History Recap / TheSimpsonsS4E8NewKidOnTheBlock

* BaitAndSwitch: During Homer's lawsuit against the Frying Dutchman, the Blue-Haired Lawyer prepares to show the court just how much shrimp Homer ate. In come over half a dozen men carrying two large sacks apiece...of letters addressed to Santa Claus. Turns out they're part of a case against Kris Kringle which is happening in the courtoom next door.

--->'''Homer:''' Oh, uh, and there was something else. Something I was supposed to tiptoe around.
--->'''Ruth:''' My divorce.
--->'''Homer:''' That's it! Whoo-hoo! I'm glad one of us remembered. That could have been embarrassing.

* FreudianExcuse: Lightly implied with Laura's love of "bad boys" and "quasi thugs". Considering her dysfunctional family life, she might has some daddy issues that are vaguely hinted to in retrospect considering Ruth's actions and motives in Marge On The Lam.

* ImagineSpot: Laura ripping out Bart's heart and drop-kicking it into the trash after she tells him she has a boyfriend.

* AmbulanceChaser: Lionel Hutz showcases he's one of these once again, taking in Homer's FrivolousLawsuit and mentioning he once tried to sue the writers of ''Literature/TheNeverEndingStory'' for false advertising.

* AmbulanceChaser: Lionel Hutz showcases he's one of these once again, taking in Homer's FrivolousLawsuit and mentioning he once tried to sue the writers of ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'' for false advertising.

** Homer vs. "The Flying Dutchman". Homer tries to argue that they kicked him out before he has had "all he can eat", thereby making the restaurant guilty of fraudulent publicity. However, he stays hours past closing time, single-handedly empties their stock multiple times and forces them to make runs to the grocery store and eats far more than any thoughtful person would. In the end, it's settled out-of-court; they invite him back, but set Homer up in a glass display and let all the people gawk at him pigging out. It draws boatloads of customers who came to watch, but they ''decide'' to try some food because this restaurant ''has'' to be pretty good if he's [[BigEater eating like that]].

--->'''Abby:''' ''(rocking in her chair)'' [[MadnessMantra No, Bart, put it down...Put it down, Bart...Bart, put it down...]]

** Hutz also mentions that he sued the makers of ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'' for ''false'' advertising.

* BlatantLies: Homer will claim that the main character of ''Literature/DonQuixote'' is unnamed before admitting that Marge was right about his name and he was wrong.

* TheOneThatGotAway: Coming from Abe Simpson, Bart pays him a visit for some wisdom on relationships, and especially on dating older girls. Abe recalls how one of his loves was that of the "oldest woman in the world", but this soon turns into a sad story of unrequited love and even a bit of [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowing]]; his flame soon joined the Guinness Book of World Records holders crowd and her life eventually saw little time to see him again. Not even [[FlowerFromTheMountainTop getting 15 pounds of bees to hang off of his chin as a beard]] [[GrandRomanticGesture and getting into the record books was able to rekindle their relationship again,]] and sadly, Grandpa had to let their relationship pass onto the wayside.

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: This trope is why Laura develops a crush on Jimbo...until Jimbo wusses out in front of Moe. Lisa also swoons with Laura when Bart says Jimbo is just "a good-looking rebel who plays by his own rules."

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: For Jimbo, if the stipulations were likely in word, it would probably be around "Steal another guy's girl who you are not worthy of having and try to get into her pants."

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Though considered DisproportionateRetribution and framing him for stuff he never did, the kind of crap that Jimbo and his gang put most of Springfield through never really was given proper justice. Going out with a girl who is leagues ahead far worthy than his kind of personality and probably was going to take advantage of her for the action simply because he fits the bill of her hots checklist gave Bart a proper window to show what kind of loser wannabe "quasi thugs" like Jimbo really were like when faced with real consequences.

* RunningGagged: Believe it or not, the storyline of this very early episode effectively served as a GrandFinale to the iconic RunningGag of Bart's prank calls to Moe. Subsequent incidents appeared in the form of a variation or ContinuityNod rather than being PlayedStraight (i.e. Bart harassing Moe with made-up names on an attendance sheet in Season 6's "The PTA Disbands," Moe [[MistakenForPrankCall mistaking Burns for the caller]] in Season 7's "Homer the Smithers," or Bart calling Homer while he's filling in for Moe in Season 13's "Homer the Moe").

* {{Tomboy}}: Laura has a tomboyish personality, but it is also her CharmPoint.

* ParallelPornTitles: One of the items in Laura's gift basket is a video tape of ''[[Film/DasBoot Das Butt]]'' which Marge embarassingly tells her it's supposed to be for [[AllMenArePerverts "the man of the house".]]

* BlatantLies: Homer claims that the main character of ''Literature/DonQuixote'' is unnamed rather than admit that Marge was right and he was wrong.

* BlatantLies: Homer claims that the main character of ''Literature/DonQuixote'' is unnamed rather than admit that she was right and he was wrong.

* FrivolousLawsuit: Homer vs. "The Flying Dutchman". If they kick Homer out before he has had 'all he can eat,' does this make it fraudulent publicity?
** He stays hours past closing time, forces them to make runs to the grocery store and eats far more than any thoughtful person would. 'All you can eat' does not mean 'you can eat it all.'
** They actually settle that one out-of-court; they invite him back, but set Homer up in a glass display and let all the people gawk at him pigging out! It draws boatloads of customers who came to watch, but they ''decide'' to try some food -- because this restaurant ''has'' to be pretty good if he's [[BigEater eating like that]]. Well, Homer is happier, the restaurant's owner is happiest, Marge... ''not so much''!

* {{Jerkass}}: Mrs Winfield asks Homer to do a few things to help them sell their house; wear pants when he walks in front of a window, take in previous jack-o-lanterns he's got out from past Halloweens (Some of which have rotten down to mush) and cover his garbage so it won't attract wildlife. Homer refuses to do any of them.

* PutOnABus: The Winfields, an elderly couple who live next door to the Simpsons, had made a decent amount of appearances in the previous seasons, and were referenced more than that. In this episode, they sell the house (that Ruth and Laura Powers buy), move to Florida, and are never seen or mentioned again. The only exception was a crowd scene in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E16LisaTheIconoclast Lisa the Iconoclast]]" where Mrs. Winfield appeared (though that could have been a generic character who happened to look like her -- character recycling is common in ''The Simpsons''), but given that they haven't appeared on the show in two decades and even many fans have forgotten about them, it is very unlikely they will ever appear again.

'''Production code:''' 9F07

Episode - 9F07\\
First Aired - November 12, 1992