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.