Love is a Many Strangled Thing

Love is a Many Strangled Thing is the seventeenth episode of the Season 22.

Synopsis
At a parenting class, Homer confesses to strangling Bart and receives the ultimate punishment - a strangling by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Because of this, Homer becomes scared of Bart at the fear of being killed by Abdul-Jabbar. So Marge has to find a way to set Homer straight.

Full Story
The Simpson Family goes to the Springfield Atoms Stadium to see a football game. During the game, Homer humiliates Bart by tickling him while they are seen on the stadium's video board, causing Bart to wet himself in front of the fans in attendance. Homer goes into therapy, thanks to Marge, following the incident. While there, Homer confesses to Dr. Zander to strangling Bart. Shocked by this activity, Dr. Zander tries to talk some sense into Homer, but Homer doesn't think it is a big deal until Dr. Zander brings in basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to employ a role-play move to make Homer feel what it's like to be like Bart when Homer is strangling him. It works and Homer can no longer strangle his son; however, it turns out that Homer's excessive punishments were all too necessary in keeping Bart's worst tendencies in check. Without Homer to punish him, Bart goes on a spree of doing whatever he likes without any consequences.

Marge returns to Dr. Zander, who is now dirt poor along with all the other luxury businesses, and pays him to help Homer and Bart. Dr. Zander tries to get Bart to show love towards his father but fails to do so. At his wits end, Dr. Zander gets Homer to put his life in danger in the hopes that Bart will save him. However, when all Bart does is make light of the situation, making fun of it and even ignoring it so show off his belching Dr. Zander snaps and starts strangling Bart himself. Homer pulls him off and sues Dr. Zander for all he has, which since he has broke amounts to a home in a hollowed out tree.

Production
Paul Rudd guest starred as Dr. Zander (which physically resembles him) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also guest starred as himself.

Controversy
The episode was first broadcast on Channel 4, a British public service broadcaster, in December 2014. The station edited parts, including the hanging scene, but still received two complaints. Channel 4 made further edits, but ten months later, by human error, showed the same cut of the episode. Complaints were made to Ofcom, the broadcasting standards authority, who deemed that the scenes of hanging and Homer not being able to resist being strangled by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be unsuitable for children. Channel 4 declared that the episode would only be shown again after 9:00 pm, the watershed for content.

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