Simpsons Season 15 Review Thread: Crap... or not?

[Reply #680 on:]

I think I might have explained it earlier, but I guess I'll explain it again.

It wasn't so much of a question of the episode's quality, actually.  I wasn't exactly stoked about another crazy guest star filled vacation adventure, but I would've watched nonetheless.

What drove me away from it was that one of the guest stars was Tony Blair.  I don't know what your feelings on current events are, but I deeply opposed (and still do oppose) the current war in Iraq, and since Blair was backing it and sending citizens of his country to their deaths over something I feel was unjust and poorly planned I don't exactly have a high opinion of him.  Add to that he apprently recording his part when he should have been doing everything he could to help keep troops safe and, well, in some ways I almost just didn't feel right watching it.  Plus, regardless of how good the episode may have been (I do doubt it was very good, but that's irrelevent) I knew would hate it no matter what, because it had Blair in it.  Normally a bad sounding episode still has the off-chance of being good, but in this case it wasn't worth bothering.

So, that's basically the reason.  Ever since I heard Blair was going to be on the show (which was, I dunno, seven, eight, nine months before it aired? I'm not sure) I vowed I would never see that particular episode.

[Reply #681 on:]

I know what you mean. I actually thought the same thing when I first heard about our local figurehead taking time off his war to do a little cameo in some obscure US animation.

 To be honest though, at the end of the day I don't think it makes a difference whether you watch it or not. It's hardly a huge "fuck you" to Blair if you or I don't watch it and to be honest I want to see it at least once just so I know what the fruits of Blair's labour were (no pun intended) and what Britain looks like through a Simpsons perspective. I've laughed at their versions of Australia and Japan, now it's our turn.

[Reply #682 on:]

Here's a link to an interview with Al jean on recording Blair for the show.
 http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2003/12/30/basimp30.xml&pos=portal_puff2&_requestid=23617


It contains some slightly misquoted lines.

[Reply #683 on:]

Ugh. I'm reading the reviews and I'm disgusted. I didn't think it was that bad at all (except the Henery VIII segment). Homerjay's "arguments" are as fucking dumb as ever, and I just don't think anyone's being fair. I liked the MozBart segment and Lewis and Clark was okay and I loved the "Animal House" ending. Seriously, it wasn't great, but what was so "terrible" about it???

Too disappointed to give a proper grade now.

[Reply #684 on:]

Your arguments aren't much better, leelaholic. They're just longer.

[Reply #685 on:]

Leelaholic, if one entire act is horrible, then I believe the second and third acts should compensate for it. They didn't. The Lewis and Clark segment was OK, and the Mozart segment wasn't much better either. The Animal House thing at the end was funny though. Still, it is the second worst ep this season (second only to "Marge vs. yadda yadda yadda..." )
Oh wait, so I'm not being fair? I can't give a good rating to an episode I simply didn't like. Do you understand?

[Reply #686 on:]

Mouse: I wasn't making arguments. I was telling you that I'd make them later.

Shady: What about "The Fat and the Furriest"?

Anyway, I'll try to rank it, but I won't say much else.

Intro: C+ (not bad.)

Henry VIII: D- (ugh.)

Lewis and Clark: C (meh.)

Mozart: B (I like.)

Ending: A (funny, funny stuff.)

Overall: B
A respectable rank, saved by Mozart and Homer's "Animal House" song (complete with funny, goofy "Where are they now?" collage).

Edit: Shadowstar, I just thought you may have been being a bit too strict on some points (although I agree, "Lisa's penis" was terrible).

[Reply #687 on:]

 

Originally posted by DotheBartman:
Ever since I heard Blair was going to be on the show (which was, I dunno, seven, eight, nine months before it aired? I'm not sure) I vowed I would never see that particular episode.

Pffft.  By your logic, I shouldn't have watched "Anthology of Interest I" or "Crimes of the Hot".

 

Originally posted by User_names_suck:
Here's a link to an interview with Al jean on recording Blair for the show.
 http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2003/ 12/30/basimp30.xml&pos=portal_puff2&_requestid=23617

Too bad they cut the bit with the corgi.  Corgis are cool.  Some of them live on spaceships and can hack into classified computer files.

 

Originally posted by leelaholic:
Ugh. I'm reading the reviews and I'm disgusted. I didn't think it was that bad at all (except the Henery VIII segment). Homerjay's "arguments" are as fucking dumb as ever, and I just don't think anyone's being fair.

Do you even read other people's posts, or do you just dismiss anyone who has an opinion different from yours as being unfair?  I thought that I gave the episode a pretty favorable review, but I guess that I just don't love The Simpsons enough to please you.

[Reply #688 on:]

 

Originally posted by leelaholic:
...(although I agree, "Lisa's penis" was terrible).

That was pretty disgusting and not at all funny.
Anyway, this was a so-so episode, a B- at best. I do have some problems with it, though. I hated the first act, particularly the first 5 minutes. "Everyone Poops:the video", and "The Yu-Gi-Oh! Guide" were my least favorite parts of the entire episode.
I didn't really care for the Henry VIII segment, especially the afore-mentioned Lisa joke.
Act two was also so-so, but it was much better than act one. The Sacagawea segment wasn't the funniest, but it was an all-around respectable one.
Act three's Mozart segment was probably the funniest, and I enjoyed it. Bart's line as he lay, dying, "..But now that I died young, I'll be cool forever!" was funny, as was Lisa pointing out all the historical flaws of the segment.
On another note, I'd like to add that I can't stand it when The Simpsons mentions the fads in kid's pop-culture (Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, etc.). For example, in "The Dad who Knew too Little" in season 14, I hated Lisa's line "I look just like a Powerpuff Girl!" I hope that this isn't a trend that continues in subsequent years.

[Reply #689 on:]

This is my problem with modern Simpsons: I just can't focus on watching the episode. Whereas The Simpsons used to keep me rapt with attention, now I find myself switching to other channels or doing something else. I think I only caught like 5 minutes total of last night's episode. And, trust me, they weren't the good parts.

[Reply #690 on:]

QUOTE]Originally posted by David A:
Pffft. By your logic, I shouldn't have watched "Anthology of Interest I" or "Crimes of the Hot".[/QUOTE]

Eh, it would be your call, not mine.  I was just explaining why I made my callfor myself.

Also, I actually wouldn't even felt quite as bad about Blair being on the show if he had recorded it much further away from this war, like way after.  But he recorded it right when the conflict was starting and people were dying.  In fact, by the time the episode aired people were still dying and still are, so it just seems like the Simpsons producers should've stayed out of the whole conflict altogether and cut his part.  If Blair had recorded it after the conflict was over I still probably wouldn't have watched, but I would've been more likely to.  There's just something wrong about a political leader recording lines for a cartoon when his troops are in danger of losing their lives.

[Reply #691 on:]

Back to "Margical History Tour," leelaholic, your grades don't compensate for a B. What WAS so great about the Mozart segment? There was no real wit, just Bart's childish jokes the entire segment, which is good in moderation, but not for an entire 7-minutes. I could see everything Homer said coming from miles away. And the fart opera was just... yeah, that's it. Nelson as Beethoven was great, but nothing else really.
Also, while they're very close, I think "Fat and the Furriest" pulls ahead of "History Tour." After watching it a few more times, it had a few funny things in it, like Homer's bear hallucination, oldcoot.com, Lenny, Carl and Bart dancing along to the radio, the gun cocking, and Homer going crazy mixing the ingredients in the kitchen carnival. They're both 1.5/5's, but "Fat and Furriest" is just a smidge better than this newest one.

[Reply #692 on:]

I liked Mozart. The thing with playing piano in odd positions that you said wasn't funny was a parody of the Rolling Stones guitar playing (among others). Fart opera..... meh. I still think it takes the episode to at least a "C+". I'm not sure, though.

[Reply #693 on:]

I think grades are a lazy way of expression opinions on episodes and words are much better.

[Reply #694 on:]

Yeah well you've got an opinion on everything
 

I dont have much problem with them its just its too vauge,especially when it comes to simpsons.

[Reply #695 on:]

 

Originally posted by Mouse On Venus:
I think grades are a lazy way of expression opinions on episodes and words are much better.

Agreed somewhat, although I think a grade allows you to be more precise, as well as rate it up against other episodes.

It does, however, annoy me very much when people post a grade and little else.

[Reply #696 on:]

New promo card!

"Smart and Smarter"

[Reply #697 on:]

That promo card tells me nothing about the episode. Neither does the episode title. At first, I thought Homer was yelling at an ugly Mel Gibson, but then I realized it is supposed to be Simon Cowell (I think.)

[Reply #698 on:]

 

Originally posted by El Zilcho:
   

Originally posted by Dose_Me_Up:
How is a Clockstoppers parody a horror story?! Lamest halloween special ever.

For the record, I loved the scene with Homer trying to eat the donuts.

That was already done in a previous episode when they had the puppies.

[Reply #699 on:]

 

Originally posted by evan:
That promo card tells me nothing about the episode. Neither does the episode title. At first, I thought Homer was yelling at an ugly Mel Gibson, but then I realized it is supposed to be Simon Cowell (I think.)

I thought it was Mel Gibson too.

[Reply #700 on:]

 

Originally posted by evan:
That promo card tells me nothing about the episode. Neither does the episode title. At first, I thought Homer was yelling at an ugly Mel Gibson, but then I realized it is supposed to be Simon Cowell (I think.)

We don't know too much about it yet.  Although what is now known, I think, is that it will involve Lisa becoming upset/jealous when Maggie is accepted into a school for gifted tots (which would suggest she is smarter then Lisa). 

Cowell's part is that he plays an admissions judge or something that's very tough.  In regards to that scene, as the promo card suggests, Homer apparently doesn't take kindly to Cowell's harsh criticism of Maggie.  I doubt that scene will be a major part of the plot though.

[Reply #701 on:]

Then why not have the promo card feature Lisa looking jealous at Maggie, as Maggie does something smart? See, this is one of my beefs with modern Simpsons' episodes....the reliance on guest stars. Guest stars playing themselves, I mean.

[Reply #702 on:]

I'm starting to hate Guest stars, how many guest stars have been on Futurama?

[Reply #703 on:]

Directed at Evan.

1.  Fox will rarely advertise actual plots over guest stars, I'm afraid, especcially when one of the "less popular" characters like Lisa is the focus of the plot.  Ultimately that's just Fox's deal though, and doesn't neccasarily reflect what the producers of the show intend.  Its been happening since the beginning of the show (the first ever promo card I've seen archived was of Ringo Starr, who had only a small part in the plot).  I don't really blame the show itself unless it panders too much to that guest star mentality (which, obviously, has happened, both in modern days and even sometimes in the classic era.  Whether "Smart and Smarter" falls into that category remains to be seen).

2. To be fair, in this case Cowell is not playing himself.  He's playing a character that sort of parodies himself (playing devil's advocate, that's not much different then "Michael Jackson" or Cecil/Niles Crane, although for the record I'm not thrilled about Cowell being in the episode) so there won't be any "Wow, its, Simon Cowell!" bits.  Also, the "reliance" on self played guests has been too much in recent years, I agree.  I'd say its was still much more of a problem in the Scully era then it is today, but its definetely still sometimes a problem in the modern age as well.  Truth be told I find many classic era guests to be pretty useless as well.

Nurdbot: Definetely not as many, although a few points need to be made about that.  One is that Futurama was simply not as popular of a show.  Not saying that's right, it was just unfortunately the truth.  A show constantly on the verge of/in danger of cancellation is usually going to attract fewer guests, simple as that.  The irony is that such a show is more likely to need those guests, so its kind of a catch 22.

Also, its not like Futurama didn't ask for guests.  The pilot episode and several other first season episodes have guests for instance.  Groening himself more or less admitted that the head in a jar concept was used largely as an excuse to have self-played guest stars despite that barrier that most of them should be dead by 3000.

Plus, I'd say going by the first four seasons of The Simpsons and all four produced seasons of Futurama, they were actually about equal with self played guests.  In fact, Futurama might have been ahead given that seasons one and two of The Simpsons had very few guests (none in season one in fact), while Futurama actually had a fair amount (including in season one) in its first two seasons.

[Reply #704 on:]

Then again, Guest Stars would work a lot more in Futurama. They just pop out of nowhere randomly in Simpsons.

[Reply #705 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nurdbot:
Then again, Guest Stars would work a lot more in Futurama. They just pop out of nowhere randomly in Simpsons.

I'm not sure what you're asserting here.  They pop up pretty randomly in Futurama too.

If you're saying that it makes more sense in an inheritely surreal show like Futurama, then I guess I agree, although it doesn't change the gimmicky aspect.

[Reply #706 on:]

Yeah, that's what I meant.

[Reply #707 on:]

*Edit* Shit I misread DTBM's post. Ignore this.

[Reply #708 on:]

Show spoiler

Homer beats the tar out of Simon's character

 

[Reply #709 on:]

 

Originally posted by evan:
...but then I realized it is supposed to be Simon Cowell...

Simon Cowell! This is almost as low as that crappy penis joke, he is a penis after all, and a joke too. As if the amount of guest stars in The Simpsons isn't bad enough, now this? Reality TV in The Simpsons? What a load of shit...

[Reply #710 on:]

A load of shit like your post?

He has an important role in the plot AND he isn't even playing himself. Seriously, your flame doesn't even make sense anymore.

Wait, what do I mean "anymore"? It NEVER made sense!!

[Reply #711 on:]

He shouldn't even be in the frickin' episode, that's the point!

[Reply #712 on:]

Jeez, take a pill, leelaholic.
But you have to admit, YOU HAVE TO ADMIT, that a lot of the recent guest stars on the show have done nothing to add to the show, or are useless completely.

[Reply #713 on:]

It's true, all true, every last word*

*except leelaholic's

[Reply #714 on:]

Simon Cowell = flash in the pan. In 3 or 4 years, no one will care who Simon Cowell is or even remember American Idol. When the Simpsons hits fads like this, it just makes it look incredibly dated (see cameos by Spears, Britney and Sync, N). Yes, the Critic crossover does fall into that same category.

As for my original post, it's not that Cowell is not playing himself, it's that all the advertising has to do with him. From that promo card, you couldn't tell that its a Lisa/Maggie ep.

[Reply #715 on:]

But as explained thats just fox's decison, because they think that'll get more people watching, It wont really a problem because he wont technically be a celberity who's name they shout for no reason.

and the Critic crossover does not fall into the same category.the show never aired in the U.K I didn't what it was before I saw the episode nor did I after the episode

[Reply #716 on:]

 

Originally posted by User_names_suck:
 It wont really a problem because he wont technically be a celberity who's name they shout for no reason.

Look at the promo card, he's still being advertised as one regardless of the episode content...

[Reply #717 on:]

 

Originally posted by leelaholic:

Show spoiler

Homer beats the tar out of Simon's character

   

So all your claims that Jerk-ass Homer is a thing of the past just went right out the window?

[Reply #718 on:]

Yeah, but you can see a whole section of people who will laugh at Cowell getting his comeuppance. That's entertainment, folks. 

[Reply #719 on:]

Wow, a cartoon charactar fighting a celebrity. Who says the magic is gone?

Do you really think that they thought "We've written the episode, now who are we going to cast in this role?" or "How can we get Simon Cowell in an episode?" What I mean is, I think they probably cast Simon Cowell BEFORE they wrote the episode....