The Haw-Hawed Couple

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"The Haw-Hawed Couple" is the eighth episode of the eighteenth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired on December 10, 2006. It was subsequently nominated for an Emmy in 2007 for outstanding animated program (less than one hour).

Plot

Marge and Homer are making love in their room while playing a tape of their arguments so the kids won't come in. When a flying article of clothing hits the tape recorder and plays America's "A Horse with No Name", Bart and Lisa decide to come in.

Although Bart convinces all his friends not to go to Nelson's birthday party, Marge forces him to attend. After the party, Bart becomes Nelson's new best friend and under Nelson's protection no one dares to mess with Bart. There is only one drawback to his newfound friend/bodyguard; he can no longer pal around with Milhouse because Nelson has never had a best friend before and is overly protective and jealous. Eventually, Nelson discovers that Bart had been playing with Milhouse, which leads him to no longer consider Bart a friend. He eventually decides to forgive Bart, however Bart tells Nelson that he thinks he's a psycho. Later, during a field trip to some tidepools, Nelson confronts Bart in a cave, telling Bart that he is a bad friend. Suddenly, high tide comes and Nelson saves Bart (but only because they were field trip buddies). Later Bart goes home and remembers the good times he had with Nelson while hugging a Nelson Vest he had received. Nelson rides by on a bike and shouts "Haw Haw! I touched your heart!"

Meanwhile, Homer finds himself hooked on one of Lisa's fantasy books, choosing to read an "Angelica Button" book to Lisa, as opposed to snuggling with Marge. Homer eventually reads ahead and finds that one of the characters, Headmaster Greystash, is killed while trying to save Angelica. Upon hearing that Greystash dying would be the end of Lisa's childhood, Homer is unable to bring himself to read the last chapter to Lisa, and improvises a happy ending instead involving Greystash defeating the evil wizard, Angelica managing to get out of the trap and they ride in a sports car Greystash had conjured to a castle. Afterwards, Lisa reads the real ending and decides that Homer's ending was better.

During the credits, Homer is seen at Moe's Tavern, still mourning the loss of the Headmaster while Carl and Lenny look at him.

Cultural references

• This episode's title is a pun on The Odd Couple.
• The song played on the tape recorder is "A Horse With No Name" by America.
• Actors dressed as Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus make an appearance at Nelson's party.
• Lisa's fantasy book is mostly a reference to Harry Potter, with Greystash being a parody of Dumbledore; it also contains elements of The Chronicles of Narnia. The subplot involving the book also spoofs the death of Dumbledore in the 6th Harry Potter book.
• The scene with Nelson's vest and picture in the closet is a reference to the end of Brokeback Mountain with the guitar music of Gustavo Santaolalla.
• The scene which follows Bart and Nelson as they enter the cafeteria through the back of the school and through the kitchens while Bart acts as a narrator is a direct parody of the celebrated three minute tracking shot from Goodfellas which shows Henry and Karen Hill as they enter a nightclub through the back accompanied by Henry's narration. The song played is "He's a Rebel" by The Crystals.
• Milhouse asks Bart why he's hanging around with bullies, and Bart tells him not to use the "b-word" because it is offensive. Milhouse then overhears Jimbo and Kearney calling each other bullies, which causes him to ask "How come they can say it?". This is a reference to the fact that nigger is considered offensive, yet it is considered acceptable for African-American people use it to each other.