Notes for HABF20 (Please Homer Don't Hammer 'Em)

S18E03 Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'emliveSep 24, 2006, 9:37 PM ET2 hours after the credits3 posts by 3 posters
3 posts
Matt Garvey

Don Del Grande might have made a big deal about how the main plot was similar to "The Front (9F16)"'s, but the episode itself was quite different aside from that. For example, Bart and Lisa didn't throw a fit that Grampa was getting all the credit and Grampa didn't get all anxious that it might be revealed... coincidentally, perhaps, "The Front" was much better. Homer was being much more of a jerk than he had to, and Lisa was not only annoying but shrill, especially at the end. Of course, if Homer were fully supportive of Marge the whole time, that would somewhat stunt the ending, so something else would have to end it, but - well, we've seen "The Front." It also didn't help that others were out of character; for example, though it's not explicitly stated that Frink would disapprove of a female carpenter, he'd ordinarily seem quite open to that, and Lindsay Naegle also seems a bit harsh, especially given the combination of her sex and career. Finally, Bart and Skinner's subplot got extremely wacky near the end (lol their heads crashed through a cement bridge!), but I knew it was coming when Skinner found the shrimp allergy so early on. (A slightly longer quest on his part, culminating in a tense standoff/unofficial truce/cold war-type thing, would have been better, for example, as well as neatly swept the allergies under the rug for future episodes.) On the other hand, I liked Bart's reaction to "Triangle Wars." Well, that's it till November I guess.

Previous episode references DABF03: Homer finds himself buying a book CABF06: Bart makes Skinner write a blackboard punishment 5F07: Squirting toy fire truck comes in handy this time 4F01: Skinner's "noooo!" at El Barto revelation similar to when he found what Nelson left him

Goofs Gee, I never noticed that the Simpson master bedroom had no carpet before...how convenient! (Is it an anti-goof if the carpet just comes up easily?) "Zoominator" is seen backward one time Homer zooms past (as Marge is fixing the coaster track).

The Ghost of General LeeMatt Garvey

On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 21:37:45 -0400, Matt Garvey wrote:

Nah, they just pulled up the carpet and found hardwood floors underneath. Next week, they'll pull up the hardwood floors and find carpet underneath.

harry.michaelsMatt Garvey

I got the feeling that this was a send-up of unrealistic action films (someone else mentioned it as a Star Wars Episode III parody, which I haven't seen), where one minute their heads are breaking through a cement bridge like a hot knife through butter and the next, they panic because they're on course for a head-on collision with a less-than-intimidating "Little Bangkok" sign.

I still dislike things like this, though, since they directly contradict the original spirit of the show. In "The Simpsons Have Landed" (a documentary ten years ago), Matt Groening stated that one of their standards is that they'd never have anyone do anything that a regular human can't do. This standard has clearly been dropped. It just feels like watching Cartoon Network half the time. Wackiness doesn't suit OFF at all, and the "random" jokes (like eels being in the photo booth) aren't funny.

The other day I caught the beginning of "Homer Loves Flanders", and it was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. It's not really the plotlines that ruin new episodes, it's the execution of them. Take two scenes of Homer sat in front of the TV:

Kent Brockman: If you have the fever, there's only one
               cure; take two tickets and see the game
               Sunday morning!
    Voiceover: *Talking fast* Warning: tickets should
               not be taken internally.
        Homer: *Proud* See? Because of me, now they have
               a warning.

Then Bart sells Homer two tickets offering a free wig with every large wig purchase. Homer only realises afterwards.

Homer: WHY YOU LITTLE-- hmmm, free wig...

(Followed by another hilarious scene -- Homer being annoyed because Flanders wins the tickets on KBBL followed by the song "Two Tickets to Paradise". Homer is annoyed at first, then starts singing along happily. Brilliant.)

Then Homer sat in front of the TV from Sunday's episode:

Marge: Homie, don't you want to build something with
       your new fix-it books?
Homer: I did, I made a foot-rest!
       *Camera reveals Homer's foot-rest IS the books.*
Marge: *Disappointed* Oh, don't you have any follow-
       through on anything?
Homer: What's the point? We're all slowly dying.

A simple scenario, a huge difference in quality.

Harry Michaels