Here are the rest of the reviews, continuing from my previous post "Seasons 9-10: A Look Back at the Decline."
King of the Hill This episode was involving, fun, sweet, well-written, and charming, with great characterization of Homer. Nice breath of fresh air after some of the previous episodes. The first act at the picnic is a delight, with great scenes involving CBG, Lovejoy, Burns. Homer losing Capture the Flag is probably one of the funniest scenes ever. However, I think the whole Powersauce thing should have been either funnier, more connected to the plot, or just thrown out. Homer climbing the mountain is a nice adventure story. (B)
Lost Our Lisa This episode has a lot of nice touches to it: Lisa acts devious and tricks her dad into letting her ride the bus, Homer actually has a LOT of good scenes as SNPP, the ending which actually supports the moral of risktaking (as opposed to what we'd expect in a typical sitcom: importance of safety), Springfield's Russian district, Lisa and Homer bonding yet again. Not a spectacular episode, but a nice one. (B)
Natural Born Kissers Although it seemed sophomoric and juvenile when I first watched it, this episode has become a favorite of mine (at least compared to other episodes from the Scully Era). The episode deals with sex and nudity with surprising thoughtfulness and innocence, and at the same time has a really wacky, fast-paced, hilarious plot twist with lots of visual gags (Homer's butt on the crystal cathedral, Homer and Marge hiding their bodies behind the lawn ornaments). Some very awkward moments, like Homer and Marge trying to spice up their sex life on their anniversary night, and the scene where they're caught in the windmill by the townspeople keep this episode from an even higher grade. (B)
Lard of the Dance This was a low as far as Lisa episodes go. Lisa has never been less funny or more annoying. In this episode, she's a tool of unfunny preachiness about how it's better to be a kid than to be a snob. I really couldn't relate to Lisa's dilemma at all. Homer's scheme is possibly the lamest he's ever come up with. More painful was the way this episode was concluded, by trying to force-jam Homer's grease selling rehash with the main plot, and magically solving everyone's problem. (D)
Season 9 overall: When season 9 first came out, it was a great disappointment after the decent season 8. The writing went pretty much down the toilet, it became a bit more juvenile, and for the first time, I occasionally hated the main characters. But the stories were still pretty interesting, and the humor still crisp.
Wizard of Evergreen Terrace Some really great writing, like Homer's mid-life crisis and the conclusion, as well as some really poor writing, like the 2nd act, balance to make a perfectly mediocre episode. (C)
Bart the Mother A nice episode that has 2 stories parallel to each other. One is about Marge forgiving Bart because that's her role as a mom. This story was down-to-earth (great dialogue between Bart and Nelson) and sweet. The other is about Bart wanting to protect his lizards that he raised despite their danger to society. This story was more ironic and darkly satirical of the dangers of human involvement on the ecosystem. It was a creative approach to the episode; I liked the scene where Bart tells Marge that he doesn't think they're monsters, and Marge backs him up, although a lot of people thought it was sappy. (B)
Treehouse of Horror 9 Quite a hilarious Halloween episode, but not all that scary. I liked the first act the best; good writing, good complete storyline, and very funny. The second act is extremely exciting and fast-paced exaggeration of cartoon humor, but it eventually gets too illogical (Lisa actually saves Bart by pressing the rewind button??). The third act is a funny, lighthearted short, even though it's about rape. (B)
When You Dish Upon a Star Another boring Homer gets a job episode, with terribly unfunny use of guest stars whom no one cares about. Homer acted completely despicable, uncovering the celebrities' secret, then actually BLAMING them. Were we supposed to feel sorry for him? The only redeeming moments are the very beginning (Homer's dream sequence) and the very ending (Ron Howard does it again). (D)
D'oh in the Wind Another boring Homer-gets-a-job-and-fails-through-idiocy episode. Well, at least this episode did a surprisingly decent job at dealing with its subject matter. Things like the hallucination scenes, George Carlin, the freakout, the mural of Homer, flashback to the Woodstock concert, the tripped-up end credits, music, and lots of other little details add up to the episode's charm. Nothing really deep or biting, but it's a nice look at how some people are still stuck in the 60's. And I liked the way Homer's mom tied in to the story. Homer himself is sometimes amusing (trying to freak out the town) and sometimes obnoxious (his behavior at the dinner table, standing up to the police and getting shot). (C+)
Lisa Gets an A The best episode of season 10. Lisa is well-written; her addiction to video games and subsequent dilemma is entirely believable and funny. And Homer's subplot with Pinchy is really cute. Add to that, commentary about the school system that doesn't get as run into the ground as in PTA Disbands, and an ironic ending in which the school itself resorts to cheating, and you get a winner. (B+)
Homer Simpson in Kidney Trouble I've spent years wondering why people hate this episode. It's not great but it's not any worse than a lot of the Scully Era garbage. Most episodes these days begin with the Simpsons visiting some place random, and Bloodbath Gulch was one of the funniest of these trips in recent memory. The rest of the episode had a scattering of amusing gags (for example, Homer's love of reading…the TV guide, the hospital reinforcing that Homer might die), the scene at Moe's has many LOL lines in a row, and the writing wasn't bad. Homer's conflict is pretty superficial. But I still didn't mind when Homer wussed out of the operation the first time. It gave the episode a twist and made me wonder what would happen next. The episode then takes a surreal tone, which probably turned off most people, but I still found it at least a little funny when Homer meets the Lost Souls and they banish him. What I didn't like at all is that Homer, who we think has learned his lesson, runs away a SECOND time, only to get conveniently hit by a car. This is really meanspirited and manipulative ending, and lowers the grade a bit. Still, I thought it was a funny enough episode, though it didn't live up to its potential as an emotional, serious, meaningful episode. (C)
Mayored to the Mob This action/adventure episode comes close to getting too wacky and out-of-bound, but there's more discipline here than in, say, Joy of Sect. Quimby acts like his usual self (bribing the townspeople, not wanting to spend a night with the wife). The sci-fi scene is another great Simpson outing. (B+)
Viva Ned Flanders This episode works as decent buddy episode. For once, Flanders actually feels inferior to Homer and seeks out his help, and this time Homer isn't the one acting mean and aggressive to Flanders. I didn't think that ruined Flanders' character as some people have said. I didn't even mind that Flanders revealed he was 60, cause it followed the idea that each episode starts from scratch (the writers just wanted to give us obsessive fans a much-needed reminder). The trip to Las Vegas is all right, but not extremely funny. Good use of freeze frame gags, and Las Vegas is portrayed as an extremely immoral and corrupt city, not exactly what Flanders was looking for. The ending where Flanders and Homer are eventually closed in on by angry casino employees is a good example of a logical progression into an absurd ending. (B-)
Wild Barts Can't Be Broken Another episode that deals with the kids. As you'd expect, it gets a little juvenile, such as when Nelson sings about farting, or Milhouse reveals his love for Teletubbies. But most of the episode has a semi-original concept (kids vs. adults), and there was some interesting stuff going on (Homer suddenly gains faith in his team after they end u in the finals, the kids are blamed for the adults' vandalism, Homer's Night Out, similarity between the movie the kids watch and what happens to them). Nothing very impressive; the episode lingers in the thin line between creativity and childishness. I don't like the song very much though. But the ending, where the senior citizens place a curfew on everyone else is IMO good irony. (B)
Sunday, Cruddy Sunday I don't mind a fun episode, I really enjoyed Mayor to the Mob and Homer the Vigilante, but this episode was not fun. How about obnoxious, undisciplined, and crazy? The only this peisode has going for it is a scattering of good gags (Clinton in the voice-dubbing, Rupert Murdoch getting the football players to spell out a greeting, few others). But this episode isn't really offensive as other wacky episodes from seasons 11-12 (like Kill the Alligator And Run and Simpson Safari). Just really bland. (C-)
Homer to the Max Meta-humor has gotten kind of old on the show. It doesn't have the kind of zing it used to, yet the writers continue to rely on meta-humor. A lot of the self-references (such as Largo's appearance, and Flanders' voice being replaced) just felt strangely familiar. That said, this was a pretty good episode. It was a very original concept, well-developed, and funny. The ending is strange and wandering, but not necessarily bad. (B-)
I'm With Cupid In the tradition of season 10, this was another light-hearted episode with a frivolous conflict. As for the beginning, it was reminiscent of humor from the older seasons, the way Marge reinforces Bart's procrastination. The scene at Apu's apartment is a classic one. When Apu plays the Indian pop record, and it sounds cacophonous, until he adjusts it, that's a great satire of our stereotypical view of other cultures, the kind of humor we'd get later in Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo. (Indian pop music has gotten a lot of western influence, but not to that extent!) And Homer's comment about the Kama Sutra ("They stole our idea!") is classic. Homer got it the wrong way around. The second act is pretty amusing, with a lot of good one-liners by Homer. "Mmm, sweet mint julep" and "Everyone's marriage is falling apart. You see the problem is communication. Too much communication." (He may be actually right about that.) Homer was one a roll in this episode. Apu's gifts to his wife were sweet and enjoyable to watch. I always liked doing that kind of stuff when asking girls to school dances. The biggest problem was the third act, which was pretty mean-spirited, senseless, and go-nowhere, complete with a forced guest appearance and Homer endangering someone else's life. The third act really ruins the rest of the episode. (B-)
Marge Simpson in Screaming Yellow Honkers Directionless, unexciting storyline, although the writers must have thought that Marge the road-rager a compelling, cool idea. Despite weakly executed ideas such as Marge developing road rage and rhinoceroses attacking the Simpsons, a lot of fine jokes make this episode tolerable. I liked Krabappel's performance, the road rage video, the sibling rivalry between Bart and Lisa, etc. Most of the humor was pretty formulaic. (C-)
Make Room For Lisa Why this episode doesn't work on an emotional level: Lisa decides in the end that it's OK for Homer to be a jerk if he shows an interest in what she's interested in. Touche. In some ways, this episode is OK because Lisa learns that she does owe her parents some respect, and that they don't have to share her interests for her to love them. Inn some ways this episode doesn't work, because the ending I described doesn't justify the episode, because Homer goes beyond someone who has interests differing from her daughter, and is instead someone who is totally unlikeable and braindead throughout a lot of unfunny scenes in this episode. An emotional episode must have a likeable character, and neither Homer nor Lisa was very likeable. (C)
Maximum Homerdrive Jerkass Homer the truck driver is about as mundane as the writers can get. Too many jokes (i.e. Homer wanting divorce, the truck driver dying) were just too unsuitable for a show like The Simpsons. And some of the jokes about truck drivers were rather, to put it nicely, esoteric for me. (D+)
Simpson Bible Stories A bit too tame, and not iconoclastic enough, but it's sure better than crappy-ass Tall Tales. This episode, which had the Simpsons acting out Bible characters, was a decent parody (Milhouse as Moses is good casting, and turning David and Goliath into an action flick was neat, but a little tame) with good religious satire (for example, when Eve says "How long can God hold a grudge?" and Lovejoy's reply). Tall Tales, on the other hand, seemed like an excuse to put the Simpsons in wild, fantastical situations. (B-)
Mom and Pop Art Though it's another bland Homer-gets-a-job-and-fails-episode, this episode works pretty well as an insightful episode with some nice commentary of famous works of art. I wish that the conflict of Marge's jealousy of Homer's success should have been more of a focus in the episode. The bedtime scene between them is great, but the conflict is forgotten and Marge tries to help Homer become an artist, then in the end, she says he's a good artist. It's almost like the writers didn't think Marge's problems mattered. The ending straddles on the thin line between being touching and being absolutely absurd. (B-)
They Saved Lisa's Brain Homer acting like a monkey in the riot, even though it's been done to death, was so perfectly executed in this episode that I crack up at it every time. Also great is Stephen Hawkings' guest appearance. But the rest of the episode is quite bland. Lisa flourishing in MENSA is a somewhat shallow treatment of her character; why would she actually enjoy the company of those weirdos. This episode is observational of the intellectual culture (classical music in the background, palindromes, Renaissance days) but not really satirical. It's kind of like HOMR. Once the MENSA people take control of the town, the results are interesting with an actual moral to the story (that's rare these days). (C+)
Monty Can't Buy Me Love This episode has the season 11-12 tendency of trying hard to piss me off. Lenny injured by a coin, the bad Howard Stern parody, the senseless appearance of the Loch Ness Monster, all shocked me greatly back then (but I've gotten used to it by now). The rest isn't too bad. I couldn't help but be amused at some of the far-out situations in this episode - Burns kidnapping Frink, Willy meeting his parents, Homer being honored instead of Burns, Arthur Fortune's life accomplishments. This episode is good for some lighthearted laughs, but there's nothing deep or exciting about the episode. Why does Burns pair with Homer? Homer's appearance was pointless. It was far more interesting 2 years before when Burns paired up with Lisa. (C)
The Old Man and the C Student As usual for season 10, there's another barely amusing, but formulaic and recycled comedic theme, this time about the retirement house. Nothing special at all, with a tagged on unfunny Titanic parody. (C-)
Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo This was the last decent episode about the Simpsons going on a trip, focusing more on intelligent commentary than wackiness. I think this is a very well-done look at how certain Asian countries have become westernized and modernized, sometimes in a very warped way. America Town was the best example, as well as some other jokes. Lisa wanting to do something Japanese is interesting, proving that it's sometimes futile to go to another country and expect to do something cultural and demonsrating satire on our perceptions of Japanese culture, and should have been more of the episode's focus. The writers obviously did their research on Japan. (Whereas in Kill The Alligator, the only research the writers did on Florida is that it's called America's Wang.) And the first act is yet another fun look at the Simpsons' poor financial condition. But it's not a great episode, because we're right on the brink of horrible season 11, so the episode basically commits suicide with lame gags like penny in the hand, seizure robots, Homer attacking the emperor, Homer pooping on TV. (B-)
Season 10 overall: This season was less satisfying than any of the previous ones, not because it was offensively wacky. The characters were still there, and the writers still attempted to write a solid plot with jokes well-integrated into the story. The main problem this season was excessive use on formulas. Homer was used way too often, usually in a plot about how he gets a job and then fails because he's such an idiot. Much of the humor had a strong sense of deja-vu, and the episodes just weren't that interesting. This is a pretty lighthearted, frivolous season, without any real dark episodes. One interesting thing was that the 3 other Scully seasons each had 5 or 6 bad episodes, but the AABF season only had one bad episode (Maximum Homerdrive).
I'd appreciate any comments. I especially enjoy disagreements!
*********************** TheAbman, HOM++ LIS+++ BAR++++ BOB++++ 7G12, 7F10, 8F15, 9F22, 1F04, 2F10, 3F13, 4F14, 5F02, AABF03, BABF05, CABF14 "Is there no place for the man with the 105 IQ?!?!" ***********************