"Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of Season 12. It was also going to be the seventh episode of the season in production order and was also the second episode to use digital ink-and-paint after the Season 7 episode Radioactive Man.
The Simpsons install a tennis court in their backyard after Homer is told that a mausoleum he wants for the still-alive Grampa Simpson would need enough concrete for a tennis court — and it (the tennis court) ends up tearing the family apart when Homer's goofing off becomes gossip fodder for the neighborhood and Marge decides to trade him in for Bart.
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While Homer is showering, Bart fills the dog's water bowl but when Bart turns on the cold water tap, the water becomes hot for Homer and vice versa. Marge tells Bart to get ready as they are leaving soon. The Springfield Retirement Castle holds a talent show, which the Simpsons attend. Grampa wins the show after singing a bad version of "What's New, Pussycat?". His prize is a free autopsy that Grampa mistakes for a free car, so the Simpsons go to a funeral salesman. While there, Homer realizes that a certain kind of cemetery monument uses the same amount of cement as a tennis court, and so Homer decides to get the house a tennis court, even though Homer mistook tennis for foxy boxing and, as it is, the family can hardly afford their own house.
The court is very popular with the residents, who also insulting Homer and Marge for losing all the time due to Homer's absent-mindedness. Marge pleads with Homer to take the games seriously; however, Homer is too oblivious to see how bad he is in tennis. Homer tries to please Marge by entering Krusty's celebrity tournament, the "Krusty Kharity Klassic". Homer is a hopeless tennis player, so Marge "dumps" him and enters with Bart as her new partner. Homer is outraged that he was abandoned for his ten year old son. He has a nightmare where Bart and Marge are married and he is a wall trophy, after being shot at a guillotine factory. Homer enters the tournament with Lisa as his partner. Unfortunately their rivalry leads to an all out fight with Marge and Bart with Maggie stuck in the middle.
The tournament takes place and in the stands are leading tennis pros Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Venus and Serena Williams. At the tournament, Homer dumps Lisa for Venus. In response, Marge replaces Bart with Serena as her partner. Ultimately, Serena and Venus replace Marge and Homer with Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, respectively. This forces the family to go back to the bench and resume their normal places in the family; as they enjoy the exhibition of top-class tennis, they agree that it is better to watch things rather than to do things. Homer offers to buy the family dinner (with money he took from Pete Sampras' wallet).
The episode received mixed to positive reviews from TV critics, citing that, while there were some funny moments, everything else felt like yet another wacky, post-Golden Age episode where Homer is cartoonishly stupid, the episode plot isn't coherent, and celebrity guest stars are brought in for cheap publicity/a ratings boost.
