19 I'm Goin' to Praiseland

During an ice cream social at church, Ned Flanders is reunited with Rachel Jordan, a woman he met after hearing her and her Christian rock band sing at church after suffering the loss of his wife Maude. She quickly had to leave for the next stop on the band's tour after their first meeting, and they had not seen each other until this social. Rachel decides to stay with Ned instead of going to a motel, but leaves after being horrified when Ned's obsession with making Rachel look like his deceased wife Maude leads to him cutting Rachel's hair into a Maude-esque style while she is sleeping. Ned asks the Simpson family to help him forget about Maude by throwing away everything in the house that reminds him of her. Homer uses a woodchipper to get rid of all of Maude's possessions, (including sticking a photo of him on their wedding photo) except for a sketchbook. Ned looks through his late wife's many sketches until he finds designs for a Christian theme park, called Praiseland. He decides to realize Maude's dream by building a Christian theme park in her honor.

Ned starts building Praiseland where an old amusement park used to be located and asks people from all over town to contribute anything that can be useful for the park. Various citizens pitch in and donate. When Praiseland is finally opened, the townspeople are put off by its wholesomeness and leave—until everyone sees a mask of Maude's face rise up in the air in front of a memorial statue of her. Eventually, anyone who stands in front of the statue collapses, writhes and has his or her own personal vision of Heaven: Principal Skinner tells of being in a perfect elementary school where no one is late, the teacher's lounge is spacious, and Bart is not there to bother him; Disco Stu dances with Frank Sinatra (whose appearance at the disco is actually his version of Hell) at a discothèque version of Heaven, where Tony Manero is forced into an eternal wait in line; and Comic Book Guy (dressed as Mr. Spock) saves Captain Kirk from his malfunctioning chair aboard the Starship Enterprise and is offered make-out sessions with Uhura from the original Star Trek series, Catwoman from the 1960s Batman TV show, and Agent 99 from Get Smart.

Ned explains to his children that this is God's will, until he notices Homer trying to work the gas grill at a concession stand. He then discovers that the gas line (near Maude's statue) is leaking gas, causing everyone to inhale the fumes. He finds out from the utility that the gas is incredibly dangerous and tries to shut the place down, but Homer points out that Praiseland has brought everyone together, regardless of race, creed, color, and socioeconomic status. However, the joy is short-lived when Homer spots two orphans lighting a candle near the leaking gas line and they tackle them before an explosion can happen. The townspeople believe Ned and Homer assaulted the children and the park suffers. Ned finally shuts down Praiseland, and Rachel (now wearing a wig to cover up the Maude hairstyle from earlier in the episode) returns to accept a date from Ned. The two of them get rid of Maude's imprint on the bed by tightening the sheets, and Homer muses that they're going to be just fine.

Watch The Simpsons Season 12 episode 19 I'm Goin' to Praiseland online for free
Loading...