A new Canyonero SUV turns timid Marge into an aggressive driver, and her road rage lands her in traffic school. But when a stampede occurs at the zoo, the town looks to Marge to save the day.

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.

The Simpson family's dog Santa's Little Helper fails to save Homer from a treehouse when it is on fire. Consequently, Homer declares him a coward and disowns him. One day, a photographer finds Santa's Little Helper playing with a Duff Beer can and takes a picture. The picture becomes popular and SLH becomes the new mascot for Duff Beer while the old mascot, Duffman, is fired. Homer earns a lot of money but SLH's original owner shows up, claiming that the dog is rightfully his. Bart fears that he will never see Santa's Little Helper again. The Simpsons conceive a plan to get Duffman rehired as Duff's mascot by showing what a coward Santa's Little Helper is. At a Duff-sponsored beach event, Homer pretends to be drowning (while floating on a keg of beer) but is attacked by a shark. The shark bites the beer keg and becomes drunk, and wins over the crowd on the beach. The shark is named the new mascot of Duff Beer and Santa's Little Helper returns to the Simpson family.