YMMV / The Simpsons S8 E20 "The Canine Mutiny"

• Alternative Joke Interpretation: Groundskeeper Willie talks about how he hates Santa's Little Helper, but due to his accent, drops the "H" sound. He ends with "And I 'ATE the mess he left on me rug!" Bart looks surprised, and Willie asserts, "Ya heard me!" Did Willie actually eat dog poop? Or is Bart shocked that his dog, who's rather civilized, would poop on the floor?
• Designated Hero: Lampshaded in-episode by the blind guy walking through Bart's suggestion that he gives up his dog and companion to it's previous owner (who gave him away to start with.)
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Bart buys Lisa "Trucker's Choice Stay-Alert Capsules" using a stolen credit card. Two seasons later, there will be an episode with Homer driving a truck and taking pep pills combined with sleeping pills.
• So Okay, It's Average: What many fans think of this episode. It's actually not a bad episode on its own and the ending is considered one of the funniest in the series, but considering it came from season 8, which was really shaking up the status quo with convention-defying episodes ("The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase"), daring subject matter (at the time) ("Homer's Phobia"), commentaries on the relationship between a long-running show and its fans ("The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"), some of the darkest humor yet ("Homer's Enemy", "My Sister, My Sitter"), brand new settings that took a lot of effort to produce ("You Only Move Twice"), set-ups for character arcs ("A Milhouse Divided", "Grade School Confidential"), experimental animation ("El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer"), some brief character changes ("Hurricane Neddy", "Brother From Another Series"), light dramatic offerings ("The Homer They Fall"), and wild, over-the-top storylines ("The Twisted World of Marge Simpson", "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment"), this feels a little conventional and light by comparison.
• Values Dissonance: The portrayal of possession of Marijuana as being a serious offense comes off as this in light of many states having since legalized the drug for both medicinal and personal uses (at the time the episode aired, only California and Arizona allowed it to be prescribed for medicinal use and the Clinton Administration was vocally against even that) and with most people now seeing possession of pot as no big deal or a minor offense at best. Wiggum and the rest of the cops not punishing the blind man for having pot now looks downright reasonable (especially considering the controversy over many minorities getting harsh sentences just for carrying pot) instead of like blatant police corruption like it was supposed to.

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