Best Episode Ever The Simpsons Flamming Moe

I gotta give props to the Simpsons crew for the episode that aired the other night. I had been telling friends of mine that due to the barrage of bad episodes this season, this may very well be the last months I actively seek out and watch the show. Something that took a lot since I have been a fan since 12 years old. After the most recent episode my faith in the series was once more restored. In it Mr. Smithers is turned down at a local gay bar for not being sexy enough. He then decides to team up with Moe in opening a gay bar for the average gay man. He brings in a large clientele and Moe manages to keep his regular faithful customers as well. What makes the episode so awesome for me besides it's great message, were some of the new characters and references in it. For one there is now Comic Book Gay, a supposed cousin of Comic Book Guy who only likes 'certain kinds of comics.' Then later Moe to Smithers surprise hangs up a Tom of Finland parodied Tom of Shelbyville painting behind the counter. Two nods to the gay art and comics community in one episode? I for one was pretty overjoyed. The episode was full of great moments and many ribs at gay culture and stereotypes.

Gotta love the club name.

The episode started with some tasty eye candy! XD

Poor Mr. Smithers. I am sure many gay guys have felt the same way when just looking into a club.

One of the funniest moments was Homers and friends innocent reaction to the change in the bar.

Smithers the hero of the Hobbits.

Best New Character Ever? Comic Book Gay. (Unless he is comic book disguised.) Green is slimming.....

My favorite new guy, Grizzly Sean is a lovable ruffian. I hope he returns in future episodes as a regular patron of the bar. LOL Gay day at Krusty Land. XD

The best part of the episode, Moe Hangs up a Tom of Shelbyville painting! :D Smithers shock comes from the fact the Moe is further immersing himself in gay culture. Could it also be because of the impossible stereotypes these images romanticize? Doubt it. The original message of the bar seemed to have been forgotten around this point.

My favorite part of the Skinner plot was this scene where we see many of Barts favorite video games in the background. I'm a gamer, sue me.

The writers did a great job creating some new less then perfect gay men and used them all through the episode. Still, my only big complaint is that the show didn't dwell on the imperfect themes a little bit more. Sadly instead of really taking the theme further with one of them like Grizzly Sean, it chose to out of nowhere to parody the movie Milk. In doing this the writers ensured an easy way out so that things could eventually be reset to normal in the Simpsons universe. That's okay though cause, it's still a great part of the episode.
It's not perfect, with Moe remarking that his business partnership with Marge was a failure for example. (The original episode never stated, or even hinted at this at any point.) The Principle Skinner subplot was decent if not pretty hackneyed due to a slight suggestion that Skinner might have been stoned for some time. That would be horribly out of character for Seymour.
As well, I thought that the segments featuring Burns and Smithers were really good, but they did lose the focus of one of the reasons why Smithers originally wanted to open the bar. I really would have liked to see closure on that. Seems to be a growing trend in these later episodes.

Still, never has a show presented such a positive message for the gay community. I have been active in so many sites and seen it time and again, where guys try to hide their true selves behind the false images of a perfect Adonis. It always saddens me. We are not all perfect! Some of us are chubby, or fat, lacking six packs, unfashionably balding, have hair where we wish we didn't, are lacking porn star penises, sweat uncontrollably, get man tits, have small mental issues, bad teeth, or even have acne on our faces and braces late into life. These are not things that make us any less human, but make us more so. An imperfect individual is more interesting and often more endearing then say, a fashion studio snob. So for that I thank the Simpsons, cause this gives a little hope to men out there that says we are expected to be Brad Patton to find true love and acceptance. :P

The episode featured a good mix of classic and new characters with many cameos throughout.