Apart from having some of the most memorable quotes in the show's history ("A little from column A, a little from column B", "Look at those side burns! He looks like a girl!"), this episode is also the most touching and is evidence of just how good this show can be.
Upon faking his death (in an opening scene that is truly a Simpsons classic), Homer ends up meeting his mother, a 1960s radical who went underground after destroying Mr. Burns' germ warfare laboratory. Mother Simpson reconnects with the family, and we learn where Lisa got her smarts and her political leanings.
Joe Friday (voiced by Harry Shearer) and Frank Gannon (voiced by Harry Morgan) track down Mother Simpson (voiced by Glenn Close), but not before a mysterious and anonymous (up until the end) tipster lets the Simpson family know that the feds are on their way to arrest her.
The episode ends in what is arguably the most touching moment ever on the Simpsons: Mother Simpson getting a lift from her old hippie friends and leaving Homer again. As the credits roll, we see a long shot of Homer sitting on the hood of his car in the desert looking up at the stars with very sentimental music playing. Its been 13 years since I first saw this episode, and even today, going back and watching the DVD, I'm still moved to tears at the ending. I also recently read that the producers requested that Fox NOT run commercials over the closing credits due to the emotional nature of the ending, and I have to say that that was a brilliant move on their part.
This would easily make my Top 5 Simpsons episodes of all time. And it just goes to show how good this show can be. You don't find true emotion like this in even a lot of live action shows, let alone an animated one. This one episode makes purchasing the 7th Season Box Set totally worth it.
Upon faking his death (in an opening scene that is truly a Simpsons classic), Homer ends up meeting his mother, a 1960s radical who went underground after destroying Mr. Burns' germ warfare laboratory. Mother Simpson reconnects with the family, and we learn where Lisa got her smarts and her political leanings.
Joe Friday (voiced by Harry Shearer) and Frank Gannon (voiced by Harry Morgan) track down Mother Simpson (voiced by Glenn Close), but not before a mysterious and anonymous (up until the end) tipster lets the Simpson family know that the feds are on their way to arrest her.
The episode ends in what is arguably the most touching moment ever on the Simpsons: Mother Simpson getting a lift from her old hippie friends and leaving Homer again. As the credits roll, we see a long shot of Homer sitting on the hood of his car in the desert looking up at the stars with very sentimental music playing. Its been 13 years since I first saw this episode, and even today, going back and watching the DVD, I'm still moved to tears at the ending. I also recently read that the producers requested that Fox NOT run commercials over the closing credits due to the emotional nature of the ending, and I have to say that that was a brilliant move on their part.
This would easily make my Top 5 Simpsons episodes of all time. And it just goes to show how good this show can be. You don't find true emotion like this in even a lot of live action shows, let alone an animated one. This one episode makes purchasing the 7th Season Box Set totally worth it.