Episode 1F20
Written by Greg Daniels
Directed by Carlos Baeza
Also starring: Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell
Special guest voices: Phil Hartman (as Lionel Hutz), Marcia Wallace (as Ms Krabappel)

Premise: Homer gets a new job, lecturing at Springfield's adult education centre. The problem lies with his subject - his relationship with Marge. Soon the whole town has learnt their secrets and Marge throws Homer into the treehouse where he creates a replacement for her - a shrub.

Features: Moe, Lenny and Carl, Barney, Grampa, Groundskeeper Willie, Hans Moleman, Krusty, Sideshow Mel, Patty and Selma, Apu, Chief Wiggum, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Otto, the Lovejoys, Smithers, Mr Burns, Lionel Hutz, Ms Krabappel, Milhouse.

Couch: The Simpsons rush in - and explode.

Homage: Homer sings the theme tune of US sitcom Family Ties at one point. His angry speech to Marge is a combination of lines from the movies A Few Good Men (Rob Reiner, 1992), Patton (Franklin Schaffner, 1970) and Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974). Smithers' flashback to his failed marriage recalls Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958).

Notes: A confident finale to the fifth season, which had seen the series become progressively more surreal and self-aware.