The Way We Was

When the Simpsons' television breaks down, Marge tells her children how she and Homer first met. The year is 1974 and Homer and Marge are both in their senior year of high school. Unlike Homer, Marge is a responsible student, but after she burns a bra at a feminist rally, she is sent to detention. Homer is also sent to detention along with his best friend Barney for smoking in the restroom. When Homer sees Marge for the first time as she enters the detention room, he instantly falls in love. Despite his father Abraham's warning that he is wasting his time, Homer is determined to win Marge's heart.

To impress Marge, Homer joins the debate team, of which Marge is a member. At a debate, Homer finds out that Marge is more interested in the more articulate Artie Ziff. Therefore, Homer pretends to be a French student so that he can be tutored by Marge and when Homer asks Marge to the senior prom she accepts. However, when Homer confesses that he is not really a French student, Marge is furious at him for making her lose sleep for a debate tournament the next morning. She ultimately loses to Artie, who asks her to be his partner to the prom; she agrees. Homer does not realize that Marge has changed her plans, and so he shows up at her house for prom night to pick her up. Moments later Artie shows up, causing confusion to Marge's family, and a despondent Homer leaves. Undaunted, he decides to go to the prom alone.

At the prom, Artie and Marge are voted prom king and queen, and the two share the first dance. Meanwhile, Homer, heartbroken, leaves and cries in the hallway. After the prom, Artie tries to get romantic with Marge in the backseat of his car: after he pushes his luck too far, she slaps him and demands to be taken home. Meanwhile, Homer's limousine time has run out, and without any money, he decides to walk home. Along the way Marge and Artie pass by Homer. After Artie drops Marge off at her house, she returns in her car to pick up Homer, realizing that he was the man for her all along. Homer manages to fix up the strap of Marge's dress with the corsage that he got her after Artie ruined it from his earlier attempt.

The Call of the Simpsons

Homer, envious of Ned Flanders's new motor home, goes to Bob's RV Round-up to buy one of his own, but because of his poor credit rating, he only qualifies for a dilapidated one, much to his family's disgust. Thrilled with the new RV, Homer takes his family on an excursion. Driving on remote back roads and ignoring Marge's suggestion to turn back on the main road, the Simpsons find themselves teetering over a precipice. The family escapes the RV before it plummets over the cliff, leaving themselves stranded in the wilderness.

Homer and Bart set out for help, unaware that Maggie is tagging along, while Marge and Lisa stay behind. Separated from Homer and Bart, Maggie is soon adopted by a family of bears. Meanwhile, Homer and Bart plummet into a raging river where they lose their clothes, but hide their nakedness with leaves and mud. Marge and Lisa make themselves comfortable by a campfire, while the boys freeze in the wilderness. The next day, Homer tries to steal honey from a beehive, only to be attacked by the bees, but evades them by jumping into a mud pit. A nature photographer takes a picture of Homer covered in mud, mistaking him for Bigfoot, and soon the forest is inundated with Bigfoot enthusiasts and reward seekers.

Marge, having been rescued along with Lisa by park rangers, identifies the monster in question as her husband and causing quite a controversy. Cold, hungry, and exhausted, Homer and Bart stumble upon the cave housing Maggie and the bears. Homer is soon captured and taken to a lab for testing. The authorities allow Homer to return home after scientists agree that he is "either a below-average human being or a brilliant beast." While watching the news coverage of the whole debacle, Homer worries about the insults he'll receive from his co-workers, until Marge consoles him, calling him "my brilliant beast."

The Call of the Simpsons has held up really well.

The Way We Was is the series' best flashback episode. Jon Lovitz is other-wordly good as Artie Ziff.

"Marge, I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anybody about my busy hands. Not so much for myself. But I am so respected it would damage the town to hear it."

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