Season 26 Ep 10 Review: The Man Who Came To Be Dinner

The Simpsons go to...OUTER SPACE!

"The Man Who Came To Be Dinner"   

    Okay, this is quite a doosy. Firstly, this is episode 10 of season 26. The last one I did, "Simpsorama", was episode six. I skipped ahead because today I plan on listening to my new favorite (and actually, only) podcast today, entitled, "Worst Episode Ever". I plugged it last Simpsons entry I think, but in summary it's two guys who watch newer (season 11 and beyond) episodes of The Simpsons to determine which episode is the worst episode ever. I skipped ahead and watched this episode because they are covering this episode on thier podcast today, and I wanted to watch it and write my own thoughts down before I listened to their podcasts, as to not consciouslly or subconsciously alter my own thoughts and opinions based on what they say. Unfortunately, occasionally I will let outside influences creep into my own works, and I don't even realize it until after the fact. I don't do it on purpose, of course. I'm just susceptible that way, I guess.
    I will say, I actually (inadverdantly) watched this episode when it aired a few weeks ago. I didn't give it my full attention, but I knew it was a very big...well, no that's not the right word. Important? Eh, no that's not right either. Bizarre? Well, that's closer. Costly? Damaging? Annihilating? I don't know exactly, but I knew this would be an episode to talk about for days, weeks, and maybe months later. It was just such a strange epusode in the overall cannon of The Simpsons. I mean, they go to outer space! But, more on that in a moment.
    The couch gag for this episode is actually pretty decent. It's short

Season 26 Ep 8 Review: Covercraft

Music indeed makes the people come together

"Covercraft"

    So, Homer creates a band. Hhmm. Has this happened before? Why yes, yes it has. In season 5's Homer's Barbershop Quartet (personally in maybe my top ten least favorite episodes of mine from this golden era. Perhaps a list like that should appear on this blog at some point?) and season 19's That '90s Show (which I have not heard, but apparently it's not very good). There could very well be another one in between seasons 16-25, when I didn't watch a single episode of the show. Why am I bringing this up? Is it to illustrate the fact that the writers can't possibly come up with new ideas for episodes, and instead have to reach back into their own glory days to reuse ideas (that they end up doing a poor job with)? Well, honestly no. I mean, they certainly do do that, but in this instance, it doesn't bother me. THAT'S my point. It's been 21 years since the golden era episode about Homer being in a band. Sure, they have that crappy season 19 one, but that's more a flashback/retcon kind of episode anyway. If they can take a simple story idea from 20 years ago and make it again, but make it different and make it interesting, I have no problem with that. Did they do that with this episode? Mostly yes, I guess. 

    If you haven't guessed by that mind-vomit of an introductory paragraph, this episode sees Homer taking up bass, then starting a cover band with other dads of the neighborhood (Dr. Hibbert on drums, Rev. Lovejoy on guitar, and Kirk Van Houten on keyboards). They recruit Apu as a singer, because hey, he sings just like an '80s hair metal singer. They do shows in Springfield. Then, Apu is recruited by the '80s band (Sungazer) that taught him to sing so well, to join them on a tour. Apu tours with them, hates it, and eventually he gets out of his contract by getting arrested for helping to poison the rest of the band with rotten Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs. So, yeah, it's certainly a different idea than the one from 20+ years ago. I don't mind the story actually, as it is fairly unique and pretty fun. It's not an enormously funny episode, but it's heads, shoulders, arms, waists, knees, and feet better than that awful Blazed and Confused episode I recently watched/wrote about [fun side note: on IMDB, someone gave that episode 10/10 stars. Thought that was interesting. Maybe it really is a great episode, worthy of being on anyone's top ten list.]

They actually look like they're having fun!

    Let's start with the couch gag. I'm sorry I always harp on the length of the couch gags, but the super long ones really annoy me. Luckily, this one was short, and probably my favorite couch gag of the season so far. All the members of the family, distracted with smart phones, enter the living room. They bump into each other and all fall onto the floor. They continue fiddling with their phones on the floor. Short and awfully timely. Take THAT jab, phone-obsessed society!

    I noted in my notes that it kind of does the whole "throwing away continuity" thing that newer episodes seem to do. It's not huge, but just the fact that Apu can sing much differently than he did with the B-Sharps, and that no one seems to have any memory of that other band they had, is kind of annoying. However, and I didn't notice it as I watched, but as I typed the members of the band up in that second paragraph, I realized that some of those actually are tied into continuity. Well, maybe not continuity, but character history. Obviously Kirk plays the keyboard, because that's what he did in A Milhouse Divided [author's note: yeah, this one is BOLD! Um, I haven't watched that episode in a while, and I really thought he did play keyboard, but I just looked online for a few minutes, and while he definitely sings, I don't think he plays keyboard. However, I feel it's the absolute perfect instrument for him TO play], and Lovejoy plays guitar, as he once did in one old, great episode (that I can't think of). Yeesh, this second half of this paragraph didn't go the way I wanted it to. Aaand star wipe...

    At any rate, this was a decent episode. Everyone (Homer included) was tolerable. Unfortunately, that's something I have to mention now. The writers love to over-exaggerate these characters and their various foibles and characteristics to beyond-Family Guy levels sometimes, and that's scary. A character that I really don't like much in these newer episodes is Kirk, yet he's fine here. Thank god for small favors. I was afraid, after the opening minute or two, that had Moe and the King Toot guy fighting over a dumpster, that I was in for an awful episode. I'm lucky the story didn't focus on them anymore (except at the very end, during the credits, with an actual decent part from Sammy Hagar), and it was an okay episode for it. So, it's pretty standard season 26 fare, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. 

    Thanks for wading through my rambling with me. I'll give this episode a mighty...

5.5/10

• I like the look of the King Toot guy. I'm glad he was barely in the episode, but he was visually different from a lot of Springfield denizens. 
• When Homer first plays the bass in the guitar store, his animation gets all jiggly. I enjoyed this
• Stacko: A Game of Stacking
• Homer bringing his bass everywhere was kinda funny
• In general, I love the sound of the bass, so I aurally enjoyed this episode quite a bit
• The band plays the Springfield Cabbage Festival. I actually thought this was quite funny. Later on, in a montage, they are shown playing the Purple Cabbage Festival, which I enjoyed even more. But then they are shown to be playing the Savoy Cabbage Festival, and I didn't like it as much. They should have stopped at Purple Cabbage
• There's a bit where Homer over-explains (and goes on for too long) about the band Genesis. A perfect summation of a big problem with new Simpsons: jokes that go on for way too long
• The "Gold Parking" bit was pretty funny
• And speaking of the goddamn B-Shaprs, Apu's dressing room has a picture of them. I didn't really care for that
• The ending is nice at least
• HOMER: "Well son, I do have the talent. My mind is full of ideas for great songs I could write...down the names of and then cover". (this was the only quote I wrote down, but I thought it was awesome. Two thumbs up!)

    Here we are, at the end of another of my "reviews" of an episode of The Simpsons from the fabled season 26. I'm trying to FINALLY get caught up to where they are on TV. I'm still six episodes behind, but I plan on watching three-or-four more this week. So that means, next week, I should be ALL CAUGHT UP (now that there's only like five episodes left or something). Thanks for sticking with me, and check back tonight or tomorrow for another new post!

Season 26 Ep 7 Review: Blazed and Confused

Crap and yucky

 

"Blazed and Confused"

    Boy oh boy, where to start with this episode? I've expressed it before, but I'll say it here again: my expectations for season 26 are ankle-low. And in general, minus two bad episodes, season 26 has exceeded the ankle-low expectations (although they probably would hit the bar if it was set at the knees, to continue with this analogy). They have been bad-to-decent, and some have had some good laughs (and even some nice quotes). Sure, so far there have been far more jokes that miss than hit, and there have been segments/bits/jokes/lines that have just been atrociously bad, and you would never see that in the golden era. But, we're 20+ years removed from the golden era. I'm as guilty as anyone for constantly bringing up this golden era. It's like comparing the juiciest Granny Smith apples to the most rotten, plague-infested shit-oranges.
    A slightly better comparison? How about seasons 14 and 15. I've compared at least one episode (Wreck of the Relationship I believe) to some season 14 episodes, and I claimed that the season 26 episode was better than those season 14 ones. I've been (very, very slowly) watching through season 15, and some of these newer episodes are definitely better than some bad season 15 episodes. What exactly is my point? I don't remember. Mainly, season 26 isn't as astronomically bad as I would have imagined. This episode, however, is.
    Let's just start with the couch gag, which may well have been the best part of the episode (yikes). It wasn't too long (although I still feel like it was a second-or-two too long. I'll explain in a short bit) and was amusing. It shows the family, dressed in skiing gear, sit on the couch, which then acts as a ski lift and brings them off-screen. They then reappear, all beat up and injured. Maggie then skis in and does some dumb ski trick. If they trimmed the Maggie bit just one second even, I think this couch gag would fit right in with a season 7-8 episode (oops, comparing it to great seasons again.)
    A brief summary of the episode has a new, mean teacher come to Springfield Elementary to teach Bart's class. Bart tries to prank him, and he (his name is Mr. Lassen) in turn starts being overly mean and cruel to Bart. Bart wants to get back at him, so he and Milhouse find out he is going to be lighting a torch at some "Blazing Guy" festival. They try to embarrass him on camera at the festival to get him fired. He gets fired at the end. And then we all die a little bit.
    Overall, I chuckled maybe three times. There were two decent quotes towards the end. I thought this was going to be the first episode I watched that didn't have any quotes/lines that I deemed worthy to record. There were lots of bad/juvenile/tasteless jokes in this one that I feel are indicative of newer Simpsons. One glaring example is Maggie sucking on the (thankfully non-sharp) end of a drug needle THAT SOMEONE HAD JUST MOMENTS BEFORE OD'ed WITH. Homer, of course, finds this adorable, so he takes a picture of it and texts it to Lenny and Carl. Ugh, awful, awful joke. Another awful Maggie-centric joke (as a side note, I never found the Maggie jokes/bits, even in the classic years, all that great. They really fuck them up now though) was her sucking on the breast of a large wooden naked woman statue. Here's a good sentence I used in my notes: "I really can't believe how unappealing this episode is". That really sums it up pretty nicely.
    I would like to briefly talk about the whole Blazing Guy festival, which took up basically the second half of the episode. It's a play off of the Burning Man festival, I guess? Maybe some of the jokes are lost on me because I don't at all understand this culture. It's just people being super weird for the sake of it? That's how it's portrayed here, anyway. However, this brought about probably the ONLY good thing from this episode: the Blazing Guy segments looks great. They are full of neon colors, crazy costumes (and musical instruments), weird people, and some trippy hallucinations. It kind of game me a Futurama vibe actually. So, put that in the "good" column!
    One final thing before I get to my bullet list. The new teacher character, Mr. Lassen, is not great. I didn't care for him. He's voiced by Willem Dafoe, who I generally like. I think he did a good job in this episode playing a psychotic (so, Willem Dafoe basically).
    This was, by far, the worst episode of season 26 so far. Even the ones I gave 4 ratings too had more laughs than this one (at least Super Franchise Me had the "Freezerino" line). This one had a story I didn't much care for, some really bad jokes/bits, and there was nary a chuckle in sight. I'm giving this one a big fat...

2.5/10

    (and it gets at least a half point because of the cool imagery of the festival)

• Mr. Lassen, in the first two minutes of the episode, cuts his face open with a letter opener on Skinner's desk. Pretty gross
• Bart sneaks a camera into the teacher's lounge. How? And how did no one notice it? I hate the Simpsons with technology
• There's a Jason Vorhees bit that was over-long and unfunny. The one from Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood was way better in every conceivable way
• Marge drinks some strange tea and trips her ovaries off. During one of her trips, she sees the Space Coyote from that very long, non-English titled episode from season 8. Kinda cool, except how in the hell would she ever know about that? That was Homer's own trip! But, who cares?
• Skinner has a picture of Nixon on his wall
• Guy at festival: "These kids are gonna ruin the ceremony. Too bad I'm just an illusion." [he disappears]
• Girl at festival: "Strip him of his nudity!" [Mr. Lassen is then forcefully clothed. Probably funniest bit in the episode]

The amount of medication you'd need to enjoy this episode

Season 26 Ep 6 Review: Simpsorama

Crossoverarama!

Somehow, this should be better

"Simpsorama"

    And here we are, the sixth episode of season 26, and perhaps one of the strangest, almost-amazing, episodes of the incredibly long run of the show. In fact, this was the episode that I originally watched that gave rise to my idea to watch this entire season. I was browsing through our On-Demand service, and I saw that the most recent episode of The Simpsons was a crossover with Futurama. "Well, shucks," I might have said that night. "The Simpsons really sucks now, but Futurama never hit that really crappy low. And it would be great to see one more Futurama adventure." I imagine this was a very easy crossover for them to do anyway. Maybe that's why they did it.
    I very recently read something about how this was one of the worst things The Simpsons have ever done, continuity-wise. Like, how does this make ANY KIND OF SENSE AT ALL TO THE UNIVERSE OF EVERYONE'S FAVORITE FAMILY? Honestly, I don't know. I guess it really doesn't. I mean, we are in season 26. Does continuity really even matter anymore? I'd almost go so far to say as long as they deliver a watchable episode that is funny, has a decent story, and isn't loaded with pointless celebrities and/or secondary characters getting their own episodes, I'm fine with them pissing all over the continuity. I've been OBSESSED with a podcast that someone on Instagram turned me on to. It's called, "Worst Episode Ever" (here is their website. After you finish reading this fine blog post, immediately go there and listen!), and it's two guys that watch episodes of post "classic era" Simpsons (season eleven and beyond) to determine, once and for all, which is the worst episode ever. It's a great podcast, but I just listened to one where they talk about the episode, "The Principal and the Pauper". They generally don't like the continuity (or cannon) of the show being twisted here. I honestly feel that in the season five episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", they don't directly mess with the continuity that had been established the four seasons earlier, but seriously? Homer can just sing acapella and play piano? When basically the rest of the series he can't do either. That has always bugged me, and it's one of my least favorite episodes of the "classic era".
    Wow, nice little tangent. My whole point is this: season 26 Simpsons main goal should be to make me laugh. They are probably too old to be nuanced. If destroying continuity is a way to do that, then I'm all for it!
    [author's note: isn't that, their destroying of continuity (especially with ridiculous craziness) a big complaint I've had with later-season episodes? Ssshhhhh!]

Ever thought you'd see THIS image? Kinda cool

    Okay, let's talk about this episode. Firstly, the couch gag. It was a decent melding of both Futurama and The Simpsons, even though it was weak It starts with the above image (and the absolute AWESOME line ,"A show out of ideas teams up with a show out of episodes"), like the classic Futurama open, until it cuts to a couch gag involving Hedonism bot. In short, it sucks. But what else is new about season 26 couch gags? Let's move on.
    The story was decent this week, if not utterly crazy. It starts with the children of Springfield Elementary making a time capsule. It ends with the future New New York being devastated by things (lizard-kind of things that resemble Bart. Yeah, it's a wild episode) that were spawned from a sneezed-in-by-Bart sandwich from the past. It's silly, and it has more of a Futurama feel, since it deals with time travel. Originally, Bender is sent back in time to kill Homer, since they originally think Homer is the cause of the future destruction (rabbits that look eerily like Matt Groening's Life in Hell rabbits). However, these rabbits transform into the lizard-Bart things. And eventually, everything is okay. Not the best summary, but that's not what you are here for anyway.
    I guess this was a hyped-up episode before it aired. I had never heard of it until after it aired, so I must have missed the hype. Interesting that this aired not long after the Simpsons/Family Guy crossover. That one I had heard about, and wanted to watch. Never got around to it, but eventually I'll see it I'm sure. Even so, it was fun to see all these characters (Futurama and Simpsons) together, and I think they generally worked pretty well. The episode was decently funny and had TONS of visual references/callbacks to old Simpsons and Futurama stuff. That was enjoyable. This episode is not as good as the previous one, which was definitely the high-mark of the season so far. But, it wasn't bad. I'm gonna level with you guys, this one is a little tough for me to write. As I said, this was the first season 26 episode I watched, and I watched it quite a long time ago. I wrote decent notes for it, but I don't have the added benefit of just having watched  it. I feel very rambly in this post, and for that I apologize. Well, I don't apologize that much. I do have a lot to write for my bullet point segment, but I feel my write up is a little lacking, or hollow.
    How about this: if you like Futurama you will probably like this episode. If you have enjoyed season 26 of The Simpsons in the same way as I have so far (pleasantly surprised, but still realizing this show has fallen A LOT), you'll like this episode. For that, I'll give this one...

6/10

• I liked the artist's rendition of the future mayor Quimby (it's a cockroach)
• Homer reads, "How To Read A Book In Bed", in bed. Pretty silly
• Something I really, really, disliked was the trap Homer set, that strung up Bart. Bender and Homer repeatedly slapping Bart to spin his rope, was super dumb. The worst part of the episode
• "Electronic hyper-credits" bit was pretty funny
• I like the Pin Pals reference 
• I really like the joke about Bender just being Homer with an antenna
• The funniest joke in the episode: Bender reveals he's there to kill Homer. He opens his chest, and many weapons pop out (including, but not limited to: a boxing glove, two flamethrowers, a gun, and various sharp instruments). Homer says, "Ah! A boxing glove!" This had me laughing out loud. Bravo!
• "Crossovers are hell" graffiti a nice touch
• A great reference to Fry's puppy (can't remember the name) from "Jurassic Bark"
• Moustache-less Scruffy looks very strange
• Also a Canyonero reference. "11 miles per gallon"
• Bart's birthday is February 23?
• There was a funny joke about Bart and Butterfingers
• Finally, at the very end, Kang and Kodos visit Omicron Persei 8. Seeing them interact with Lrrr and Ndnd was interesting. Not super funny, but still cool

That's all she wrote folks. Thanks for reading! Hopefully this one wasn't too bad. Check back pretty soon (with any luck) for the review of the next episode of the season. *thumbs up*

Season 26 Review: Opposites-A-Frack

"Our water was on FIRE!"

"Opposites-A-Frack"

    Wow. This episode was good. Like, really good. Not "golden era" (not even close, really). But for a recent Simpsons episode, it kind of kicked ass. The story was interesting and (semi) unique for the show; their were some good jokes and quotes; and the whole beginning, in which Patty & Selma try to stop smoking, was FABULOUS.
    [author's note: It seems as if there is no couch gag for this episode. Very weird...]

    The basic story goes a little something like this: Patty and Selma went to Paris and come home early. Since their apartment was still being treated for black mold, they stay with Marge and Homer. The only condition? They CAN'T smoke in the house. After some funny E-cigarette jokes, they end up smoking in the bathroom. But they cause an explosion, because the water is flammable and is actually on fire. This leads Lisa to realize that someone (who could it be?) is fracking in their neighborhood. Obviously it's Mr. Burns. When Lisa's favorite female assemblywoman comes to stop Mr. Burns, the two fall in love. Their affair-despite-their-starkly-opposing-viewpoints reminded me of Jack from 30 Rock and his various "hook-ups" with liberals. This episode, unlike a lot of newer ones, actually had a good balance of secondary characters. Patty and Selma aren't seen after the first six or seven minutes, and the whole time they are in the episode they are funny. Mr. Burns has more screen time, basically in the final 2/3 of the episode, but again, he's not overdone. Even Homer, who I find more and more annoying as the years go on (because the writers make him dumber and dumber and dumber, until he's basically at the point where he has the mental capacity of a bag of rotten carrots) was great in this episode. Overall, a great balance of character screen-time. Mr. Burns's squeeze was an older woman named Maxine. She's okay, but nothing really special or wholly memorable. 

Yuck

    The episode comes to a good conclusion, even though everything is back to status-quo (as so goes The Simpsons, though). The story is sort of far fetched, and the ending gets a little too crazy, but I wouldn't have been surprised to see this kind of story in one of the better seasons. Newer Simpsons tend to go crazy with ridiculous, nonsense, un-realistic stories, but this one I actually liked. There were several times throughout the episode too where I laughed out loud. Yup. I LOL'd. I don't do that much for newer Simpsons episodes. I can actually say that this was the funniest season 26 episode thus far. I HOPE it's a sign of things to come. I'm still dubious though, because overall the season has not been great. But you know what? I'm actually pretty pleased with it. My expectations were virtually nonexistent, so to find a few episodes (this one, the "Treehouse of Horror", and the Relationship one) that are good is shocking, and slightly life-affirming. 

    I don't think there is much else to say, except the "water was on fire" joke wears a bit thin by the end. So far, if I had to suggest one episode from season 26 for someone to watch, it would definitely be this one. I'd also like to say that I know I'm still six episodes (I think) behind of where they are in the season. I haven't watched one in a while, but I'm going to try my damnedest to get caught up in the next few weeks. Bare with me, folks! I have no qualms with giving this episode a...

7/10

    I have quite a list of bullet points. Let's do it to it (have I said that recently elsewhere in this blog?):

• The "hockey fight mirror" gag was pretty humorous
• I also enjoyed the black mold monster arm in Patty & Selma's apartment. It pulls two of the cleaners into some (I assume) hellish black mold void
• P & S's magically appearing cigarette gag was funny. Reminded me of classic Simpsons, actually
• The fracking site is disguised as the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Laughed out loud
• The montage of Homer going around to the townspeople, trying to sell the whole fracking thing, was great. He always has his leg propped up on something. Great gag
• The end, with Burns and Maxine sitting in bed, each looking at their own iPads, being boring, was quite enjoyable. More so than I would have though
• This episode starts off with a great quote. In fact it's the first thing said in the whole episode:
• HOMER: "Woo. Pork chops with gravy! Wait, but today's not pork chop Tuesday, or gravy Thursday!"
• PATTY (talking about E-cigarettes): "Sure, it's got the nicotine, but where's the tar? Where's the stab from every breath that reminds me I'm alive?"
• MOE: "Money is like a job you don't even have to do!"

    And that'll do it folks! I hope you enjoyed reading, because I enjoyed writing. I have my fingers crossed that these good episodes will continue. I do know that the next episode is also pretty decent! I'll try to have it up next week

"Vs." Episodes of The Simpsons, RANKED

This'll re-put Brockway back back on the map!

    As I was doing research for a different Simpsons list (which may or may not end up on this here blog), I realized something: there are an AWFUL lot of episodes that are titled, "something VS something". Twelve of them, as a matter of fact. Over the last several weeks, I've watched and ranked all these episodes. For your enjoyment, please enjoy this awesome list of Simpsons episodes that feature "vs" in their title. Boy, there sure is a lot of conflicts in this show!

[note: they are ranked 1-12, and I've rated each one on a popular 1-10 scale. You know the score: 1 is shit, 10 is orgasmically awesome]

12. "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays" (season 15)

 

"Why am I in this episode?" (may not be an actualy quote)

    Boy, this episode sucks. The storyline, which focuses on the town adopting an anti-children stance because of a riot at a children's concert, is weak and bizarre. The laughs are few and far between, and the entire Roofi (the child performer) concert segment has to be one of the worst segments in Simpsons history. This one can definitely be skipped. I'm giving it a low 3/10. Here are some notes!

• I find pig Latin a fascinatingly strange sounding "language"
• The "devil tobacco lobbyist" bit was kinda funny. 
• Homer misprinting the bumper stickers to read, "Yes No 242" is a good gag, and I distinctly remember laughing my ass off at it when I first watched it in 2004
• "Ladies and gentlemen, let's kill every child...friendly thing in town!" - Lindsay Naegle at town meeting
• "This concert is oversold! It's as if a music promoter acted unscrupulously!" - Marge
• As Bart and Lisa wrestle over the remote to the TV, they flip through several channels. Hank Hill from the TV: "Bobby, I got propane in my urethra."

11. "Homer vs. Dignity" (season 12)

 

Pre-panda rape

    This episode is a slight step above the Marge episode. The storyline isn't great, there aren't many laughs (besides the Smithers Broadway bit, which had me laughing out loud. It probably gets a full point just for that), and it's really just an episode that seems to be trying much too hard to be funny. I'll give this one 5/10. Now, for bullets!

• The episode starts with the family celebrating "Bart's first 'A'". I don't mean to be a joke killer here, but there's no way this is Bart's first 'A'. Don't they care at all about continuity?
• In fact, the entire restaurant segment is weak
• Carl's word-of-the-day calendar, however? Decidedly unweak. I love him thinking "conquer" is "concur" 
• My favorite joke in the whole episode: Mr. Burns makes a remark that Smithers wouldn't know the meaning of the word, "gay" (in the ol timey, "happy" sense). It then immediately cuts to Smithers doing his Malibu Stacy play on Broadway. God I LOVE this joke
• So, Homer is raped by a Panda? That's pretty gross and South Park-y
• "Come on Edna, don't be tardy!" - Skinner
• "Whoa whoa, slow down there maestro. There's a NEW Mexico?" - Burns. I always thought this quote was much funnier when I first saw this episode
• "Ah, my eye! I'm not supposed to get pudding in it!" - Lenny
• "Yes, whether you're Christian or just non-Jewish, everybody loves Santa Claus." - Kent Brockman

10. "Bart vs. Thanksgiving" (season 2)

 

I choose this picture because I thought Kent Brockman looks WEIRD AS HELL here

 

    This is the earliest episode on the list. While I enjoy the second season of the show, they hadn't quite hit their golden stride yet. The animation (and voices) was still a little rough, and while the stories were good, the laughs weren't as plentiful. This is a pretty standard season two episode. The story goes as follows (for the zero of you who haven't seen it): Lisa works really hard on a Thanksgiving centerpiece; Bart ruins it because he's an asshole kid; everyone hates him for awhile; he runs away; everyone is concerned; he comes back; he and Lisa make up and have a touching moment. The story is pretty good, and there are a few laughs, but it's nothing that great. Probably on the lower end of the season two spectrum. I give it a 5/10

• Bizarre focus on Maggie during the beginning of the episode
• Homer's favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys. Yuck
• Bart says, "bitchin'" in this episode. I find this sort of amazing, for a cartoon that aired in November of 1990
• Maggie "talks" in this episode

9. "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" (season 6)

 

I've always liked this guy's face

    This is an episode I've never cared for that much, even though it's smack-dab in the middle of the "golden era". As I have discussed elsewhere on this blog (I think), I'm not a big fan of episodes centering around Grampa Simpson. I love his character (especially his nonsensical, rambling stories), and he can be very, very funny. Episodes that center around him, though, are generally not my favorite. I like the B-story, of all the kids trying to figure out where the adults went, much better. It's silly, but it's got some laughs. I would call this episode "weak". It's got some touching moments at the end, but not enough of the funny throughout. We'll give this bad boy a 6/10. Here are some observed thoughts:

• I love Abe continually talking about/just saying "sex" in his old man voice.
• Homer's re-appearing instant beard
• Grampa Simpson (to Homer): "Think of me when you're having the best sex of your life!"
• [unfortunately, I wrote my notes on actual paper, and the little girl my wife babysits threw up on that paper, so these are the only things I could salvage. I had at least one more thought written down, but I don't know what they are :( ]

8. "Homer vs. Patty and Selma" (season 6)

 

Funny, unless you really think about it

    This was an episode that I didn't remember much from before I re-watched it. There's probably a reason for that. Even though that, like the above episode, this is a season six episode, it's kind of forgettable. There's nothing wrong with the episode, just nothing amazing. The story is good, but it relies too heavily on the presence of Patty and Selma (more side characters that couldn't carry their own episodes). Oh yeah, the Bart in the ballet B-story results in absolutely zero laughs. There's a few good lines (as there is in about 98% of all Simpsons episodes), but I'm overall pretty surprised at how un-funny this one is. 6/10.

• I like Homer's dream about his mysterious invention
• Homer's meeting with the bank loan guy is great too
• After Homer asked P & S for money, the conversation ends with those two laughing maniacally. Homer, too dumb to realize the context of their laughing, just starts laughing hysterically. I LOVE this bit. Homer laughing uncontrollably = comedy gold (usually)
• Love the TV turning on and off on its own
• Of course, this episode has Mel Brooks!
• Homer: "...and who can forget dear Ratboy"
• Homer: "No wonder I didn't hear about Bart being elected World's Greatest Sex Machine" (probably my favorite from this episode)
• Homer (talking to Mel Brooks): "I loved that movie, Young Frankenstein. Scared the hell out of me!"

7. "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" (season 2)

 

Good ol' Devil

    This season two episode I think is way better than the Thanksgiving one. This has a great story, is decently funny, and has some good quotes. I find this episode much more memorable than the previous two I've listed. I would go back to this one as a better season two episode than most. Not a whole lot to write here, besides this one gets a solid 7/10 (it's nice to see Homer do the right thing at the end), so let's just jump right into these black dots:

• I love the biblical intro. Some very funny lines
• The Bout to Knock the Other Guy Out cracks me up every time. Maybe one of my favorite Simpsons things ever
• Also, the tagline for that boxing match is, "This time, it's for money." I LOVE THIS SO VERY MUCH
• Cashier: "I need a price check on two grapes." (a line I still use occasionally)

6. "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" (season 14)

 

 

This had me laughing out loud for at least thirty seconds

    I hadn't watched this episode in a while. When I sat down to re-watch it, I was expecting it to be crappy, as I find a lot of season 14 is. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it's actually a pretty hilarious episode. I mean, I ranked it sixth out of twelve. That's pretty decent. While the story of Bart and Lisa fighting then making up is an old one that has been told in better episodes (and in other episodes in general. See entry #10), it's still got some nice emotion towards the end. And again, it's genuinely very funny. Let's give it a 7/10 and dive right in!

• Satellite installers give Homer a time frame of installation. The time frame is between "now and June". They come in September
• Japanese Friends!
• Maybe the first Futurama character cameo (Bender, during Bart's hallucination)
• I like Homer watching "School Span" and seeing the assembly. Funny stuff
• Bart's acronyms for remembering stuff for tests are pretty funny: Dogs Eat Barf Solely On Wednesday Maybel
• I didn't write them down, but the names of the kids in Bart and Lisa's new class are pretty funny
• Field Trip Memorial
• Bart: "Oh Lord, please strike these mountain folk dead."
• McConnell (Bart/Lisa's new teacher): "Sobbing only pushes Bart's grade higher."
• Homer: "If I wanted reality I'd have this lump looked at."
• McConnell: "Now children, if you look up at the capital dome, you'll see a mural of our state bird, the pot bellied sparrow, eating our state pasta, bowtie." (I laughed out loud at this. Grade A ridiculousness)

5. "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" (season 9)

 

Basically how I imagine Mad Magazine to be run

    I used to hold this episode in very high regard. I remember it being hilarious. I've watched it countless times. This most recent watch-through, I decided this episode is not as funny as I remembered it being. Maybe I just watched it too many times. It still has some great bits, and the story, while zany, is great. The quotes are nothing stellar, however I will say Marge's "Broadway" quote cracks me up. Solid episode, not great. Also, it's a little strange to watch something with the old twin towers. Although the tower jokes are funny. 7/10

• How can you not LOVE the car that Homer builds himself?
• That overhead shot of Homer, sticking by his car, using a stick to try and reach the pizza place. Priceless
• I love the "Kickin' It!" musical
• Homer: "Look everyone! I'm Peter Pants-less". This isn't an amazing quote, but this is the first time my wife had ever laughed at The Simpsons. She's not a fan
• Marge: "The bus station is just ONE of the sights we came to see." 
• Marge: "You know, when I was a girl, I always dreamed of being in a Broadway audience."

4. "Homer vs. the 18th Amendment" (season 8)

 

Not my picture. Courtesy of TVtropes (because I forgot to take one!)

[note: forgot to take a picture for this episode, like a damn bonehead. So I grabbed this one from TVtropes!]   
    This is a pretty funny episode. I love the story a lot. Especially the beginning Saint Patrick's Day bit. I love taking alcohol away from Homer. Usually results in great stuff. Of course, what makes this episode so great is one time character Rex Banner (I actually don't know if he's been used since. I haven't seen many episodes between seasons 18-25. But, considering the way the episode ends, probably not). He's got that old timey 1920's charm (the way he talks, dresses, etc). A website I frequent (and really, really enjoy) has a list of the 11 best one-off Simpsons characters, and Banner is number three on it (read the whole list here. Seriously guys, his website 11 Points, is great and you should all check it out. Especially Simpsons fans). Not that he's number one on that list, but I really wanted to give a shout-out to that site. Anyway, great story, funny bits, and a great one-time character. 8/10 easy.

• Dr. Hibbert's wife's name is Bernice. 
• How many bathtubs can the Simpsons fit in their damn basement? They have at least 15. That's a HUGE basement
• Flinging Rex Banner out of the town with a catapult is a great, crazy touch
• I personally think the "alcohol" quote that Homer delivers at the end is a touch overrated. It's funny, but it's not even the best quote in the episode. 
• Lisa: "No one's pinching his legs!"
• Kent Brockman: " 'What are YOU looking at?' The innocent words of a drunken ten year old."
• Rex Banner (to unidentified officer): "Take that badge out of your mouth!" (I love how stupid the cop looks with the badge in his mouth)

3. "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" (season 5)

(heart)

    Here’s where it REALLY gets good. These final three episodes are some of my favorites of all time (in fact, number one I’m pretty sure IS my favorite of all time). This episode is incredibly fantastic for numerous reasons: the story is great (and it has good, still-relevant commentary on both the toy collecting craze, and sexism), Stacy is a fantastic one-time (I believe one-time) character, there is a huge amount of laughs, hilarious B-story with Grampa getting a job, and overall this episode just whales it out of the park. If nothing else, it has the classic scene where Smithers boots up his computer, and a (seemingly) naked Mr. Burns pops up, with the infamous, “Hello, Smithers. You’re quite good at turning me on”. And Smithers’s hilarious response to Lisa: “Um…you probably should ignore that.” God, a true classic. Anyway, this one is an easy 9/10. Please enjoy these bullet points!

•  Maaaaatlock!
• I really love all of Grampa Simpson’s antics in this episode. Maybe the best Grampa episode ever?
•  As I mentioned, Smithers’s start-up screen for his computer. So good I’m listing it twice
• Krusty’s doll-line reading is an underrated hilarious bit for the episode
•  Customer: “Damn sandwich took a bite out of me!”

2. "Bart vs. Australia" (season 6)

The knifey-spooney championship

    This one is a step up from “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy”. This one is laugh-out-loud funny, and the jokes come a mile-a-minute. Of course, this one has one of my favorite silly Simpsons bits of all time (which one could it be? Check the bullet list for full info!). The story is zany, silly, and fairly unrealistic (even for The Simpsons), but it doesn’t feel forced and unfunny like the “out there” storylines of later seasons. Everything about this episode is perfect. I don’t have a single complaint about this masterpiece. Without further adieu, here’s some stuff! (oh yeah, this one is a 9.5/10)

• I LOVE how long international numbers are. This always cracks me up
• Speaking of LOVING crazy jokes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Hitler joke. It’s one of those crazy, nonsensical jokes that the writers just throw in. These are some of my favorite jokes of “golden era” Simpsons
• I really enjoy the depiction of Australian people
• What is one of my favorite silly Simpsons bits of all time? Well, it’s not the Hitler joke. What could it be? Hhmm…
• …it’s the knifey-spooney gag! Kills me every time. Top five Simpsons gags of all time
• Hey, pobody’s nerfect in Australia
• I also really enjoy Marge trying to order a coffee at the pub.
• Conover: “Disparaging the boot is a boot-able offense.”
• Clerk (talking about bullfrogs): “What? That’s an odd name. I’d have called them ‘chazz-wuzzers’.”
• Australian guy: “900 dollary-doo’s?!”

1. 1. "Marge vs. the Monorail" (season 4)

More of that zaniness I love so much

    Well, we knew it would come to this. This is easily the number one episode of The Simpsons that features something versing something else in the title. Despite my undying love of The Simpsons, I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about my absolute favorite episode of all time. I’m pretty sure it’s this one. It might be the easy pick, but come on, this episode is the definition of comedy perfection! There’s nonsense (the giant magnifying glass, escalator to nowhere, etc); there’s a good guest star making fun of himself (Leonard Nimoy. I love how he just disappears, a la Star Trek, at the end of the episode); there’s a great, ridiculous story (monorail being installed in Springield); there’s an amazing musical number (“The ring came off my pudding can/take my pen knife my good man!”); there’s like hundreds of great quotes (“Chat away. I’ll just amuse myself with some pornographic playing cards”) ; there’s nice sight gags (conjoined twins getting split apart by the anchor); what else? Jeesh, the list goes on and on. Since I can’t say anything else that probably hasn’t been said already, let’s just take a look at this stuff I wrote down on a (now vomit-soaked) piece of paper. Oh, the arbitrary rating? 10/10 obvi!

• I like the, “eat who I eat” line quite a bit
• Krusty has a son with some random woman? Seems perfectly in line with his sleazy character
• Lureen Lumpkin is briefly in this one. She sounds like lunchlady Doris. Lureen Lumpkin may be my LEAST favorite Simpsons character of all time. In fact, “Colonol Homer” is probably in my top ten least favorite episodes
• Homer (referencing a large family of possums): "I call the big one Bitey"
• Carl (talking to Lenny about what exactly the plant does with their old toxic waste): “Either way, I’m sleeping good tonight!” (Lenny and Carl high five)
• Unfortunately, this was another page that I lost some of my notes on due to vomit. I'm pretty bummed about this. That's the lesson kids: don't ever write anything down, EVER. ALWAYS use your phone to take notes for your blog
• But, you've all seen the episode. You love it. Just go watch it, straightaway!
  
  
  
  
  
  

  There you have it! The idea of making very specific Simpsons-themed lists appeals to me greatly, so expect more in the future. I may have a few ideas. Anyway, thanks for reading!

Season 26 Ep 4 Review: Treehouse of Horror XXV

Marvin Monroe approves

"Treehouse of Horror XXV"

    Here we have it: another year, another Halloween special. I'm gonna say it right off the bat: this is a pretty good episode. Generally, even in the Simpsons' crappiest seasons, you can usually rely on the Halloween episodes to at least be semi-entertaining. This year is no exception. I will say, I only enjoyed two of the three segments. Maybe I'm just dumb, but the Clockwork Orange parody really left me cold and annoyed. I'll get into more detail below, but I'd call it one of the worst ToH segments I've ever seen. Yikes.
    The episode begins like the beginning of any number of late night talk shows. There's an announcer rattling off lists of celebrities that would appear in this year's installment, while clips of the past 24 iterations of the Halloween episodes scroll past. At the end, all the dead bodies of the celebrities mentioned spell out, "Treehouse of Horror". Meh, it's a decent opening. Unlike the other couch gags so far, it's okay that this one is long. It isn't as long as the absurd (and awesome) couch gag from "Clown in the Dumps", and it doesn't overstay its welcome. At least you get to see brief glimpses of great former episodes.
    For this episode, I'll give short rundowns of the three segments here. Let's "get-r-dun" (still relevant?)

School Is Hell

 

Love these demons!

    Bart and Lisa get pulled into Hell, where they attend the school there. As you would imagine, Bart excels. Eventually, he has to torture (which is part of the curriculum) Homer, who is fully supportive of the idea (since Bart is finally doing good at school). The story is decent, although I'm pretty tired of the novelty of Bart doing well in school (no matter where it may be). However, this is a great segment for something that I generally don't look for in a Simpsons episode: the look. All the demons, the monsters, the school itself, the various Hell versions of normal Springfield denizens, it's all awesome. The school really looks like how you might imagine Hell looking. Even for a cartoon, there's some fairly disturbing imagery and disgusting stuff. I could call some of it horrific even. This episode has a few laughs, and a decent story, but I would say this segment is worth watching just for the imagery. This segment gets a 6/10 from me! A few quick notes:

• One of Bart's Hell courses: "Keeping the Yankees in first place". 
• Homer: "Bart, you went to Hell and came back a winner, like Jesus."

A Clockwork Yellow

 

Not the best picture, but this segment doesn't deserve a good pic!

 

     This is a parody of A Clockwork Orange. I haven't seen the movie, so perhaps some of these jokes are lost on me. I don't even feel confident giving a summary. But, let's try anyway: Moe, Lenny, Carl, and Homer are a band of delinquents. Moe drops out, and sometime later (months or years, I don't remember. Or care), gets beat up by a new band of delinquents. So Moe gets the old band back together (so to speak), and they do...something? I don't remember. I really, really disliked this segment. I thought it was dull, boring, unfunny, and annoying. I don't think the accents are great either. This one just bugs me. I'll give it a very generous 3/10 (mainly because of one joke which I really enjoyed. See below).

• Homer brings Marge back to his pad. Marge thinks they are gonna have sex, but it turns out to be a montage of Homer doing literally everything else but sexing up Marge. She sits bored on the bed. It's kinda funny
• The iPhone perspective bit, towards the end, is my favorite joke of the episode. Pretty funny.

 

 

The Others

 

   The Simpsons family is being hassled by ghosts! Oh no! It turns out it's their Tracey Ullman era selves. God, I LOVE the meta-ness of this episode. All the regular Simpsons members end up killing themselves so they can be ghosts along with the Ullman-Simpsons. The story is pretty good overall, and this is just a damn hoot. The funniest of the three segments. But that doesn't even matter! The Simpsons meeting their old 1987 Tracey Ullman selves (even the voices match up pretty good with those very first Simpsons characters) is too good. This one definitely gets an easy 8/10. Let's check it out:

• The Married-with-Children-on-every-channel gag was pretty funny
• Marvin Monroe cameo! How fucking awesome
• The end, with the different variations of the Simpsons family (Adventure Time Simpsons, Japanese manga Simpsons, Lego Simpsons, etc) is great
• Overall just really fun, and I love all the callbacks
• Tracey Ullman Homer: "What kind of afterlife is this? Can't even strangle my dead kid!"

    That's it folks. This was a pretty good episode. It's not big on the laughs (most come during that final segment), but the Hell-imagery and monsters of the first segment, and the meta-ness and laughs of the final segment, make this a great entry into the ongoing Treehouse of Horror anthology. That Clockwork Orange segment notwithstanding, this was a solid episode. So, all even numbered episodes are gonna be good? Is that is? Doesn't make me look forward to the next one, episode five! This episode overall receives from me the almighty rating of:

6/10

    If that second segment could have been even mediocre, I'd have no qualms with giving this one a strong 8/10. Sorry this one took so long to be written. There just are not enough hours in the damn day. Anyway, thanks for reading, and expect the next one up soon!