I haven't posted any reviews here in a long time, but, since I've started writing some observations about the new episodes on my journal, I figured I might as well cross-post them. (By the way, is it too late to get some of my earlier reviews into the capsules?)
Anyway, on to the reviews.
A Star Is Torn:
This was largely an extended American Idol parody. I liked Krusty's disinterested comments, and his line about trying out "especially if you're a funny-looking kid who can't sing." Lenny and Carl's heckling was also amusing. We've seen from previous episodes that Homer can actually be really good at some things when he applies himself, and I think this episode was another one along those lines. The ridiculous songs that he comes up with here are really quite clever. While not a super-great episode, it didn't contain much that I could find fault with. The rake scene of Homer trying to figure out whether or not his food was staying down went on WAY too long, though. Also, the ending was too abrupt. Did Lisa win the competition? If so, we really should have seen what came of it. Maybe they should have shown the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon that she was supposed to have been in. (B+)
Previous Episode Reference: [8F19] Homer manages a singer, and uses a stage name with "Colonel" in it.
Thank God It's Doomsday:
I'd been looking forward to the second episode since first learning about it, and it didn't disappoint. I generally like the shows with lots of religious humor, and I've always been interested in the whole doomsday prophecy thing. It was no "Homer the Heretic," but there were still a lot of really funny parts. I liked the "Left Behind" parody, the "signs" that Homer sees, and Homer's vision of Heaven. The depressed Jesus on the swingset was great. The angel's line about leprechaun labor was also funny, but I have to suspect that someone on the writing staff is obsessed with leprechauns. How many times have they been mentioned on the show as of late? Anyway, good episode. (A)
Previous Episode References: 7F10, 7F13, 7F76, 1F04, BABF21, probably more I'm forgetting - Satan appears 2F02 - Homer thinks the Rapture has come
Possible Goof: This episode implies that Bart and Lisa always have their hair cut at home, yet we've seen them go to barber shops several times.
Comments:
Homer's calculations to determine the time of the Rapture aren't really that far from what many doomsday prophets have done in real life. One prophecy I've seen was partially based on the boat in John 21 being 200 feet out in the Sea of Galilee signifying that there would be 2000 years in between the birth of Jesus and the end of the world. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of this sort.
I noticed that the episode made God look the same as He always has on the show, complete with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. Satan, on the other hand, didn't look anything like he did in "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment," "Bart Gets Hit by a Car," or the "Deep, Deep Trouble" music video. I'm not sure if that's how he looked in the "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" Halloween segment; I know they made him bigger and less Flanders-sounding for that one, but I don't remember much else about his design there. I guess you could argue that Homer imagines Satan differently than his kids do, since those other Satanic appearances (not counting the Treehouse of Horror ones) were in Bart and Lisa's dreams.