[The long of it]
I missed the first airing of this show because dinner at a cousin's house ran late. Perhaps that was just as well; between then and tonight's repeat, my local "Simpsons" syndicator showed "Homer's Mother (3F06)," which set me up nicely for "My Mother the Carjacker."
At first, I was going to say that the producers were taking a risk in making a follow-up to one of the best-regarded episodes of the seventh season. Eight years after it aired, many people consider the closing shot of Homer sitting on the hood of his car, staring sadly at the stars, to be one of the show's best endings. Watching it again, I realized something that I had forgotten the first time around. "Homer's Mother," despite its reputation as a touching episode, actually focuses on wild jokes and parodies about 60s radicalism. The famous closing scene is the only one where the emotional lives of the characters come to the foreground. I liked the episode, but I thought that a story about a reunion between Homer and his mom should have more substance than this one did. So, some people might criticize "My Mother the Carjacker" as a shallow echo of the earlier episode, but I say, hey, the original version wasn't as deep as you might think.
The two shows have other points in common. "Carjacker" still gets most of its tension from Mona's flight from Burns's wrath. There's a funny scene early on where Homer vows that the police will never lay a finger on his mother -- and then drives right into the police station. Mona's trial isn't bad, either, with Bart cross-examining his sister, and Sideshow Bob extolling the Quality Inn where the jurors are sequestered. There are also plenty of 60s gags, as you'd might expect, with my favorite being channel 6's "stock montage" of cliched 60s news footage. But I'd bet most viewers didn't notice the best gag. Mona Simpson tries to communicate with her son by planting acrostics, where the first letter of each line of a news article is a letter in a secret message. Someone on the staff went to the trouble to write two funny dummy articles to go with the coded missives, even though the only people who will see them are those who tape the show and then go over it again in slow-motion. It takes some effort, but it's worth it.
Glenn Close once again does excellent work providing the voice of Mona Simpson. Her character sounds warm and wise, balancing her husband's angry, self-absorbed personality and her son's impulsiveness. Getting her back is another thing that must have taken some effort, but again it was worth it.
The ending for "Carjacker" falls short in comparison to the original. That may have been inevitable, but I was hoping for a little closer contest. I could easily see where the writers were setting up a touching ending, but the effect wasn't there. Part of the problem might be that this episode ended on a joke, whereas "Homer's Mother" was brave enough to forgo the closing punchline in favor of a downbeat finish. (On the other hand, "Carjacker" gets some brownie points for working John Lennon's "Mother," one of his best solo songs, into the story.)
Eight years from now, will fans hold "My Mother the Carjacker" in the same regard as "Homer's Mother"? I suspect not, because the earlier episode has that striking ending, and because the series's critics tend to automatically disregard newer episodes. The more interesting question might be, with similar plots, jokes, acting, and writing quality, *should* fans prefer "Homer's Mother"? When you make up your mind, just encode your answer in your local paper. I'll be watching.
[The short of it]
The first impulse most people will have is to compare this look at Homer and his mother with its classic precursor, which aired eight years ago. I suspect most people will find it wanting, but should they? I think both episodes have similar joke quality. I liked the riffs on Sixties radicalism, in particular the stock 60's montage aired by Channel 6. It's too bad that most people will probably miss the funny news articles that Homer searches through, seeking coded messages from his mom. Glenn Close does great voice- over work as Homer's mom, just as in the original. The ending might not have the impact of the "Homer's Mom," but neither version was as stirring emotionally as most people seem to think. (B)
[DYNs]
... the mouse night-light in Maggie's room, as she's playing with the rat? ... the "El Barto" graffiti on the overpass? ... Lisa rubs her arm in the background after Bart's Indian twist? ... Mona makes "rabbit ears" behind Homer on the log flume? ... Homer bares his "breasts" on the flume? [rather like Fry does in an episode of "Futurama," although this isn't a reference] ... Mona's prison number is 2067? ... Homer is still unwittingly dissing Frank Grimes?
[References]
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (TV series) - Homer flips through funny newspaper typos, the way Jay Leno does - the typos are mounted on black cardboard, again as on Leno's show
"A Beautiful Mind" (movie) - Homer tapes random newspaper articles to his walls, looking for patterns in the articles - possible patterns are "highlighted" in Homer's mind
"The Honeymooners" (TV series) - "And away we go" was one of the character's catchphrases, wasn't it?
Pep Boys (auto parts chain) - "Zip Boys" has a similar name and logo
[Previous Episode References]
[3F04] Zip Boys appear [3F06] Well, duh -- Glenn Close as Homer's mom [7F01] Tyrone Power mentioned
[FFF]
Comical newspaper headline:
MAYOR UNVEILS ERECTION
TO CHEERING CROWDMarge's T-shirt:
OOPS
PATROL CHANNEL
6Not-so-comical newspaper headlines:
CRANFORD MAN DROUGHT THREATENS TO
MISSING TURN WEST INTO DESERTPeace talk news:
DAILY NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------
P E A C E T A L K S
B R E A K D O W N
Peace Talks in the Middle East | The Secretary of State has
broke down today when Syrian | offered to intervene, but
negotiators left the table and | his efforts have been rebuffed."For Sale" ad:
FOR SALE
FORD FESTIVA '02 FF 1150 RT
SILVER, MINT
COND. $14.5 K
(142567) 567-
2345PPHeadline that gets Homer's attention
IOWA HOME
TO WORLD'S
BIGGEST PIZZAAccompanying article:
[First column]
Home Sweet Home, Tha
One pizza that's making
Most sizeable pizza in th
Every State wants to ol
Rhode Island is our sma
Montana boasts the biggest sky in the land;
Even Idaho brags about itspotatoes. Iowa
Eventually wanted to make its mark, too.
To many in Ames, Iowa, where the college
Men and women who dreamed up this stunt
Eat pizza like LA students eat pills, this
4th attempt at doing something magnificent
Saved the State. "There was precious little
To brag about," said Do
Recently moved to Neb
Entertainment, if you co
Eating a slice of big p
To draw him back "for["itspotatoes" on line seven was run together like that]
[Second column]
Others in the state seemed
Very enormous pizza was
Eaten, and when informed
Responded, "Who Cares? I
Pizza, or any un-American
Asparagus, or something
Sure, I'll give it a whirl. It co
Smallish food, I don't care
Mean it won't taste good.
It won't make the evening
Don't quite a lot of things
Neglected by you liberal r
Intensely anti-US focus on
The uneaten portion of the
Eventually be turned intoZip Boys billboard:
The
Zip BoysMANNY JOE MACK
Bart's sweater:
WORLD'S
BEST
GRANDSONDiner sign:
-----------
\
V
OVERPASS
DINNER A BURGER AND SQUALOR
FOR UNDER A DOLLERHomer's letter to "Die Hard":
Especially when that guy
was on the roof.-HOMER SIMPSON-
P. S. Do you know
Mad Max?Concert banner:
CONCERT FOR THE DEAF
Subtitle in newscast:
MONTGOMERY BURNS
6-------------------
Local TyrantLab sign before:
GERM WARFARE LABORATORY
"When the H-Bomb Isn't Enough"Lab sign after:
THE GRANDMA SIMPSON PEACE MUSEUM
AND
KID-TERACTIVE LEARNATORIUMCover of park sign-in log:
YELLOWSTOWN
NATIONAL PARKTraffic signs:
LEFT LANE DRIVE SEATBELTS
CLOSED FRIENDLY SAVE LIVES STACEY WHAT DO YOU I HOPE YOUR
WILL YOU MEAN 'NO'? CAR BLOWS UP
MARRY ME? SNOWSTORM AHEAD
USE TIRE CHAINSWiggum's dictionary:
HIPPIE-ENGLISH
DICTIONARYMona's headstone:
MONA J. SIMPSON
---------------
LOVING MOMRADICAL CHICK
FAR-OUT
GRANDMAGrimes's headstone:
FRANK
"GRIMEY"
GRIMES"Message" Homer points out after funeral:
[First page]
We don't know who
demanded an apology.
It turn
Man had moved
Oklahoma, and[Second page]
Know
quite a case
on accountSecond newspaper headline:
GIANT TACO
BUILT IN
MEXICOMona's second message:
[First column]
How about those amazing, marvelous Mexicans?
One day they're attacking our best Alamos, or
Manufacturing nice leather belts to sell to
Eager U.S. tourists with uneventful trousers.
Recently, though, some students in nothern
Yucatan tried to make something to wear under
One's belt. They ended up making ... history.
Until yesterday, the largest taco ever built
Resided in the LA, home of Dom Deluise, who
Moved it from room to room to view it as he
Oversaw the operation of his bustling career.
That taco is now among the world's smallest.
He was unavailable for comment at press time.
Earlier this month, in attention-starved Iowa,
Residents made what they believed would be the
Largest food ever prepared: a 378-ton pizza.
Once the Yucatan Taco tipped the scales at a
Very impressive 413,845 tons, Iowa's feat was
Eclipsed, and the state was, again, forgotten.
Some in Iowa vowed revenge on the citizens of
Yucatan, saying, "If they want war, bring it
On. The people of Iowa are prepared. We've
Used this week bulking up on American pizza." [The typo on line 5 ("nothern") also appears in the original.
So does the comma after "LA" on line 9. Any other typos are
My doing.][Second column]
I [remainder of column]
E [is gibberish, like]
S [dkdlfjdkjdkf, so I]
C [didn't bother to]
A [transcribe it]
P
E
D[Oops!]
The want ad in the paper offers a 2002 Ford Festiva for $14,500. Whoever posted it must have been hallucinating, or sending another coded message. The Festiva was only sold (in the United States) between 1988 and 1993. According to the Kelly Blue book, a '93 Festiva in good condition costs $2,210.
[Personal Comments & Observations]
The cliched musical symbol of the 60s, Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower," plays during the cliched 60s montage.
As Homer reviews the photos of his mother, we hear John Lennon's "Mother."
Well, if the news is really old.
Tokyo Rose -- A female broadcaster hired by the Japanese to broadcast demoralizing messages, in English, to invading Allied troops. "Your girlfriends are cheating on you while you're over here" was a popular theme. The troops must have been listening to some other channel, as Imperial Japan was defeated anyway. I heard that Tokyo Rose (who never identified herself; the nickname was minted by the Allies) was actually several women toiling in anonymity, rather than a specific individual.
Tyrone Powers -- Handsome movie actor of the era.
Brockman seemed tired of it, but the montage had a few offbeat moments. The first three images -- rioters, soldiers in Vietnam, and hippies at Woodstock -- are pretty much de rigeur for any montage evoking a 60s theme. Then we have a picture of Nixon apparently victorious in an election. Nixon's more of a 70s icon to most people, but he was elected President in November 1968, so it fits. The moon landing, shown next, happened in 1969. The next clip was from the campy Adam West version of "Batman." It looked like the Caped Crusader was doing his novelty dance, the Batusi. The two Olympic medal winners raising their fist is the most famous image from the 1968 Olympics. The raised fist was the symbol of the "Black Power" civil-rights movement, which was more radical and far more controversial that Martin Luther King's crusade for equal rights. The final shot was from "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," which was a big hit in the late 60s. One recurrent gimmick was a giant colorful joke wall. Show regulars and guest stars would pop out of doors in the wall and tell quick one-liners. The actor in the montage looked like John Wayne, which would be funny because he was a staunch conservative who likely wouldn't have appeared on the show in real life. (Yeah, okay, Nixon was on "Laugh-In" once. Perhaps he was Commie pinko in disguise.)