Simpsons Did It!: “Mr. Plow”

Simpsons fans just know this episode.

Do they know that the plow Homer buys is from Kumatsu Motors, the same Japanese car company that bought Homer’s brother Herb’s bankrupt company?  They do now.

You know, if anybody really read these.

Yes, after wrecking his car (and Marge’s) while driving home in a blizzard, Homer decides to use the insurance money to buy a big truck with a plow on it.  After referring to Moe’s as a pornography store where he was buying pornography to get the money, Homer ends up buying a big truck he can’t really afford.  Some whipping sounds from the salesman and the idea of plowing driveways to make extra money to pay for the truck all cause Homer to bring home the truck to Marge’s initial consternation.

You know, that payment plan doesn’t seem very feasible.  Homer won’t be plowing driveways year round.  How does he expect to make summer time payments?

But if the town of Springfield is anything, it’s easily impressed, and soon Homer is a hero getting the key to the city for some reason.

I am not so easily impressed.  Multiple Bonnie and Clyde references cause me to show a little respect.  The tilting of the camera whenever guest star Adam West is talking is fun.  And Homer’s professionally made commercial is a real work of art.  That came at least in part due to director Jim Reardon, who these days is directing feature length stuff like Zootopia and Wreck-It Ralph.  How much Reardon had to do with the stuff in this episode I do not know, but it felt like a good opportunity to say he was here and there and everywhere, and he didn’t need a plow to get there.

Homer’s success, by the by, inspires a diaper-clad Barney to try something…namely to become Homer’s competitor.  Barney is a lot more ruthless, beats Homer to jobs, and has a very aggressive and violent Linda Ronstadt singing his jingles.  Homer is going to lose his truck!

Unless Barney can’t get to jobs!  Homer tricks him into trying to plow Forbidding Widow’s Peak.  Then Barney gets stuck up there and Homer rescues him.  It was fortunate that Homer’s truck was actually more surefooted than a Springfield mountain goat.  Barney, realizing they were both being colossal jerks, suggests the two men become partners, to which Homer agrees because not even God Himself can stop two best friends working together.

Except God totally can, and a sudden heat wave costs Homer, and probably Barney, his truck.

Did we learn anything here?  Well, only that Hungry Hungry Hippos is probably more fun than the Waiting Game.