After a misunderstanding at work, Homer is committed to a mental institution, where he meets an interesting man claiming to be Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, Lisas birthday is fast approaching and a reluctant Bart is forced with the task of getting Lisa a birthday present.

Lisa enters a nationwide patriotism themed essay contest, and the Simpson family heads off to Washington D.C. for an all expenses paid trip, when Lisa qualifies for the essay contest finals to be held at the Kennedy Center.

While hosting a backyard barbecue, Ned Flanders announces that he is going to open The Leftorium, a new store in the mall that will cater to the needs of left-handers in Springfield. Homer scoffs at the idea, secretly wishing for Ned to fail, and to his delight, his wish starts to come true.

Bart's bad day suddenly changes when he gets a job working for Fat Tony. Mysteriously, Principal Skinner goes missing. Bart and his new friends are the main suspects.

Homer inadvertently saves the nuclear power plant from a meltdown and becomes an unlikely hero. Meanwhile, Milhouse's mother forbids him from hanging out with Bart.

Bart and Lisa team up to try and reunite Krusty the Clown with his estranged Rabbi father.

After eating piles and piles of Halloween candy, Bart, Lisa and Homer have nightmares that haunt them all night.



The Monkey's Paw

Lisa dreams that the family goes on a trip to Morocco and buys a cursed monkey paw that grants its owner four wishes. By wishing for world peace, Lisa accidentally paves the way for an alien invasion by Kang and Kodos, who enslave the human race.



The Bart Zone

Bart's dream, in which he has the power to read minds and affect a person with his thoughts, which seems like a wonderful dream for him at first. But eventually, he realizes he has used his powers for evil and repents.



If I Only Had A Brain

Homer dreams that Mr. Burns steals his brain for a giant robot he's building. Due to an accident, Mr. Smithers is forced to sew Mr. Burns' head onto Homer's body. Then he wakes up. It was all a dream, or was it? When he looks in the mirror, Burns' head is still attached to his.

Homer is entrusted with an important task for Lisa, and when he doesn't come through for her, she is crushed. To try and buy Lisa's love back he gets her a pony, but consequences arise, as Homer is forced to work a second job to pay for the pony.

Bart becomes deeply immersed in competitive soapbox racing while Homer begins to realize that he's not as good a father as he thought. After attending a lecture at National Fatherhood Institute, Homer becomes a more attentive father, helping Bart build the ultimate soapbox racer. But Bart decides not to use it in his big race against Nelson Muntz, instead opting to borrow Martin Prince's scientifically engineered aerodynamic racer.

Homer invents a bizarre drink called the Flaming Homer. It's so good that Moe steals his recipe, renames it the Flaming Moe and takes credit for inventing it. The Flaming Moe revitalizes business, turning Moe's Tavern into the hottest spot in Springfield, and causing Homer's and Moe's relationship to splinter.

Mr. Burns sells the nuclear power plant for 0 million to a group of Germans and then retires. Homer has troubles under the new regime and Mr. Burns starts second-guessing his decision to retire.

While Marge pays a visit to the hospital on a pregnancy scare, Homer gathers the kids around and tells them how he and Marge met and fell in love.

On his birthday, Bart receives a "Superstar Celebrity" microphone that transmits sound to an AM radio. Bart decides to use the device to play a prank on the town and places the radio deep inside a well, using the microphone to pose as Timmy O'Toole. But later, when Bart gets stuck in the well himself, the town decides to leave him there as punishment for playing the prank.

Homer discovers that Lisa has the uncanny ability of correctly picking the winners of pro football games 100% of the time and uses this knowledge to make some money by placing wagers on the games.

Marge has a nervous breakdown from being overworked and under appreciated at home and takes a vacation of her own at the Rancho Relaxo resort, leaving Homer and the kids to fend for themselves and experience the rigors of life without Marge.

Bart has a little fun at Mrs. Krabappel's expense and replies to her personal ad as a man named Woodrow. Meanwhile, Homer vows to stop swearing.

The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's softball team goes on a season long winning streak thanks to Homer's "Wunderbat." But with the pennant and a million bet on the line Mr. Burns brings in 9 ringers from the professional baseball ranks and a disappointed Homer has to sit the bench.

After taking career aptitude tests, Lisa discovers that the occupation she's best suited for is homemaker, while Bart is pegged as a future police officer. Each takes the opportunity to explore their options as Lisa spends the day doing chores at home with Marge and Bart goes on a ride along with the police. Lisa hates her role and rebels by becoming a troublemaker at school, but police life fits Bart like a glove and he becomes a hall monitor.

The family is forced to scrimp, save and cut back in order to a pay for Santa's Little Helper's life-saving surgery.

Homer discovers a beautiful country music star in the making and becomes her manager, which raises concerns for Marge about his fidelity.

Selma decides to marry her prison pen-pal, Sideshow Bob. When he gets out of prison, he convinces the Simpson family that he has changed for the better, but Bart remains skeptical and is determined to find out what Sideshow Bob is really up to.

Bart invites Otto the school bus driver to stay at his house when Otto loses his job after it is discovered that he doesn't have a driver's license.

Bart gets jealous and decides to do something about it, when he discovers that Milhouse has a girlfriend and suddenly doesn't have as much time for him any more. Meanwhile Lisa worries about Homer's weight and convinces Marge to order some subliminal weight loss tapes, instead Homer's vocabulary improves dramatically when subliminal vocabulary tapes are mislabeled and sent on accident.

Homer's half-brother Herb Powell returns. After Homer wrecked his car company, Herb now lives as a bum, but with a little help from Maggie, and financial support from Homer, he thinks he has come up with an invention that will put him back on top.