Homer convinces an ether hallucinating Mr. Burns to give him $500 to register his bowling team in a league, but when Mr. Burns finds out what he has done, he demands a spot on the team. Meanwhile, Bart influences a riot at school and as a result, every student is forced to wear uniforms.
Full Story
Homer is at Moe's and hardly anyone is there (not knowing that they almost had Mayor Quimby and his family come in for a drinking contest, which would have led to some excitement and a big payday for Moe), so he and Moe go to the bowling alley. Unfortunately, it's League Night at Barney's Bowl-o-Rama and is so crowded that The Squeaky-Voiced Teen can't rent a lane to his own mother, which turns out to be literal when Lunchlady Doris walks by and says, "I have no son!" Homer decides that he, Moe, Apu, and Otto (who was randomly picked after Homer was told that bowling teams are supposed to have four members) can be a bowling team so they can play on league nights. There's just one problem: the application fee is $500 which none of them have. When offering to pay with a two-party, out-of-state, post-dated check doesn't work, Homer asks Marge for the money in exchange for sex, which doesn't work as Marge is morally opposed to prostitution and, even if she wasn't, she doesn't have the money for it. Marge then suggests that Homer can get the money from Mr. Burns. Homer initially refuses, as Mr. Burns once turned Homer down for three times that amount ($1500) for an undisclosed reason. Seeing as how Homer has no choice (and didn't think to ask Moe or Apu for the money, since both have their own businesses and are successful at it), so he goes to Mr. Burns' to ask for the money, which he easily gets as Mr. Burns is high on ether and sees Homer as Poppin' Fresh (The Pillsbury Doughboy). In the bowling league, the "Pin Pals" are crushing the competition (which include Channel 6's staff, a team made up of thethreewomen and one man who drove a wedge into Homer and Marge's marriage on four different occasions; Chief Wiggum's team, which had to forfeit after Snake used his turn to bowl to once again escape from the police; and Patty and Selma's team of DMV clerks), giving Homer and the others a huge step toward the trophy (which they'll have to win from The Holy Rollers, a religious bowling team made up of Ned and Maude Flanders and Timothy and Helen Lovejoy), but when Burns realizes he's given money away while under the influence, he takes his anger out on the team by joining it.
Bart's Down With Homework shirt
Meanwhile, Bart buys a special edition of MAD magazine with some iron-on decals. He picks the one that says, "Down With Homework" (beating out "Don't Trust Anyone Over 10," "Ban the Bath," and "Sock It To Me") and wears it to school, which leads the other kids to riot after laughing at the shirt and realizing it makes a good point. After Superintendent Chalmers is trampled by the kids, Skinner takes away Bart's shirt, then tells the story that a similar incident happened to him while fighting in Vietnam (the Viet Cong caught his men thanks to a soldier wearing a T-shirt with the MAD magazine decal, "Up With Mini-Skirts"), leading him to be locked in a POW camp and, years later, nearly go crazy trying to find someone in the United States who can accurately re-create the thin seafood stew he had to subsist on in that time. While not sure about Bart's punishment, he puts Bart in a seat cushion and sends him on his way.
Three days later, Skinner holds an assembly, telling all the students about the "Down With Homework" incident and implementing a mandatory uniform-only dress code, starting Monday. With the new uniforms, the kids begin losing their free spirit and personality (they blink in unison as they march to class; Bart can't slingshot Mrs. Krabappel in the butt, and Nelson has forgotten his "Ha-ha!" laugh). Later, when all the students are having a very boring recess, Superintendent Chalmers arrives, commending Skinner for finally controlling the students' behavior. Suddenly, rain pours down, which Chalmers and Skinner laugh off, as, for once, Skinner didn't do anything to cause it. However, the uniforms turn vibrant tie-dye colors (except for Martin's, though his underwear turns tie-dye) and the kids freak out and regain the memories of the "Down With Homework" riot, causing everyone to raise hell. Chalmers asks Skinner why the uniforms aren't colorfast. Skinner doesn't know why, except that he bought them at the same place he buys his mother's dresses, then runs off when he realizes his mom is in the park in the rain and might have a similar reaction to the vibrant colors as the kids (Chalmers joins Skinner out of personal curiosity).
Homer, Moe and Apu are upset that Burns costs them every game they play (even losing to a team called "The Stereotypes," consisting of Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, Groundskeeper Willie, Luigi the Italian chef, and Captain McCallister) and force Homer to either get rid of Mr. Burns or have his bowling team disbanded. Homer goes to kick Mr. Burns off the team, but changes his mind when Burns gives them new Pin Pal uniforms. The team then play the Holy Rollers, a team of members of the church, in the championship game. In a bizarre turn of events, Burns wins the game for the team, but he takes the trophy for himself. Homer initially lets Mr. Burns have the trophy, but some time later, Homer breaks into Mr. Burns' mansion to steal it back, only to get mauled by Burns' hounds.
Behind the Laughter
Production
This episode is dedicated to Doris Grau, the voice of Lunchlady Doris (and any woman who sounds like her, like the Phineas Q. Butterfat's clerk from "Lisa the Beauty Queen" or Lurleen Lumpkin after her latest stay at the Betty Ford Clinic on "Marge vs. the Monorail").
In reruns, the shot of Homer's Oscar that he stole from Dr. Haing S. Ngor was changed to Don Ameche (see "Trivia/References" for more information)
