The Computer Wore Menace Shoes - Plot

Plot

After finding out that all of the nuclear plant's staff members had been informed of the plant's maintenance via e-mail, Homer decides to buy a computer. After he gives up on learning how to use it, Lisa sets up the computer. Homer eventually catches on and starts his own webpage, which contains copyrighted material from other pages. To avoid getting sued, Homer calls himself "Mister X". Late at night, unable to sleep until someone visits his page, Homer hears a rumor from Bart started by either Nelson Muntz or Jimbo Jones that Mayor Quimby spent the street repair fund on a secret swimming pool. He posts this rumor on his page, which is seen by several of Springfield's citizens. Mayor Quimby is the subject of a city-wide scandal when a barrage of reporters find a luxurious pool along with many scantily dressed women in Quimby's office. Homer keeps his anonymity while posting more rumors. Eventually, Mr. X wins the Pulitzer Prize for his journalistic achievements, despite nobody knowing who he is. When he hears that the prize money will be given to starving children, Homer reveals that he is Mr. X. With the whole town aware of Homer’s double identity, no one wants to talk near him and his Internet fame plummets. To boost his popularity, Homer begins posting outrageous stories on his webpage. His fame back, Homer celebrates by going to the Kwik-E-Mart and ends up getting kidnapped.

Homer wakes up on the "Island", a place where the inhabitants are people who have been exiled from society for harboring dangerous secrets. Homer learns from the organization's leader, Number Two, that a story he wrote about flu vaccinations containing mind-control serum was true. The mind control drug is calibrated to drive people into a frenzy of shopping, which is why flu shots are administered shortly before Christmas. While he is trapped, Homer is replaced at home by a doppelganger with a thick German accent. Number Six tells Homer about a makeshift boat he spent thirty-three years making, which Homer steals and escapes the "Island" with, popping the Rover that emerges from the water to trap him. When he gets home, Homer tries to send out a message to the police through his computer, but is stopped by Number Two taking over the computer and is caught by his doppelganger. Homer fights his double and defeats him by kicking him in the crotch. The family is happy the real Homer is back and Santa's Little Helper spouts a gas that drugs the entire family. The episode ends with everyone in the family enjoying their strange, new life on the "Island".