Singin' in the Lane is the seventh episode of Season 29 (originally produced for Season 28.
Synopsis[]
Homer and the guys reunite their old bowling team to cheer up Moe, only to end up in fierce competition with a team of arrogant millionaires. Meanwhile, Lisa and Marge try to teach Bart that money isn't everything.
Full Story[]
The family is enjoying their dinner when Mr. Burns calls Homer to invite him to the basketball joust, after running through an insanely long list of people (both Springfield residents and celebrities) who declined to spend time with him. Homer accepts, wanting to bring his friends. At Moe's Tavern, Homer invites Lenny, Carl, and Barney, but excludes Moe, as Homer only has four tickets, leaving Moe bereft and teary-eyed.
Back at the Tavern after the game, the regretful Homer and his friends decide to reform the Pin Pals bowling team, with Moe as their captain. They become successful immediately and win a tournament that sends them to the state finals in Capital City, which takes place in a fancy bowling building.
Their foes, the incredibly rich Fund Bunch, though having lost the first round, bully people, including Moe. To stop them from bullying, they make a wager:
If the Fund Bunch win, they win the bar and Moe has to change his name.
If the Pin Pals win, Moe will get something only a rich guy can have, though they find out how really good the rich guys are at bowling.
For revenge on the geeky guys, Lisa incites them to find the Fund Bunch's weak spots while Bart is trying the rich life. Marge tries to teach him that money isn't everything, with no success.
The final round is near, but Moe accidentally reveals Barney is a bad player when he's drunk and the Fund Bunch uses that trick to make him drunk so he'll lose the game. Lisa and the other nerds succeed in making them feel bad, and Bart and Lisa reconcile.
Barney is drunk, and Homer needs to make three strikes, while Moe imagines his life starting over in France if he loses. Moe tries to stop Homer from striking, but fails, and he has to return to his old life, rejected by his friends for being a bad coach. However, back at the tavern, they surprise him, saying that they are still a team. Since they won, the Fund Bunch get the Pin Pals something only a rich guy would have.
In the final scene, the Fund Bunch are revealed to have given the Pin Pals a zero-gravity plane experience as their prize where Moe, Lenny, Carl, and Barney float, while Homer, due to his size, does not.
