8F01 - Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington (September 26, 1991)

Summary: Lisa wins a trip to D.C. for a patriotic essay contest, but loses faith in her country when discovering the true nature of politicians.

Episode Timeline:
October 10, 1991, Thursday:
- Homer checks the mail and may have won $1 million
- Homer tries to cash the check
- The family reads the free sample of Reader's Digest
October 11, 1991, Friday:
- Homer reads the magazine at work
- Homer turns off the TV so he can read to his family
- Homer gets caught up in the article about a dangerous encounter with a sea lion
- Homer uses the magazine to spice up his sex life
October 12, 1991, Saturday:
- At dinner, Lisa learns of the essay contest to go to D.C.
October 13, 1991, Sunday:
- Lisa tries writing her essay
- Lisa visits the national park and sees a bald eagle
- Homer takes Lisa to the contest where Nelson delivers a rousing essay
- Other children around the world share their essays
- Lisa shares her essay to high marks and wins
October 16, 1991, Wednesday:
- On the plane to D.C., Homer requests all the free items he'll eventually get
- Bart gets to sit in the cockpit and releases the oxygen masks
- The family lands and gets a taxi
- The family stays at the Watergate
- The parents check out the free stuff
- The kids fight over beds
- At 2am, Bart calls Homer for a wake up call
October 17, 1991, Thursday:
- Lisa meets the other finalists
- The family gets V.I.P. badges
- The family visits the White House
- The family sees money being printed
- The family visits the Air and Space Museum
- The family visits the Washington Monument
- The Congressman from the state where Springfield is located plans to tear down the Springfield Forest, then takes pictures with Lisa
October 18, 1991, Friday:
- Moe reads about Lisa in the paper
- Early in the morning, Lisa is too excited to stay asleep for the contest
- Lisa visits the memorial of a woman's rights crusader and witnesses the Congressman being bribed to allow the Forest's destruction
- Lisa visits the Lincoln Memorial seeking guidance
- Lisa visits the Jefferson Memorial instead
- Lisa imagines D.C. as a political cartoon
- Bart splurges on room service and convinces Homer to as well
- At the awards luncheon, Lisa comes late and reads her new essay
- Lisa finishes her speech revealing what she saw
- At 1:12 pm, the Congressman is arrested
- At 2:05pm, F.B.I. watches the evidence
- At 2:44pm, The Congressman is expelled
- At 3:18pm, the President approves of the explusion
- At 3:39pm, the essays finish up
- Lisa explains herself, then learns about the explusion
- Lisa loses, yet her winning opponent praises her
- Bart takes out the singing satirist

References to Time:
- The check is dated October 18, 1991
- George and Barbara Bush are in the White House

SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Lisa eats meatloaf
- Marge flies without fear

Minimum Time Spanned: 9 days, with a couple days missing between the contest and the plane ride

Canon: The Simpsons will meet the Bushes later. This presidency may pose issues.

Favorite Moments:
- Father to his son: "'We the purple?' What the hell was that?"
- Everything written on signs (The Springfield State Slogan: "Not Just Another State", the protestors' signs, "Brevity is...wit.")
- "A little girl is losing faith in democracy!"
- The title of Lisa's new essay: "Cesspool on the Potomac"

Review: This episode is pretty solid. There are enough funny jokes that pepper the story, Lisa's tale is dramatic and well-executed, and the family touring D.C. offers another slice of life moment from the series (that will later be overused in "The Simpsons are going to ________" episodes later in the series). The obsession with Reader's Digest is a little strange though. Doesn't have many "memorable" scenes, though. B

7F24 - Stark Raving Dad (September 19, 1991)

Summary: After mistakenly getting admitted to a mental hospital, Homer meets a man who thinks he is Michael Jackson and gets everyone excited for his visit to Springfield...on Lisa's birthday.

Episode Timeline:
Monday-Thursday:
- Lisa wakes up Bart
- At breakfast, Bart doesn't watch Maggie and Homer discovers his shirts are now pink
- Burns observes a pink-shirted Homer on the monitor
- Homer wants to eat a donut, but gets taken away by goons
- Homer gets detained and psychoanalyzed for his "independence"
- Homer tries to get Marge to fill out his psychoanalysis test
- Homer tries to get Lisa to fill out the form
- Homer gets Bart to fill it out
Tuesday-Friday:
- Homer turns in his test
- Homer gets sent to the mental hospital and takes an inkblot test
- Homer gets placed in a room with "Michael Jackson"
- Homer learns about who MJ is
- Bart and Lisa watch a birthday themed I&S episode
- Michael introduces Homer to the other patients and calls Bart to tell him that Homer is locked up
- Michael sings "Ben" to Homer
Wednesday-Saturday (Lisa's Birthday):
- Homer listens to the story of another patient
- Marge comes to pick up Homer, Michael says he'll come visit
- Lisa sings "Happy Birthday" to herself
- Homer calls Bart to tell him he's coming home with MJ, Bart calls Milhouse who calls everyone else
- Apu leaves the Kwik-E-Mart for the first time ever
- The crowd awaits Michael and is disappointed, but Lisa is even more disappointed in Bart
- Michael wanders around the house and decides to help Bart with Lisa
- Michael and Bart try to write a song
- They watch Lisa from a tree
- They write a song
Thursday-Sunday:
- Michael and Bart sing their song to Lisa
- Leon leaves

References to Time:
- Lisa wakes up Bart at 6am to tell him that her 8th birthday is in 2 days
- In 1979, Smithers wore bell-bottoms as part of his role in the plant's production of the HMS Pinafore
- Lisa writes a poem about Snowball dying
- Homer once had Bart vote for him via absentee ballot
- MJ is "a little black guy"
- The Chief has been in the ward since 1968
- Michael Jackson admitted himself voluntarily because he got depressed in 1979
- Apu has never abandoned the store before today
- The Dalai Lama visited Springfield in 1952

SLH Presence:
- Bart still has his lucky red hat
- Dr. Monroe is alive
- I don't believe SLH was present. I may have missed him.

Minimum Time Spanned: 4 days

Canon: Yes, although Bart's view of Michael Jackson changes in future episodes

Favorite Moments:
- Homer watching America's Funniest Home Videos is great, especially because you can only here what is happening on the TV and seeing Homer's reactions
- Bart telling Michael that he is not Michael Jackson but a big fat mental patient, to which Michael replies, "You'd be surprised how often I get that."
- Michael and Bart's birthday song, of course

Review: Now this is more like it. After restarting my episode reviews, I was afraid I'd lost interest in the series since "When Flanders Failed" was so mediocre and disappointing. But this episode reminded me of how good the series can be. It aptly balanced funny situations, great one-liners, and even callback jokes to earlier in the episode seamlessly with the emotional plot of Lisa feeling neglected on her birthday. The birthday song is very touching and represents how great this show can be when it is full of heart. Also, working Michael Jackson's voice in as a person who thinks he's Michael Jackson reinforces how to properly use a celebrity cameo in a plot. A

7F23 - When Flanders Failed (October 3, 1991)

Summary: Homer wishes for Ned Flanders's new business to fail while Bart doesn't learn karate.

Episode Timeline:
Saturday, February 16, 1991:
- Homer mows his lawn with a weed whacker
- The family discusses Flanders and his BBQ tomorrow.
Sunday, February 17, 1991:
- The family minus Homer attends the BBQ
- The aroma draws Homer over to the BBQ
- Kids play tag
- Flanders announces that he has quit his job at the pharmacy and will open up the Leftorium
- Homer wishes on the wish bone that Flanders's store will fail
- Bart sees a commercial for karate on TV and decides to take lessons
Monday, February 18, 1991 (Washington's Birthday):
- After dropping off Bart at karate, Homer checks out the Leftorium
- Bart leaves the class after learning that they won't be fighting right away
- Bart plays "The Touch of Death" at the arcade
- At dinner, the events at the mall are discussed
Tuesday, February 19, 1991:
- Bart skips class again and Homer visits Flanders again
- At Moe's bar, Homer deliberately doesn't tell left-handed Moe of the store
- Bart makes Lisa change the channel under threat of Touch of Death
Wednesday, February 20, 1991:
- Homer doesn't tell Burns about the store. Burns will keep apples in the vending machine.
- Flanders sells his possessions
- Homer and Bart enjoy the new stuff
- The bill collector accidentally comes to Homer's house looking for Flanders
Thursday, February 21, 1991:
- Flanders goes out of business
Friday, February 22, 1991:
- The bullies steal Lisa's sax and Bart can't defend her
- Bart suffers
- Flanders is kicked out of his house
- Homer calls left-handed people to come to the store
Saturday, February 23, 1991:
- Burns sees a new suggestion
- Flanders comes to the bustling store

References to Time:
- Akira's karate class is holding a Washington's Birthday Sale.
- Last month, Homer paid Jerry a loan

SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Flanders starts the Leftorium
- Dr. Monroe is alive

Minimum Time Spanned: 8 days, although it makes more sense to last 15 days.

Canon: February seems like a weird time to have a BBQ.

Favorite Moments:
- Akira breaking a board with his face, claiming it didn't hurt very much
- Dolph stealing Lisa's sax and shouting, "I'm Elvis, man!"
- A random Springfield citizen who hates Homer yet loves Flanders. "Ned Flanders is in trouble?!"

Review: The story is fairly simple and doesn't really aim to be anything big. I like this version of Flanders and his family when he was still just a normal guy who was optimistic and well-off. But it doesn't lend itself well to repeated viewings, due to the lackluster jokes. Once you know the story, there aren't many surprises. C+

Season 2, in Summary

I haven't been able to place all of the episodes quite yet, but so far, the timeline I've gathered for Season 2 is:

7F12 – The Way We Was
7F16 – Oh Brother Where Art Thou
7G06 – Moaning Lisa
7G02 – Bart The Genius
7F04 – Treehouse of Horror
7G04 – There’s No Disgrace Like Home
7G08 – Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
7F14 – Bart’s Dog Gets an F
7F03 – Bart Gets an F
7G10 – Homer’s Night Out
7G12 – Krusty Gets Busted
7F19 – Lisa’s Substitute
7G13 – The Crepes of Wrath
7G09 – Call of the Simpsons
7F21 – Three Men and a Comic Book
7F05 – Dancin’ Homer
7F18 – Brush With Greatness
7F01 – Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
7F08 – Dead Putting Society
7F07 – Bart vs. Thanksgiving
7F22 – Blood Feud

I have included some Season 1 episodes as reference points to my first timeline.

Most of the other episodes can be placed in multiple locations, so I want to wait until later to find definitive spots for them. The fixed reference date of "Old Money" is causing a lot of problems, so I might consider it non-canon. I also realized that any episode in which Lisa eats meat must be placed prior to or during the time she is in 2nd grade, which may cause later issues.

And, as before, here are the top 10 episodes of Season 2 which will hold more weight in their canonicity:

10) 7F18 - Brush With Greatness
9) 7F17 - Old Money
8) 7F22 - Blood Feud
7) 7F03 - Bart Gets an F
6) 7F04 - Treehouse of Horror
5) 7F11 - One Fish, Two Fish, Blow Fish, Blue Fish
4) 7F21 - Three Men and a Comic Book
3) 7F12 - The Way We Was
2) 7F07 - Bart vs. Thanksgiving
1) 7F19 - Lisa's Substitute

7F22 - Blood Feud (August 11, 1991)

Summary: Bart gives blood to save Mr. Burns and Homer gets upset when they get no reward.

Episode Timeline:
Monday:
- The power plant unveils it's new warning sign
- Burns collapses on his bedroom floor
- Burns needs a blood transfusion
- Smithers announces to the plant that they are looking for blood
- Bart has the right blood type
- Homer tells the story of Hercules and the lion
Tuesday:
- Bart arrives to give blood
- The blood rejuvenates Burns
- Burns returns to the plant, healthy
- Burns decides to give the Simpsons a nice gift
Wednesday:
- Homer receives Burns's card
- Bart takes a letter
- Homer decides to sleep before he mails it
- Homer dreams about strangling Burns and eating pancakes
Thursday:
- Homer chews his pillow
- Homer wonders where the letter is
- Bart mails the letter
- Homer learns the letter was mailed
- 12pm, Homer tries to retrieve the letter
- Burns decides to write his own biography
- Homer tries to pose as Burns
- Lisa continues showing Maggie flashcards
Friday:
- Burns writes his 5th chapter
- 7:02am, Burns reads Homer's letter
- Homer is escorted from Burns's building
- Burns signs Homer's pink slip
- Homer is afraid
- Smithers talks to the goon
- Smithers tells Burns he called it off
- Homer drinks at Moe's
Saturday:
- Burns goes shopping for the Simpsons
- Burns delivers his gift
- The Simpsons discuss the moral of the story

References to Time:
- Smithers once donated a kidney to Burns
- Carl is Homer's supervisor
- Otto mentions that school is in session
- Burns doesn't know who Lenny or Bart are
- The mail is picked up at noon
- Homer doesn't know Burns's first name
- Burns usually arrives to work at 7:30am

References to Other Episodes: None

SLH Presence:
- SLH is present
- Moe's TV is black and white
- Bart prank calls Moe
- The Olmec Head first appears

Minimum Time Spanned: 6 days

Canon: Bart is allergic to butterscotch, but in a later episode, Marge feeds it to him (maybe that was before they learned of the allergy). If that's true, then it's all canon.

Favorite Moments:
- In the rush to get Bart's blood to Burns, one of the hospital workers forgets to hit the elevator button.
- An excited Homer tells Lisa to do something to celebrate the letter from Burns. She turns on the sprinkler.
- The Post Office mural that parodies the Sistine Chapel painting of Adam and God is pretty cool.

Review: This is a nice simple episode where the family behaves like a family. Homer gets upset, Bart does what he thinks is right, Lisa shows flashcards to Maggie, and Marge tries to provide the voice of reason. Nothing over the top happens, and it is a good way to sum up Season 2. The ending scene is cute when the family tries to determine the moral of the story and decides it's just a bunch of stuff that happened. A-

7F21 - Three Men and a Comic Book (May 9, 1991)

Summary: Bart tries to get money for the first issue of Radioactive Man, then shares ownership with Martin and Milhouse.

Episode Timeline:
WWI:
- Mrs. Glick's brother Asa dies from holding a grenade too long
About 30 years ago:
- Little Marge works for her older sisters to earn money for an Easy Bake Oven
Saturday:
- Lisa and Bart are driven to the 12th Annual Comic-Con
- Bartman tries to get a discount
- Jimbo corrects the Mayor
- Martin loses a Vulcan ear
- Otto shows his comic book idea
- The original Fallout Boy takes questions
- Comic Book Guy shows Bart the first issue of Radioactive Man
- 6:00pm, the family leaves the convention
- Bart decides to get a job to earn the money to buy the comic book
Sunday:
- Bart searches the house for money
- Bart turns in an empty bottle at the Kwik-E-Mart
- Bart trades Bolivian coins for American money
- Bart tries selling lemonade
- Bart sells beer
- Marge talks to Mrs. Glick about a job for Bart
Monday:
- Bart goes to Glick's
- Bart pulls weeds
- Glick applies iodine to Bart's wounds
- Bart returns home
Tuesday:
- Bart cleans the gutters
- Glick shows off her wedding/mourning dress
- Bart visits the comic book
Wednesday:
- Bart cleans the cat box
- Glick puts on more iodine
Thursday is skipped
Friday:
- Glick pays Bart 50 cents
- Bart complains about working
Saturday:
- Bart, Milhouse, and Martin buy the comic book
- The boys try to each leave with it
- The boys read the book in Bart's treehouse
- The boys make a schedule for the comic book, but tonight it stays
- The boys fight and eat S'mores
- The boys tie up Martin
- The boys fight and the comic is destroyed
Sunday:
- The boys should've learned how to share

References to Time:
- Buddy Hodges wasn't killed in Vietnam
- The first issue of Radioactive Man came out Nov. 1952
- When Homer was about 20, he figured out working is for chumps

References to Other Episodes: None.

SLH Presence:
- SLH is present

Minimum Time Spanned: 9 days, possibly the summer

Canon: Yes

Favorite Moments:
- When Bart wants $100 for the comic, Homer replies, "Well, TS"
- The Wonder Years reference with Daniel Stern as the adult Bart
- Milhouse shouting "Let's tie him up!" when Martin tries to use the bathroom

Review: This is a great episode. The comic-conventions scenes are spot on, Bart working for Glick is hilarious, and the final aftermath of the three boys and the comic is tragic and exciting to watch. This is a well-crafted episode. It's also full of nice "realistic" touches, like Maggie smashing fries into the table at Krusty Burger. A

7F20 - The War of the Simpsons (May 2, 1991)

Summary: Homer and Marge go to a marriage retreat after he embarrasses her at a dinner party.

Episode Timeline:
About 9 years ago:
- Baby Bart drives down his babysitter
A night in the past:
- Homer had fun in bed eating a big sandwich
Saturday:
- Homer and Marge prepare for a dinner party, Flanders mixes a drink for Homer
- The party gets underway, Homer gets drunker
- Homer wears a lampshade
- Maggie tears up people's money
- Homer quits working for some guy he doesn't know
- Homer looks down Maude's blouse
- The guests leave, Homer is passed out
Sunday:
- Homer and Marge fight in the car
- Homer apologizes to Bart about his behavior
- Homer comes late to church
- Marge signs up for the marriage retreat
Monday - Friday are skipped
Saturday:
- Homer finishes packing for the trip
- Grampa agrees to babysit
- Homer stores fishing supplies in the car
- Grampa and the kids say goodbye
- Homer stops at the bait shop and learns about General Sherman
- Bart decides to bleed Grampa dry
- Homer and Marge arrive at the retreat
- The problems of the couples are discussed
- Grampa and the kids go shopping
- 9:30pm, Marge finishes her list of grievances
- Bart and Lisa watch McBain on television
Sunday:
- 5am, Homer tries to sneak out to fish
- Homer gets dragged of the pier by General Sherman
- Sherman drags Homer around
- Bart and Lisa drink coffee
- Sherman knocks Homer out of the boat
- Before noon, Bart invites people to a party at 2pm
- Lovejoy tells Marge that Homer is the cause of all the problems
- 2pm, the party starts
- Homer talks to Sherman
- The party is very destructive
- Homer catches Sherman
- Grampa cries after the party
- Homer throws back Sherman
- Bart and Lisa clean
- Homer and Marge return home, Grampa leaves
- The Legend of Homer is created at the bait shop

References to Time:
- Last year at the Winfields' party, Homer threw up in the laundry hamper
- Barney has met Patty and Selma before
- This is the 3rd Annual Marriage Retreat
- Bart is almost 10 and a half

References to Other Episodes: None.

SLH Presence:
- SLH is present

Minimum Time Spanned: 9 days

Canon: Homer claims that their wedding was a big bash with lots of musicians and holy men. We will later see in "I Married Marge" that this was not true (unless he is referring to the second wedding from "A Milhouse Divided" but I doubt it). This comment is not canon.

Favorite Moment: When Flanders reveals his problem with Maude (she underlines passages in his Bible when she can't find her own), Homer quips "Lucky you don't keep guns in the house."

Review: This is a pretty good episode. This seems to be one of those classic episodes that builds a lot of the dynamic between Homer and Marge. Although Homer vs. Marge episodes become a lot more common,this once pays off well. The whole dinner party sequence is quite entertaining (including Homer's recollection of it). Bart and Lisa taking advantage of Grampa is amusing as well, but it's ultimately a forgettable subplot. B+