Bart of Darkness vs. The Cartridge Family
Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 8:01 pm
Bart of Darkness
A heatwave in Springfield leads Bart and Lisa to persuade Homer into getting a swimming pool. To avoid months of persistence, he gives in instantly. Word soon spreads that the Simpsons have a pool and every child in the town comes to use the new facility. After being dared, Bart attempts an ambitious dive into the pool from the top of his treehouse, but gets distracted by Nelson, and falls and breaks his leg. This forces him to spend the rest of the summer wearing a cast and, unable to socialize with the other children, he retreats to his bedroom. His isolation slowly makes him more and more irritable and paranoid. Lisa loans Bart her telescope to entertain him. Soon, Bart hears a woman's scream next door, and witnesses Ned Flanders burying something in his backyard and screaming "I'm a murderer!" He becomes convinced that Ned has murdered his wife Maude, and vows to reveal the truth.
Meanwhile, Lisa basks in the glow of her new popularity. However, Martin Prince gets a larger pool, and everyone abandons Lisa, leaving her inside the empty pool with no idea of how to get out. After Lisa apologizes to her brother for neglecting him, Bart asks Lisa to go and look for evidence of the murder while Ned is out of the house. When Ned returns early, Lisa becomes trapped in the Flanders house, eventually being cornered in the attic; Bart painfully makes his way over there by himself, just in time to discover that Ned was actually storing an axe and not using it to threaten Lisa. Maude, as it turns out, is actually alive, and had gone to Bible Camp for the weekend, to learn to be more judgemental. The victim of Ned's "murder" was merely her favorite plant, and the woman screaming actually came from Ned himself. Meanwhile, Martin's swimming pool explodes after being full with too many kids, and everyone abandons him, although Nelson steals his bathing suit first. When the episode ends, Martin sadly sings "Summer Wind" to himself as he stands naked in the wreckage of his pool.
The Cartridge Family
The Simpsons attend a soccer match between Mexico and Portugal. When the game starts, the crowd begins to lose interest and, under Groundskeeper Willie's direction, it turns into a violent football riot. After the riot spreads throughout the town, Marge fears for the family and tells Homer to pay for a Home Security System. Finding out that the system will cost $500, Homer decides to save money by buying a firearm instead. After the five-day waiting period, Homer surprises Marge with his new revolver from a local gun store, Bedlam Bloodbath & Beyond (a play on the store named Bed Bath & Beyond). Marge is horrified and demands that he get rid of the gun at once. Homer persuades Marge to come with him to the local National Rifle Association meeting to try to get her to change her mind, but after the meeting, she remains unconvinced.
Homer starts to treat the gun as though it were a toy, casually carrying it into the Kwik-E-Mart and frightening Apu into thinking he will rob the store, firing bullets to retrieve items from the roof and shooting dinner plates as if they were clay pigeons. Finally, after a near-fatal accident at the dinner table, Marge reveals just how uncomfortable with the gun she is, and begs Homer to get rid of it. Homer promises to do so, but hides it, loaded, in the vegetable crisper instead. Later, Bart and Milhouse discover the loaded firearm and play with it in the kitchen. Marge steps into the kitchen just in time to stop them, and berates Homer for breaking his promise, by giving Homer an ultimatum.
After this, she promptly leaves with some suitcases and the children in tow and checks into "Sleep-Eazy Motel" on Selma's recommendation. That night, Homer hosts an NRA meeting at his house but the other members are far from impressed by his reckless gun usage and he is kicked out of the association, therefore and his own house. Realizing what his behavior has cost him, Homer goes to the motel where Marge and the children are spending the night, meaning to reconcile.
Homer and Marge make up, after Homer explains he has finally gotten rid of the gun. While leaving, Snake arrives to rob the desk clerk, demanding the cash register's contents while holding a knife to Mayor Quimby's throat. Homer pulls out his gun, foils the robbery and stops Snake from decapitating Quimby. Marge is angry with Homer for lying again, but while he tries to apologize, Snake snatches the gun, even though Homer reveals the gun is not loaded, but Snake tricks Homer into handing over the bullets anyway. Some of the other NRA members arrive and stop Snake from shooting the Simpsons, but he runs off with the money all the same. Homer finally says he does not trust himself and asks Marge to throw the gun away herself, because he feels sure that his attachment to it will just make him lie to her repeatedly. However, just as Marge is about to throw away the gun, she sees a reflection of herself holding it in the bin lid and likes what she sees in her reflection and decides to keep it.[1]
A heatwave in Springfield leads Bart and Lisa to persuade Homer into getting a swimming pool. To avoid months of persistence, he gives in instantly. Word soon spreads that the Simpsons have a pool and every child in the town comes to use the new facility. After being dared, Bart attempts an ambitious dive into the pool from the top of his treehouse, but gets distracted by Nelson, and falls and breaks his leg. This forces him to spend the rest of the summer wearing a cast and, unable to socialize with the other children, he retreats to his bedroom. His isolation slowly makes him more and more irritable and paranoid. Lisa loans Bart her telescope to entertain him. Soon, Bart hears a woman's scream next door, and witnesses Ned Flanders burying something in his backyard and screaming "I'm a murderer!" He becomes convinced that Ned has murdered his wife Maude, and vows to reveal the truth.
Meanwhile, Lisa basks in the glow of her new popularity. However, Martin Prince gets a larger pool, and everyone abandons Lisa, leaving her inside the empty pool with no idea of how to get out. After Lisa apologizes to her brother for neglecting him, Bart asks Lisa to go and look for evidence of the murder while Ned is out of the house. When Ned returns early, Lisa becomes trapped in the Flanders house, eventually being cornered in the attic; Bart painfully makes his way over there by himself, just in time to discover that Ned was actually storing an axe and not using it to threaten Lisa. Maude, as it turns out, is actually alive, and had gone to Bible Camp for the weekend, to learn to be more judgemental. The victim of Ned's "murder" was merely her favorite plant, and the woman screaming actually came from Ned himself. Meanwhile, Martin's swimming pool explodes after being full with too many kids, and everyone abandons him, although Nelson steals his bathing suit first. When the episode ends, Martin sadly sings "Summer Wind" to himself as he stands naked in the wreckage of his pool.
The Cartridge Family
The Simpsons attend a soccer match between Mexico and Portugal. When the game starts, the crowd begins to lose interest and, under Groundskeeper Willie's direction, it turns into a violent football riot. After the riot spreads throughout the town, Marge fears for the family and tells Homer to pay for a Home Security System. Finding out that the system will cost $500, Homer decides to save money by buying a firearm instead. After the five-day waiting period, Homer surprises Marge with his new revolver from a local gun store, Bedlam Bloodbath & Beyond (a play on the store named Bed Bath & Beyond). Marge is horrified and demands that he get rid of the gun at once. Homer persuades Marge to come with him to the local National Rifle Association meeting to try to get her to change her mind, but after the meeting, she remains unconvinced.
Homer starts to treat the gun as though it were a toy, casually carrying it into the Kwik-E-Mart and frightening Apu into thinking he will rob the store, firing bullets to retrieve items from the roof and shooting dinner plates as if they were clay pigeons. Finally, after a near-fatal accident at the dinner table, Marge reveals just how uncomfortable with the gun she is, and begs Homer to get rid of it. Homer promises to do so, but hides it, loaded, in the vegetable crisper instead. Later, Bart and Milhouse discover the loaded firearm and play with it in the kitchen. Marge steps into the kitchen just in time to stop them, and berates Homer for breaking his promise, by giving Homer an ultimatum.
After this, she promptly leaves with some suitcases and the children in tow and checks into "Sleep-Eazy Motel" on Selma's recommendation. That night, Homer hosts an NRA meeting at his house but the other members are far from impressed by his reckless gun usage and he is kicked out of the association, therefore and his own house. Realizing what his behavior has cost him, Homer goes to the motel where Marge and the children are spending the night, meaning to reconcile.
Homer and Marge make up, after Homer explains he has finally gotten rid of the gun. While leaving, Snake arrives to rob the desk clerk, demanding the cash register's contents while holding a knife to Mayor Quimby's throat. Homer pulls out his gun, foils the robbery and stops Snake from decapitating Quimby. Marge is angry with Homer for lying again, but while he tries to apologize, Snake snatches the gun, even though Homer reveals the gun is not loaded, but Snake tricks Homer into handing over the bullets anyway. Some of the other NRA members arrive and stop Snake from shooting the Simpsons, but he runs off with the money all the same. Homer finally says he does not trust himself and asks Marge to throw the gun away herself, because he feels sure that his attachment to it will just make him lie to her repeatedly. However, just as Marge is about to throw away the gun, she sees a reflection of herself holding it in the bin lid and likes what she sees in her reflection and decides to keep it.[1]
