"No Loan Again, Naturally" predictably awful

It goes without saying that we here at the Dead Homer Society hated "No Loan Again, Naturally." From the number of times Homer was seriously injured (4, including the opening sequence and couch gag), to Bart randomly being outed as a redhead, to the piss poor way Patty and Selma were drawn, there was very little to love. Even more charming moments, like the note Homer leaves upstairs, felt cursory in the broader context of the ham-handed plot. You mean Homer takes advantage of Flanders' generosity -- again? Get out.

Honestly, getting a lecture from Zombie Simpsons about the consequences of the housing bubble is akin to a bum telling you to go buy a Ferrari. The first expected response is "huh?" followed by "who are you to offer me advice?" Gawker agrees, noting that

This particular episode just seemed tacky, cruel, and, most importantly, not funny. The millionaires who make the show haw-hawing at distressed people who suddenly find themselves homeless? Yikes.

The last scene of the episode does give us a perfect analogy for how far the show has fallen though. After 22 minutes of stretched characterizations (when, and more importantly why, did Gil and the Cat Lady turn into something more than background curiosities?) and humorless jokes, everything reverts to normal as Flanders announces to Evergreen Terrace that "The Simpsons are back!" Several neighbors, exasperated, promptly put up for sale signs. Hell, if it were that easy to quit the show, this blog wouldn't exist.

Also, Homer stole copper wire before in "Separate Vocations," sans electrocution, to greater effect. That is all.