Reviews - Season 17
Season 17 marked the finest season of the show since Season 13, with respectably long streaks of quality episodes that warmed the hearts and hopes of many fans. Experiments and original ideas mostly succeeded, while reinventions and combinations of old concepts sometimes made what was old seem new again. But the show's newfound consistency did not come with simultaneous solutions for the problems the show picked up during the Jean run - spotty plotting, awkward humor, and a general loss of the cohesion and focus in both story and comedy that made the show special. While the season produced enough great new entries for the "Simpsons" archives to mark a real improvement, no headway was made towards solving the show's most significant problems.GABF18 "Bonfire of the Manatees"
"Bonfire of the Manatees" carries an unfair burden, to be sure. The first few episodes of this season will mark, in my own mind and in a few others', the final chance for the show to prove itself worthy of continued admiration (or even viewing). This brief stay before an execution of many remaining fan loyalties lends each of the first nascent steps of Season 17 a weight not typically meant to be carried by the cast-offs of the previous production run. The kick-off to these crucial weeks, thhis episode, is certainly pleasant enough, and would have been a bright spot in some of the more terrible stretches of Seasons 14-16. With a clean slate, however, the problems are less easily forgiven. Even after 16 seasons, the writers are still making mistakes that should have been fixed early on in the production process, rather than being animated and stuck before television viewers' eyes. Symptomatic was the episodes' rampant unrealism. While occasional free license is accorded to an animated show, an episode with a bear, chicken, and entire pack of manatees acting like little human beings with a language problem is taking it too far. Jokes like that can work in small doses, and have certainly been used as far back as Season 2, but such rampant over-use of "animals acting like people" gags is both lazy and condescending. Even more infuriating was the third act, wherein a reasonably tight plotline slowly but surely unraveled. The coincidences, quick contrivances, and madcap pace made the episode's "touching" make-up between Marge and Homer seem completely ridiculous, and the gonzo Burns-and-Smithers finale dropped one level further to "embarassing". That the writers in recent years seem to have forgotten the effectiveness of sane plot resolutions and a nice, tight one-liner to close things off isn't remotely forgivable at this stage; at this point, these problems have been popping up consistently since Season 10 at the latest. It's difficult to stay patient, waiting for the show to begin a real effort towards resurgence, when the same problems seem to be ensured to repeat ad infinitum. The hardest part about writing a negative review, too, is that the episode was actually quite funny before it fell apart. Many jokes worked, and the humor seemed blessedly closer to the tenacious "The Simpsons" of old, rather than "Futurama"-style grabs for muted chuckles. Homer's interactions with the "hick" country branch of his clan and Homer and Lisa watching the football game particularly stood out. The guest vocal work was effective, too, and the plot managed some good self-referencing when it wasn't veering too far towards absurdity. That I have to tear into a reasonably funny episode is saddening, but I just can't stand it anymore. If this episode weren't a Season 16 holdover, I'd be ready to proclaim the show beyond real saving; as is, I can only hope that the episodes more recently written will show some real improvement.Grade: C+
GABF16 "The Girl Who Slept Too Little"
So after last week's all-over-the-place, rapid-fire plot, we get one of the most contained "Simpsons" episodes in years. The episode pretty much stuck to the graveyard and two rooms in the house, with a brief interlude at the stamp museum. As a model of minimalist use of plot and setting, this episode succeeds sensationally. The extremely contained setting and the bare-bones plot allowed time for a lot of diversions while still satisfactorily wrapping up events. This was a refreshing change of pace from many recent episodes, with their wasted first acts and jammed-together finales. The extra time that the simple plot and consequently relaxed pace of the episode provided was used to varying degrees of effectiveness. Some tangential scenes, such as the Stamp Museum and the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, were full of laughs. While a silent version of the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon would have been the funniest I&S in the show's history, even with dialogue included it was a gag that packed a punch. For the most part, this stayed true throughout the episode: the outright jokes, though few in number, were reliably funny. Still, some of the divergences from the main plot contributed less than others. The "Land of the Wild Beasts" scenes never really clicked as a send-up of "Where The Wild Things Are", possibly due to the awkward re-titling and possibly due to a poor premise in general. Given the amount of time they ate up, especially in the third act, the misfire there was a big problem. The scenes with the cops in the graveyard, too, were uncharacteristically weak; while the police force usually provides the best laughs of an episode, their interactions this time were entertaining solely due to the sheer wackiness, rather than because of any "good jokes". A final mention should be made of another problem in the third-act graveyard scenes: the go-nowhere "Graveskeeper Billy" sub-plot, which was never resolved or even made significant. The misfires that abounded in the third act, however, can be forgiven one reason: they came about out of good old-fashioned experimentation and an efficient use of time. After seeing an episode with no plot holes, absolutely fantastic animation, and jokes that emphasized quality over quantity, I can forgive far more in the way of third-act problems than I usually am able to, especially since it's fun to see a show still playing around and trying new things in its 17th season. If the writers can find a way to combine the superb construction and execution of this episode with some more comedically robust material, we might just be seeing a return to "Simpsons" episodes you can be proud to show your friends.Grade: B
GABF19 "Milhouse Of Sand And Fog"
A point must be made clear before proceeding: "Milhouse Of Sand And Fog" shouldn't have aired. This isn't as terrible a declaration as one might think; if I could choose to unmake the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, I would probably do so, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the heck out of "Revenge of the Sith". That being said, "Milhouse Of Sand And Fog" was a mistake. Its airing did irreperable harm in three distinct ways to the series. It also failed to offer anything of any value, comedic or otherwise, to offset the damage. The first offense came with what may have been the worst joke in the history of the series: Dr. Hibbert and the "black" church. For a joke so astoundingly limited in its potential for humor, it managed to be a monolith of bad taste. The writers managed to tear down a legacy of years of avoiding stupid, racist stereotypes for the sake of... what, exactly? Seeing Dr. Hibbert say "Amen"? With similarly limited regard for cost vs. reward, the writers flagrantly ignored "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and reunited Luann and Kirk. In doing so, they killed off the chance of future jokes involving Kirk's bachelorhood and Milhouse's divorced-child trauma, both of which have provided many laughs. In return, we get one of the show's worst characters permanently restored. Luann Van Houten is never going to make up for the laughs leeched from future episodes by this plot point. Again, I have to wonder whether the writers thought this one though. Finally, in an episode fundamentally changing a comedic dynamic that has lasted for eight seasons, the writers didn't even spend a full episode on it. The third bit of permanent damage came with the jaw-droppingly stupid feud between Homer and Marge, and its daytime soap opera conclusion. Hearing Marge yell about trust over a god-damned waterfall marked the point at which the show officially killed any credibility of "Homer & Marge fight" plotlines. It's a useful narrative device that has made for a lot of great episodes over the years, but this stupid an iteration of it, coming just two weeks after another silly version, spent the last bit of capital the writers had with their audience. New ideas have to start coming for the show to still be worth airing. After those three hits, it's almost besides the point to review the episode. The writers cut away a large part of the show's integrity, cut off for good two sources of solid jokes, and made such a stupefyingly bad Homer & Marge plotline as to make any further use of the plotline a knock against any future episode; it doesn't really matter if they had good jokes (which they didn't) or a reasonably good plot (which they did). What matters is that an episode like this, like none since "The Principal And The Pauper", is indicative of a very real lack of foresight and caring somewhere amidst the production staff. I can only hope that this episode was a one-time lapse. It wasn't that it was awful; I just wish it had never existed.Grade: D
GABF17 "Treehouse of Horror XVI"
Well, after the long break to allow FOX to air postseason baseball, "The Simpsons" returns with the annual Halloween episode. And, to my great surprise, it was the best Halloween episode I've seen in years. Crucially, all three acts held up. There wasn't a weak entry, only a weaker one, so the episode managed to entertain largely uninterrupted for its entirety. Consistent standouts throughout the episode came in the animation and the humor. The art direction for the "Treehouse of Horror" series has always been stand-out, and with the animation improvements made to the show as a whole in the last few seasons the Halloween episodes are becoming truly exceptional. The implosion of the universe in the opening, the perfect parodies of shots from "A.I." in the first bit, and the various ideas for costumes (and the ensuing transformations) in the third act were all pulled off well. Similarly steady was the humor, which was a surprise. A hallmark of Al Jean-era episodes has been inconsistent humor, but this episode delivered joke after joke that clicked. Even more importantly, the jokes were of the "intelligent absurdity" and "clever wordplay" variety, a welcome improvement over the muted silliness and unrestrained awkwardness of the comedy in many other recent episodes. A well-animated episode that was consistently humorous is usually more than enough for me with regards to newer episodes, so the episode's flaws didn't take away too much. The pacing issues in the third act (which seemed too concerned with a grand tour and not enough with a story), the relative lightness of laughs in parts of the second act, and the somewhat awkward closing hurt the episode, but not enough to take away its numerous good aspects. I viewed this episode as a crucial one in terms of establishing whether or not "The Simpsons" still has legs. The staff really delivered here, and I can't help but be excited for what next week will bring. It's been a long time since that feeling has been so strong.Grade: A-
GABF20 "Marge's Son Poisoning"
"Marge's Son Poisoning" had a lot of aspects to like within its twenty-plus minutes. The humor for the most part was consistent and the jokes came at a steady pace. This alone sets the episode apart from many of its peers in recent seasons, other problems aside. Where the episode disappointed was in its plot, especially its conclusion. The sub-plot of Homer building up one arm, and Moe capitalizing on it, couldn't help but feel like a retread of "The Homer They Fall". Nonetheless, it made for mostly organic parallel action to the main plotline, with the awkward exception of Homer comforting Marge after her and Bart's parting of ways. Bart's motivations for interacting with, shunning, and taking back Marge all felt genuine, too. The aforementioned problems with the ending were serious ones, however, and detracted from the episode significantly. Principal Skinner and his mother's relationship seemed to come out of left field as an influence on Marge's thinking, and their relationship was written with a creepy bent that makes the jokes too disturbing to be much fun. The final ending of the three bullies singing to the Simpsons was also awkward in the classic sense of bad Al Jean jokes, in that you can see the shownoticeably trying too hard for laughs. One saving grace of the episode's wrap-up came with Marge's ratheroriginal observation about parents not needing to spend too much time with their kids, a refreshing response to the "spend time with Mom and everything will work out fine" fluff floated in most sitcoms. "Marge's Son Poisoning" was a funny episode, certainly, and its plot clicked until the third act. But the problems with the plot and some lingering weaknesses (mostly due to it being a "Marge" episode, and the resulting hurdles) knocked the episode down a peg from the kind of consistent humor and satisfying plotting of last week's "Treehouse of Horror" episode. I can only hope that the writers are still able to tightly plot segments that are more than eight minutes long; either way, I'm feeling well enough about the improvements in the show's comedic style to spare this episode from a more scathing review of its conclusion's miscues.It should be mentioned that Jason, and friends from my town, universally disliked this episode. So I may well be seeing something that most viewers will not see; certainly, when I agree with the consensus of the perenially off-base "hardcore" fanset, my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. But whether it's a carryover of good feelings from last week or subtly pleasing aspects of the episode itself, there's something to "Marge's Son Poisoning" that feels like an improvement over last season. At this point, I can't really knock anything that improves on the atrocious record the show had last year; so I'll give the episode a "B" with reservations, and state once more as firmly as possible that I am most likely full of it.
Grade: B
Another holdover from the 16th production run (anything starting with GABF-), "See Homer Run" seems right at home with its peers. With few exceptions, such as the still-fondly-remembered GABF17, "Treehouse of Horror XVI", whatever was going on in the writer's conferences for that production run wound up critically damaging the show's credibility. For a long while, "The Simpsons" had been tolerably decent, but it's getting quickly to the point where the same flaws, repeated week after week after week, are wearing thin any patience I have with the show. I have only myself to blame for being disappointed with this episode; I allowed myself to hope that the writers were actually improving by the end of the GABF- episodes, and that I would start seeing great "Simpsons" episodes again. I was of course wrong, and I was treated with "See Homer Run", a poorly thought-out episode that felt excruciatingly repetitive. It's an episode that uses two stock plots we've seen many times before; Homer gaining (and then losing) the admiration of the town, and Homer losing (and then gaining) Lisa's affections. Both are formulas that can still work well (see Seasons 15's "Simple Simpson" or "Fraudcast News" for respective examples), but can also easily feel tired. Here, they felt tired. The effort just didn't seem to be there for this episode. The writers constructed an episode pulled along largely by its plot, and not character moments, and then failed to sell most of the plot points. The town's turning on Mayor Quimby felt impossibly abrupt and petty, even for the historically fickle residents of Springfield. Homer's insensitivity to Lisa's birthday gift seems completely out-of-character for him, meaning the main plot of the episode kicks off with actions that don't feel genuine. Homer's difficulties in "winning back his daughter's love" (a phrase that pops up way too many times) are also hyped up to the point of absurdity, and are so transparent that it's difficult to see why Lisa would find anything admirable in an overt attempt to restore his status in her eyes. To put it bluntly, almost everything in the episode fails to ring true. When that's true, the only thing that can save the episode is good humor. Unfortunately, the writers dropped the ball on humor, as well, serving up an episode with a scarcity of quality jokes and a complete absence of any impressive attempts at humor. "See Homer Run" scored points only with the few jokes that worked (Kent Brockman being in fine form, for one), the generally outstanding animation, and an ending that was, despite the overall stupidity of much of the episode's proceedings, really touching. Homer's little dance with Lisa came out of nowhere, but it was a believable moment of truth and sincerity in an episode that had for its entirety up to that point shown little regard for such qualities. If Al Jean and whoever else is calling the shots over in the writing staff have a HABF- production run that takes that moment as an example of what the show can still do right, we're in for a great rest of the season. If they instead take the rest of the episode as an example, I can only hang my head at what we're about to be receiving.Grade: D+
GABF22 "The Last Of The Red-Hat Mamas"
It's always tough to watch an episode shoot itself in the foot. For the most part, "THe Last Of The Red-Hat Mamas" was a funny and well-plotted episode, with a main story that clicked well. But every few minutes, the episode manages to remind you that this is the 17th season of "The Simpsons", and basic common sense on the part of the writers is a rarity. The most glaring problem came with the resolution of the episode. A plotline about Lisa going to Italy by learning to study Italian ended with... I don't know what, exactly. A completely out-of-character moment for Milhouse and a repetition of a weak-the-first-time sight gag? The description is almost too kind. Essentially, a subplot that was given a good block of time to develop was completely abandoned without any resolution, which would seem to indicate that the writers for this one have lost all respect for their audience. Not as glaring, but nonetheless annoying, were issues with the closing of the main plot. Julie Kavner, the voice for Marge, completely misread a line, which when coupled with a mistimed animation made for one of the least professional moments in the history of the show. The final double entendre bait-and-switch was more awkward than funny, as well, meaning that pretty much nothing worked in the final minutes of the episode. Just as episodes like "And Maggie Makes Three" and "Lemon Of Troy" have endings that vaulted the entire episode up a level in quality, the conclusion to this episode left a black mark on the episode as a whole. Even in a period for the show where bad endings are commonplace, this was exceptionally poor. It's also difficult to forgive the episode for its last-minute failures when there were many bothersome moments before the third act. A few of the jokes spectacularly bombed, such as the Sherri-Terri "twins language". The appearance of overused characters (The ever-present Cat Lady) and characters who should never have been seen again (Cookie Kwan, the Mayor's wife) did little to help the episode either. Lily Tomlin turned in one of the few "bad guest voicings" I've heard in a while. Even the musical choice of "Everybody Hurts" felt hokey. It is perhaps a testament to the episode that despite all of these annoyances, it still merits a grade far above "complete debacle". The episode, with the exception of a few jokes, was genuinely funny. The two plots were also well-paced and well-executed, up until the final minutes. It was a classic case of a great episode being obscured by stupid flaws, and in the end the assessment has to fall somewhere between anger at the writers for stupid decisions and admiration at an episode that largely satisfied me for 20 minutes. I just hope that there will be a time sometime soon when I can stop having to waste so much energy explaining what was wrong with an episode, rather than being able to overlook it in favor of what was right.Grade: B-
So, the GABF- production run comes to a close, and the quote-unquote "real" 17th season begins. And if this is an indication of what's to come, I'm in heaven. Given the show's recent history of teasing with a great episode every once in a while before brutally yanking the rug out, I'll try not to be too optimistic - but there were signs of improvement in some key problem areas that bode well for the near future. Two aspects of "The Italian Bob" were particularly striking in their quality. The first came with the flow of the episode, both story-wise and comedically. The plot moved along at a healthy clip, and very few scenes felt like they were superfluous to the larger plot. Those that did were worthy comedic asides. Unlike many recent episodes ("See Homer Run" being a particularly apt example), the plot felt like it was going somewhere from the start. The third act still saw some of the problems that have plagued the show storywise (namely a lapse into zaniness), but it did so without embarassing the show or the episode, and everything wrapped up with some satisfaction. Combined with the sturdy plot mechanics of the first two acts, it made for a very enjoyable plotline. The other striking aspect, and the one that made the long-tortured fan in me rise up with an emotion approaching pure glee, was Homer. Homer was used sparingly. Homer was written the way he should be written, as an earnest dummy in a complicated world. Homer managed to be loud and obnoxious without losing audience sympathy. Homer actually showed up at the power plant! And, most importantly, Homer was hilarious. The last time I can think of Homer being so funny would probably be "Trilogy of Error", way back in Season 12. It was a textbook usage of a character who has so often been mishandled by the writers, and more than anything it made the episode a really joy to watch. The genuine terror in his voice when he yells "Sideshow Bob" after Bob's big reveal to the Italians (Homer having known his identity for the whole day) was sublime. Beyond the plot and the refreshingly well-handled Homer, the episode succeeded in many aspects. The difficult task of blending the formula for a vacation episode with the formula for a Sideshow Bob episode was accomplished with a minimum of awkwardness, and the result seemed to do away with many of the shortcomings of both formats. Italy was exploited for comedy both tastefully and inventively, with the jokes based on the culture correctly emphasizing the disconnect between the Simpsons and their surroundings. The family characters were all given great moments, and drunk Lisa brought back happy memories of the Jim Morrison-esque "Lizard Queen" Lisa from Season 4's "Selma's Choice." Even Sideshow Bob managed to not seem stale, with the interplay between him and Bart playing off prior episodes nicely. Kelsey Grammar's vocal performance remained up to his high standards, too, even during Italian opera. In short, I have almost nothing but good things to say about the episode. There were a few bad jokes, yes, but the episode settled into such a confident flow that they were speedbumps rather than crashes. The ending wasn't perfect, but it's safe to say at this point that a good ending should be treated as a bonus for an episode, rather than an essential, given its rarity around these parts. "The Italian Bob" managed to do almost everything right, and provided the viewers with a classy, confident episode that reasserted why it still makes sense to stick around for the show's occasional reminders of its greatness. Perhaps it's fitting that an episode that delivered such a good jab at both "Family Guy" and "American Dad" provided an even better poke with its very existence; this is a reminder of what intelligent animated comedy should be.Grade: A-
HABF01 "Simpsons Christmas Stories"
Another episode with three shorts, which seems to be a biannual tradition for the series. The episodes of this format have stuck to retellings of well-known stories before now, riffing on the historical or fictional situations with the familiar characters in the series. The episode's first short, a retelling of the nativity, sticks to this format. The most glaring flaw is one that was difficult to avoid - this is basically just the Simpsons playing dress-up. stories like this have a tendency towards, for lack of a better word, lameness. The short manages to overcome this somewhat with some inventiveness - Moe's reverential treatment of a haloed duck, the soldiers forming the first Christmas tree - but the whole enterprise still plays like something aimed for children ten or under, too cute for it's own good. Cheerful and harmless isn't the end of the world, however, and certainly is preferable to the very shoddy second short. Crossing over into more "Treehouse of Horror" style storytelling makes the story very awkward; the story holds itself both within the rough continuity of the Simpsons' world (Burns and Homer at war together, Grampa telling stories to the kids before Christmas) but also vaults entirely outside of it, with a long-lost brother and a living, breathing, Santa Claus. Chalking it all up to Grampa's senility doesn't work, either, as Santa stands before Bart and Lisa in the flesh. It's the sort of storytelling problem that could have and should have been resolved with a few more seconds of exposition, and while the writers may have been content with the ambiguities it didn't sit well with me as a viewer. The episode's third short fared far better. The take-off on "The Nutcracker Suite" was clever, self-referential, and fun in the best sort of way. The easiest comparison to make is to "Supercalifragilisticexpealid'ohcious", the classic Season 8 musical sending up Mary Poppins. The same kind of endearing originality and enthusiasm that was on display in that episode reappears here, and the result is a a piece that flies by with hardly a hiccup. I didn't want it to end, given how much more amusing it was than its two companion pieces. But six to eight fantastic minutes doesn't entirely make up for the remainder of the episode. Take the Nutcracker piece and throw it in as the climax of a Christmas episode, and maybe we would have gotten somewhere. Instead we have a piece that was probably worth the episode's creation, and two short episodes that fail to have a point or faith in the viewers, respectively. A mixed bag, like all the other three-shorts episodes have been post-"Trilogy of Error". Perhaps someone should evaluate whether these are worth the effort.Grade: B-
HABF04 "We're On The Road To D'oh-where"
The fourth episode in the new production run (and the third reviewed), "We're On The Road To D'oh-where" opened with a ferocious run of creativity and good humor. It lasted all the way through the first act, with hardly a weak moment. This great first act - relevant to the episode's larger story, inventive, and consistently hilarious - allows me to forgive this episode a lot. Even seven minutes of classic-style "Simpsons" material is a gift these days. That the laughs came without the formulaic quality that have dogged first acts over the past few seasons - the innumerable "the family visits a festival/event" openings - only added to the enjoyment. For a brief period, the show was exactly the way it should be written these days. The rest of the episode still provided laughs and social commentary aplenty, but these moments were marred by a few terrible choices by the writers. Three gags in particular stood out - Flanders' endless singing, Homer's endless highway roundabout, and Homer and Bart's endless confrontation in the car over the cliff. Noticing a pattern? Stretching jokes out endlessly is one of the riskiest things to do in a comedic series because if the joke doesn't work, the episode has its energy entirely depleted. These jokes were epicly bad, and hurt the episode significantly - but not to the point of disaster. It's difficult to see an episode recover from even one of these bad jokes sometimes, yet this episode was strong enough beyond the miscues that it managed to do so three times. The quality of the jokes and plotting outside of these discontinuous mistakes only makes their sheer awfulness stick out all the motre, however, so the episode doesn't emerge unscarred. Nonetheless, the second and third acts were mostly fantastic. The writing continued to be infused with an intelligence and confidence that is a forgotten hallmark of the show at its best. The show's take on a variety of emerging American trends were spot-on. Bart and Homer were written in ways that played up their comedic strengths, rather than highlighting their weaknesses. Attention was even paid to make sure tha Lisa and Marge's sub-plot felt organic to the episode's construction, and the female Simpsons provided their share of laughs, as well. Special mention must also be made to the ending, too, perhaps one of my favorite in "Simpsons" history - the delivery of Lisa's line, Maggie's reaction, and the convergence of the two plotlines brought back pleasant reminders of classic-era Lisa and the smart, witty construction of years past. It made for an excellent finish for an episode that, excepting its rare mistakes, felt more like a classic-era episode than anything besides 15's "I, Robot" has since Season 13. In all, the episode marked a refreshing reminder that, on occasion, "The Simpsons" can still be smart and funny in a way that no other show can capture. That 2 of the last 4 episodes have been better than anything last season, and with the other two very much above-average, this episode almost gives me hope that the show may be finally fixing its long-untouched problems, and reasserting itself for one last run of creative excellence. Time will tell, of course, but that an episode could actually make me truly believe the show is good again is the highest praise I can offer during the 17th season.Grade: A-
The idea of sending up My Fair Lady, with Willie and Lisa in the main roles, isn't a bad one. The episode is at most a mild send-up, however, and doesn't fully embrace the concept, as Season 5's "Cape Feare" did in taking on Cape Fear or Season 8's "Supercalifragilisticexpeali-d'oh-cious" did with Mary Poppins. I can't really blame the writers for dodging a full-on My Fair Lady adaptation, given that Willie must be handled with great care in order to stay funny for an entire episode. They choose instead to turn him into what is essentially a different character midway through, abruptly, skipping the civilizing process that would be at the core of any true adaptation of the episode's inspiration. The work done on the new-and-improved Willie by the animators and voice actor Dan Castellenetta is solid, and I didn't find myself tiring of his new persona. The brief scenes with Lisa teaching Willie were less well-handled - awkward, mostly unfunny, and rushed. When apart from Lisa, normal Willie was more funny. Humor-wise, the episode delivered admirably. There was no shortage of bad jokes, but, crucially, the miscues were over and done with before they could cause pain. Rather than stick too long with risky jokes, the writers kept the comedic pace quick, allowing the good jokes to pile together more effectively and the mistakes to be promptly smoothed over. It's an effective formula, and while it doesn't make for legendary episodes in most cases, in cases like this it keeps the episode up to the expected quality. The major weaknesses of the episode came not in the humor, but in the pacing and plot structure. The lengthy (though amusing) songs, the very brief scenes of actual dialogue between Lisa and Willie, and drawn-out sequences where the plot wasn't moving forward at all combined to give the clear impression that the writers didn't think they had enough plot material to fill an episode. Granted, My Fair Lady isn't the most complexly plotted work ever, but the writers probably could have been able to come up with a plot that kept moving throughout. It's not an episode-killing problem, but the pacing problems did little to alleviate the problems with Willie's sudden transformation into a gentleman, and the emotionally simplistic third act. Homer's sub-plot, too, failed to help - with the main plot already being squeezed for time with the songs, opening sequence, and drawn-out comedic sequences, dwelling on something that did nothing to connect with the main plot probably wasn't the best use of screentime. In the end, "My Fair Laddy" is no masterpiece, and it's full of plot problems and its fair share of bad jokes. But the episode manages to render most of this moot with its cheerful attitude and sense of fun. It's something that's been missing from the series for long stretches in recent years - a confidence in simply being silly and funny. The episode has no pretensions to high art, and with its "let's see what happens" tone it is clear only a few minutes in that this episode is supposed to be a fun diversion. The songs are amusing, the plot sketchy, the characters cheerful, and the jokes carefree. There were problems, yes, but I can forgive them in return for seeing an episode where the writers are clearly having a good time. It reminded me, oddly enough, of "Futurama" in some of its better moments - appealing to a certain sense of humor, and unashamed to fool around in exploring an idea. This isn't something I want to see every week, but for one Sunday in a season that's running on a streak of good episodes, this works just fine.Grade: B
HABF06 "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story"
Continuing in the trend of good episodes from the unexpectedly solid HABF- production run, "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" delivers 22 minutes of inventive, fun, and altogether excellent material. More than the humor, or any specific character, the star of the show here is the episode's construction; the story within a story within a story is amusing and well-planned, and accomplished the rare feat of making me eagerly anticipate what would happen next. An impressive array of characters are weaved into the narrative, allowing for each of the supporting characters to be fully exploited, without having to "ration" the character for an extended appearance (as had to be done with Willie in "My Fair Laddy.") The plot construction also built to a final act that managed to show off the careful thought of the writers without calling too much attention to their tricks. The conclusion was inventive without being too cute, and funny without trying too hard; the episode delivered a pay-off to its tense plotting that didn't dilute the impact of the episode. With such a tight, original construction, the episode would have been able to get away with its fair share of bad jokes; thankfully, besides the painful 1-2-3-4 obsessive compulsive bit with the Big Rich Texan, the humor throughout the episode was solid. The episode didn't provide constant laughter, but it kept the atmosphere amusing throughout, and the jokes kept me laughing at a respectable clip. I'm also overjoyed that the episode did no significant damage to larger concerns of "Simpsons" continuity. While fitting in Moe into Krabappel's history is slightly awkward, and revealing that Burns lost his power plant again at some point is a bit annoying, for the most part the new information about established characters given in order to fuel the plotlines felt very true to the series. Snake having "Jailbird" as a last name is a great in-joke dealing with the character's confusing identity, Krabappel's moment of sympathy for Bart added a touching element to their history, and even Moe was given some more sympathetic background material. Even the saga of the gold coins felt realistic and inventive, the type of detail that could have been reasonably left out of the stories "The Simpsons" has told so far, but something that had been going on for a while behind the scenes. The episode is clever without being obnoxious, inventive without being damaging, original without straying from the show's core appeal, and funny throughout. I can ask for little more. I'm proud of the show once again, and it's great to know that the show is still capable of dropping a great episode every other week. Maybe, just maybe, we've reached the light at the end of the tunnel, and good episodes like this will become par for the course again. For now, however, I can be happy off the episode worth of classic "Simpsons" fun this "never-ending story" provided.Grade: A
First, a caveat, to be fair to this episode - I missed the opening and the first two-to-five minutes. So I'm not really sure why Marge wound up babysitting at the Flanders household, or whether or not the show did something admirably smart or insanely stupid in its first stages. With that out of the way, on to what I did see. The set-up for the episode is a simple concept - Marge babysitting the Flanders boys and teaching them to open up - and the plot points were telegraphed quite obviously. That's forgivable in an episode like this; plot twists would probably serve only to diminish the impact of the simple formula, and would distract from the natural possibilities for exploring the concept. All the major plot points are hit right on time, and are executed without any serious problems. There's an inherent risk in pairing together Marge, far and away the most annoying major character, with Rod and Todd, two characters who are basically indistinguishable and whose voices inspire something far beyond mere annoyance. That the episode manages to succeed despite a boring plot and focusing on traditionally bothersome characters is impressive, but also puzzling. I'm not sure quite why the whole endeavor succeeds - the humor was solid throughout, but nothing exceptional - but it does. Perhaps the simple, uncomplicated formula and old-fashioned "sitcom moral" of the episode made for a nice change of pace from the complexities the show has often delved into. Maybe the sparing use of Bart, Homer, and the other supporting characters allowed for their appearances to be more effective, as the limited use of Homer in the early seasons of the show made him into the comedic powerhouse he is today. All I know is that the episode works, and I'm pleased to see the writers able to riff on a simple concept with over-complicating it or diluting its composition with distracting sub-plots. There's a lot going around the central idea, but the focus remains on Marge and the boys throughout, and the focus makes for an episode that never feels lost. Apparently there's life in the old ways still. Two additional notes to close. The animation for this episode was top-notch, selling the Vertigo-esque fear in Rod and a variety of other moments very well. Secondly, the final joke with Bob Hope was perhaps the only time in my history of show-viewing that I've been offended by something in "The Simpsons." The appearance of Bob Hope in heaven was funny, and the banter between Maude, God, and Bob was fairly well-handled, but at the end of the day it's a joke somewhat making fun of a beloved entertainer who recently passed on. I realize the writers felt comfortable with Hope (who appeared on the show), and that they believe he may have laughed along with them if he were alive to see it - and they're probably right. But they can't be sure, and unless they can be I think it's just a bit too soon for a Bob Hope in heaven joke. Maybe ten years down the line. But a joke in poor taste at the end of the episode isn't enough to torpedo the whole affair, and at the end of the day this was still a well-handled, if thoroughly conventional addition to the archives of the show.Grade: B-
HABF08 "Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife"
There's a lot to talk about here. For those of you not in the loop, this episode was scripted by Ricky Gervais, who also guest stars as Charlie, Marge's new "husband." Gervais is famous, in certain circles, for his creation and creative guidance of "The Office", a brutally funny British sitcom that gets its laughs out of the horribly awkward, Gervais-played office manager. The character from that show, David Brent, is transplanted with very few changes into the world of "The Simpsons", making for the closest thing to a crossover the series has seen since Season 6's infamous "A Star Is Burns" and the appearance by "The Critic"'s Jay Sherman. Whether any of this backstory was known to more than 10% of the audience is doubtful, but for fans of "The Office" this certainly added quite a bit of interest to an episode whose main plot concept - a rather lame "Trading Spouses" steal - isn't the stuff of legend. Charlie made for a very interesting creation, and for the most part the episode avoided focusing too much on him. Especially impressive was the way that Gervais' characters' real-life tics and mannerisms were translated into animation; seeing Charlie play with his tie or bite his lip in perfect fascimile was quite amusing. On that note, all of the animation for the episode was excellent - shadowing was tastefully used many times, numerous visual gags worked well, and all of the character designs seemed especially on-point. The plotting for the episode, minus the general concept being less classy than one might like for "The Simpsons", was well-handled - the guest characters got ample screen time, the situations in both houses moved forward nicely, and the HD tv motivation smartly showed up at the end of the episode, tying it all together. Marge's line about Homer having loved her from the first moment he saw her was one of the best explanations for Marge's love for Homer that I've heard in years. The big weakness, as in so many Al Jean-produced episodes, was the humor. The first act and the beginning of the third act were the worst-affected by bad jokes, but throughout there were at least a half-dozen more clunkers than one might normally expect for the series. Marge's "I'll do it" bit and the unfortunately over-extended genie joke from Charlie were the worst offenders. That being said, the episode also delivered more than its fair share of good laughs - Gervais' character infused the episode with a lot of fresh humor, and the aforemnetioned visual gags and one-liners from all in the Simpsons family had a fair amount of success. But the humor still bombed too frequently, and one or two moments even painfully so - Homer mentioning that he doesn't know why he married Marge, or remarking upon the delicious smell, knocked me away from the episode instantly. But even with the humor for the most part a definite weakness, the episode deserves a lot of credit for the freshness of the writing and the hilarity that ensued when the writing did click comedically. I don't know if I'd want to see Ricky Gervais take control of the series (purely hypothetically), but to have him drop in for an episode and use the existing characters alongside a creation of his own makes for an entertaining and altogether fascinating episode. This is certainly not the strongest episode of the year, but it may be the most interesting - and when a major problem with "The Simpsons" in its later years has been a creeping boredom with the show's proceedings, originality and a new take on things is priceless.Grade: B+
"The Simpsons", is, for the most part, a light-hearted series. While the show tackles its fair share of serious issues, putting euthanasia front-and-center in the plotline for this installment is a more dark choice than usual. The extent to which the treatment of the issue works depends somewhat on the viewer's politics - the show takes a surprisingly moderate-to-conservative viewpoint - but for the most part the subject is used as fodder for comedy, rather than serious political discussion. This is, of course, as it should be for a comedic series, though the taste might be questionable. As for the plot of the episode, it felt cobbled together from plotlines from many other episodes; the suicidal progression mirrors "Moe Baby Blues", a person striving for dangerous excitement in a stadium setting is lifted directly from "Jaws Wired Shut", and Lisa has protested animal cruelty (among many other things) and bickered with a relative about their moral choices countless times. The plot, Frankenstein-like as it may be, does make for an interesting and inventive episode; the progression of the plot felt natural throughout, and nothing felt too rushed. If anything was a problem plot-wise, it was that the story was given too much focus. The strongest episodes of "The Simpsons" are those that use the story in service to the comedic material, whereas with this episode the jokes seemed to be thrown into the story, rather than growing out of it. The humor wasn't necessarily bad, but the entire episode had a vibe distressingly familiar to the last few seasons' weaker episodes, wherein no amount of good humor can take away from the fundamental awkwardness of the way the episode unfolds. There were consistent laughs - the writers still have a gift for one-liners - but the jokes didn't combine in the way the show is sometimes capable of; nothing moved past "good" or "pleasant" into something that was truly impressive or side-splitting. The show can do a lot worse than "Million-Dollar Abie", and it's nice to see the show maintaining the cheerful disposition that is so integral to its success, even when dealing with dark material. But for all the complexities of plot, at the end of the episode what matters above all else is how the show functioned comedically, and unfortunately a lot of praise-worthy aspects of the episode only distracted from the laughs.Grade: B
HABF10 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore"
So, "The Simpsons" go to India. Coupled with their earlier trip to Italy this season, I can't help but delude myself into thinking that my vacation suggestions were read by some writer - a fan can dream, right? India did, indeed, turn out to be a good vacation destination - the writers managed to make all the obvious country jokes fit into the episode without stereotyping too much, in a way happily reminiscent of the Season 10 stand-out "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo." The episode also provided four or five aspects far, far better than the norm for the show's current quality level - the seamless river approach taken directly from Apocalypse Now, the hilarious outsourcing video, Mr. Burns in top form - that ensure the episode came nowhere close to self-imploding. In fact, with the exception of the rather quick transition of Homer into delusions of godhood, I could hardly have been happier with how Homer's India plotline was handled. What brings the episode down, in my view, is the sub-plot with Patty, Selma, and MacGyver. A time-wasting, sort of funny sub-plot is much more annoying when it features someone outside of the four main family characters. While I understand the central joke, I can't get over how much of a waste of time the whole enterprise is. Nothing in the sub-plot connects to the main story, and once the concept of Macgyver actually appearing stops being enough to amuse, there isn't enough funny material to justify the time spent on it. Richard Dean Anderson is a wonderfully good sport, of course, and should be commended for helping the writers create a pay-off for years of Patty and Selma's MacGyver jokes, but with the Homer in India material so much better in comparison, it eats up time in the episode that could have been used for more jokes with the Simpson family or the Homer-Burns-plant worker interactions. The idiotic ending is another excessively long time-waster, too, and though endings have historically been the weakest aspect of "The Simpsons", even in the best episodes (meaning I can't complain too much about it), it does nothing to help the episode. There's a lot to like in this one, and its best moments are among the finest of the whole season, but this could have been a lot better than it was. Here's hoping that the writers learn to recognize what works the most in an episode, rather than what simply works.Grade: B+
HABF11 "The Wettest Stories Ever Told"
Earlier this season, "Simpsons Christmas Stories" aired, and I began to seriously doubt whether anyone was enjoying episodes with the "three-short" format. At this point, I have to wonder if the writers could even be enjoying this anymore. Episodes like "Simpsons Tall Tales" and "Tales from the Public Domain", to name two more episodes in this style, are not masterpieces; but they are funny, at least intermittently, and the glee with which the stories are attacked and experimented with can make them interesting affairs. The central problem crops up with pieces where, for lack of a better phrase, the Simpsons play dress-up. There are numerous issues with sticking the family and townspeople into historical dress and making cheap jokes about the time period. Firstly, it's rarely funny. Second, it's lazy writing of the most infuriating kind, where the showrunners don't do anything unexpected with the material. Most importnatly, when "The Simpsons" becomes lazy and unfunny, when coupled with the fact that they're playing dress-up, the show utterly embarasses itself and its viewers. I'm sure that tired parents needing something to park their kids in front of, or people who love "pleasant" humor and easy jokes, don't bat an eye when this sort of thing pops up. But it's downright sad when placed in front of even the least discerning audience. The major problem here is that the horrible writing pervades all three of the pieces; there isn't a respite of originality, as there so often is in even the most terrible of "Simpsons" episodes. For the most part, it's just wall-to-wall laziness and lameness, adding up to an episode that, barring a few good jokes in the third story, is almost completely irredeemable. The only things to be happy about is that this episode might have been the nail in the coffin of the three-story format, and the writers at least had the decency not to do a Titanic send-up. Beyond that, there's not a whole lot to smile about here; when we're talking about a comedic series, that's a very bad sign.Grade: D
HABF12 "Girls Just Want To Have Sums"
"The Simpsons" plays at "South Park"-esque plotting here, taking current news, running it through the rules of its fictional universe, and implementing theoeretical ideas in the most absurd or extreme way possible. It makes for effective satire, certainly, but it's a slightly over-the-top way of attacking an issue, and it is not a perfect fit for the show. The strange discontinuity with the typical "Simpsons" style does not derail the episode, and in many ways makes it feel new and different, but it contributes to a general awkwardness that pervades the episode. The confidence of the first few minutes, and the excellent "Itchy and Scratchy" musical, gradually seeps away as the plot progresses. By the end, the writers seem content to go with a convenient wrap-up, rather than anything particularly surprising, having Lisa win the math award and deliver a speech that could have been predicted word for word the moment the plot got rolling. Similarly disquieting is the increasing bridge between the beloved Matt Groening take on childhood (a holdout from the very birth of the show) and the actualities of modern childhood. It's cute to have the kids all still acting the way they did twelve years ago, and there is a lot of truth in the stereotypes of young boys and girls' behavior. It is not even that I want that distinctive perspective on childhood to be done away with, but rather that the stylized view of childhood seems horribly simplistic when dealing with an issue very connected to the modern situation for children. There are reasons "The Simpsons", with its nine-month production schedule and happily static universe, faces large challenges when tackling current news, and the juxtaposition of the familiar childhood manner of "The Simpsons" and the real world highlights them. Still, the problems here are ones that linger in the background and push the episode slightly off-kilter; nothing in this episode is disastrous. The humor was solid throughout, the plot progressed forward logically and at a confident pace, many great characters got appearances, and the social commentary hit at a present issue with intelligence and sense. The episode was a respectable showing, but it wasn't in a game the show should be playing. I'm all for experimentation, but when concepts clash with fundamental aspects of the show's tone and creative viewpoint, maybe they shouldn't make it to the episode stage.Grade: B
Right off the bat, it needs to be said - stock plots are dangerous. The kinds of stories that are endlessly repeated on television, especially sitcoms - the kid stealing, the father spending too much money, the mother getting bored at home - have to clear a hurdle of boredom before they even get going, as the view wonders why exactly he should care about the five hundreth iteration of the same basic story. I'm not sure about the statistical data on how many creative works have used amnesia for plot purposes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they popped up at a high rate. After all, it makes for easy material; the writer can explore issues of identity and memory, and there are plenty of effective, easy-to-execute scenes around the start and end of the amnesia. The problem with seeing stock plots or plot elements on "The Simpsons" is that the show became what it is by avoiding laziness; when I see the show use boring or overplayed ideas, without adding sufficient interest through twists on the concept, it's a depressing indicator that the show is becoming less and less brave. Here, the writers try hard to make it interesting, giving Marge selective amnesia and causing her to forget Homer alone; but the variation on the idea is so contrived and silly that it doesn't earn the plot any points. Still, the show has made do with stock plots for many masterpieces - "Marge Be Not Proud" or "The Springfield Connection" come to mind - so it is not a major criticism. But something about the contrivance of the plot and the laziness inherent in the premise sucks the amusement and energy out of a lot of the episode. The plot is at least well-handled, and there are no clear logic errors in the plot. All of the characters are written well, and it's clear the writers spent time thinking about how each person in the family would react to situations, and how Marge would view Homer. The humor and the smaller emotional touches are where the episode mostly redeems itself. The jokes worked for most of the episode, and the obvious comedic possibilities were exploited. But particularly touching were the scenes with Homer struggling not to lose Marge; Homer telling off Marge's suitor for turning tail and running from her was one of the finest Homer-Marge moments in recent "Simpsons" history. And the writers were sensible enough to have Marge regain her memory at the end, preventing an embarassing, "The Principal and the Pauper"-esque headache for future continuity. Overall, it was an episode that did fairly well with a lazy idea. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it wasn't an embarassment, either. I'd much prefer the show to try out plotlines that don't seem so stale, but if they're going to rely on uninventive ideas from time to time it's nice to know they'll be handled properly.Grade: B-
I've spent a lot of time looking at "The Simpsons", and in reviews I credit a lot of the classic episodes with achievements in all sorts of areas - excellent plotting, inspired characterization, intelligent satire, originality, etc. But the most important aspect of "The Simpsons" is humor; this is a comedic series, and at the end of the episode if I haven't been laughing great storytelling doesn't matter that much. In recent seasons, it has sometimes seemed that the humor has been getting shortchanged, with the writers mostly addressing problems with the horrible plotting and characterization of the early double-digit years and forgetting that the show must, first and foremost, be funny. Episodes that combine excellent plotting and execution with "Simpsons"-level humor are exceedingly rare in recent years; some essential aspect of a great "Simpsons" episode always comes up short. "The Monkey Suit", happily, bucks the recent trend of frustrating deficiencies in certain areas, delivering an episode that was confident, energetic, intelligent, and hilarious. My reviews, almost by neccessity, tend to focus on annoying, recurring problems with the writing of the show; to see almost all of them fixed, finally, in one wonderful package, is a delight. The jokes were delivered quickly, and gags played off one another to keep the episode's comedic elements up-tempo and complex; there were none of the grind-to-a-halt screw-ups that have marred recent episodes, and the writers were enthusiastic enough about what they were writing to pursue adventurous (and successful) comedic directions. The plot was straightforward but interesting, with a clear focus that carried the episode along throughout; no extraneous subplot distracted from the business at hand. The social commentary was well-handled, with the intelligent design vs. evolution debate treated with impressive levity, given that the writers are (almost without question) unanimously evolution supporters. Even the characters were all handled well, with the churchgoers being used to great effect, and the school bueracracy amusingly weak-willed with regards to academic integrity. There were no clear flaws in the whole affair, short of a botched joke or two, and the episode's consistent pace and generally excellent humor camoflauged those small blemishes. The episode was funny and well-done, and gave the viewer something to think about. That's all you really need for a great "Simpsons" episode, and we all received one here. There have been only a few times in the past four years where I've been as happy when the credits rolled as after this one; I can only hope this isn't just a depressingly brief respite from the show's continual insistence on shooting itself in the foot.Grade: A
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