The Simpsons Thread (Worst. Thread. Ever!)

[Andrew]

Well, that was a disappointing finale.

That's probably the most screen time a guest star has received since Michael Jackson back in Season 3. However, whereas that's one of the series cream of the crop classics in one of its strongest seasons, this was very forgettable. I'm amazed it wasn't written by Lady Gaga herself, it played out like some bad fan fiction. Lousy end to a season that's had a handful of good episodes and some average episodes with rather good moments.

[el badman]

I thought it was fairly decent overall, mostly because most of the Lady Gaga-related jokes weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. But yet another episode where Lisa is the outcast feeling sorry for herself wasn't necessarily the way to end a season, which was otherwise slightly superior to what's been done in the last few seasons.

[ixcuincle]

Was channel surfing, preparing for Family Guy reruns, and caught the last few minutes of a newer episode. Ned and Edna got married

This show has changed so, so much. I don't even recognize it anymore

[Andrew]

Every so often, they'll do something that reminds me of the classic era, enough to suggest that elements of that show are still there. It sure has changed though and in an effort to stay relevant, has lost some of the things that made it special in the first place.

[Andrew]

phpBB [video]

[benji]

Premiere was pretty boring.

[Andrew]

I actually liked it, though having said that I didn't think it was anything special. There were some nice callbacks with the cameos by Bart's previous girlfriends, guest appearances and all, but the plot didn't really go anywhere and just sort of resolved itself rather flatly. Couple of decent jokes and moments, including Homer with the microwave and his "recollection" of their last trip to New York (though I'm surprised they got the "two least favourite buildings have been obliterated" one through), the subway/taxi scenes and Sideshow Bob's non-speaking cameo.

[benji]

That 1990s retcon sure lasted long...or did it?

[buzzy]

I liked the throwback to the Khavkalash guy, but I was hoping Homer's implaceable hatred towards NYC would play some kind of role again. Guess I'm hanging too much on the old episodes..

[Andrew]

THOH episodes are always kind of hit and miss with me. It goes hand in hand with the show's decline in general I suppose but for me they're not usually among the post-classic gems that occasionally present themselves and I find myself enjoying the other three story episodes they've branched off into a lot more. There are some exceptions though and some segments do stand out. The Peanuts one from a few years back was one I really enjoyed.

As for this year's offering, it was alright. The first segment was OK, some funny stuff with the black hole but the jokes at the end were a bit heavy handed. The second one took a bit of a risque twist, which was unexpected. I'd actually say it was probably the funniest segment while the last story had the best premise and may have been the best overall segment.

[Andrew]

Latest episode was another one that left me with mixed feelings. I liked some of the jokes, as far as the post-post-classic era is concerned I thought they were a bit snappier than usual. Lisa's subplot was kind of a waste but the boys' attempts to follow her and find out what she was doing were amusing and Skinner had a couple of good moments once he got involved.

The main plot though...I don't know. I thought it was actually fairly well done, nicely set up and paced and all that, but for some reason the idea of Homer fathering all those kids just doesn't sit well. Enjoyable, but for some reason a bit unsettling at the same time.

[Andrew]

Liked the latest episode ("Gone Abie Gone") a little more. I'm not the biggest fan of them introducing new backstories this late in the game; I know that it's inevitable with the show running so long and having a sliding timeline, but it often comes across as uninspired and when it contradicts history established by far better episodes, I have to admit it bugs me. However, I didn't mind it too much here, even if the reasoning behind Homer not remembering something so significant (when he'd obviously have been old enough to remember it) was a bit flimsy and uncreative. I liked the scenes with Spiro, too.

Lisa's subplot was alright, it didn't really get enough time to be particularly memorable but that was probably for the best. Ned doing the "blowfish" on the window after lecturing Lisa about gambling was probably one of the funniest moments of the episode. It was silly and completely out of character of course, but the callback to Bart doing it moments before and the unexpected nature of it made it work.

[benji]

That episode should have just been about Fat Tony on jury duty.

[Andrew]

That probably would've been funny, but I did actually enjoy the episode as it was. The only bit that particularly annoyed me was the drawn out joke with Homer blabbering gibberish when Dan demanded he say something original. Some things work better because they're overly long - the rake scene, "Dental plan!/Lisa needs braces!" to name a couple of my favourites - but that one was cringeworthy. I liked the callback to "Team Homer", Rabbi Krustofski crossing himself and Fat Tony's scenes, and I felt both plots were fairly well done. A little above average by current standards.

[Andrew]

The latest episode had some decent ideas and I kind of liked the reveal at the end, though it would've worked better if the episode had been more focused. It was kind of all over the place, as though it wasn't really sure whether it wanted to be a commentary on Apple culture and the popularity of iPads, a send-up of miracles and debunking or a story about Homer coming to terms with the adversities of life. It's customary for Simpsons episodes to have an unrelated first act that sets up the main plot, sometimes with a callback or two later on, but it didn't work so well here. Even though all three concepts were tied together reasonably well, it still felt a bit disjointed and meandering. I think if they'd focused more on the Homer's struggles, gone with a little more drama and feeling perhaps, it could've worked a lot better and the ending would've had more impact. Not terrible, but kinda ho-hum.

[ixcuincle]

[Andrew]

The Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger episode was actually Season 9 and Marge making out with Lindsay Neagle was just Homer's imagination, so that one and the description of her as bisexual is off the mark. Apart from that, yeah, pretty much. For what it's worth, I still feel that Family Guy's decline and oversimplification of their characters is much worse, without the same amount or standard of quality in their classic era. Both shows are a disappointment these days, given what they're capable of being.

As for the latest episode, it wasn't too bad. They are late to the party but the jabs at hipster culture and attitudes were reasonably funny and I'd say pretty much on the mark. I actually liked the interaction between Bart and T-Rex, probably some of the most natural conversations and the smartest Bart has been in some time.

[Andrew]

Although it made a few retcons or flat out ignored certain backstories, and even though I'm not a "dog person"...I liked the latest episode. It demonstrates that the show can still have heart, telling a good character-driven story and having humourous moments along the way. Granted, it's never going to touch the classic era, but it's refreshing to see an episode like that all the same. The filler segment at the end spoiled it a little and wasn't funny at all in my view, but the rest of the episode was very enjoyable. I'd rate Grampa's "All my stories have endings now!", Frink's car, Bart's "Finish the damn story!" and the Farmville parody as some of the highlights of the episode, humour-wise. Homer's dream was a nice ending without being too sappy, though again I felt it was undercut a little by the aforementioned filler skit.

[Andrew]

Latest episode had some good rapid fire jokes going in the first act while the family was at "Smart Tykes". The humour wasn't too bad through the rest of the show though, the best stuff was in the first act but Lindsay Neagle propelling the chair along with the machine gun, Superintendent Chalmers' mere presence as one of the preppers and the guys at the bar going into their waiting positions when Homer left were all good jokes. The plot was fairly well focused and paced, there wasn't much room for an unpredictable ending but the last joke raised a smile. Nothing remarkable but far more than watchable, one of the season's best so far.

[Andrew]

Make it three, maybe four in a row that I've quite liked, at least by current standards. I'm going to avoid the temptation of comparing this to "Bart Gets An F" because it's simply no contest, but as a more light-hearted take on the concept with higher stakes, it was quite enjoyable. Anything involving Chalmers and Skinner is usually still pretty good, I can't complain about the pacing and the jokes were relatively snappy, with nothing being painfully unfunny or drawn out. Not a bad run of episodes as of late.

[Andrew]

Reasonably good episode with an interesting premise, but the ending was very rushed. On one hand I liked that the resolution was subdued instead of being an over the top action sequence that's just too silly or contrived to be entertaining or at least amusing - a trap they've fallen into many times when it comes to episodes like this - but at the same time it came about very abruptly and with essentially no conflict. I was a bit disappointed at Danny DeVito's cameo as Herb, that was a bit of a waste and kind of a downer.

That could've actually made a good episode, bringing Herb back to be the kid's guardian and the conflict being that he wants to keep them and they want to stay with their rich, cool, "Unky" Herb. I think that a plot like that could've been paced better, cutting out the part where the whole town avoids Marge and Homer and avoiding the need to create some one dimensional, one shot characters and telling a better story with an established character. What we got was alright with some good jokes in the opening act, but it could've been so much more.

[Andrew]

Yet another one that I liked. I don't know if the writing is a little better during this run of episodes or I'm just going with the flow, accepting that the classic era is a long way back in the rear view mirror and just taking the show as it comes, or maybe it's a little of both. Whatever the case may be, I've been enjoying the show a little more lately and don't have too many complaints about this one.

[Andrew]

Liked this one too. As with most of the better episodes these days, it felt like a relatively fresh idea for a plot and had some good jokes throughout. It's another idea I'd have liked to have seen them explore a little closer to the immediate post-classic era, when they were wasting episodes on marriage crisis plots.

[shadowgrin]

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

[Andrew]

Thank you, it was getting a little lonely and repetitive in here.

Anyway, another fun episode. The nitpicky Simpsons fan in me was a little bothered by the way it ignored some of the established backstory with Grampa and Mr Burns, but no real complaints apart from that. I'm guessing people who aren't interested in pro wrestling won't have enjoyed it quite as much; I am, so I did. I also liked the fourth wall-breaking dig at wrestling fans during Mr Burns' refusal to believe it isn't real. As I've said before, maybe I've just lowered the bar given how late in the game we are but I'm quite liking Season 24, as the enjoyable run of episodes continues.