That '90s Show

"That 90's Show" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons ' nineteenth season. It was first broadcast on January 27, 2008. Kurt Loder guest stars as himself, while "Weird Al" Yankovic appears for the second time on the show, also as himself. The episode was written by Matt Selman, and directed by Mark Kirkland. After Bart and Lisa discover Marge's diploma from Springfield University, Homer and Marge recount one of the darkest points in their relationship.

Plot
The Simpson family is freezing inside their house since Homer has not paid the heating bill. Bart and Lisa search through an empty box for items to make the fire hotter, and discover a diploma belonging to Marge from Springfield University. Homer and Marge look shocked to find it, and claim it was from their dating years. Lisa does some calculations and realizes that Bart must have been born later in their parent's relationship than they thought. Marge and Homer proceed to describe one of the darker points of their relationship, the 1990s.

In the flashback, Homer and Marge are happily dating, and are currently living in an apartment, Marge is an avid reader, and Homer is a part of an R&B group alongside Lenny, Carl, and "Lou the cop". One morning, Marge wakes up to find out she had been accepted into Springfield University, but is shocked to learn of the high cost of tuition. Homer, taking pity on Marge, settles on quitting his dream of becoming a musician and instead decides to work at his dad's popular laser tag warehouse, where he is abused by the children. At Springfield University, Marge is impressed with her surroundings and with the rebellious professor Stefane August, despite Homer's disapproval. In the present, the repair man arrives and fixes the heater, while Marge continues on with the story. Marge soon begins to admire August, and while caressing Homer after his long day at work, realizes she has feelings for her professor. Marge starts talking to Professor August who has also fallen for her. August begins manipulating Marge by telling her Homer is a simple "townie" who would not appreciate her intellect. A shocked Homer arrives and catches the two together. In his anger, he reforms his R&B group with a new sound called grunge. His band is renamed to "Sadgasm", and they sing a song called "Politically Incorrect". An angry Marge and Homer soon call their relationship quits, and Marge leaves to go with Professor August.

Homer goes to Moe, who at this point, owns a cigar bar, finding no help from Moe, Homer goes on to perform a new song, called Shave Me, which causes him to become so famous that "Weird Al" Yankovic parodies his song alling it Brainfreeze. Marge finds Homer's music unnerving. Marge and August share their first kiss. When running onto the beach, August reveals he and Marge share two very different views on marriage. After the two argue, Marge breaks up with him, breaking his heart. A miserable Marge watches television and is surprised to see Homer made a song dedicated to her, called "Margerine". A special news report with Kurt Loder interrupts, revealing Sadgasm had broken up and Homer is holed up in his mansion, miserable. Arriving there, Marge thinks Homer had been doing drugs and soon begins caring for him. It turns out the needles were insulin for his diabetes. The two soon re-unite. Marge reveals to Bart and Lisa that she learned "Homey is where the heart is".

Cultural references
The title is a reference to That '70s Show. "Weird Al" parodies Homer's song "Save Me" (Titled "Brain Freeze"), a parody of "Rape Me" by Nirvana, which harkens back to his actual parody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The episode also made references to Sonic the Hegehog, Zima, Seinfeld, Melrose Place, and Comic Book Guy mentions that The Lord of the Rings could never be filmed (although an animated film adaptation was produced in 1978). Homer mentions that Matt Groening was working hard on launching Futurama. Homer's song "Margerine" is a parody of "Glycerine" by Bush. The scene where "Marvin Cobain" calls his cousin Kurt to tell him about the new sound he's "been looking for" is a parody of the scene in Back to the Future where "Marvin Berry" makes a similar call to his cousin Chuck.

Reception
An estimated 7.58 million viewers tuned in to the episode. Richard Keller of TV squad enjoyed the many cultural references to the 1990s, but felt disappointed that the episode changed The Simpsons continuity. Robert Canning of IGN strongly disliked the episode, also feeling that the continuity change was not a good choice. He said, "What 'That '90s Show' did was neither cool nor interesting. Instead, it insulted lifelong Simpsons fans everywhere. With this episode, the writers chose to change the history of the Simpson family." He gave the episode a 3/10, and suggested that this episode should have been set a decade earlier to fit classic Simpsons continuity.