This week The Simpsons took on the silliest of the Winter Olympic sports, curling, and impressively it did so with a straight face and poked very little fun at the sport.  After a date night gone wrong, Homer and Marge stumble into a sport that combines the two things the couple excels at: bowling and sweeping.

With Marge's lifetime of practice in the art of sweeping, the couple manages to make it all the way to the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  During the cliche of an underdog sports story, The Simpsons was able to make some amazing jokes at the Olympics and Canada's expense, including a hilarious parody of the opening ceremony and Bob Costas making a funny, satirical guest appearance.

Overall the main story line had plenty of funny jokes and gave our straight woman, Marge, another solid storyline.  Whether she's becoming a police officer or posing nude, we love seeing this housewife prove just how capable she is outside of her sheltered life.  Go Marge!

Meanwhile, in the side story of "Boy Meets Curl," Lisa manages to get addicted to collecting pins and soon fines herself naked in the streets playing saxophone after trading in her signature pearls for a pin.  Bart, being the amazing brother he is when he needs to, creates a fake pin for the made up Olympic mascot, fatoff from the upcoming 2014 Olympics.

While the salesman montage with Fatoff was pretty funny, the real treat came after the credits when Homer danced with the guy.  It's truly impressive they were able to make such a creature out of Homer's head.

Overall, for a Olympics episode of The Simpsons we were very impressed.  Thanks for making an otherwise depressing Valentine's Day just a little bit funnier guys!

Now for our favorite quotes from The Simpsons after the jump.

Lenny: Date night, it's the embalming fluid that keeps the mummy of a marriage fresh after the heart and brain have been pulled out through the nose.
Carl: I never should have given you that Egyptology book. | permalink

Bart: Principal Skinner? This is bogus man, you know the rules: two letter and a conference before I get a home visit.
Skinner: Bart, my cargo pants indicate I am not here on school business. I'm here on cool business, i.e. curl business. | permalink

Agnes [in flashback]: I was in love with a soldier boy on leave from Korea. It was a fifties style of romance, five minutes of sex and a lifetime of regret. He went back to his war and I went back to my dream of pole vaulting in the Helsinki Olympics. But there was a bump in the road, a bump named Seymore. | permalink

Marge: Homer! We're going to Vancouver!
Homer: Pack your winter coat, we're going to Canada's warmest city. | permalink

Eric Hochberger is the programmer of TV Fanatic, so please forgive his mediocre writing. His programming is far better. Follow him on Twitter and/or email him. Just don't request threaded comments. They're coming.