Although I haven't been posting regularly anymore since I left for college, I did make promises that I would return every once in a while to post reviews. So here's my reviews of seasons 9-10, the two transition years from the classic era to the crappy era. Most of these are just rewrites for my poorly written reviews in "Seasons 9-11: A Look Back In Horror."
The City of New York vs Homer Simpson OK, it's fitting that I start with the one episode on everyone's mind. First of all, I'd like to express my deepest condolences to the city of New York for what it has to deal with and to all the families whose loved ones were killed in the explosion last month. I have a lot of newfound respect for so many people who have acted appropriately in response to this situation, those who have given blood, those who have attended vigils, mayor Juliani, President Bush, my friends who showed grief over the tragedy, even the late-night hosts. As to this episode, it was pretty funny, but somehow lacking in real wittyl content. The only truly clever parts of the episode were Homer's flashback to New York, and possibly the Betty Ford musical (although I liked the Planet of the Apes musical better). I liked Marge's self-deprecating attitude throughout this episode ("I feel like such a nobody" and "I've always wanted to be in a Broadway audience"). But much of the episode relies too much on age-old stereotypes of NYC (the people shouting from the towers, the bums, the Klav Kalash vendor, crime, rich snobs, etc. Also, Homer's antics (bathroom problem, trying to drive away before dusk, extreme paranoia) are very distracting, too slapstick, not funny. BTW, this episode introduced Duffman, who wasn't that funny here, but established him for future hilarious performances in Hungry Hungry Homer and Pygmoelian. Barney's attempts to remain sober are more amusing than pretty much all of Days of Wine and D'ohses. It'll still suck that we won't see this episode anymore (although I could care less about New Kids never being seen again). (C+)
The Principal and the Pauper I normally don't mind continuity breaches (Flanders revealing he's 60 years old, Moe not having women in his bar) because of the idea that each episode starts off from scratch. But here, not only is continuity destroyed, it denigrates the character of Principal Skinner, in a pretty unbelievable way. Many of the lines in this episode stunk (for example: Skinner trying to announce his retirement, and some of the dialogue between real and fake Skinner during the war), Skinner's stiff personality gets tiresome, and the ending is pretty cruel. The only awful episode of the 4F series, and a clear flag for the decline of the show. (C-)
Lisa's Sax I find this episode to be a bit overrated. It's probably the weakest flashback till Blunder Years eventually airs. But there's still a good mix of emotion and comedy. Bart's attempts to fit in at school are very emotional, explain why Bart is who he is, and also strongly satirical of the uncaring, beauracratic educational system. Another strong satirical theme is that something so invaluable as Lisa having her gifts nurtured through attention and devotion is always tied towards money, whether it's paying for private school or Lisa's saxophone. As always in flashbacks, there's great flavor of the times being described (BeeGees, Twin Peaks). Why is it the weakest flashback? Too may distracting unrelated gags in typical 3G fashion (Apu coming from nowhere, Homer imagining playing Pool with Michelangelo's David, WB slam). And the climax (Homer deciding to buy Lisa's sax) is a little more forced than the climaxes to the other flashbacks. (B)
Treehosue of Horror 8 One of Scully's strengths is that he can write damn well Treehouse of Horrors, no matter how badly he screws up the rest of the show. This was spectacular. Well-thought-out, hilarious, creative, and even a little spooky. Homega Man is my favorite short. This is the second best THOH ever, behind only THOH4. (A-)
The Cartridge Family For a while, I was ambivalent to this episode, cause it seemed to focus too much on gags relating to Homer's gun abuse (he shoots dinner plates, all the lights). But now that I think about it, there's a lot of great satire about a touchy subject. I find it admirable that the writers could approach the two-sided subject of gun-control without taking an actual position. Some original commentary, like Homer deciding to rob the KwikEMart simply because he as a gun (guns make people violent), and Marge keeping the gun for herself make the episode fresh, despite being about an age-old subject. (B)
Bart Star This one was mostly a light, funny, snappy, one-liner episode. Bart and Homer conflict falls flat, keeping the episode from being at the level of Lisa on Ice. Ralph, Nelson, Sherri and Terri, Milhouse, Rod and Todd, and Martin all have their moments to shine. Unfortunately, Lisa's PC thug rant about being a girl playing football is a classic example of characters being compromised for satire. (A-)
The 2 Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons I've always been thrilled that the Simpsons decided to focus an episode around the experiences of ABCD's (American Born Confused Desi) like me. (Well, Apu is technically Indian-born, but he shows the attitudes of an American-born Indian). I love Apu's exaggerated embracing of American culture (he goes from being a polite, shy, gentleman to being a stud trying on different hairstyles, and dating more than 1 woman simultaneously). Apu actually takes it very far and pretends to his mother that he's married to an American woman. I liked Apu's mom's ridiculous underreaction to what she thinks Apu has done. I know one Indian girl who actually did marry an American guy behind her own parents' back. She wasn't just lightly reprimanded like Apu was ("disgraced his family and spit on his culture"); she was completely shunned and despised by the Indian community and her parents. Anyway, the middle act is a weak spot, too much sitcomish, predictable comedy. Eventually, Apu arrives at his wedding, which is a treat. Lovejoy's line "I consulted the Hindu website" is hilarious-cause-it's-true. I mean, it's pathetic, but a lot of my knowledge about Indian culture was actually learned in the Internet. I liked the resolution, where Apu realizes that he has to learn to love his wife he's never met before. I think that's actually one of the good things about arranged marriage; you both learn how to love the other for who she is (rather than just falling in love, then realizing you're not 100% compatible), and you both make compromises (Apu is told that he must get a haircut). Or they can just get a divorce, now that they're in America. LOL. This episode doesn't get that high a grade, though, mainly for the middle act. (B+)
Lisa the Skeptic Mike Scully tries to recreate the great season 7 episode Lisa the Iconoclast, but doesn't entirely succeed, because the theme is too obvious and simplified (at one point, the writers seem to be aware of this, when the judge says "This case will decide the age-old debate between science and religion"). Lisa is too aggressive about her beliefs, calling the townspeople idiots, and the townspeople are beyond idiots. In Lisa the Iconoclast, the truth vs. myth theme is subtle throughout the episode, and not really clarified till the ending. But I applaud this episode's ambition, found it a bit creative and thought-provoking, and I like that Lisa and Marge are actually interacting. (B)
Realty Bites The Scully era is often derided most for being overly cartoony and wacky, but sometimes, the worst episodes are the ones that actually have little dynamic at all. Such is this episode (along with episodes like Pokey Mom and Insane Clown Poppy). I really could have cared less about Marge's moral conflict about honesty (should she tell Flanders that they're in a murder house?). Just didn't click with me. In fact, being a real estate agent just wasn't a very funny position for Marge. (D+)
All Singing, All Dancing It's not that I'm opposed to an episode that tries to bring together all of the Simpsons' musical moments. In fact, I thought it was a great idea. But it's executed quite lazily, with the songs presented in no particular order (for example, We Do is used as the finale), and the original material an absolute painful experience. (D-)
Miracle on Evergreen Terrace Call me sadistic, but I really enjoy these dark episodes in which something really terrible happens to the Simpsons, and the conflict gets worse and worse and completely out-of-hand. Like in 4F13 or CABF03. The only reason this episode didn't turn out spectacular was that the 3rd act was sort of anticlimactic and stupid, and I couldn't buy the town's reaction to the "scam". Plus, Bart's role in the story is forgotten. The conclusion is one of the few incomplete endings that actually works. (B)
Bart Carny A solid, well-written, and underrated episode. Not much can be said about the lighthearted plot, but I found it amusing and charming the whole way through. And the ending is nice; Homer actually shows some intelligence. Some good scenes include Bart pretending to be Hitler, Wiggum trying to get a bribe, and the Cooders switching roles with the family. (B+)
The Joy of Sect This episode, in its attempt to create a wacky action/adventure satire of real cults, goes too far out of bounds. All this mindwashing, leader-praising stuff was really hard to swallow, and not actually funny. Subpar, obvious semi-funny humor of how gullible the cult members are. There are some jokes that really stand out. For example, Marge trying to escape the monastery is a cool scene, as is Burns pretending to be God (you'd think he'd have thought of that idea a long time ago!) (C+)
Das Bus This episode has a storyline very similar to Lord of The Flies, and it has some of the motifs from the novel (for example, the conch and the war-paint). That still doesn't qualify it as an actual parody of the novel, but more of an unoriginal episode. At least the trial thing in the 3rd act was a nice twist to the story. (C-)
The Last Temptation of Krust This episode was an honest effort, and intelligently done, but it just didn't click with me. I guess the concept of revitalizing comedy was too esoteric for me. (I didn't understand why everyone loved Krusty's George Carlin's routine.) This episode tried to be a comedy about comedy, and that doesn't work. Kind of like it didn't work in Spinoff Showcase. (C)
Dumbbell Indemnity Man gets run over by carriage…funny. Man drive off cliff…funny. Man gets hit on head by book…funny. Drunken man gets attacked by seagulls…funny. You get the idea. It was a pretty simple, slapstick episode, a farce. But I still liked it. Some of the slapstick humor is well-timed (Homer jumps out of car, then rolls right back into the car! Or Homer using a book on tunneling prison to attack a prison guard, who happens to be Hans Moleman). (B)
Lisa the Simpson At one point Lisa says, "Ralph seems happy enough. Maybe I should just stick to mindless happiness" This seems to be the theme of the whole episode. We can see all the powerful temptations for Lisa to give up her intellectual side: her brother and dad revel in mindless happiness, the media (When Buildings Collapse!) is insulting to her intelligence, her own biology suggests that she's incapable of higher mental thought, it's so hard to be proud of being smart when you have those days when you can't even solve a simple puzzle or complete a homework project. I think a lot of people could relate to Lisa. Not incredibly funny but it's a sweet, relevant episode. (B)
This Little Wiggy A decent, but not really spectacular, secondary character episode that makes Ralph's dimwittedness both funny and kind of sad. I liked scenes such as when Ralph plays with himself and Marge feels sorry for him, or when Ralph is praised for "saving" Quimbyss life. It's uplifting to see that even Bart, who is so concerned with fitting in with the right crowd, can learn to respect Ralph for who he is. Like in the TellTale Head, the episode makes the point that some things are more important than popularity, but it's done more subtly in this episode. But there was also a lot of unfunny material, mainly the ending with Quimby in the electric chair. (B-)
Simpson Tide Meh. I said meh. M-E-H. (C+)
The Trouble With Trillions I liked the first act; it's a good satire of how lazy and reluctant we are about paying taxes. I love how Homer doesn't even realize he HAS a to-do list. But once the IRS comes along, the episode goes downhill. While the episode follows all the conventions of an effective satire (unlike Lisa the Treehugger) by presenting a conflict between oppressor (IRS), whom the episode ridicules, and oppressed (Homer and Burns), whom the episode defends, I didn't like the way the episode approached the satire. The IRS being portrayed as a scheming, exploitative organization has been done to death, and the episode contributed nothing original. At the end of the second act, when Burns rants about how the government is crooked, and Homer knocks out the IRS guys, I actually WANTED Homer and Burns to get arrested, which is odd, because I'm supposed to feel sorry for them. And the third act didn't help either. (C)
Girly Edition There was a lot of talk about Jerkass Homer in season 9, but what about Bitchass Lisa? Because in this episode, Lisa is unusually egotistical, and her conflict with Bart is a little unbelievable. Another problem is that, like in Das Bus, the children of Springfield had pretty unfunny scenes: Nelson makes armpit farts and Milhouse talks about his soiled blanket, etc. On the plus, I like how the episode combines the sibling rivalry story with satire against manipulative journalism (Brockman's story about the carousel being torn down is great). The monkey subplot is too unoriginal and sitcomish. (C)
Trash of the Titans Season 9 continued to go down the toilet with The Ultimate Homer Jerkass Episode, which unfortunately also carried the title of 200th Episode Spectacular. The plot was well setup, but the rest of the episode was showy, obnoxious, and sellout. Even in Tale of Two Springfields, Homer had a reason for being so angry! (D+)
The whole set of reviews is too long to fit in entirely in this post. so I'll post the rest in the next message.
*********************** TheAbman, HOM++ LIS+++ BAR++++ BOB++++ 7G12, 7F10, 8F15, 9F22, 1F04, 2F10, 3F13, 4F14, 5F02, AABF03, BABF05, CABF14 "Is there no place for the man with the 105 IQ?!?!" ***********************