The Simpsons: Season 22 Episode 7 - How Munched is That Birdie in the Window Recap

In the 21 seasons that The Simpsons has been on the air there are have only been a handful of times that I haven’t completely LOVED  a Simpsons episode.  Unfortunately, this Sunday’s episode entitled, “How Munched is That Birdie in the Window” was one of the handful.

The episode finds Bart having to take care of a carrier pigeon that has flown through his bedroom window and broken its wing.  He falls in love with the bird, named Raymond, and keeps it as a pet.  The family and the townspeople eventually get into the act, using the pigeon to carry the most inane messages to each other.

Santa’s Little Helper ends up eating the pigeon which makes Bart very angry with the dog as well as quite depressed.  Homer and Marge take Bart and Santa’s Little Helper to a dog counsellor (a wasted cameo by the talented Rachel Weisz).  The counsellor advises the family to give the dog away.  They take him to an ostrich farm where Bart is attacked by an ostrich and ends up having to kill him.  After having to kill a bird himself, Bart forgives Santa’s Little Helper and the family takes him home.  There is also a strange side story where Lisa admits that she hates pigeons, but that story doesn’t ever really go anywhere.

The episode doesn’t have usual crackle and sharp wit that makes The Simpsons consistently hilarious.  It doesn’t even push the zany envelope like the writers sometimes like to do.  Mostly, the script is just a bit weak and the jokes are a bit too obvious.  There’s very little to see here.  However after more than 400 episodes, the show has earned the right to a couple thin episodes.