Starring Roles[]
Featuring Roles[]
Appearances[]
Plot[]
The episode begins in front of HTF Elementary, as Flaky rounds up her class, including Cuddles, and prepares them for a field trip to the HTF Nuclear Power Plant. Pierce, the bus driver, pulls up to the curb, and Cuddles chats with him outside of the bus, as the other kids find their seats. Flaky yells at Cuddles to get on the bus. When he scurries to find a seat, he is bummed to see the only one left is right next to Puffy, who is always queasy and pukes on every bus ride. As Pierce takes the long way to the power plant, Cuddles struggles to behave on the bus ride. Flaky warns Cuddles that one more outburst will result in him singing to the class in the front of the bus. Buck and Chuck, who are sitting behind Cuddles, decide to get him in some more trouble. At the same time, they both kiss Cuddles on the cheek, causing him to yell out. Flaky makes good on her threat and forces Cuddles to sing in front of the class. The bus finally arrives at the power plant, and Cuddles congratulates Puffy for making the whole bus ride without puking, by slapping him on the back, which results in Puffy vomiting anyway.
Once inside the plant, Fatty shows a film on nuclear energy in a small theater. The film stars Smilin’ Joe Fission, a little animated character, who explains the ins and outs of nuclear energy. After the film Fatty gives a tour of the plant. As the children walk behind and listen, Buck and Chuck tell Cuddles about how their dad, who also works at the power plant, says that Lumpy is an incompetent worker. Cut to Lumpy, who is sitting in a small motorized cart with his feet propped up, and eating a donut. Lumpy comments to a co-worker that Cuddles’ class will be here any minute, and he drives off in search of him. The children continue their tour, while walking on a catwalk above the working area of the plant. Just then, Lumpy turns the corner in his cart, underneath Cuddles and the other kids. Cuddles spots Lumpy and calls out to him, as Lumpy looks up to wave back at Cuddles he doesn’t pay attention to where he is going and crashes into a vent pipe causing it to leak dangerous gas. The supervisor nearby, who happens to be Buck and Chuck's father, demands to know who caused the accident. When all the workers point at Lumpy, the supervisor tells Lumpy he is fired. He then looks up and sees Buck and Chuck and waves, and they wave back as a humiliated Cuddles hides his face.
The next morning at breakfast, everyone gives words of encouragement to a depressed Lumpy, on finding a new job. After hearing what they all have to say, a re-energized Lumpy heads out to find a job. But, after a long day of doors slammed in his face and no new job prospects, Lumpy relieves his stress at Toad's Tavern. As Lumpy drinks a beer, the phone rings, Toad answers it, and it is Cuddles playing a prank phone call. Lumpy reaches for his wallet to buy another beer, only to discover he doesn’t have any more money, and when Toad won’t run Lumpy a tab, Lumpy heads for home. Later that night in bed with Petunia, Lumpy expresses his concerns about finding another job. Petunia consoles him and tells Lumpy that for the time being she can go back to the old job she had before they got married, as a waitress.
The next day with Petunia gone at work, a depressed and unresponsive Lumpy lies on the couch. Even when the kids try to cheer him up he does not respond or move. Later that night, after seeing a Duff Beer commercial, Lumpy finally gets up from the couch. Lumpy wanders into the kitchen and searches the fridge for a beer; he becomes enraged when he can’t find one. He heads up to Cuddles’ room and while Cuddles sleeps, Lumpy steals his piggy bank. Back downstairs in the kitchen Lumpy smashes open Cuddles' piggy bank only to find that Cuddles doesn’t even have enough money for just one beer. Lumpy suddenly realizes what he has done and how low he has sunk and decides solve his problems by committing suicide. Lumpy writes the HTFs a farewell note, and heads outside. In the backyard, with intentions of jumping off a bridge, Lumpy ties one end of a rope around his waist and the other end around a large boulder. A tearful Lumpy looks back at the house one last time and then struggles down the road alone, with the boulder in his arms.
Lumpy continues on his journey to the bridge, while back at the house Cuddles and Giggles rush in to Petunia’s room and wake her up, telling her they’ve been robbed. Cuddles thinks they’ve been robbed because his piggy bank is stolen, but then Giggles discovers Lumpy’s note and everyone gasps. Cut back to Lumpy; as he nears the bridge, he crosses an intersection without a stop sign and is nearly struck by and oncoming car. Lumpy continues on to the bridge, and just as he is about to jump into the water below, the HTFs, running behind Lumpy, shout from a distance and tell him to stop. As they rush over to Lumpy, they cross the intersection and are also nearly hit by a car. But Lumpy quickly runs in and pushes them out of the way. He comments on how dangerous the intersection is and how someone should put a stop sign there, suddenly a light goes on in Lumpy’s head and he realizes that he now has a purpose in life to make the intersection safer.
The next day at HTF Town Hall, Lumpy presents his proposal for a stop sign at 12th Avenue and D Street, the dangerous intersection. His proposal is accepted and a stunned Lumpy feels a greater sense of purpose and decides to go on a campaign to make all of HTF Town safer. A montage of newspaper headlines ensues, chronicling all of Lumpy’s new signs and his growing public support. Later the next week, after the town has been covered with safety signs, Lumpy still feels he must do more and decides to take on the nuclear power plant and attempt to make it safer. The next day at in the power plant, in front of a large cheering crowd, Lumpy stages a protest about the lack of safety at the power plant. Truffles glowers down at the protest from high above, through his office window, and orders Fatty to bring Lumpy to him to talk privately. Fatty goes down to the protest, retrieves Lumpy and sends him to Truffles’ office. Once inside, Truffles offers Lumpy a new job at the plant as the safety inspector. Lumpy mulls over the job offer and accepts. Truffles tells Lumpy that his first duty is to step out on the balcony and lie to the crowd and tell them the power plant is safe. Lumpy reluctantly steps on the balcony to lie to the crowd and suddenly has a change of mind; he heads back into Truffles’ office and tells him he can’t do it. Truffles realizes that Lumpy is very passionate about safety and won’t back down to anything; he keeps Lumpy on as the safety inspector anyway. Lumpy goes back out to the balcony to announce to everyone his new job, the crowd cheers and Lumpy does a celebratory dance on the balcony ledge. However, Homer, the safety inspector himself, falls off the balcony. The crowd catches him below, and they carry him off on their shoulders, chanting his name.
Debuts[]
- Pierce
- Puffy
- Fatty (in person)
- Buck
- Chuck
- Savaughn
- Wrinkles