The Simpsons Thread (Worst. Thread. Ever!)

[Andrew]

I don't think there's any doubt the last section was a Muppets homage.

[jenroe962002]

sir Andrew do you have WOS?

[Andrew]

I'm guessing you mean this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Springfield

No, I don't collect any of that stuff.

[jenroe962002]

yea. alright

[jenroe962002]

is the new episode good?

[shadowgrin]

Watch it for yourself?

[buzzy]

Homer being an informant in a prison was such a great, new idea for a story.

[jenroe962002]

Watch it for yourself?

just asking if its good

[Andrew]

It had its moments but it's been done before. Even the heavy handed way they returned to the Status Quo and ensured Fat Tony would live on was reminiscent of what they did with Snowball II. Yeah, yeah, it's just a TV show, one with its best days behind it, but that doesn't mean we can't criticise it or nitpick the nitpickable. It was nice to have Fat Tony and the Springfield Mob have one of their larger roles but given the payoff, maybe it would've been better if they hadn't. The season has taken a dip since those first few episodes that I quite liked, but hopefully it picks up again.

[el badman]

I agree that this episode was certainly nothing new. The wig thing was pretty funny, but there weren't that many standout moments in this one, and Homer getting so attached to Fat Tony was way too rushed.

Even the heavy handed way they returned to the Status Quo and ensured Fat Tony would live on was reminiscent of what they did with Snowball II.

I think they must have realized that they've had several inconsistencies in the last couple of seasons, which really shows that they don't necessarily pay attention to everything that was said and done before. So rather than sticking to a "major" decision (Fat Tony being dead for good), they have to resort to that type of gateway card. While it was not necessarily a bad one, it really feels like an admission that they would probably screw up at some point and contradict this last episode by bringing Fat Tony back, even for a short appearance. I got mixed feelings about this...

[jenroe962002]

this episode makes me wanna watch the episode where Bart was mistakenly accused of killing Seymour

[Andrew]

I think they must have realized that they've had several inconsistencies in the last couple of seasons, which really shows that they don't necessarily pay attention to everything that was said and done before. So rather than sticking to a "major" decision (Fat Tony being dead for good), they have to resort to that type of gateway card. While it was not necessarily a bad one, it really feels like an admission that they would probably screw up at some point and contradict this last episode by bringing Fat Tony back, even for a short appearance. I got mixed feelings about this...

Could be, but they probably never intended to kill off Fat Tony for good, just as they'd likely never kill off Sideshow Bob for good...as long as Joe Mantegna and Kelsey Grammer remain enthusiastic about reprising those recurring roles. I'd say it's more just them having their cake and eating it too, restoring the status quo with a dash of deus ex machina.

[Andrew]

The latest episode was alright. The story wasn't superb, once again falling victim to a somewhat rushed ending with a lack of build to that point. It didn't seem to know whether it wanted to be a Bart story, a Marge story or a Bart/Marge story and that lack of focus hurried the plot along too rapidly at times and led to the characters seemingly making snap decisions. Again, this is where a brief intro/couch gag would help by adding another minute to the show and a couple of extra scenes for a better flow to the story. The premise itself wasn't too bad though and while the execution was a bit shaky, it was still coherent and enjoyable enough.

I thought there were more hits than misses as far as the jokes were concerned. The dodgeball game and its fallout were amusing, including the brawl in the teacher's lounge and the Skinner/Chalmers scene. Homer's awkward interactions with the other dads and the ending with Flanders and Comic Book Guy's scenes were the other highlights for me.

[el badman]

I actually enjoyed this one quite a lot. The story was what it was, and once again it was a certainly rushed here and there, but at least most of the jokes were quite good. Skinner and Chalmers are always epic, and Homer doing his taxes on the toilets was pretty good too. I liked it.

[Andrew]

Yeah I liked that joke too. Skinner/Chalmers stuff has been pretty consistent in delivering laughs in the last few seasons, though I do miss the days when Skinner was portrayed with a bit more competence. Same goes for pretty much every professional in the town, I guess.

[shadowgrin]

I do miss the days when Skinner was portrayed with a bit more competence. Same goes for pretty much every professional in the town, I guess.

Even Dr. Nick?

[Andrew]

Hence the qualifier "pretty much". For some characters it's what makes them funny, then and now; when it can be said of everyone in the town, it dilutes the joke.

[Andrew]

The latest episode was kind of light on the laughs, with the Skinner/Chalmers stuff once again being one of the highlights. I was kind of glad to see a short opening as I figured they'd be able to put the extra time to use and flesh out the story a little so the ending doesn't have to be rushed but that was kind of squandered by having the two plots. They were kind of tied together but I really think they could've gotten two decent episodes of those ideas. Alyson Hannigan's appearance was a waste, for the two lines she had they might as well have had Tress MacNeille do the voice. The ending was amusing but on the whole, it wasn't worth tacking that subplot on. Again, I would've preferred that be a separate episode.

As for the main plot, Moe's Tavern getting a makeover has been done before (and I did enjoy how they referenced those past episodes) but the pairing of Moe and Smithers was something different and it was pretty much the first real Smithers episode, since Homer the Smithers was just as much about Homer as it was Smithers (arguably more so). It wasn't done too badly even with the subplot getting in the way more than it contributed to the episode but for me it wasn't on par with the first few episodes of the season. I did like the hidden/non-montage scenes though, that joke was kind of clever.

[el badman]

I was a little disappointed with that last one. I thought most of the ideas in it had been already brought up a hundred times before, like Bart's evil plans to acquire what he wants and him eventually enjoying doing stuff with Homer. The Chinese jokes were pretty weak too.
Mediocre compared to last week's episode, and mostly the one before that.

[Lamrock]

It's still possible to be disappointed by this show? It's always turrible. The jokes are unfunny in a way that is just aggravating.

[Andrew]

I was a little disappointed with that last one. I thought most of the ideas in it had been already brought up a hundred times before, like Bart's evil plans to acquire what he wants and him eventually enjoying doing stuff with Homer. The Chinese jokes were pretty weak too.
Mediocre compared to last week's episode, and mostly the one before that.

Yeah, I didn't much care for it either, one of the weakest in a season that actually hasn't been all that bad by recent standards and indeed has had a few strong episodes for this far past the classic era. The send-ups of 80s sitcoms made me smile but the Bart/Homer stuff has been done so much better before, without the need for a silly, over-the-top terrorist/spy plot. A Bart/Homer story where Homer apes parenting techniques he sees in old re-runs isn't a bad idea, but they took it to a place they didn't need to go.

[el badman]

I kinda liked last night's episode. Nothing amazing, but I thought it was a solid episode with good pacing and mostly funny jokes. Carl and Lenny dating each others' sisters, and people's reaction to Marge's grey hair in the supermarket were some of the highlights for me.

[Andrew]

I'm with you, much better than the latest episode and one of the stronger ones in a season that I still feel has been a bit better than recent years, particularly at the start as I've mentioned before. The jokes felt a bit snappier than usual, not on par with the classic era of course but along with the solid, well-paced plot it was pretty enjoyable.

[el badman]

What a weird episode. With so many clips and shots to celebrities and movies, it almost felt like a Family Guy episode at times...Some parts were way too long (Ricky Gervais imo) but I gotta admit that some of the clips and references were hilarious (like the French and Russian short movies, and the Pixar one of course).

[Andrew]

With all due respect to Ricky Gervais, I thought his appearance was just terrible. I didn't think much of the episode he wrote a few seasons back and this was more of the same. I liked the parodies and the callback to Angry Dad but on the whole this one was pretty ordinary. As with Family Guy, I liked last week's episode better.