Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington Capsule Submission

S P O I L E R

S P A C E

Review: D. Well, tonight's episode was a real clunker. The whole idea of airplanes flying over the Simpsons house was already a bad idea to begin with. Sadly, the main plot of Krusty running for Congress was unable to make the episode any better. Save for the cracks at the Fox News Network being pro-Republican and the Krusty commercial, this episode wasn't that funny. Add a weak ending, and you get a dud of a Simpsons episode.

DYN's

Springfield's state has at least 26 representatives in Congress (two Senators and 24 House of Representative members)?

Refs.

Creedence Clearwater Revival -Homer mistaking CPR for CCR

Airplane! -Airplane crashing into the Simpson house

Goofs

By the later years of the Three Stooges, Curly had already died, and thus wouldn't be part of the group.

Shouldn't the Flanders, being the Simpsons' next door neighbor, also be complaining about the airplanes?

Comment

The bit at the beginning where Homer eats the Joe Millionaire promo spoofs Fox's tendancy to place ads for other shows when the Simpsons return from a commercial break.

Joe Klemm

Joe Klemm wrote:

That isn't a goof. Moe called him Curly IV.

Maybe I'm just a Schwartzwelder fan, but I thought this episode was above average for this season -- though there were some clunkers, more of the gags worked for me than didn't and some even reminded me of the "glory days" of the show. I give it an A-.

Bad because it doesn't lend itself well to humorous situations, or bad because you don't like it?

But Curly 4 was still alive...

I'm sure Ned just didn't want to trouble anybody with his complains.

It was also "cartoon physics" at its most blatant and interfered with the reality of the Springfield universe. I don't mind stomping on a Fox logo or erasing Matt Groening's signature when it's part of a couch scene, but that stuff doesn't belong within the 'real' parts of the show.

-Poot

I disagree, I think that Joe Millionaire gag was hilarious. I think OFF took a few tips from Family Guy and is adding more ridiculous elements like this

[email] (wallyosu) wrote in message news:...

You may be right, but where's "Family Guy" now? I don't think that's the kind of show you want to take tips from.

I also agree with Rootbeer that these breaks from physical reality are pointless and distracting. They are creatively too cheap and too easy, and ruin the sort of continuity needed to make the stories believable. I know it's only a cartoon, but it has to have at least *some* basis in reality. Without that -- if they employ the strategy of "no boundaries and anything goes" -- it's hard to care about what's going on.

Actually, that's what the Treehouse episodes are for -- refreshing breaks from reality. If they extend these breaks to the regular shows, it will hurt the Treehouse concept in the short run (they won't seem special anymore), and the franchise in the long run.

Chuck

On 10 Mar 2003 06:55:13 -0800, [email] (Chuck Hildebrandt) wrote:

I agree. I laughed uproariously at the promo-eating gag, but I kind of had a bad taste in my mouth afterward. It was like I had momentarily given in to the Dark Side.

Family Guy was genuinely hilarious. It got the plug pulled because it was too quick to make fun of america and the roman catholic church - we don't want to offend anyone by asking them to not take themselves so seriously, do we?

JQM

No, it got the plug pulled because not enough people were watching it.

Or did you think that the government and the Catholic Church actually control the media from behind the scenes?

-Poot

Poot Rootbeer wrote in news:[email]:

"Who drives the good Fox shows off the air? We do, we do!"

On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:23:51 +0000 (UTC), "James Morrissey" wrote:

To me Family guy was a pale imitation of the Simpsons. It had some funny moments but every single joke was exactly the same: someone would say something goofy and then they would cut to a flashback that shows what they just mentioned.

Scott

"Poot Rootbeer" wrote in message news:[email]...

I agree, in fact I think this was the best episode in years. I laughed out loud several times, and it had the "old feel" of the Simpson Family in a real (albeit a little silly, yes) story rather than a plot made up to string together gags.

I expecially liked the CCR gag and Kent Brockman "proving" they were live.

Right. I didn't think it was bad at all. It's possible, somewhat realistic, and fresh.

Yeah! Nyaa nyaa. ;-)

Sure, or he was in Hollywood loking for what's her name, or on a bible retreat with the brats, or whatever you want. After last week's ep, I appreciate the conspicuous absence of Ned in this one.

Well, you do have a point... but I liked it because it was unexpected, it took me by surprise; and I *hate* those stupid promos anyway.

Except for the scene that he was in...

-Poot

"Poot Rootbeer" wrote in message news:[email]...

Well, yeah, not counting that one. Apparently, I missed it. Which scene was it?

I saw him as part of a crowd, cheering something that I can't remember. I can't recall if he had another scene, but methinks I remember it because he was in a crowd scene rather than a more prominent role. I would have expected him to appear early on, when the airplanes started flying over.

Michael

It was when Homer was putting the "Krusty for Kongress" sign up in Ned's yard, I think. Ned complained about it, and Homer said something like "I'm still undecided."

"Mike Coddington" wrote in message news:[email]...

scene

Oh, yeah!! Now I remember! I had completely forgotten about that. Thanks!

"Poot Rootbeer" wrote in message news:[email]...

I agree. I actually cringed. Truthfully, I only cracked a smile maybe once during the whole episode.

One of the group of pro-gun people was John Goodman's character from "Take My Wife, Sleaze [BABF05].

S P O I L E R

S P A C E

The previews for this episode featured Homer saying, "There's no such place as North Dakota", and Krusty saying, "if you want me to kiss your babies, clean 'em up first", while he was campaigning. Did I miss these scenes in the episode? (I was running between rooms during the commercial breaks, and I might have missed a few seconds here and there.) -- Christopher Heckman

"Proginoskes" wrote in message news:[email]...

place

the

They were cut from the episode. Since I missed the commercial, I guess the only time I'll ever see those moments is when I buy the DVD sets... which will be many years from now, when I can afford them.

In alt.tv.simpsons on Wed, 12 Mar 2003 at 13:37:45, efishta wrote :

The rate they're going, you'll have the money to buy the DVD's long before they are released.