The Simpsons Season 17 in review

SirLemming

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I'm wary of another Simpsons hate-fest as much as the next guy, but we've been doing this for the past few years with fairly good results, so here goes.


For me, it was a disappointing season. I've felt that Al Jean is what the show needs to get back to its former glory, but with this season I feel like they've just... stopped getting better. It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but it seems to be settled at an unsatisfactory place. It's not getting worse, it's just getting kinda... hopeless. Like this is the best they're ever gonna do.

I've analyzed the heck out of the show for the past few years and things haven't changed much since last season, so here's a brief rundown. There are always just a few too many gags getting in the way, and too few of them make me really laugh. The plots are getting better, but they still have that annoying tendency to do a lot of irrelevant stuff in the first act without ever going back to it. It just comes off as a waste of time, and the main plot almost always feels rushed as a result. (They could really take some hints from American Dad here.)

I haven't found anything particularly wrong with the characterization; it seems relatively strong here. But other than that and the simple absence of awful gags, I don't have a whole lot else good to say about the season as a whole.

But on an episode-by-episode basis:
  • Bonfire of the Manatees: Set the standard for Season 17. A harmlessly dull episode with a plot that just never really interested me. In retrospect, it also feels strangely similar to "Regarding Margie" and "This Is Your Wife"...
  • The Girl Who Slept Too Little: This episode had a lot of strong points, but they needed to push it a little further to make it a really solid episode. Lisa's animated fantasies were a nice touch, and the plot had a pretty good amount of focus. There were also some very good gags, although some other gags were just duds -- Homer's really unexpected "That's bull[bleep], man!" was one of the good ones. It'll be a good watch in reruns.
  • Milhouse of Sand and Fog: Hmm, it seems like some of the season's strongest episodes were in the first half. Granted, this was still a pretty average episode, but I can at least remember it fairly well. The plot, despite its loose ends, was fairly well focused.
  • Treehouse of Horror XVI: Looking at the descriptions, I really have trouble remembering this one. I remember thinking that "Bartificial Intelligence" was the best segment, but "Survival of the Fattest" and "I've Grown a Costume On Your Face" escape me. All I know is it wasn't anything special.
  • Marge's Son Poisoning: Another one that was quite good. Probably best of the season. Marge and Bart were characterized pretty well, and the plot was resolved satisfactorily, along with some very good gags.
  • See Homer Run: This one really fell apart. I remember actually liking some of the first act, and the separate plots interwove relatively well, but once we got to Homer in a Salamander costume it was kind of just like "Why bother?"
  • The Last of the Red Hat Mamas: This was an overall solid episode. Not amazingly funny, but it had its moments. Also, Lisa learning to speak Italian was a nice tie-in to the next episode, though not quite as nice as it could've been.
  • The Italian Bob: This one definitely didn't work for me. Just another waste of Sideshow Bob, IMO.
  • Simpsons Christmas Stories: A very good Christmas special. I think they've actually been getting better at these. Well, then again, I remember finding the middle segment quite dull, but it definitely redeemed itself in the third act with the clever musical bit. I just wish that part had been longer.
  • Homer's Paternity Coot: A completely forgettable episode.
  • We're On The Road To D'ohwhere: Some good Bart mischief, some very bad (and long) gags, and overall just an episode that's bearable in reruns but is really nothing special.
  • My Fair Laddy: This episode was murdered by the Status Quo. The show doesn't HAVE to get old after over 300 episodes, but the writers are keeping it that way by refusing to advance it at all. No, I didn't want Willie to totally change and stay that way, but it would've been nice for them not to need to completely go back on everything that happened in the episode.
  • The Seemingly Never-Ending Story: Not much funnier than the rest of the season, but it was very clever, so I was entertained.
  • Bart Has Two Mommies: Despite the fact that it involved Bart getting kidnapped by an ape and Homer getting into silly situations with the ape, this was actually a very good episode. The last one of the season, with the possible exception of the evolution episode (it's only a week old, so I'm not sure). Ned Flanders became a real character again. While the first act was still more disconnected than I'd prefer, it connected to the plot a bit better than usual.
  • Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife: A very interesting episode since it was guest-written by Ricky Gervais. Maybe if they'd spent less time making fun of Fox's reality shows for the MILLIONTH time at the beginning, it would've been better. But in actuality the rest of the episode also should've just been, well, better. It was decent, though. It actually seemed to go somewhere. Just not far enough.
  • Million Dollar Abie: Sweet crap, I might as well never have even seen this one. This one should've been axed as soon as "Grampa becomes a bullfighter" was suggested. It could've been much worse, but it was still pretty much a stinker, including one of the most tacked-on moral dilemmas of all time. "Grampa, I don't want you to kill bulls!" "Hmm, maybe she's right! OR IS SHE? I'll change my mind at a more convenient time so it actually seems like we have a climax to the episode! Wait, what was the main plot again?"
  • Kiss, Kiss Bang Bangalore: Went down the toilet once Homer thought he was a god. That was just plain dumb. Surprisingly, this episode actually had a good plot resolution, but it was like the icing on one of those awful wedding cakes.
  • The Wettest Stories Ever Told: Not bad as far as three-segment episodes are concerned, but it really feels like they're reaching now.
  • Girls Just Want To Have Sums: It approached decency, but it wound up sort of fizzling out into nothing. Once again there was a REALLY sudden change of heart at the end, and once again it seems like the writers didn't even bother trying to bring the plot to some sort of resolution. Like, Lisa made a speech or something, but it didn't really do anything.
  • Regarding Margie: Would it be hackneyed to say this was a "forgettable" episode? Yes, but I'll do it anyway.
  • The Monkey Suit: A bit preachy, and a bit too focused on Lisa... but at least it HAD focus. The writers managed to at least somewhat keep their political bludgeons in check, unlike the whole "Democrats go to prison" ordeal in "Bart-Mangled Banner".
  • Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play: An appropriate season finale in that it was just as forgettable as most of the season's other episodes.
The season seems a bit better in retrospect, and will probably seem better in reruns. But I still think it's a step down, or at least not a step up. About half of it was entertaining.
 
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Classic Speedy

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Episodes I Missed: -Milhouse of Sand and Fog
-Marge's Son Poisoning
-The Italian Bob (though I caught act three)
-Simpsons Christmas Stories
-We're on the Road to D'ohwhere
-Million Dollar Abie
-The Wettest Stories Ever Told
-The Monkey Suit
-Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play

As for the rest, the only three that I really enjoyed were "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore", which had better jokes and plot development than we've seen on The Simpsons lately (though I will concede that when Homer became a God, it sagged a bit), "The Seemingly Never Ending Story", which made use of some really creative storytelling (though it could've been funnier than it was), and "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas", which almost felt like classic Simpsons in some areas.

"Bonfire of the Manatees": See "Regarding Margie" below.

"The Girl Who Slept Too Little": Great concept, less than ideal execution. Especially disappointing was the comic timing in this episode, which seemed... off. Aside from nice gags like the illustrator whose ideas were rejected from Playboy (or was it Penthouse?) for being too graphic and Wiggum stripping until he was nude, this was just average.

"Bart Has Two Mommies" was at its best when showing how sheltered Rod and Todd were; anytime it cut to Bart and the monkey, it got dull, so the episode ended up being average as a whole.

"Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" was a huge disappointment after much hype that it was by a writer who doesn't work on the show, despite a decent first act.

"My Fair Laddy" was bland and forgettable.

"Treehouse of Horror 16" had great animation but little else to recommend. Some jokes in the third act, with the town transformed into their respective Halloween costumes, were good, but overall I found THOH 15 superior.

"Girls Just Want to Have Sums" was a very confusing episode in many ways, with its contradicting views that the boys side is both a savage jungle and a better place to learn math (it's hard to have it both ways, guys), and no real conclusion hurts this one greatly. Some good jokes bring it to decent level, though.

"Regarding Margie" wasn't very good, because it's yet another Homer/Marge 'marriage in trouble' plot that we've seen too much lately.

Worst episode of the season (from what I saw, anyway): "See Homer Run". My gosh, absolutely idiotic. Though "Homer's Paternity Coot" comes close, with its contrived premise that someone else could be Homer's father as an excuse to have Michael York do the show, and then pulling a screw you by saying, "He IS Homer's father, no wait, he's NOT!" :rolleyes:
 

Moto Pete

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Bonfire of the Manatees - F 1/5
The Girl Who Slept Too Little - A- 4/5
Milhouse of Sand and Fog - B 3/5
Treehouse of Horror XVI - C 2.5/5
Marge's Son Poisoning - B+ 3.5/5
See Homer Run - C 2.5/5
The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas - D 2/5
The Italian Bob - B 3.25/5
Simpsons Christmas Stories - A 4.75/5
Homer's Paternity Coot - C- 2/5
We're On The Road To D'ohwhere - A 4.75/5
My Fair Laddy - B 3.5/5
The Seemingly Never Ending Story - A+ 5/5
Bart Has Two Mommies - A 4.75/5
Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife - D 2/5
Million Dollar Abie - C 3/5
Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore - B 3.5/5
The Wettest Stories Ever Told - B 3/5
Girls Just Want to Have Sums - A 4.5/5
Regarding Margie - B 4/5
The Monkey Suit - A 4.5/5
Marge And Homer Turn A Couple Play B+ 4/5

3.40/5 B-/B SEASON 17

3.70/5 B/B+ SEASON 16
 

Zubby

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SirLemming said:
It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but it seems to be settled at an unsatisfactory place. It's not getting worse, it's just getting kinda... hopeless. Like this is the best they're ever gonna do.

That's basically how I feel about The Simpsons now. Better than a few years ago, but nowhere close to what they once were. I saw an interview with Matt Groening not too long ago (maybe in The Onion?) where he said that The Simpsons now is as good as it ever has been. I know he kind of HAS to say that, but I wondered how he could say it like he really beleived it.
 

Starsky

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- Bonfire Of The Manatees: Waaay to start the season. Completely set the standard for a "We're-not-even-trying-anymore" season, with the most forced, stupid plot they've ever done (and yet another entire episode written from the title parody - that's NEVER a good sign). I know there have been way worse episodes in the show, but the complete tedious storytelling, the absolute lack of good gags - scratch that - gags, and the fact that this is the only episode that left me with an incredibly stupid "what the hell did I just watch" face during the two minutes of the end credits (the "Car Wash" thing didn't help either) make me loathe this episode more than any other.
- The Girl Who Slept Too Little: Pretty solid overall, with really creative animation and concepts, good gags and unexpectedly great characterization in Lisa's part. The ending was rushed, though.
- Milhouse Of Sand And Fog: Pretty forgettable episode, but the simple fact of turning season 8's brilliant "A Milhouse Divided" into your average sitcom episode where the couple gets together again at the end makes it look bad in my book. I know, I'm too picky.
- Treehouse Of Horror XVI: Another "We're-not-even-trying-anymore" tour de force of the season. The first segment had a good concept and decent gags, but it's obvious the crew just kept writing more and more withouth even knowing how they were going to end it - if we're gonna stand it for more than 10 minutes, at least give us something better than that awful cop-out ending. The second segment was probably the best, but that's not saying much, and once again the gore was way off board. People, it's only funny if you know how to use it (see "fog that turns people inside out"). If you're just gonna randomly kill characters for no reason in a disgusting way and without a joke (see "hey, a dolphin just made a huge hole in Willie's stomach, oh ha-ha"), then forget the whole thing. The third segment was another Island Of Dr. Hibbert, where the first segment is way too long and they just need to fill up three minutes with silly townspeople transformations. The Clerks stolen joke was sad, but the pointless guest star at the end was just freaking shameless. As always.
- Marge's Son Poisoning: That was good. Great gags, nice characterization (I was expecting Bart to be incredibly out of character), fun subplot, and good resolution overall. Only minor complain: why is Al Jean scared of ending his episodes on a sweet, gag-less note? Marge and Homer's Sweet Home Alabama stair-climbing duet would have been a really nice ending, so the bullies' My Sharona thing was completely useless and by far the worst "gag" of the episode. Otherwise, I see no problems here.
- See Homer Run: Junk. The ending "twist" is one of their most contrieved, idiotic ideas ever.
- The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas: Not bad. Kinda forgettable, but with a solid story and some great characterization. The subplot was also decent.
- The Italian Bob: This definitely wasn't my thing. If vacation episodes are always a waste ("oh look! we're ridiculizing a culture in an incredibly lame and overdone way instead of having an actual story" - see Regina Monologues), and Sideshow Bob episodes haven't been any good since season 8's Brother From Another Series, this was simply destined to be a dud. And Bob's wife and son are two of the lamest, most annoying characters in the last 10 years.
- Simpsons Christmas Stories: Pretty interesting. Some of the usual "three-part-stories" problems (useless murder of characters, dragged-on-too-long middle story), and kind of a waste of an interesting premise (having a wacky Grampa story that could go anywhere without any continuity problems), but the brilliant third act saved the whole thing. It absolutely needed to be longer.
- Homer's Paternity Coot: Absolutely unnnecesary story that would have never been pitched in the classic era of the show - if Abe isn't Homer's father, a whole character is ruined, if he is, then why did we need this episode at all? On the plus side, the driving booth thing in the first act was interesting and well-done (some nice direction with Marge approaching it), and Sideshow Mel was put to good use for a change ("The prophecy has been fulfilled!"). But overall, bland and forgettable.
- We're On The Road To D'owhere: Some moments were nice, some moments seemed like a compilation of the worst Family Guy moments ever. Seriously, the incredibly long and pointless gags seem like a bad attempt at getting praise by cheaply ripping off MacFarlane. Shameful.
- My Fair Laddy: Pretty good exploration of a character, good subplot, fun gags, but as said, the ending was way too forced just to end with your average Deus Ex Machina.
- The Seemingly Never-Ending Story: Besides a couple of really failed gags, incredibly fun and creative episode, with an interesting concept and a great execution. And the best Burns characterization in ages. Probably the best of the season.
- Bart Has Two Mommies: Besides the Bart subplot being completely unnecessary, the episode was actually quite good, with a nice storyline, great characterization, and good jokes. And there was an actually funny "pain" scene for once!
- Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife: I know The Simpsons it's a staff-written show, but they really should have let Ricky Gervais more space. The scenes he wrote were great (genie joke, Brent-like guitar song, the whole Charlie character), and even some of the Simpson stuff was worth it too (the whole plasma TV thing was great), but some of it just bombed (reality shows parody, "I'll do it!", characterization). Really good ending, though.
- Million Dollar Abie: I can see it now: "Hey, let's pitch ideas, get the three worst we can come up with and make a whole episode out of them!" (that's probably how The Frying Game was born too). Just... awful. Fire Tim Long already, dammit.
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore: Never though I'd say this about a new Simpsons episode, but it's incredibly overrated. Had its fair share of good stuff (the Outsourcing video), but had too much "vacation episode" problems and was way too stupid for the most part (and people, movie parodies have to make SENSE inside the context. Homer thinking he was a god just didn't).
- The Wettest Stories Ever Told: Exactly what SirLemming said.
- Girls Just Want To Have Sums: Worked quite well as a gag episode, but the story and characterization were pretty mediocre and tacked-on. Still pretty entertaining, though.
- Regarding Margie: I'm sorry, but the plot was so topic and handled in such a topic way that I couldn't help but think of Futurama and laugh during the whole thing ("does anyone here NOT have amnesia?"). Once again, they're not even trying.
- The Monkey Suit: Kinda felt like a Lisa The Skeptic remake. That's not too bad, but it's still one-sided, slightly preachy and a little too forced. The fact that the first five minutes were recycled didn't help, either.
- Marge And Homer Turn A Couple Play: Mediocre and forgettable, but at least they didn't turn it into another Marge-Homer marriage problems episode, I'll give 'em that.
The season was okay, but it definitely seems like they're not trying anymore. In my opinion, the show was sligtly improving every year since season 13, but this was just a big step down. Considering no executive producer had ever been on the show more than four straight years until Jean came along, I really thing it's time for a change. Especially considering he's improved the show, but not enough. Not by a long shot.
 

JeffTMBG

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SirLemming said:
For me, it was a disappointing season. I've felt that Al Jean is what the show needs to get back to its former glory, but with this season I feel like they've just... stopped getting better. It's not as bad as it was a few years ago, but it seems to be settled at an unsatisfactory place. It's not getting worse, it's just getting kinda... hopeless. Like this is the best they're ever gonna do.
Right now, Al Jean is exactly the problem with the show. He's been running it for going on 6 years now, and the tone of the episodes has remained largely the same. As long as he's in charge, you're going to see the same forgettable plots and lousy pacing. It's time for him to step down and let some new blood take a crack at it. In fact, I dare say they should switch showrunners every year, as the first year of each former executive producer was always stronger than the rest of their run.

Rather than review all of the episodes this season (many of which I've forgotten although I watched them all), I'll just give my top 5:

Kiss Kiss Bangalore
Girls Just Want to Have Sums
The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
The Italian Bob
We're on the Road to D'ohwhere.
 

Moto Pete

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JeffTMBG said:
Right now, Al Jean is exactly the problem with the show. He's been running it for going on 6 years now, and the tone of the episodes has remained largely the same. As long as he's in charge, you're going to see the same forgettable plots and lousy pacing. It's time for him to step down and let some new blood take a crack at it. .

The Problem is the Movie. They are predisposied to it to make the change. Plus with cast contracted thru Season 19 and fox renewed till Season 18.

it will probley be only three seasons left
 

Anarky

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Personally, "The Italian Bob" justifies this season. Though I'm not an avid viewer, I'll tune in for ANY Sideshow Bob appearance. More Bob eps please!:D Hopefully he'll resurface in Springfield next season. Hell, I hope Bob's in the Movie (even if a cameo app)
 

Neo Ultra Mike

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And Now My Overall Thoughts.

"Bonfire of the Manatees" - Although there feel like there are a lot more, there end up only being three "Marge And Homer" epiosdes this season, and this is the first. Out of the three this is the most justified and the conflict was a bit different then normal (if only for Marge leaving Homer with the kids instead of kicking him out) but this was a mix of various older episodes with a lame overall theme. Basically you have the betting of "Lisa the Greek" mixed with the pornography of "Home Away From Home" with the Marine animal angle of "Bart After Dark" mixed with "Homer learns some sort of lesson at the end and Marge forgives him" seen in nearly every Homer and Marge ep and you have this, which isn't really that much.

"The Girl Who Slept Too Little" - This episode could of been an interesting character study of Lisa, but they went about it the wrong way. She's apparently too scared of growing up so fast? Besides "Lard Of The Dance" (which wasn't even really even so much about her as it was about the other girls) when has that ever really been an issue for Lisa. Also a lot of things seemed unneeded (Like Eddie Lou and Wiggum in the cementary, and a majority of the stamp museum scenes in the second ep).

"Milhouse of Sand and Fog" - What could of been good ended up stinking due to the fact that it focused away from Milhouse's parents problem (which would of made for an interesting story if they actually resolved something) but instead just went for another Lame "Homer and Marge have problems" episode. I mean really, that was bad enough in "A Milhouse Divided" but there at least Luanne and Kirk had some sort of resolution to they're problems. Not so here. The only highlight I can remember was the O.C parody, and even that stretched out way too long.

"Treehouse of Horror XVI" - A funny opening gag of Kang and Kodos speeding through a baseball game is the highlight of this one. "Bartifical Intellegence" was only interesting as An A.I spoof, but at least it wasn't as much of a ripoff of "Survival Of The Fatest" or "I've Grown A Costume To Your Face". I mean Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon had better versions of those plots (In Johnny Bravo and Fairly Oddparents respecitvley) then done here, which is kind of sad in a way.

"Marge's Son Poisoning" - A few personal issues make me not want to totally dismiss the ep (I've been in Tea Shops similar to the one in this ep that were closed down, but not due to rat droppings. Plus one of my friends is big into arm wrestling) but otherwise there wasn't really anything to this ep. The worst moment had to be Homer's random decision to want to stop arm wrestling. Jeez and I thought that angle was bad in "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can". It's even worse here.

"See Homer Run" - There's a problem with some episode ideas that have promise to them: the fact that The Simpsons (the family) get so involved in them. If this had been an episode with everyone trying to run for mayor and showcasing everyone's singular platforms and such it would of been funnier, but focusing on Homer as the Saftey Salamder was not a good choice. I mean geez creative team, you've had the characters be the stars for over 300 eps: you need to remember that they don't need to be the focal points for the action anymore. Espically when it's as lame an effort as this.

"The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas" - This was a pretty good ep (I think FOX thinks so too since this got rerun more then other eps). I did like Marge joining up with the group and then plotting to steal from Mr. Burns. And Lisa's sub-plot with Milhouse was good too (although the ending was lame. What Milhouse randomly thinks he's hot stuff just because Lisa's appreciating him a bit more. That was pretty OOC if you ask me). But like Sir Lemming, I had really hoped that the subplot would factor into the main plot of the next episode more....

"The Italian Bob" - Which is probably one of the weakest Sideshow Bob episodes yet. Besides the fairly classic (If insultive) diss of Family Guy and American Dad, there wasn't much towards this episode. I'm glad that Kelsey enjoyed being able to sing classic Oprea with Bob's character but it was kind of a lame place to try and do in the family. Oh well at least the ending's more satisfying then most Sideshow Bob endings. I hope that his next attempt to kill the Simpsons is worth watching anyway.

"Simpsons Christmas Stories" - An interesting idea of having a Christmas special fragmented into three tales. The Bart as baby Jesus was the strongest story, but the other two weren't bad. I liked Abe and Monty's tale on the island (not only due to Dan and Harry sustaining the two's younger voices the entire time but also this is the first real appearence of the ACTUAL Santa on the show so that's interesting), and the Nutcracker parody (espically the diss of it in the beginning and Marge's gift being Homer's gift to her. Sometimes that is the best gift of them all).

"Homer's Paternity Coot" - This episode gets points for not screwing over continuity by sticking with Abe being Homer's father, and Michael York was a decent guest VA. Still though there should of been a stronger continuity between this and other Mother Simpson eps. Also the family didn't really need to be in this one that much and left the focus more on Homer and Abe.

We're On The Road To D'ohwhere - Although the ending was pretty terrible continuity wise (it would of been funny if they actually played with that idea for an ep and shown Lisa as the man of the house until the others returned from Jail) this wasn't too bad. Homer and Bart bonding on the trip was decent and there were at least a few good gags here (mainly Intellectual Homer, "Nelson Just saw something funny", Matt Groening's Log cabin house and "I bet this looks cool from overhead").

My Fair Laddy - Ugh, both of these plots fail. The only interesting way Homer's plot could of been presented if we actually learned more about his blue pants and just what made them so special to him. And although it's interesting to focus an ep on Willie, his change and mannerisms weren't really funny. Also this ep steals another joke from Family Guy: okay yeah "My Fair Lady" songs aren't the most original thing but the way it was presented and used was exactly like in FG's "One If By Clam, Two If By Sea".

"The Seemingly Never Ending Story" - I guess every Simpsons generation needs some sort of storyline bending story. However they played this one too straight. If they had not tried so much to try and squeeze bad jokes from each story and just focus on rapid fire trangressions into everyone's various tales it would of ended up being funnier. I mean this was something where things didn't really need to be resolved in the end.

"Bart Has Two Mommies" - Although I did like the Marge spending time with Rod and Tod plot, I can not accept in any way shape or form a "Bart being kidnapped by a monkey" plot. I mean this is something the Simpsons would of made fun of in it's golden years: the type of sheer lame ridicolusness other sitcoms might of tried but the Simpsons knew better. But apparently now they don't. Oh well.

"Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife" - Ricky Gervais's contributions to this ep were about the only good thing from it (besides Dan Cantellaea's cameo at the end and Homer's report on CSI anyway). His writing style and guest voicing made him different from other guests and made this his parts of the ep enjoyable to sit through. It's the rest of it that makes this not really that great an ep. Too bad the writing staff had to treat Rick's script like everyone else's.

"Million Dollar Abie" - I knew from the premise this episode would be lame but wow, I didn't think it'd get this bad. And by the time the bulls were riding in the sky at the end I was just "how could they consider this crap funny?" Because that's the majority of what this episode was. I remember there being a few funny scenes but nothing really that could redeem it.

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore" - This was one of those episodes with a really cruddy main plot and a really great subplot. I won't say anything more about how lame Homer was in India, but I really liked the Richard Dean Anderson meeting Patty and Selma plotline. Not only does it make sense for they're characterizations and was actually resolved in a real old school manner (them making him leave by showing slide shows just like the old days) but Richard Dean was a fun guest star to have around. Too bad more time wasn't spend on this and rather that lameness that made up most of this ep.

"The Wettest Stories Ever Told" - Another Trilogy Story? Jeez That's Three Trilogy Stories and one storyline bending tale. That's kind of a show that they can't think of strong solid plotlines anymore. Anyway this was the weakest trilogy of the three. The Plymoth one was a lame retelling of the Homer and Marge coupling (luckily since it's only one act long it dosen't count as a full ep), the Union stole the basic idea of the kids rebelling from "Skinner's Sense of Snow" and tried to excuse it as the second stories are usually the weakest. And although Posideon aired at a real ironic time with the movie coming out it wasn't really that good. Although it did bring back fond memories of when Pokemon did a Posideon like plotline that was actually watchable. (Maybe the Simpsons and Pokemon writers should hang out and discuss how it feels to go on for so long and jump so many sharks and still been seen as classics by so many people).

"Girls Just Want to Have Sums" - Besides the opening with the Itchy and Scratchy Musical, there wasn't anything to really redeem this episode. (Then again I'd only see this redeemable if they did some kind of parody of the whole "dressing like a boy in order to do a boy like acitivty" which they didn't do at all) and the ending was really lackluster. Plus this was another one of those "why focus the issue on the Simpsons" this time with Lisa. That's a problem another ep has, but first...

"Regarding Margie" - What did the writers pretend they had amnesia to get away with ANOTHER Homer and Marge plot, this time with Marge supposedley forgetting about him? Sorry I couldn't feel for her at all in this one. She was a b**** to Lisa about cleaning the house, she was selfish not trying to appreciate what's he done for her trying to make her remember they're relationship, and she had NO right at all to kick him out of the house. She should of been kicked out this time around. And how she rememberd him was pretty bad too. All in all an episode you'd probably want to zone out on while being intoxitated with cleaning supplies as well.

"The Monkey Suit" - This is "Lisa The Skeptic" part two, still not really diving into the whole Religion Vs Science issue besides a halfass attempt at satire. Not to mention Marge's plan on settling the whole issue was one of the worst plans the family's ever done. She makes Homer look like a monkey to prove some kind of missling link? Isn't the same type of thing they regarded as lame in "Call Of the Simpsons" in the first season? Why go back to it. Oh and why wasn't Lisa in jail before the trial ended (and I don't mean for reasons of the "Plot" either). I wanted at least one scene where Lisa is in prision and remakrs how it's just as bad as her family told her about (since she's the only one never to go besides Maggie).

"Marge And Homer Turn A Couple Play" - As stated in the talkback I liked Mandy Moore's cameo and how Homer and Marge didn't actually have much of a "break up" plotline. Still dosen't make this that good an ep though. Much better then "regarding Margie" at least.

Overall Not a very good season. Actually one of the worst in the series history. I think that only Season 16 might of been worst then this overall.
 

Jazman

Suit's in the House
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
Messages
1,176
Location
The ATL, GA
The few I managed to catch, I wasn't impressed at all.

"The Girl Who Slept too little"- C-, it seemed like I had seen that storyline before.
"See Homer Run"- D Awful. That's it.
"The Italian Bob"- C+ (Had promise, but got really stupid toward the end, that and one of a few Family Guy jabs this season, which wasn't that even funny)
"Homer's Paternity Coop"- D, and seemed liked they just ignored earlier events in the show. I can't stand it when they do that.
"My Fair Laddy" B-, one of the few in the last.......7 years of the show that was worth it. And maybe it was because they were spoofing something else.
"Homer Simpson, This is your Wife"- C I tuned in cause all the buzz about Ricky Gervais, and was disapointed.
"The Wettest Stories Ever told"-C-/D- The last episode of the season I tuned in for. A few laughs, but overall a lackluster episode, and one where I decided to sit the rest of the season out.

BTW: Are we going to have the other shows Season reviews too?
 

The Myst

Truthiness for Springfield
Joined
Feb 4, 2006
Messages
6,614
Location
Texas
Episodes I saw:

Milhouse Of Sand And Fog - Dud. I am so tired of the "Homer and Marge have marital problems" plot.

Marge's Son Poisoning - 2/5. Homer's sub-plot was mildly interesting and there was character development for Bart and Marge. It didn't make me laugh though.

The Italian Bob - Dud. Just completely stupid.

Simpsons Christmas Stories - 4/5. Really good episode. Felt like a classic one.

We're On The Road To D'ohwhere: Dud. Really bad episode with a bad plot.
 

Space Cadet

I'M SWEATING
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Aug 25, 2002
Messages
36,190
Location
somewhere
JeffTMBG said:
Right now, Al Jean is exactly the problem with the show. He's been running it for going on 6 years now, and the tone of the episodes has remained largely the same. As long as he's in charge, you're going to see the same forgettable plots and lousy pacing. It's time for him to step down and let some new blood take a crack at it. In fact, I dare say they should switch showrunners every year, as the first year of each former executive producer was always stronger than the rest of their run.


I know in the earlier seasons, the executive producer would be the showrunner for at least two seasons before letting someone else take the job. I think it's time for someone else to have a crack at it.
 

spongebob03

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
471
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I think that the best episode of the season is "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story." I actually laughed out loud while watching it more than once. I haven't done that in years while watch The Simpsons. The last episode of The Simpsons that I really REALLY enjoyed was "Trilogy Of Error."
 

John Pannozzi

Leggo my Eggo, mouth breather!
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
5,933
Location
Providence, Rhode Island,
Bonfire of the Manatees: This had some funny parts, but to honest, it was crap.

The Girl Who Slept Too Little: This was good.

Milhouse of Sand and Fog: I couldn't pay attention to this episode.

Treehouse of Horror XVI: It was pretty funny, but it was also a bit too short for me.
when they all turned into pacifiers
, I was like "it's over already?"

Marge's Son Poisoning: Didn't see it.

See Homer Run: I don't think I saw it, but I've heard it was pretty bad.

The Last of the Red Hat Mamas: Good.

The Italian Bob: Meh.

Simpsons Christmas Stories: Indifferent.

Homer's Paternity Coot: I actually liked this episode.

We're on the Road to D'owhere: This episode is a blur to me but I guess it was funny.

My Fair Laddy: Middle-of-the-road.

The Seemingly Never-Ending Story: Best episode of the season IHMO. I find it hard to believe that Ian Maxtone-Graham got credit for writing this episode.

Bart has Two Mommies: Good, not great.

Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife: I just didn't like this episode.
The live-action opening
was cool, though.

Million Dollar Abie: Not that good.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore: Eh.

The Wettest Stories Ever Told: Enjoyable, but I'm getting a feeling that the writers don't really like the characters if they do 2 THOH-esque episodes where characters get killed in just one season.

Girls Just Want to Have Sums: I didn't see all of it, but I saw enough to consider it [Jay Sherman] CRAP! [/Jay Sherman].

Regarding Margie: Good.

The Monkey Suit: Actually, I liked this, esp. the first act.

Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play: I missed this :sad:
 

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