. The show ends with a Gondolier singing an insulting song about Homer. 

Maria Grazia Cucinotta does the voice of Francesca.

Wikipedia has a chalkboard gag listed as "That's one more Jazzy" but there is no mention of this on any fan site or on the Disney+ episode. I'm pretty sure someone added that in there and none of the moderators removed it.

PBS in association with The National Film Board Of Canada presents Diversity Tales.

Burns buys a Lamborgotti Fasterossa XT 550. This is a spoof on Lamborghini and the Ferrari Testarossa.

At the Da Vinci airport people are landing in crafts based on the artist's drawings. 

Lisa has a Canadian flag on her backpack. This was a popular thing for international travelers during the Bush jr. era. 

Lamborgotti "For people who really have nothing inside"

While trying to find their way to Rome Homer pops in a Fellini movie.

Homer gives a woman a cup that says Kentucky, she claims it means whore in Italian.

When trying to pick a spot to move to Sideshow Bob steps on a rake, then his son does it when they meet the Simpsons. This is a joke that first appeared in the episode Cape Feare. 

When introduced to the town Homer starts gesturing like Mussolini, Lisa tells him to stop and he says he through he was acting like Donald Trump. Another Simpson prediction?

The town drunk is two years old and singing Mambo Italiano.

The police book of I Criminali Americani: Snake Invasione di Casa / Mayor Quimby Drinko Drive-O / Peter Griffin Plagiraismo / Stan Smith Plagirismo di Plagiarismo / Sideshow Bob Omicido Attentato Multiplo 

Sideshow Bob's prison number is HABFO2, which the production code for this episode.

Marge says being stalked by a killer in a foreign city makes her feel like she's in the Bourne Identity (2002)

Krusty E Pagliacci Al Colosseo. 

I saw this episode before and to be honest I got annoyed at Bob's kid who keeps hollering "Vendetta" and trying to kill everything. 

Simpsons Christmas Stories

This episode premiered on December 18th 2005. The lead in show was NFL Football and it was followed by The War At Home. It ran opposite Once Upon A Mattress (2005 version), Cold Case and The Browkaw Report.

The couch gag is the Springfield Shopper spins onto the screen with the headline "Couch Gag Thrills Nation" with a photo of the family.

First Church Of Springfield Christmas Service. Jesus: 2005 Years Young. 

Reverent Lovejoy is late for the Christmas service. It turns out his model train has crashes so he asks Ned to take over the service. Net gets a paper cut and passes out so Homer steps in. He does a Seinfeld routine about tipping the paper boy "What's up with that?" He then tells the story of the first Christmas.

The First D'oh-El

Mary (Marge) tells Joseph (Homer) that she's pregnant. Lisa shows up as an angel to tell them that she's going to have God's child, Mary is disappointed that he won't be a doctor. The three Wise Men (Hibbert, Skinner and Frink) brings presents to Herod (Mr. Burns) and tells him that they are for a newborn child. Herod decides kill Jesus. At the inn Moe welcomes Mary and Joseph until he finds out Mary is giving birth so he sends them to the barn. Dr Nick shows up and wants to do a cesarean. Joseph is upset so he drinks some wine but Jesus (Bart) turns it into water. Joseph goes to strangle Jesus but Lisa shows up to stop him. Jesus keeps crying until Joseph has a series of accidents, he and one of the Wise Men do a Three Stooges routine until Jesus falls asleep. They are warned that Herod's troops are coming. Off to the side is Matthew just starting to write his Gospel. The troops follow Jesus' halo but it turns out they put it on a duck. Homer cuts down a tree and rolls it down the hill onto Herod's troops and makes the first Christmas tree. 

Bethlehem Inn Welcome Class of 20 B. C. 

When Bart changes the wine into water he does the I Dream Of Jeanie arms cross and head bob with the sound effect. 

I Saw Grandpa Cussing Santa Claus

The kids hear something in the chimney and Grandpa falls out with a trap. He's trying to kill Santa and tells the story about WWII. He and his older brother Cyrus are both Navy pilots and come under a Kamikaze attack. Burns is Abe's tail gunner and radio man. Grandpa and Cyrus both get shot down, Abe and Burns wash up on a beach. They are trapped on the island and on Christmas Burns shoots down Santa. They use the scrap parts from their plane to fix the sleigh. Burns knocks Santa out and steals it to escape the island. Grandpa jumps on one of the reindeer to chase Burns. He catches Burns and returns to send Santa off, who promises to return, then the nuclear bomb goes off. Grandpa says he invents a jet ski made of coconuts to get home. He hears Santa's sleigh, Santa delivers Cyrus's watch and says he survived the crash and is living in Tahiti. Cyrus has been living with 15 wives. 

The kids are watching the Energizer Bunny Christmas Special. 

Cyrus has a watch that plays American Patrol by Glenn Miller, until the Japanese shoot it. Thankfully he has a backup watch.

Abe imagines Burns as a woman, he looks like the Betty Grable pinup.

Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman plays during the sleigh repair scene. 

The Nutcracker...Sweet

The school is putting on the Nutcracker Ballet. The parents are all bored and escape during intermission. The family sings songs based on the music since its royalty free. Bart wants to get Homer a joke tie, Ned is running the charity kettle, Sideshow Mel says he likes to procrastinate, Carl is carrying a wrapped grandfather clock, Lenny has a kayak, Quimby is too fat for the Santa suit, Burns is being Scrooge and sucks up the Ghost of Christmas Past with a Dustbuster, Apu sings about is inflated holiday prices, the town Christmas tree catches on fire but when they spray it down it turns to ice. Willie dreams about a perfect Christmas while past out in his shack, but this is a dream too and he's really passed out in a field. CBG sings about Christmas cookies. The cat lady is trying to wrap up cats for presents. Krusty, his father and the old Jewish guy sing about being Jewish on Christmas and going to a Chinese restaurant. The family hides from Grandpa so he spends Christmas with the raccoons in the dumpster. Krusty plays a clip from 1964 where he gets pelted with snowballs in the crotch. John Glenn and MLK jr. are his holiday guests. Moe tries to hang himself with stringed popcorn, sleds through traffic (everyone misses him), his gun is a gag gun that says "Merry Christmas", he then invites Barney over for ham and asks to be killed. Barney says he already got Moe a present, a wool hat. Marge goes to give Homer his present but he forgot to give her one so he goes out to try to find one, he comes home empty handed and has to tell her the truth. Her present is a present he can give her, it's a photo of the two of them. Moe sleds by with a sign that says "And to all a good night" and then is missed by a semi. 

Mall store: Inbred, Bath & Beyond.

Springfield Elementary sign: The Nutcracker "Perhaps the worst version Ever" Superintendent Chalmers. No Leaving After Your Kid's Part Is Done.

I never saw this one before.

So, we've come to the end of another 5 episodes and the end of 2005. Just 19 more years to go, unless they keep making new episodes. Why did I do this again?