I am not using hyperbole when I say that this is one of the top twenty greatest Simpsons episodes ever created, and it also contains one of the finest celebrity readings by none other than Jim Varney, in a role he was destined to play. I have always enjoyed the Simpson's parodies of the Ernest P. Worrell franchise, and that Bart frequented these films. So when I heard that Jim Varney would be guest starring, i expected to see him play the aforementioned character he is most famous for. But the Simpsons creators went a different route and wrote a role that really suited his voice and demeanor--a corrupt but lovable scoundrel carny who ends up squatting at the Simpsons home. This episode is particularly poignant to me because I too remember using any excuse to avoid chores on hot summer days. The scene where Homer shoves money in Bart and Lisa's faces after Marge has attempted to teach them a lesson about Hard Work and Karma is a classic moment. All the carnival scenes are well drawn and the joke in the second act about Bart and Lisa arguing over possessions as futile as twigs and leaves is especially funny to me. The funniest moment comes when Homer tells a chicken saved from being devoured that "he's the luckiest chicken alive" right before shoving it back in a small cage with at least 20 other chickens. I rate this 10 stars and I look forward to the commentary on the DVD.
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