“Call me a killjoy, but I think that because this is not to my taste, no one else should be able to enjoy it!” –Marge Simpson on Ultimate Punching

I’m not a fan of Ultimate Fighting, though I think that other people should be able to watch it, if they’re so inclined. But it is an all too common stance among watchdog groups, including mothers, sympathetic school officials and the clergy, as Nelson so kindly pointed out. Of course, this has been going on for years, but it was still a clever enough send-up of the problem.

Maybe it’s because I don’t find Marge to be one of the funnier characters on the show and this episode focused on her, so there weren’t as many funny moments in the main storylines. Luckily, there were plenty of side characters and moments to spotlight.

Not that all of those jokes worked. I didn’t find any laughs in Krusty revealing that he’d been sleeping with Sideshow Mel’s wife for the past nine years. It did make me wonder what that does to the continuity of Sideshow Bob’s grudge against Bart. I know, the show’s been on for 20 years and no one’s aged. There can’t be any true continuity. But I’m a dork and I think of these things anyway.

Nelson’s really grown into an interesting character, and I kind of like the layers the writers have given him over the year. This week’s revelation was that he wants to be an event planner when he grows up. Who knew there was such a sensitive side inside of him. He even helped train Marge later in the ways of the bully. I got a huge kick out of Skinner also being in the punching bag: “I’m well aware of the situation.”

Funny Moments:

* K-I-L-L … S-K-I-L-L … There’s no place for that!!

* $25 for an autograph for a kid. Sadly that is the world we live in.

* “That woman has natural breasts. This can’t be good.” – Chet Englebrick, on Marge walking into the septagon

* “Oh Marge, if only I knew what these paintings meant!” – Homer caring for Marge, paralyzed except for one foot, which she’s painting with. (Paintings clearly read ‘Feed Me,’ ‘I’m Itchy,’ ‘So Cold,’ and ‘Where’s Maggie.’)

* Canceling the entire lion food order upon finding out they don’t have the right size drink.

* I always love seeing Mr. Burns, and it was funny seeing him continue trying to grapple Marge’s hair long after she left his training.

The best moment of the night came in the dramatic end. Alone in the stadium, Bart says to Lisa: “Wanna settle this bad blood that’s been going on between us since you were born?” She accepts and they charge one another. Just before the dramatic punch, fade to credits.

That would have been a typical ending, but after a few credits they cut back to the scene and Lisa knocked Bart out with one punch and walked away.