The writers strike again! The beginning scene has nothing to do with the end. Also, considering this was released in the late 80s, I’m surprised family therapy was brought up and used. Thought it was more of a 21st century thing, and it is the biggest thing in town right now. Just glad it had been on people’s mind all these time, maybe use them more often than just a joke?
Spoiler next:
Mr. Burns invited everyone to his mansion for an annual company picnic. Ironically, there is no continuity because he doesn’t remember Homer and needed a card that describes the family. Bart and Homer are clowns as usual, but Marge and Lisa are also causing some chaos, which is something I didn’t expect – I guess you can’t be a Simpsons otherwise. As they were leaving, Homer saw the “perfect” family, a mirror image of the Simpsons but everyone treated each other with respect and love. That struck a cord in Homer, and he noticed his family never talked to each other, and way too addicted to the TV. He called an emergency meeting, and dragged the family to peek into other families, confirming his fear. Seeing an ad on TV, Homer took the children college fund and sold the TV against everyone’s wills, and dragged his family to Dr. Marvin Monroe’s Family Therapy Center.
Dr. Monroe, obviously, wants to a quick cash grab. He tried to show Homer that he is the issue (everyone pointed at him), and started shock therapy for the entire family. It failed miserable as everyone enjoyed shocking each other, causing power outage in the entire city. Not knowing what to do, he tried to get rid of Homer but Homer points out that double money back guarantee, which they used to buy a brand new 24inch(!) TV. It’s funny to see Homer trying so hard to change the family when he is obviously the issue, and everyone but him sees that. Does this mean therapy doesn’t work? At least not one hour session. Maybe the authors are also poking at therapy, because it is so expensive, so people want it to work? I just think it is odd Homer thought the family is weird, and the family is weird, at least in this episode only.