- "So the lady drove faster, but a strange car kept banging into her from behind! Finally, the lady swerves off the road into the woods, and lost the other car. And that's when she realized that the man in the other car wasn't trying to hurt her. No, he was trying to warn her... about the axe-wielding maniac hiding in her back seat!"
- ―Otto Mann
| "The Otto Show"
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| Episode Information
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"The Otto Show" is the twenty-second episode of season 3. It originally aired on April 23, 1992. It was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. Christopher Guest and Michael McKean reprised their roles from Spinal Tap, reunited with Simpsons regular Harry Shearer.
Synopsis
Otto loses his job driving the school bus, partially because he doesn't have a driver's license, and, after being kicked out of his apartment, goes to live with the Simpsons.
Plot
Bart and Milhouse attend a Spinal Tap concert, but it turns into a major flop and degenerates into a riot. Nonetheless, Bart is impressed by the aging heavy metal band and wants to become a rock guitarist.
Homer and Marge decide to buy Bart his own electric guitar, but Bart struggles to learn how to play it. The next morning on the school bus, Bart brings his guitar onto the bus and Otto compliments him on his "cherry axe" to which Bart replies that he thinks the guitar is broken. Bart hands it to Otto, who – with the bus still stopped in traffic – wows his passengers with an impromptu concert. However, Otto loses track of time and is forced to drive recklessly to school. In the ensuing chaos, the bus runs Spinal Tap's bus off the road, and turns over onto its side in the town square. Numerous people call Springfield Elementary School to report the accident, earning Otto a reprimand from Principal Skinner. However, when Officer Eddie asks for Otto's driver's license to complete his report, Otto is forced to admit he doesn't have one. Otto loses his job, and Skinner takes over his route. Skinner finds it hard going, not being an aggressive driver like Otto.
Things quickly go downhill for Otto. He fails his driver's test at the Springfield DMV (failing every segment and misspelling 'bus' on his written exam), he is unable to find a new job, and he is evicted from his apartment. He calls upon the Simpsons to take him in until he can find a new job, and is allowed to move into the garage, after Bart convinces the family.
Otto makes a nuisance of himself as he becomes comfortable laying around the house and playing his guitar. Homer soon loses his patience with Otto after finding a clump of his hair in their bathroom sink. The last straw is when Otto tells Lisa a ghost story similar to High Beams from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Marge and Homer hear Lisa's screaming and Homer demands that he be sent on his way. Marge insists that Homer let him stay, stating that they're the only family he's got. Homer replies,"I don't care. This is not Happy Days and he is not the Fonz." (Otto resents this as he calls Marge "Mrs. S".) Marge and Bart, however, encourage Otto to give the driving test one last try. Otto and Bart go to the Springfield DMV, but Otto states that Homer was right; he is a bum. Bart then says,"My dad didn't call you a bum, he called you a sponge." To which Otto becomes enraged and marches into the DMV and demands another chance to take the test. When Patty asks why, he tells her "So I can staple it on Homer Simpson's bald head". This quickly changes Patty's demeanor out of spite for her brother-in-law. Though Otto isn't successful in his retest, Patty decides to grant Otto his license anyway. Otto is back to work, although his license is marked "PROBATIONARY" when he shows it off to Bart. Otto drives off into the sunset, with Skinner remarking, "Hail to the bus driver, bus driver man".
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