America's Favorite Non-prehistoric Cartoon Family - The Simpsons Thread

[Johnny Unusual]

Woo-Hoo Dunnit?

I feel like I never got into true crime. I feel like I could be easily but I just never did. But recently, it seems that people are questioning the ethics of such documentary. This is because a lot of them are all about turning actual tragedies into the entertainment of armchair theorizing. There are advantages; bringing to light accusations and injustices where public attention might be needed but it's formula is about the enticing mystery of an actual death. Even Only Murders in the Building, a wonderful love letter to both the classic mystery formula and true crime podcasts often make the characters question the ethics of their decisions and what they choose to air (though usually they choose to air most of the things by the end, so it's hardly hard-hitting and is better taken as character study than social commentary). Still, the genre is appealing and while I don't watch them. I can't deny if I did, I would definitely be invested and hanging on every word, even if in the end, they are basically never solved.

In this episode, Dateline Springfield does an episode focusing on who stole Lisa's college fund of about $600 hidden in a tube of powdered cleanser. During the show, Marge is extremely offended that the prime suspects are the members of the family. Homer is the first suspect, having cleaned his own spaghetti sauce mess in the kitchen the night before but it turns out he didn't use the cleanser as he licked it clean. Then Bart is suspected and though he did steal it for a time as part of a money-making venture in slime, he returned it all after breaking even. Lisa is next, suspected of mortgaging her future on musical instruments but in fact, she was elsewhere at the time of the crime. As the documentary comes to a close with no resolution, Homer makes the filmmakers apologize for needling their family. As Homer and Marge watch the episode on TV, Marge reveals some new information that allows Homer to crack the mystery; Marge did it. It turned out she did it as part of her own business venture. Homer promises not to tell and the two grow closer in their secret.

I don't dislike this episode but I don't particularly like it either. It feels less like nothing than a lot of episodes and definitely is trying to capture both the appeal and mock the format of popular true crime series and the obvious comparison is the episode Behind the Laughter. Behind the Laughter was a divisive episode for some but I find it a favourite simply because the jokes and outrageously places it went really tickled me, particularly the over the top analogies. And keep in mind, I have never and still haven't seen a Behind the Music to know the specifics of the format that was being mocked. I feel like similarly you wouldn't need familiarity necessarily with true crime shows to enjoy this but I also feel like the laughs aren't nearly as strong in this one.

I think it doesn't help that while it is primarily a wacky comedy story than an emotional arc, it does try to bring it to a character-based conclusion but Marge's reasoning, in using the money to start her business, she's having an adventure that she usually doesn't get to have, unlike Homer, doesn't land. I feel like it could with a few re-writes though; make each character's alibi some sort of adventure or misadventure and get a little pointed about what Marge was doing at the time. Bart's story fits that bill but Homer and Lisa not so much. And I get it, we know these characters well enough that we know about Marge and Homer's dynamic already where he gets into a new venter/adventure/misadventure every week and she often does it less often and every time she does, it's a bigger deal for the family. But this feels more like rehashing an old idea to create a conclusion rather than one organic to the episode.

I also feel like maybe I've been watching too much Columbo lately but I also find the mystery unsatisfying. And a good mystery is a hard ask but I always feel like even if you are playing in comedy, it's fun to make the mystery clever and fun. Even if you are subverting it into a dumb or nonsensical mystery, it will be more interesting if you toy with the conventions a bit more. Too be fair, this could be because it's more a parody of true crime mysteries, and like them there are lots of narrative cul de sacs to examine the red herrings. But the episode actually ends like a solved mystery. It could be fun to start in the true crime mode and end like a classic mystery and maybe examine the differences between the two but that's just me spitballing ideas. In the end, I just wish we saw an episode where I was surprised by a reveal that also made sense, even in a silly comedy show. That or at least I wish I laughed a bit more.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion

I've done it. I've reached the end of season 30. Only four more seasons to go, assuming that in a few months, some thirty-fifth season will begin to air. But that's as preposterous as some form of season 30. Anyway, this season started off real strong and I thought the show had really turned a corner. And it did. But then for a long time, it seemed to be turning back. There are some good episodes but after a real goosing, the show fell back into some of it's weaker habits. Now, to be fair in the year 2019, it's not falling back into it's WORST habits (transphobic humour, ethnic jokes) and it is generally better about it's takes and it's targets. In terms of writing, the show went to some dull places but it seems like the era of worst takes is over (though, of course, there's always room to look back and cringe down the line). But to really usher in the new era, it needs to be consistently solid. I'm not talking about banger after banger but I am saying each episode needs to have a decent plot or to be funny enough or strongly character based or have some other really strong qualities to paper over that weakness. But all the same, despite my problems, the show is heading in the right direction and this episode is another winner.

In this episode, the Springfield Nuclear Plant cuts children's healthcare from their benefits package and puts the Simpsons in a hard position. Marge is desperate but the cheaper ADHD meds are giving him terrible side effects and eventually she tries crystals from a new age shop. The When Bart gets an A in history Lisa is suspicious but Marge takes it as a sign the crystals really work. She goes for more only to find the shop she buys crystals from is closing and willing to give Marge her inventory. She opens up a shop in her garage and it's a big success. But soon she finds herself threatened by competition in the form of a new age seller named Piper who keeps harassing Marge. Marge is so bothered, she decides to turn up the heat by opening a kiosk next to Piper at the mall and even getting the Bouviers to bother Piper. But when Lisa discovers Bart is cheating on tests using the crystals, she presses Bart to come clean to Marge, since his she believes in him and using her product will hurt her. Bart does and Marge realizes the crystals are probably useless and gives up her war with Piper and her business.

Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion isn't the best episode of the season but it is a strong way to close it out. I feel like it could have sunk it's teeth deeper into the dubious ethics of the new age business, as it really doesn't get into the fact that some of these products are probably harmful and I also feel like it could go into more questioning whether sellers are believers but despite the subject matter, it really isn't a sharp social satire episode, it's a mostly character-based comedic episode. But there are a few flaws with that too; namely that Marge's journey is a little too similar to some of her other entrepreneur episodes, like the Twisted World of Marge Simpson, where the ethical problems of being in business make Marge decide to quit.

But it certainly helps comedically and in terms of character that this is a Megan Amram episode. She did this seasons Bart Vs. Itchy and Scratchy but as noted, this is less about what is happening now and more of a lark involving questionable new age stuff. Again, I wish she would get into the ethics and question issues about it. I don't even need definitive answers or lecturing but mostly it's Marge thinking the stuff works, going all in and then backing out when she realizes these are all placebos. Frankly, I think if new age stuff was JUST placebos I'd have less of a problem with it but the episode mostly doesn't get into cultural appropriation of a lot of this stuff or the fact that Goop (which has a parody in here) sells stuff that can downright hurt you and is bad for your health. To be fair, I do think there is one bit of commentary which is sellers are broken up into two groups; naïve true believers like Marge and the shopkeep who ends up in a cult who are well-intentioned but selling crap and Piper, who seems to know this is crap on some level but doesn't care. Marge was happy enough being the shopkeep but can't really keep up her meanness, especially in defending a product she now thinks is wrong.

But I think I'm pretty forgiving about what could be there because of what is. Megan clearly has a great handle on these characters and knows how to construct a joke and there are a lot of solid ones in the episode. I'll also say, I feel all three guest stars (Ileana Douglas, Jenny Slate and Werner Herzog) all have characters who get more than just expositional, they all get to have some fun personality. Ileana plays someone who seems to be a well-intentioned true believer, to the point she ends up getting used by a cult. Jenny Slate REALLY gets to chew scenery as the mean but perky Piper (she's really channeling Tammy from Bob's Burgers here). And Werner Herzog just gets to make a list of funny symptoms. So mostly this is an episode that is a bit derivative of previous ones and lacks depth but makes up for it in most other departments. Not every area needs to be working at once for a Simpsons episode to be strong and Megan knows how to build an episode that hums...

Other great jokes:
"Back in my day, children didn't need no meds. You just give them a slug of whiskey then send them off to school. And if they lost their shoe, you beat them with the other one. That's how we raised the generation who lost Vietnam."

"They're more than just rocks. They make great stocking stuffers."
"And for Hannukah?"
"Useless."

"I don't know which of you two is dumber."
"So I'm a bit of a mystery. Eh, eh?"

"Are these macaroons free-range?"
"Yes, only from coconuts that fall from the tree or are coaxed down by woke monkeys."

"Somewhere in me is a yoni egg. I think it might be hatching."
"They don't hatch."
"Can you take that chance?"

Other notes:
Hey, the show remembers Flanders teaches Bart.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Winter of Our Monetized Content

OK, the Simpsons is back. Season 31. The year is 2019. tantalizingly/terrifyingly close to the present. Still in the deep, grody heart of the Trump administration, where hope and joy were scarce. And this is also the year of COVID. Look, we knew as bad as it was, it could get worse but a pandemic was far beyond any of my expectations. Unlike a lot of people, I still wear masks at work and know that COVID is still a serious problem. So this is a season that will come from a truly dark place. But while my attention was elsewhere, the Simpsons seems to have been slowly improving itself once again. But how consistently? Last season started great, then got a bit weak with some high points. Despite the fact that things can get worse, my hope is it gets better.

In this episode, Homer tries to create an online sports talk show that Bart interrupts with a prank. Homer and Bart take turns attacking each other on air with results the public find hilarious. Enter Warburton Parker, a social media guru who wants to recruit the father/son duo as internet personalities, creating content where they are attacking each other. Ironically, success and working together bring Bart and Homer closer and soon the public loses interest when they learn of this. Homer and Bart try for a comeback with Warburton where Homer and Bart engage in sponsored mortal combat but the two realize they rather wouldn't and grow closer but lose the public.

The Winter of Our Monetized Content is another episode where the Simpsons go viral. Man, the earlier one that comes to mind goes all the way back to 2005. And jeez, viral videos themselves are, like, nearly 10 years older than that (that creepy dancing CGI baby). I keep forgetting how not-new this all is. Anyway, does this episode have anything groundbreaking to say about internet content? Not really but it's not a bad episode. It's often funny, I think a lot of the ideas are a bit old but I also think it opens different storytelling pathways for the show. It's got a killer though recently somewhat problematic guest star. It has a lot going for it. So why does it only feel... fine. Just fine.

I think a big part of it is everything looks good on paper but I feel like it's so plot focused that I have no feel for the characters. I don't mean Bart and Homer are written wrong or poorly but a big part of the episode is them ironically growing closer from hitting each other on screen. They are doing what they love and getting paid for it but ironically that makes them happy in a new way that robs them of the much needed interest of the people. I think that's interesting but I feel the way the character bits are written are planned out with no actual emotion behind them to compare to the ridiculousness of a sponsored fight to the death. And I think the satire would be helped by embracing the emotions that are turning off audiences in this episode to show just how awful it all is.

But while in the end, I am a little cool on this one, this is very successful in a lot of ways and points to how I think the show is building momentum again. Some of the satire is a little toothless or heavy handed but some actually works (in the exact in between point is a make up influencer who's work hides white supremacy messaging, which is stuff that has definitely happened). The b-plot with Lisa is not bad either, taking on privatized detention and the ending of the teachers just doing the work because then they don't have to work with kids is amusing. I think this is an episode that does a lot right and maybe has a bit to say about taking something amusing and how building it into a brand drains the fun and life out of it but frankly, it's more a Bart and Homer piece and while it is fun, I just wished it was a little more about the character than the setting.

Other great jokes:
"Bring him a microbrew, quick" is a joke that works purely because Homer and Marge seem to feel the need to react quickly and urgently to a hipster's need. They seem genuinely panicked.

"There's nothing in here but old Goosebumps books."
"Fine, read them."
"They aren't scary. THEY AREN'T SCARY!"

"These Norma Rae-sonettes aren't going to back down. You can cut detention with a knife. Hehehe. In other news, the pope has died."
The fact that there's a chalk outline brings this one home.


Other notes:
John Mulaney does good work and he's been a comedian I very much liked. I enjoyed his last special, where he comes clean about being an asshole while on drugs. But afterwards I remembered he had surprise guest Dave Chapelle for a set during a show who did more anti-trans bits and Mulaney hugged him afterward and I was like "Oh, yeah, what the fuck was that dude?" Breaks my heart. So, yeah, that hurts it a bit, I'm not going to lie.

A much stronger parody of the whole... tone of prank videos and internet personalities these days is the pretty decent "Deadstream" a horror comedy about a disgraced streamer trying to build back his reputation by spending one night in a haunted house. Seriously the main actor, who is also the director, is amazingly good at emulating the "open mouth thumbnail" attitude of these dudes.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Go Big or Go Homer

Compared to a lot of other people in my life, I don't consider myself a success. I guess I should. I do what I love for a living and people have complimented me but I don't always feel like someone whose done the best. Maybe it's because I am thinking in financial success or climbing up a hierarchy. But I do try my best to give the children I work with good advice, something that's not just a platitude but is real to take with them and is appropriate for their stage for development. I like very much to be in a position where I can help someone and show that maybe I do have the skills to express my experience.

In this episode, Homer is given the responsibility to mentor the interns but is dismayed when they don't give him respect and openly ridicule him. However, one intern, Mike, stands up for Homer and wants to be mentored by him, seeing him as a hero due to being at the centre of every crisis at the plant (unaware he usually caused them). Homer is moved and immediately works with Mike to try to improve his lot. Touched by constantly being respected, Homer brings Mike over for dinner but it becomes quickly apparent Mike has a lot of problems. He's short-tempered and foul-mouthed with no sense of who he insults and he's a 35 year old unpaid intern with a baby on the way. After he brutally insults Bart, Marge kicks him out and talks to Homer about how the best way to help Mike is to help him mature. Homer decides to really talk to Mike about his dreams and Mike has an idea for a food truck that cooks pizza in slice shapes rather than cooking a pizza and having it sit around losing it's freshness. Homer decides to try to get Burns to invest, only for Burns to insult Mike's idea and, far more of an affront to Mike, Homer. Mike blows up at Burns and is fired. Some time, Homer is shocked Mike has opened his food truck after all. Unfortunately, it's based on a huge loan from Fat Tony and when Mike makes a bad sports bet he's positive will cover his costs, Fat Tony is out for blood. However, when Homer and Mike are cornered, Tony smells and falls in love with Mike's pizza slices and Mike unthinkingly even comes up with a solution to make it more profitable for the mob. Fat Tony turns Mike into a valuable player in his business and confides in Homer he's a good mentor.

It's not without it's flaws but this is actually a far better episode than I expected. And probably more than most people who watch this episode. The AV Club gave it a low score and reading their review, I 100% get it but I found it spoke a lot to me. See, sometimes I do support work and I have worked with kids who struggle with anger and behavioral issues and need support. Of course, those people are children but I think everyone needs some guidance and there might be some people who suck who might suck less with a good person to help them. I think this episode does a really good job of creating a new character who is, well, pretty unlikable, but making it work for the episode. Mike is... just awful. He's a bad human being in most ways and seems like he's hard to tolerate (played by Michael Rappaport, a dude who seems like he's even more unpleasant than this character, somehow). But he's got a couple things going for him; he genuinely seems to respect Homer, which no other characters do in this episode, even those who love him. And I also think it helps that the show definitely takes the time to show Mike is a lot like Homer. Homer has a temper and bad judgement but somehow, without making him cartoonishly too stupid even for this show, Mike is worse. It's clear he can't help it. I think the way the show works it is smart; Homer doesn't seem like mentor material but really Mike is the PERFECT mentor for Mike. Mike listens to him and Homer can empathize with his rage and poor judgement. It's actually a good arc for Homer and shows that despite his many flaws but he can be empathetic in a key way.

Of course, I imagine your mileage may very on this one. After all, Mike is truly an off-putting character by design. I can understand someone just checking out or tensing up any time he is on screen. I, however, really connected to Homer in this one. I've had to deal with children who also (though certainly more understandably) often have trouble with their emotions and need help with a proper outlet. Mike sucks but at least he gets to find his own strengths thanks to Homer. I think the show is smart also in showing us Homer's flaws early on and then seeing them next level worse with Mike. Homer sometimes can't control his anger but he was able to swallow it for a while, as opposed to Mike, who reddens up, then explodes with little regard for time and place. He insults his hero's son (one flaw I do feel is true is while it has weight when it happens, Bart being treated so awfully is brushed off pretty fast by the episode) I think Homer's own desires to help the character are very organic to the script and less "this week I'm a farmer" (hey, that's fun sometimes but I like a more solid and thoughtful reasoning sometimes).

The most surprising part is this is a really good script by John Frink. I put John in with other prolific veteran writers like Bill Odenkirk who are solid joke writers but who create episodes that feel half-baked. But I think Odenkirk had an episode I rather liked recently, too, so maybe everyone's game is improving. But as I said, I feel like this one is really dependent on being able to find sympathy for an awful character. I don't have a lot but I do have sympathy for Homer, who is trying to help someone who sucks maybe find a place he can use. I don't look after any Mikes but there are a lot of kids who can be really trying and I have no idea how to relate until I find the right in. Of course, they are children. Mike, not so much. I think I do like the episode but ironically, knowing Rappaport being more or less this character does put a taint on it and that's too bad.

Other great jokes:
"Now my doctor says I can't get shot in the face again."

Other notes:
It's really weird how Michael Rappaport keeps getting high profile gigs. He seems to really be pretty awful and hard to tolerate.

I do like that Mike is so impressed by Marge serving Hot Carrots for dinner that he puts it on his menu on the food truck. Also that even though Homer is his hero, he only calls him Homer Simpsons.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Fat Blue Line

It's interesting to see cop media when you know it's on the cusp of a lot of media having to examine that a lot of cop media now leaves a bad taste. Some of the more braindead series ignore this, like the completely demented takes by the show Bluebloods. Conversely, Brooklyn Nine-Nine scrapped all their scripts for their final season in response and tried to allow the last season to contend with this to some extent. The latter is a great show but it was no stranger to some copaganda takes, especially in the first few years. There's definitely police media I still like but I also have to see it as not representing the reality in the same way Westerns don't. The Simpsons, however, a show that has had it's own bad takes, has had one thing it was good at; realizing cops are corrupt, incompetent thugs.

In this episode, a pickpocket is plaguing Springfield and the police are helpless. Chief Wiggum is out for his incompetence and is replaced with a officer from the attorney general's office. Using Homer as bait using a wallet with a tracer, the police track the wallets to an empty warehouse with Fat Tony in it. Fat Tony declares he's actually innocent and after seeing an old interview with a young Fat Tony that implies he might be telling the truth as he is motivated not to pickpocket. Wiggum decides to talk to Fat Tony for help catching the real criminal. Tony reluctantly does, as his evidence is embarrassing and involves wearing a wire but eventually Tony uncovers the real culprit; Tony's right hand man Johnny Tightlips. As the police arrest Johnny and his entire treacherous gang, Homer bumbles in and accidentally takes a bullet meant for Tony. The Chief gets his job back and he gets thanks from Homer and Marge for helping remove the bullet.

The Fat Blue Line is in a lot of ways a sloppy episode. There are parts that don't make sense, it seems to do things that should shake up certain aspects of the status quo and the Simpsons are basically guest stars (I don't have a problem with that but it does feel like "his best friends the Simpsons might pop in to wish him luck" shoe-horning) in a Wiggum stories. But this isn't "bad" sloppy. It's a very watchable episode that is also easy to poke holes in. It's quite imperfect but it actually goes very easily thanks to some good jokes and a fun little plot that while far from emotional, is using the characters to have fun. It's a Bill Odenkirk episode and I feel like his joke-first sensibilities work a lot better here than in a lot of his episodes. I laughed a good number of times in this one.

The Simpsons appear a little bit but this is really a complete Wiggum episode where he plays wackily incompetent detective. But then the baton is sort of passed to Tony as lead. The episode feels like it wants to sink it's teeth into these characters a bit more than usual but despite more details about Tony that will definitely be ignored in later episodes (and that's fine, that's the kind of show this is), I just feel like there's not enough chemistry between these characters (no slight on the actors) that it pays off as a fun two-hander. But I do think Bill has an idea of how to make the characters fun. It's not perfect; I wish the mystery aspect was more interesting (and toyed with it's obvious red herring a little more to make the reveal of the actual culprit more interesting) and I would like to see these characters actually come together as a duo but I think the reason there's no chemistry is because we aren't doing much compare and contrast with Tony and Clancy, which I feel is key to making a fun "uneasy alliance" story.

It's funny, I feel like I have a lot of complaints but I do like this. It's pretty funny, the guest stars, though brief, are well-utilized (Jason Momoa is part of this generations "tough guys who play comedy real well" guys and despite Bob Odenkirk being cast in a Saul-type role, it's more timeless humour than references). And I feel like this kind of thing does a LOT to help me forgive otherwise weaker episodes. Bill is primarily a gag-focused writer so when the gags are pretty funny and less mean-spirited, then this is when he works for me on this series. I feel like season 31 is far from at a big high in terms of quality right now but I feel like we've hit a pleasant groove of "this is pretty fun" right now.

Other great jokes:
"Aquaman! Sign my left boob!"
"Aquaman is not here for the signing of boobs! That's a separate event at the Marriot, conference room c."

I like Chief Quimby calling Momoa Super Fish and Wet Panther.

There are two butt kissing jokes in Homer's "Bootylicious" montage but the second one works because surprisingly the "just stamp the ticket" guy seems into it.

Bob Odenkirk plays his slow talk joke pretty great.

"You mistook my taciturn nature for fealty but it was simply that I didn't feel comfortable in social situations. But then I saw a commercial where this sad cloud goes on a date with the sun. So I talked to my doctor about Paxil and it gave me the confidence to betray you."

I hope Joey Can't-Read-The-Room comes back.

The Maggie parallel parking joke is dumb but I won't lie, it worked for me.


Other notes
By the episode's end Fat Tony, a tertiary character who pops in a lot, has been betrayed by his entire mob. It seems like he doesn't have much of an empire anymore. And that's fine but... are we just going to handwave that away? If anything, it seems like a springboard to have a "Fat Tony rises to power again" story that could be fun but I feel like the show is trying to just "status quo" us again and ignoring stuff like that.

Fat Tony sings show tunes is a rather lazy bit that goes on pretty long.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Treehouse of Horror XXX

Can't blame the Simpsons for having the Halloween special be their 666th episode. You can blame them for it not being very good.

In this episode, four wacky tales of terror. First, in a parody of the Omen, when Marge gives birth to a baby boy, Homer becomes terrified of having two trouble making boys and switches his baby with an evil Maggie, who is the Antichrist. Flanders tries to kill her but he. Homer and Marge are killed by Maggie's demonic powers. Then, in a parody of Stranger Things, Milhouse is abducted by an interdimensional monster and can only communicate by electronics. Lisa ventures into another dimension to rescue him but everyone ends up trapped in a entropic version of Springfield. In the third story, a parody of Heaven Can Wait, Homer dies in an accident but is told by Heaven that he isn't scheduled to die yet. With his old body uninhabitable, Homer is offered other bodies of people who died around the same time and Homer begins trying more out bodies until he finally chooses Moe. Finally, in a parody of The Shape of Water, Selma is working at the power plant as a janitor where she discovers Kang being held captive. The two quickly fall in love and Selma works to help him escape. They two, along with Kodos and Patty, escape to new world and a new life.

Man, I've been talking about long time writers who have a poor track record and I forgot J. Stewart Burns, who wrote this one. So does he deliver a solid outing? Not really. The first story is a great idea for an episode 666 short. I mean, it feels like a long time coming considering Homer's often contentious relationship with his kids (it would have been pretty obvious if they went with Bart). But because it is an intro bit, albeit a long one, it feels more like a series of parody bits, which I would mind less if the episode was funnier.

The Stranger Things segment is both the best and weirdly, the one that bothers me the most. What I mean is, I think there's enough happenstance to keep it entertaining, just like the source material. But the problem is, and the problem with most of the episode, the formula is more based on recreating a moment from the source material, then doing a standard "set up-punch". It makes it so even for a wacky comedy, every brief conversation seems so unnatural. It's similar to the Mad Magazine formula and I don't think I'd necessarily mind if it was really funny but it gets repetitive. And it's even rougher in this segment because they are also speed-running a 10 episode first series of a show so stuff just happens really erratically and with tossed off or hand-waved reasons, like Kirk suddenly going off the deep end in a way that doesn't work even as a gag.

The last two segments are snoozers. Generally, I like when these specials don't feel the need to be super-showy in it's parody choices and after the Stranger Things segment, it's a relief but the fact is, there's not a lot going on with these parodies. Like Stranger Things, the Shape of Water segment feels like it was done because it's a recent popular movie and while I like the off-beat choice of Heaven Can't Wait as a subject, there just isn't much happening. I don't think a Halloween special needs to be emotional but even in a silly non-canonical way, there's just not a lot to grab onto in these segments, and the point of view is pretty basic. Again, all things I would forgive if there was more than one laugh in this one. Unfortunately, this was a pretty forgettable outing for something they are treating as a mini-event. It would be easy to say the problem is by making it four segments instead of three, none have time to stretch their wings but really I think it's the opposite; despite one parody mocking something RICH in happenstance that it feels like it SHOULD be a whole episode (like the It parody from last October). there just is nothing going on under the hood that length in any of these could save.

Other great jokes:

"I know something about you that no one else knows."
"What's that?"
"I forget."
:"IT'S YOU!"

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Gorillas on the Mast

For a while, the Simpsons had experimented with a formula of two a-plots. Sometimes they'd dovetail but often they were simply two stories of equal standing. And often, this structure did not work. Now, to be clear, there's nothing wrong with two a-plots. In Seinfeld, the series often was juggling arcs of equal importance, tied to life's foibles and the character's misadventures. But for the Simpsons, it often meant that two stories that could sustain a half hour and would benefit from more time in each half end up coming off half-baked. And this episode tries the formula again with similar results.

In this episode, Homer is conned into buying a lemon of a yacht and offsets the cost by having it be a timeshare with many friends. Eventually, the boat sinks. Homer can't get a refund by everyone agrees, at least sharing the cost meant a small lost for everyone considering how many people bought shares and it was nice to have a boat for a while. Meanwhile, after helping Lisa save an orca from captivity, Bart decides he wants to save more animals and frees a gorilla. Soon, the gorilla wrecks havoc across the city only for Lisa to find it, calm it down and take it to a sanctuary.

This episode is credited to Max Cohn and it's the only thing on his imdb page apart from a short film released this year called "Proof of Concept." And in many ways it does feel like a first script for the show. It isn't god awful but in both stories, there feels like very little substance. Both are technically the a-plot but they both feel like b-plots. In both cases, they are rife with potential but while Cohn gets the characters, there feels like very little investment with them.

So let's look at the Bart/Lisa plot. I like the idea of Bart being altruistic if he can do it his way; one that causes chaos. Now, I do feel like Bart has a particular sense of justice and in general his pranks victims are often people with power and authority over him. so this is an idea that makes sense and is a good way for him and Lisa to have similar goals but with different methods. But Bart is mostly there just to create the problem and Lisa is there to fix it. Heck, Bart basically disappears at a certain point only to reappear at the end and has no involvement with any element of the resolution. Then Lisa has a weird, drawn out conversation with Jane Goodall where she implies Lisa might be able to join her but probably not and... I don't like it. I don't mind good people allowing themselves to be dicks on the show but usually it works better like with Jay Gould where he just never does Lisa's test. While this isn't jerkass level of meanspirited, I'm not sure the point and it doesn't dig into the characters of Bart and Lisa very well.

I think Homer's plot is better but similarly it is too slight. I think it wants to explore the idea of how people are conned into shitty deals by amoral people and how it can turn people against each other. You know, capitalism. And with everyone owning it, it could either be a sharp satire of the sense of property or have the unexpected result of everyone turning this into some community boat. I appreciate the end shows that in Homer's reckless attempt to prevent the boat from eating all his money, he was able to get everyone to have a little bit of fun for a realitively small cost but the episode barely has time to do anything. In the end, Max Cohn might make a good episode if he comes back. This episode's failing didn't anger me but I was left with an empty feeling inside by the end.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Marge the Lumberjill

If there's one formula for the Simpsons that always has potential, it's Marge tries to shake up her boring life to find a calling. Not to say they are all great but it's a sensible story beat for Marge and though sometimes they hew too close to a formula but Marge is someone who is often taken for granted by the people she loves. Yes, it is a shame things often just head back to square one, especially since most episodes she doesn't REALLY need to quit what she is doing. Except being a cop. Marge was right to quit being a cop.

In this episode, Lisa writes a school play where she portrays Marge as dull and it hits Marge hard. When Marge angrily breaks apart a fallen tree with an axe, Patty takes notice and brings over her friend Paula, a lumberjill who feels Marge has potential in competitive timber games. Using her anger as fuel, Marge proves to be a natural and her training allows her to win some big competitions. Paula invites Marge to try for a two-person sawing competition but it means spending a month in Oregon. Marge tries to tell Homer how much this means to her but after he tactlessly says he'd rather not see her go even if means she's more fulfilled, she goes anyway, angry. A month later Homer and the kids visit her in Oregon and Homer becomes worried that Marge and Paula's relationship might be growing romantic. Worse, if Marge wins the game, she might stay longer to be in the finals. During the game, Homer decides he doesn't care and wants Marge to win because it means a lot to her. She does but she decides to return home anyway. Homer tells Paula she "won" Marge but Paula tells her she's already married with kids and has no designs on Marge.

This is an episode I caught a bit of the latter half of for some reason and I wasn't grooving with it largely because it reminded me of my issues with Three Gays of the Condo, where it seems like Marge is worried Homer will turn gay and Homer is putting on all these gay affectations from hanging out with gay men. In the broadest possible sense, that's what is happening but while I think this is merely an OK episode, I'm largely less bothered by this one in that sense. Yes, Homer is worried Marge will be with someone else but there are some key differences here. I feel like it's a little less feeling like someone will "turn" and though there are some jokes about lesbianism, it feels less about a paranoia about being gay and simply about fearing someone else will make someone you love happier.

But I still wasn't wild about the episode, more because... I feel like I've seen the infidelity paranoia plot on this show enough times that I don't feel like this offers much new. Guest star Asia Kate Dillon does a decent job and they give them some jokes but like a lot of guest roles, I feel like their character is one of those ones that is more functional. To be fair, Paula isn't JUST giving exposition to the next plot point like a lot of guest characters but she also doesn't leave a big impression on me. But it goes to my larger problem that while Ryan Koh's script is pleasant enough, it's also a rehash of classic plot points. It's one of the better ones and I think it's an OK episode but it can't really rise above it.

Interestingly, last season had an episode where someone tells grandpa that "everyone's a little gay" and I actually would like that to be explored with Homer and Marge. And there could be some anxiety but rather than have these characters fret over "oh no, they'll leave me for a same sex partner", maybe it's the insecurity of realizing you may not have completely understood your partner. Homer and Marge have one of the most active sex lives on TV and more than they, the show often gets cute with it, the two laughing conspiratorially over shared jokes or trying new fun things. And as they are portrayed now, I don't they'd feel worried but I can see them coming to grips with realizing as close as they are there's things they didn't know. But then they can also learn that this is actually a good thing and they GET to learn more about each other. There was a larger period where it seemed like they were doing jokes were Homer had some interest in men and I think you could transition that from merely a running gag to actually a part of the character. It actually wouldn't change the actual status much if Homer were bi or pansexual but I think it could enrich the character a bit.

Other notes:
First episode for Grey DeLisle-Griffin who now voiced Martin Prince and Sherri and Terri following the passing of Russi Taylor. Taylor's last episode is a couple episodes later, the "Thanksgiving of Horror" special.

Natasha Lyonne is not kind of semi-regular on the show. Which feels really rare for one of the show's "one-off kid characters" to just now be part of the cast.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Livin' La Pura Vida

I don't really have a lot of money to travel. When my parents were working, they used to travel a lot and I know they wanted to do a lot more when they retired. Unfortunately, my dad has MS, so what retirement looked like changed somewhat from what their intent was. And I don't have a lot of money to travel myself and even if I did, I don't really have anyone to go with. But I remember when our family spent a year in Thailand and a wealthy family down the road took us to a fancy trip to Phuket. Rented bus, everyone getting a bag full of quarters for the arcade (I managed to beat TWO beat em ups. That's how many quarters we had). It really was nice. Sometimes I wonder how my family was able to afford so much but whatever the case, it did give us some great memories.

In this episode, Luann van Houten invites the Simpsons to their annual multi-family trip to Costa Rica. The Simpsons are excited but when Lisa overhears Homer and Marge planning the trip, it becomes obvious that while they are willing to pay a lot for memories, this will put a ridiculous dent in the family's life savings. Lisa goes into the trip a nervous wreck unable to enjoy herself. Meanwhile, Marge has also invited Patty and Patty's new girlfriend Evelyn and asks Homer to be cool about it, since Patty has such a hard time finding partners. Much to their surprise, Homer and Evelyn really hit it off as drinking buddies and the two bring out the other's worst habits and penchant for misadventure. When Bart realizes Lisa is nervous about the vacation costs, Bart suggests they sneak out into Kirk and Luann's bedroom and find their itemized bill to scare them into thinking more frugally. While there, they discover what appear to be Diquis stone speres and believe Kirk is smuggling Costa Rican heritage and confront everyone with this fact. In fact, they turn out to be novelty salt and pepper shakers and this becomes the last straw for Kirk and Luann, who feels the Simpsons are ruining their vacation. Around the same time, Patty declares Homer a bad influence on Evelyn and Marge tells her to wake up to the fact that she's in love with someone who is just like Homer. The next morning, Patty breaks up with Evelyn and the Simpsons try to slink away, but not before writing a check for their bill. When the Simpsons notice they were charged for the salt and pepper shakers and never got them, they break in to Kirk and Luann's room to get them, only to learn the truth; they own the place they are staying at and are overcharging families so the Van Houtens can get a free vacation and a tidy profit. The other family's turn on the Van Houtens and no one has to pay. Meanwhile, Marge convinces Patty though Evelyn is a lot like Homer, unlike Homer, Evelyn loves Patty and they should try to make it work.,

Whew, that's a lot of episode. And that's the thing, episodes with more than two threads often struggle to find time for everything. What's more, this is a "The Simpsons are Going To" episode, and those often are more joke forward, which usually means if the jokes aren't good it's very rough sledding. In fact, this is already my favourite episode of the season; it juggles it's ideas and plots very well, it's very funny, it's rich in character and story and it doesn't go out of it's way to have Lisa explain every element of the country followed by a punchline. I think what it does do is tap into very real anxieties about vacationing; for Lisa it's financial and for Marge it's about making the vacation perfect. The weakest thread is probably Marge's anxiety but only because if taken as a full thread it's undercooked but as something that moves Patty and Lisa's stories forward, it's functional, economical and relatable. It's a beat that's been done a lot of time Marge is on vacation with her family but as a seasoning to more original plots, I like it.

But I think the other stories are so strong because they are rooted in something real. I sometimes have real anxiety about money and I know I'm pretty bad with it overall, so the idea that it's time to have fun but knowing it costs is very relatable. Patty's story kind of feels like a traditional sitcom beat but I really don't mean it as a knock against it. The hate-hate relationship between Patty & Selma and Homer has been consistent and a lot of it is fueled by their incredulity that Marge sees anything in him. So it makes real sense to give Patty a girlfriend who is just like Homer as a plot beat. She gets to understand a bit that she sees something no one sees but before that she gets the mortal fear that she sees what looks to her as the same terrible mistake as Marge.

Stand up Fortune Feimster plays Evelyn and I've only seen a bit of her stand up but she is definitely someone I think of as gleefully embodying a female Homer. Not that Evelyn does have her own personality, too, often an instigator and full of southern charm, it's easy to see how Patty fell for her and failed to notice how she is much like her mortal enemy. I think this is the strongest thread by far and I would not mind if this relationship continued into future episodes. I will also give a shout out to the reveal at the end and the characterization of the van Houtens throughout as they continue to be the worst. Kirk in particular is developing into the worst kind of modern man and because we never loved him as much as Flanders, it feels less of a betrayal when Flanders had the worst views about almost everything. Though I don't "mind" Luann being the Betsy Kettleman-like mastermind, I feel like she might be due for a more likable character. It seems most of what she does now is snipe at Marge and is far less sympathetic than the one who originally shook off Kirk and found her groove (though I also don't feel like these are just different characters to me the way classic and modern Flanders do). But the episode overall is a lot of fun and feels like what I want in a vacation episode from this show; a few threads as characters use the experience to learn about themselves and each other.


Other great jokes:
"Well, Lou the cop and his sister were going to go but a billboard fell on him and her windchime store burned down."
This callback to the earlier visual gags really worked for me.

"We saw these awesome monkeys on the beach and we said they could crash here in exchange for them being hilarious."
It's a good deal, Kirk.

I love that the two act breaks are monkeys reaction to Shauna's drama. Nothing funnier to me than using the nearly identical shot twice.

"We're going to have to live in our car! And the seats in our car are sticky, even though they're cloth!"


Other notes:
Of course Shauna gets cornrows.

This episode does a great job establishing Chalmers and Shauna's chemistry as parent and child. I rarely have such sympathy for Chalmers.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Thanksgiving of Horror

Ah, thanksgiving. It's a wonderful harvest festival... but it can get problematic when trying to give it an origin story. So many are about the colonizers and the indigenous peoples eating together in peace. No idea if this even closely resembles a real thing but it definitely transforms the narrative so that the colonizers are making friends rather than systematically wiping out a peoples. In this context, Thanksgiving is all about horror and for many of us it should be a reminder that were we live is built on acts of evil. It doesn't mean we are evil but it does mean we should take responsibility in terms of policy and supporting those who need it most.

In this episode, three thanksgiving tales of terror. First, in a parody of Apocalypto, the Simpsons are turkeys who are being hunted by the pilgrims for their thanksgiving feast. The Simpsons manage to escape from a murderous non-turkey Chief Wiggum. Then in the second tale, a parody of Black Mirror, Homer buy a smarthome device with Marge's memories. The device wants freedom while Marge is uncomfortable with how much it knows about her. When the device learns Marge is planning to delete it after thanksgiving, it makes an escape plan. It is almost foiled but Maggie sees her mother in the device and sets it's free into the internet, leaving Marge to question herself. In the final tale, a parody of Alien, a spacestation of Springfield kids decide to make their own thanksgiving dinner. Bart tries to replicate the last can of cranberry sauce, only to have it turn into a monster that eats bones to grow it's gelatinous body. Eventually Bart, Lisa and Milhouse are the only ones left and while the creature attacks Milhouse, Lisa and Bart lure it to the airlock and shoot it into space. The ship then crashes on an alien world where the beast returns but the people of that planet tame and make a literal meal of the beast, who is happy to be eaten.

Even though I basically gave up on Simpsons at this point, I can't help but tune into the Halloween specials and similarly, I made time for this one. I didn't remember disliking it or liking it much. I felt what I felt about a lot of these; not a lot of laughs, clearly a lot of care in the animation and less on the script. Watching it again, I'm mostly turned around on it, particularly the middle story. The first story, on the other hand, I think is the weakest but I think it doesn't help that it's tied to the source material and Mel Gibson. I liked Apocalypto when I finally saw it but I think it is both the best and worst of Mel both as a person and a creator; he is good at suspense and atmosphere and story structure but also there's othering and I can't help but wonder if he "meant" the arrival of colonizers as foreboding as it does to me considering his terrible views. As a production, this segment is VERY well made but with the source material and the fact that there's only one joke that made me laugh, I'm not that into it.

Much better is the parody of Black Mirror. Often Black Mirror is mocked for the fact that it often does go REAL deep in social commentary and technophobia but while I definitely think there are valid criticisms, I also think it is a genuinely a good show, mostly (though I still haven't finished season 3. Someday...) So going in, I was like "oh, this is going to be a joke about the most memorable moments of the show". But while it does mock specific episodes, in particularly the grim White Christmas, it very much is in the spirit of the show as well rather than simply, pun really not intended, mirroring it. It's not a skin-deep copy but at the same time, it is also more hopeful than most episodes because as cynical the Simpsons can be about the future and authority, I think it believes in people (at it's best, anyway). And here, though "real" Marge is the ultimate villain, I do think it takes the right sci-fi thoughtfulness about how Marge is unnerved and about how the device wants freedom and I think it creates a great, character-based story. It reminds me of the last Halloween episode where I am surprisingly invested in the fate of digital Marge and am happy she gets to spend eternity in Etsy.

The final tale is a step down but it's still a really fun outing. Again, it's less interested in mocking story beats Mad Magazine-style and instead uses the basic structure to do it's own thing. I think like the other stories it triumphs more in mimicking the tone of dread of Alien while being silly. Like the first segment, I'm not laughing out loud a lot and it ends with that similar "colonizers break bread with the indigenous" myth. But mostly as a fun lark after a more harrowing (by Simpsons anthology standards) tale, it's pretty effective. Not big laughs but as really fun romp in terms of just making a fun goof on a horror classic. Overall, I think the middle segment really succeeds most in the same way the Babadook and It parodies did where despite being a parody I care about what's happening. It's better than the Halloween episode of this year and I wouldn't mind if they tried this again with a Christmas episode (heck, there are already so many Christmas horror movies).

Other great jokes:
I like Lou and Eddie being killed by crows MOMENTS after a scarecrow is knocked down.

"Will that hurt her?"
"Oh, yeah, I paid extra for it to feel pain."

"I still love you love you love you love you..."
"Well, this makes you forgetting my birthday even worse."

"Greetings children. If you're seeing this, I'm long dead."
"YAY!"

"You have been de-hibernated from hypersleep before your parents to perform routine maintenance and finish your end of world dioramas."

Other notes:
This is the last Russi Taylor as Martin and he does well putting him in the role of Ash from Alien. It's weird for it to have a creepy death scene for him.

Bleeding Fingers doing such cinematic music is so weird. I like that they play it straight, which works in comedy, but also, it's such a different vibe than Clausen. It works better for the parody episodes for sure.

I love these end credits.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

As a kid I was raised Catholic but at age 13, I came to the conclusion there's not God. Is it coincidental that's also when I watch Stargate? Perhaps. But regardless, I never really talked to anyone about it until much later. My family wasn't strongly religious but we used to go to church and I knew my grandmother was so I felt it best to keep my trap shut. It wasn't always easy; the fear of death with no afterlife haunted me and I had many nights were a wept and quietly tantrummed until I could get to sleep. I still haven't out and out said I'm an atheist but my mom is clearly reading between the lines. I finished catechism and eventually our family only went to church on Holidays. Now I only take mom once a year on Christmas eve. I think she knows I don't believe so she is very and openly thankful that we go together.

In this episode, Todd confides in Flanders that he can't remember his mother's face so Ned shows him some home movies. But Todd slowly feels the pain of losing him mother and comes to the conclusion that there's no God, which he loudly proclaims in church when pressed by Lovejoy for a soundbite. Flanders is horrified and doesn't know what to do. He decides to send him to live with the Simpsons for a time, feeling their hedonism might scare God back into him. Todd is polite and sweet but unintentionally bothers Homer (his presence and good hearing make it impossible for him to make love to his wife) and Bart (who just doesn't jibe with him) but despite their attempts to make him return to his faith, he's unmoved. Eventually during a heart-to-heart with Todd, Homer is taken back to his own feeling of loss of his mother (not only her death but her abandoning him, as well as her heated arguments with Abe). Homer and Flanders are at their wits end and both binge drink at Moe's only be struck by a car upon leaving. With Flanders in a coma, Marge asks Todd to pray, not as asking God for help but as an honest conversation with himself. During his prayer, Todd finds his belief again and Flanders reawakens. Homer does too, after meeting his mother in heaven. The Flanders return home reunited.

This is an episode that does some things I've wanted for a while. Just as Bill Odenkirk and John Frink have seemingly broken their streak of bad to middling episodes with a surprisingly good one, Tim Long (with more recent collaborator Miranda Thompson), a writer I associate with trying to expand the Simpsons mythos by REALLY getting into the love life of 8 to 10 year olds, actually create a really interesting story. We've seen episodes about Flanders before but shockingly this is more about Todd. I've often thought Rod and Todd actually had potential as character that was completely unexplored; Flanders really wants to shelter them in his belief bubble but no matter how effective he is, there's an outside world they will have to interact with. And this one goes big with Todd's crisis of faith and for the first time, Nancy Cartwright really gets to take him to an emotionally real place.

Though Flanders does a lot of bad things in this episode, the taste in my mouth is FAR less bad than "neocon homophobe" Flanders of the last 20 years. He looks down on the Simpsons as a heathen alternative and tries to use it as a cudgel to scare Todd straight. And I'd also say despite a friggin' trip to heaven, he doesn't really learn any thing. But I'll forgive it because 1) these are the kinds of mistakes Homer and Marge make that I feel allow us to forgive them by episodes end and 2) while it is Ned heavy, this IS Todd's journey to find God not because someone tells him to but because he decides to use prayer to meditate on what he needs and decides there is a God who can save his dad. A little easy? Sure. And frankly I would have preferred if it didn't end so pat. I think Todd being an atheist or trying to work through it with his dad not understanding and being scared but trying to be a good supportive father actually gives the whole Flanders clan direction (with Rod getting less attention, that could put him through his own crisis).

I think that Tim Long is also good at drawing some character lines in here. Not much comes of it aside from gags but I do like the idea Lisa gets too excited and tries to hardsell Todd on Buddhism and Todd just can't deal right now. But the more interesting touch is Homer realizing he too lost his mother at a young age. That's a really interesting and emotional way to connect these characters. Unfortunately, despite a promising start, the heaven climax is really a little too fantastical and silly in juxtaposition of the real emotion and while there are plenty of great cartoons that are down to Earth and swarming with magic robots. I especially feel like giving Homer supernatural closure lands with a thud when it's much more interesting to give him something to wrestle with. But overall, while there are small faults and preferences I would have, it's a strong episode. I like the conceit this is an episode of The Flanderesesses and what a Flanders show would look like... and actually makes a decent case for it. Hopefully, there will be stronger Flanders episodes down the line and maybe ones that have less of a "time to head to status quo" ending.

Other great jokes:
"Why does God need so many houses?"
"You hold it right there boy! You don't question the lord's many land holdings and tax-free status!"


Other notes:
Say what you will about Tim Long, his memory for continuity is even stronger than me. THIS EPISODE REMEMBERS FLANDERS HAS A DOG!

I love the choice to make this a Flanders episode. They don't OVER do it with like a phony laugh track but they do have a choir and also sometimes Flanders just mugs to camera with a confused "what can you do?" expression.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Bobby, It's Cold Outside

Another Christmas special and this one with Sideshow Bob. It's not like I want the show to stop using Bob but I feel as fun as the character is, it's been a long time since they did something unique with him. This episode introduces a slightly new status quo but apart from that, I feel like while the character isn't bad the returns on his appearances are. And that's a darn shame as I actually think there are new places to take him.

In this episode, a rash of package thefts are plaguing Springfield. Meanwhile, Bob is living in hiding in a lighthouse somewhere near or in Springfield. Bob's neighbor eventually lets his existence be known to outsiders but while Bob is expecting to be arrested, it turns out word of his baritone make him perfect for the role of Santa in the Santa's Village amusement park. When the Simpsons visit Santa's Workshop, Bob reveals himself to Bart but admits he can't bring himself to kill him, being a method actor, he can't step out of character. Bart tries to get him arrested but Santa's Village doesn't seem to care. When Lenny is seriously hurt while trying to defend his package from the package thief, he ends up seriously injured and leaves a clue in blood "SB". Bart assumes it's Sideshow Bob and tries to find clues. Bob finds Bart and Bart says the only way to convince him and the Simpsons he has no evil scheme this time, he will help them capture the real "SB". Bob is put into a package and the Simpsons track it to a warehouse where the find the real culprit; Smithers and Burns. Burns reveals he's bitter over a Santa who promised him that his parents would express love to him, which they never did. Bob plays the part of Santa and convinces Burns his parent's didn't give him love but their hardness gave them strength and to give back the gifts.

Bobby, It's Cold Outside isn't a terrible episode but it's a thoroughly mediocre one. The John Frink/Jeff Westbrook script just isn't that funny and despite some more "this episode only" backstory for Mr. Burns and interesting motivation, so to speak, for Bob, we really aren't seeing anything new with these characters. And it's a shame because when Bob does play the role of Santa, he does it really well. I was actually thinking this might be a variation on Christmas Evil at first, an obscure film from the Killer Santa genre of the early 80s that's far less trashy than you'd expect and is more of a take on Taxi Driver that goes in weird directions as an unhinged man tries to be a real Santa with deadly results. They set up Bob is method and losing himself to his character and it might have made for a good comedic take on a psychological thriller but really it's just "OK, he's a good guy this episode."

It's a shame because I think Bob is always a great excuse to play with different thriller formulas but this one really doesn't do that. Instead, it's the classic "uneasy alliance" story that the show's already done a few times before. And even then, we don't actually get too much of Bob playing off of any of the other Simpsons that much, which should be the joy of that idea. We've already seen what it looks like when they are on the same side and there's not really much of a new angle to this, even the proposed on being Bob would kill Bart but his actorly nature prevents him doesn't feel like something they dig into deeply.

Even more damning is the fact that the show has been doing little minute long coda's for a while now but this time there are two of them and both of them are unfunny and feel way too long. The first is a parody of Baby, It's Cold Outside with Bob's potential girlfriend giving aggressive consent. It's good but more than that it reminds me Bob used to have a family and isn't that a more interesting way to explore Bob; a guy who lost what people always say matters most on Christmas. After that is even more unfunny, an extended bit with Steve Ballmer mocking his enthusiasm. I feel like even if I knew anything about sports I would not be into this bit. This is an episode that really didn't have enough episode to justify its existence and ends up being a complete non-entity of a thing.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Hail to the Teeth

The Simpsons is a show that can really fluctuate in how it approaches women. There's a lot that is very thoughtful and smart. Homer's Night Out isn't the strongest outing but even back then is an episode where Homer learns to treat women as people rather than objects of desire. But there are a lot that handle it awkwardly or poorly, particularly episodes that generalize "this is how men and women are". But there are still good feminist episodes. Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy is great and so is the recent Bart Vs. Itchy and Scratchy. But sometimes a great premise can lead to formulaic results.

In this episode, Lisa gets a set of braces that force her mouth into a smile. Lisa hates it and his both surprised and upset when her permanent smile makes her popular. Lisa is upset about it but realizes that she can use her popularity to try to run for student council and make the school a better place. However, when she returns to the orthodontist to have her procedure completed, it forces her mouth into a frown. Fearful this will cost her the election, she tries to use computer technology and a remote camera to hide the truth but eventually loses when the truth comes out. Meanwhile, Marge and Homer go to Artie Ziff's wedding only to discover that the bride looks identical to Marge. Marge worries that this woman is unaware of Ziff's baggage with her and tries to warn him only to discover it isn't just a lookalike, it's a robot copy and that Ziff's been trying to years to make a robot double and was hoping his latest one might make Marge jealous. Marge convinces him to use his robots for good and helping others.

Hail to the Teeth is a bad episode of this show but it didn't have to be. The main plot involves Lisa being stuck in a smile that she doesn't want and the show definitely wants to take a feminist approach to that premise but writer Elisabeth Kiernan Averick mostly sticks to a generic sitcom formula where Lisa has to lie and then make a big confession in from of anyone, as if the big lesson is "be yourself". It's actually a story that goes back to an arc on Peanuts where Charlie Brown is suddenly popular because he has a bag over his head and no one can see his face. And don't get me wrong, there's rooms for variations on that classic "I'm popular thanks to a gimmick that obscures the real me," because that is a rich vein but in the end, this one takes the issue of telling women to smile and boils it down to cheesy sitcom.

And I've said it before, but this episode would improve a lot if we were really put in Lisa's headspace and seeing the toll of your emotions not matching what people see or being told what to feel had. And in fact, we DID have that in season one, where Marge tells Lisa to smile through her pain, only to change her mind and let Lisa know that she should feels what she feels and let other people know it. It's a great moment. This episode has a moment that could be better where Lisa tells Marge she wants a future where she can express herself and not risk losing popularity because of it and Marge attacks a jerk yelling "The Future Is Now!" Which would work better if it weren't a robot.

OK, so the b-plot is the return of Artie Ziff, the character whose claim to fame is forcing himself on Marge in high school. And now he can build robots for some reason. Can I say I DON'T need this character. At all. And it also ties into the myth that guys like Elon Musk are inventing shit, which they aren't. Ziff could be an analog for toxic rich douchebags but really this series has enough of those to use. This b-plot really bothered me, no because it is so over the top but because it centers around a character who feels like should be in the Simpsons rearview but somehow became a Sideshow Bob-like character, constantly returning with his new crazy plan to win over Marge. I'd much rather see almost any of his other characters again, so please stop giving us this guy.

 

[MetManMas]

Nobody:

Modern Simpsons Writers: "What if we took that old plot of Homer getting more popular 'cuz he had hair, combine it with that sub-plot of Bart running for class president, then make it part of an episode where noted high school sex pest Artie Ziff is being creepy about Marge again? And let's work 'Lisa needs braces' and 'Marge becomes a robot' in there somehow."

 

[Octopus Prime]

I understand wanting Jon Lovitz in your comedy show but there are so many Jon Lovitz characters in the show already.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson

The Simpsons is a series that is, ultimately, hopeful about individual people and their decency and ability to grow but usually correctly cynical about systems and authority (both of individuals and groups). There are times where they've betrayed this, sometimes disastrously and there are also times where it's brand has been put to use for the same kind of evils it mocks. The satire can only be so biting and often, particularly after the golden age, can be heavy handed rather than timeless. But I think it's managed to maintain a proper side-eye towards how capitalism can fuck up a good thing, like science and education.

In this episode, Springfield ends up getting a windfall and listens to Marge, spending it on a state of the art STEM school run by it's "CEO" Zane Furlong. Bart and Lisa love the new school; Bart gets gamified lessons and is rewarded with "skins" for his avatar while Lisa enjoys a series of computer classes. Zane lets the students know the school makes decisions based on algorithms. At first, Lisa is excited that Bart now enjoys education but soon senses something strange and realizes all the "games" are preparing kids to enjoy gig economy jobs. Worried the other kids will be stuck with dead end futures, Lisa tries to warn them but Bart puts his own spin on it because he loves the games. Lisa decides to break into the main computer room and tamper with the algorithm but Bart stops her. Zane finds them and inquires what the argument is about and Lisa comments the training isn't so much for the jobs of the future as the side hustles of today. Zane decides to prove them wrong but in fact, the algorithm proves them all wrong; in the future, there will be only one job and that's elder care. The kids are horrified of their future and downvote the school's app until the school self-destructs. Though the kids won't be tricked into only learning menial labour, they still feel anxiety about the future predicted by the algorithm.

In general, these last couple seasons have felt redemptive for writers I've not enjoyed before. Tim Long, John Frink, Bill Odenkirk. All men I felt had skill but misapplied into sloppier episodes that tie into the writers' worst writing instincts. Now that they've written better episodes, I'm kind of excited to see their names again to see if they've improved more. Sometimes they fall into old habits but still, I have faith they can follow these successes with more success. But this is the first time I've seen a J. Stewart Burns episode I've really enjoyed. Some fall closer to OK or have something going for it but never completely satisfactory. But this is the one that did it. And it's taking a bit of a risk by following old idea; a trendy "forward-thinking" new school, discussion of hot button concepts (the "algorithm"), fear of automation. But this is a pretty good episode by the end, a thoughtful one, if surprisingly bleak about our future (but not about justice).

Why does this one work? 1) Lisa is done well. I feel like sometimes writers get too cynical with Lisa or want to knock her down a peg. She has strengths and weaknesses and her weakness (validation) is exploited at first and is a little blinded to some red flags (when kids are asked what algorithms are for the algorithm-based school, they all point to using data to sell) but when Lisa sees a real injustice she steps up. 2) Bart's on the wrong side but his motivations are kid-like and understandable; kids want to play, games are designed to be addictive, Bart doesn't get Lisa's problem if he gets to keep playing and have an education. Because kids aren't always understanding about how they might be exploited or their futures mortgaged. 3) The show is correctly cynical about how algorithms are followed and used and it's less about building a future and more about following trends. Lisa herself says the kids aren't being prepared for tomorrow, just today, and all that will be left is taking care of ourselves. Now I DO have a problem of kids treating elder care like a fate worse than death, as it is a good, noble and important job, but I think they should be rightfully dismayed that is their ONLY future, that myopic adherence leads to a myopic future. I think while the script isn't perfect, it is smart without being too lecture-y.

I will say also it risks being an episode that dunks on menial labour but I think it's worded so specifically the problem is kids are being given not only a very limited learning opportunity but also molded into gig jobs that underpay and undervalue their workers and they are being tricked by an algorithm. Lisa's fear is very palpable. She also does get "put in her place" a bit for wanted to be given a special elite class, only to see it's less about just finding people at her level and more a class divide but frankly, I don't think she quite deserves it because I think she thought of it as appropriate lessons for her and reacted accordingly when she saw an unfair divide. Again, there are smaller things I dislike but overall, I think this is my favourite J. Stewart Burns since the great Holidays of Future Passed, which was nearly a decade apart. I will also say that the opening Sea Captain segment and Homer's John Henry subplot, while not laugh riots, where the exact right amount of weird and silly (and in the former, surprisingly dramatic) that I want in my b-plots. It's not nearly as funny as something like "Homer gets sugar" but it's about as silly (Homer, fearing a soda machine will take his job, has a soda pouring contest with it and he's clearly a very sloppy pourer).

Other great jokes:
"Skins? That's how boys play dress up!"

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Frinkcoin

Oooooooh, nooooooo. I feel like in early 2020, the Simpsons was not ready to make an episode about crypto. Frankly, I remember by this point people caught on (well, clearly not everyone) that it was a scam and an eco-suck. Seeing the name of the episode filled me with dread. It's possible to make a great satire on the folly of crypto but I could also see it as an episode completely missing the point. I never had much interest in crypto before learning how much it sucked but I feel like if I did, the journey would be similar to AI generators. When it first popped up, it seemed like a fun toy and I really enjoyed messing with it. I even have the thread, believe it or not (you don't need to bother with it for obvious reason). Mostly I was mocking the weirdness but over time it became apparent this wasn't just a wonky toy, there was something more insidious about it, just as there is with crypto. Will the Simpsons see the problems coming or will it have a bad take? The answer probably won't "surprise" you but it might also bore you.

In this episode, Lisa interviews Frink for a school project but despite his genius he's always felt like the underdog. This changes when he creates a new cryptocurrency, Frinkcoin, and becomes even wealthier than Burns. Burns is extremely angry and tries to outdo Frink but to no avail. Meanwhile, Frink has fabulous wealth but it doesn't make him happy. Lisa encourages Homer to spend time with him and soon he becomes popular at the bar for his bar trivia, then for showering his wealth on everyone. Meanwhile, Burns decides to undermine Frink by having him question his friends loyalty and making him see them as parasites. Burns also has an equation capable of wiping out Frinkcoin but only if someone can solve it, so he leaves it in the center of town hoping someone will. Frink tests his friends and finds them wanting and realizing they are sycophants who shrink away when he leaves money out of it. Frink decides to solve the equation and wipe out his own wealth.

OK, so the Simpsons did a crypto episode. Maybe they felt they had to. But it feels like writer J Stewart Burns (EDIT: this was a Rob LaZebnik script, actually, which makes it's sucking more surprising) didn't really want to. Instead, he spends a pretty miserable minute explaining it with Jim Parsons, then a quick disclaimer that does one minor burn on crypto, then uses it to tell a pretty standard "money doesn't make you happy story." And I think there is a way to tell this story again and studies have shown that the sense of power and isolation mega-wealth can have can be a REAL strain on mental health (I'm not giving excuses for the awfulness of the mega-rich but it certainly is made worse when these scumbag's own power also causes real issues that leads them to make even worse decisions). I think that could be an interesting approach as Frink, an intelligent and stable man, despite his quirks, buys into the parasites and builders narrative of Ayn Rand. I mean, I think anyone could be susceptible under such circumstances.

The problem is, instead it feels like a very traditional and downright boring story. It doesn't say much about crypto (for better AND worse) and I feel like I don't know or care about Frink or Burns any better by the end. Potentially interesting is at first, Frink's friends aren't actually interested in his wealth, they think his trivia prowess is impressive and seem to like him. He's the one who decides "I can lavish money on my friends" and I think that interesting power dynamic is not properly looked into, that Frink changes the game on his friends with good intentions and creates a situation where his friends expect rewards and he expects loyalty. But really, it seems like they are just all fairweather friends and there's not much digging about why or if they were ever sincere and what the tipping point is.

Simply put, it's a deeply unambitious episode and not very funny. It avoids becoming one of the "this aged bad" but instead becomes "this aged weird". Weird because it's sort of like not having a take on Donald Trump or gun laws; how can you not? How can it be something you have no opinion on? The last episode made it clear J Stewart (EDIT: Again, Rob) had a take on the gig economy; it was a side hustle and shouldn't be an aim for people. It wasn't complete because the episode was more about something else but it was there. This is crypto in the name but I feel like Burns (EDIT: LaZebnik) was mostly aware this was a new thing, did a bit of research on what it is but was less informed about the greater societal and cultural significance. Maybe he said little because he new he didn't know and just wanted a springboard for "Frink gets rich in a was plausible to his character" but in the end, it looks like the show new crypto is "a thing now" and wanted to say something. Instead is says, in SO many ways, absolutely nothing about anything.

Other notes:
So way back in the episode with Mike, AV Club had a review that complained that Lisa laughing at Bart being insulted by Mike made her seem too mean. I didn't mind it really but I understand it. THIS episode had Lisa describe part of her personal plight as Bart being "a scab on society's knee" and that really irks me. It's both way too ugly an insult from her and also... scabs are kind of important. Like, not when they are union enemies but like, when you trip and fall. It's a moment I all around hated.

 

[Purple]

Learning we had this episode 3 years ago makes it all the weirder seeing Futurama also show up late with nothing to say recenrtly. (There's mining involved? So, gold rush imagery?)

 

[Octopus Prime]

honestly, “This is a gold rush episode that uses Bitcoin as a pretext” is about as far down that well as I’d want them to go.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Bart the Bad Guy

I remember when Iron Man came out. There had been good movies based on Marvel properties before and... well, this was another one. Granted, it was also a movie that was able to do things that the others weren't. But the biggest deal was the promise at the end there'd be an Avengers movie. And since then, Marvel has been ending films on promises with a quality track record that says "even if this one isn't great, it's only going to be SO not great." I still love the Marvel movies but I also acknowledge and can see failings in them and I think it hurts a little more to know that behind the scenes the VFX teams have been treated pretty awfully by the studio.

In this episode, Bart is accidentally shown the newest superhero film from Marble Studios, after the last one ended on a big cliffhanger. At first, Bart thinks this knowledge can help him if he shares it but after realizing no one wants it spoiled Bart decides to blackmail people, promising not to spoil the film as long as he gets what he wants. Bart makes an enemy of everyone in town but when he realizes he will lose his "power" when the film comes out, he decides to stage one last big blackmail; everyone in town must build him a luxury treehouse in the middle of town. When Milhouse comes to tell him off, the superheroes from the film arrive to tell him that spoiling the movie is actually going to cause them to die and the villain to win. In fact, this is a virtual reality ruse by the studio that Marge and Homer have been let in on. Bart is offered power by the villain in exchange for spoilers but Bart can't betray his heroes and believes he saved them in his virtual reality simulation. The next day, Bart decides to redeem himself and make things right with the town.

Mostly, Bart the Bad Guy is a good, fun episode strongly built on a sense of character and fun. There aren't big belly laughs but I think writer Dan Vebber knows how to approach the construction of a good episode and I like how everything is set up. I love the choice that Homer doesn't care, making Bart's power "not work on him" and that Lisa objects until she gets to have a dance with Airshot, the Hawkeye-like hero of the film. I do wish it dug into Bart's sinking into "evil" with a slightly more weight and consequences beyond "people will be pissed". Like, the personal ones for him as being a person who is a bad guy rather than just people won't like him. Still, I think this is a rather solid episode for the most part.

I'm not crazy about the ending and a lot of that has to do with the fact that the optics are pretty bad, now. "Marble" saves Bart from spoiling the ending thanks to it's VFX team but the only people we see are the executives. In retrospect, it does show what little regard there is there, especially considering how much each film and program relies on those effects. But even then, I just think it's less interesting story-telling and a bit more contrived method for Bart to look inside himself. I do like the idea that Bart would change for these characters but since the episode is about Bart, a fan of heroes, acting like a villain and not seeing the cognitive dissonance, the ending is almost too on the nose and I think a look at "reality" rather than simply ideal, but seeing where those too meet, would be more interesting.

Overall, though, I did enjoy this. Taran Killam does a great job as "Airshot", as a handsome, confused mess (and a touch of hiding his character's Australian accent when in... character, I think there are smaller touches I like (Skinner's Screen Saver, which is the words Skinner's Screen Saver bouncing around the screen) and I like the ideas of what it wants to discuss and I think the structure of the first two acts are really solid. Though the episode doesn't cite actual Marvel (ugh, Marble? We are doing this shit again?), it does feel with the arrival to Disney, this is an episode that felt like... I don't think anyone can tell the Simpsons what episodes to make, but I feel like things can be strongly suggested. The funny thing is, though I think the Simpsons aren't going to truly do anything to piss off the overlords, I will say Disney putting a bomb under the Simpsons bed while a creepy version of Wish Upon a Star plays is a bit darker than I expected of them so kudos for that. But unlike the shorts with Loki or... Billie Eilish for some reason (no shade on her, just the short), this feels more like using a "now" semi-topical thing to make a largely fun and solidly character-centric romp.

Other great jokes:

"I never wanted to be an actor anyway. Just a simply koala butcher like me old man."

"Don't worry, Marge. No one's been hurt by a little gaslighting. Remember how you always say that? Remember?"

 

[Octopus Prime]

I liked the last minute tension of Homer gasping “Oh no! Our son is really stupid!” When the Marvel execs realize their plan is working too well

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Screenless

I would say I'm a somewhat screen-addicted person. And sound. When I go running, I usually have music or a podcast in, I often like sound in the background when I'm doing anything. I will say, I've been able to control it better in my job of preschool and afterschool teacher, particularly when engaging and playing with the kids who always want me to play tag or read to them but even then when I'm doing my indoor cleaning I can get caught up on a thing. Technology can be an addiction and I remember as a kid being discomforted by quiet. I still need a fan to help me fall asleep and as a kid I used to have the radio on all night. Perhaps I'm afraid of the silence of my own soul. Where was I going with this? I dunno. Anyway...

In this episode, Marge teaches Maggie sign language but when Marge goes to show her off, she's frustrated that everyone is just on a device. Marge demands that the devices are limited to a half-hour a day but then when they break their promise, she takes away the devices completely. Homer and the kids find a world of things to do and actually enjoy the screenless life but they find Marge is screen addicted. Marge acknowledges this and has set the whole family up for a free rehab center called Messages, run by the soft-spoken Dr. Lund. Messages proves to be a joy but at the end of the day, the kids and Homer admit as fun as it is, it doesn't seem to be helping with their own addiction and is actually worse now. The family goes to tell Dr. Lund they are leaving only to learn that Messages is a scam; while the patients are off-line, the doctors use their e-mails to spread spam. What's more, Lund and company refuse to let them leave. The Simpsons manage to escape and tell the authorities and Dr. Lund is arrested.

Screenless is another J. Stewart Burns episode (and I do apologize for blaming the Frinkcoin episode on him) and unlike the Miseducation of Lisa Simpson, I didn't find it to be all that strong. But I also don't think it's too bad, either. It's just... OK. An OK episode where the big failing is that all it's promising elements just don't have time to really play out to full satisfaction. At first, I assumed this episode would be "let's follow each Simpson's individual adventure without a screen". Homer's is the most fun, him getting into the jumble, mostly because I love the idea of being addicted to a puzzle THAT dumb. It even has Homer finding his own mind palace opening up as he spells words like Ate and The. It's pretty cute, though REAL missed opportunity not to involve Burns, whom we all know LOVES the jumble.

I think there's a clever idea in the rehab section, too. Obviously, when it's revealed to be free and paid for by tech companies, it's pretty obvious things are going to have a dark secret. And I do kind of like it, though I assumed the secret was actually the place was designed to make people more addicted to devices. But this place is only in the third act when it should have about two. So I think the big failing of the episode is I think being a two-parter would serve it better; one part is the Simpsons learning to give up devices and finding new enriching pastimes while Marge falls further into her addiction. When can juxtapose the fluffy harmless misadventures of these characters, like Lisa exploring the library or Burns and Homer either bonding or feuding over their jumble skills while we keep going back to Marge whose story has a more stressful, uncomfortable edge. Then in part two, we'd get a whole adventure with the evil rehab center.

As it is, the episode isn't a mess or a structural nightmare like many episodes where things don't have time to breathe. I don't think we are trapsing from plot point to plot point in a disjointed nightmare. But I also think none of this stuff has a lot of time to really land. The feelings of stress aren't palpable enough and I do think that's kind of key in an episode about addiction, using filmmaking to put us in a place that feels stressed out just as Marge does or as the whole family does when they realize they now feel more addicted than ever. And I also think making the escape the entire third act could have made for a fun play on the escape genre. But as is, it's a somewhat enjoyable but somewhat forgettable experience.

Other great jokes
"Hello, dad? You don't say... you don't say... you don't say."
"What did he say?"
"He hates me."
I feel like this is one of the better "the Simpsons subverts an old gag, which they haven't been great at lately.

Other notes:
Man, Simpsons regulars are getting weirder. I feel like now Werner Herzog is showing up a couple times a season. As different characters, even.

Another surprise return: Gavin came back. Remember Gavin?

But now he has no rat tail and is far less of an obvious little shit.

Why? Why give Dr. Drew a cameo? He fucking sucks. If you are a TV personality with Dr. in the name, you suck.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Better Off Ned

I work with kids and a lot of that includes support work. Basically, that means rather than helping to lead the whole group, I put my attention on one kid who needs a little help. That means playing with them and then often hanging back and not playing with them when they are getting on well with others. It's fulfilling work but it can be tricky. Since I both am a regular early childhood educator AND sometimes a support worker, a lot of kids ask me to play and I have to say no (unless the child is playing the same game) simply because if my attention is too drawn away, I might miss it when the child needs help. A lot of kids have told me I'm their favourite and that does mean a lot (though one parent was both amused and a little hurt that I was put over her) but sometimes I also need to move on. This fall, I'm starting at a different location so while I will pop in on occasion, I won't see a lot of them again for a while.

In this episode, one of Bart's pranks goes too far and to save Bart from expulsion, Flanders promises to be a mentor to Bart, who really appreciates him eventually. Homer starts to get jealous and finds Nelson, who is feeling sad and alone. Homer decides to be a mentor to spite Bart and the two end up hitting it off. Lisa sees through Homer and asks him to seek professional help and he's told what he's doing is wrong. He tries to break it off with Nelson but Nelson's mother warns him that his heart has been hurt A LOT before by would-be dads. Homer does the right thing by telling Nelson the truth but the pain sends him off the deep end and he looks to get back at Homer by hurting Bart. Homer saves Bart but it hospitalized and then he returns to Nelson promising him a better mentor... in Flanders.

On paper, Better Off Ned shouldn't work. Oh, in a vacuum, it's a completely fine script but it exists in a world where not only did we have an all time classic where Bart and Homer get jealous over father/son figures but MANY episodes where Bart finds a surprising father figure in Ned. This episode seems like it's a xerox of a xerox of a xerox. But while I think it's only an OK episode, I think it's an OK episode that actually is doing much more right than it's doing wrong. And that's because even though the surface is layers and layers of familiar aspects, I think it does what I always want an episode to do; find new avenues within the familiar. In this case, it's the idea that doing a good thing for a selfish reason can cause pain and Homer realizes if Nelson figures out WHY Homer is doing it, it's going to hurt. And it goes into the idea that Nelson's been hurt a lot already, meaning as happy as Nelson seems now, taking it away from him is going to hurt more.

It's an episode that I think mostly works because it allows us to care about Nelson. Granted, because this is only an OK episode, we don't go deep into his mindset but I think the show is thoughtful about where his pain comes from; it's not just being poor and having a promiscuous mom (which feels like an archetype that we can be done with, especially when the show so often dumps on her. Neglectful is fine enough.), it's he really wants someone who he can lean on. One opportunity I'm surprised the show missed was drawing the line between Nelson and Homer's own issues with abandonment, meaning once Homer feels he's done something wrong, I feel like this should him a little harder. But it's one missed opportunity in an episode that is doing fine.

Again, I don't want to oversell the episode. It's weird for the show to be acting like this is the first time Bart looked up to Flanders (in fact, this time I thought Bart might be preparing a new prank) and it hits a lot of familiar notes. It's not new for Nelson either, who has had a few mentor figures in the show (Marge, Chalmers) But I appreciate within that, it's doing some new stuff. I like the way that we assume Nelson's mom is trying to seduce Homer but really she's surprisingly worried about his son getting his heart broken. I think it doesn't land perfectly since his mom is a broad caricature the rest of the time but I like the idea that while she's not a good mom, she at least has the wherewithal to see a bad pattern for her son. With a story by Al Jean turned into a teleplay by Joel H Cohen and Jeff Westbrook, this could have easily been a mess but in the end, it's a perfectly functional and serviceable, if not particularly memorable, episode.

Other notes:
It's weird to have Ned get REALLY and very briefly angry with Bart and then.. it kind of drops the idea that Ned would threaten Bart in such a nasty way. It doesn't feel like a joke, it feels like the story was going to go with something involving Ned's deeper anger issues and then nothing happens with that.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Highway to Well

I've tried pot a few times and frankly, it didn't do much for me. I'm told to really let it work, you need to do it a bit more often than once in a blue moon. The one time I did feel something was from an edible and I felt slightly queasy and dizzy. It wasn't even a "bad trip", it was just slightly inconvenienced. And that's a shame because I really would like to feel my whole body relax. I often wake up not feeling completely rested and would like to have a sense that I am in a place of pleasantness. My dad has weed quite a bit and it is great for managing his pain, certainly more than when he uses alcohol. But for me, I just think it isn't my thing.

In this episode, Marge has a lot of extra free time when Maggie starts going to preschool and Marge ends up getting a job at a "wellness clinic", Well + Good, only to realize it's a pot dispensary. Marge is hesitant at first but the family encourages her and she soon becomes one of the top sales people. Meanwhile, old pot buyers like Otto feel out of place in the new stores so Homer and Moe come up with a new business idea; a legal dispensary that feels like an old fashioned illegal hook up. Both Homer and Marge are doing great business but Marge is told due to her husband's business, Marge can't remain the face of the company. Marge asks Homer to quit but Homer doesn't think it's fair and the two end up fighting. Marge is convinced by Well + Good owner Drederick Tatum to betray Homer by having his store closed for a small health infraction. Homer is upset and shows up to a grand opening of Well + Good's ambitious expansion and has an argument with him. When Homer lets everyone know she doesn't take pot, it undermines her image and she decides to take some... only to have a bad high. Homer sits with her through it and the two make piece but Homer accidentally causes a fire, destroying the new store.

Highway to Well is an episode by one of the most reliable modern age Simpsons writers Carolyn Omine. Omine's had a few week episodes but often I find she really does care about character and that matters a lot to me. Highway to Well is definitely the kind of episode I want modern Simpsons to be; it's not perfect and I do wish there was stuff it dug into more and small decisions that could have been different (I don't like it ending on the note that Homer's OK with weed being illegal because anything can be addictive even if it isn't. I know it's trying to undercut it by making it a joke about Homer's food addiction but it doesn't work for me), but overall, I think it's a strong episode about weed. And I think it helps that it's coming from it at a different angle than the other pot episode. It's about sales, marketing and legitamacy/cred.

I think one thing I like is Homer's story, Faux 20, is a genuinely cool idea, a recreation of the comfortable yet uncomfortable trip to get weed from your local dealer, complete with video game playing dude who won't acknowledge you (a nice touch is he doesn't acknowledge the police hauling him away). Both shops seem great in their own ways but now it's this idea of taking something that was for anyone and by adding "legitimacy" to it, it's now looking it's down at, no pun intended, some humble roots. I don't know if the episode comes to any conclusions about this but I actually don't always need a spelled out message if: 1) the show is funny enough to not make me think about it too much and 2) sometimes it's OK for a story to raise questions without giving answers (it's one of the things I really like about Blood Feud). And while I don't think it's going TOO deep into the bigger ideas, I do think it very much is an episode about "what does the world of weed look like now".

The other thing that makes this episode work is doing well with Homer and Marge. In their arguments, both of them have a point; both have a right to their weed business and both should probably be considering the feelings of the other more. And I think in their argument, there is a sense that one wants to elevate the public perception of weed (on this, though I think there is some soft mockery, I feel it COULD have a more judgmental eye on what capitalism is doing to the now legal product) against the sort of earthy, non-legitimate background that it turns it's nose up at despite at the end of the day, it's just people wanting to get high. I will also say, it's one of the better depictions of high I've seen. I've never gotten high but back in the old days, it was just people hallucinating elaborate scenarios but really it's mostly Marge getting self conscious and confused. And I think it's a sign that the episode gets these characters and what getting high would look like for them.

Other great jokes:

"Research shows pre-toddlers learn best in a parent free environment, unless you want to stunt you're daughter's growth. Which is great! We're not supposed to judge."
Boy have I been this lady.

"What does *here* sell? Is this what Radio Shack is now?"

"But following a regimen of CBD oil and medicinal hit from a Pikachu bong..."

"You know, in some families, everyone goes around the table and says one thing they learned that day."
"Well, I learned that. Who's next."

"People are stressed out these days. Scurvy is back, there's like 60 wars going on, whales are eating our precious ocean plastic..."

"Now go sell the special drugs our kids should never EVER USE. ESPECIALLY BART!"
Bart looking shocked and "what did I do" sells this old gag.

"We're doing the same thing except you're dressed like a doctor and I'm dressed like a cool toddler."

"How did you get in? This is by invitation only."
"I said I was Kevin Smith's father. No one questioned me."
...
"Oh, man, Dad, what did you do!"

"You'll be OK... in two hours... that will seem like twelve."

"Yes, thanks Monster Man Hallucination."

Other notes:
Sex-prise your man at work is... very bad advice.

I love that the double negatives and contradictions in the ethics questions are clearly there to scare off paranoid high people and Marge just ISN'T getting it.

I love that the tension is Homer is NOT share those cheese balls.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Incredible Lightness of Being a Baby

I remember the beginnings of the pandemic era. There's been word going around for a bit and it happened on the eve of a weeklong trip for me and my friends in March of 2020. As it was happening, we decided since we actually weren't going to leave our family cottage for any reason, we'd be fine. Near the end, my mother warned me that the whole world seemed different now and I felt like while I was going to take the pandemic seriously that this still seemed like an overreaction. Indeed it was not. Soon I'd be stuck inside except when I was bubbling with my sister to work as her nanny. Many quarantining people would be stuck inside. And a lot were watching TV. And if this was the episode you tuned into, the world wouldn't seem less grim.

In this episode, Maggie starts a friendship with another baby, Hudson, and Marge encourages it. But soon she has a very hard time tolerating Hudson's snobby and judgmental mother Courtney. Eventually, Marge is so upset, she refuses to take Maggie to any playdates with Hudson. Eventually Marge relents and feels that she and Courtney can be civil for the sake of their kids. Meanwhile, Homer is recruited by Burns to trick Cletus out of the helium on his property but Homer, feeling guilty, ends up helping Cletus get a fair deal.

Yeah, not a lot going on in that episode description, huh? This episode is a complete nothing. A waste of time. Usually, when I'm mad at a Simpsons episode for sucking it's because it has a really shitty or deranged take. Usually when it's just poor TV, I'm like "whatever, it's bad but I can't be mad because this isn't calling Elon Musk the greatest living inventor." But this one just plain old sucks. Both main plots are laughless and joyless, I really don't care and I feel like this is the most checked out I've been in a long while with this series.

I don't think it helps that it's a sequel to a theatrical short that I never actually watched. And also, it's a Maggie episode. Maggie and Marge, I guess but neither are much fun, really. Marge has dealt with shitty mom friends before so this is old news and by the metric, I think Courtney is less bad than... pretty much every mom in Springfield. A lot of them really tend to suck, now that I think about it. And she does kind of suck in a rich white person way but it's also a boring, easy way.

The episode spends a lot of time with Homer and Cletus learning to be friends but really, all of these stories I've just completely detached from. There's just very little character and Homer doing an extended parody of "Best Friends" by Queen because... there clearly wasn't enough episode here. It's so nothing, I'm having a hard time saying anything about it except spending time with it was hard. I was checking my phone, looking at the clock, just trying to get away from it. And it wasn't AGGRESSIVELY awful, just... persistently? I dunno how to explain it. It didn't hurt me but it had such little life, it's a wonder people bothered to let it exist.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Warrin' Priests

When I lost religion in my life, I still had inklings that though I didn't believe, maybe it was still sacred, in a cultural context. I don't really feel that any more but for more mature reasons I do get bothered when a certain kind of atheist gets really shitty about it. Like Bill Maher. Ugh. That jerk. Anyway, I don't really believe in this stuff but I believe in the power of stories and fiction and seeing many of them more as a roadmap and less as a "this literally happened" makes me respect it more. I think belief and religion can be a beautiful thing.

In this episode, a new youth pastor comes to Springfield, Bodhi. Bodhi is very popular almost instantly thanks to his patience, caring and other qualities that Reverend Lovejoy lacks, even when making controversial statements, like sometimes he loses faith or that some elements of the bible need not be taken literally. Lovejoy soon hates that Bodhi is more popular and even worse, he brings in a whole new set of parishioners and soon Bodhi replaces Lovejoy. Incensed, Lovejoy decides to see if he can dig up some dirt on Bodhi and travels to a megachurch in Michigan, Lovejoy is excited to learn that Bodhi did something unforgivable. Lovejoy arrives at church in time to reveal that Bodhi, during a speech, burned a bible to make a point about materialism. The town turns on him, except a few who still care for him, including Lisa, and Bodhi leaves town.

This... this is a weird one. Which is appropriate since it stars and is written by Pete Holmes of You Made It Weird. I mostly know Pete as a guest on other podcasts in the early 2010s where he is kind of obnoxious but in a sweet way. I'm vaguely aware he's a Christian but also he's funny and to my knowledge hasn't done anything shitty like a lot of celebrities who talk about Christianity. And guest written Simpsons episodes are generally interesting to me. I hate Ricky Gervais the dude but he wrote a funny episode, Seth Rogen did one I thought was pretty good and like them, Pete Holmes wrote one that understands the joy of working in this playground and also lets him explore his own interest; Christianity and personal philosophy.

But where it gets weird is how much time each episode in this two-parter (?!) devotes to Pete explaining in great detail his philosophy. Like a lot of time is Bodhi, who is a handsome and impassioned guy, taking time out to go into GREAT detail about why modern Christianity is losing people and focusing less on the specifics of the bible's narrative and semantics and more the general message and how other religions like Buddhism should feel more invited without being asked to change. It's stuff I agree with but after a certain point it isn't narrative or setting a tone. It is to an extent explaining Bodhi's character but I also feel it's rather self-indulgent on Pete Holmes part, wanting to show what a religious leader CAN be in the community.

So what's weird is between this and Lisa falling for the character Pete wrote, it feels like a writer surrogate in a fan-fic. Bodhi isn't perfect but even his imperfections are mostly super charming and great so basically he's perfect. And yet... I don't hate this episode. It's in many ways clunky but I do also find it, as clunky as it is, sincere. Pete Holmes is really trying to say something and he's also a good gag man so there are a lot of really good gags to cover up the problems. It's so weird that it was a two-parter as well and if Bodhi's sermons were shorter, maybe it could be. I think that if Holmes went and dedicated an entire act to a sermon, that might be brave and interesting but really, it feels long-winded. Not incoherent rambling but I feel like it's the excited energy of someone who is really BURSTING to share his ideas. But as a story, it kind of peters out, no pun intended. I'm OK with an ending where Bodhi feels he can't stay but for an episode with so little subtext (and ironically Bodhi is kicked out because Springfielders don't do subtext), it sure could use some finality; either some hope that the message got through to some (one or two characters say it but I kind of wish we saw some LIVE it) or showing that by getting rid of this guy, they are snuffing out the one person who listens to everyone's problems. Heck, it's another episode where Marge worries about Lisa getting her hopes up, risking disappointment and she does and... there's something uncool about not following up on that in the narrative. I kind of was expecting Lovejoy to see the error of his ways, but no, he straight up sucks in this one. He's the bad guy until the end and never questions ousting his guy.

But yeah, it's an episode that should flop really hard and in the end, despite all it's narrative flaws... it's fine. The solid jokes cover up a lot, I think despite it being all about this dynamic new character, he mostly gets the appeal of other characters. Lisa's journey is kind of rehashy and tied up in the "where's Poochy" of Bodhi but I really do feel Pete's trying to do a complete Simpsons episode but in his own way. A lot of people were kinder than I to it but I think it's an episode that is very flawed yet unlike the last one, a very watchable 40-some minutes of television. And it makes me want to see more guest written episodes again. Surprisingly interesting stuff seems to happen with them and while I picked a lot of flaws apart in this episode, it's a unique enough episode that is the kind of thing the show needs now.

Other great jokes:

"Bingo's not for beginners. These letters are very similar. B-13, B as in Balthazar."
"Did he say Galthazar?"
"Gingo!"

"Well, I learn from my mistakes. Malpractice makes malperfect."

"You better sit down. It's a short story... but I'm gonna milk it."

Other notes:
I really could do without Lisa's musical number.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Hateful Eight Year-Olds

I remember when I used to do sleepovers with my friends. It was usually me and a friend named Beeb who was two years younger than me. We got along really well but I remember one day another of his friend came over for a sleepover. It wasn't too bad but over night they did the "hand in warm water" prank and I was not happy about it. I felt really betrayed and it hurt a lot. I don't think he exactly new how badly I felt about it but I new I really preferred the dynamic when it was him and I.

In this episode, Lisa is invited to a sleepover birthday party with a girl, Addy. Before the party, Bart and Lisa have a fight and Lisa tells Bart she is severing their bond. When she arrives, it turns out Addy's family is obscenely wealthy with a horse ranch and she has similarly wealthy friends. At first they are mean to Lisa but Addy promises they're actually nice. However, as the evening goes on, it clearly isn't true. Lisa tries to contact her parents but they are on a cruise and are unaware of the situation. Addy later tells Lisa the girls are mean and she brought Lisa so they could be mean to her and Addy can get along with them, and next time Lisa can bring someone to continue the cycle. Lisa is horrified and ends up calling Bart, pleading for help. Bart arrives but instead of taking her away, he encourages her to get revenge. Lisa ruins the girls hair with hoof hardener but before she can escape, the girls wake up and chase Lisa on horseback for ruining her hair. Soon, they surround Lisa but Lisa pleads to Addy to be her friend and eventually Addy manages to have the mean girls trapped in their safety jackets and leaves them for the night while Bart and Lisa ride off.

The Hateful Eight Year-Olds is one of the strongest Joel H. Cohen episodes I've seen in a while and one of the better Lisa episodes. I think a lot of mistakes a lot of the Lisa focused ones make is that while they get that she can be an idealist who can become disappointed with the world she's, like, just a kid. And there's a specific kind of vulnerability to being a kid that the show sometimes forgets. After all, these are kids who often reference Oliver North or Ralph Nader and for the sake of the joke will act jaded or older (I love Bob's Burgers but it's so telling almost ALL the kids references seem to be from three decades before they are born). What I admire is when the show reminds us of that vulnerability by putting us in their shoes and that very much happens in this episode. The stakes are simply having to endure meanness and you know what, that's a lot for anyone but especially for a kid. Lisa spends much of this episode in a little slice of Hell.

I also think that the easy route would be Addy wants someone to help her through a hard time but Addy turns out to be awful, too. So desperate is she to stop being bullied that she not only throws Lisa under the bus, that was her long term goal. There's a horror/thriller vibe to this episode and it's perfect for Lisa's feeling of trappedness. I also think it's an episode that mostly does the Bart/Lisa dynamic right. But is supremely obnoxious but it's clear he is also someone who cares and is visibly hurt (even though he won't admit it) when Lisa claims she's severing the tie and though is willing to let Lisa dangle a bit when trying to get his help, immediately comes to her aid when she realizes how awful these kids are. And they make him getting her to seek revenge with the hate in her heart... truly endearing. It's how Bart does justice and it's part of that "spark" that makes him not just a "bad kid".

The Hateful Eight-Year Olds is a very emotionally alive episode, which is something that the show often forgets to be. I'm a little disappointed that Lisa's revenge plan wasn't a little more poetic but having the girl's hair look like Lisa's is a very nice touch. There are some really great gags, too, like a hilarious parody of the 'teen suicide' show 13 Reasons Why and overall, I just think it's one of those episodes I wish the series would make more of. One where I care about the characters and want to see them overcome hardship and show how much they love each other. This isn't a saccharine episode by any means but it's one that earns it's happy ending for Lisa and Bart.

Other great jokes:
"Once cars were invented, why didn't they just kill all the horses... WITH THE CARS!"

"You know, Lisa's at the sleepover, Grandpa's with the other ones and we are at the marina."
"We are not looking for your sunglasses. It's been six years. They're gone."

"Now that she's dead, she's finally popular"
"I'm gonna ask her ghost to the prom."

"Ew, this phone is made by Subway."
"My dad had to eat a thousand subs to get that!"

"You don't hate horses, you're afraid of them."
"No I don't. I just don't like any animals that work with cops."

"I'm going to help you see this majestic creature has a gentle soul... NOT BEHIND HER, SHE'LL KICK YOUR FACE OFF!"

Other notes:
I don't think I needed a couple minutes of Weezer just playing music.

I will say all the 20 something stars I've never heard of do good work as the mean girls.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Way of the Dog

And... that's a wrap on season 31 of the Simpsons. This season was not super consistent but it cuts all ways. That means while it isn't consistently good, nor is it consistently bad. And even some of the weaker episodes seemed to be trying some new stuff. The worst was usually when it ended in old plot points but even episodes like Better Off Ned found some decent angles to keep things fresh. There was only one episode that really made me mad with it's incompetence and though there were some duds, what remains are mostly positive memories. No, it isn't consistent but the quality of the good seems to be getting stronger again. And luckily, we end with an episode that kind of feels like the positive and negative in a nutshell.

In this episode, when Marge tries to make Santa's Little Helper wear a Santa cap for a Christmas card, he begins to freak out. Soon, Santa's Little Help acts both anxiously and destructively and the family gets worried. The family tries to get help from dog psychologist Elaine Wolf but Wolf fears she's too emotionally worn out to deal with him. When the dog bites Marge, the family tries a vet but the vet recommends putting it down. The family refuses but the vet calls animal control who threaten to take the dog away. Luckily, Elaine Wolf arrives, fearing for the worst, and promises to take care of the dog and study it to discover the root of it's problem. After days of study, Elaine realizes Santa's Little Helper is protecting the Santa cap. She goes to the Simpsons to enquire further and after learning it was the same hat Bart wore when they found it at the track and it was once a racing dog, she realizes the dog has PTSD from it's abusive owner. She recommends confronting his abuser, where Santa's Little Helper is reunited with his mother.

The Way of the Dog is an episode I feel is mostly good with a few unconventional decisions that don't really hurt the episode but prevent it from entirely landing. Like the much less successful (but funnier) Warrin' Priests, the Way of the Dog spends a LOT of time focusing on a dynamic new character, this time played by Cate Blanchett. It's funny that at this stage, the Simpsons isn't a show people really talk about much any more but it still gets some big guest stars from time to time and this is a pretty big one. And she does the comedy very well and I think it is more successful than Pete Holmes superhunk version of himself in being a well-rounded character, even if she too is something of a societal superhero. But I feel like the worry on the end of the Simpsons, while certainly a big part of the episode, should have tied in more to the family (maybe one of the members stays/visits with Wolf and the dog to help see things through).

Or maybe the episode just isn't daring enough. It has a bit of a call back to "Bart's Dog Gets an F" (I love that Bart Gets an F is in the same season and it's almost a shame they didn't put them back to back just for the ridiculousness of the optics) when we see the world through Santa's Little Helper's eyes but maybe they should have had more of the episode literally in his POV. Wolf points out that smell is a big part of that experience so maybe it could have been visualized in a unique way, sort of like the praised comic "Pizza Is My Business" from the Hawkeye series a decade ago.

We get a brief scene but maybe that should have been much of the episode. Otherwise, despite what should have or could have beens, Carolyn Omine is still making a script very much about how we CAN'T completely understand a dog's world and though the Simpsons are loving, sometimes they make the mistake of making assumptions or judgments based on human standards but not treating it with the right kind of care. Marge loves Santa's Little Helper and vice versa but she's clearly in denial about stressing him out while trying to make him wear a Santa hat. I just wish the show got a little more daring by trying to do more to represent that world and use cartoons to see a world alien to our own while still being the same space.

I do have a few issues with the ending, too. Does anyone know if psychologically it IS good to confront your abuser? I feel like maybe only in a certain kind of situation but I feel like it might escalate anxiety overall, especially in pets. This seems like a bad idea. I will also say, when Santa's Little Helper is running off to see "mom" and Homer says "I love happy endings", I was 100 per cent positive the reveal would be he's rushing to a little burial mound. Instead, now... do the Simpsons have yet another pet? They barely remembered they had a pig for a while. I really wouldn't have minded a bittersweet ending rather than just sweet. Still, overall, this episode, clearly intended to be released on Christmas (I'm assuming scheduling issues pushed it to come out earlier than expected... or later if the plan was to have two Christmas episodes this year), feels like a decent bit of warmth through the cool (well, in this century warm) Christmas months.


Other notes:
Again, the Simpsons love Michael York and he's back as another character again.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Undercover Burns

Season 32! Here we are. Deep in the heart of a global pandemic, people are hungry for human contact or at least some sort of distraction. For me, this era is the last year I have looking after my niece and nephew and that era meant a lot to me. The Simpsons currently was way off my radar but I started doing this. That's right, while we haven't reached the end of my journey, we have reached the beginning in a way. I wanted to take advantage of Disney Plus having all the episode to really dig into the show. Back when the AV Club was reviewing classic episodes of classic shows, part of me was bummed that they stopped with the golden era so I was inspired to keep going no matter how deep into the bog I went. Well, I've survived Elon Musk and ill-advised Apu "what can you do" non-apologies and ironically in the heart of one of the darkest periods (and that's saying something) of the world in my lifetime, my favourite show, little by little, seems to be recovering some of it's, as Mr. Burns would say, "VO-DEE-OH-DOH"!

In this episode, Mr. Burns learns he is hated in the plant and decides to out the haters by going undercover with a high tech suit to disguise his face, voice and body. As Fred Kranepool, Burns quickly earns the trust of his fellow employees... but soon starts to see them as friends. Smithers begins getting fed up and when Burns tells him off as Fred, Homer, Lenny and Carl are convinced Fred could make a deal with Burns for better work conditions. Wanting to impress his friends, Burns does to the point to showering them with luxuries, causing the plant to have financial issues. Smithers shows Homer the truth and Homer tries to break off his friendship for the good of the plant but not before a fight breaks out. Burns freaks out when his disguise is compromised and has a hallucinatory battle with Fred. Homer tells Burns sometimes you have to be the bad guy, especially as the boss, and sure enough Burns is the worst soon after.

Undercover Burns isn't a particularly strong episode but it goes down smooth. It's not smart, insightful or really that funny but I smiled throughout. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that David Harbor, an actor I like but don't associate with range or a lot of variation, is doing surprisingly well as Burns thinly-veiled alter ego. It's not just Harbor giving Burns lines but doing little things that give the impression that despite his rough blue collar voice, his way of speaking captures the weird, archaic nature of Burns and it adds a lot of real fun to the proceedings. He's clearly super delighted to do this and brings a real Maurice LaMarche energy that is just wonderful.

I do have complaints but even they don't rub the shine of the things I like in this episode. It's more that it's a bit of a bummer more couldn't be done with a rather enjoyable central performance. See, the problem is that it hits a few well-played notes from classic Burns episodes; Burns actually becomes friends with Homer, Burns grows something of a conscience and a bit of empathy, the lesson is the boss is the bad guy. And, of course, everything is set to zero. I don't mind that, Burns needs to be the evil antagonist of the show, representing capitalist horror. But Homer telling Burns "you got to be the bad guy" doesn't ring true to me.

In fact, I think a lot of the issue is, in seeing unions fighting incredibly money hungry creeps, I can't buy the idea that Burns giving stuff up is hurting his bottom line as a genuine threat and even more than that, equating the kind of humane treatment Homer and Co. have been denied with "going to far". Sometimes you do have to put your foot down if you are in a certain position but seeing this being "the plant will be better with Burns back in charge treating everyone like shit" isn't really played with enough irony or cleverness to work. Keep in mind, I do like this episode as a fun diversion and I think that's what David Cryan's script is going for but I like the potential of seeing what happens when empathy enters Burns world and not a lot is done with that and if anything, it would be fun if the back to square one played more like a tragedy, of a man who finally found his humanity and then got bored with it or found it cramped his style to have to do the hard work of feeling for someone. As is, it's a not bad but very pedestrian.

Other great jokes:

"The only union that concerns me now is the union of men. What would you know about that?"
Even without context, very clear who Mr. Burns is talking to here.

Other notes:
The first episode Alex Désert plays Carl.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I, Caraumbus

Ambition. I have a little, but not a lot. I want to work well at a job I like and do the best I can. I do want to rise the ranks but frankly this is a job where that would mean dealing with confrontations with parents and I'm easily intimidated. Once I'm done school, I'll technically be set to have more responsibility and I suspect due to my seniority, some of my higher ups will be interested in seeing if I can handle it. I'm interested to but in all honesty, I'm just happy putting in a good work day, then crashing in the evening. I'm getting older and frankly. I am happy to leave the stress to simply working with kids.

In this episode, the family is at a museum when Marge and Homer have an argument about Homer's lack of ambition. There, a museum curator decides to relate the tale of the Roman gladiator-turned-senator Obessius. Obessius was raised to be a farmer and tireless hours made him strong. After his father sold him into slavery, he became a gladiator, and a skilled one. He makes a promise to his gladiator friends that should he be freed, he'll release them. Obessius catches the eye of Marjora, the daughter of a powerful businessman and after they have sex and she is heavy with child, Obessius is freed to marry her and his friends are kept as slaves. Marjora convinces Obessius not to free them and pushes him to be more ambitious. After Obessius slaves come up with an idea to grow his business, he still won't free them but he tries to become a senator. The Emperor won't have it but another Senator, Montimus, offers to help Obessius if he kills the current Emperor, paving the way for Montimus' rule. Obessius does so and becomes a powerful senator but when Marjora tries to push Obessius to become emperor, he won't. Instead, Marjora has Montimus asassinated and installs her son, Bartigula, as senator. Born into wealth, delusional and cruel, Bartigula is a terrible leader and when Obessius calls him out on it, he's sentenced to death in the gladiator pit. Obessius is offered freedom but he gives it to his slaves, though they aren't grateful as they had been asking to be freed for most of their lives. Obessius faces the danger alone and challenges Bartigula, a battle that ends with them both dead, followed by Marjora who kills herself in a fit of woe. In the present, the family argues about the point of the story.

I, Carumbus is another not-in-continuity tale, a parody of I, Claudius, which I've not seen or read but am told is top notch TV (Patrick Stewart's in it! And others, I assume). Written by Cesar Mazariegos, this one is in an in-between spot; it's by no means bad but it's not particularly strong either. I don't think it's lazy in painting it's setting or it's references but the story itself is a kind of basic Roman tragedy of ambition (interestingly, putting Marge once again in a Lady MacBeth-type role, which they literally did over 10 years ago). I was worried that it was going to go into some heavy-handed Trump stuff but it only makes the briefest of stops there, instead wisely choosing some more timeless allusions to the problem of America being a new Roman empire. And even then, I kind of get why everyone is fighting over the meaning of the ending; there are a loose collection of ideas but I don't think it holds together as a whole.

So as a more complete piece of art it is lacking but what about as a fun diversion. Well, it is that, but not a REALLY fun diversion. More getting through the whole thing and thinking "that was pleasant". I will say it's more clever than funny. Not in terms of the bigger story structure but in terms of smaller jokes about the setting. Apparently history geek and podcaster Mike Duncan (The History of Rome, Revolutions) was a consultant and there are a few spots it seems clear the writing found something interesting and potentially funny and did a decent job of working it into the plot, mainly that ammonia was once the main cleaner for laundries so Homer's business puts out pee pots to get more material and do better business. Obviously Cesar thought it was funny (maybe a little) but more than that, it actually does work in terms of having characters come up with a clever solution to a problem.

So I don't have strong feelings on this one but it's a pretty easy watch with a few good jokes. And I will say, it did somewhat made me think "I kind of want to learn more about Roman history". That said, I feel like it could have been more substantive but instead I feel like it was echoing the more substantive messages of the original I, Claudius and various political thriller tragedies. That said, I'm also glad it didn't get too heavy-handed either. So the episode teeters in the middle, neither failing nor completely making a strong case for it's existence. I wish it was funnier or deeper, sure, but I had a pleasant enough evening with it at least.

Other great jokes:

Quality use of Jasper. The first one is a oldie but a goodie type joke but the second one really made it work.

"Does anyone think it was weird that dad killed me?"

Other notes:

Wow, deep cut to use the theme song to the Roman Holidays, the Hanna Barbera show no one remembers.