15x10 Diatribe of a Mad Housewife

[6.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Homer is terrible for 90% of this one. We’re in full-on Captain Wacky/Jerkass Homer territory here, between him losing two jobs in the span of a few minutes, being a terrible ambulance driver, and being absolutely horrible at listening to his wife and responding to her needs. It’s a real chore to sit through his scenes in this episode.

But at least there’s a purpose to that for once! The show is commenting on Homer’s awfulness, by having Marge imagine a literary world where she doesn’t have to deal with it, until Homer sees the error of his ways and tries to model himself more on the Flandersian ideal Marge admires. There’s something there! I don’t know if it’s worth all the irritation and “comedy” the show generates with Homer’s shtick in this one, but there’s a point to it, and I can appreciate that.

I also enjoy the premise of Marge becoming a writer of romance novels. There’s some solid “my first book” humor, and a nice dose of poking fun at the conventions of old timey romance novels in particular. The episode also includes some solid setups and payoffs in terms of gags, and even some layered jokes in the form of Marge’s path to being inspired by a “Scene from Moby Dick” painting. It even features some solid character humor with the glimpse we get of the goings on inside Lisa’s brain. Don’t get me wrong, there’s also some awful jokes here too (mostly centered on Homer, but not always), but overall the balance here leans toward funny.

This still isn’t the world’s most memorable episode or anything, but it packs in a solid array of chuckles, and tells a pretty good Marge story. If the drek that is Homer’s portion of the episode were excised, I might even bump into “good” territory for a post-classic episode. But as is, it’s a solid enough A-story weakened by the abominable antics of Homer, even as those antics connect to the major idea of the episode.