Ranking All 25 The Simpsons Season Finales

Season: 5

Talking behind your spouse's back is never a good idea, but doing it in front of a classroom where you're teaching the ins and outs of a good marriage? Well, that's a way to find yourself out of a good marriage, fast!

That's the basic premise of  Secrets Of A Successful Marriage. In it, Homer winds up teaching a course at an adult education centre based on his experience as a husband. When his approach to teaching the class fails to take off, he winds up dishing the dirt on Marge and his personal life in order to keep the students (the usual cast of Springfield characters) interested.

Of course, when Marge finds out, she's livid. She makes Homer promise to stop letting their secrets slip, and he does, only to immediately break that promise and tell the class that she gets aroused when he nibbles on her elbows. During a class outing to the SImpson home to observe them over dinner, Moe comments on the elbow nibbling, and Homer is quickly cast out of the house.

While not on par with some of the other classics from season five, the episode wins points for painting Homer in a more realistic light than normal: he genuinely wants his class to succeed, but lacks the teaching ability necessary. In that, you have to feel for him.