Homer v Lisa and the 8th Commandment

The first scene is Homer dreaming on the hammock that he is a Hebrew in the time of Moses, breaking one of the Ten Commandments by stealing. When he wakes up he sees Ned Flanders angrily reject an offer from a dim-witted man to get an illegal cable hook-up for $50, Homer chases after the cable man, who agrees to hook up the Simpsons' television for free. Homer likes the new channels and spends a lot of time watching the television along with his family. Lisa, however, feels suspicious about the cable hook-up. Following a Sunday School lesson regarding the existence and nature of Hell, Lisa becomes terrified of violations of the Ten Commandments, the adherence to which she is assured will keep one's soul safe from Hell. She fears that because Homer violated the Eighth Commandment, he will go to Hell when he dies.

Lisa additionally opposes other examples of common thievery all around her. She even convinces Marge to pay the cost on two grapes she sampled in a grocery store. Lisa pays a visit to Reverend Lovejoy at church, where he suggests that Lisa cannot turn her father in to the police for the illegal hook-up, since she must continue to "Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother", according to the Fifth Commandment. He instead encourages Lisa to not watch anything on Homer's cable hook-up, setting a good example that he hopes others will follow. Marge pleads with Homer to either cut the cable or pay for it, but he refuses to do either, saying that the cable will stay as long as he desires. Meanwhile, Bart sets up posters on the back door for his showing of an adult channel for 50 cents, but he is caught a few seconds later by Homer, who then forbids him from doing it.

Homer sees a commercial for "The Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out!", a much-anticipated boxing match in which Drederick Tatum will fight for the World Heavyweight Championship. Homer decides to have a party and invites all of his friends to come over and watch the fight. Lisa tries to boycott the party, and this results in Homer making her stay outside on the lawn. Homer’s conscience eventually bothers him, more in the form of his daughter's distress than a moral objection to stealing cable due to a hallucination that he is in prison for stealing cable. He finally gives in to Lisa's protests, begrudgingly choosing not to watch the last minutes of the fight, and Marge and Maggie join them as well. Bart, on the other hand, does not care, wanting to see the fight, but Homer drags him outside by force. The family sits the fight out and when everyone has left, Homer hesitantly cuts his cable hook-up despite Bart's objection; he accidentally ends up cutting the power to the whole neighborhood which causes the screen to become static for a few seconds before cutting to credits.

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.

Commandment is a masterful episode, and one that genuinely makes me question how I would handle the situation as a parent. Very easy win.

These are both stellar. I'm gonna let you guys decide it, because I don't know that I can. I'll abstain from abstaining if it comes down to 1 vote.

Read the pamphlet, honey.

So Barry White has sex with snakes, right?

I'm gonna watch Whacking Day tonight. I initially went with 8th Commandment but I could be swayed. This is a tough one.

I do love Whacking Day, but 8th Commandment is just such a solid character study (of both Homer and Lisa). It's very Huck Finn of him to do the right thing but not be happy about it in the end. I also like when the cable guy just shows up in their house with a car stereo.

I have a soft spot for the episodes that challenge the characters morals and their relationships with each other. The Simpsons are simultaneously a dysfunctional family and an incredibly strong unit.

Nice post, chud