$pringfield or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling

The economy of Springfield is in decline, so Mayor Quimby listens to suggestions from citizens on how to improve it. Principal Skinner states that legalized gambling has helped rejuvenate run-down economies, and that it can work for Springfield as well. Everybody, even Marge, likes the idea. Mr. Burns and Mayor Quimby work together to build a casino, where Homer gets a job as a blackjack dealer. The casino is designed by Mr. Burns himself, as the proposals he received were not to his liking. While Marge waits for Homer's shift to end at the casino, she finds a quarter on the floor and uses it to play a slot machine. She wins and almost immediately becomes addicted to gambling. Meanwhile, since Bart is too young to gamble at Burns' Casino, he starts his own casino for his friends to play in his treehouse, and intercepts Robert Goulet to perform there. Burns also grows even richer, but in the process becomes a Howard Hughes-type hermit, developing a profound fear of microscopic germs, urinates in jars, and wears tissue boxes instead of shoes.

Due to her addiction, Marge spends every waking moment at the casino and neglects her family. For instance, she forgets to help Lisa make a costume for her geography pageant. Enraged, Homer bursts into the casino and barges around searching for Marge. The security cameras capture Homer's rampage, and when Burns sees him he demotes him back to his old job at the power plant. After realizing how much he misses the plant, Burns decides to return. Homer confronts Marge with her behavior, and she finally realizes that she has a problem. Lisa does win a special prize in the geography pageant, as Homer's poor costume design gives Lisa the appearance that she did the work all by herself. Ralph Wiggum receives the same prize, as his costume is simply a note taped to his shirt that reads "Idaho".

Homer Badman

Homer and Marge attend a candy convention and hire Ashley Grant, a feminist graduate student, to babysit Bart, Maggie and Lisa. At the convention, Homer outfits Marge with an oversized trenchcoat and is vigilant in smuggling out as much candy as possible in her pockets, including a rare gummy Venus de Milo.

That night, Homer searches for the gummy Venus amongst his smuggled goods, but is unable to find it. Marge reminds him to take Ashley home and Homer grudgingly obliges. As Ashley is exiting Homer's car, he sees the gummy Venus stuck to the backside of her jeans. Homer innocently grabs the candy, and Ashley turns around to see Homer drooling lustfully at the piece of candy. Misinterpreting his poor tact and drooling as a deliberate sexual advance, Ashley runs off screaming in terror while Homer gleefully eats the candy.

The next morning, an angry mob marches onto the Simpsons' lawn and claims that Homer sexually harassed Ashley. The crowd refuses to listen to Homer, who was trying to tell his side of the story. When Rock Bottom, a tabloid news show, asks to interview him about his predicament, he agrees in the hope that it will clear his name. However, the interview is heavily (and poorly) edited into a totally inaccurate segment where Homer is portrayed as a pervert. Things go from bad to worse as a media circus arrives at the Simpson home to provide 24-hour coverage of things such as Marge letting the cat out and the family watching TV; Fox even produces a TV movie, Homer S.: Portrait of an Ass-Grabber, starring Dennis Franz as a lascivious Homer. Lisa and Marge suggest Homer videotape himself telling his side of the story to air on a Public-access television cable TV, but all he succeeds at accomplishing is angering an old-time bicyclist. It was to appear Homer will most likely be guilty.

However, Groundskeeper Willie also saw Homer's speech, and arrives at the Simpson home with a video tape of what happened the night Homer took Ashley home. The tape clearly shows that Homer was grabbing the Gummy Venus, and upon seeing it, Ashley and the media apologize for labeling Homer a monster. Later on, the Simpson family is watching a "Rock Bottom" episode that labels Willie as a disgusting voyeur and Homer immediately declares that he is evil. Marge asks Homer if he learned anything from his experiences, to which Homer replies that he has not learned a thing. After the rest of the family leaves the room, Homer embraces the television and quietly says to it, "Let's never fight again.

Oh man I just don't know.

This is tough! I voted for Homer Badman in round one and mentioned that the only sour taste I have for it relates to how it's been co-opted by men's rights activists. But I've rewatched it since and it's just so, so good.

But I'll admit that $pringfield is also excellent.

$pringfield is excellent. But Homer Badman is genius.

staying open through next round. I wish this gave me time to watch both of these