In this week’s episode of The Simpsons, Homer embarks on another Wacky Temp Job. Will it be boom or bust for his tow truck driving operation? Find out in “Midnight Towboy”.

Kredit Kookies: Chalkboard Gag: None. Couch Gag: In live action footage, OFF are constructed by hand out of Leggos.

We open in the Casa Simpson at nightfall. Marge is busy trying to put Maggie into her crib, but the child simply won’t be released. None of the usual bedtime routines work, and it doesn’t help that Homer, Lisa and Milhouse are having a toga party (?!) downstairs.

Marge carries the fussy baby downstairs and hands her off to Homer so that she can make up a bottle – Maggie wants nothing to do with Homer, however, and she throws herself through the distance and into her mother’s arms . This results in Marge dumping an entire bottle of milk onto the floor which Homer – no, I’m not joking – cries over.

Homer heads out to snag a fresh bottle of milk. The Kwik-E-Mart is devoid of the substance, as there’s a rumor circulating among the teenaged set that milk, combined with Mentos and lottery ticket scratchings, make jet pack fuel. Homer rushes off to Moe’s, where he’s offered a glass of what could be paint or milk (Homer doesn’t figure out it’s paint til he’s consumed half the glass).

Back at the Casa De Simpson, Bart and Lisa try to help Marge use the internet. Marge’s ineptitude results in Bart taking control – he finds an organization calling itself “Creative Responses For Infant Edu-loving” (C.R.I.E – yes). Marge sends along an email requesting help, hoping they’ll make Maggie less clingy. 

Meanwhile, Homer has journeyed on through Shelbyville and Ogdenville, both of which are “dry counties”. He ends up following a milk truck into Guidopolis. Homer ends up at the Mook-E-Mart, parking in the lot of the neighboring bank – he purchases the milk, but ends up getting towed for his troubles.

The driver, Louie, decides to take pity on Homer and gives him a lift to the impound lot. Small talk leads to Homer becoming enamored of Louie’s free-and-easy lifestyle; Louie notes Homer’s fascination and offers to help get him started for five hundred dollars. Of course, there’s a condition – Homer has to tow solely within Springfield city limits. He blithely agrees to this, and soon becomes a driver for his hometown. 

Meanwhile, Marge meets with a representative from C.R.I.E. The rules of the method are simplistic – Marge simply must leave Maggie alone and let her cry. Marge tries it – Maggie sobs. Informed that “hugs are drugs, and your daughter is addicted,” she shoves the councilor away and rushes in to check on Maggie, only to find her daughter happily playing alone with her building blocks.

Homer, meanwhile, is towing everything in sight. Making a mint doing this, he treats everyone at Moe’s to “lobster-politans,” then adds Lenny’s car to the impound lot that is the Simpsons’ front yard, which soon includes Ned Flander’s Sunday school bus, complete with a fleet of children. Needless to say, his fellow citizens are furious and soon plot to have him done away with.

Maggie, now independent enough to swing herself into her high chair and get her own breakfast, has succeeded in making Marge feel useless. She’s even working away on completing her baby book! Marge, in desperation, turns a sack of potatoes into a substitute baby.

Homer’s mob abandons a car in Guidopolis, making it positively irresistible to a tow and cloaking the city limit signs to convince Homer he’s still in Springfield. He’s quickly caught by Louie, who knocks him unconscious with a wrench and tows Homer (literally) to his place.

Louie dumps Homer in his basement, where he discovers that his so-called-friend is “impounding” other tow truck drivers who’ve crossed Louie’s line.

Springfield, meanwhile, discovers that life minus a tow truck service equals complete chaos. They all want Homer back, but he’s still locked in Louie’s basement, entertaining his fellow captives by regaling them with such stories as “Shrek 3.”

Back at the Casa De Simpson, Bart and Milhouse are busy cutting “dirty” words like Leviticus out of the Bible, declaring they can say them any time they want to! They’re in the Bible! This causes Marge to lament the loss of Homer’s positive influence and worry about his safety.

Maggie picks up on Marge’s stress, and she rides off atop Santa’s Little Helper’s back to track her father down. They do indeed find Homer thanks to SLH's tracking ability, and thanks to Maggie’s general ingenuity all of the drivers are rescued.

Back at the Casa De Simpson, Marge is relieved to have her husband back. She informs Maggie that she’s moved on and "doesn't need" the relationship they once had, but a jealous Maggie socks the sack of tubers and reaches out for a hug. Mother and daughter reunited, we cut to closing credits.

Red Dress Press: Another episode in which a cloud of ‘been there, done that’ settles over the proceedings, “Midnight Towboy” doesn’t improve on re-watching.

The main plot is reminiscent of Homer’s time as a food critic and follows a predictable path of all of his Wacky Job Episodes, in that he begins successfully, quickly becomes mad with power and then is forcibly removed from his position. “He Loves to Fly and He D’Ohs” did a much better job with a similar premise and actually managed to be heartwarming to boot.

The sub-plot, meanwhile, cops out easily and portrays Marge as a mother who cannot handle the idea of her children becoming fully independent. It’s a premise re-visited in her clingy overparenting in “Smoke on the Daughter”. Maggie has always been portrayed as intelligent and tough-minded – one only needs to see The Simpsons Movie or A Streetcar Named Marge to witness her ingenuity. While she’s always extremely close to Marge, she’s never had a problem being separated from her for an amount of time. I know it’s a plot contrivance, but her suddenly becoming dependent on Marge is a twist that comes out of nowhere and feels jarring compared to what we know of Maggie as a character.

The general tenor of “Midnight Towboy” is redolent of simplistic, groan-inducing humor, but a few bright spots pop up. Marge’s ineffective attempt at using the internet is the best joke in the entire episode, with a few chuckles thrown in at Homer’s retelling summer blockbusters as bedtime stories.

Did It Fail at Masonry: A “meh” episode that doesn’t demand repeat viewing but is mildly amusing, “Midnight Towboy” is worth catching once - but not worth tracking down, and certainly not worth skipping other programs for.

What The Screwballs Think: The episode garnered a 7.7, down from Homer of Seville’s 8.4.

Springfield Shopper: This is a Krusty’s Klassik Rekap of a Season Nineteen episode. Keep your eyes peeled for “I Don’t Wanna Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,” coming to the website very soon.