| "Dumbbell Indemnity"
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| Episode Information
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"Dumbbell Indemnity" is the sixteenth episode of Season 9. It aired on March 1, 1998. The episode was written by Ron Hauge and directed by Dominic Polcino.
When Moe breaks himself romancing a new love, he enlists the aid of Homer in an illegal scheme to collect $5,000 dollars from his automobile's insurance policy. But after Homer botches the scam, Moe must find a way to bust his best customer out of the pen. Guest starring Helen Hunt as Renee.
Plot
While at Moe's Tavern, Homer notices Moe's depressed state. He learns that Moe has not had a date in some time, so he decides to take him out to a night club to meet a woman. However, the trip proves to be unsuccessful for Moe. When leaving, a woman named Renee who's played by Helen Hunt who runs a flower stand starts to talk to Moe. She compliments Moe and makes him feel better, leading to Moe to ask her out.
Moe and Renee fall in love, though Moe is forced to spend an excessive amount of money on his credit card, or he may feel that she is unsatisfied by him. The card is soon maxed out, leaving Moe to brainstorm for an idea to make more money. He decides to commit insurance fraud by having Homer steal his car and leave it in front of rail tracks so a train destroys it. The night of the event, Moe and Renee go on the "Police Department's Moonlight Charity Cruise", which assures Homer that he will be safe from any police. However, he decides to watch a movie at a drive-in theater, causing him to be late to the rail tracks. However, he still tries to destroy the car somehow, which gives him the idea to drive it off a cliff into a body of water. He is unable to get out of the car in time before the car goes off the cliff, and the car sinks directly in front of the yacht the police department and Moe are on.
Homer is sent to jail, assured that Moe will bail him out. Moe meets Homer outside the jail, talking to him through his jail window. Moe promises to bail him out, but he changes his mind while talking to Renee, and instead decides to buy a trip to Hawaii. While packing, Moe is confronted by his own conscious form of Homer, who makes him feel bad that he betrayed Homer. He tells the truth to Renee, and although she is happy he told her the truth, she is disgusted by him and leaves him when his plan to save Homer involves more criminal activity. He is still presenting his idea when she leaves, and that part of his plan involving pouring alcohol around his bar to light on fire. By accident, Moe drops a match, and the bar is soon in flames. Meanwhile, Homer has escaped jail and is coming to get revenge on Moe. He comes in while the bar is on fire, and the two fight. However, both of them being unconscious by the fumes of the fire. Fortunately, Barney comes and saves both of them. The bar is, however, completely destroyed, but Homer promises Moe that he can use his house as a bar until he is able to reconstruct his old bar again.
Reception
In a 2006 article in USA Today, "Dumbbell Indemnity" was highlighted among the six best episodes of The Simpsons season 9, along with others including "Trash of the Titans," "The Last Temptation of Krust," "The Cartridge Family," "The Joy of Sect," and "Das Bus".[1]
References
