The Way We Was – Marge and Homer tell the kids the story of how they became a couple.
The first of many, many, flashback episodes about Marge and Homer’s early relationship. Some memorable quotes from the Bouvier family (“Whores use blush, ladies pinch!”) and they throw a lot of amusing abuse Homer’s way. It’s a pretty cute story when it wants to be, though it tries too hard in some places.
Homer vs Lisa & the 8th Commandment – Homer starts stealing cable and Lisa feels guilty, fearing this act of theft will condemn her family to hell.
Lisa, shut the fuck up and watch the god damn cable.
Principal Charming – Marge’s attempt to set Skinner up with Selma results in him falling for Patty instead.
I think this is the first time they’ve given any depth to Skinner’s character, or really the Bouvier twins for that matter. Vertigo references will always score you points with me. The resolution of the episode doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but I guess it kinda works. Whatever.
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou - Homer discovers he has a wealthy half-brother who owns a car manufacturer. Homer is put in charge of designing a new vehicle.
Lots of memorable moments in this episode. Danny Devito is great as Unky Herb. He’s kind, generous, and the Simpsons manage to destroy his life in 22 minutes flat. Homer’s car is an epic monstrosity:
YES
Bart’s Dog Gets an F – Santa’s Little Helper keeps wrecking shit, so unless he can pass obedience school, he’s going to be given away.
Lots to like here. English from SLH’s perspectives is just blahbity blahs. I can identify with Bart and Lisa because I also had poorly behaved pets growing up, and my brother and I would fight tooth and nail to keep them. Tracy Ullman’s guest role as the hard-ass obedience school owner is great, because, animal abuse is always funny.
Old Money – Grandpa’s lady friend dies and leaves her fortune to him. He hears petitions from the townspeople and says he’ll give the money to the most worthy cause.
This episode desperately grabs at your heartstrings but doesn’t quite succeed. Most of the drama falls flat, I don’t much care about the issues it raises, and overall it’s pretty half-hearted. There’s a scene where Grandpa wanders around the bad part of town and realizes that these people deserve the help more than the greedy residents of Springfield, but then turns around and spends all the money on the retirement home. Maybe the message is that all the money in the world can’t solve all of our social problems. I dunno. The one effective moment is at the very end; the retirement home’s new dining room has a plaque dedicating it to his friend.
Brush with Greatness – Marge renews her interest in painting, and Mr Burns hires her to paint a portrait of him for the new wing of the museum. Homer gets stuck in a water slide and decides to lose weight.
Ehh. The A story with Marge doesn’t do anything for me. I like the scenes at the water park and the fact that it was one mean comment that sends Homer back into his usual gluttonous state. The portrait reveal isn’t bad, and I like the scene with Ringo Starr finally answering Marge’s decades-old fan mail.
Dear god.
Lisa’s Substitute – Lisa gets an inspiring, friendly substitute teacher she becomes very attached to, while she feels increasingly distant and ashamed of Homer.
I cried. I admit it. I fucking cried while watching The Simpsons. A LISA episode, for fuck’s sakes. This was a wonderful episode. Now I know why the later years of the show are said to be lacking in heart. One supportive, nurturing teacher can make a huge difference in your life, and that when we find our parents lacking, we can find other role models in our lives. Homer is genuinely sad here that Lisa feels ashamed of him, and his attempts to reconnect with her are very touching. No way would a season 16 episode play it like this.
The War of the Simpsons – Homer makes a drunken ass of himself at a party. Marge signs them up for a church marriage counseling retreat, but Homer is mostly just interested in the fishing.
Bleh. Whatever. I like the dude at the fishing supply store. That’s about it.
Three Men and a Comic Book – Martin, Bart, and Milhouse split the cost of Radioactive Man #1 three ways, and then spend the night squabbling over the custody arrangements.
Pretty unremarkable. I think this is the first appearance of Comic Book Guy. His voice is a little off. The majority of the episode is a Treasure of the Sierra Mad homage. Some funny stuff at comic book convention and the shitty chores Bart does to earn money. Though if you have the choice, watch Sierra Madre instead.
Blood Feud - In the season finale, Mr Burns is desperate need of a blood transfusion, and Bart is the only compatible donor. The boy’s blood makes the old bastard spry and energetic. Homer seeks monetary compensation.
This is sort of a rehash of “Bart Gets Hit by a Car” with Homer trying to get money out of Burns for something involving Bart. This episode is the better one by far, with Homer’s desperate attempt to stop his hate mail from reaching Burns. The postal worker catching Homer sticking a hose into the mail box is very very funny. He does get something for his trouble this time around, at least.
The Simpsons‘ second season was mostly average fare with a few example of the greatness I’ve heard about continuously for the last 590 years. Not great yet, but certainly on its way there. Onwards, to season 3! Well, eventually.
Also, I find myself appreciating Lisa more than I ever have before. I don’t know if that’s the estrogen, the maturity, or the superior writing, but the kid is growing on me.
Matt – As I said above, Kate sort of opens my eyes to the flawed beauty that is Season 2. There is a lot of heart in these early episodes. It’s just strange to see half of the episodes fall into the overly preachy Season 1 territory and the other half falls into the warm-hearted cynical humor we would come to adore for nearly ten years.
