The PTA Disbands vs. Homer the Heretic
Posted: Sun August 07, 2016 4:10 pm
The PTA Disbands
After a failed attempt at a school field trip, which appears to have caused the apparent abandonment and brutal beating of the student Üter, Edna Krabappel calls an emergency strike on behalf of the Teachers' Union of Springfield Elementary, to protest against Principal Skinner's miserly spending on school supplies and activities.
As the teachers' strike results in the closing of the school, the various student characters respond to the sudden turn of events in their own ways: Lisa becomes increasingly obsessive in her desire to be graded, Milhouse is forced by his parents to take private tutoring lessons (which improve his education), Jimbo Jones finds himself immersed in the intricacies of daytime soap operas with his mother, Dolph and Kearney become easily bored with video games, and Bart revels in his newfound freedom, wreaking havoc across Springfield with various pranks. Bart also makes sure to keep the teacher strike agitated to prolong the school hiatus. The two sides are at an impasse; the union wanting a restoration of funding and Skinner maintaining that even with the spending reductions he has made, government budget cuts have squeezed the school dry.
After some prompting from an exasperated Marge Simpson, the parents of Springfield eventually decide to take matters into their own hands, and recruit volunteers from the community to take over as temporary teachers. This turns out to be even worse for the students than before the strike, especially as Marge becomes Bart's new teacher after Skinner learns he has chased away previous substitutes including Moe and decided he needed use her to keep Bart in line. Lisa suffers as well, with the line of incompetent townsfolk makes her worry about not being able to get into her dream school Vassar College. Due to Marge's excessive mothering of Bart which makes him a huge target for bullying, he grudgingly resolves to force the strike negotiations forward. Together with Milhouse, he tricks both Krabappel and Principal Skinner into entering Skinner's office, which he then locks behind them. After spending several hours trapped together "like prisoners" in their own school, the two are mutually inspired with an idea to create extra revenue for more school spending. Things return to normal with the old teachers in charge, but with the school cloakrooms having been rented to the Springfield Prison. Each classroom now features several full prison cells at the back, which have the added benefit of keeping the more troublesome students in line. However, this quickly backfires as Snake Jailbird makes a deal with Bart to help him escape.
Homer the Heretic
On a freezing Sunday morning, Marge gathers the family to go to church. Homer refuses to go, much to her annoyance and dismay, after he sees the weather outside and accidentally tears his church trousers. Staying behind, he sleeps in late, dances in his underwear (à la Tom Cruise in the film Risky Business),[2] makes his special waffle recipe, wins a radio trivia contest, watches an action-packed football game, and finds a penny. Homer attributes his good fortune to skipping church and declares it the best day of his life. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids shiver their way through a rambling sermon, only to find themselves trapped at the end since the door has frozen shut. The congregation is forced to stay longer while Groundskeeper Willie defrosts the doors, and then Marge is unable to start her car because of the cold.
When she and the children finally get home, Marge is horrified to hear that Homer intends to never go to church again. She tries to persuade him otherwise, but to no avail. That night, Marge prays for her husband at their bedside. Homer tries to seduce her while she is doing so, but then falls asleep suddenly and has a dream in which God personally appears to him. God is furious with Homer for forsaking his church. Homer answers that "I'm not a bad guy, I work hard, and I love my kids... so why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to hell?" God agrees to let Homer worship in his own way. Homer starts following his own religion tailored to his personal tastes, including holidays he invents to get out of work.
Marge, Reverend Lovejoy and Ned Flanders attempt without success to bring Homer back to the congregation. One Sunday morning, while everybody else is at church, Homer falls asleep on the couch smoking a cigar, which ignites some magazines and ultimately sets the whole house ablaze. Homer wakes up but quickly succumbs to the thick smoke and faints. Apu, chief of Springfield's volunteer fire department, rushes to the Simpson house with other firefighters including Krusty the Clown, Chief Wiggum, and Barney Gumble. Meanwhile, Flanders runs into the burning house to rescue Homer and pulls him out just as the firefighters arrive. After the fire is out, Homer declares that God was delivering vengeance. Reverend Lovejoy counters that God was working through the hearts of Homer's friends, despite their different faiths. Homer agrees to give church another try and the next Sunday is there, albeit snoring loudly through the service. Appearing in his dreams again, God consoles Homer on the failure of his religion. He starts to tell Homer the meaning of life, but is cut off by the ending credits
After a failed attempt at a school field trip, which appears to have caused the apparent abandonment and brutal beating of the student Üter, Edna Krabappel calls an emergency strike on behalf of the Teachers' Union of Springfield Elementary, to protest against Principal Skinner's miserly spending on school supplies and activities.
As the teachers' strike results in the closing of the school, the various student characters respond to the sudden turn of events in their own ways: Lisa becomes increasingly obsessive in her desire to be graded, Milhouse is forced by his parents to take private tutoring lessons (which improve his education), Jimbo Jones finds himself immersed in the intricacies of daytime soap operas with his mother, Dolph and Kearney become easily bored with video games, and Bart revels in his newfound freedom, wreaking havoc across Springfield with various pranks. Bart also makes sure to keep the teacher strike agitated to prolong the school hiatus. The two sides are at an impasse; the union wanting a restoration of funding and Skinner maintaining that even with the spending reductions he has made, government budget cuts have squeezed the school dry.
After some prompting from an exasperated Marge Simpson, the parents of Springfield eventually decide to take matters into their own hands, and recruit volunteers from the community to take over as temporary teachers. This turns out to be even worse for the students than before the strike, especially as Marge becomes Bart's new teacher after Skinner learns he has chased away previous substitutes including Moe and decided he needed use her to keep Bart in line. Lisa suffers as well, with the line of incompetent townsfolk makes her worry about not being able to get into her dream school Vassar College. Due to Marge's excessive mothering of Bart which makes him a huge target for bullying, he grudgingly resolves to force the strike negotiations forward. Together with Milhouse, he tricks both Krabappel and Principal Skinner into entering Skinner's office, which he then locks behind them. After spending several hours trapped together "like prisoners" in their own school, the two are mutually inspired with an idea to create extra revenue for more school spending. Things return to normal with the old teachers in charge, but with the school cloakrooms having been rented to the Springfield Prison. Each classroom now features several full prison cells at the back, which have the added benefit of keeping the more troublesome students in line. However, this quickly backfires as Snake Jailbird makes a deal with Bart to help him escape.
Homer the Heretic
On a freezing Sunday morning, Marge gathers the family to go to church. Homer refuses to go, much to her annoyance and dismay, after he sees the weather outside and accidentally tears his church trousers. Staying behind, he sleeps in late, dances in his underwear (à la Tom Cruise in the film Risky Business),[2] makes his special waffle recipe, wins a radio trivia contest, watches an action-packed football game, and finds a penny. Homer attributes his good fortune to skipping church and declares it the best day of his life. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids shiver their way through a rambling sermon, only to find themselves trapped at the end since the door has frozen shut. The congregation is forced to stay longer while Groundskeeper Willie defrosts the doors, and then Marge is unable to start her car because of the cold.
When she and the children finally get home, Marge is horrified to hear that Homer intends to never go to church again. She tries to persuade him otherwise, but to no avail. That night, Marge prays for her husband at their bedside. Homer tries to seduce her while she is doing so, but then falls asleep suddenly and has a dream in which God personally appears to him. God is furious with Homer for forsaking his church. Homer answers that "I'm not a bad guy, I work hard, and I love my kids... so why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to hell?" God agrees to let Homer worship in his own way. Homer starts following his own religion tailored to his personal tastes, including holidays he invents to get out of work.
Marge, Reverend Lovejoy and Ned Flanders attempt without success to bring Homer back to the congregation. One Sunday morning, while everybody else is at church, Homer falls asleep on the couch smoking a cigar, which ignites some magazines and ultimately sets the whole house ablaze. Homer wakes up but quickly succumbs to the thick smoke and faints. Apu, chief of Springfield's volunteer fire department, rushes to the Simpson house with other firefighters including Krusty the Clown, Chief Wiggum, and Barney Gumble. Meanwhile, Flanders runs into the burning house to rescue Homer and pulls him out just as the firefighters arrive. After the fire is out, Homer declares that God was delivering vengeance. Reverend Lovejoy counters that God was working through the hearts of Homer's friends, despite their different faiths. Homer agrees to give church another try and the next Sunday is there, albeit snoring loudly through the service. Appearing in his dreams again, God consoles Homer on the failure of his religion. He starts to tell Homer the meaning of life, but is cut off by the ending credits
