Sunset over Springfield? Has the joke worn too thin?

[Trollheart]

Talk to just about anyone about the longest-running animated show (can't really call them cartoons, can we?) in history and you'll usually hear the same story. Just not like it used to be. There's no question that The Simpsons has given us some classic, timeless moments, more in fact than even the greats like Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny ever did in what were called cartoons. I mean, who can really remember specifics about Looney Tunes, other than Bugs' catchphrase or Yosemite Sam battering his horse in a shocking, but hilarious, display of animal cruelty: "When I says whoa, mule, ah MEANS whoa"! Or indeed, Wile E. Coyote watching in despair as the desert floor comes up to meet him for the umpteenth time? But can we quote from these cartoons? (Well, certainly not Roadrunner, unless it's "Meep! Meep!" And that's every episode. But for those we can, or could quote from, do we feel the need to? Of course not.

The Simpsons, though, has given us so many quotes, iconic scenes and even taught us lessons over the course of more than three decades, that it has become a part of the national consciousness and words like D'oh! Have entered the OED. But how long can such quality be maintained? Has it gone on too long? Should The Simpsons finally retire before it becomes a parody of itself, if it has not already done so? How long can one boy remain ten years old, and how long exactly can Homer live, at his age and with his lifestyle? Of course this is all essentially the world of cartoons, so logic need not apply. And yet, that's not quite the case. Bart has even self-referentially mentioned the fact that he's been ten for so long, and while of course there's very much a need for a suspension of disbelief here, how long can it go on for?

But really, the true question is not can it, but should it? The general consensus seems to be that the episodes these days are nowhere near as good as they used to be, and that's not surprising. As I say, it's all but impossible to keep up that sort of class for over thirty years. But are they as bad as have been reported? I stopped watching around maybe season 15, and the few I have caught down the years from the newer seasons have, in the main, tended to bear this opinion out. There were few I laughed at, not many I enjoyed and none at all I would quote. There may have been the odd good one, but they were the exception. Then again, I've seen maybe a dozen, at most, so maybe I just happened to catch the bad ones. I've lost touch with the show, so have I any right to make such a determination as to say that their day has gone?

So here I go again. I'm going to randomly choose episodes from the later seasons (say 15 to now - think we're on 33 now?) and look at them, see how, if at all, they stand up, if they can be compared to classic or even just older episodes, and try to answer the question I posed in the title: has the joke worn wafer-thin now, and is it time for The Simpsons to give up and retire while it still has a modicum of its dignity remaining?

It's hard to accurately pin down when the rot may have set in, so I'm arbitrarily marking that as from season 15 onwards, though I have a feeling that season, and one or two after it, are ones I have seen. Nevertheless, we have to start somewhere and give the random-o-meter some parameters, so from season 15 to the current, season 33, it is. And we start off then with this one.

One or two points before we get going. The category "Teeth-grinders" refers to how much, duh, the episode makes me grind my teeth, i.e., how terrible is it, how bad are some concepts, how annoyed am I at it? "Verdict" is given as one of three: Sunrise, noon and sunset. They should be obvious in their meaning, but in case not: sunrise means the episode maintains the quality, or as close to it as possible, of the show; noon is a meh, it's all right but not great and sunset means it was terrible. Originality in this case refers ONLY to the show; if the episode uses a plot borrowed from say a movie, but which has never been used in an episode before, it still qualifies as being original. In this case it gets a high score, with 10 being very original. High score also for "usage of previous episodes", as the higher the score the less the episode is seen to rely on what has gone before, and the same for "Teeth-grinders" - one that really bugs me gets 0 while one that does not in any way annoy me gets 10.

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "The Heartbroke Kid"
Season: 16
First transmission date: May 1 2005
Writer(s): Ian Maxtone-Graham
Couch Gag: The family find their couch is attached to a large catapult, which throws them off screen.
Main character(s): Bart
Supporting characters: Lisa, Homer, Maggie, Marge, Skinner, Superintendent Chalmers, Sea Captain, Gill, Nelson, Martin, Sherri, Terri, Milhouse, Willy, Krusty, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Scratchy, Flanders, Rod, Tod, Wiggum, Jimbo, Dolph, Kurny, Hans Moleman, Patti, Selma, Grandpa, Apu, Kent Brockman, Reinier Wolfcastle
Premise: Bart eats so much candy he has a heart attack and has to be sent to Fat Camp.
Gues star(s): A. Brooks as Spangler
Location(s): Springfield Elementary; Fat Camp; 742 Evergreen Terrace
Good scenes: The battle at the beginning, where Skinner's toy soldiers (shown as real men in his imagination) are being menaced by stationery; Homer's dream about Marge as a Terminator; the special "fat" version of the opening credits; Scratchy signing a form - "Have you ever been... squashed by the moon/tricked into eating yourself/churned into butter/decapitated by a windmill/impaled by the Space Needle etc" - at the doctor's
Quotes:
Skinner: "Keep at it men! The US is due to win a war some time!"

Chalmers: "Skinner, be gay on your own time."

Skinner: "I presume these snacks are nutritious?"
Lindsay: "That's really none of our business!"

Machine: "Don't play the hate: participate!"
Nelson: "The machine makes a good point."

Marge: "They're not kidnappers! They're professionally-trained child snatchers!"

Spangler: "Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, your boy is going to need one thing here: (points at sign) tough luck!"
Marge: "Don't you mean tough love?"
Spangler: "Tough love? Of course! This has never made sense! That sign guy lied to me! Stanley! Didn't you ever question the word luck?"

Marge: "Homer, maybe you could ask Mr. Burns for a raise?"
Homer: "Even better! I'll ask for my job back!"

Wolfcastle (to ice cream): "I'm baskin' in your pain as I'm robbin' you of life!"

Bart (walking through backpackers): "They can't see or hear us, right?"
Spangler: "We're not the Ghost of Christmas Past, Bart! They can see us!"

Machine: "Yo! I'm gonna cap a pop in yo ass!"

Homer: "Marge, I know this is ill-gotten, but can we use it to...?"
Marge: "Give these freeloaders das boot? Jawohl!"
Homer: "Time to take out the Eurotrash!"

Synopsis: Given the choice of what new vending machines to have installed in the school, Chalmers chooses, not surprisingly, one which refuses to give change, which the school can keep. The value of the snacks has no bearing on the decision, but Lisa soon discovers there are all sorts of colourings, E-numbers and additives in them, despite their eco-friendly names, such as Dalai Lama-nade and Krishna Krisps. Her appeals to her fellow students of course go unheard, until Bart eats so many snacks and gets so overweight that he has a heart attack. Despite ending up in hospital Bart of course ignores the doctor's advice, so Lisa organises an intervention.

When even this doesn't work, they send him to Fat Camp. This proves very expensive (shock horror!) so Lisa hits upon the idea of opening up their house as a youth hostel. Bart doesn't take the fat camp seriously either, until Spangler, the owner, shows him how his family have had to humiliate themselves in order to pay for it, then he takes action. Breaking into the school he wrecks all the vending machines (how does one school need all those machines anyway?) and they spill out all the money they didn't give change for. He fills up two bags of it and brings it to his parents, so that they can kick out the freeloaders.

Rating:
Comments: Like I said, season 16 is not really where it's at. This is a pretty damn fine episode, and in the greatest tradition of the show, teaches a lesson or at least spouts a moral, a very timely one, given the current state of child obesity. Not that anyone will listen, but it needs to be said. It's an episode which has a HUGE supporting cast, even if ninety-eight percent of those are only onscreen and don't even talk. It features A. Brooks (who the hell uses an initial as their professional first name?) as Spangler, whom you may remember as the voice of Nemo in the movie about some lost fish. Chock-full both of great, imaginative scenes and excellent quotes, with a lot of laughs, it's a prime example of the show at its zenith, though it is placed near the edge of the abyss, as it were.

Score:
Story: 8
Originality: 10
Good lines: 8
Usage of other characters: 5
Usage of previous episodes: 10
Laughs: 10
Teeth-grinders: 10

Total: 61

Verdict: Sunrise

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "Married to the Blob"
Season: 25
First transmission date: January 12 2014
Writer(s): Tim Long
Main character(s): Comic Book Guy, Homer
Supporting characters: Marge, Milhouse, Bart, Lisa, Wiggum, Krusty*, Smithers*, Patti*. Selma*,  Moe*, Jimbo*, Kurny*, Dolph*, Skinner*, Agnes* (any character with an asterisk only appears in Homer's alcohol-fuelled trip as various creatures), Apu
Guest star(s): Harlan Ellison, Stan Lee (both as themselves); Maurice LeMarche (plays Kiff in Futurama) as Milo.
Premise: Comic Book Guy falls in love
Location(s): The Android's Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop, Simpson house, Chuck Dukewagon's All-American Chow Lounge, Krusty Burger, Kwik-E-Mart, Schoolyard
Quotes:

Radioactive Man to Old King Coal: "I'll crush you like a gnat, King Coal!"

Comic Book Guy: "The only thing that could make this moment more of a cliche would be if I started to sing about my feelings! And here I go!"

Homer: "Why didn't I stop with the snake wine? Why did I try the fish wine?"
Komiko's father: "That was the aquarium!"

Rating:
Comments: On the face of it, this is a prime candidate as an example of what went wrong with the show. An episode about a minor character - very minor, in this case - seldom works; there have been occasions, but in general The Simpsons works best when it plays to its strengths and focuses on Homer, Bart, even Lisa. Other characters such as Skinner, Krusty and of course Mr. Burns work too, but when they start reaching further down into the pool of characters, it can go either way, and often ends up being a negative result.

Comic Book Guy falls in love with a manga artist and turns to Homer for advice ("because you are the only fat man in town who has met a hot woman") and is happy until her father arrives (from Japan, if you can believe it) and takes her home, not happy with her match. Other than the clever trippy bit (which is basically copied from "El Neustro Viajo" you know the one) it's pretty basic and holds few if any surprises, and not much in the way of laughter. Pretty poor. Oh, the opening scenes where Radioactive Man dies, they're pretty good. I certainly would not rate this episode as anything near as good as classic Simpsons, but to be fair, though I find it overall quite poor, it's not the worst. I could have done without the song, however ironically placed. Just seems like filler.

It's also annoying that they used the same title for two different episodes, one of which is I think a segment from a Treehouse of Horror, leading to me selecting the wrong clip to post here initially. Come on guys! Have a little dignity, why don'tcha? 

Score:
Story: 3
Originality: 3
Good lines: 2
Usage of other characters: 8
Usage of previous episodes: 7
Laughs: 2
Teeth-grinders: 0
The Burns Factor: 0

Total: 25

Verdict: Sunset

Current score: Sunrise 1 - Sunset 1

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "Uncut Femmes"
Season: 32
First transmission date: March 28 2021
Writer(s): Christine Nangle
Main character(s): Homer. Karl, Marge, Sarah Wiggum
Supporting characters: Smithers, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, Bart, Lisa, Martin Prince, Janey, Ralph, Nelson, his mother, Richard, Milhouse, Nixon (nah just kidding - why am I writing this when nobody is going to read it?), Sherri, Terri, Flanders, Todd, Rod, Mandula, Luanne van Houten, Dr. Hibbert's wife it looks like but they don't have children do they? Kurney, Wiggum, Fat Tony, Patti, Selma, Helen Lovejoy, Those two gay guys Homer once lived with - Ramon and someone? Kent Brockman, Sarcastic Voice Guy (leave me alone), Legs, Johnny Tight-Lips, Rainier Wolfcastle. Lindsay Nagle
Premise: Sarah Wiggum reveals her racy past and drags Marge into it
Guest star(s): Bob Seger
Location(s): Springfield Nuclear Plant, Simpson home, Docks, Some warehouse, Mafia hideout ,Springfield Gen Gala (Generational Wealth), Concert hall,
Quotes:

Captain: "You will be my crew aboard the USS Name we're not allowed to say anymore and with good reason!"

Sarah: "You have no idea what it's like to be married to a man with a dangerous job he's just not good at."

Wiggum: "Hi Mr. Seger. You probably don't remember this, but I saw you at an airport once and was too shy to say anything, and then it wasn't you."

Wiggum: "No sign of our wives!"
Homer: "We checked out all of their favourite places, but turns out we don't pay enough attention to know what they are, so I don't know what we did!"

Lindsay: "I don't want this to sound harsh, but you're not famous, so you don't exist."
Wolfcastle: "Darling, stop talking to that empty chair."

Rating:

Comments: Now we could be about to get somewhere, in terms of seeing if, and how badly, the series has slipped. This is close to up to date, only aired last year at time of writing, and the most recent season bar one, again at the time of writing. I don't believe I've seen a single episode in this season, so this might be interesting. Or terrible. Or both. Ah. Looks like it will be terrible. Someone who has had absolutely no input to the show for thirty years other than to occasionally say "Clancy!" is to be the subject, I see. Sarah Wiggum is finally given a personality, and it turns out she's hot to trot. Hmm. I foresee disaster.

Right. Now she's part of a criminal gang. Does this, or does this not, smack of desperation and a tank running empty of ideas? Bob Seger, meanwhile (just watch it; don't expect me to do everything for you) berates Homer and Wiggum for sticking their wives with chaperoning their kids on a weekend trip, and they arrive at the battleship to find that the women have been kidnapped. Long story short: turns out Sarah was part of a gang of female thieves who were double crossed by their contact, Lindsay Nagle, and now they intend to get revenge by stealing back the diamond she took from them. Sarah is worried in case her husband (a cop, remember, at least in name) finds out about her criminal past, and recruits Marge to help them, as she is a great fan of the Gen Gala and can get them in. Okay, quite a lot better than I had expected, I'll be honest. Pretty damn good.


Score:
Story: 7
Originality: 6
Good lines: 5
Usage of other characters: 8
Usage of previous episodes: 10
Laughs: 2
Teeth-grinders: 0

Total: 38

Verdict: Sunrise, surprisingly

Sunrise 2 - Sunset 1

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "Tis the Fifteenth Season"
Season: 15
First transmission date: December 14 2003
Writer(s): Michael Price
Main character(s): Homer
Supporting characters: Krusty, Itchy, Scratchy, Mr. Teeny, Kent Brockman (cardboard cut-out), Sideshow Mel, Grandpa, Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, Bart, Lenny, Karl, Comic Book Guy, Rainier Wolfcastle, Moe, Grandpa, Mr. Burns, Reverend Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Rod, Todd, Skinner, Comic Book Guy, Apu, Mandula, Gill, Nelson, Sherri (or Terri), Agnes, Snake, Jimbo, Fat Tony, Apu, Nelson's mother, Kookie Kwan, Drederick Tatum, Disco Stu, Hans Moleman, Mayor Quimby, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, Eddie, Lou, Dr. Hibbert, Lawyer Guy, Luanne van Houten, Smithers
Premise: Homer is selfish at Christmas
Location(s): Simpsons home, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant,
Quotes:

Karl: "Homer, you're the most selfish man I know."
Homer: "Oh come on! Mr. Burns is way more selfish! Evil old bone bag, smelling of death, nose like a vulture, followed everywhere by that kiss-ass Smithers..."
Burns (appearing behind Homer with Smithers): "Yes, that describes Cathy in Personnel to a T!"

Homer: "Then we'll spend the rest of the cash on a Christmas tree so large its absence from the forest will cause mudslides and flooding!"
Family: "Yeah!"

Homer: "There's a trickle-down theory here. If I'm happy, I'm less abusive to the rest of you!"

Homer: "Oh my god! It's like looking at a cartoon version of myself!"

Homer: "Can't you just yell at me now and get it over with?"
Marge: "No. I'm going to parcel out my anger over the next days and weeks, jabbing at you just when you seem the most content."

Homer: "I'm just buying that stairway to Heaven Jesus sang about."
Flanders: "That was Led Zeppelin!"
Homer: "Get back to your bong, hippy!"

Buddha (in Homer's mind): "Presents are material goods, and material  goods kill the soul." (Police siren; Buddha floors it) "I'm not going to jail again!"

Snake: "Oh! I've been robbed! So this is how it feels! I'd better see my shrink... and rob his ass!"

Homer: "And here comes a happy crowd, shaking their fists in gratitude."

Homer: "Let's just say a million years ago, a dude was born who most of us think is magic, but others don't, and that's cool.  But we're probably right. Amen."

Rating:
Comments: Well, there have been some great Christmas episodes and some lousy ones, and some that just left me scratching my head. We're back at the sort of event horizon, if you will, the point at which I decided to start this exploration of how the show slid, and in general I think season 15 should hold up well compared to later ones, though as we've just seen, even the most recent seasons have their good, even great episodes. How does this one do? Let's see. Homer as usual is a selfish jerk, so when he comes into a lot of money, instead of dividing the wealth equally, he spends most of it on a big present for himself, thus alienating his family. What else is new?

So essentially we have a Grinch story. Not entirely original but I guess it works. I do remember this one. After watching a version of A Christmas Carol Homer finally gets Christmas and decides to try to undo all he has done. In fact, he resolves to be the nicest man in town, somewhat to the chagrin of the already-self-appointed holder of that office, Ned Flanders. When Ned tries to outdo Homer by giving everyone Christmas presents, and Lisa suggests that the season has got too materialistic and everyone, in her view, would be better off without presents, he resolves to steal everyone's gifts. Yeah it's all right, if a little predictable.

Score:
Story: 5
Originality: 2
Good lines: 7
Usage of other characters: 8
Usage of previous episodes: 8
Laughs: 6
Teeth-grinders: 0
The Burns Factor: 4

Total: 40

Verdict: Noon
Sunrise 2, Noon 1, Sunset 1

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony"
Season: 22
First transmission date: May 1 2011
Writer(s): Dick Blasucci
Main character(s): Bart, Lisa, Selma, Fat Tony duh
Supporting characters: Moe, Helen Lovejoy, Cletus, Apu, Old Jewish Guy, Jasper, Disco Stu, Lenny, Miss Hoover, Mr. Largo, Ned Flanders, Maude Flanders, Todd Flanders, Dr. Hibbert, Kirk van Houten, Professor Frink, Principal Skinner, Otto, Agnes, Sideshow Mel, Karl, Krusty, Reverend Lovejoy, Chief Wiggum, Herman, Ruth, Willy, Legs, Louie, Patti, Marge, Johnny  Tight-Lips, Jimmy the Squealer, Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Gill
Premise: Selma falls in love. Again. This time with Fat Tony.
Pre-comment: Oh dear! Selma get married AGAIN? More desperation in the writing stakes?
Location(s): DMV, Old abandoned warehouse, Plastic Surgery Centre, Springfield Woods, Luigi's, The Gilded Truffle, Fat Tony's yacht, Simpson home, Springfield Four Seasons Hotel, Fat Tony's house
Quotes:

Fat Tony to Selma: "I don't know whether to knock you on the kisser or kiss you on the knockers!"

Fat Tony: "I love the way the sun goes down like a crooked boxer."

Lisa: "This is our house! There's nothing buried here but hopes and dreams!"

Selma: "Why can't you support my marriage?"
Marge: "Well you never supported mine!"
Selma: "You  married a pig."
Marge: "Well, you married someone whose first name is Fat!"

Marge: "Which room is ours again?"
Homer: "You know: it had that painting of the lady and the monster on the ceiling."
Marge: "That was a mirror!"


Rating:

Comments: After she stands up to him and doesn't seem cowed by him, Fat Tony falls in love with Selma and marries her. Bart discovers an aptitude for unearthing valuable truffles, a skill Lisa exploits as they sell his services to restauranteurs. Except it turns out she's eating the truffles, as vegetarian food is so boring. Aren't truffles vegetables? Anyway, what a shitty sub-plot. Even the presence of SpiderPig doesn't lift it above the rolling of eyes. Meanwhile, Marge and Homer are invited out to Tony's house where again Selma and Marge clash. Things don't get any better when it becomes clear that Tony has a mistress. Until it turns out that mistress is Selma, and Tony is already married. Hmm.

Score:
Story: 6
Originality: 5
Good lines: 3
Usage of other characters: 4
Usage of previous episodes: 2
Laughs: 3
Teeth-grinders: 10
The Burns Factor: 0

Total: 33

Verdict: Sunset

Sunrise 2, Noon 1, Sunset 2

Post-Verdict Comments: Yet another wedding for Selma. It's getting tiresome now. Also, an episode with Fat Tony without cops? Or any real link back to the Mafia apart from an odd sly wink in the form of say Jimmy the Squealer being drowned as Tony proposes to Selma? And as for the sub-plot, as I said below, beyond awful. An episode that could have had a lot going for it, but fizzles out like Selma's dreams of being a Mafia donna. Very poor.

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "Werking Mom"
Season: 30
First transmission date: November 18 2018
Writer(s): Carolyn Omine, Robin Sayers
Main character(s): Lisa, Marge
Supporting characters: Lunchlady Doris, Jimbo, Dolph, Kurny, Milhouse, Martin, Grandpa, Old Jewish Guy, Jasper, Miss Hoover, Sarah Wiggum, Mandula and nonuplets, Cletus, Brandine, Julio, Luigi, Gill, Smithers, Sideshow Mel, Helen Lovejoy, Lenny, Karl, Moe, Barney
Premise: Marge becomes a drag queen
Pre-comment: This seems to be nearing the bottom of the barrel: can you hear that scraping sound?
Location(s): School cafeteria, Julio's apartment, Luigi's, School hall, Moe's
Quotes:

Marge: "Please Homer: we need the money since they're garnishing your wages, after that garnish war you waged."
Homer: "Marge, no wife of mine will ever have to work is what men used to say, for some insane reason. You have my blessing."

Homer: "Whoever heard of leftover lasagne?"

Homer: "Fine! I'll go to Moe's. But I'm not going to get drunk. Oh all right sweetie: I'll get drunk. I just can't stay sober at you!"

Moe: "If you want to know, go to this address."
Homer: "That's this bar."
Moe: "That's right. Get really drunk, and then go to this address."

Karl: "Homer, do you know what Marge is doing? Cos, we know, and we told everyone but you, like true friends."

Lenny: "Homer, we're sorry we razzed you. We were just trying to hurt your feelings."

Moe: "There's nothing you can do. Glue on a wig, change your name and go looking for a new woman."
Homer: "That's it! Thank you Moe! Wish me luck, everyone!"
Moe (after Homer has gone): "Why does everyone stride out of here without paying their tab?"
Barney: "I don't know, Moe, but as God is my witness, I will find out!"
(Strides out of bar without paying his tab).
Moe (with shotgun pointed at Lenny and Karl): "You two stay right there!"

Julio: "Having a man dress like a woman to win back his woman who pretended to be a man dressed like a woman is the most romantic thing I have ever seen!"

Rating:

Comments: While Lisa tries to track down the secret of old Jasper, having found a keepsake box for some reason in the school cafeteria, Marge engages in tubberware (no, not tupperware - you want to infringe copyright?) parties to try to make money to keep the family going. She's useless at it though until her hairdresser gives her a makeover. This brings out her playful, more confident side, and she does really well, though everyone for some reason thinks she's a drag queen. Meanwhile Lisa secretly reunites Jasper with his keepsake box, which apparently he had brought to school for show'n tell as a kid and someone had robbed it, making him a bitter man. Now he's happy, though it's a little late, but to hell with all that. This is more important.

Intermission and rant: the writers here seem to be confused as to what a drag queen is. Just because a man puts on women's clothes does not make him a drag queen. We've all seen them: they're over-the-top, outrageous, with everything exaggerated to ridiculous proportions, from the clothes and shoes to the makeup and hairstyle. What they think Marge is, and what Julio shows her himself dressed as,  is NOT a drag queen, but a crossdresser. There's a huge difference. A crossdresser/transvestite does not try to overplay everything; the important thing is to pass, not shock; a crossdresser wants to be taken as a woman, whereas a drag queen wants everyone to know he is a man dressed as a woman. BIG difference and a lynchpin upon which this episode turns, a lynchpin they got wrong. Next time pal, do your research. And this is written by a woman, maybe two? God help us.

And now, back to the show. Lisa decides her success with Jasper can be replicated, and sets out to reunite Milhouse's parents for some reason, then to help out Gill. Quite why Bart agrees to help her is beyond me, unless she paid him, or maybe he is happy he gets to wear a lot of disguises? Anyway her next project is to heal the rift between Skinner and his mother, a much taller order. She does this however by falsifying his diary, which Agnes sees through, making things much worse. Meanwhile Homer finds out about Marge's new "tubberware parties" and exposes her as a real woman, to her shame.

Lisa is surprised by an impromptu lunch put on by all the people she helped, which makes her feel better, but at home Marge is still not talking to Homer. Until he decides to dress up as a woman to win back her love.

Score:[/u]
Story: 8
Originality: 8
Good lines: 8
Usage of other characters: 5
Usage of previous episodes: 8
Laughs: 4
Teeth-grinders: 0
The Burns Factor: 0

Total:[/u] 41

Verdict: Sunrise

Sunrise 3, Noon 1, Sunset 2[/u]

Analysis: Despite the very annoying misinterpretation or indeed misunderstanding of what constitutes a drag queen, and the difference between that and a crossdresser, as ranted above at length, overall this was nowhere near as bad as I had feared. It turned out in fact to be quite a sweet little story, that for once allowed Marge to come out of her shell, though in all honesty I could have done without the subplot with Lisa.

Also, I don't get the title. "Werking"? Isn't that how people from Liverpool say "working"?[/b][/u][/u][/u]

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "The Caper Chase"
Season: 28
First transmission date: April 2 2017
Writer(s): Jeff Westbrook
Main character(s): Mr. Burns (yay), Homer
Supporting characters: Lenny, Karl, Lindsay Nagle, Grandpa, Maggie, Lisa, Bart, Marge, Smithers, Jimbo, Dolph, Comic Book Guy, Nelson's mother, Otto, Wiggum, Kookie Kwan, Squeaky-voiced Teen, Gill, Lou. Moe
Premise: Burns sets up his own college - and hires his staff as teachers!
Pre-comment: Once I saw Mr. Burns was in it, I had relatively high hopes. I believe I have yet to see a bad Mr. Burns episode, and one of them can nearly elevate a whole season maybe.
Location(s): Springfield Stadium, Yale, Springfield Nuclear Plant, Simpsons home, Moe's Tavern, Burns College, Secret island with secret college
Quotes:

Owner: "Cigar, Burnsy?"
Burns: "Oh no. If I inhale warm air I tend to float away!"

Lindsay: "It's always wonderful when a successful -"
Yale guy: "And childless"
Lindsay: "Alumnus returns."
Burns: "It's delightful how you take turns sniffing after my money."

Yale guy: "Now here's a group that was established in 1907."
Burns: "I hate modern music."

Burns: "Ah, the whiffenpoofs. I'll buy you a new library if you have them killed."
Yale guy: "Ah, so many have tried to kill them."
Lindsay: "But some other smug jackasses in white gloves and jackets would just take their place."

Yale student: "You're worse than Hitler!"
Burns: "Too late for flattery!"

Burns: "I've made billions through ruthless backstabbing, but now for some reason I'm helping young people."

Moe: "What's wrong Homer?"
Karl: "I guess Homer just isn't cut out to be a pedagogue."
Moe: "Oh it's easy. You just got to register, stay away from playgrounds... oh. OH! You said pedaGOGUE!"

Homer: "Carpe diem, my friend."
Student: "Carpe diem. What does that mean?"
Homer: "Fish for a dime, my friend. Fish for a dime."

BArt: "I wish you were my father, dad!"

Burns: "First I must find out how much Homer Simpson is worth. (Smithers whispers to him) Hmm. It seems I owe you one hundred thousand dollars."

Homer: "No! No! I was going to paint houses in the summer! Nothing will stop the greatest teacher in the world painting houses in the summer!"

Homer: "Me? Alone? Without my kids? Sounds good!"

Homer: "Homer Simpson."
Voice identification computer: "Voice does not match sample from 1989."
Homer (putting on original voice): "Now let's go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes!"
Computer: "Welcome, Homer Simpson!"

Homer: "That's it! As Americans it's our job to either stop evil billionaires or elect them to the highest office!"

Homer: "How much will it cost if my daughter applies in 10 years?"
Yale guy: "Two thousand dollars."
Homer: "That's not so bad."
Yale guy: "That's the fee for the application."

Rating:

Comments: Disgusted with how liberal his old alma mater, Yale, has become, Mr. Burns decides, after talking to a member of his old society, Bourbon Verlander,  owner of the largest chain of for-profit colleges in America, to open his own college. He then hires his own staff as teachers, and yes this includes Homer. None of them have a clue of course, but all Burns is interested in (surprisingly enough) is the money from the fees the students pay him. Lisa worries that her father is going to ruin college so she shows him a load of what she considers to be inspirational movies - Dead Poets Society, Goodbye Mr. Chips, that sort of thing - in the hope he will see what a real teacher is like. Unfortunately the message he takes from these movies is that students will believe whatever you tell them, as long as you make it interesting.

No aid to education, then, but certainly a boon to Burns' college, which Bourbon then wishes to buy, but only if it includes Homer. The college turns out to be in a super top-secret location, and the idea is then for Homer and the other brilliant teachers there to teach an army of robots, who all, as Homer discovers, are making student loan applications. The money will then be funnelled into Bourbon's colleges and make him billions. His plan is working until Homer, infiltrating the group as a not-at-all convincing female student, shocks and offends them all by pretending to be a robot, and they all blow a fuse, exposing the scam.

Score:[/u]
Story: 8
Originality: 10
Good lines: 10
Usage of other characters: 3
Usage of previous episodes: 2
Laughs: 8
Teeth-grinders: 10
The Burns Factor: 10

Total:[/u] 61

Verdict: Sunrise

Score: Sunrise 4, Noon 1, Sunset 2

After-Verdict Comments: As expected, Burns classes up every episode he's in. Well, not classes up, but you know what I mean. From the first we have classic Burns and though he's not involved all the way through, as some wrestler once said, the old man stink is on every panel, and that's a good thing. The story is great, a real snook cocked at Ivy League colleges and the whole gender identification thing (which is coincidental, this episode coming as it does randomly after the one about Marge and the "drag queens". Shows I think that even this far along The Simpsons can still take relevant social issues and trample all over them and take the piss out of the establishment. It was once said of Shakespeare that he held a mirror up to nature. The Simpsons hold a kind of funhouse mirror up to nature, and show us all how ridiculous we often look. When it gets it right. Which here it most certainly does.

[Trollheart]

Episode title: "Homerland"
Season: 25
First transmission date: September 29 2013
Writer(s): Stephanie Gillis
Main character(s): Homer
Supporting characters: Marge, Bart, Maggie, Wiggum, Lenny, Karl, Patti, Selma, Nelson's mother, Apu, Eddie, Lou, Burns, Smithers
Premise: A story based on Homeland. Um.
Location(s): Simpson home, Convention hall, Springfield International Airport, Kwik-E-Mart, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
Quotes:

Homer: "Can I just get a glass of water?"
Moe: "Water? That stuff killed my grandmother! So sad!"
(points at picture of witch with "To Moe: What a world!")

Apu: "Chief Wiggum, how is it that when there's a terrorist threat to Springfield you always come to me?"
Wiggum: "Ah, Apu: I don't see colour. I just see crackpot religions."

FBI agent: "You don't have a functioning air conditioning unit in a nuclear plant? That's against the law!"
Burns: "Impossible! Smithers, didn't we move this plant to China?"
Smithers: "Uh, that's two years from now, sir, and you're not supposed to tell anyone."

Burns: "There isn't a prison made that can hold me. Prisons are still made of mud and wattles, right?"

Rating:

Comments: After attending a convention on nuclear power, Homer does not come home with Lenny and Karl, and Marge begins to worry. Then he shows up but begins acting strangely: won't strangle Bart, won't eat pork chops, won't drink beer. When Lisa sees him praying on a prayer mat she calls the FBI - Annie Crawford, from, well, Homeland. I mean, you know there's going to be an innocent and probably not hilarious reason for all he's doing, but they're making it look like he's going to blow up the power plant. Can you see Homer going to all that trouble? Hell, even the Leader couldn't indoctrinate him, and it was only pure luck they managed.

Yeah, well it seems they did. Though they weren't terrorists, but eco-activists and he isn't blowing up the plant, just stinking it up so it has to be evacuated. The FBI catch him but Lisa carries out the mission, seeing that her dad is trying to be eco-active, or something. But the plan fails, as Burns never installed any a/c in the plant. Jesus that was trash.


Score:
Story: 2
Originality: 2
Good lines: 4
Usage of other characters: 4
Usage of previous episodes: 10
Laughs: 3
Teeth-grinders: 0
The Burns Factor: 2

Total: 27

Verdict: Sunset
Score: Sunrise 4, Noon 1, Sunset 3


After-Verdict Comments: Truly awful. The whole episode was just "let's make a Simpsons version of Homeland. Now, how can we do that? Never mind anyone who hasn't seen it is going to be lost. I mean, I've seen it and I was lost. Lost in boredom that is. Frankly, for there to be an episode based around the plant and Burns hardly to be in it (and when he does, of course, he has the best lines and is the only one to save the episode) is ridiculous. As is this episode. Few if any redeeming features. Not even Burns can save this one.