A jaw injury from colliding with a new town statue turns Homer into a better listener while recuperating with his jaws wired shut, but once the wires come off, Homer does not go back to being loud and obnoxious and Marge becomes starved for thrills.

Bart fakes his own kidnapping to get out of being punished for going to a rap concert, but the ruse goes too far when Milhouse's father is implicated as the kidnapper and Chief Wiggum sees this as an opportunity to make a name for himself as a competent police officer.

Selma and Patti's home movies make Marge nostalgic for the Barnacle Bay vacations of her youth, so Homer takes the family there, but the area has changed since the Bouviers were little girls.

Homer lands his own political talk show and becomes the spokesperson for the Gravy Movement. He then is asked to select the next Republican nominee for President and officially endorses right-wing rock star Ted Nugent.

After Homer catches Bart rooting for Springfield’s football rival, the Boston Americans, he plans a family “hate-cation” trip to Boston in an attempt to show Bart that Boston is a terrible city.