Notes for FABF14 (Catch 'Em if You Can)

Tonight's episode was good, but I didn't particularly like the motivation behind Bart and Lisa's hunting down of Homer and Marge. They might have been concerned initially because of the tornado, but once they knew their parents were okay they (particularly Lisa) were just being jerks about it. (Insert any argument about how she should/shouldn't have realized what they were doing, etc., but it wouldn't have hurt to come up with a different reason to chase them all over the place.) The plot got a little more believable once they were reunited in Atlantic City. There were also a few negative things: some silly stuff like the tornado punching into the basement and the boats ramming each other, the nonending of the Grampa subplot, and the usual "where's Maggie?" (That would be a better ending gag than the Flanders thing, considering her ability to have fun adventures, but the fact that she was ignored totally can be described with the same adjective as the object she fell in at the start.) On the other hand, most of it was fun/funny, and of particular interest was the montage in reference to [something - Catch Me if You Can? I have no idea]. So overall, it had some flaws but worked fairly well...any lurking writers, don't get the wrong idea - it's just easier to dwell on the negative aspects even if the positive stuff outweighs them. B

Previous episode references: 4F24: Many members of the extended family seen at party 4F04: Scene from their honeymoon reminiscent of flashback in this episode DABF09: Grampa and Bart (among other people) following people out of state 1F13: Homer's been to space 8F10: Homer and Marge cavorting in a castle

Goofs -Maybe we should just assume that from now on, the bus has a very wide aisle. -As in some other recent episode, there's another room behind Homer and Marge's bed. -Homer says they won't have time alone until Lisa's in college and they've lost contact with Bart. It might not be a goof if it's implied that he forgot that Maggie'd be living with them still, but I think the writers forgot too. -And of course, who's taking care of Maggie? Presumably, she was left with Grampa, Bart, and Lisa... I suppose they could have arranged for her to stay elsewhere without us seeing, and I'm not even as big a Maggie fan as some other regulars, but the whole thing had kind of a sloppy feeling.

Other stuff In the 7:30 King of the Hill ("Girl You'll Be a Giant Soon," 8ABE16), Peggy said that Italian and Spanish are practically the same language. This statement makes sense, but it does bring to mind Homer's bullplop in "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" (CABF02).

In alt.tv.simpsons, on the "Notes for FABF14 (Catch 'Em if You Can)" thread, Matt Garvey wrote:

When I was about five, my parents went on a trip -- alone -- to a resort in upstate New York, leaving me with my grandmother. I still remember resenting it. (Of course, I forgave them after I grew up a bit.) Bart and Lisa's motivation looked perfectly reasonable by little-kid standards to me.

Actually, I thought the plot gradually became more outlandish (but pleasantly so) as the show went on.

"Catch Me if You Can," all right. A lot of the early reviews were wondering about this. I guess this was a more obscure movie that I thought.

She was with Abe, Bart, and Lisa when Channel 6 broadcast the footage from Dayton. I assume they took her along to Miami, but after that she does disappear. Asleep in Abe's hotel room, perhaps?

Benjamin Robinson wrote:

Well, perhaps I was a little harsh with my judgment of this aspect of the show. I've gotten used to seeing a very smart Lisa for so long, and she still is smarter than your average 8-year-old, so I thought she might have figured out that Homer and Marge wanted some time away. Assuming it's reasonable that they resent it, which does make sense, I guess most kids wouldn't have the ability to arrange trips to hunt them down (even with Grampa and the credit cards), so that seemed a little odd. Don't get me wrong, though, the episode was a lot of fun...perhaps I should add a + to the B, but how precise are these grades anyway?

If Marge had called and said that she and Homer had decided the kids were right and going to Dayton sucked, so they impulsively took a different plane, and would be back Monday, then I would expect Lisa to be understanding. But Marge lied about being in Dayton, so it looked to the kids like the whole Dayton thing was a ruse from the start, and so naturally they were ticked off.

It was Lisa's behaviour the night before that seemed odd. I would expect Bart to disrupt the movie, but not Lisa. On the other hand, I suppose it is realistic to have her occasionally "act her age". That's what makes her characterization as a genius kid believable. They *aren't* little adults, and occasionlly act just like any other kid, and are mean and selfish.