Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment vs. Whacking Day

[stip]

Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment

A prohibitionist movement emerges in Springfield after Bart is accidentally intoxicated during a St. Patrick's Day celebration. The municipal government discovers alcohol has actually been banned for two centuries, and moves to enforce the law, prompting Moe to disguise his bar as a pet shop. With the town becoming impatient with the police's incompetence, Chief Wiggum is replaced by Rex Banner, an officer of the U.S. Treasury Department.

In the meantime, Homer figures out a way to keep Moe's bar operating, by becoming a bootlegger. One night, he and Bart sneak out to the city dump to reclaim the beer that was disposed of when the Prohibition law was enacted. He then sets up shop in his basement pouring the beer into the finger holes of bowling balls. Using an intricate set of pipes under the Bowl-A-Rama, he bowls the balls into Moe's. Upon discovering it, Marge actually finds it a very good idea (since Homer is actually using his intellectual faculties and that he's making enough money to support the family), though Lisa doesn't, prompting Homer, Marge, and Bart to send her to her room. The media realizes someone's allowing Springfield's underground alcohol trade to flourish, and they give the still-unknown Homer the nickname "Beer Baron". Rex Banner fails to catch the Baron and resorts to stopping people in the street to demand if they are the Beer Baron; he even arrests Ned Flanders who pleads guilty to drinking only root beer (Banner mistaking his usual speech patterns for signs of alcohol intoxication).

When his supply of liquor runs out, Homer begins to distill his own homemade liquor. However, his stills start to explode. He is then confronted by a desperate ex-Chief Wiggum. In an attempt to rekindle Wiggum's career, Homer allows the former Police Chief to turn him in. The punishment that awaits him is expulsion from the town (and presumably death) by an archaic catapult, showing how anachronistic the law really was. Marge tells everyone that this law and punishment make no sense and it's meaningless to punish Homer, especially for their freedom to drink. Rex Banner steps up to lecture the town on the reasons why the law must be upheld. While he lectures the assembled Springfield citizens, Wiggum has him catapulted and gets his job back. The town clerk then finds out that the Prohibition law was actually repealed a year after it was put in place, and so Homer is released. Within five minutes Fat Tony is only too happy to oblige when Mayor Quimby asks him to flood the town with alcohol once more, and Springfield salutes its qualities as Homer announces, "To alcohol! The cause of... and solution to... all of life's problems."

Whacking Day

During an inspection by Superintendent Chalmers, Principal Skinner lures Bart, Jimbo, Kearney, Dolph and Nelson into a utility basement with the promise of free mountain bikes and locks the door. Bart escapes through a ventilation shaft and takes Groundskeeper Willie's tractor for a joyride, crashing into Chalmers. Rather than giving him detention, Skinner instead expels Bart. After Bart is quickly expelled from a new private Christian school, Marge decides to homeschool Bart.

Meanwhile, Kent Brockman announces that Springfield's annual "Whacking Day" is approaching. Each year on May 10, the people of Springfield drive snakes to the center of town and beat them to death. The tradition appalls Lisa, who finds no support from any of the adults of the town, including Reverend Lovejoy who lies about Whacking Day being supported by the Bible. Barry White arrives to begin the festivities, but is disgusted and quickly leaves when he discovers what the holiday is about.

After Marge takes Bart on a fieldtrip to Fort Springfield, Bart discovers that the origins of Whacking Day, which supposedly involved Jebediah Springfield, is a lie because it conflicts with a major Revolutionary War battle he took part in, and suggests to Lisa that they lure the snakes to safety by playing music with a lot of bass and putting the stereo speakers to the ground. White, who just happens to have been walking by, agrees to help by singing "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe", attracting hundreds of snakes into the house.

The pursuing crowd arrives, but they are soon turned around on the subject of Whacking Day by Bart's newfound knowledge. It turns out that the day was actually invented in 1924 as an excuse to beat up the Irish. Skinner is impressed with Bart's efforts and welcomes him back to the school, but then realizes in horror that the bullies are still in the utility basement. While the bullies are spending the time talking about their feelings, Skinner and Willie race to the school with the mountain bikes to avoid a potential lawsuit.

[stip]

Two great, but not quite best of the best episodes. It's been a while since i've seen either. My gut says 18th amendment, but I can be persuaded

[tragabigzanda]

Whacking Day. It's too late in the evening for be to be persuasive, Stip. But it's totally Whacking Day.

[LoathedVermin72]

WD is overrated.

[Norah]

WD is overrated.

This is how I remember it, I'll have to watch to confirm.

[LoathedVermin72]

I mean, it's good. But only like every other ep from that period is good.