"The Simpsons" aired its 300th and 301st episodes Sunday night. Here is what happened:
"Barting Over"
What Happened: Bart and Lisa, while spring-cleaning, discover a tape with an old commercial, featuring a very young Bart as "Baby Stinkbreath," a toddler with fatal breath. When Bart confronts Homer and Marge about it, Homer reveals he spent all the money made from the ad on himself. Bart furiously sues them so he can be legally emancipated. A judge grants him emancipation, so he buys a loft in the same building as skateboarder Tony Hawk and rockers blink-182. Homer and Marge try everything to lure Bart back. Their last chance is at a music and sports tour, where Homer convinces Hawk to let him win a contest to prove he's a cool dad. Bart reminds him it wasn't about being cool or not, it was about being a good dad. Homer apologizes and Bart comes back home.
My Thoughts: For an unbelievable plotline, this episode had quite a lot of reality in it. Bart finally got angry with Homer for being such a horrible father. Who knows? The emancipation of Bart could happen in real life. Homer is probably the worst father on television, which makes him so damned lovable. That aside, this was a pretty good show, whose best joke was pointed at Michael Jackson's recent baby-dangling incident. The guest stars weren't great, mind you, but the laughs were there. My favorite is the final joke, where Homer finds himself in a Viagra ad. The announcer says, "Use of Viagra may cause loss of scalp or penis." That is, without a doubt, priceless humor.
"I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can"
What Happened: On the first day of the new school year, Lisa wins the school spelling bee. She then wins the state spelling bee, making her a finalist for the Spellympics hosted by George Plimpton. Meanwhile, Homer follows a hippie group on tour with the Krustyburger Ribwich, which is dangerously, addictively good. Lisa is blackmailed by Plimpton to throw the spelling bee so a more attractive, lovable contestant can win. When Homer realizes that he should be paying attention to Lisa rather than a burger and returns, Lisa exposes the truth while spelling her last word. The only problem is that she spells it wrong. Even so, the people of Springfield are proud that she placed second, as it's the highest honor anyone in the town has ever gotten. In appreciation, a statue similar to Mount Rushmore is built in her likeness.
My Thoughts: Frankly, this was a much better installment than the 300th. The jokes about the Ribwich were quite good (I love Krusty's line: "The taste doesn't bother me!") as well as Mayor Quimby's remark that Lisa's second-place finish is the best thing a Springfieldian has gotten since "that woman who dated Charles Grodin." It seems that Lisa gets the best shows, but also the fewest. We need more Lisa--her episodes are always funnier and feature better guest stars. George Plimpton gets quite a few good jokes, including a running gag about the George Plimpton Hot Plate ("Good for soup, too!") and his final line: "Now I get to go back to whatever it is that I do." Overall, this was a quality "Simpsons" episode.
Josh Spiegel is an entertainment reporter for the Web Devil. Reach him at joshua.spiegel@asu.edu.
