Simpsons Top 100 Countdown
#69 Life on the Fast Lane
Season 1, Episode 9 (Guide from the Simpsons Archive)
This was the start of the marriage-trouble episodes for the Simpsons, which seem to be a yearly thing. It seems to play-up the dramatic angle more than most, but is not without its share of laughs. Anyways, on to my normal plot summary. The show begins with Bart and Lisa making breakfast in bed for Marge for her birthday, and it quickly becomes evident that Homer had forgotten the occasion. Doing some last minute shopping at the mall, he decides to get a bowling ball with his name engraved on it and with holes for his finger size and give that to her, knowing that she won’t care for it and hoping to have the ball for himself, in what is quite possibly the most selfish act he’s committed in the entire series. Needless to say, Marge is not pleased with the gift, but decides to keep it, mostly to spite Homer. While bowling alone, she meets Jacques, who offers to become her bowling instructor and hopes to become much more. As time passes, Marge’s resistance fades and she eventually agrees to meet him at his place for a date. On her way there, however, her conscience gets the better of her, and she instead goes to the power plant to surprise Homer for a happy ending. It has a better ending than most of the ones where Marge is mad at Homer for one reason or another and rethinking their marriage, in that there’s not something flashy or whatever that he does to win her back that basically papers over their troubles until the next time; the ending instead focuses on the choice she makes between staying faithful to the man she loves and married, despite his faults, or pursue an affair that would likely destroy that marriage. I can’t quite explain it, it’s just better that way; in general, the ones where they ponder affairs work at better than the ones where they have assorted marital difficulties. Anyways, memorable moments include the stores Homer contemplates, the restaurant (with a waiter to patron ratio of nearly 1:1), many of the Jacques scenes (especially describing brunch and his plans to “strike out tonight”), the bowling ball moon, the color-challenged dream sequence, Homer getting hit in the head with a baseball and then getting his own advice returned to him, Marge walking into the plant and the general reaction, and, of course, what Homer’s coworkers are to tell the boss.
Season 1, Episode 9 (Guide from the Simpsons Archive)
This was the start of the marriage-trouble episodes for the Simpsons, which seem to be a yearly thing. It seems to play-up the dramatic angle more than most, but is not without its share of laughs. Anyways, on to my normal plot summary. The show begins with Bart and Lisa making breakfast in bed for Marge for her birthday, and it quickly becomes evident that Homer had forgotten the occasion. Doing some last minute shopping at the mall, he decides to get a bowling ball with his name engraved on it and with holes for his finger size and give that to her, knowing that she won’t care for it and hoping to have the ball for himself, in what is quite possibly the most selfish act he’s committed in the entire series. Needless to say, Marge is not pleased with the gift, but decides to keep it, mostly to spite Homer. While bowling alone, she meets Jacques, who offers to become her bowling instructor and hopes to become much more. As time passes, Marge’s resistance fades and she eventually agrees to meet him at his place for a date. On her way there, however, her conscience gets the better of her, and she instead goes to the power plant to surprise Homer for a happy ending. It has a better ending than most of the ones where Marge is mad at Homer for one reason or another and rethinking their marriage, in that there’s not something flashy or whatever that he does to win her back that basically papers over their troubles until the next time; the ending instead focuses on the choice she makes between staying faithful to the man she loves and married, despite his faults, or pursue an affair that would likely destroy that marriage. I can’t quite explain it, it’s just better that way; in general, the ones where they ponder affairs work at better than the ones where they have assorted marital difficulties. Anyways, memorable moments include the stores Homer contemplates, the restaurant (with a waiter to patron ratio of nearly 1:1), many of the Jacques scenes (especially describing brunch and his plans to “strike out tonight”), the bowling ball moon, the color-challenged dream sequence, Homer getting hit in the head with a baseball and then getting his own advice returned to him, Marge walking into the plant and the general reaction, and, of course, what Homer’s coworkers are to tell the boss.
Labels: Simpsons Top 100
posted by DC | 11:54 PM
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