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Recap / The Simpsons S18 E15 "Rome-Old and Juli-Eh"

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Original air date: 3/11/2007 (produced in 2006)

Production code: JABF-08

Abe and Selma get married after Abe is kicked out of the retirement home due to Homer declaring bankruptcy (unaware that bankruptcy laws have changed). Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa wage war against a delivery company over boxes.

Tropes:

  • Age-Gap Romance: The episode evolves around the romance and marriage of Abe Simpson and Selma Bouvier, their ages separated by nearly four decades (she was in her forties, he was in his eighties). Their marriage didn't work out, due to Abe's senility leading to the ruination of their kitchen and Selma finding her new job as a department manager too stressful.
  • Burger Fool: Homer's fantasy so he can kiss Patty without throwing up is Marge dressed as one of them.
  • Dashing Hispanic: Homer dons a Zorro-like costume and calls himself "Esteban de la Sexface." note 
  • Epic Fail: To save money on gas, Homer tries to "Flintstone the car" by cutting a hole in it and using his feet. He just barely scrapes it along the ground, letting out a lengthy, pained yell of "Yabba dabba doo!"
  • Fun with Acronyms: this episode features the corporation "A.S.S" (American Shipping Services") note .
  • House Amnesia: Subverted with this exchange:
    Abe: My roof, my rules!
    Homer: Oh, why did I borrow that roof from him?
  • House Husband: Initially, Abe wanted Selma to be a House Wife while he worked but his plans depended on him regaining his job at the now defunct PanAm so he tried to become the trope. Well, he tried.
  • Kinky Role-Playing: Homer dons a Dashing Hispanic alter-ego and pretend to be cuckolding himself with Marge, but loses the thread when he leaves the room without having sex with her and returns as himself, angrily looking for Esteban.
  • Line-of-Sight Name: While delivering boxes to Bart and Lisa, the deliveryman asks which company the boxes are for. Bart looks at Santa's Little Helper digging out of a General Industries-brand trash can. He then claims that his company is called "Dog Incorporated."
  • Men Can't Keep House: Abe, albeit it's implied that, in his case, it's not because he's a man but because he's senile and out of touch with modern life.
  • Money Dumb: Homer's severe lack of money-handling skills is what kicks off the plot of the episode. He declares bankruptcy without realising that bankruptcy laws have changed (after turning his basement into a recreation room, costing a fortune). It's also mentioned that he throws over a thousand dollars a month into local wishing wells (he tries to justify it by saying that "he's wishing for more money"), and has three subscriptions to the same magazine because he has three bathrooms.
  • Noodle Incident: Apparently, Homer replaced the house's roof with one he borrowed from Abe.
  • Outside-Genre Foe: The delivery company attacking Bart and Lisa's box fortress mimic Lord of the Rings to the level of bringing a fellbeast with them.
  • Scatterbrained Senior:
    • When Grampa and Selma are on their honeymoon, Grampa abruptly says, "I thought we were at the circus, Lisa!"
    • When Grampa is left home alone with Selma's daughter, he makes a mess of the kitchen by mixing up what the appliances do. For example, he sticks a VHS tape in the microwave and sets it for a "running time" of two hours.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Homer attempted to "Flintstone" the car by attempting to move it with his legs. He learns the hard way that your feet can't move 2,500 poundsnote  of metal very efficiently, unlike Fred Flintstone, who is seemingly able to do so with a vehicle made of stone that likely doesn't weigh that much less.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In an effort to break Selma and Abe up, Homer and Patty try to make it look as though Selma was caught kissing another man behind Abe’s back. To make the kissing more bearable for both of them (something that Patty acknowledges), they both imagine someone more appealing to them.
  • Wishing Well: Discussed by Homer and the financial officer appointed by the bankruptcy court.
    Financial officer: Among the expenses the court deems frivolous, you throw over $1,000 a month into local wishing wells.
    Homer: Of course, you idiot, 'cause I'm wishing for more money!

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