Fabulous! It seems that in recent years, Marge-centric episodes were always a little off; with a bizarre premise or asylum-grade matriarch; not only did this one make sense and star an in-character Marge, it was imaginatively written and a pleasure to watch. The only annoyingly unrealistic bits were confined to the first act (half the stuff with Homer's car), and individual jokes were hilarious (Lisa's libido, the Nantucket limerick reference, Apu's porno-styled inflection, the Jack Ruby). As I mentioned, the underlying plot - which allowed for a lot of creativity and freedom in storytelling - was excellent as well. It vaguely reminds me of 8F18 (see below), which is interesting as it also includes a more intelligent Homer and realistic resolution. Had this aired in season 11, I could imagine some crazy ending where Homer knocks Flanders off the cliff and he gets saved by (your choice: fan-Moe, 999 springs, an unopened parachute left by a mountain climber on an expedition with Abe, a trambapoline...); thanks, writers! (And I'll take my lumps too: did anyone else roll his eyes when a third arm reached through Ned's door, only to realize [after making such a quick judgment] they'd been egged on?) So definitely an A+ for "Diatribe," even if The Harpooned Heart was panned more quickly than the full opening's scene of Springfield.
DYN: ...the ambulance siren (as heard by Homer) sounded like Ralph? (Why does it sound like a lamb?) ...if 7 of Temperance's 10 children died, 3 are left? (Only Bart's and Lisa's counterparts are seen, though...where's Poochie? I mean, Maggie?)
...Ned is somewhat fundamentalist when it comes to his thoughts on cavemen? ...Lisa expects the movie of The Harpooned Heart to be lampooned on MadTV, another Fox show? ...in the visualization of the end of Marge's book, Homer harpoons Ned, but not actually through the heart? ...just like DABF18 with Burt Ward and Adam West, two guest stars whose names are usually seen one way are inverted for the no-favorites alphabetical policy (thus, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen)?
Previous episode references: 1F10: Couch gag similar (but delicious) 3F02: Food service item deep fried along with the food 7F22?: Homer thrown out by goons DABF03: Marge's odd "first time Xer" (stander-upper, complainer) CABF20: Homer's access to a defibrillator (though it was in a story before) 1F17: Marge imagines herself in a story of the seas DABF08: Another fantasy of sorts involving Homer's character and sailing and returning and junk AABF22: Kind of a stretch, but Ned and the "stud...detector" reminded me of "Fire! engine/helmets" DABF14: Another sort of stretch...Marge didn't seem to know Nantucket was an island, even though her mind came up with the line; similarly, consider Apu's use of "eunuch" in Homer's dream 8F18: Some sort of forbidden romance between Marge's and Ned's characters AABF02: Homer unabashedly naked in the backyard DABF14: Homer's eyes betray his actual thoughts (if only Marge had thought to "read" them this time!) BABF17: Tom Clancy makes an appearance (voiced by himself this time) 8F18: After Homer finally pays attention to a story "involving" Marge and Ned and a boorish Homer, his reaction - realizing that he should be nicer - comes as a surprise to everyone (including the viewers, even) 1F02: the "Jack Ruby" reminded me just a little of the jade monkey in the mental image I got
Other references: Barnes & Noble booksellers: Bookaccino's has its actual books all the way on the 4th floor; B&N usually fills its first floor with clearance items, magazines, the coffee shop, and light-read books. (The B&N near me actually has its music and DVDs on the second floor...anyone else? And of course, other store chains may also have multiple floors like this...) Cars (song by...someone): Homer adapts the lyrics for his own song, which is also about cars (though not directly mentioned)
Goofs: -Marge painted the sailboat (5F14), so who titled it if she didn't know that it was apparently inspired by Moby-Dick? Actually, I suppose some funster could have titled it for some reason (making fun of the simplicity of the boat compared to a whaling vessel), but I'd still file this as a goof of some sort. -Isn't Burns' office not on the ground floor? (i.e. how could Homer crash into it?)
Comments -Well, the promotions department is at it again...even though the paramedic plot was about as sub as subplots can get, Fox chose to run that instead of promoting the main plot; this seems to happen a lot with Marge- and Lisa-centric episodes...the only one that comes to mind at the moment is 5F17, but I know there are several others. (In fact, I didn't know anything about the ambulance bit until I saw the promo 5 minutes prior to airtime; I didn't even expect a subplot, since the main plot seemed fairly complex and did involve Homer and the kids, and as it happens the subplot was indeed left very little room. Not that I mind...) -Ever notice that at the Simpson house, computers get toted around wherever they're needed? Kitchen table, coffee table, the end table in the living room, Lisa's room...for a desktop computer, this seems like a lot of work...even in one episode (this one), the computer traveled from the living room to the kitchen. But there's really no place set aside in the house for a computer; when I was looking at the real-life Simpson House, I noticed some changes made - some for the size of the land available, but some because the house doesn't have certain things...a first-floor bathroom, a non-basement laundry room, a den or something for a computer. Even so, you'd think it would just become part of the standard background furniture in, say, the living room, even when it's not needed, so that it's available in one place. (At my house - which was also built before home computers were mainstream with no extra rooms - the family computer resides in the family room somewhat far from the TV; there was no space in my living room - but if I were living with the Simpsons my first ideas would be the corner of the TV room to the left of the TV and the corner of the living room close to the TV room and the hall, or where the living room's corner shelf is [moving the shelf to one of the other two spots]). A detailed imagination I have? Perhaps...
Meta-reference corner/goof? So Dr. Marvin Monroe is back, eh? This is like a soap opera...Back from the Dead! Or...from the very sick...considering his memorial hospital (2F20), gym (CABF11), and headstone (BABF10), it's pretty clear that Springfield considers him dead; I wouldn't jump at the chance of an entire "he's not really dead, and here's what happened" episode, but they could have at least said that and dropped it. Oh well...I'm sure Harry Shearer was happy (I seem to recall that he was a little disappointed when Marvin was [implied to have been] killed off...). And of course, the meta-reference is strengthened by Marge's comment ("I haven't seen you in years!") - as far as I can tell, he hadn't appeared (alive) since 1F05, but I stand to be corrected.
OT corner: In the Malcolm in the Middle episode on as I type this (Hot Tub - #510), the, um, Lastnames got a some-assembly-required hot tub, which got a thick crust of algae after a few days. In my post-writing mood the first thing I thought of was "Bart of Darkness (1F22)" - ha!