Not bad (this I say with relief after the last few, to be honest). Lisa's romantic plot - one not done to death (like Bart's seem to be) - was nice, and her precociousness always seems to help there. It was fleeting, but Marge's remark that Lisa's "always fine" was sweet, too. (There were some shades of 7F19, when she seemed to feel Marge wouldn't understand this type of love, and somehow the mention of the crush-on-father phase.) Bart and Milhouse's Mythbusters plot was pretty fun and a nice balance - it also felt more classic, with mischievous Bart and all. Odd, though, that Milhouse has returned to being Bart's doormat/guinea pig one episode after standing up to him. (I was surprised, honestly, to see that the Mythbusters voiced themselves - especially since they used a soundalike show title, and also because Jamie just didn't seem to sound like himself.) Well, hopes raised slightly for #500.
DYN: ...another looped line (Homer in batting cage)? ...the Hemingway-type boy is named Nick (which seems to be a significant Hemingway character name)?
Previous episode stuff MABF21: Moe's dig at Fox in the couch gag brings to mind the "cupcake" celebration in this one (interestingly there's no "creative accounting" in the case of the 500th episode as there was for the 300th/350th/450th, so I'm not sure what the point was) CABF22: Now Kirk seems to have night terrors 3F02: I&S "Skinless in Seattle" featured a penny drop, as does a non- prominent "Mythcrackers" installment (seen soon after an I&S episode too!) DABF02?: Milhouse's singed eyebrows seem familiar - is the falling-off in this episode the closest? 2F20: Milhouse "busted" after "at least I'm cool now" brings to mind the lie detector scene with Moe 4F13: The Needle Exchange (we mean sewing), to Otto's dismay, calls to mind Stoner's Pot Palace 7F14: Marge's quilting BABF16: Fanboat
DORIS HABF15, JABF02, KABF06, LABF08, MABF12, NABF11, NABF13, NABF15, NABF16, PABF06
Willie's hometown He mentions that he wants to debunk a myth about himself, and admits that he's not from either Glasgow or Edinburgh, but Kirkwall, Orkney. (I went to check the spelling and noticed that this fact has already been noted on Wikipedia, at 8:23, but with no mention of the "controversy".) It's occasionally come up on the internet that his hometown has been inconsistently reported by the show (e.g. Glasgow in 3G03, suggested as Edinburgh in AABF10 - and we can't forget North Kilttown in 5F20). There were some fairly good jokes in the Mythbusters scenes, I must admit.