Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment

The series begins with a story from ancient times: Homer-thief talks with his friends, an idol maker and an adulterer. At this time, Moses appears with his tablets and reads the Ten Commandments to the people, thereby depriving Homer and his friends of work.

And in modern times in Springfield, the devout Ned Flanders shamefully drives the master out of the house, who suggested he illegally connect to cable television for less money. But Homer decides to take advantage of this proposal and connects 68 new channels. Marge is alarmed, but the ability to watch favorite TV shows for housewives pleases her, and she stops worrying.

At Sunday School, Lisa Simpson listens to a lecture on hell and thinks about the impact of watching illegal cable television on the souls of her family members. She calls all of them to remember the eighth commandment: “Do not steal” (in some branches of Christianity this commandment is the seventh in a row). But Homer does not agree, especially since they are going to show a boxing match for the champion title on cable television, and he has already invited all his friends and colleagues to watch it. He tries to make Lisa understand him, but the girl doubts and goes for a consultation with the priest, Rev. Lovejoy , who advises her to set an example for her father and not watch TV.

Homer, meanwhile, catches his son watching a TV show for adults and takes his word from him to never watch it again, but the boy does not keep his promise and even brings his classmates home to watch erotica together. And the person who connected the cable for Homer gets into his house and offers a stolen car radio . The situation in the family makes Homer realize that he did the wrong thing, and after a boxing match he cut off the cable with his own hands (leaving the whole area by mistake without electricity).

• The series can also be considered the first real appearance of Ralph Wiggum , since it was the image found in this series that became familiar to the audience over the following seasons.
• For the second time in season two, Satan appears in this series.
• You can watch Jaws , Die Hard , and Wall Street on cable TV.
• The brochure “So, you decided to illegally connect to cable television ...” has long been considered the only book Homer has read in his entire life, and to this day is listed as such on many sites, although in subsequent seasons it turned out that Homer read many books, although most of them were children’s.
• The flower next to the Simpsons couch grows from a miniature sprout into a full-fledged tall plant, and then dies when they show how the Simpsons family spend time in front of the TV.
• In the TV show “I Can't Believe They Invented It,” Troy McClure advertises sweets invented by Dr. Nick to straighten and whiten teeth.
• When Homer switches channels, you can hear a fragment from the series "Tickling and Scratching", shown in the episode " Tickling and Scratching and Marge ."

• The title of the episode Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment parodies the wording used in the American justice system to refer to trials (eg, “ John Doe v. United States and the 18th Amendment [to the Constitution ]”).

This episode was awarded the Emmy Award in 1991.

• Description of the series on IMDb