AABF12 "Make Room for Lisa" [Review]

"This inner peace stuff is tough on the old coconut", Homer Simpsom, AABF12

I hope you don�t mind but I decided to write a couple of longer and more detailled reviews for single episodes instead of writing short reviews for entire seasons. I think it�s better to write more about a single episode so I can say more detailled what I think about it. Short reviews are good but they are always too superficial and you can�t really explain your opinion about certain episodes.

I�m an oldschooler so don�t expect good reviews for new episodes but I try to be fair. The first episode I choose is indeed one from a new season, namely AABF12 "Make Room for Lisa" from season 10 which was IMO a pretty bad season of real decline for the show.

An episode written by Brian Scully with Mike Scully as Executive Producer? What can you expect? Just a load of crap and slapstick? Actually, I enjoyed Brian Scully�s "Lost Our Lisa" from season 9 so maybe there�s hope for his season 10 episode as well. Let�s have a closer look.

At first sight it has all the usual problems of a typical bad new episode: lots of dumb slapstick jokes, a rather weird opening that is completely unrelated to the story (Homer and P.J. O�Harrigans), a bad characterization of Homer who is very stupid and annoying especially in the first act, a distorted relationship between Bart and Lisa (says Bart "I�m going to make your life a living hell"), a wacky story that doesn�t care for continuity any longer and even a couple of sexual references such as Skinner and the tunnel or Krusty and his date with a woman who actually wasn�t a woman.

However, for an episode with so many obvious problems it works surprisingly well and I count it among my season 10 favourites (though even the word "favourite" seems misplaced in season 10.)

The story has its bad and dumb sides but if you ignore all the childish stuff there are traces of a real character episode for Homer and Lisa and thus traces of an episode in the tradition of great classics such as "Lisa�s Substitute" or "Lisa�s Pony" or "Lisa�s Sax" (which was IMO the last true classic.)

The story starts to work better at the end of the second act when Lisa and Homer start again to talk about their difficult relationship and when they arrive at the New Age store. The following story with the sensory deprivation tanks seems weird and surreal but it�s clearly more imaginative and more intelligent than many other season 10 stories and there are references to the movie "Altered States". I like Lisa�s attempts to stop thinking and her realization "This tank is releasing the full potential of my brain" while Homer sings happily like a big child in the other tank. Alas, the bad side of the story and the fact that we are in season 10 and that the episode is mostly aimed at kids start to kick in when Homer�s slapstick journey with the tank begins (but I like his line "Sensory deprivation kicks ass").

I�d say a little bit more intelligence and subtlety and symbolism (like in 3F24 "Mysterious Voyage" - another episode that refers to "Altered States") would have used the potential of the story much better than a weird cartoonish slapstick ride through town but unfortunately it�s season 10. The idea itself would have been great stuff for a deeply serious season 7 episode but it came too late. The greatest fault of the entire episode is maybe the mere fact that Lisa apologizes for being herself but actually Homer should apologize for being such a jerk and destroying her room but he doesn�t.

Besides that I really like the deprivation tank plot while the entire eavesdropping plot with Marge is nicely related to the main plot but falls a little flat. The surreal visions of Lisa clearly lift the episode above the usual "wacky adventure" niveau of season 10, especially the scenes when she has a vision of being Homer and we see Homer reflected in her eyes and she thinks with his "voice" in a sad tone "Why is Lisa so mad at me? I only came to this dump so I could be with her." I also like the final reconciliation scene when Lisa hugs Homer and he kisses her forehead. One of the rare moments when the modern jerkass and bizarre creature Homer becomes an almost real being again.

Such scenes remind me of a word I had almost forgotten in season 10: character depth. Sadly, it�s also a kind of character dusk or the last glimpses of really three-dimensional characterization before the final slapstick flatening of awful season 11 took place.

So what now? Is AABF12 a good episode or a bad episode? Well, I�d say it�s a nice episode but it�s an episode of wasted potential that shows us the mistakes of season 10 and of all current seasons. Pure modern slapstick and serious classic character plots can merge (as they do here) but they don�t merge very well and the simple fun elements are mostly a useless part of the episode. They have a good and imaginative and even intelligent character plot but they waste most of the real potential for slapstick and gags in a row (today known as HOMR syndrome ;-)).

Despite all problems, it�s one of my season 10 favourites because it gives at least a little bit of depth to the characters (to a certain degree) and it�s somehow even more deep and "real" than many other wacky AABF stories but that�s not very difficult in a season that brought us flying trucks, pink Loch Ness monsters and airplane-shaking Godzilla. Compared with true classics it�s very very weak but compared with the rest of the season it�s outstandingly good and that�s maybe a little sad. Nice but lightyears away from the quality of "Summer of 4 Ft 2" or "Lisa�s Sax".

Addition: when I use the term "kids" in reviews I�m not refering to the younger audience or to the younger people here in the group in general but to the "kids" Scully considered as audience for the show and in his opinion those kids wanted nothing but simple and empty slapstick (he was wrong there because most old-time-fans started at a young age and appreciated serious episodes.) AABF12 should have pleased the long-time viewers with its character plot but I think Scully thought it wasn�t suitable for kids so he and the writers added lots of nonsense and the slapstick ride through town.

Comments are as usual welcome.

Chris

P.S. Let me know if you like to read more detailled reviews by me or if you think they�re boring.

harumph, harumph, harumph

ben-p wrote:

hey, aaron hirshburg didn't give the pfiefer a harumph.

IMO, Make Room For Lisa was a decent episode. I liked the first act visit to the Smithsonian. Very good slam on corporate ownership and phony public relations. Marge subplot was also amusing (sex jokes didn't bother me), and I liked how it ended with Bart teaching Marge a lesson. What I didn't like was that much of the episode is derivative deja-vu. Lisa and Bart sharing a room and arguing reminded me too much of Lisa babysitting Bart, but this tie it was too tame and not as funny. Lisa and Homer watching When Animals Attack Magicians is too much like When Buildings Collapse, except this time the joke is too fast and random. And much of the comedy is centered around Homer annoying Lisa, without realizing it. If there had been a few scenes in which Homer had said to himself, "I realize I'm annoying Lisa. I'll resolve to be a better father" and still managed to annoy her, the episode would have worked much better, both comedically and dramatically. The episode's biggest problem is that it could have used more comedic exageration, but is instead just very bland conflict between Homer and Lisa: Homer eats mayonnaise, Homer clicks his pen with Bart, Homer interrupts Lisa's homework. I agree that the 3rd act is aesthetically well-done, even Homer's ride through Springfield. IMO, the ending to the episode works and has a moral to it. Some hate it, because they say that Homer deserved no sympathy for his behavior, and ChaiTheDog once said that the ending was actually chauvinistic. But I think it's nice that Lisa realizes that she owes her parents unconditional love and respect.

As for season 10, IMO, it wasn't a bad season, but weaker than any previous season. In fact, I like all seasons of The Simpsons except seasons 11 and 12. Season 10 had the last character episodes ever (Bart the Mother, Make Room For Lisa, Lisa Gets an A), the last truly well-thought out satires (Mayored to the Mob, Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo), and the last traces of intelligent commentary (Mom And Pop Art, They Saved Lisa's Brain). But there was too much formulaic writing, too much focus on Homer, and stories that were a little bland. I'd say it was a worthy season, but just barely.

Favorites of season 10 are Lisa Gets an A, Mayored to the Mob, and treehouse of horror 9.

Good review, Chris. Keep em coming.

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TheAbman,
HOM++ LIS+++ BAR++++ BOB++++ 7G12, 7F10,
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BABF05, CABF14
"Is there no place for the man with the 105 IQ?!?!"
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