Notes for PABF01 (The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants)

S23E07 The Man in the Blue Flannel PantsliveNov 28, 2011, 3:20 PM ETthe next day5 posts by 4 posters
5 posts
Matt Garvey

Mmm, OK. Kind of fell apart at the end; the sitcommy two-event plot had room to be played with but it just went for a ludicrous resolution instead. But though we've seen it before (and occasionally in recent episodes with a sort of somberness as in JABF20 - He Loves to Fly... - and LABF17 - The Devil Wears Nada), Homer's conflict was still interesting. I assume much of the episode was based on Mad Men or some similar thing I haven't seen (not sure if that explains the title too), so that didn't really do anything for me, bad or good. Some touches throughout also added some subtle fun, such as Homer chipping fish into a tank. So, up and down - it is mostly the final act that seemed off.

By the way, what IS wrong with a Krusty-shaped vodka bottle that honks when you open it?

DYN: ...the episode is rated 14-DLSV for some reason? ...the sailboat painting and so on are hidden in the basement during the vodka party?

Previous episode stuff CABF10: Krusty's people seem very much like the network people in this episode CABF04, DABF11: Some similar Burns-recruits-Homer plots ??: Isn't there a previous episode where a big deal is made out of something being a "chapter book"? 1F14: Little Women being read aloud (by an unlikely character) KABF22: We've seen the bullies be "surprisingly" soft many times now, but their rapture at Little Women reminds me of this episode (when Kearney in particular liked the Equalia tale)

Goof? Lisa's first communion? I think it's been pretty well established (see AABF03, GABF09) that the Simpsons don't do this.

Meta Homer moves from sector 7G to sector 22F. It almost but not quite makes sense as a joke about the current season (see also my notes about 6F in LABF01). Sector 7G was named for the production code prefix for season 1; after that, almost all episodes got prefixes with an F, which then carried over to the new system as ABF (roughly equivalent to a "101" numbering style where the significant number was retained). This episode (appropriately enough, the first of production season 23) would therefore be in the 22nd F-related season, which I assume is the joke, but it's not as if the other codes went 1F, 2F... for season 2, 3... - if anything, sector PABF, or PF, or 23F (since that's essentially what P would be equal to, as it means 23rd season), would make more sense.

Other stuff

Another clouds-only opening. Ugh. (And THIS time, the episode was at its current minimum length, 20:32 + 48 seconds of credits, as opposed to 21:02 + 48; there was definitely room for a longer open. So I am sensing that this will be the official trend.)

No Matt Selman now. Since last week, I have read on NHC that apparently NABF20/22 were sort of test-Matt-out episodes, so maybe it'll be a while (QABFs?) until he takes over, if he indeed does. I hope it happens.

(Don alert) The Cleveland Show was joined in progress where I was (by Fox - not just the affiliate - I'm in Cleveland), after a football game ran over way too long. The 7 pm repeat was skipped entirely, but I believe this is the first time a new episode got this treatment (to be fair, it was about the 2nd time it appeared before 8:30). I take this as the unofficial sign of the end of the series, as it joins such illustrious shows as Malcolm in the Middle, Futurama, King of the Hill... funny, as I thought it was American Dad they were trying to drop. Well, I'm off to the internets, so I can see the beginning of the episode.

Brett A. PasternackMatt Garvey

I haven't watched much of Mad Men, either, so I don't know how much of a reference there was. But the title is definitely a reference to The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, a 1955 novel about suburban businesses dealing with the aftermath of WWII and the dominance of business in their lives, and/or the film version the following year which starred Gregory Peck.

Captain InfinityMatt Garvey

Once Upon A Time, Matthew Garvey wrote:

This is true, if "the end" began 2 minutes into the show.

** Captain Infinity

Captain InfinityMatt Garvey

Once Upon A Time, Matthew Garvey wrote:

I think it's because of the "your fists are your sisters?" joke. Dolph makes a violent comment and action, and then there's the implied incest when he performs masturbation. Sick bastards.

** Captain Infinity

Armillaria caligataMatt Garvey

It would kill the "drowning one's sorrows" effect. The look on the guy's face when the girl said "that does THIS when you open it" will have me randomly laughing for at least three days.

Armillaria caligata Off the dilch!