Love Is a Many-Strangled Thing

"Love Is a Many-Strangled Thing" is the seventeenth episode of the twenty-second season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on March 27, 2011.

Plot
Mr. Burns goes up in a hot air balloon and cannot get down due to his weight. Homer attempts to shoot a hole in the balloon with a shotgun. He shoots a gargoyle head which lands on Mr. Burns head and therefore weighs the balloon down. Mr. Burns praises Homer by giving him tickets to a Springfield Atoms game. While at the game, Homer is on the "Make an Ass of Yourself" cam. Bart has no interest in participating which triggers Homer to tickle him. Bart laughs so hard that he pees himself for the whole crowd to see. Marge then enrolls Homer in parenting classes.

His counselor is shocked to discover that he strangles Bart. His counselor brings in his friend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who plays Homer while Homer plays Bart. Abdul-Jabbar strangles Homer to put him in Bart's perspective. Homer develops an immense fear of Bart as he pictures Abdul-Jabbar every time he is tempted to strangle him. Bart takes advantage of this which leads to Marge enrolling both of them in counseling.

When Marge goes to find Homer's counselor, his office is vacant. She finds the counselor in a homeless park due to not making money during the poor economy. Marge pays him $23 and a can of beans to help Homer and Bart. The counselor takes them a cacti-filled area of the desert. Bart continuously leads blindfolded Homer into cacti. Then the counselor puts a noose around Homer's neck and ties him up to a tree. Homer jumps and Bart refuses to cut the rope. The counselor then strangles Bart himself for being so defiant. Bart finally cuts the rope. Homer thanks Bart and tells the counselor he is going to sue him for everything he has. The counselor says "that it's only a house in a tree trunk". The show cuts off showing Homer and Bart in the tree trunk house.

Reception
The episode was watched by an estimated 6.14 million viewers on its premiere.