Bart the Lover vs. Mother Simpson

[stip]

Bart the Lover


Springfield Elementary School teacher Mrs. Edna Krabappel feels increasingly lonely, and, searching for love, places a personal ad in the newspaper. A yo-yo craze sweeps through the school after a group of four demonstrate the potential of the toys. Bart breaks the class fish tank with his yo-yo, and is given one month of detention by Mrs. Krabappel. While snooping in her desk to take back his yo-yo, he discovers her personal ad and decides to get revenge on her, by pulling a prank and responding by mail. He creates a new adult male alter ego named Woodrow, after former President Woodrow Wilson. Mrs. Krabappel responds by sending a suggestive photograph. Bart writes a response to Edna using lines from an old love letter Homer had sent Marge.

Meanwhile, Marge notices that their dog Santa's Little Helper needs a new dog house. She wants to buy one, but Homer says that he can save money by building one instead. His infuriating attempts at constructing the dog house cause him to curse loud enough for Todd Flanders to overhear. Todd says "hell no" and "damn" at the dinner table, so his father Ned tries to find out where he learned such language - with possibilities being bumper stickers, comic books, Grandma, television and his elder brother Rod. Ned discovers that Homer is the source when he and his kids hear him curse in frustration after getting his jacket stuck to a piece of wood in another failed attempt to build a dog house. He complains to Homer, who in turn criticizes Ned's mustache. Ned promises to shave off his mustache in return for Homer's curtailing uses of profanity. When Homer claims that it is too late for him to stop, Marge disagrees and reveals her own experience with her father's cursing that lead her mother to use a swear jar. Homer promises to put money in a "swear jar" - 25 cents for each curse. The next couple of days he keeps his word to put money inside the jar for every time he uses profanity in frustration (this including accidentally placing a 20 dollar note in the church collection plate, failing to knock down all the pins while bowling, seeing a newly clean shaven Ned who got hired as a spokesman in a commercial, failing yet again to build a dog house and having a beehive fall on him while sleeping in a hammock) until it gets to the point where he instead speaks calmly upon being injured; "I'm not going to swear, but I am going to KICK THIS DOGHOUSE DOWN!". Homer's constant cursing puts more than enough money in the swear jar to purchase a dog house for Santa's Little Helper, along with an added bonus; Duff Beer for Homer for at least committing.

Edna asks "Woodrow" for a photograph, so Bart searches through a book called NHL Stars of 1969 and sends her a picture of hockey star Gordie Howe. Bart, as Woodrow, writes Mrs. Krabappel more letters, telling her what she wants to hear. He then sends a letter asking for them to meet at the Gilded Truffle. Bart sees Mrs. Krabappel waiting for Woodrow, and laughs as he goes to watch a movie. On his way back home he sees Mrs. Krabappel still waiting at the empty restaurant, all alone and on the verge of tears. Bart feels guilty to see her so sad.

Bart talks to Mrs. Krabappel after class and starts to feel worse about what he did when he is unable to console her. He confesses to the family what he has done, and, realizing the truth would humiliate her, they all write a poetic and loving letter to tell her why Woodrow must leave which makes Mrs. Krabappel feel better. On Bart's last day of detention, Mrs. Krabbapel suggest they spend it outside and Bart agrees.

Mother Simpson

Mr. Burns has all of his employees clean up a highway maintained by his company. Not wishing to waste his Saturday, Homer fakes his death so that he does not have to take part. He uses a replica of himself and throws it into a waterfall which gets severely broken and eventually goes into the turbines to which everyone thinks Homer killed himself. The next day, news of Homer's "death" spreads, and after getting many flowers and sympathy cards, as well as a tombstone, Marge finds out and orders Homer to go to the Springfield Hall of Records to get the "misunderstanding" sorted out. While sorting out the problem, Homer gets into an argument with a clerk who claims that Homer's mother is still alive, in spite of Homer's belief that she died while he was young. Homer visits what he believes is her grave, only to discover that it belongs to Walt Whitman. Nearby, he sees his own grave and falls into it. A woman approaches and chastises Homer for falling into her son's grave. Homer realizes that the woman is his mother, Mona, and the two have an emotional reunion after 27 years apart.

Homer takes Mona home to meet the family and she bonds with Lisa, being on the same intellectual level. While the two are sitting on the front steps, a police car drives by and Mona runs inside the house, making Lisa suspicious. She shares her suspicions with Bart, who had raided Mona's purse and found several driver's licenses with different names; Lisa suspects that Mona is a con artist. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge are wondering why his mother left him for 27 years and the two decide to confront Mona, who decides to tell them the truth.
Homer and Mona in a flashback to 1969.

In a flashback to 1969, Mona is a housewife who still lives with Homer's father Abe. While Abe is watching the 1969 Super Bowl, Mona becomes inspired by Joe Namath's long hair. She joins a group of hippies who protest Mr. Burns' germ warfare laboratory, who is deliberately trying to poison everyone in Springfield. They detonate an "antibiotic bomb" inside the lab, killing all the germs and curing lab security guard Clancy Wiggum's asthma. Angry about the destruction of his "precious germs", Burns runs to the lab, but is trampled by the fleeing hippies. Mona goes back to help him, and Burns manages to identify her as one of the perpetrators, forcing Mona to leave her family and go into hiding.

Mona reveals that she sent Homer a care package every week, although he never received them, and they go to the post office to claim them. There, Burns recognizes her and calls the FBI. The FBI and Burns manage to track Mona down and invade the Simpson home. However, Homer and Mona manage to escape thanks to a tip-off from Wiggum, who is grateful to Mona for curing his asthma, and thereby allowing him to join the police force. Mona is once again forced to go into hiding and she and Homer say goodbye. After Mona leaves, Homer remains in the night, sitting on his car and watching the stars.

[stip]

Two fairly touching episodes. Mother Simpson gets my vote.

[Norah]

I'm gonna watch these before I vote.

[tragabigzanda]

Bart the Lover is an easy vote for me.

[Simple Torture]