This was pretty good. I'm not really into the rap or hip-hop scenes myself, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but that turned out to be somewhat of a secondary focus. In some ways, like bad-boy Bart and the interplay with the family, it reminded me of a much older episode; I also note that it was penned by Matt Selman, whose deftness at writing for the kids was apparent with the motivation of Bart (and others), though on the other hand Marge seemed a bit *too* grief-stricken, even if it was realistic, and Homer was a little too kooky at times (e.g. the shirt/pants in fire - he really doesn't like pants). I also found myself being a little emotionally involved, which can be tough to pull off. The Wiggum angle of the story, which I didn't expect, was a nice character study, more than the usual glimpses we get (about on par with DABF17) - though surely he's done some police work right before. So, it seemed like a fairly solid plot, with decent laughs (not many of the set-up, knock-down type)... B++.
Previous episode references
7F06: Bart sneaks out to go somewhere; Homer's fall off the cliff
referenced for some reason
8F21: Bart goes to a concert
9F03: Bart prohibited from attending an event
3F06: Someone faking own death/kidnapping, with <strike>sexy</strike>
serious results; stinging tombstone prepared
EABF19: Veggie Tales spoofed
9F07: Homer and Marge's rap somewhat like the "Mr. Plow" rap
1F16: Rock through window astonishes someone (a bird has become
petrified and lost its sense of direction)
1F07: Classic TV character gives advice to, uh, classic Simpsons
character
DABF17: A closer look at Wiggum's character in the face of ineptitude
BABF18: Though not named specifically, the asylum's marching band
returns
4F04, 5F01: The dead possum at Kirk's place's pool (different than where
he is now) and the dead guy at the motel pool combined in my brain to
make me think we already saw a corpse at Kirk's pool...still, there are
two refs anyway.
BABF11: Promotion of Lou to Chief and Eddie to Lou reminded me of the
progression seen here:
Homer: Hmm, I can see the house is falling apart without me, so
here's the new order: Bart, you're the man of the house.
Lisa, I'm promoting you to boy. Maggie's now the brainy
girl. The toaster can fill in for Maggie. And Marge,
you're a consultant.Comments The couch gag seems to be inspired in part by the Simpsons chess game. I don't remember who was each piece in the game (though I can take a guess for Homer, Marge, and Maggie) - were they the same tonight?
Though I also haven't really heard it used much in recent years, "dis" (disrespect, for anyone too young or un-hip) was the basis for a clue, in a category about slang or something, in the Teen Tournament on Jeopardy! in the last few weeks.