The Simpsons

Yeah, no.

Do I really need to do a deconstruction of all the ways that did not work? It probably would be helpful for people who read my reviews but don't watch The Simpsons. But anyone who saw that already knows. I will have nothing new to say about how and why that sucked and was one of the worst things the show has done in years.

20 years ago, if you had said "Good news, everyone! The Simpsons is now taking its cues from Futurama!" we'd all be excited. Now? We're properly concerned. Things on Disney+ are troubling. 0.

I thought it was great. I love Walkov learning English from Family Guy: "Giggity Giggity". Is this the first Family Guy joke the show has done that's not an actual slam on Family Guy? I thought it was very funny for that reason. It also wasn't very hard, was it?

Great Matt Lauer dig. He is sincerely that dumb of an interviewer.. Him being referred to as Skinny Weinstein was on the ball too. Who is still hiring this tool?

The play-by-play over the end credits was great too.

I loved Lisa teaching old people how to use email. She doesn't have the heart to correct Grandpa.

Danny Trejo will take ANY job. Even one making fun of him for taking any job. Most interesting IMDB page of any actor, living or dead. Cool they got Chris Rock too. We just had Tim Meadows last week! Nice! 

Super funny. 4 1/2 stars.

I liked the episode. But it has a major problem.

The tag helps a LITTLE. But the tag is also nonsense, so you can't take it seriously.

The best part of the episode is the Bart and Lisa stuff. The rest of the episode is good, but that's amazing.

And it lasts maybe five minutes.

The show now has a problem. It's an amazing runner, but it doesn't take up a whole act break by itself, much less its own episode. Do they get rid of it or shoehorn into an episode with less going on?

It doesn't gel perfectly for that reason. Worse, I feel the conclusion felt a little too pat because they NEEDED to move on. No easy place to fit an amazing five minute scene.

Other stuff to talk about: "What the hell just happened?" Ska, Bart. Ska.

I love when the Prussian dude dies, his last words are to point out how filthy it is under the stove.

Would the episode felt less clumsy without the Bart and Lisa repeating runner? Yes. Would the show be better off if it didn't exist at all? Not on your life. It exists here because it needs to somewhere, and NOTHING is a good fit. Sort of a narrative problem right there.

Loved the theme song variation and Couch Gag.

John DiMaggio and Maurice La Marche are "Special Guest Voices". Makes sense.

Great episode. 4 stars.

It's fun, but kind of all over the map.

In the early seasons, many of the before-nameless characters got names like it was no big deal out of the blue. Squeaky-Voiced-Teen being Andrew is like that. I'm not sure the character can carry the opening of the episode but one of the interesting things about early Simpsons is how little mystery they ascribed to many of the names.

I love that the lady is a fan of Lisa's Substack.

Big Avocado is a mess. Yes, I'm punning you there, but it doesn't fit fit well as an ending. It's really reaching, even for this show.

Andrew Luck will sign the cast because he has the whole upper part to himself. Weird guest star in the episode they revealed the teen's name is Andrew.

Appearance from the Very Tall Man. Rare character. Helen Lovejoy catchphrase callback and subversion.

The scene with Agnes, Jasper, and the Crazy Old Man was pretty twisted. Her putting in the dentures to top the manipulation off was both totally baller and super gross.

I like that the Suit's about to agree with Homer's demands right before he sells Grandpa out. Good laugh line.

Speaking of which, I loved the naturalistic dialogue of Homer and Abe's "show or tell" argument.

Solid episode. Simpsons won Fox toons. 4 stars.

Man, I did NOT like that!

What bugs me is there are a couple of elements I DID like (like Bart being a good caregiver) but I fucking HATE future episodes. And can I be blunt? Itchy & Scratchy are a really disturbing concept that has never been funny. Out of ALL of the things on the show that have aged badly, that probably comes in second after Apu.

The thing that's always bothered me is it's a parody of cartoon violence. But NO cartoon is that violent, so its essentially horrible for the purpose of putting nothing that actually exists in its place.

Am I allowed to think Itchy & Scratchy suck? Because I think the same thing about Moe.

Not on-board this week. 1 1/2 stars.

All right? All right.

I thought the feud between Lisa and Marge was handled so well because Marge had the upper hand, which is not television's go-to about that. Like when Lisa decides to embarrass her mom in front of her friends by saying the clothes don't work on her, Marge isn't all "Baby, no!" She's like "Fuck you, you little shit. I'll take these. Yoink!" What I especially like is her refusing to take Lisa's shit actually impresses the bullies. Yeah, Lisa's Mom is actually kind of cool. They only think that because she is.

It's kind of interesting they are saying Sherri and Terri have different facets, but it's REALLY late in the game to be saying that. I mean, I don't have all 37 seasons memorized or anything, but I'm still pretty sure this is the first time they've taken that tack, but if it IS a thing, it should have been one before Season 37.

Usually dedications happen the week the celebrity dies. And if the show is in reruns, the dedication is either added to the rerun, or outright skipped. For Alf Clausen, who died in May, they saved the proper dedication for the season premiere. I have mixed feelings about this. The show ultimately wound up treating him like utter shit. But it was nice to give him this still.

Martin's parents don't have a TV. Again, don't have all 37 seasons memorized, but I'm almost positive you could probably find several examples in earlier episodes proving this isn't true.

The actor at the con being so pathetic was kind of brutal, but the whole Dawson's Creek parody was brutal to begin with.

I will say this about the parody. That specific thing is usually the weak part of the show because the writers tend to be outrageously, surprisingly, and ridiculously pop-culturally illiterate. The show is constantly "spoofing" current pop-culture the writers clearly have never seen. The Dawson's Creek stuff is so authentic though so you can tell the writers used to watch it when they were kids.

God, that show was insufferable. It wasn't bad, which might have been why it was insufferable. Beverly Hills 90210 is easy to dismiss as utter shit, but Dawson's Creek has JUST enough intelligence behind the 16-year-olds who talked like 40-year-old Jewish psychiatrists for me to sincerely find those characters insufferable. Remember the Family Guy where Peter becomes Death and is charged with killing the kids from Dawson's Creek? He's alarmed and like, "I knew it! What did I tell you, Lois? I KNEW I was going to have to kill those kids someday! I knew it! What did I tell you?" Almost NONE of early Family Guy was funny. And even if that's not an actual gutbuster, the truth is it was probably one of the most truthful jokes of that era of the show. SOMEBODY needed to kill them and that's just a fact. As far as I'm concerned all four of them still being alive in 2025 is a failing of society.

I kid, but seriously the fact that it wasn't actually terrible which is why the show was fucking polarizing to begin with. And I feel like this episode showed why.

I love Marge's nightmare about Lisa's day being so bad she is comforted by the janitor. First of all, that is a REAL-WORLD concern and fear. Second of all, it's custodian. Or in Willie's case, Groundskeeper.

The stuff with Bart and Marge at the dance he was dragged to started funny, but turned creepy once they brought Luanne into it.

Serious question: IS the notion of a Hungry Hungry Hippos Cinematic Universe / Multiverse Saga TRULY more ridiculous than a Transformers Cinematic Universe? Because I don't think it is. They are both stupid for the same reasons.

Solid episode and a rare spoof of something the writers not only have seen, but understand exactly WHAT they are making fun of. 4 stars.

This wasn't the Worst Episode Ever and it wasn't the Best Episode Ever. It was Every Episode Ever. It's just formula and boring and unnecessary.

I do have to admit I find Bart's crush on Miss Peyton totally cute. And I liked the gag that Chalmers wasn't Frasier, but Rebecca.

Chalmers' slow motion scream with the giant snails was funny too.

Love the Jane Goodall tribute card at the end.

But man, I really don't see the selling point of the show still being on the air. It's not like they are actually telling new stories. Not really. 3 stars.