Notes for MABF15 (Judge Me Tender)

Hey, that was fun. I was dreading it a bit because of all the promos emphasizing American Idol... which didn't even show up till the final act (and Simon not till act 3). Moe's story was a little oddly paced, but at least it was a *little* non-formulaic that way. The subplot with Homer and Marge was neat, but more importantly, it was actually pretty funny. Homer hanging around Marge like a Greek chorus, etc. Also of note: Lisa/Ned and the Jesus fish, the actual amusing effect of "Sweet Home Alabama" accompanying the CA sequence, the running gag of Lisa's band candy (it's true - 3rd time it's funny).

Opening stuff *Bottom to top*: Ned ascending as an angel Ralph: aah, Barney: burp Solo: Lisa plays a trumpet solo!

DYN: ..."Satan's Little Helper" (as in an anagram)? ...the credits finish with only about 15 seconds to go in act 1? ...Dr. Nick is still still alive? ...Blinky on Springfield Airlines plane? ...the Leno impression at the end seemed to change voices halfway through?

Previous episode stuff FABF09: Simon Cowell guest stars (as himself this time) 8F10: Homer claims he wanted to name Bart Barf, but Marge said kids might tease him. 8F10 claims quite otherwise. EABF17: the way Moe is denied seats at the dog contest reminiscent of opening act here BABF07: Homer's modest business with the hat like the plea to Gary Coleman 3F02: Complaints about natural light at Moe's 3F18: Flicking lights at Moe's (Marge does it in 2F05 too) 8F11, 3F22: Homer labeling all the eggs like Ned's "fill me" ice cubes (see also Radio Bart) A few not-really-references that came rapid fire: -DABF03: Homer asked to settle a bar bet -DABF09: XFL ragged on -CABF03: Long Island iced tea 3F11: Homer's played golf before AABF08 (BABF11): Rupert Murdoch appears (all but BABF11 voiced by him)

Meta Animation Domination - Live Action Surrender sign refers of course to the "animation domination" block they've been doing on Fox Sundays since 2005 or so. Just in case we forget in the future.

Other stuff Just kind of funny: we're now caught up on holdovers to where we were 3 years ago (before all the strike stuff). Also, this is the most episodes in a broadcast season (23) since season 10 - which is over twice the number of seasons and episodes since then.

Blackboard gag referred to the Lost series finale tonight - and the episode featured American Idol and specifically Simon Cowell, whose last episodes on the show, apparently, are this Tuesday and Wednesday.

I didn't notice till tonight that there are pictures in Moe's with previous episode callbacks: the Pin Pals (with Otto and not Burns) (3F10), and the Be-Sharps (with Barney I think) (9F21)... how long have they been there?

Finally The oompah music heard at the beard contest and again over the executive producer credits sounds really familiar. I can't check at the moment, but was it the same piece as heard at the beer festival in BABF12? (Funny if true, especially since that was also a Moe episode and featured a local contest.)

Yeah, one of the funnier episodes of recent years. I actually wasn't that big on the Homer/Marge storyline, but Moe's story worked well, and I agree about the Jesus fish and band candy gags being very good.

I suspect that they added in the BP gag after the rest of the episode had been produced. Between that, the Tiger Woods bit, and the chalkboard, this was an unusually topical episode.

Which actually heightened the joke for me. It's just like Homer to have a whim (that it would have been cool to name his son Barf) and totally misremember his past to fit that whim.

Another quirk I noticed: In the scene where the American Idol judges comment on the performance of the competitor, Randy and Ellen can be seen sitting next to Kara. However, when Kara comments on the performance, Simon and Moe can be seen sitting next to Kara.

Matt Garvey wrote:

I did check, and no, it's not. Nor is it in 3G03 (before Willy's appearance). But I've heard it before. Any thoughts?