Vote for your favorite episode from among the the ninth season's top-rated shows. 1. "Treehouse of Horror VIII" 5F02 Original Airdate: 10/26/97 Three new yucky Halloween yarns from your favorite yellow family. First, Homer seems to be the only survivor of a nuclear explosion. As the last living person on earth--literally, the Homega Man--Homer is free to do whatever he wants, specifically steal cars and crash them and dance naked in the Springfield Community Church. But Homer's revelry is cut short by a band of angry, flesh-eating mutants who survived the blast and are now hungry for Homer. Speeding in a car to Evergreen Terrace, Homer hides in his old home and discovers that his family has also survived the blast, protected by the layers and layers of lead paint in the house. Marge and kids are elated to see Homer and it's their pleasure to use their shotguns to blast holes in the mutants. In the second story, Homer buys a matter-transporting machine from Professor Frink's yard sale. He uses it to grab beers from the fridge without getting up from the couch and to quickly go to the bathroom while watching TV. When Bart goes inside the machine with a fly, his DNA is scrambled with the insect's and two new creatures emerge: A tiny fly with Bart's head, and Bart's body with a disgusting fly's head. The family accepts the new bugged-out Bart, but when the tiny Bart tires of being a fly, it's up to Lisa to trick the big Bart back into the machine so each pest's DNA can be put back in the correct place. The final sequence is the story of a coven of Springfield witches from 1649. As played by Marge and her sisters Patty and Selma, the witches are kindly old souls who occasionally enjoy eating children from the town. To stop the witches from eating their kids, the townspeople offer them candy and treats instead, thus initating the tradition of Halloween. 2. "The Cartridge Family" 5F01 Original Airdate: 11/2/97 The only way to take Homer's gun is to pry if from his lifeless, four-fingered hand. When a riot erupts at a Continental Soccer Association match, Homer buys a gun to protect his family. Marge is disgusted by his purchase but Homer loves his gun and starts attending NRA meetings with Moe, Dr. Hibbert, and Apu. After Homer accidentally fires his gun during dinner, Marge makes an ultimatum: Either the gun leaves the house or she does. Well, Marge packs up the kids and moves to a motel where Bart and Lisa have fun playing on the Magic Fingers bed. Homer comes to find his family at the motel and promises Marge he'll throw the gun away. Just then, Snake robs the place and Homer saves the day with his gun. But he still throws the gun away. When her husband's not looking, Marge scoops up the gun and keeps it for herself. 3. "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" 5F04 Original Airdate: 11/16/97 Apu's mother writes him a letter reminding him of his arranged bride and that he must marry her soon. Apu tells his mother that he's already married and when his mother comes to town, Apu enlists Marge to pretend she is his wife. Meanwhile, Homer has checked himself into the Springfield Retirement Castle, enjoying the leisurely days and free meals. After a series of farcical encounters with Apu's increasingly suspicious mother, Marge and Apu reveal the truth. Apu's arranged marriage is back on despite Apu's reservations. But when he meets Manjula, his bride-to-be, Apu is smitten by her beauty and her good taste in movies. The two are married and live happily every after. 4. "Bart Carny" 5F08 Original Airdate: 1/11/98 Bart and Homer get jobs working for a carnival. While there, they befriend Cooder and his son Spud. The friendship takes a turn for the worse when Cooder and Spud are forced to move in with the Simpson family. Eventually, Cooder and Spud "steal" the Simpsons' house by locking the family out and not letting them back in. The only way Homer can get the squatters out his house is to make a bet with them: If Homer can throw a hula hoop over the chimney, Cooder and Spud will give him the house back, if he misses, they can keep it. Just before Home is to throw the hula hoop, the Simpson family dashes into the house and lock the carnies out. Cooder and Spud are once again homeless. 5."Lisa the Simpson" 4F24 Original Airdate: 3/8/98 When Lisa is unable to figure out a simple brain teaser, she begins to fear that she is losing her gift of intelligence. Soon, Lisa is noticing tons of clues to her own intellectual decline. Listening to Lisa's complaints, Grandpa explains to her that all Simpsons--himself, Homer, and others--started out smart and gradually experienced a "dumbening" that left them thick as bricks. Lisa decides to give over to the dumbening, emulating Homer and Bart and their brainless ways. But this makes Lisa unhappy, so to cheer her up, Homer gathers all the Simpson relatives he can find and tries to show her that they're not all idiots. Sadly, talking to them Lisa realizes that a lot of them are stupid. But talking with the women of the Simpson family, she is pleased to discover that many of them are doctors and businesswomen. Lisa realizes that the dumbening gene skips the women of the Simpson family. With renewed confidence in her own intelligence, Lisa looks at the brain teaser again and figures it out without hesitation.

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