(S19E01) Blackboard Gag: I will not wait 20 years to make another movie
Adam, this one's for you.
To begin this review I would like to speak to all of the continuity wonks out there in the audience. You know who you are! You're the folks who keep writing about how nothing changes in Springfield, even after something major happens the episode before. Well, The Simpsons has plenty of continuity. If not, then Ned's wife would still be alive the week after she died and Selma's last name would not be Selma Bouvier Terwilliger Hutz McClure Stu Simpson, Continuity is there . . . it's just subtle.
However, for those of you naysayers who firmly stand by your beliefs, I believe that the opening sequence was just for you. It started out normal enough, with Bart writing on the board. But then the school bell rang and he skateboarded right out into the devastated ruins of Springfield from The Simpsons Movie. On his journey back home he met up with a mutated squirrel (the one that caused all the problems in the movie in the first place), skimmed along a piece of the plastic bubble that surrounded the town, and passed by a number of characters direct from the summer blockbuster.
When he reached home it was a house that was still under construction. Meanwhile, Homer pulled up, just like he always does, but this time the silo full of pig poop was tied to the roof of the auto. Speaking about pigs, right on the couch was none other than Spider-Pig (also known as Harry Pooper Plopper).
Of course, once the opening sequence concluded we were right back into the Springfield that we have known and loved for the past eighteen seasons with nary a sign of the disaster wrought against the hamlet. Ah, but for the pro-continuity audience members out there it was good while it lasted. Moving on . . .
I think that a bit more attention is going to be focused on this season of The Simpsons than the past decade's worth of seasons. Credit that to the huge success of The Simpsons Movie and the fact that most people felt is was the funniest 90-minute episode that they had seen a long time. What that has done is spur on some of those older fans who haven't watched the show in recent years (this reviewer included) to come back and see what they've been missing. I hope that they weren't too disappointed with the season premiere, which actually hearkened back to the older days of the show.
I actually liked the episode. It's just that, after watching so many recent ones where Homer seemed like a barely functioning mental patient, I wasn't used to a Homer that was actually fairly normal. In addition to that this was a one story episode, which has been a rare animal over the last few seasons. I've never really been a fan of the dual-plot when it comes to the FOX Sunday animated block. Both Family Guy and King of the Hill do it frequently. Family Guy is able to balance this out fairly well, but King of the Hill barely touches the second storyline in many cases, especially where Peggy is involved.
Anyway, back to The Simpsons. There were plenty of plot points this episode that have been touched on many, many times before. There's Homer's unending need to obtain more than he already has, and his quest to leave the nuclear power plant for a better position (which he seems to do every other episode), and the helplessness he feels when he tries not to disappoint Marge. Then, there was the hiring of someone outside of the family to help Homer achieve his goals. This time around it was Life Coach Colby Kraus, voiced by the lovely and talented Steven Colbert.
Even though the story has been done several times before in various seasons, this episode was an entertaining piece of work and there was a lot to enjoy. Here are some of my favorites:
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The appearance of Lionel Richie and the request by Homer to make the song Say You, Say Me about beer. Eventually all of the words of the song were replaced by the word beer (and Homer forgot them)
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Homer and Mr. Burns' tour of Chicago (the Miami of Canada). They passed such legendary places as Ditka's, Wrigley Field, Wherever the White Sox Play, and the First Bank of Oprah. They also stopped by the Second City Theater for some Improv. As someone who performs with an Improv troupe I found that scene to be one of the funnier ones of the night.
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Homer at the bowling alley. His walk down to the lane reminded me of all of those moves Fred Flintstone made before he rolled the ball down the lane.
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'Freak Fry!' 'Watch out! If it touches you, you die of suicide!'
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'Duff Man has reported you to the F.A.A'.
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'And now to taxi to the terminal.' Of course, there's no terminal there and Homer pilots the plane over the cliff and into the water.
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Colby sitting there in his shirt, tie and jacket but no pants. Why do they always show losers on the show dressed like that in their homes?
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G-G-G-G-GULFSTREAM!
All and all, the 19th season premiere of The Simpsons was a good one. Heck, I knew it wasn't going to be as rip-roaring funny as the movie. That took four years to prepare. This episode took a year to write. So, those who are returning to the show, please don't start comparing the movie to the television show; take it at face-value. Otherwise, you may be setting yourself up for disappointment.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-23-2007 @ 9:23PM
Oreo said...
Ummm....
What about.... "No, I knew it wouldn't be as good as the movie. I'm disappointed"
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9-23-2007 @ 10:49PM
Scott said...
I'm with #1. I'm one of those Simpsons fans (I own Seasons 1-8 on DVD) who basically gave up watching the TV show because it stopped being funny. I try a few episodes a year when there's a guest I think could be good. BUT I did love the movie.
So, with warm feelings from the movie, and the hope that Stephen Colbert could be funnier here than he was on the Emmys (and a fraction as good as he is EVERY DAY on his show), I watched this one.
Outside of the brilliant opening credits, I think I smiled a couple times (Homer saying "No, I said the right thing" after saying "Semper Fudge"). Even with a role for Burns, my favorite character, this episode (post-credits) stunk. Bart pushes in Homer's eyeball. Ha-ha. Homer falls down the steps. Ha-ha. Homer is pulled off the plane by a big crane. Ha-ha.
Yuck.
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9-23-2007 @ 10:50PM
Joey Geraci said...
I can't believe I missed the blackboard gag! If somebody could post a link to the blackboard bit, I'd be wildly appreciative.
As far as the comments about the episode, come on now!! That was just fantastic! I don't know what the hell people were expecting, but I was absolutely thrilled. (I liked the movie, but wasn't as floored by it as most people, and I have been fairly bored by the show for the last several years). Funny joke followed by funny joke followed by even funnier joke. Sure the basic plot of the episode didn't involve anything "new", but if you weren't laughing at least once every 10-15 seconds, I want nothing to do with you! How could you ask for anything else!
And I enjoyed the return of the single plot episode as well. Hopefully there will be a lot of those this season.
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9-23-2007 @ 10:53PM
cooties said...
Richard,
Thanks for the tip of the hat to Adam...he is missed.
Joanie
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9-23-2007 @ 10:55PM
Joey Geraci said...
Scott, what the hell! You didn't find the beer song funny, or the Miami of Canada, freak fry, iphone now 20 cents, fountain O' Burns, etc. If you were so unenthused by this episode, I find it hard to believe you ever found the Simpsons funny.
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9-23-2007 @ 10:56PM
Rich Keller said...
Hey, Adam lived and breathed animation. He will definitely be a hard act to follow, but I'll do my damndest to give you guys what I can for The Simpsons reviews.
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9-23-2007 @ 11:14PM
tricia said...
I also thought of Adam as this episode started. I miss his writing, of course, but as the mother of a son the same age, I feel such a sadness at the loss of this young man, and think of him and his parents everyday.
But I enjoyed the opening of the show because of the movie references, also. It was an enjoyable episode.
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9-24-2007 @ 12:04AM
SJ said...
Not a bad episode. My favorite line: "Hey why is the ocean in the sky?"
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9-24-2007 @ 1:43AM
BStu said...
A pretty solid episode. Good premise, well developed, lots of funny gags. Pretty much the definition of "still better than 90% of what's on TV". Have they actually done "Homer is ashamed to admit he's unemployed" before. I know they've gotten close, but I think this set-up was actually new for the show. But surely I'm wrong. Still, I found it encouraging and I'm eager to see what's coming up this season. Yeah, I'll grant that its not as densely funny as it once was, but its still awfully good.
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9-24-2007 @ 1:54AM
sean tubbs said...
I also felt the episode was a return to what the show is, and probably always has been. The movie renewed it. This was the first episode I've taped in years, and it was very good, I thought. I laughed the whole way, but was also touched by Homer's shame at being unemployed. Marge's tear getting sucked in was a nice touch. The scene where they were getting Homer ready for his first day... isn't that a reference to some old 50's show?
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9-24-2007 @ 2:57AM
Jessica said...
I believe the alternate name of Spider-pig is Harry Plopper, not Pooper.
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9-24-2007 @ 3:26AM
Miranda said...
IMO, The Simpsons hasn't been much good since about season 12 or so ... the movie was great, but now we're back to the same old thing. I think they're trying to cram too much into each episode ... I'm really tired of the first act not having anything to do with the main plot (like the ep where the bagboys' strike led to the Simpsons going to Africa). I know some fans like it but I think it's just lazy writing. And yet I keep watching. I don't know.
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9-24-2007 @ 6:42AM
Bash said...
This episode was back to Simpsons greatness. I didn't particularly liked the movie but I liked this episode because it did NOT suck. I laughed throughout the first third of the episode until Stephen Colbert showed up - and I didn't do that for two straight seasons.
So yeah, you can still say "This isn't as good as the first seven, eight, nine, then, elefen seasons were" but I don't care. This episode was great. Period. And I am one who bashed every episode that sucked the last couple of years and I bet my ass the coming episodes won't be this good again. So I enjoy it while it lasts.
Especially because this whole episode was just like what I was expecting from the movie. Great animation. The guest stars they movie lacked. Not a BS premise all Springfieldians don't know how to use a shovel or ridiculous segways to Alaska. I would've gladly paid 10 bucks for this instead of the real movie :-)
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9-24-2007 @ 7:00AM
Bash said...
Miranda I wonder how the first act didn't have anything to do with the rest of the episode since that was the setup for Homer getting on the plane in the first place.
What I simply don't get is that people like the movie which I found totally lacking everything that was ever good with the Simpsons in the earlier years and then bash an episode like this one here. The movie was all over the place, didn't focus on anything either, had no guest stars, no pop culture references whatsover, wasn't critical towards any political figures (again, Schwarzenegger can not become president and Bush Sr. was parodied in the past as well as Bill Clinton so why not Bush Jr. - because he would remind you of all that is bad today and it would make you cry in a supposedly funny movie?), it didn't criticize any government organizations (it introduced a new one nobody even knew before), made fun of wiretapping with a joke that totally missed the point (they made it about money spent for it, not the whole problem behind it)... it had about four funny moments altogether which were all shown in the previews. Had I not seen those it might've been funny for me too - I only laughed at the Disney Corp bit in the train and the bits I already saw in the commercials/previews. That shucked for me.
What made The Simpsons great for me in the past was movie references like "Don't ride the bomb". For me, the movie bombed and this episode was great. "Hey you, beer me", "The place where the White Socks play". "You made us feel like New York". "See comedians before they get fat". "Why do you applaud them, WE wrote it". The way Marge ate her hair before Homer landed the plane. How Bart sat there with the newspaper and said "Have fun with your girlfriend" with totally turned-around roles father/son. The machine that put Homer on the porch and rang the doorbell. How Ralph Wiggum licked air. "iPhone now 20 Cents". How Mr. Burns vibrated when getting the call on his micro-phone (*snort*).
And all that frigging 3D animation that was so praised by people when it was in the movie - it was in this episode as well but has been in "Futurama" for ages. I never thought that was a point to make but when they stressed it for the movie - well here we had it again so fans should rejoice. Shouldn't they?
Or the "Duff Man" bit "Duff Man will report YOU to the FCA. Three RETIRED pilots will review YOUR near fatal miss".
Seriously. This episode was crammed with jokes. How come people didn't laugh?
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9-24-2007 @ 8:40AM
Hollywood Ron said...
I thought it was the best Simpsons episode in years, though I was a bit confused as to why Phil Ken Sebben was there.
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9-24-2007 @ 9:20AM
Galley said...
Yeah, it's definitely Harry Plopper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animals_in_The_Simpsons#Plopper
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9-24-2007 @ 10:09AM
Joey Geraci said...
Bash++on everything but the movie. While the move didn't thrill me beyond measure considering how long they were putting it together, I still thought it was pretty good.
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9-24-2007 @ 10:11AM
Joey Geraci said...
And yea, Stephen Colbert was woefully underused. If anything, Lionel Richie's role was about 1000 times funnier than Colbert. I don't know why they wrote him such a sucky role, because he deserved better. (Maybe Murdoch got involved).
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9-24-2007 @ 10:41AM
Rich Keller said...
I corrected Spider-Pig's alternate name to be Harry Plooper. My sincerist apologies.
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9-24-2007 @ 11:04AM
Joe said...
You're still wrong! It's not Plooper with two 'O's, but Plopper with two 'P's. It sounds more like 'Potter'. Wait, why do I care?
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