Season 30, Episode 22
Original Airdate: 05/05/2019
When Lisa's college fund goes missing, the documentary crime series "Deadline Springfield" goes in-depth to solve the case.
Tropes:
- Butt Dial: Homer is cleared by having accidentally butt-dialed Disco Stu, leaving a recording of him licking sauce on the floor in his answering machine.
- Chekhov's Gun: Marge's frustration with the family forgetting to use coasters. It turns out that she spent the money on a business idea for coasters that attach to the bottom of the cup.
- Couch Gag: Averted. After the Simpsons logo passes by in the sky, the episode immediately starts with the host of "Deadline Springfield" waking up and getting ready for his day.
- Crazy-Prepared: Bart filmed himself returning the money he'd borrowed from the can under the counter, knowing no one would believe him otherwise.
- Description Cut: Invoked by Homer, who after saying that marrying Marge saved her from living with hers sisters, asks to cut to them and show what monsters they are. The documentary indeed does cut to Patty and Selma, who asks why they are being filmed.
- Documentary Episode: This time spoofing Dateline.
- Funny Background Event: Next to Chief Wiggum's desk is a bulletin board with Ralph's picture that says "Missing child: small reward."
- Genre Savvy: The Dateline crew attempted to interview Comic Book Guy, but he casually dismissed them saying he didn't agree to be interviewed, and they back out of his store.
- Hidden Depths: The documentary notes that Groundskeeper Willy was a Scottish M.P. from 2005-2010.
- Hypocritical Humor: After Helen Lovejoy phones in a tip about Marge's gambling addiction, the documentary crew obtain recent footage of Marge walking in and out of a casino after successfully resisting the urge, which also captures a haggard-looking Helen plugging away at one of the slot machines.
- I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: As he's being interviewed in silhouette to hide his identity, Moe asks for his voice to be altered so they don't recognize it's him, and then says his full name. Then he asks to have that taken out as well, which they obviously did not.
- Insistent Terminology: Marge protests that her family are good people and don't steal. Homer holds up two coffee mugs with "NED" and "FLANDERS" written on them, insisting that he's just borrowing them. Bart follows up with "ROD" and "TODD" mugs.
- No Ending: The issue of the missing money was eventually discovered internally by the family, but Dateline itself was not able to crack it. This is lampshaded by the host, saying that their audience doesn't watch for an unresolved case.
- Not Me This Time: Bart recently borrowed money from the can but has proof that he replaced it in full. Lisa still believes he did it.
- Photoshop Filter of Evil: Used on members of the family in the family portrait as they're considered as suspects throughout the episode.
- Red Herring: Each member of the family is investigated, and each time it's proven that they didn't do it.
- Marge is investigated first because of her gambling addiction. She is followed to a casino, where she stops by a one-armed bandit... and doesn't play, as she had indeed stopped gambling for good.
- Homer had made a mess of spaghetti sauce in the kitchen and needed to clean it, presumably finding the money hidden in the cleanser can and pocketing it. Turns out he cleaned it by licking it off the walls and floor, and an analysis of the pants reveals no sign of the money.
- Bart had been taking the money from the can, most recently for making slime, but he always replaced it before it's missed.
- Lisa wanted to buy an expensive saxophone, but before she could go through with it, it's bought by Krusty.
- In the end, the real culprit is Marge all along, who had secretly spent all the college fund money on champagne glass bases.
- Shout-Out:
- Bart and the school bullies are shown creating counterfeit "Slime" for use in a large-scale prank. They're create it by adding various ingredients and sitting down to watch TV in their hazmat suits while they wait for it to cook in the same method as Breaking Bad.
- The music store owner is seen reading Infinite Jest.
- Spoiled by the Format: In-Universe, The documentary narration admits while following one suspect that it wasn't them, because they wouldn't reveal the culprit five minutes in (to a half-hour episode).
- Traitor Shot: Lampshaded by Marge as she orders the documentarians not to pan over to Lisa as they begin to tell her part in the investigation.
