The Simpsons Thread (Worst. Thread. Ever!)

[Andrew]

Thing is, they could avoid abrupt endings by trimming down the opening. They had the full intro with a long couch gag on this one, taking about a minute and a half out of the episode. Knowing that's a trick to account for an episode that runs short - they did it in the classic era too and have said so in the DVD commentary - I say put that time to better use and cut down the intro in favour of more show, especially when you need some extra time to develop the resolution.

[jenroe962002]

the latest episdoe was better than the season premiere

[benji]

I didn't mind this one, it wasn't great, but I didn't hate it for a change.

SPELLING MEET F Y R E.

You also heard about the eleven dollars an hour?

[el badman]

Yet another awkward episode. The brother-sister rivalry thing is just starting to get very stale, and it really feels like they're basing a bunch of forced, far-fetched stories around this concept at this point. A few good lines here and there, but quite bland overall, and with another semi-preachy ending.

[benji]

On the other hand, the couch gag.



Kobe must have been involved.

[Andrew]

Yet another awkward episode. The brother-sister rivalry thing is just starting to get very stale, and it really feels like they're basing a bunch of forced, far-fetched stories around this concept at this point. A few good lines here and there, but quite bland overall, and with another semi-preachy ending.

I'd have to disagree there, I thought it was a fairly down to earth story (admittedly treading familiar ground, but nowhere near marriage crisis plot levels) and while it pales in comparison to any classic Bart/Lisa episode, I liked it for what it was. Milhouse's line about his parents being brother and sister was one of my favourite jokes in a while, being so unexpected though something they've joked about in the commentary before given the character designs. I liked the callback to "Homer at the Bat" as well.

[Oznogrd]

On the other hand, the couch gag.



Kobe must have been involved.

Seriously i think the banksy opening credits is the best thing to come out of the show in 4-5 years

[Andrew]

I differ from you guys there as well, I wasn't too thrilled by it.

[jenroe962002]

excited for Treehouse of Horror although its on Nov. 7

[benji]

Baseball.

Last one with the sabermetrics was fun, though I might be biased.

[Andrew]

Not a bad Halloween ep in my opinion, not bad at all. Perhaps I've lowered my standards for the show knowing it can never recapture the classic era, perhaps some of the jokes and stories have been a little better or perhaps it's a little of both, but so far I've enjoyed this season more than any season in some time. These aren't classics, but I'm finding them more palatable nevertheless.

Fun intro with Frink and The Office references, though it did run a little long. The first segment was my favourite with the third behind it, though I enjoyed the ending of the second segment with the Clockwork Orange parody and the "the title for this should be 'Recipe for Murder'" joke. Milhouse giving up and letting go of the scrabble tile in the first segment was hilariously dark, as was the The Count feasting on Big Bird in the Twilight parody. A good mix of gore and humour in my book, thumbs up for me.

[el badman]

I can't say I enjoyed the first two segments all that much, just thought they were okay, but the last one was quite good. I liked the shots at the Twilight hype and the ending, with Homer too fat as a bat to fly.

[Andrew]

Solid episode, they haven't done a whole lot of Lisa/Marge plots over the years which is a shame as it's an area they really could've done an outstanding job in back in the classic era. As it was they handled it fairly well in this one, the resolution was a little abrupt and could've used a couple of extra scenes where Lisa struggled with her decision to keep going to the new school, kind of like "Lisa's Pony" way back in Season 3. Still, it wasn't done too badly and it felt relatively fresh which is saying something for Season 22.

Bart's subplot was decent too, though my inner Simpsons geek cringes a bit whenever they ignore/re-write the history between Bart and Nelson. Marge's line about not picking Nelson to be a bully was kind of funny in the context of the episode but I must admit I immediately flashed back to an episode a few years back when she asked Nelson "Aren't you my son's bully?" and countless other Bart/Nelson episodes where Marge knows exactly who Nelson is and what he's like, all the way back to "Bart the General" in Season 1.

Like Family Guy, that's five enjoyable episodes in a row for me to start the new season and it's been a really long time since I'd say that of The Simpsons.

[el badman]

the resolution was a little abrupt and could've used a couple of extra scenes

I've noticed that too with pretty much every new episode at this point. I don't know, but to me it really shows that there's something off with the writing, or at least with how they're managing the extra intermission during the show.
As far as this show, I thought it was pretty good too. Can't seem to find too many lol moments these days, but after disasters like the Israel episode last season, I guess I'm satisfied with decent episodes like that last one.

[Andrew]

Speedy resolutions, with a healthy does of deus ex machina, have been a common problem for years and still pop up in some of the better episodes in the post-classic era. Having said that, looking back at an episode like "Lisa's Pony" the resolution came about fairly quickly. Lisa discovered Homer was working a second job at the Kwik-E-Mart and the financial burden of owning the pony was made clear to her, there was a scene where she watched Bart torment a sleep-deprived Homer at the Kwik-E-Mart, another where she gave up the pony then she returned to the Kwik-E-Mart to tell Homer she'd given up the pony. That's still a fairly quick resolution and that was a great episode during a time when the series really could do no wrong, so those quick endings have worked for the show before.

As it stands, this one wasn't a huge offender and was handled pretty well by current standards, like I said it could've used a couple of extra scenes where Lisa had to think about her decision. Because they didn't have a full intro or long couch gag it wasn't nearly as rushed as some endings are forced to be and anytime they avoid a silly action sequence to resolve everything they're setting themselves up with a decent chance for a good ending.

You're absolutely right about the downright awful episodes going a long way in appreciating decent episodes. They lower expectations and standards to a certain extent but even with that in mind I think this season has been fairly good so far; past disappointments do make it look even better though. If the show can still have its funny moments, stories that can hold your interest for half an hour and occasionally find some relatively unexplored ground to walk, like a Lisa/Marge plot, that's not bad for 22 seasons and almost 500 episodes.

But yeah, the fewer eps like "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed", the better.

[Andrew]

Well, that was...weird.

Like Family Guy, that's the first episode of the new season I haven't cared for all that much (at least by current standards). Not a terrible idea for an episode I suppose, certainly a different take on a Mr Burns episode but perhaps a little too out there. I might like it a bit better after watching it again but for now, not quite as enjoyable as the first five eps.

[el badman]

I actually kinda liked it. The way Mr Burns lost his marbles was pretty lame and the Dick Cheney stuff didn't really make for anything unpredictable, but I thought the overall pacing made it much more enjoyable, with more jokes altogether and with the action not too focused on just one of the Simpsons. I had a better time with it than with the previous episodes so far this season.

[Andrew]

I have to give special mention to the title of the latest ep. They've really stretched for puns in titles for years now but "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?" is one of the better ones in its own slightly twisted way.

As for the episode itself, I liked it a bit better than last week but "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life" (the fifth ep) remains my favourite of the season. Homer's horror bedtime story, The Skinner/Chalmers stuff ("I'm doing it with Chalmers"/"She was on the rebound from Willie!"), Nelson's mother and the clown, the I&S cartoon and "Pa! You've got to see this!" (reveals gravestone) "Oh, right. I forgot" were the highlights for me. The plot wasn't too bad, though it took a while to get to the stuff with Santa's Little Helper meaning another resolution that was kind of speedy and considering they went for the long intro in this one, that needn't have been the case. Still liked it on the whole though.

I'm going to have to watch last week's episode again though, see if I like it a little better upon a second viewing.

[el badman]

I didn't like this one as much as last week's. To me, it was back to the odd pacing, with some seemingly forced sad moments. I did like the Skinner/Chalmers joke though, and the army guy receiving the pigeon's message "...there is a bomb in your helmet..." *explosion*

[Andrew]

I'd agree that pacing could have been better, but in that regard I didn't think it was that different to last week's ep.

[jenroe962002]

im kinda feeling good about the episodes for this season i think it's much better from last season.

[Andrew]

I wasn't too impressed with the latest one. I do like the non-canonical/fantasy/story episodes like THOH and other episodes that have used a similar format but this time around the stories were pretty bland. I did like the last segment though, the homage to the Muppet Show. I wonder if Katy Perry's outfit was intended to be a reference to the controversy over her Sesame Street appearance which was apparently pulled from the television airing because parents complained about her cleavage. That last bit with her and the Moe puppet produced what is probably one of the most risque lines in the history of the series, which did make me laugh. Forgettable episode except for the last segment which was decent.

[el badman]

I wonder if Katy Perry's outfit was intended to be a reference to the controversy over her Sesame Street appearance which was apparently pulled from the television airing because parents complained about her cleavage.

I'm assuming so, that'd be pretty random otherwise.

That last bit with her and the Moe puppet produced what is probably one of the most risque lines in the history of the series

That's what I thought too, I was like "hold on, did she actually say that?".

I missed the very first segment but the rest was alright, I enjoyed the one with Martha Stewart the most, pretty fun stuff.

[Andrew]

I wonder if it was an adlib they just threw in at the end for one last joke. Pretty funny in any case, definitely not something I'd expect to make it to air on The Simpsons.

[jenroe962002]

lol at the latest episode I think they are paying respect to The Muppets and I think the last joke was cool