History Recap / TheSimpsonsS8E18HomerVsTheEighteenthAmendment

** The prohibition itself would almost certainly not have occurred, had the Duff float not been firing out beer into a crowd, not considering the face that underage people were around, or the illegality of the act itself.

** Lisa makes clear that she supports the law even when her whole family have also made it clear just seconds before that are against it, which obviously gets her sent to her room.

* AccidentalPervert: When the anti-alcohol women's group catch a drunk Chief Wiggum dancing with Princess Kashmir in Moe's tavern, Wiggum attempts to save face and "give them the old Wiggum charm." Just as he struts up to the group, smiling, Helen Lovejoy screams, "PERVERT!" thinking that he was going to molest her.

** Obnoxious as they were, the anti-alcohol women's group were right that the St. Patrick's Day parade was celebrating grotesque levels of alcoholism, which got a 10-year-old boy drunk when someone fired alcohol into the crowd. They're also right that Wiggum was brazenly not enforcing the prohibition law (a law everyone thought at the time was in effect) by getting drunk at a speakeasy.

* MoralGuardians: The anti-alcohol women's group, again.

* OffModel: When the anti-alcohol group catch Moe's bar, we cut to a ''very'' bizarrely animated shot of Wiggum and Princess Kashmir dancing. Even the creative team themselves were baffled by this scene when they rewatched it in the DVD commentary.

* ThinkOfTheChildren: Since Helen Lovejoy is part of the anti-alcohol women's group, it's only natural that she say her CatchPhrase at one point.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Springfield anti-alcohol women's group that forced the application of the outdated prohibition law in the first place disappears after Rex Banner is hired to head the police force. As a matter of fact, Moe's speakeasy is raided by them earlier in the episode before Banner arrives and it seems they never mentioned that it was a speakeasy to Banner -- otherwise, he would have probably been more driven to check the place out).

Trying to get a better view, Bart decides to make his way through the crowd unaware that a Duff truck about is to spray beer on the expectant revelers and the whole thing ends up on Bart's long horn, inebriating him instantly. He is soon caught tipsily strolling along the parade, leading to a town-wide outrage, with Brockman suggesting Prohibition as a measure. Homer scoffs at the idea, but the town's MoralGuardians, led by Helen Lovejoy and Maude Flanders, press Mayor Quimby to declare Springfield dry. While he disparages them as a bunch of "old ladies", he relents after being reminded about an imminent mayoral campaign. The man at the registry then uncovers two 200-year-old laws: one about ducks having to wear long breeches, and another declaring alcohol prohibition in Springfield, which was apparently still in force. The news lead the town's boozehounds to pass out.

H.K. Duff VII, of Duff breweries, tries to comfort the public by announcing a non-alcoholic version of the popular beer, but goes out of business only a half-hour later. Meanwhile, Moe's is still operating as if nothing, also earning new clientele and the Mafia smuggles beer into town unpunished. At night, Mrs. Lovejoy's entourage finds Chief Wiggum drunkenly dancing at the tavern and then forces Quimby to look for federal assistance, with Treasury agent Rex Banner being selected to enforce prohibition, cleaning up the SPD and firing Wiggum on the spot.

As all accesses to Springfield are blocked out, Homer sees an opportunity to become a bootlegger by retrieving the town's buried beer supply, which he hides on bowling balls which he sends to Moe's via the Bowl-A-Rama. Marge soon finds out what Homer and Bart have been up to and... is actually supporting of their deeds, much to Lisa's chagrin, being sent to bed when complaining about breaching a law that might be unpopular, but it's still the law. Rumors arise about a "Beer Baron" baffling Banner, who vows to get him to justice and deems the very idea of a bootlegger operating under his jurisdiction to be laughable.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Because he's the only one who can supply it, eventually Homer is overtaxed with liquor requests and after he runs out of the barrels of liquor left by Duff Brewery's closing and getting too proud of the homemade liquor he'd made, he starts experimenting with the recipies, and suddenly the house is rocked with explosions around the clock.

** Obnoxious as they were, the anti-alcohol women's group were right that the St. Patrick's Day parade was celebrating grotesque levels of alcoholism, which got a 10-year-old drunk when someone fired alcohol into the crowd. They're also right that Wiggum was brazenly not enforcing the prohibition law (a law everyone thought at the time was in effect) by getting drunk at a speakeasy.

* NighthawksShot: The opening of the scene where Banner and his assistants are at the diner (on Banner's birthday) is framed like this.

The elusive beer baron continues to thumb his nose at the authorities. Swaggering about in a garish new hat, he seemed to say, "Look at me, Rex Banner! I have a new hat!"

* PoliceBrutality: The Irish cop float was surrounded by Irish policemen who clubbed parade viewers while saying MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere.

* RealityEnsues:
** Duff Zero goes over like a concrete zeppelin because the drinkers of Springfield ''do'' like its alcohol content.
** Prohibiting alcohol didn't make people stop wanting to drink it. Homer himself scoffs at the proposal ("They tried that in the movies, and it didn't work"), so he's also RightForTheWrongReasons about it.
** Chief Wiggum getting fired from his job is more than earned given his actions in this and previous episodes. But as the episode reminds us he does still have a family to support and is struggling to do so without a job.

* ToBeLawfulOrGood:
** Lisa thinks people should still follow the prohibition law, even if it's unpopular.

** The prohibition itself would almost certainly not have occurred, had the Duff float aimed its beer hose anywhere other than the horn that Bart was using as a mouthpiece.

As the beer supply runs out, Homer resorts to homebrewing liquor for Moe's Tav... er, Pet Shop. But this endeavor proves short-lived as the stills keep exploding. While Banner keeps on searching for the Baron, Homer finds a hungry Wiggum trying to hold him up... but his gun has no cannon as he had to sell it to feed his family. Noticing his desperate situation, Homer offers to turn himself in so Wiggum could get his old job back... unaware that the punishment for violating the law of prohibition is being catapulted. When Marge protests such a form of punishment, Banner goes into a rant about why laws must be upheld, including the fact he'd kill everybody if it were not for the law. He then ends up flung by the catapult by "accident"... on Wiggum's orders. And just before Homer's execution takes place, the registry clerk finds out the 200-year-old prohibition law had actually been repealed for 199 years. Homer is then exonerated and vows to bring back booze at once, proclaiming it to be both the cause of and solution to all of life's problems.

It's St. Patrick's Day and everybody in Springfield is hyped up to the point Bart is harassed for having forgotten to wear green to school and Moe bars designated drivers from patronizing his tavern. The day's main event is of course the downtown parade, with floats celebrating "200 years of Irish policemen", the "drunken poets of Ireland" (who fight whoever they find) and a "small Irish family" (a woman scolds her drunken husband while their ten or so children run around). Meanwhile, drunken revelers harass Kent Brockman in his broadcasting booth and the crowd cheers when a British "chip shop" suddenly blows up.

* OnlySaneMan: Kent Brockman, [[EveryoneHasStandards of all people]], is appalled by the excess drinking and violence that occurs during the St. Patrick's Day parade and distances himself from it.

* PoliceAreUseless: Rex Banner takes over the police department from the hopelessly ineffective Wiggum and orders the other officers to: "Get a haircut!" "Get those shoes shined!" and "Take that badge out of your mouth!" Even the Federal Agent wasn't immune to the trope. He was so focused on enforcing the dry law he didn't mind Fat Tony dealing drugs. And he ignored Homer walking next to him with beer ingredients while interrogating an innocent Comic Book Guy (shortly after arresting Ned Flanders because "he sounds drunk"). And at the end of the episode he claims that the law is the only thing stopping him from killing everyone who looked at him "cockeyed".

* FreezeFrameBonus: Inside Moe's Tavern on St. Patrick's Day, right next to the large, standard "Kiss Me, I'm Irish" banner is a smaller [[HypocriticalHumor "Irish Need Not Apply" sign.]]

** Prohibiting alcohol didn't make people stop wanting to drink alcohol. Homer himself scoffs at the proposal ("They tried that in the movies, and it didn't work"), so he's also RightForTheWrongReasons about it.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Most of the episode's plot happens because a clerk unveils an old Prohibition law and never bothered to read the whole parchment and learn the law was no longer in effect. It would be a miracle if he managed to retain his job after making such a horrible blunder. Of course, this is Springfield we're talking about.

"Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" is the eighteenth episode of the eight season of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (production code 4F15), first aired on March 16, 1997. This episode deals with the banning of alcohol of Springfield after Bart gets drunk at the St. Patrick's Day parade, with Homer running a bootleg business while a no-nonsense Elliot Ness-style lawman tries to enforce the law.

It's St. Patrick's Day and everybody in Springfield is hyped up to the point Bart is teased for having forgotten to wear green to school and Moe bars designated drivers from patronizing his tavern. The day's main event is of course the St. Pat parade downtown, with floats celebrating "200 years of Irish policemen", the "drunken poets of Ireland" (who fight whoever they find) and a "small Irish family" (a woman scolds her drunken husband while their ten or so children run around). Meanwhile, drunken revelers harass Kent Brockman in his broadcasting booth and the crowd cheers when a British "chip shop" suddenly blows up.

Trying to get a better view, Bart decides to make his way through the crowd unaware that a Duff truck about is to spray beer on the expectant revelers and the whole thing ends up on Bart's long horn, inebriating him instantly. He is soon caught tipsily strolling along the parade, leading to a town-wide outrage, with Brockman suggesting Prohibition as a measure. Homer scoffs at the idea, but the town's MoralGuardians, led by Helen Lovejoy and Maude Flanders press Mayor Quimby to declare Springfield dry. While he disparages them as a bunch of "old ladies", he relents after being reminded about an imminent mayoral campaign. The man at the registry then finds out two 200-year-old laws: one about ducks having to wear long breeches, and another declaring alcohol prohibition in Springfield, which was apparently still in force. The news lead the town's boozehounds to pass out.

--->'''Marge:''' What happened to you, Homer? And what have you done to the car?
--->'''Homer:''' Nothin'.
--->'''Marge:''' I don't think it had broken axles before.
--->'''Homer:''' Before! Before! You're livin' in the past, Marge. Quit livin' in the past.

** Banner has a much more ridiculous version of that mentality, outright saying [[WhatYouAreInTheDark he'd be going on a killing spree if the law allowed it]].

Episode - 4F15\\
First Aired - 3/16/1997

Alcohol is banned from Springfield after Bart accidentally gets drunk at the St. Patrick's Day parade and the local law clerk discovers that there's apparently been a Prohibition-law for the last two centuries, but was never enforced. To combat this, Homer becomes a bootlegger -- and the town fights back with a no-nonsense, Elliot Ness-style lawman who puts the incompetent Chief Wiggum out of a job.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy To alcohol! The cause of ... and solution to ... all of life's problems.]]]]

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!!This episode contains examples of:

* BehindTheBlack: After returning from a Beer Baron run, Homer briefly considers checking to see if the coast is clear before taking his wheelbarrow inside ... and running into Marge, who's standing right in front of him.

* AccidentalPervert: When the anti-alcohol women's group catch Chief Wiggum dancing with Princess Kashmir, Wiggum decides to "give them the old Wiggum charm." Just as he struts up to the group, smiling, Helen Lovejoy screams, "PERVERT!" thinking that he was going to molest her.

-->'''Homer:''' No you won't!

* OutsideGenreFoe: Rex Banner, who is sent to Springfield to enforce the dry law. PlayedForLaughs as he's an animated copycat of Elliot Ness and someone who definitely would have done a better job at keeping law and order during the time of the Hays Code (where he would have been handed victory just because he's a lawman) than on the modern (and incompetent) Wretched Hive that is Springfield.

* PoliceBrutality:
** The Irish cop float was surrounded by Irish policemen who clubbed parade viewers while saying MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere.

* RecycledAnimation: he riot at the beginning of the episode was taken from footage from the end of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa on Ice]]" and updated.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: As discussed, Lisa feels that the prohibition law should be followed even though it is unpopular which [[GoToYourRoom gets her sent to her room]]. But one needs to keep in mind that she is eight years old and very vulnerable to what would happen if her father and brother get caught by Banner: they could be catapulted to their deaths or at best, injured to a severe physical impairment that could have an effect on Homer's job at the Nuclear Power Plant (he is also the main breadwinner), the trauma of seeing your father and brother catapulted, and the family going into dire straits financially as a result of Homer having a crime record or his disability/death. She probably didn't feel all that possible trauma or misfortune was worth getting beer into Springfield.