CyanideFishbone reviews Cartoons (Currently: Simpsons Season 12)

[CyanideFishbone]

"Treehouse Of Horror XI"

Written by: Rob LaZebnik. John Frink, Don Payne, Carolyn Omine

First aired: November 1st, 2000

 

And here we are at Season 12! Season 12 starts off with a Treehouse Of Horror episode, and all of the seasons start off with one until I believe... Season 17 or 16? I'm sure you already know how I approach these, so here we go:

"G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" (written by Rob LaZebnik)- In this short based around the movie Ghost Dad, after Homer is cursed with bad luck, he ends up choking and dying, and must do one good deed as a ghost to go into Heaven. Apparently something I didn't know is that Ghost Dad is critically panned but I've never seen it and I don't think I've ever heard of it until now. I don't really have any desire to watch it, because of well, the main actor and the current stuff floating around him, but anyway, how's this short? Spoiler alert; this is my favorite short of the three. There are a lot of great gags in this short. Homer blissfully driving to work as he is harmed feels like a string of classic Simpsons gags, but the short's energy skyrockets when Homer dies. Homer trying to find a good deed and continuously failing while having good intentions is just a classic set up, and it's a lot of fun here. It's nothing amazing, but it kept me chuckling constantly. It deserves a 9/10 from me.

"Scary Tales Can Come True" (written by John Frink and Don Payne)- In this short based around fairy tales, The Simpsons live as peasants in a pumpkin cottage, and when they run out of food, Homer sends Bart and Lisa into the woods, where they encounter gruesome versions of fairy tales, such as Hansel and Gretel and Goldilocks and The Three Bears. A trend I just noticed among the Treehouse Of Horror episodes I've reviewed is the second short tends to be my favorite. I loved both The Terror Of Tiny Toon and especially Desperately Xeexing Xena. So this short......... does jackshit for me. Yeah, this is a weak short. I feel like the shtick of violent/gruesome fairy tales even by 1999/2000 standards was old, but I do think there's some good gags here. I like "Eddie Cauldron", and as much as I don't like the idea of gruesome fairy tales, I do like the scene with Homer and what appears to be Rapunzel. Another nice touch is when the woman in the candy house (does she have an official name? Man, I forget and I feel bad because of how well known of a story Hansel and Gretel is) starts to put her magic on Homer, he gets the head of a fish and it's the fish from Matsumura Fishworks from Season 8's In Marge We Trust but green, which is a nice touch. I don't have much else to say about it besides that while it has it's good gags, the majority of it's kind of dull and lame, and that's why it gets a 7/10 from me. You could do a lot worse.

"Night Of The Dolphin" (written by Carolyn Omine)- In this loose parody of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, dolphins take over the world. Yeah, that's literally what happens. This short is just..... okay. I like "Alcohol and nightswimming.... it's a winning combination!" and I like how the short pulls an unexpected joke in the scene with the dolphin escaping the Springfield version of SeaWorld in a parody of Free Willy, and I thought while jumping the dolphin would be shot with a harpoon from the guards, but instead the dolphin's fin hurts Lisa who is under the dolphin as it jumps. It's a nice touch, and as dumb as it is, I like it when the dolphin gets on the podium and starts talking. It's an easy joke, but it made me chuckle. Now how's the rest of this? Not.... great. Dolphins taking over the world is okay, I guess, apparently it was done because of the fact that dolphins are very innocent animals, which is alright, but I think a little more could've been done with this. I think the short could've been a lot more interesting if we focused on mankind adjusting to living in the sea, but no, the episode doesn't do that and it's the episode's ending, and the rest of it is pretty unremarkable, and boring. It's another short like Scary Tales Can Come True where it could be a lot worse, however, and that's why it gets a 6/10 from me. It's not terrible, but really not great.

 

So, how was this collection of shorts? Honestly, I think it's the weakest out of all of the Treehouse Of Horror episodes I've reviewed. Yeah, G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad is funny, but it's not really an amazing or really great TOH short and the other two are meh shorts are pretty skippable, and it rounds out to a 7/10 from me. It feels a lot like a Season 11 "good" episode; not great, but good, and you could do a lot worse. Something interesting about this episode is it aired on a Wednesday; I couldn't find an answer as to why, but apparently it was because of the network's coverage of the 2000 World Series.

[CyanideFishbone]

"A Tale Of Two Springfields"*

Written by: John Swartzwelder

First aired: November 5th, 2000

 

Synopsis: When Homer discovers that Springfield has two different area codes, he leads a successful revolt that splits the town in two, and leaves him as the mayor of "New Springfield", but when everyone flocks to Old Springfield leaving New Springfield deserted, he tries to get The Who to move their upcoming concert in Old Springfield to New Springfield.

 

Oh, John Swartzwelder. The guy who's written some of the show's best, but I don't think I've enjoyed any episodes he's written since Season 9. Now, this episode breaks that trend, and I'm so glad it does! This episode is fucking awesome. To put it simply, this episode is just fun. And one of the best things about is it's simple! Springfield gets split in two, and the two sides share a rivalry, and Homer tries to boost New Springfield after it's deserted by getting The Who to play their concert in his town. And it's not even like it's by the books. Homer's attempts to improve New Springfield keep ending up in vain in classic Simpsons-esque gags, and I even like the episode's beginning! I love Homer saying "Badger my ass, it's probably Milhouse" as a response to the badger in Santa's Little Helper's dog house, and him proceeding to be mauled by the badger while screaming is just a classic gag that always has me laughing. And the good gags do not end here. I like Homer when he gets the idea to build a wall between both Springfields to try to call the people who made the Berlin Wall and he calls them and on the other line it's static, the stuff with the two getting at it is just so classic, and that's the best way to describe this episode. It really feels classic. It's not heart warming or anything, but it's got a creative idea and tons of good gags, and very much feels like something out of the Oakley and Weinstein pre-Season 9 era and that's a great thing. I think if this episode was in Season 8 no one would mind, it really feels welcome there. And there's The Who. The Who are awesome guest stars. I love it when Bart and Homer enter their hotel room and start trying to smash everything in their room and they're all just kind of super relaxedly like "Hey, can you guys stop it?". And the episode's finale with them playing The Seeker, Magic Bus, and of course Won't Be Fooled Again, the jokes become frequent with Homer trying to get on stage with them, The Who hitting Marge in the face with a microphone (fun fact: Roger Daltrey originally improvised and said "Shut the fuck up, Marge" but that was cut for obvious reasons even though it's apparently on the Season 12 DVD's collection of deleted scenes from the season), and I mean, you can't go wrong with the town destroying the wall to Won't Be Fooled Again. It's just a really great episode, and honestly, if I were to introduce someone to The Simpsons only using episodes from Season 10-12, I think this would be a damn good candidate. It's a great showcase of the smart humor the show was known for, and this episode, as I've said tons of times, is just funny, and so much fun, and the plot is executed fantastically. Hell, if you're a fan of The Who I'd recommend this episode! I really can't sing enough praise of this episode, it's just so solid. And that is why this episode deserves a good 10/10 from me. Yeah, it is a little ridiculous for me to be in this early in the season and give a 10, but this episode really deserves it.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Insane Clown Poppy"

Written by: John Frink and Don Payne

First aired: November 12th, 2000

 

Synopsis: Krusty meets his long-lost daughter Sophie who was from a one-night stand with a woman when Krusty was at war. However, supporting her proves costly, and when he gambles away her prized violin to Fat Tony, and Krusty and Homer have to go to retrieve it.

 

I'm gonna be blunt here: I think this episode is sappy. There's quite a bit of that emotional music they used way back in the day a ton, dramatic zooms, all of that. It's exactly what you would expect; Krusty is a bad parent, learns the error of his ways, changes, and it's kind of an annoying cycle. And yeah, of course, Krusty gives her violin right when he seems to be turning around, she's infuriated, they break in, etc, etc. A lot of by the numbers plots with usually somewhat predictable endings are used in this show, especially during this time period, but it's always the characters and the gags that help keep it fresh, and usually there's some subversion considering the personality traits of the characters and the show's style of humor. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of that here. Let's get the positives out of the way: I like Stephen King's scene and Christopher Walken (who's not even voiced by him) reading Goodnight Moon to a bunch of kids who are terrified of him, and I kind of like the scenes between Homer and Krusty, I like the return of Kearney's son from A Milhouse Divided, the "Devil's Advocate" joke is funny, I like the mini-Dawson's Creek parody, but that's really it and some alright gags just as I've said a million times, don't save a slappy and dull plot. Back on that sappy stuff, it's very evident when the show is trying to pull your heartstrings and it just.... fails. Drew Barrymore as Sophie is alright.... I guess, and that leads into another thing. Yeah, this is a "let's have 8 guest stars!" Scully episode. However, that's pretty much all in the part before Sophia finds Krusty which is of course pretty much completely unrelated to the rest of the episode in true Scully fashion. In another thing that pisses me off, Homer and Bart literally almost demolish Lisa's room and she's visibly extremely upset about that and it's never mentioned again. Of course the book fair was an excuse from Homer to shut her up, but still, it's very much a Jerkass Homer moment. Also, I'm not that big of a fan of Fat Tony, I always feel he feels forced in most of his appearances, but while he still feels forced here, it never got under my skin too much. Is there much else to say about it? Not really. It's just a really weak episode, but nothing about it at the same time really pushes me over the edge or makes me want to give it a Shitsons rating, and that's why it deserves a 5/10 from me.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Lisa The Tree Hugger"

Written by: Matt Selman

First aired: November 19th, 2000

 

Synopsis: In order to impress the leader of an environmentalist group, Lisa decides to stay in Springfield's oldest tree to protest it being cut down.

 

This is an interesting episode, in the sense that I don't really find it that funny at all but it still stands on it's own by being really solid. To put it bluntly, something about this episode is just so..... pleasant. There's not much wrong at all here. Every character feels very in character, it's never too crazy, and while it isn't super laugh-out-loud funny, the plot is interesting enough to keep me engaged. It very much reminds me of Season 7's Summer of 4 ft. 2 in the fact the element of Lisa attempting to connect to people older than her is a plot point here, but I like how it's not given the entire episode so things wouldn't just be a re-hash, and who she is trying to impress, Jesse Grass (played by Joshua Jackson) is a likeable one-time character. He isn't super complexed or interesting, and hey, that's okay. The interest in him is especially through his interactions with other characters, and those prove amusing, mainly the scene where he is introduced with the protest at Krusty Burger. And the stuff with Lisa in the tree proves honestly... a little sweet. It kind of got to me a little and made me emotional. It really doesn't feel forced and it feels natural, and feels like some really nice character development for Lisa of her doing something like this and taking her own personal stand. The gags with the log rolling on forever also prove amusing, as well as Moe putting the stuff (I forgot what it was, was it alcohol scallops or something? Eh, whatever) down his pants, and the beanbag stuff is funny. If I had one problem is I think the stuff with Homer trying to profit off of Lisa's supposed death is a little nasty for Homer, but it doesn't remove my enjoyment of this episode. It's not super funny, but it just feels right, and that's why it gets a 9/10 from me. It's a great episode.

[Wumbo]

It's interesting how with all the bad moments Lisa has in her caricature of her former self in the Scully years and beyond, this episode literally titled "Lisa The Tree Hugger" does alright for itself. As you said, not uproariously funny, but it's a nice watch.

I kind of like Insane Clown Poppy too, but I get why you find it sappy.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Homer vs. Dignity"

Written by: Rob LaZebnik

First aired: November 26th, 2000

 

Synopsis: When Homer becomes desperate for money, Mr. Burns hires him as his "prank monkey", and makes him play pranks on others and humiliate himself in public for money.

 

So this is an extremely infamous episode of this show, in fact, one of the most. It's frequently regarded to be one of the worst episodes of the entire series, and while it's not as infamous as The Principal and The Pauper, this episode is extremely infamous and despised by critics and the show's community largely for a scene where Homer is.....  sexually assaulted by a panda, played for laughs. This, like most people, completely tarnished any enjoyment from the episode, but here's the thing; I had no enjoyment before and after the scene! But we'll get to my thoughts on the episode later. Anyway, on the side I've been doing research about when people stopped watching The Simpsons, and I've heard a lot of answers being this episode, and of course, the panda rape scene. Just... what the ACTUAL FUCK? I don't have any hard feelings on any of the people who worked on this episode, but I can't believe, like elf jockeys, no one was like "You know, including a scene where our main character is raped by a panda might be a bad idea". I'd expect this low-brow kind of joke from Family Guy, but I always expected The Simpsons to be higher brow. You know, that's probably why the scene was included, the show wanted to be like Family Guy which came out a year before this episode came out. Anyway, how's the rest of this episode? This episode can be described as "Re-hash: The Episode". Holy shit, It's not even funny. Here we go: The Simpsons have financial trouble, Homer is hired to another position by Mr. Burns while Smithers is away, the episode literally just recycles the New Mexico joke from Boy Scoutz 'n The Hood, Homer dresses as Santa Claus, the episode has a lot of talk about souls and of course most of it HAS to come from Lisa...... yeah, some plot elements are going to be reused at this point in a show's lifespan, but just.... come on. Now, I think if executed correctly the premise of this episode could make something decent. A lot of great comedy could come from this set up but none of it is seen. I like Lenny and the pudding, but that's really it. And on another hand, here we go into one of this episode's major problems; this episode is unpleasant as all fuck. It's just..... there's nothing really to juxtapose anything in the scenes where Homer is making a jackass of himself. I'd feel a little better about it if there were some jokes to make it feel more lighthearted but all attempts they throw at the audience just completely fall flat because they're just not funny. I can't put my finger on it. Of course Mr. Burns is going to be evil, that's like the main part of his character, but it just feels so nasty and mean. I like the idea of Mr. Burns becoming even more evil than usual, but there's just not much to it here. Homer makes a jackass out of himself in really unfunny and lame ways, Burns laughs, all culminates in Homer being raped by a panda and Lisa discovering her dad was one of the pandas and standing up for him, in an actually nice scene. It's nice to see characters like her be upstanding like that, but it just does not make up anything else. And oh yeah, like episodes like Faith Off and Days Of Wine and D'oh'ses, this episode has a kind of subplot. Smithers goes to New Mexico for a Malibu Stacy play he is making, another idea that could be good if done correctly as a B-plot with a beginning and an end. Except the episode sets it up as a subplot, and only shows it for a split second, in the middle of the musical being produced, and they just throw another lame joke. Anyway, Homer has this weird change of heart and uses all the money he got from Mr. Burns to buy a bunch of toys for kids after Lisa recommends him to spend his money to help children out, Homer becomes Santa because we need to rehash everything, Mr. Burns tries to sabotage his float, yadda yadda yadda, Homer wins, and the episode plays that damn music and tries to make you emotional again. Blech.

 

This episode is just terrible. Of course there's the panda rape scene, which attributes to how fucking awful this episode is, but it's just beginning to end not funny at all and just constantly feels so unpleasant, and of course everything here is pretty much rehashed. It's like a melting pot of elements from better episodes turned worse and strung together to make something that feels completely unoriginal but does not have any fun or at least interesting twists unlike episodes like Little Big Mom. Yeah, it does have a somewhat linear narrative and isn't batshit insane unlike It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge and Saddlesore Galactica, but that does not save an episode that's just this much of a cluttered, rehashed mess with unfunny jokes. Screw this episode, and that's why it gets a 1/10 from me. It makes me angry and I think it's up there as poor as The Season 11 Trio. If they had a fourth episode, this would be it, enough said.

[CyanideFishbone]

"The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"

Written by: John Swartzwelder

First aired: December 3rd, 2000

 

Synopsis: When Homer buys a computer, he creates a website and starts spreading gossip under the pseudonym Mr. X. After he wins a Pulitzer Award, he reveals himself to win it and quickly becomes the pariah of Springfield and loses his material, and decides to write fake news and conspiracy theories, which gets him sent to an island of people who know too much in a parody of The Prisoner.

 

This episode is definitely not as strong as Swartzwelder's last outing, but there's quite a bit to like about it..... until The Prisoner parody, but we'll get to that later. The episode's idea is not a bad one, and I think it came out at the perfect time. I went in this episode expecting the first half to be a playful jab at the dotcom bubble with Simpsons characters, and honestly, I thought the episode delivered pretty well. There's a lot of fun to be had in the first act, and the gags are great. I love the coffee gag, Homer's original shitty website, Bart continuously telling Homer about how much trouble he got in at school and Homer not caring, the scenes with Comic Book Guy and Principal Skinner are pretty funny, and I really do like how Mr. X is just so obviously Homer and no one ever questions it. It's a subtle detail and I'm glad they made it subtle because otherwise it would have seemed like a plothole. And while, another episode two seasons ago, Wild Bart's Can't Be Broken, used Springfield's gossip as a plot point, here it's seen in a different way and it doesn't feel like a rehash. The episode more focuses on the effect of Homer's gossip on the town than the gossip itself. And of course you've got Lisa taking objection to Homer's website, which feels nice and in character. However, when Homer reveals himself about halfway through the episode, some of the episode's mojo is lost but it's still pretty alright. Then you have the scene where Homer is kidnapped and I think the episode just loses a ton of it's mojo right then and there. It quickly becomes another super absurd Scully episode, but there's some positives to it, but it feels weird when you've got a pretty stellar first half followed by a meh second half, and yeah, it does hurt my enjoyment of this episode. Anyway, there's things I like, mainly Homer's really cruddy doppelganger. It's not a plot choice I would've used if I wrote this episode, but it proves effective and had me laughing out loud. A Prisoner parody could've worked, but this isn't the story for it and it feels very tacked on and forced. Nothing really that funny comes from it and I found the scenes from it kind of dull. Maybe it would've been funnier if I knew about The Prisoner more or have seen it, but I shouldn't need to know a film or movie to enjoy a parody (of course Mike Scully disagrees, look at his response to Homer vs. Dignity's backlash). And yeah, it all gets pretty surreal and it's just not needed, man. It just all feels so forced. Homer and his doppelganger beating each other up is kind of fun, but then it leads into the episode's ending. Holy hell, is this episode's ending abrupt and terrible. After the doppelganger leaves, the family is all like "Everything's back to normal!" and they decide to..... move to the island where Homer was? I mean, the island looks nice and the episode wants you to know this, but wasn't it made clear that Homer hated the island and that's why he escaped? It just feels so abrupt and leaves me scratching my head, and really felt like the crew writing this episode were just completely out of ideas on how to end this episode, and I can't think of a better ending myself.... but why not just leave it on a status quo ending? I mean, it wouldn't have been great, but this just does not solve anything. Enough about the episode's ending, the front half is just so much fun but the second half is meh to positive that it makes me hard to give it a rating, but you know, the episode had such a great start that I want to keep coming back to that it deserves an 8/10 from me. It's a good episode and a very nice product of it's time with the episode's satire on the early internet, but the latter half does drag it a bit, but it's got some good gags and it rounds out to be a pretty decent 22 minutes.

[CyanideFishbone]

"The Great Money Caper"

Written by: Carolyn Omine

First aired: December 10th, 2000

 

Synopsis: In order to pair for repairs for Homer's car, Homer and Bart start grifting, but quickly start to get in hot water.

 

Can I just get something off my chest real quick?

IT WAS ONLY TWO EPISODES AGO WHEN THE PLOT POINT OF THE SIMPSONS HAVING FINANCIAL PROBLEMS WAS USED, AND IT'S USED AGAIN HERE.

I can't get too angry because i'm sure it wasn't intentional, but still. Anyway, how does this episode do for itself? It does..... alright? I find the majority of the episode to be dull. The gags that work are only really chuckle worthy, it kind of lazily slugs from one point to another, and I just kind of feel like not a lot happens in this episode. Homer's car gets wrecked by a..... sturgeon which fell out of a space satellite (that really is a terrible reason for it to happen, especially considering the episode starts out with Marge getting drunk in some pretty lame drunk comedy honestly), Homer and Bart start grifting in some mildly interesting scams, they get arrested, and of course, we've got a dumb cop out ending that just feels lame than funny and feels like it leaves more questions than ones it answers. If the court room is full of like minded grifters, what are they trying to gain? And the surfing part of the ending is just so goddamn pointless. Is it supposed to be funny in a "lol random" way? Couldn't they have used the little bit for this part and the pointless opening with Marge getting drunk which contributes nothing to the plot to give a little more to this plot? I've heard the ending of this episode, like Homer vs. Dignity's, went through several changes and the writers didn't have a lot of time to come up with an ending, so I can kind of let it pass, but it still hurts my enjoyment of the episode. Bart and Homer's relationship is kind of nice, and I like how they did make an entire episode revolved around financial problems which I can't say I've seen in the show up to this point; the "financial problems" plot point has been used so goddamn much but it is almost always a lead in for the episode's main plot, and it's an easy thing to do and can lead into a lot, so I get why they use it. It also doesn't get too crazy, which is nice, but the thing about it is that none of the jokes really work insanely well and there's just not anything specific to help it stand out amongst the other episodes. It's just okay, but it's another episode where you can do a whole lot worse, and that's why it gets a 6/10 from me. It's just okay.

 

Another thing: Something interesting about this episode is that Robby Krieger (the guitarist of The Doors) was originally supposed to guest star in this episode, as part of a deal between him and the Simpsons staff for using The End in Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder from Season 11 (one of the only good things about that fucking episode was that song being used even though it was in like one of the worst parts of the episode but I don't want to talk about that here). However, the scene was scrapped because Mike Scully believed the scene was too out of placed. I have no idea if the scene was ever released as a DVD extra or anything, but I love these little pieces of trivia and it's an interesting note with this episode.

[Wumbo]

"Surf's up!" is such a stupid, lazy ending that i'm almost amazed by it. Like, you have to try in order not to try this hard.

[CyanideFishbone]

21 hours ago, WumboJack Horseman said:

"Surf's up!" is such a stupid, lazy ending that i'm almost amazed by it. Like, you have to try in order not to try this hard.

Yeah, no, it's fucking terrible. At least Homer vs. Dignity and The Computer Wore Menace Shoes's endings had some coherence to them. The "surfs up" stuff comes out of nowhere, adds nothing, and reeks of laziness. It ranks high in terms of the worst endings in the series.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Skinner's Sense Of Snow"*

Written by: Tim Long

First aired: December 17th, 2000

 

Synopsis: When a blizzard hits Springfield and Springfield Elementary is still open, the children of Springfield Elementary end up being snowed in, and when Skinner tries to use some of his Vietnam tactics to control the kids, they rebel and overthrow him and go wild in the school. Meanwhile, Homer and Ned decide to go to save the kids, only for their car to freeze in place after blowing a fire hydrant open.

 

So, this is one of those "good plot, but really not that funny" Scully episodes. I think this episode could've been really great if it was just funnier. Yeah, there's gags I like; I like Homer's weird hallucination, I like Bart saying his hand is like a cement mixer after writing on the board so many times, and the Taft mustache gag during the Welcome To The Jungle montage, and the episode's best joke, what Mr. Burns does with the snow plows is actually pretty funny, but not much else really got that good of a laugh out of me. Even those didn't get that great of a laugh out of me, they were just mildly funny. Which sucks, because I think this plot is pretty good and it's executed pretty well...... in terms of just the plot and not the jokes. The "Cirque de Puree" stuff of course has pretty much no correlation to the rest of the episode beside setting up there's a blizzard, and while none of it is really funny, at least it's over shortly. It's also really nice to see Bart and Skinner's rivalry be used again, and it's entertaining to see Bart push Skinner's buttons again, but unfortunately a lot of the other stuff with them being snowed in isn't that interesting. It's your typical stuff you'd expect, like the schoolchildren burning books and pissing off Skinner, stashing him in a dodgeball bag, but ehh. I like how the "adults vs. kids" theme from Wild Barts Can't Be Broken is kind of back, but unlike that episode, this one isn't anywhere as funny or engaging. The plot definitely had enough to keep me engaged, but it's just not really that funny, and the way it's all resolved is kind of stupid honestly. A salt silo being knocked over by Homer melts the snow, but then it just becomes sunny right when it happens? Wouldn't the sun just be enough? Ehh. And of course you get a testicle joke with Skinner in this bag. Skinner releases a hamster kept in the school science lab for help and is barely able to let him outside, he finds Homer and Ned who hold on to him, and he returns outside of his hamster ball and Skinner says "chew through my ballsack". I can enjoy some middle school toilet humor, I love South Park, but it just feels lame here. Oh yeah, this episode has a subplot with Homer and Ned Flanders. If you like seeing Homer be a dick to Ned Flanders except not really funny at all, you'll love this. Otherwise, it just kind of feels..... there. It's an episode I might come back to, but it's middle of the road, definitely. However, at least it's plot was executed well and some of it's gags were funny, and it gets a light 7/10 from me. 

[CyanideFishbone]

"HOMR"*

Written by: Al Jean

First aired: January 7th, 2001

 

Synopsis: When Homer discovers the reason for his low intelligence is a crayon lodged in his brain that was the result of him shoving a crayon up his nose as a little kid, he has it removed and boosts his intelligence, but soon finds out that intelligence does not equal happiness.

 

Let me get something off my chest real quick: I am absolutely dumbfounded it took them twelve seasons to do this plot. Homer becoming smart feels like something so goddamn obvious. And you know what? It feels worth it taking this long. Yeah, this is another really great Scully episode, but I'll get into singing it's praise later. Something that is absolutely amazing about this episode is that like a lot of other Scully episodes, it's plot is partially inspired by another piece of media, particularly a movie. This episode's plot is inspired by the movie CHARLY and the title is even a reference to it. However, the best thing about this episode is it DOES NOT feel like a movie parody or a ripoff or anything because this plot is so goddamn natural for Homer. Hell, I didn't even know what CHARLY or Flowers For Algernon was the first time I watched this episode and I understood it just fine. And it doesn't even feel like they're going for a movie parody, it feels more like an original plot. Yeah, while the Simpsons does rely heavily on pop culture (especially in this era) for it's plots and the fact that that is a vital part of the show's DNA, it's nice when they crank out a plot like this that feels extremely original. There's still your trademark pop culture references here too; the Simpsons I feel also needs a good amount of pop culture references. Anyway, how's this episode? I'm gonna be honest here; this episode is fantastic. And one of the nice things about it is it's a simple plot, but still does not feel dumbed down or weak. Homer becomes smart, but soon becomes disappointed with being smart. It's that simple, and it's not bare bones because this episode has great jokes and does a great job with molding it's characters into the plot. I love how Moe is the surgeon that gets the crayon back into Homer's brain; it's completely fitting for Moe to do that. Remember when Moe ran shady side ventures? Because I really think the writers forgot he did. And the good jokes do not end there. "Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris." is hands down my personal favorite quote from the episode. It's such an out there quote both in context and out and that just it makes it so funny. And there's some great sight gags in this episode, particularly the animation festival's sign and Moe's business card. And Lisa's happiness vs. intelligence graph feels like another classic Simpsons gag. Are some of the other gags super memorable? They're kind of memorable, but most of them got laughs and chuckles out of me and kept me consistently laughing. And back on the topic of memorability, this episode is very memorable just because of the execution of an obvious plot and how effective it does it in some real "meh" territory. And that's not even the main reason I love this episode; this episode feels so fucking classic, and feels like it's another Scully episode that really gets The Simpsons. I can't think of a better reason why it feels classic besides them doing a kind of heartwarming ending, and unlike other Scully episodes, here it... honestly works. Yeah, there's some heartwarming moments in Scully Simpsons, and this episode has one of them. It would've been so easy for the episode to end with Homer being selfish and going back to being dumb and leaving Lisa upset, but it really nicely rounds everything out when Homer writes Lisa a note before Moe preforms on him about how he's taking the coward's way out, but he still loves her and how him becoming intelligent realized how amazing Lisa really is. It's just a really sweet moment in a funny episode with a great plot. This episode, however, is not super perfect. Financial problems appear again, and Homer becomes smart only around 11 minutes in and I wish they could've spent an extra minute or two with smart Homer, but they do not tarnish my opinion of an episode this solid. This episode won an Emmy, and man, it fucking deserves it. Something I didn't now is when this episode won an Emmy in 2001 for Outstanding Animated Program, it won in 2000 for Behind The Laughter, which both Behind The Laughter and this episode are fantastic episodes in a "meh" territory. While this episode was against Amazon Women In The Mood from Futurama in 2001 which is another really great episode and among that series' best, I can get behind this episode winning the Emmy. And with all of that, this episode deserves a 10/10 from me. It has some minor problems, but they don't hurt my enjoyment of an episode that's this memorable and enjoyable. 

[CyanideFishbone]

"Pokey Mom"

Written by: Tom Martin

First aired: January 14th, 2001

 

Synopsis: When Marge meets an extremely artistically talented criminal named Jack Crowley (played by Micheal Keaton), she ends up getting him on parole to help rehabilitate him. Meanwhile, Homer decides to become a chiropractor after breaking his back by pushing people's backs onto garbage cans, which proves successful.

 

Honestly, I don't think this episode is as bad as most people make it out to be, but it's not very good. Juxtaposed to episodes like Homer vs. Dignity and Saddlesore Galactica it's pretty tame, but it's still a weak episode. It feels weird saying that this episode is Tom Martin's greatest writing accomplishment on the show in my eyes, a guy who's last two writing credits were Shitsons, and this being his final episode he wrote for the show. There's positives in this episode. The gags that work work well, such as the juice box gag at the start, the "No Complaining" gag is clever, I like the jab at the show's past with the blue shirt joke, Homer wanting a BLT, the prison reception guy is mildly interesting, and a couple others. It's nothing that funny or clever but it's decently funny. However, the episode's attempts at running gags fall flat; the sundae gag and the joke about Homer being in pain after breaking his back are really lame. I also think Micheal Keaton does a great job with what he's given. Jack Crowley is only a mildly interesting one time character, but I really think Keaton's slow, slick voice fits his tough, criminal persona really well. And that's where the positives of this episode really end.... the majority of this episode is really drawn out. It's one of those episodes where it feels like a cycle of the same things happening again and again. Jack does something especially well, Marge recognizes his talent, it's not noted, rinse and repeat. And of course, you have to have Marge be angry at him again. Unfortunately, a lot of the time that could be spent with fleshing out Jack's character or the episode's subplot (we'll talk about that later) just aren't used and is used on this lame fucking cycle. And of course, at the end, Jack has to come out as a terrible person. Which just feels lame, forced, and lazy. Pretty much the entire episode sets up Jack as someone who does not deserve to be in prison (even Apu, who he shot and ended up in prison for shooting, compliments Jack and says he's one of the Kwik-E-Mart's better criminals) and it just ends up feeling like it retcons everything the episode set up with his personality. And yeah, he gets work at Springfield Elementary, they don't like his original work, makes a new one, everyone hates it and then everyone loves his original one because... Marge said previously before that art evolves with people over time? It's all this lame ass reasoning and it all just feels like flimsy writing! Oh yeah, Homer subplot. This is one of those subplots that goes absolutely nowhere. It's really not funny, it just feels there, and feels like filler honestly. And this episode's ending is just terrible. Of course, Jack becomes exposed as a criminal, Marge is pissed at him and chews him out, he drives off and him and Chief Wiggum banter in banter that's not really funny at all. And honestly, that's all there is to Pokey Mom. Some jokes that slightly work and a great guest star who made the most of the lackluster script he was given, but a lame, repetitive and drawn out plot and a terrible ending just don't save it for me. I love Pokemon to death, but I don't love Pokey Mom, and that's why honestly..... it gets a light Shitsons from me and a 4/10. It's on the lesser side, it definitely is, but it's just a flimsy episode that I see no reason to ever watch again. I'd skip this one unless you really like Micheal Keaton, I guess. You do you, not gonna stop you from watching this episode, but it's not one of my favorites.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Worst Episode Ever"*

Written by: Larry Doyle

First aired: February 4th, 2001

 

Synopsis: When Bart and Milhouse call 911 when Comic Book Guy has a heart attack shortly after being banned from his store for life, Comic Book Guy reluctantly puts Bart and Milhouse in charge of The Android's Dungeon until he recovers. Meanwhile, while recovering, Comic Book Guy realizes he has no friends and decides to make more, leading him into a relationship with Agnes Skinner.

 

By reading the synopsis, you can kind of tell there's quite a bit to this episode, leaving 14 minutes for both plots and about 7 to set it up. And you know what? For an episode called "Worst Episode Ever" (I'm sure we all know what that's a nod too), it balances both plots extremely well and this episode is great! I don't like it as much as HOMR, but it's another really great Scully episode. It doesn't have HOMR's heart, and that's okay. It tells a good plot, it's paced well, has great jokes, has some really great character dynamics, it has what makes The Simpsons, well, The Simpsons. Much like HOMR, the problems with this episode are small and kind of nitpicky. Anyway, first off, the jokes in this episode are plentiful and really funny. I love the scene where Homer takes Comic Book Guy to Moe's, Comic Book Guy (who is one of my favorite Simpsons side characters) is always funny with quotes like "Is there a word in Klingon for loneliness?", and holy fucking hell, Comic Book Guy and Agnes Skinner. If anything is memorable from this episode, it is them. It's such an out there writing choice, but holy mother of fuck, it works. It makes sense for them to be together, they both like being assholes to everyone, and the scenes with them together are just gold and a complete delight to watch. Something about seeing them walk down a sidewalk with romantic music playing while turning off a fire hydrant shooting water with kids playing in it is just so funny. And holy hell, the scene with Principal Skinner and Comic Book Guy is just such a great slice of cringe comedy. It's not super cringy and while it's short, it makes an impact. I love how the ticking of the grandfather clock in the back is somewhat loud to add to the awkwardness, and it's perfect how they're basically replying to each other in short sentences. You can feel the tension, and man it made me laugh, especially culminating in Agnes trying to slide down the railing in a damn good gag that had me laughing. It's done exactly long enough to not feel annoying, and of course, the brief interaction between Skinner and his mom is a lot of fun. And holy hell, the scene with her and Comic Book Guy making out in his bed is funny. It's so uncomfortable that it's funny, and the part with Chief Wiggum busting in right after (for a reason I'll talk about later) and reacting to the whole spectacle is gold. Enough about how funny the Comic Book Guy B-plot is, the A-plot's great too. It's a Bart and Milhouse episode, and it does really well for itself. You've got their disagreements and them making up, but there's a lot more to it. I love "Biclops" and the reaction from everyone after it's put up in the store, them arguing is always fun, and I like when they start to fight the episode has an intermission for commercials and they change it to look like a panel in a comic in a small, but nice touch, and tons of other small gags and bits. The episode has a little twist in them finding Comic Book Guy's stash of illegal tapes, and while it's out there, I think it works. Otherwise without a change like this I think the episode would've had a real risk of feeling drawn out. I like the tapes themselves (especially the testimony by Ned Flanders) and the scene where Chief Wiggum and Lou break in and fail to come up with a good joke while breaking in is a funny gag. While I've talked about the main part of the episode, the build up isn't terrible. Tom Savini's scene is a lot of fun, I like it when Homer puts Bart and Milhouse in a trench coat and tries to go into the Android's Dungeon and says he's Shaquille O'Neill in a really stupid voice and Bart and Milhouse's uses of the money they get, and especially the scene where they get banned. I love how Matt Groening is on the banned list, and I love just the stuff Martin's mom brings in. As I said, there's some small things that kind of irk me. Why would Martin have all this super rare Star Wars memorabilia and how would Comic Book Guy get in his viewing room with the tapes? Like, it's behind a tiny poster, and there doesn't seem to be any door in the viewing room.... but those are all nitpicky and small and don't detract my enjoyment of an episode that's as solid as this. It's funny that Larry Doyle wrote my least favorite episode of Season 11 and writes this as his final episode, and man, he went out on a bang. It gets another 10/10 from me. There's not much else to say besides it's just funny and has a solid plot, and man, Comic Book Guy and Agnes Skinner help this episode be more memorable than it already is, and it's already a pretty memorable episode in some "meh" territory.

Edited June 2, 2018 by CyanideFishbone

[CyanideFishbone]

"Tennis The Menace"

Written by: Ian Maxtone-Graham

First aired: February 11th, 2001

 

Synopsis: Instead of buying a casket for his dad, Homer uses the money to build a tennis court in their backyard. When the court becomes popular amongst Springfield's residents, Marge becomes humiliated by Homer's juvenile tennis skill. With good intentions to fix things, Homer enters him and Marge into a tournament, only for her to replace Homer with Bart as her partner, infuriating Homer.

 

If a few things in this episode were changed and this episode was funnier, this episode I think would be a pretty great 22 minutes. However, because of some problems, this episode is just kind of left as an okay viewing experience. The plot is solid enough, but it doesn't feel super fresh, which is okay if it was funny. And this episode.... really isn't that funny. I like the Iraqi joke, the joke where Homer opens his pants only for a tennis ball to fly in and hit him in the crotch, and Venus and Serena Williams guest star in this episode and do a fantastic job, and the scenes with them are pretty funny, but outside of that, a lot of these gags feel lame or fall flat. The opening joke with Bart turning the water from hot to cold changing the water in Homer's shower while he's taking one goes on way too damn long, and the episode pulls a Family Guy-esque cutaway gag with Smithers mentioning Mr. Burns changed his tennis court to a "human chess board" and showing a 10 minute clip of what that's like. That line would have been a lot funnier if it wasn't shown, which I don't think the Family Guy writers get, but I always expected The Simpsons writers to get. Anyway, how's the main plot? It's not that bad. I like how it's an episode where Marge wants Homer to be more mature in his approach to playing the game in order for her to not be humiliated, which that in itself could prove as a decent plot. However, I think when Marge angers Homer by switching her tennis partner the episode goes south. It becomes your classic "Homer acts like a brat because he can't understand someone else's motive" stuff, of course you've also got your classic lame "Homer's an idiot" jokes. Homer's a dick, blah, blah, blah. Of course if you take Homer's character into account, it makes sense, but outside of this episode's great guest stars who aren't used until the very end, there's just not a ton to it. You get your classic status quo ending and everything and the episode is pretty much wrapped up. This episode's just really okay, not much more which sucks because the episode's idea isn't a bad one at all. Another thing is there's this weird dream sequence that paints Marge and Bart as this rich married couple with Homer mounted on the wall.... it's such an odd scene that just feels so confusing and unnecessary. As I said, Tennis The Menace rounds out to be an okay outing, and that's why I'll give it a 6/10. I'm not a huge fan, but it's okay enough and there's nothing that terrible here. 

[CyanideFishbone]

"Day Of The Jackanapes"*

Written by: Al Jean

First aired: February 18th, 2001

 

Synopsis: Because of pressure from studio execs, Krusty announces his retirement, and in an interview about his retirement, he says he has erased all of the episodes with Sideshow Bob. Seeking revenge, Sideshow Bob is released from prison and hypnotizes Bart into killing Krusty at his retirement show.

 

Hey, guess what we haven't had since Season 8? A Sideshow Bob episode! Seriously, there used to be one pretty much every season until Season 8, and the writers just.... stopped. Kind of funny the episode involves retirement when they're bringing a character they haven't used in so long back. And of course, going into this it's not gonna be Cape Feare or Sideshow Bob Roberts, but this episode still proves a pretty great 22 minutes and one of the best outings Season 12 has had so far. The best part about this episode is just seeing Sideshow Bob back in action. His wit, his charm, that amazing voice by Kelsey Grammer, all here. Most of the lines said by him get a chuckle out of me and it's just so goddamn much fun to see him again. It's not one of his best appearances, but watching him still proves a blast. I especially love his interaction with Principal Skinner, and the episode has a nice twist with how Krusty unexpectedly apologizes to Bob right at the end of his show, and Bob has to try and stop Bart from killing Krusty. It's a nice twist, and while it's far from original, it's way better than Bart failing to kill Krusty by some reason such as the technology he would kill Krusty with failing or a lame deus ex machina. And this episode, is yet again, pretty funny. So many of Sideshow Bob's lines get snickers out of me and the scene where Krusty hypnotizes Bart into beating the shit out of the Krusty statue in front of Krusty Burger as the police inside eating just blankly watch it all happen got a huge laugh out of me. The show that is competing with Krusty's in the ratings, Me Wantee, is decently funny too, I especially like Homer's flag saying "GAME SHOWS". A lot of these jokes are just solid jokes. Not rolling on the floor worthy, but definitely snicker worthy and keep me snickering and smiling all the way through, as well as invested in the plot. They're not super complicated either nor original and that's okay because a lot of these work. And the plot is a great idea; I like the idea of Sideshow Bob using Bart to try to kill Krusty. Unfortunately, that leads into one of the problems with this plot and that is the fact I think the hypnotism stuff is super unnecessary. I wouldn't mind it as much if it added a lot to the plot, but it really doesn't. Bart is Krusty's biggest fan after all, wouldn't it make sense for Sideshow Bob to try to friend Bart to get to Krusty? I mean, Bart barely remembers him at first, but I guess their rivalry is just too strong that Bart won't follow his command unless hypnotized. I can't complain too much because the hypnotism leads to the best joke in the episode. This episode also has a really weird pointless part where after the studio execs die from a monkey that blocks Krusty from hypnotized Bart taking Bart's bombs and throwing it in the exec's room right next to the stage, and they all die in this gray substance and come back to life? It's a really lame joke and it feels so goddamn unnecessary and out of place. I don't think I have too much to say besides that apparently a parody of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was going to be used in the episode, but they were unable to secure the rights in time so it's not there. I don't really think a parody of that song could be used anywhere in the episode, so it doesn't bother me. It was probably used as a clip from a past show of Krusty's as they usually do in Krusty episodes. It's a pretty good 22 minutes, but because of some minor things that bug me a little bit and me thinking I'm being too generous, I give it a 9/10. It's a great episode, and a must watch for all Sideshow Bob fans. It's no Cape Feare or anything, but that's okay because it still tells a solid story and provides solid jokes.

[CyanideFishbone]

"New Kids On The Blecch"*

Written by: Tim Long

First aired: February 25th, 2001

 

Synopsis: Bart is recruited into a boyband consisting of Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph called The Party Posse, and become famous. However, Lisa discovers their music is full of subliminal messages supporting The Navy and encouraging people to join them.

 

Something I've noticed is that in every season I've reviewed so far, there's one or two episodes that just completely rub me the wrong way and confuse me. Season 10 had both When You Dish Upon A Star and Monty Can't Buy Me Love, Season 11 had Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder and It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Marge and now Season 12 has.... New Kids On The Blecch. This episode is so goddamn strange and surreal that I can't even start. Yeah, I've seen this one before. The truth is most of the episodes in Season 11/12 I've seen before reviewing I've seen only once and completely forgot about them right after. Episodes are usually better or worse than I remember them being. I remember this one being alright and upon rewatching it..... just..... this is one of the strangest episodes of this show I've ever seen. With Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder and Monty Can't Buy Me Love I had no idea what kind of episodes they were going for, and here, I guess I can, but everything about this episode is just questionable. Let's get the positives out of the way. Milhouse saying "What's up, G-money?" is moderately funny, the opening with the Springfield Marathon is pretty okay (I especially like the gag where Homer looks like his dad when he's dehydrated), and the front half of this episode is pretty okay. Not fantastic, but alright, all before the music video scene happens. But we'll get to that later. There are some things that I don't get in even the first half? Why is Nelson not bullying Milhouse? Milhouse is pretty much always his biggest target, and while there's the record label's execs around, Nelson is a character who does not respect authority figures. If The Party Posse is so huge, why is Bart, you know, not living with his family anymore? There's literally a scene of him getting a massage in their house and his family acknowledges him! Bart seems like someone who would immediately leave his family if he got rich, although he still loves his family. It makes sense, he's a 10 year old boy. And it's never stated that Bart decided to stay with them, but whatever. I would respect this episode for getting to the point quickly, but the Springfield Marathon part has zero bearing on the rest of this episode, although it's over quickly. Also NSYNC is in this episode. They're.... pretty terrible guest stars, not gonna lie. The scene where they're introduced is kind of funny but very throw away, but they don't get bad until later. Anyway, they do this music video which is kind of funny for just how crazy it is. However, you know what's not funny? Their actual voices! Yeah, this episode tries a running gag with the kid's voices not sounding anything like their actual voices, and it's kind of funny the first time, but gets old and drawn out really goddamn fast. Also the song is honestly kind of catchy, so points for that and it's not super terrible. It's not hysterical, but it's kinda funny. Anyway, in the song's chorus "YVAN EHT NIOJ" is said over the chorus, and Lisa, obviously suspicious, decides to check, and finds out, yeah, it means JOIN THE ARMY. Of course, Lisa goes to the producer angry, and the producer (named "L.T. Sarge"), of course, is an Army vet and you get the classic "You figured it out, now I won't let you leave!" but Lisa leaves to notify the others. I'm not at all a fan of this scene, but admittedly, the gag with L.T. Sarge yelling "JOIN THE ARMY" out the window at Lenny and Carl nearby and them deciding to join the army right after got a chuckle out of me. I can kind of command the episode for at least foreshadowing the army stuff with the extra dot.... except it doesn't really feel foreshadowed at all! It's just..... kind of there when Bart first meets him. Oh yeah, there's a MAD article making fun of the Party Posse mentioned. That'll be important shortly. Anyway, Lisa doesn't convince anyone, they all go to a Party Posse concert on an aircraft carrier because of course, everyone finds out... that the Navy has been hiding subliminal messages in boy bands for years, calling it "Project Boyband", in a scene between L.T. Smash (obviously Lieutenant Smash) and another official on the aircraft carrier. The official cuts off the power to the Party Posse's music, and Smash goes crazy and decides to go to Mad's headquarters in NYC to destroy their building with a cannon? NSNYC literally comes out of the fray to help them, nothing they say is funny, they fail to stop Smash who destroys Mad's headquarters but everyone survives for some reason?Wasn't The Simpsons kind of grounded in reality? Ugh, Smash is arrested, and we get a scene where NSYNC talks to the camera about how the Navy is great, which is not funny at all, and feels confusing and lazy as all hell.

 

God damn this episode is crazy. I wonder who wrote this. Oh, Tim Long. Let me see some of this writing credits.

 

Yeah, makes sense. 

This episode is just.... what the hell is this? Wasn't the Simpsons grounded for the most part in reality at one point? I mean, it doesn't have to be as down to earth as King Of The Hill, but still, it was fairly grounded in reality. This episode just feels like the writers came up with any insane plot point they could and pooling them all together to make an exhausting mess. I get it, the episode wants to go for the outrageously silly angle, which I would've done too, but it just doesn't handle it well at all and it just feels incoherent and sloppy. Yeah, it's first half is alright, but this has to be one of the most excruciating second acts I've ever seen. This episode gets a 3/10 from me and a Shitsons. I get the appeal, but it's just so otherwordly for my tastes and there's just so many inconsistencies with this plot that really hurt it, and the jokes really don't make up for something that's this much of an.... experience. It's not as bad as Saddlesore Galactica or anything, but I'm not a fan, but hey, there's some appeal. I hope Tim Long writes something as good as Desperately Xeexing Xena again.... 

[CyanideFishbone]

"Hungry, Hungry Homer"

Written by: John Swartzwelder

First aired: March 4th, 2001

 

Synopsis: When Homer discovers the joy of helping others in need, which leads to him staging a hunger strike against the Isotopes for shadily covering up their plans to move to Albuquerque, which also leads him to become an attraction at Isotopes games.

 

So this episode has a number of positives. The idea of Homer going on a hunger strike is a great one. Homer helping others in somewhat jerky ways was a great writing choice, and the episode gets to it's plot started fairly quickly. It's plot is incredibly solid, there's just not a ton wrong with it at all. However, get ready for me to say something I always do for episodes like these..... this episode's really not that funny. Am I saying the entire thing is unfunny? No, there's some really clever gags, but there was nothing in this episode that really had me laughing out loud. A big positive in the jokes department though is this episode has Duffman, who's always a blast to watch and is definitely the source of most of the gags in this episode. Also, this episode isn't really that memorable, but it tells a solid story. Although it does retread on some ideas used before (Homer becoming an attraction at Isotopes games from Season 2), the hunger strike and the conspiracy concerning the Isotopes prove effective for the story. Oh yeah, there's also a first half with a Legoland parody, which I actually do kind of like. It's not super long, and serves as a nice transition into this story. I especially like just how over the top the place is with how everything is made out of the Simpsons version of Legos (Blockos, the park is called Blockoland). Also, Stacy Keach plays the episode's antagonist, Howard K. Duff, the owner of the Isotope's ballpark, which is bought out by Duff in the episode. He's just okay. Not super bad, but not super great. He has some decently funny lines, but he's not super memorable. You know, after New Kids On The Blecch, it's also really nice to see another episode that's pretty down to earth. I don't want the show to always be down to earth, but never as crazy as New Kids On The Blecch went. Unfortunately, I don't have much else to say about this one. It's got a very solid plot that kept my interest, but isn't really that funny, but has it's moments and gags, so it gets a 7/10 from me. You could really do a lot worse.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Bye Bye Nerdie"*

Written by: John Frink and Don Payne

First aired: March 11th, 2001

 

Synopsis: When Lisa becomes the target of Springfield Elementary's new student and bully, Francine (played by Kathy Griffin), she discovers a scientific reason as to why bullies pick on nerds. Meanwhile, Homer goes into the baby-proofing business.

 

So I wasn't a fan of either of Frink or Payne's last two episodes. Their Treehouse Of Horror sketch felt bland and uninspired and Insane Clown Poppy was just very middle of the road. Thankfully, I think the two more than make up for those two with this episode. This episode is a whole lot of fun. The plot is a great one (Originally the plot was that Lisa would be so fed up with Francine's behavior that she would try to punch her but punch Skinner instead and be sent to juvi and I can't emphasize how glad I am that they didn't do that), and the twist in Lisa's discovery proves very effective and provides something to help keep the plot interesting and have it not feel drawn out. Francine is a pretty great one-time character as well. Yeah, they do the classic "shy girl who everyone gives the cold shoulder" route for her, but it proves effective. Especially juxtaposed to Nelson who beats up on other people for the fun of it and of course, to make himself feel better for his shitty home life, I like Francine's route. You can tell she's powerless through out the episode, and Kathy Griffin does an alright voice role for her. She doesn't have too many lines, which is okay because it really helps convey her shy personality. Anyway, how are the jokes? This episode is damn funny. There are tons of good jokes, but I'm gonna stick to the A-plot before going into the B-plot's jokes; I love how the surveillance room's door says "STAY OOT", I love Milhouse's medication that helps him repress memories, I like the super high energy opening with the drag race and Marge rushing to get Bart and Lisa ready for school and the Itchy and Scratchy cereal commercial, a lot of the gags with the nerds really do work, and the finale with Lisa's presentation has some great jokes. I especially like just how terrified all the professional scientists are of Francine, how the grand prize is just a gift card to J.C. Penney, and I also like the ending gag. It feels a little obvious, but I think it works. Anyway, enough about the great A-plot, how's the B-plot? The B-plot is where most of the episode's comedy relief comes from, and I think it does a great job. Homer going into the baby-proofing business isn't super interesting, but it provides enough really great jokes to help keep it interesting. I'm really glad they went with this as a B-plot because I really think this would've gotten old fast as an A-plot. The B-plot sticks around just long enough for the main gag of Homer's absurd baby-proofing projects to remain funny. I especially like the pool of gelatin, the scene with Apu, and what he does to the Simpson's phone and a few of the other items in their house. The set up of the B-plot is funny as well; I especially like how Homer just takes everything the babyproofer gives him and when she asks for money for it, he just kicks her out of the house. I really wish I could end this review better, but this episode is really great. It has two really great plots that are both interesting in their own rights and provide tons of great jokes, and honestly, that's why it deserves a 10/10 from me. It doesn't do anything super amazing or out of the ordinary, but it has 2 engaging plots with really great jokes, and at this point in the show's history I really couldn't ask for much more.

[CyanideFishbone]

"Simpson Safari"*

Written by: John Swartzwelder

First aired: April 1st, 2001

 

Synopsis: After finding a golden giraffe that is supposed to win a trip to Africa in an old box of graham crackers in the attic, the manufacturer refuses to give them the trip. After Homer is cut by it's sharp edges, the manufacturer gives The Simpsons a vacation to Africa to avoid a lawsuit.

 

Something I realized while watching this episode is that every Scully season has had a vacation episode. Season 9 had The City Of New York vs. Homer Simpson, Season 10 had Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo, Season 11 had Kill The Alligator and Run, and now Season 12 has..... Simpson Safari. While the first two rank among my favorites from both of their respective seasons, Kill The Alligator and Run definitely ranks among Season 11's worst, which does say a lot considering I honestly... don't really like Season 11 as a whole. So how does Simpson Safari hold up against the great Scully era vacation episodes, considering that John Swartzwelder also wrote Kill The Alligator And Run? Not really well at all. Yeah, this episode blows. First things first, the lead in to this episode is hands down one of the worst I've seen in this show. Why do we need to establish that Maggie swallowed an issue of Time to give a reason for Homer grocery shopping? I mean, the scene with Maggie and Marge at the hospital tries to tell jokes but completely falls flat, and it reeks of pointlessness. Although, the scene at the grocery store BEFORE the bagboy scene is kind of funny, with Homer, Bart and Lisa all making excuses for themselves to buy food. Why does there need to be a bagboy strike? What does it add? Why can't the family just find the box in the attic and all of that happens? Does the episode REALLY need a drawn out scene of Homer being a complete cunt to the bagboy serving him? I guess the idea of having Homer cut himself on the box and the manufacturer sending them to Africa to avoid being sued is fine, I've seen worse in this season alone. I do really like the joke of how Homer wants to do everything on the back of the animal cracker box. But why is the bagboy stuff necessary? It's referenced like once or twice later and it's not super funny. Anyway, enough about the bagboy stuff. Homer cuts himself, they get sent to Africa. It's a strange set up and it's not a good one, but I've seen worse, but why does the lead in need all this bagboy stuff that's just not funny and the throwaway scene at the hospital when the episode could really use the time to help set up it's plot faster and not have it feel super long? Yeah, this episode's start is terrible. Unfortunately, the rest is not much better at all. When they land in Africa, this episode just pretty much becomes "Stereotypes: The Episode". Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo has stereotypes, but it also has some really great jokes besides those and most of the stereotypes are kept to a minimum, and some of them have some subversion to keep them funny, where it's not like "haha look: it's a stereotype", but twist something about them to give it a little bit of a joke. Unfortunately, Simpson Safari goes with the previous option to tell it's jokes. It's all here. Oh, Africa has dangerous animals. Africa's government is unstable. There are tribal villages in Africa. There are poachers in Africa. We get bad impressions of African accents. Which fine, showing the country's culture is something a vacation episode should do, and should make jokes about it, but this episode really makes Africa look like just constant open savannah and jungles, and tribal villages. Also, the gags with Africa's culture are lame. Oh, a rhino comes out of an egg. Get it? Rhinos don't hatch from eggs? Because the episode literally tells you that right after. There's not really any variation in this episode's setting and it gets kind of boring. I wouldn't mind keeping a constant setting in an episode where the Simpsons are back home, but this is a vacation episode which should have constant changing settings inside where the family goes. Not really here. It's like savannah, tribal village, jungle, and..... a really stupid ending, but we'll get to that later. Anyway, you get your classic "Lisa corrects everyone on the stupid shit they say", and holy shit, is Homer infuriating and obnoxious in this episode. Literally almost everything bad in the episode is caused by him, which is fine, I guess, except none of it is funny and the shtick was never funny in the first place. Homer pisses off the bagboy, leading to the strike. Homer attacks the hippo, which gets them sent down river and gets them stranded. Anyway, the majority of the stuff between their arrival in Africa and the terrible third act is boring, because it's just so much of the same. Lisa calls everyone out on their shit, Homer acts like an obnoxious asshole, etc, etc. This would be fine as they're fairly important character traits for the most part, but there's just little to not much else besides that, stereotypes and lame jokes. Why can't we see some cities in Africa? I don't know if the writers know this, but Africa is more than just savannah and rural villages! Okay, enough about the bulk of the plot being absolute shit, let's get this episode over with. If there's one thing I like, it's the bad and good river gag. It's not super original, but it's pretty funny. Anyway, when the family becomes stranded because of course they do, they run into a chimp which leads into a chimp sanctuary lead by a Jane Goodall parody character who just feels.... there. Anyway, they stay there, and of course we get lame toilet/butt jokes with the chimps, before the poachers seen earlier come around. We see the family try to block them from entering the sanctuary by using their surroundings, which is alright, before they are.... revealed to be Greenpeace activists. These are the same poachers seen before who LOCKED UP A CHEETAH LITERALLY ON THE OPEN SAVANNAH. What the hell? Is it seriously that hard to make them look different? Anyway, of course, the Jane Goodall parody has been leading a..... chimp diamond mine because she is consumed by greed by living out in the jungle by herself? What the hell? What do those two things have to do with anything? Anyway, in the ending the episode states she keeps this diamond mine and the poachers..... take some of the diamonds and that whole thing is just left unanswered because of course it is. The chimp diamond mine is such a stupid writing choice and it leads to one more chimp joke that luckily does not contain a lame butt joke but is still not funny at all. So yeah, the conflict between the Jane Goodall parody and the poachers is just left unsolved, and the episode ends on them taking off to go home, one more stereotype joke, and a passive agressive message toward bagboys which is not funny at all because i've just been so annoyed by this whole experience. 

 

This review did really feel kind of disjointed to me, but hey, so is the episode!..... Two wrongs don't make a right. Yeah, this episode is just as disjointed as Kill The Alligator and Run, and honestly, I think this episode is worse than that one. Kill The Alligator and Run had a small number of gags that worked and were memorable, here..... not really, most of the gags are just chuckle worthy besides the river gag. And this plot is just, as I said, a mess and I can't believe just how, honestly, stupid this episode is! I know I've said it a million times at this point, but this episode is just awful. It's disjointed as hell, dull, repetitive, majorly unfunny, lame, and really stupid, and that's why it gets a 2/10 from me. Yeah, I think this episode is worse than Kill The Alligator and Run (which was a 3/10). This is definitely one of the stupidest, if not the stupidest, episode of the show I've seen.