Kredit Kookies: Billboard: Luigis – “Home of the Breadstick”Chalkboard Gag: “I Will Not Mock The Teacher’s Outdated Cell Phone” Couch Gag: The Simpsons hack their way through a jungle to reveal a version of their living room done up in the style of the Aztec ruins.It’s inhabited by ape versions of OFF family, who chase away the human versions with a display of aggression.

Dumbing It Down: Bart and Milhouse unscrew every screw and bolt in Springfield Elementary; the building’s fixtures fall apart.In the mass chaos, Milhouse is the one captured and put on home suspension; he doesn’t rat on Bart, who vows to visit him every day.

Homer takes Bart to visit his grandfather at the Retirement Castle, where he meets a volunteer named Jenny, a religious good girl.Bart tries to change his stripes to get Jenny to fall for him, which is successful only until Milhouse is released from home confinement.Having been abandoned by Bart over the course of his suspension, Milhouse hangs around Bart and Jenny, threatening to spill Bart’s secret, until Bart himself confesses to Jenny the true nature of his character.Jenny dumps Bart and, heartbroken, he ultimately apologizes to Milhouse.The twosome pull make-up prank on Springfield Elementary, enlisting a zamboni driver to turn the halls of Springfield Elementary into an ice rink.

The b-plot features Lisa’s slide into depression after she does a report on the state of Springfield in fifty years.After figuring out global warming might wipe the town off the map, she shares her dire warning with the rest of the class, leading to an appointment with a psychiatrist who prescribes “Ignorital”, an anti-depressant.

Lisa pops a pill and becomes so blissed out that she sees everything – from Barney vomiting into a gutter to Chief Wiggum being shot in the chest – as a spray of happy faces.Marge finally catches Lisa as she’s about to kiss a working electric fan and dumps the pills in the trash, and Lisa learns to face her problems head-on.

Red Dress Press: A mixed bag.Jenny was a fun and dimensional little personality with interesting values, though Anne Hathaway’s VA work was less than exemplary.Bart turning nice to be with her is a bit of a retread of “Bart’s Girlfriend”, only he’s the one trying to cover up his innate mischievousness. His relationship with Milhouse, as always fraught with jealousy, gets another examination here.

The Lisa subplot felt like a tacked-on salute to Earth Day and Fox’s green earth campaign.Lisa has to SAY that she learned how to deal with her problems; unlike episodes such as “Moaning Lisa”, we’re not shown a real resolution to her emotional conflict.

Most of the laughs stemmed from one-off lines, such as Skinner’s delight that Superintendent Chalmers managed to mistake his knock-off Hush Puppies for the real thing.They exist, but are scattered about.  My favorite one involved Milhouse's father shouting at Lou Dobbs ("You said tech stocks were bulletproof!").

An imperfect but mildly amusing episode.

Did It Fail At Masonry?: A middling affair – there’s a few laughs and some sentiment, with neither being overtly offensive.Decent, but not a stand-out.

What the Screwballs Think: The show garnered a 3.0, tying with The Amazing Race to win its time slot, and second in Fox’s Animation Domination block (once again being bested by Family Guy).

Springfield Shopper: The next new episode of TheSimpsons, “’Father Knows Worst” airs April twenty-sixth.Check back on the twenty-seventh for a full recap.