YMMV / The Simpsons S 9 E 22 Trash Of The Titans

• Accidental Aesop:
  • The DVD Commentary states that the episode's Green Aesop was entirely unintentional.
  • One could also see it as An Aesop against petty grudges or standoffish behavior, with Homer's fanatically spiteful retaliation towards one slight doing far more damage to him, his family and the whole town, when just amicably filing a complaint could have likely quickly solved things.
  • Another interpretation could be that hand-and-foot public service provision doesn't work. Having the garbage department do everything is shown to bankrupt the town, necessitating a reach for increased revenue that backfires horribly.
  • Homer agrees to have cities pay him to bury their trash for them because he desperately wanted to avoid a garbage workers' strike, and this literally blows up in everybody's faces, with Springfield getting so badly trashed that they relocate the entire town five miles away. So, this sends the message that strikes are a good thing because they force much-needed change. If Homer had to deal with striking workers, he would've gotten to a solution that wouldn't have endangered Springfield.
• Broken Base: One of the more polarizing episodes of the show. Fans either love it due to the high-concept narrative and jokes, or hate it for how it more or less completes Homer's Flanderization into a Jerkass Villain Protagonist. The only thing people seem to agree on is that the ending where the entire town is moved was a step too far.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Patty and Selma being in the sex offender registry line becomes prophetic considering their actions in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore", wherein they kidnap Richard Dean Anderson (though earlier this season they falsely lured a repairman to their home).
• Squick: Krusty throws out a box labelled "used-up porno".
• Took the Bad Film Seriously: Despite being one of the most polarizing episodes in an already extremely divisive season, one thing pretty much everyone agrees on being fantastic is Steve Martin's portrayal of Ray Patterson. Many consider him one of the last great guest characters in the entire series.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The episode is forever tied to the late 90's thanks to Homer's appearance in U2's concert during the PopMart tour, with the notable elements such as the giant arch prop on the stage and the band's unique costumes such as Bono with a muscle t-shirt and The Edge dressed as a cowboy, which were staples from this era of the band.
• Values Dissonance: The idea of electing a sanitation commissioner can be somewhat bemusing (or just nonsensical) if you live in a community where trash pickup is either overseen by an appointed public official, or if trash pickup is simply contracted out to a private business.

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