(S21E19) Finally, a good -- maybe even great -- episode. 'The Squirt and the Whale' packed more laughs in the first few minutes' Alternative Energy Expo than the entire running time of most recent eps.

There were even a few tears and when was the last time we could say that about 'The Simpsons?' (C'mon, admit it, you're as sensitive as Lisa when it comes to beached whales).

I was not at all sure how the whale storyline would play out: Could it really end happily, with "Bluella," as Lisa dubs her, safely back in the ocean? How on earth could the episode recover if they let the whale die?

Surprisingly, the whale's plight ended up being both incredibly moving, and actually funny, when appropriate. Case in point: the eco-activists who arrive to save the killer sharks instead of the baby whales the sharks are circling, and the female "Sea Hugger" who declares that all animal life is worth saving, "Except for cockroaches, yuck!"

Speaking of "yuck," I could have done without the whale detonation, thanks. That was the one jarring note in the whole episode. I don't know how you segue from the sadness of Bluella's death back to comedy, but that was not it.

Nearly non-stop laughs helped take the sting out of the blow when the whale dies. Some of my favorite bits:

When his new wind turbine stops providing free energy, Homer vows: "From now on the Simpsons are living... intermittently." Cue the montage of ill-timed on-again, off-again electricity shenanigans involving a bouncy castle, garage door and a power saw, set to "Danger! High Voltage."

The windstorm blowing out -- and then reigniting -- the Springfield Tire Yard fire. The onlooker who is overjoyed, and then saddened, by the turn of events starts to say, "The lesson here is..." before being felled by a big branch.

Bored bullies Kearny, Jimbo and Dolph keeping the whale wet by distractedly kicking water on it.

Kearny asking Milhouse, "Hey, want to learn more about whaling?" And then proceeding to "whale" on him.

The T-shirts on Lisa's dream whale rescue crew: "We Helped Airlift Lisa's Enormous Soulmate."

While I was kind of horrified by all the whale products flooding Springfield, I had to laugh at Comic Book Guy's whalebone-corset transformation from a svelte 'Star Trek I' Captain Kirk to -- as the corset gives out -- "II... V ... 'Generations' ... 'Boston Legal.'"

The final, feel-good scene with the baby whales and their father leaping happily in the sunset? Awww. If it's wrong to feel touched by 30 minutes of animation, then I don't wanna be right. Even better: The end-credit drawings of the whale widower, his new "sexy lady octopus" bride, their adorable tentacled baby and their 50th wedding anniversary celebration, as 'La Mer' plays.

Well done, show.

[Watch clips and episodes of 'The Simpsons' at SlashControl.]