Rate/Review: C.E.D'oh (EABF10)

[Andy]

Homer lets a success seminar get to his head - the head of the power plant, that is, when Homer takes over from Burns.

Thread will open tonight at 8:30 ET with the conclusion of tonight's new episode.

There will be absolutely no saving of spaces for reviews. No exceptions. The "saved spaces" will just get deleted.

[gil]

Successmanship 101. Harnessing the awesome power of the hook. Lenny and Carl debating on which prequel sucks more. Flaming bag of Lisa's college fund. Walling up the mausoleum. Great stuff.

Despite the focus on Homer (yet again), it allowed for the other characters to play a significant part in the story's unfolding, something that recent seasons have failed to do.

4/5

~gil

[irv]

great episode. better overall than poppa's got a brand new badge, but not as funny. not as good as last week's episode overall, but still great. I love when they actually demonstrate that characters care about each other, and i liked the ending stuff with homer and burns. well done and cute. reminds us that burns is truly evil, but is also a feeble old man.

awesome diagram with homer at the bottom of the plant hierarchy, below the inanimate carbon rod. the ending of the second act was nice to hear the people cheer for homer. if this was the last three and a half seasons, they would have just let him fall or something.

the homer "helllooo" scene was hilarious.

lots of fantastic homerisms in this episode. "all my life, i've had one dream: to achieve my many goals."

4.5 out of 5 or an A-. i've watched it three times now, and am pretty satisfied with this score. i liked it for completely different reasons than gil. also, a majority of recent episode haven't revolved around homer.

gould is a talented dude. i'm willing to pretend homer the moe doesn't exist.

this is yet another great eabf episode and i expect nothing but great things from the next one two weeks from now, and so should you. i'm just so satisfied as a whole by the EABFs. here's how i rank them so far:

Great Louse Detective - 4
Special Edna - 4.5
The Dad Who Knew Too Little - 4.5
The Strong Arms of the Ma - 4
Pray Anything - 3.5
Barting Over - 3.5
I'm Spelling as Fast As I Can - 5
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington - 5
C.E.D.'oh - 4.5

EABF- Average: 4.28

[SpongeBob No Pants]

best episode ever, i loved the homer's odessy reference

[Andy]

copious notes.

First act:

--Re-used couch gag from last season, but I like that one.
--I&S: they're talking... but still a very good one. "The Big Bopper? Richie Valens? Buddy Holly?"
--A St. Valentine's episode in March? What's with Fox airing holiday episodes late?
--Maggie dancing = GREATNESS
--"You there! The greasy naked bald man!" Heh.
==Overall: Not bad. And the plot's going along nicely.

Second act:

--Lenny/Carl "rod-saber" fight: hilarity
--How many eps this season has Homer getting electrocuted? Just asking.
--The Canary gag is one of the best this season.
--"Patsy" gags probably used to fill time, but still clever.
==Overall: Still pretty good. Third act shouldn't spoil it... hopefully.

Third act:

--"Everything is drugs!" hahahhahahaha!
--The webcam scene was clever.
--"I've never seen someone taken to a Turkish prison so quickly." ~quoteoftheweek.
--Burns' bricklaying gag saved the mausoleum scene.
--Barney's back on coffee. Well, good while it lasted.

Overall, excellent!

[BigJimW]

I've seen better, but it wasn't too bad. This season is definatly better than the past 3.

[Kidd Krush]

This episode was better than some....Loved the Rod fight scene but still dosn't feel like it did in earlier seasons



Final rating 3.5/5

[doyle]

pretty good. i spanish paper was competing for my attention but i caught almost the entire episode and it was packed with great humor (too much to list) and some father son bonding as well. gets a very solid 4.5/5 from me. this season has been great

[BlindPsychic]

Really good consistant episode. 4/5

[Stackhouse]

GREAT episode. 3rd best of the Season so far. 9.7/10- Great concept, I'm glad the water skiing bit didn't last long and mess this episode up.

Woooo Al Jean! :)

[Bubble Crum]

5/5 Absolutely fuckin hilarious. Maggie dancing is the best joke of the year. Lego Land was the only down fall. Ended ubruptly but thats good enough for the return of an amazingly solid plot.

[Toxic Monkey]

3/5...not the best, not the worst. seemed too drag on after the second act.

edit: thanks for reminding me...maggie dancing was indeed hilarious. if anyone got a screenshot of that (or something similar) pm it to me please. thanks :)

[irv]

new rule: anyone who cans an episode, but also misspells a bunch of words in his or her post should have their vote nullified

[Glavin]

Best episode this season so far, but doesnt compare to anything pre season 11.

Carbon rod in poster funny, and the heloo scene was alright. But nothing brilliant.

Also at the end at the barbieQue thing there was a sign that had 305th on it, but i didnt catch what it said anyone get that?

3/5

[Simpson Purist]

7.5/10, a solid episode

pros
-Itchy & Scratchy
-Maggie dancing
-"The Phantom Menace sucked more!"
-good emotion, Homer acted well in character
-Mr. Burns is evil again
-Smithers getting busted
-Bart and Homer fighting, cute

Cons
-Homer shocked again? At least it was somewhat funny
-Resolution came too quickly

[huh?]

Great episode, good plotline liked Homer in it and Mr. Burns was excellent, especially with the masoleum sequence in the end. 4/5.

EDIT: I think the banner at the end said something along the lines of "Homer's 305th Everything Back to Normal Bar-B-Que." And who did Bart say he was during the baseball game?

[or_smth]

Interesting episode. It had a sort of tone that was set in the first act and was carried through.

To make a long, non-existant review short:
Very good first act (the success character was one of the few strong character additions in the last few years)
Very poor second act (totally destroyed by misplaced gags. Marge's blabbering on, homer getting electricuted, the list goes on)
Mediocore third act (had a bit of emotion, a few too many stupid gags, it was way too short)

In conclusion it is left with 3.5/5 which I will bump up to four. One of the best of the season based on score (which isn't a good thing).

[gil]

you're right about the reduced homercentricity of recent eps, jesus, but that hasn't been the case in recent SEASONS. the tail-end of last season obviously started to turn that tendency around.

anyway, great episode.

~gil

[Gabbo]

Good episode. Great jokes and a good plot. Loved the hello scene, canary islands, carbon rod, brick scene, Homer at work again, Successmanship 101, college fund, and no penis jokes. Season 14 just keeps getting better. 4/5

[Gamblor]

Fantastic! One of the best of the season...

GRADE: 4.2/5

btw: what did that sign say at picnic towards the end of the episode.

[irv]

how can everyone keep saying "doesn't compare to anything pre-season 11" when season ten was the second worst season in the show's history

[Bubble Crum]

Originally posted by PsycheEnFuego
"The Big Bopper? Richie Valens? Buddy Holly?"

All died in plane crashes.

[NoOneFamous]

Much better than last week's, in my opinion. Most people liked last weeks episode, but I didn't. It didn't feel like a Simpsons episode, and this one really did, which is why I really liked it. It had many elements of classic Simpsons episodes, such as Homer actualling being at work, talking things over with Marge in bed, and going to Moes to talk his problems over. The plot was good and didn't jump around at all, which is nice. My only complaint with the overall story is that they should have had Homer spend more time actually working with Mr. Burn's job, rather than getting it at the beginning of the 3rd act. Perhaps it would have been better without the pointless sex/valentines day opening. Valentines Day was a month ago anyway!

This is probably the best Homer-centered episode in a LONG time! Homer was completely in character and not annoying at all! Plus, he didn't have a wacky adventure. Instead, he had a realistic situation and a real problem to think about, and he made the right choices for his family. This episode represents the reason we like Homer in the first place.

Good Jokes:
Itchy and Scratchy return, and they're watching them instead of some TV show parody.
Maggie's tape and her dancing
Homer at work again
Homer observing people at work
Mr. Burns being mean again
"I'll be at Moe's"
Homer at the bottom of the plant chain - and below the CARBON ROD!!!
Homer and Marge talking over problems in bed again
Listen for that voice... "do it dad!"
"Homer's 305th Everything is back to normal party" sign
Burns and the brick wall at the end

Bad Jokes:
Cletus appearance again
Homer greased up
Entire opening mainly about sex
Homer getting shocked... again!
Legoland Scene
Homer tossing Burns over the edge
"Stop looking at my boobs"

4/5 or a B+

[Urts]

Better than mediocre, but I didn't love it. It seemed to have more odd, Skully-esque moments than most episodes lately, but there were plenty of good jokes and funny scenes to balance it out. Lenny and Carl's debate was hilarious, as was Burns' mausoleum, and the entire third act. The education center scene felt like it was out of season 11 or 12, but it was still a solid, pleasing episode.

Rating: 3.5/5

[gravymaster]

Solid episode! The storyline was great and really reminded me of earlier seasons. 4/5

[Andy]

Originally posted by Glavin
Also at the end at the barbieQue thing there was a sign that had 305th on it, but i didnt catch what it said anyone get that? "Homer's 305th 'Everything Is Okay' Barbeque"

And actually, Bubble Crum, I was quoting Scratchy... they actually died in one plane crash together.

[Maddog53]

It was a pretty good episode with first act being the best. It fell apart, I though, in the third where I would have actually had Homer reinstate Burns and show him connect with his family. I just didn't like the bit with Burns at the very end, him trying to build a wall. Overall a decent episode but still not as good as we were getting a few weeks ago. 3/5.

Maddog.

[irv]

oh, i misunderstood what you were talking about, gil. keep in mind that episodes have really been homer-centric since season 3. but i do realize that most of them in the past three seasons have been bad. this was an exception, clearly.

[goldenflashes13]

I don't know... I just didn't laugh like i wanted to. This season hasn't done much for me. It is the first time in my many years of Simpsons watching that I've actually worried that it was on a decline in terms of quality. I have, however, missed a couple this season that I have heard were of descent quality, so I'm not giving up hope yet. As i said, there is just something about it that makes me miss the old days. I cannot explain it, it's just some innate feeling that things aren't going as well as they should be.

[Tomacco]

Hmm. Everyone seemed to like the episode quite a bit. I was really expecting it to get slammed here.

Am I nuts, or was the episode just kind of all-over the place? Maybe it was the fact that the scenes were very fast, but something just kind of..I don't know..lost of confused me in the third act. For example, I found myself trying to figure out if the opium thing in Marakesh had something to do with the story, and by the time I gave up trying to figure it out, Homer was talking to the family on the computer or water-skiing. I couldn't really tell what the focus was at times towards the end? Homer missing his family? Homer and success? What happened to Homer's love with Marge thing at the beginning? I was just getting a bit confused because things were being thrown at me so fast at a less-than fluid rate.

I'm gonna re-watch this before I review it.

[Simpson Purist]

Tomacco, did the new Futurama air in Canada? I heard it's on Global.

[irv]

Originally posted by goldenflashes13
I don't know... I just didn't laugh like i wanted to. This season hasn't done much for me. It is the first time in my many years of Simpsons watching that I've actually worried that it was on a decline in terms of quality. I have, however, missed a couple this season that I have heard were of descent quality, so I'm not giving up hope yet. As i said, there is just something about it that makes me miss the old days. I cannot explain it, it's just some innate feeling that things aren't going as well as they should be.

another thing that baffles, since you bring it up, is how people can only be now noticing a decline in quality. i've heard it from so many people, but this season is so much better than seasons 10 through 12. why are people noticing a decline now, when the quality is increasing, when nerds like us realized it four years ago?

somebody explain this to me.

[Tomacco]

Nope they also showed "Large Marge".

[caffolote]

4/5, the shwo was kinda funny. Homer getting shocked again. Magie Dancing was hilarius. The ending was good. But not that great.

[Gagnonsux]

Not a bad episode, but not really too great either. THe first act started off well, and was probably the most solid act for once. THe only thing that really annoyed me was Hibbert's striping class. The second act continued nicely with Homer trying stuff from the book and eventually planning a takeover. THe only thing that bothered me here was Homer getting shocked for the 15th time this season. THe third act is where the show kinda fell apart, the ending felt rushed and there just was too little time between Homer getting the plant and wanting to get rid of it. Basically the same 3rd act problem that has existed for the last 4 seasons. Overall I enjoyed this episode, but felt the plot was rushed. 3.5/5

[The Crushinator]

Good episode (4/5). It felt like an older episode. Good plot and pacing. Nice to see Homer at work again and more of the powerplant. The only bad parts were the Legoland scene and the canary looking at the globe. Nuclear waste cannot animate inanimate objects, even in Springfield!

[goldenflashes13]

Personally, i really don't mind 10-12. I don't know what it is. I really, really want to like these episodes, so I guess that could be part of the reason I don't as much as I would like to. I set my expectations too high, and kindly shoot myself down. I guess it isn't as mucha decline in quality on part of the show as much as a decline in passion on my part.

[irv]

the point of the episode was that work was taking over homer's life.

burns and smithers travelled abroad after being fired, but smithers got arrested, so burns returned to reclaim his plant.

i understand how you could not follow the episode if you maybe didn't listen to any of the dialogu.

[Tomacco]

Moleman getting thrown out the window was hysterical. That much I know (and Maggie dancing).

[doyle]

Originally posted by PsycheEnFuego
"Homer's 305th 'Everything Is Okay' Barbeque"

i thought it was everythings back to normal.

one more thing, the place where burns and smithers went to, marakesh. i cant recall but is this the place charlie went to through the tube in 1F07? i may have just seen it written somewhere before but it rang a bell once i saw it

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by jesus plays his hits
the point of the episode was that work was taking over homer's life.

See, I could tell that was the point in the last 2 minutes of the episode, but wasn't the rest of the episode about Homer wanting to be successful in work? But why did he want to be successful in work? I thought he just wanted to woo Marge..? See what I'm getting at here?

[irv]

Originally posted by goldenflashes13
Personally, i really don't mind 10-12. I don't know what it is. I really, really want to like these episodes, so I guess that could be part of the reason I don't as much as I would like to. I set my expectations too high, and kindly shoot myself down. I guess it isn't as mucha decline in quality on part of the show as much as a decline in passion on my part.

i know what you're talking about. i've seen every simpsons episode since i was two, and in the last two years, i started to lose passion for the show. there were some episodes i really enjoyed, of course, but none of them came in a consistent pattern of good episodes. this season has shown consistent quality and is making a huge fan again. my passion is being restored, and has even given me the motivation to want to do a site again, if i could only find the time.

but i don't know how long you've been watching, so i can't properly asses where you're coming from, only tell you that you're horribly mistaken and should see the episodes of the season before judging it as a whole.

[irv]

Originally posted by Tomacco
See, I could tell that was the point in the last 2 minutes of the episode, but wasn't the rest of the episode about Homer wanting to be successful in work? But why did he want to be successful in work? I thought he just wanted to woo Marge..? See what I'm getting at here?

act one: homer winds up in the class and decides to pursue success
act two: homer achieves success but has to work a lot harder than he used to
act three: homer realizes that the success he wanted had caused him to miss out on spending time with his family

it's a logical progression, and is pretty obvious if you ask me

and of course, every episode must return to the status quo. every episode ever has. so homer resolves his problems by giving up on running the plant altogether.

that's fine plot movement, if you ask me.

[Handsome Pete]

Hey, that was pretty good! To be perfectly honest, this episode really felt like something out of season 9, and I really enjoyed having such a nice feeling as that. Of all the acts, the first was probably my favorite, but the other two weren't bad, either. The pacing and the very plot itself were also very good, and I didn't think it felt too rushed. Overall, the structure of the episode was very consistant and of good quality. Emotions were also handled well.

Of course, the jokes are pretty important. And most of them were good. Lenny and Carl arguing over the newer Star Wars movies with "lightsabers", Burns doing a "Cask of Amontillado" thing with the mausoleum (which I didn't think was that bad), and a good meta-reference line with "He can't be ten forever" rounded out some of the good jokes. Only two things really fell flat for me: The LegoLand "disaster" and the canary pointing out the Canary Islands. They just seemed sort of ridiculous and kind of silly (respectively). Everything else was good, though. 4/5.

[doyle]

Originally posted by Handsome Pete
Burns doing a "Cask of Amontillado" thing with the mausoleum (which I didn't think was that bad), i knew that looked familiar

[Kalbelgarion]

I’m sorry, but…that episode just wasn’t funny. Sure, the plot was workable, but something was lacking. Let’s call it “heart.”

There were too many problems with this episode to make it overly enjoyable. Mr. Burns crossed the line from everyday villainy to cartoonish super-villainy. He didn’t seem heartless and cruel…he seemed confused and crazy.

But, most of all, too many jokes fell flat. Homer’s comments to Bart and Lisa at the beginning were inane, as was Maggie’s dancing, and I was cringing during the Stipers’ class (Dr. Hibbert a stripper? What the hell?). Moleman being thrown out the window made no sense. The Legoland scene was down-right awful, and electric eels made me shake my head in disgust. The Opium reference and the drug scene were pointless. Also, did anyone else hear Homer’s IQ plummet as the episode went on? I swear, he must have lost at least 50 IQ points between the opening scene, and when threw Mr. Burns off the balcony for no reason. When he jumped off himself, yelling “Hey, that looks like fun,” it seemed as though Homer had the intelligence of a ten-year old.

There were a few jokes that worked. I liked Cletus’ reference to the CBS show, “The Real Beverly Hillbillies”, and Homer’s “Hello!” bit worked well. And, of course, who could not love Lenny and Carl’s Star Wars debate.

I agree with Tamacco, though. This episode was all over the place, and felt *very* “Scullyish”. Of course, the devil himself received a credit as “Producer”, so perhaps that had something to do with it.

I disliked this episode, plain and simple. A major disappointment. In addition, this episode lacked all the things that made lack week’s episode so enjoyable. The subtle touches and laughs were gone. This episode seemed to hit the audience over the head with the joke, instead of allowing the viewers to notice it themselves. Lastly, this episode didn’t strike a chord with me emotion-wise, like “The Dad Who Knew Too Little”, “A Star is Born Again”, “Special Edna”, and “Pray Anything” did.

2/5. For shame, Al Jean! For shame!

Now, this season’s scores, thus far:

Mr Spritz Goes to Washington-5/5
Pray Anything -4.5/5
Special Edna -4.5/5
A Star is Born Again –4.5/5
The Dad Who Knew Too Little -4.5/5
The Great Louse Detective -4/5
I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can -3.5/5
Strong Arms of the Ma –3.5/5
Bart vs. Lisa vs. 3rd Grade -3.5/5
Barting Over -3/5
Large Marge -3/5
Treehouse of Horror XIII -3/5
How I Spent My Strummer Vacation -2.5/5
“C. E. D’oh” –2/5
Helter Shelter -1/5

[BigJimW]

Originally posted by jesus plays his hits
the point of the episode was that work was taking over homer's life.

And what should be noted is that the past 3 seasons, or so, Homer was rarely, if ever, seen at work. (to the point where it was asked, by Bart I think, in an earlier episode "Dad, don't you even work anymore?, and Homer replies with something like "I think it's quite obvious")

[irv]

the mausoleum part was far and away the best part of the episode, in my opinion.

[Blue Phoenix]

3.5

A solid episode.

[HomertheGreat]

well I kind of thought the same way Tomacco during the third act, but the third act was funny enough that it cancelled out. Overall a funny episode and I'm actually expecting good episodes every week! I can't believe it! B/B+

[Smirny]

Loved it! My favorite part was Maggie rocking out to "Sex Bomb". :LOL:

[The Sweetling]

I thought this was an absolutely excellent episode. A little violent, yes, a little unreal, yes (referring to Legoland), but all in all really funny. I really enjoyed the show tonight. I didn't get mad or angry or nothing because everything was on. This new character, the guy who wrote the Megatronics, that guy was hilarious and he should be a new recurring person around town. While picking on Moleman has become passe, seeing him get thrown out of the window was a really nice touch. I don't really like it when people break down the episode joke by joke, so I won't do that here, but I'm a little less jaded this week. Whoever wrote this episode gives me hope for the future.

All in all 4.5/5. Best ep of the season, good pacing and breezy, truly well done jokes.

[Tomacco]

Am I the only one who was bothered by Burns wanting to go nuts on opium? What exactly was that about?

[ShadowBun]

Oh guys, I did NOT like it at all...I WANTED to like it, I really did.

First let me get one thing out of the way: I think, in general, that Season 13 and 14 are very good and I'm not demeaning the quality of the show in general; I think it's much better than the Lousy Three Seasons (10,11,12), but this episode...UGH.

Now, let me say that I HATED the plane joke...it was the most obvious and most tasteless penis joke I've ever seen on the series...and that's saying something. It's like something a bunch of fourth-graders would giggle over. In fact, the whole first act left a bad taste in my mouth. The planes? A stripping class starring Dr. Hibbert? Grease? I did like the new character (the business teacher) and the act did pick up in the end, but overall, a flood of shallow sex jokes and hardly anything remotely funny. I was forcing myself to laugh.

Act 2 was a little better as the story actually gained focus and had a few good lines ("I say Phantom Menace sucked more!" etc), but what was with the bird? I didn't get that at ALL. And Homer getting shocked AGAIN...!? The "Hello" scene was fairly entertaining, but I have no idea why Homer suddenly threw Burns off the balcony! What was that about?

Act 3, oddly, was the best of the episode IMO. There were less lame gags, a few other funny ones ("Our money's made of drugs" "Bart won't be 10 forever" "305th Everything's-Back-to-Normal"), and some decent character development and emotion (I liked the graveyard scene). It actually ended on a good note with the strangling. Still fairly tame all around though, and still suffered from a few lame gags.

Act 1: 3.5/10
Act 2: 5/10
Act 3: 7/10

I give it a 2/5...at most a 2.5/5.

Again, I'm not worried about the show in general, as I usually love it (the episodes in my signature could easily fit in an earlier season, IMO)...it's just I really didn't like C.E.D'oh AT ALL. Only thing keeping it from being worst of the season is Helter Shelter.

EDIT: However, it was good seeing Burns again, and seeing Burns as a villain in the climax. I find it really weird that I wasn't crazy about the past two episodes, but most people seem to love them. Ah well (well, "Spritz" was pretty good at least). I just didn't find this one funny at all.

[goldenflashes13]

but i don't know how long you've been watching, so i can't properly asses where you're coming from, only tell you that you're horribly mistaken and should see the episodes of the season before judging it as a whole.

I've watched for about nine years (since age of six), but have managed to catch nearly all of the episodes in one way or another. I was younger when I watched, and the entire "Bart-bad-boy" thing was like a magnet. I can still recall using "Don't have a cow, man" to an extreme degree. Back then, I didn't pay attention to quality, didn't understand many jokes, but it had an appeal that has kept me watching to the day. Not paying as much attention to quality and enjoying every one, I can see why I put each ep. under such scruntity nowadays. I guess that's a reasonable explaination for my feelings on the past few seasons.

[brentholomew]

5/5

Great episode for laughs. Maybe the plot wasn't too good but i was laughing my ass off half the time, especially whne the guy threw Hans Moleman out of the window. The light saber gag was great too.

JPHH, you seem to like knocking people for grammar, yet you don't seem to know the meaning of punctuation and capitalization.

[irv]

in every bad review, people are choosing the dumbest reasons not to like the episode, and are completely ignoring everything good about it. this is consistently true of every episode that is reviewed here. cut that shit out or offer something substantial. not liking an episode because you aren't educated enough to understand the jokes is unacceptable. taking offense to what i just said is the admission that you are uneducated.

[Kalbelgarion]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Am I the only one who was bothered by Burns wanting to go nuts on opium? What exactly was that about?

I didn't understand it, either. That whole drug scene I was scratching my head, and trying to avoid the confused and accusatory looks from my family.

[irv]

Originally posted by Brent
5/5

Great episode for laughs. Maybe the plot wasn't too good but i was laughing my ass off half the time, especially whne the guy threw Hans Moleman out of the window. The light saber gag was great too.

JPHH, you seem to like knocking people for grammar, yet you don't seem to know the meaning of punctuation and capitalization.

i only said that because i had difficulty reading the post of a dude a few posts above me. not to start a fight. stop bringing your "i listen to horrible shitty music" agression outside of media discussion.

[thecapecoddah]

3/5, this episode wasn't spectacular like many of the recent ones, but there were several laugh out loud scenes/lines such as Maggie dancing to the tape, Moleman going through the window, and Smithers doing time for the opium. Looking back on it, the plot was indeed logical and well done but too many jokes fell flat for me and there were too many wacky scenes such as Legoland and the bird pointing out the islands on the globe... bah. Not a bad episode by any means, but nothing too memorable.

[Handsome Pete]

Originally posted by BigJimW
And what should be noted is that the past 3 seasons, or so, Homer was rarely, if ever, seen at work. (to the point where it was asked, by Bart I think, in an earlier episode "Dad, don't you even work anymore?, and Homer replies with something like "I think it's quite obvious")

Speaking of which...it was nice to actually see Homer at work again for once. I mean, we haven't seen him around there much, and to see him actually trying to work is a good thing, at least to me. Nice to see a few more areas in the plant as well.

And I'm really getting a little sick of Cletus's appearances this season. It seems like he's been in every episode so far, and despite his decent line in this episode, he is getting to be way overused. Well, at least he doesn't annoy me like some supporting characters do...

[Stina]

Good episode..I liked the couch during the opening theme, the Itchy & Scratchy bit, Maggie dancing to makeout music, and the part where the teacher showed the Bentley parked outside and Hans Moleman was wriggling on the ground, lol.
4/5

[brentholomew]

Originally posted by jesus plays his hits
i only said that because i had difficulty reading the post of a dude a few posts above me. not to start a fight. stop bringing your "i listen to horrible shitty music" agression outside of media discussion.

Yeah, bring up something completely different in a simpsons thread. You haven't even heard half the bands I like, I know that for a fact. Seriously, just fucking stop it. No one likes you here besides some of the mods who think " Hehe, he's funny because he is trying to offend people". Your arguements are worthless and show that you never know what you are talking about and develop your opinion before you should. Don't even try to reply with something stupid again because I'm just gonna give up and stop saying how you're an idiot.

[Kalbelgarion]

I'm interested to hear what y'all thought about the plane crash joke on I&S.

I found that joke to be one of the most tasteless jokes to ever appear on the show (Right up there with Mohammad Ali being punched out in "Monty Can't Buy me Love"). However, I'm slightly more inclinded to let it slide because it was on I&S (A tasteless, but humorous show in its own right).

[PhthaloType]

I liked it, 4/5. There were some not-so-good gags, but they were bearable and theyve done a lot worse.

"You see that car? Its a Bentley Mark 12. They gave one to me, one to Steven Spielberg, then they shot the guy who made it!"

(Something like that, if someone knows the exact quote Id appreciate it)

[skittlebrau]

Was a decent episode. Nothing spectacular like the past couple of episodes have been, but a pretty darn good episode nonetheless. Several funny moments, but other times, the funny didn't work. I'd give it a 4/5, but it falls just short of that.

3/5

[Mr. Plow]

A very average episode with some great laughs. My personal favorites were Maggie dancing and Lenny and Carl debating over which Star Wars movie was better. Overall, a 3/5.

[|RABiD|]

Frickin great episode. Humour was excellent. Moleman chucked out the window and twitching was brilliant. Maggie dancing is a classic scene, and the story flowed quite well also. Sorry, Tomacco but for once I think I'm disagreeing with you on this one. This episode is terrific. 9/10.

[NoOneFamous]

Kalbelgarion, your reviews always confuse me. You often praise Al Jean for an episode that the majority of the board didn't like, and then you'll hate episodes for poor reasons, such as tonight's episode. You claimed that this episode felt "Scully-ish", but if you ask me it wasn't Scully-ish at all. Wacky plot? No. Annoying, loudmouth Homer? No. Funny jokes? Yes. Fast-paced? Well, maybe.. but it was contained. You also need to realize that Al Jean is not the only one who works on the show. If you don't like an episode, blame the writer who wrote it.

[DotheBartman]

Well, last week's episode was (by newer episode standards) a hilarious satirical episode, but this week its back to signature emptiness.

Homer was in all of his Scullyish glory, being a complete ass and ultra stupid through most of the episode. Save for maybe "Pray Anything", this had to be the worst characterization of Homer since season 11 or 12. Most of the jokes made no sense (I'm with Tomacco on the opium joke, and Itchy and Scratchy, who I don't think have ever let me down before tonight, just left me scratching my head) and it was truly all over the place and nonsensical. Some individual jokes here and there were good (Lenny and Carl's argument was priceless, and Maggie's dance was good), but others were just disturbing ("we can hear everything through your walls", Homer gets shocked again while a joke about Burns' trap door is reused, man is spiked to death by a giant lego), and often over-explained ("I thought he was going to say terror"). Then they tack on a less then touching "emotional" plot when there's, what, 2, 3 minutes left?

Grade: D, with a tendancy towards D-

[irv]

Originally posted by Kalbelgarion
I'm interested to hear what y'all thought about the plane crash joke on I&S.

I found that joke to be one of the most tasteless jokes to ever appear on the show (Right up there with Mohammad Ali being punched out in "Monty Can't Buy me Love"). However, I'm slightly more inclinded to let it slide because it was on I&S (A tasteless, but humorous show in its own right).

i thought it was horribly tasteless. that's why it was funny.

[skittlebrau]

Originally posted by Kalbelgarion
I'm interested to hear what y'all thought about the plane crash joke on I&S.

I found that joke to be one of the most tasteless jokes to ever appear on the show (Right up there with Mohammad Ali being punched out in "Monty Can't Buy me Love"). However, I'm slightly more inclinded to let it slide because it was on I&S (A tasteless, but humorous show in its own right).
Are you kidding? That was one of the better jokes in tonight's episode. Had me laughing quite hard, especially when they unexpectedly turned into those werecat creatures. They Simpsonized those guys quite well. Besides, Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper were used as a joke before when they voted Republican while dead in Sideshow Bob Roberts. ("Gooood byyyee, Baaaaby!")

[|RABiD|]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
Wacky plot? No. Annoying, loudmouth Homer? No. Funny jokes? Yes. Fast-paced? Well, maybe.. but it was contained. You also need to realize that Al Jean is not the only one who works on the show. If you don't like an episode, blame the writer who wrote it.

You make some decent points but I still wouldn't blame the writer. The writers' input in the final episode is roughly 30-40%. It's usually an entire simpsons team effort, IMO. And DTBM, i honestly didn't find anything truly stupid about homer's character tonight. Sure, the oil thing in the first act was kinda wack, but his character was fine.

[Kalbelgarion]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
Kalbelgarion, your reviews always confuse me. You often praise Al Jean for an episode that the majority of the board didn't like, and then you'll hate episodes for poor reasons, such as tonight's episode.
Not really. Take a look at your own top five; We pretty much share the same opinions on four out of the five. Really, the only episodes that I've had radically different views from the rest of the board, in the past two years, were "Pray Anything" and "Lastest Gun in the West", both of which I enjoyed, and "C.E.D'oh", which I disliked.

You claimed that this episode felt "Scully-ish", but if you ask me it wasn't Scully-ish at all.
So our opinions vary. It happens.

Wacky plot? No.
Wacky plot with nonsensical twists and turns? Yes. IMHO, the "Canary M. Burns" idea was very stupid, and poorly explained. The third act drove me nuts, as one scene we were at Homer's office, the next at a beach, the next out on the ocean, the next in the Middle East, watching Burns and Smithers buy drugs...That, IMHO, is a poorly structured plot.

Annoying, loudmouth Homer? No.
No, but Homer did have the intelligence of a ten-year old. He lept right into that Stipper class, and instantly started stipping and lathering himself up with oil. If that doesn't scream "idiot", I don't know what does...besides the later scene when he needlessly tossed Burns off the balcony, and *then* jumped over the side himself, screaming, "Hey, that looks like fun!"

Funny jokes? Yes.
Sure, there were a few, but, IMHO, most of them were stale and nonsensical. I think we'll all agree that we've seen enough of Homer being sliced/diced/electrocuted/shot.

You also need to realize that Al Jean is not the only one who works on the show. If you don't like an episode, blame the writer who wrote it.
I know that, but it's commonly accepted to use the name of the leader of a team to represent the work of the whole. For example, people refer to the US's executive branch of the federal Government as the "Bush Administration." If it lays down a new policy, people oftentimes blame it on the "Bush Administration", even though the policy may have come from Don Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney.

[Moleman...Hans]

Not as great as everybody else said it was, but it still is 3.5/5. I voted 4.

[Kalbelgarion]

Originally posted by Skittlebrau
Are you kidding? That was one of the better jokes in tonight's episode. Had me laughing quite hard, especially when they unexpectedly turned into those werecat creatures. They Simpsonized those guys quite well. Besides, Buddy, Ritchie and the Bopper were used as a joke before when they voted Republican while dead in Sideshow Bob Roberts. ("Gooood byyyee, Baaaaby!")
IMHO, there's a difference between tonight's joke and the one seen in Sideshow Bob Roberts. In the latter, they simply referred to the fact that they were dead. However, tonight they made a joke about their tragic and untimely demise. It's akin to them making fun of Ghandi's, JFK's, or MLK's assassination.

[NoOneFamous]

Originally posted by Kalbelgarion
No, but Homer did have the intelligence of a ten-year old. He lept right into that Stipper class, and instantly started stipping and lathering himself up with oil. If that doesn't scream "idiot", I don't know what does...besides the later scene when he needlessly tossed Burns off the balcony, and *then* jumped over the side himself, screaming, "Hey, that looks like fun!"
IMO, this is classic idiot Homer at his best. Hes always been an idiot, and to me the stuff he did in this episode was typical of Homer since season 3-4ish. But other than that, good points.

[irv]

Originally posted by Kalbelgarion
IMHO, there's a difference between tonight's joke and the one seen in Sideshow Bob Roberts. In the latter, they simply referred to the fact that they were dead. However, tonight they made a joke about their tragic and untimely demise. It's akin to them making fun of Ghandi's, JFK's, or MLK's assassination.

sorry, but you're a fucking retard.

it was funny, accept it.

getting offended by things is for fags

[Sam]

I'm going to spare you guys my long winded review, and give you the following words:

Put that episode in yer pipe and smoke it, DoTheBartman! :D

I used an emoticon. <Unclean>.

(Beep)

[Tomacco]

Everyone, I hope you all realize that I still have not graded this episode yet. I didn't think it was an overall bad episode. I'm just unsure of the episode as a whole. So give me some time.

There really isn't anything to complain about character-wise. If anything, Marge and Burns were probably dumber than Homer in this episode.

There was little to complain about joke-wise too. In fact, most of their actual attempts at jokes succeeded with me.

For me, the trouble was in the plot. Does anyone here remember that thread I made awhile back about "lack of focus on conflict" in episodes? Well, seriously I found this episode had that problem. Basically, what it is is having more than a good amount of shifts in conflict within one episode resulting in me just not caring about what's going on anymore. Here's how the plot went:

1. Homer feels rejected by Marge and wants to woo her again, so he tries to get help at a class.
2. Homer tries to gain success at work and eventually becomes CEO.
3. Homer is having a hard time working all the time, and misses his family, so he quits.
4. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns wants his plant back.

Now fine, #2-4 sound like relatable and connected parts of the story, but I didn't find enough time was dedicated to #3 for me to care about it in the least. They barely even showed the family, especially the kids, feeling any neglect that Homer was working too much. This made the ending scene at the baseball diamond feel tacked on. Personally, when the screen was panning out at the end, I was just thiking "Oooooookay". Also, #1 was disjointed from the rest, which is obvious. To me, this stuff is important, and all I want is hopefully that some people will understand what I'm talking about.

[Kalbelgarion]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
IMO, this is classic idiot Homer at his best. Hes always been an idiot, and to me the stuff he did in this episode was typical of Homer since season 3-4ish. But other than that, good points.

Yeah, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this.

IMHO, Homer's mind shouldn't be wired that way. He shouldn't symbolically chuck Mr. Burns of the side, watch him be tossed around the crowd, see him be haphazardly be shoved, head first, into a taxi, and then think, "Hey, that looks like fun!" I don't think that the Homer we all knew and loved would have done that. This part would have been more fovgivable if there was a *reason* for it. (For example, if Homer read in that Success book to "fully celebrate and enjoy your victories", or somesuch.)

[Bliss Goggles]

the moseleum reference at the end was a very sophisticated Poe reference....


It was taken from the Cask of Amalliaddo (forgive my mispelling)

but its pronounced "Amontyallo"----A MONTY ALLO---MONTY!"

and in the story the guy gets buried when hes drugged---one brick at a time--and dies there


so the fact that he was so slow was a great spoof on the story---

i didnt care for the first act at all....senseless.

[HellBender]

Who did Bart say he was during the baseball game?

[Sam]

Aright Tomacco, you know how much I respect your opinion, and how I agree with it pretty much all the time...but I'm forced to go into a Channel Surfer/Mohammed Jafar esque debate with you.

In my opinion, there was only one conflict:

1 (numbered for parity). Homer wanting to better himself.

This episode was all about how Homer wanted to get ahead in life, but without being greedy. In this episode, various problems were thrown in his path to stop this, (including Marge not wanting to have sex with him) but the focus was on Homer's character development the whole time. Burns wanting the plant back wasn't so much a conflict as it was character motivation.

My only gripe with the episode was how Homer stumbled upon the successmanship class. Sliding on oil? okay gag, but reused, and shouldn't be used to start off the main plotline.

(Beep)

[DotheBartman]

I hear ya, Tomacco (though my opinion of the episode itself is obviously more negative then yours). I found that the episode suffered most from lack of focus and just being all over the place and confusing. I felt like I was watching Kill the Alligator and Run again in that regard.

As for the debate over Homer, I'm again going to have to side with Kalbergerion. Homer just seemed ultra stupid in this episode, not only with the things Kalbergerion mentioned, but just the general characterization. His thinking seemed to be as all over the place as the episode at points.

[Kalbelgarion]

IMHO, this episode would have been quite a bit better if it was a spoof on "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

Did anyone else laugh at Homer's reaction to the advice "Live each day as if it were your last"? I thought Homer's understanding was "Classic Homer" behavior. He understood the words, but failed to grasp the underlying meaning. :)

DotheBartman, thanks for agreeing with me...and nice try with my name. You got closer than a lot of people do. ;)

[NoOneFamous]

The opening about Homer and Marge's sex life followed by the sex class was pretty dumb and unrelated to the plot, but thats always been a way for the Simpsons to start their episodes since the beginning. I realize the bad pacing/plot issues in the 3rd act, but unlike usually, it didn't stop me from not enjoying the episode. Probably because they kept it realistic and down to earth, even if it was rushed.

[FrankysteinMark II]

Yeah! Return of the Inanimate Carbon Rod, and it's still above Homer.

Other than that, I thought that this episode moved a little fast, maybe the editing could have been a little better. Pretty good jokes, and better that most this season.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Slappy
This episode was all about how Homer wanted to get ahead in life, but without being greedy. In this episode, various problems were thrown in his path to stop this, (including Marge not wanting to have sex with him) but the focus was on Homer's character development the whole time. Burns wanting the plant back wasn't so much a conflict as it was character motivation.



You do make a VERY good point there (though I didn't need your "smoke it" comment earlier ;) ), but I think in that case that the episode suffered from not making its theme/focus very clear. As Tomacco said, one minute Burns is buying opium, the next Homer is waterskiing. It needed to make Homer's problem more human and evident for it to work. So I guess its encouraging that the tried to implement a real theme to it, but the story itself was too all over the place for it to work with me.

[Datoupee]

5 / 5 Another amazing episode... Jesus... just don't argue with these people. I tried doing that weeks ago and got no where.

[brancely]

Pros:
Maggie dancing
Lightsaber fight (w/ argument)
The canary
Looking for a patsy
The bricklaying
The outdoor signs
Bleeder of the pack
Baseball
Valentine’s Day jokes
Hans Moleman
Power of the hook
The college fund
Flanders
Everything is drugs!

Cons:
Homer in oil
Homer electrocution
Homer is randomly on vacation
Lego Land
Poor 305th episode gag
Musk?
Professor Frink (overuse of this character this season; he’s been in the last three episodes, and I thought all three were poor appearances)
Marge had some poor jokes (whoopdy do, who gives a biggle, etc.)

Best joke of the episode:
“Leave each day like it was your last”

Near the end, I thought it was going to end well, with Homer seeing the error of his ways and him giving the plant back. However, they turned Burns evil, and the twist to Burns trying to wall Homer up was ingenious! High point of the season.

Overall, a solid 7.5/10, or about 3.5/5.

[Tomacco]

Well, I guess the plot could be interpreted as Homer trying to better himself. I hate to seem dumb, but they could have made it more obvious.

[Old Time Bike]

4/5 muy bueno

[Moose of Doom!]

What I find funny about all these reviews is everyone kept expecting the Canary M. Burns part to ruin the episode and continuity blah blah blah blah blah, then, when the episoe airs, barely anyone talks about it. It seems that when some of you see an episode that has a part you worry about (Canary M. Burns), and the part doesn't worry you, then you find something else to worry and complain about (Oh, Itchy and Scratchy was SO offensive!). I liked the episode, didn't really find anything bad about except the shocking bit (but since it was part of the return of an old running gag, I'll let it slide).

Oh, and ShadowBun, about the whole "Plane" joke, that is something they do, and it also a reference to "Dr. Strangelove." The movie's entire opening sequence was made up of clips like that joke.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Moose of Doom!

Oh, and ShadowBun, about the whole "Plane" joke, that is something they do, and it also a reference to "Dr. Strangelove." The movie's entire opening sequence was made up of clips like that joke.

I thought of it too, and I guess that's probably what it was, but it seemed a little strange. As much as we've (and I've) complained about parodies being overexplained, this seemed almost underexplained. But I guess since I did basically get it, that's a nitpick this time.

[brancely]

Originally posted by Gabbo
...and no penis jokes...
Really? You missed the two overhead planes?

[Mr. Furious]

I never cackled more evilly before than when I saw the Buddy Holly plane crash joke. That is until I saw the flaming chemical wash showerhead joke.

[used]

sorry, i didnt have time to read it all, but did anyone mention Barney is Sober again

I just got through the first act

[Mayor Quimby]

5/5 I loved the episode, Maggie short scenes are great again. Best episode of the season. Could someone tell me what episode airs next.

[Super K]

I was sickened by the airplane joke. If Conan were still around, we wouldn't see such filth.

[brancely]

Something's been bothering me lately. Has anyone else noticed that Prfessor Frink just isn't funny anymore? He's been used the last three weeks, each unfunny. First he was dancing with a robot, didn't add anything to the episode. Next he was flying a pedal-powered plane, didn't add anything to the episode. Tonight he was again with a robot, which was part of a pathetically unfunny scene, and whaddya know, he didn't add anything to the episode. He's starting to go the way of Disco Stu from last season (whom, thank god, they've stop using so much). Does anyone agree?

[NoOneFamous]

I agree lance. The same thing goes with Cletus. Hes been in nearly every episode this season, and each time its a pointless bit.

Originally posted by lance
Really? You missed the two overhead planes?
The planes were actually refueling or something. At least it was more subtle than last week's awful "PENIS!" joke. And by subtle, I mean that little kids watching wouldn't understand it or think anything of it.

[brancely]

Another thing irked me tonight. How could Moe not know who Burns was? I mean, I know it was just said in passing, but can he really not remember as far back as "Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk" or "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" There are probably several other times when Moe has come into contact with Burns in some way or another.

[homer5000]

First thing I'll say is this: I can't believe they are still doing the whole "Beene-Vision" thingy on the FOX Sundays. Just let it go, FOX! Now, onto the episode...
...HILARIOUS! Did anyone notice that this had the first digital animated Itchy and Scratchy episode? I'm suprised they didn't use the tricks of digital animation to spice up the tales of I&S. All of it was hilarious, especially Maggie dancing. The only joke I found in bad taste was the Lego Land scene. WTF was up with that? The "Burns walling up Homer" scene had me falling of my chair. 5/5!

EDIT: Oh, by the way, to others who hated the episode, please don't call this the next KTAAR (I think a few were), because that is extremely insulting to the many others who liked it...

[Simpson Purist]

Interesting opinions. Unfortunately I didn't tape this episode. But the more I think about this episode, the less I like it. Most of the jokes don't sit well with me (the canary turning the globe, 305th meta-ref, Marge's jokes were flat, etc.). I'd probably revise the score to a 7/10 for now, it has its moments, but the 3rd act was so disappointing. I do agree with lance that Frink is being overused as of late (and Cletus too), but every supporting character has their 15 minutes of fame.

[StrideR]

OK... my review isn't as valid as that of the person who watched all 22 minutes of this episode. I missed the entire second act due to a laundry emergency, but... anyways...

OK, I hated the instructor from Success 101. Let me just get that out of the way. Apart from that, the episode meandered between chuckle-worthy 3 second moments and unabashed mediocrity. The resolution, although rushed, was one of the better ones I've seen in a while.

There.

As a first and third act presentation of regular TV: 6/10
As a first and third act presentation of The Simpsons: 4/10

[ShadowBun]

Hmm...didn't catch the parody, but that at least lessens the blow then (as opposed to two planes just "doing it" for no reason). But it was still FAR from subtle, and IMO, still worse than the word "penis" just being said out of context.


I just didn't find the episode all that funny. I notice nowadays they're missing a lot of subtlety...for instance, wouldn't it have been a little funnier if the globe didn't SAY "Canary Islands" on it in HUGE letters (not to mention make more sense...I mean, why would Burns have a globe that says that in huge font)? Subtlety is good, writers. What's next week's episode?

On a side note, KoTH was really good tonight. "Goodbye Santa...I love you!" LOL

[|RABiD|]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ShadowBun
[B]Hmm...didn't catch the parody, but that at least lessens the blow then (as opposed to two planes just "doing it" for no reason). But it was still FAR from subtle, and IMO, still worse than the word "penis" just being said out of context.


I just didn't find the episode all that funny. What's next week's?[B]


No new episode next week but on the 30th we get the much anticipated "Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky" and then the following week in my anticipated "Three Gays of the Condo" (possibly because Homer's Phobia is my second favorite episode of all time ;)

[brancely]

Some more notes:

I noticed a crow call during the outside shot of the power plant - classic.

Also, does anyone know if Flanders' appearance was a reference or a parody of some kind? Please clear this up.

[Jason]

Great Episode, loved the rod fight, and homer at the bottom of the chart. Maggie dancing was also hilarious. 4/5

[Tibor]

Joke-wise this was pretty damn good, a lot of great laughs in there, and very few misses. But as Tomacco said, the focus was hazy. Now, I agree with Slappy that the central theme was Homer trying to better himself, but it seemed more like a series of vignettes about Homer trying to better himself than a centralized, flowing plot.

We're starting to see more subtle (and smarter) references, like Poe, and Midnight Run. "I've never seen someone so take to a Turkish prison" had me rolling.

So it's weighed down by the shifty focus but lifted up in the laugh department.

As for Burns' opium, remember the shine he has for ether. To me, opium fits his esoteric tastes like a speedo.

[Tomacco]

KOTH felt so done before. This has been the worst season of KOTH without a doubt.

Anyways, after watching it again, I'm finally ready to rate tonight's Simpsons.
Ready?


....


4/5

Lots of laughs throughout, no glaring problems, loses a mark for losing me a bit towards the end, by some fast-paced meandering, but overall a very solid show I must say. I realize also that credit is due for doing this well for a completely Homer-centric episode, which are ones they often have blown in recent years.

Season 14..Hmm..can we say "comeback"?

EABF01: 3/5
EABF02: 5/5
EABF03: 3/5
EABF04: 4/5
EABF05: 4.5/5
EABF06: 3/5
EABF07: 5/5
EABF08: 4/5
EABF09: 4.5/5
EABF10: 4/5

Average: 4/5

Since "Barting Over", I have received a quality episode every week. Basically, six very good to great episodes in a row. Never since season 9 have I had such a streak, and I'm thrilled about it. And for the record, my 3/5's for this season are by season 14 standards, which are higher than season 13 standards. For example, I gave "Tales From the Public Domain" a 3/5 last year. But I find "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" for example to be better.

See, if I saw that Ghostbusters ending now, I would actually be pissed off because now I do not expect awful stuff like that and don't really tolerate it anymore. My standards have risen, and rightfully so.

[davidshirt]

loved this episode. it was a blend of the first five seasons with a blend of the last 5 seasons.

[Tomacco]

Nobody's mentioned: Barney sober in this episode again. :(

Not to worry though, they're tooling around with the idea for the episode where he actually does go back to being drunk.

[okayagain]

Eh...It seemed as though most of jokes were there, and you understood them, but they just weren't enough to make you laugh. The few good ones though were great. Homer inspecting the plant, the canary, and the drugs scene were very memorable. Flanders also made me laugh for some reason. Some jokes however, just shouldn't have bothered. Frink's robot, and the stripping class come to mind easily, but they weren't bad enough for me to dislike this episode. The Itchy & Scratchy was pointless yet again, I wish they'd stop trying to spoof stuff with them. Keep it at "Mouse kills Cat in a SINGLE bizarre way"...

Storywise, it seemed too take a bit long for Homer to gain power, and it seemed too quick for him to lose it. Homer missing his family was really shoved in there, and that whole vacation scene came out of nowhere and stayed there. But, I really didn't have anything against this episode, so I place it at completely average.
3/5

[Tomacco]

Whoa! It just passed midnight and guess what!?:

Poll results:

5/5: 16
4/5: 28
3/5: 10
2/5: 5
1/5: ZERO!

Someone help me out, has this EVER happened?

[Tibor]

The stripping class felt tacked on, but it did have a good gag with Hibbert stripping his way through college.

Nobody's mentioned: Barney sober in this episode again.

Not to worry though, they're tooling around with the idea for the episode where he actually does go back to being drunk.

I noticed it, but I had already asked you back at 'Spelling' so I guessed that this would come up.

[ShadowBun]

Tomacco, maybe in Half-Decent Proposal...? I remember everyone pretty much liking that one.

[StrideR]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Whoa! It just passed midnight and guess what!?:

Poll results:

5/5: 16
4/5: 28
3/5: 10
2/5: 5
1/5: ZERO!

Someone help me out, has this EVER happened?

Don't tempt me. ;)

[brancely]

It only takes one ignorant third grader (i.e. ryan irvine) to ruin the poll of this fine episode.

[Channel Surfer]

Click for my review. (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-201912/blockid-79455/)

This episode was great joke wise, in the tradition of Dana Gould's "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge". There wasn't anything as brilliant as the "Sopranos" parody, but nothing as dumb as the Springshield commercial.

I've noticed people complaining about the plotline, and I have to say I really didn't have that hard of a time following it. Granted, they could've found a better way to get Homer into Successmanship 101 then having him slide in oiled up, but the flow itself wasn't that bad. At the end of act one, we are led to believe he gets some action with Marge, which is what led him to despair in the first place. Seeing as how the book worked, he begins to use it to better himself, to hopefully make himself happier. The target later becomes Burns's position in the Nuclear Power Plant, which is pretty much all of act 2. Eventually, he gets the job, and act 3 shows how his success has distanced himself from what he cares about, his family. And I didn't mind the Burns wall stuff concluding it. As many have said, it's an allusion to "Cask of the Amontillado", and it also showed off Burns's evil but frail side (best characterization of Burns in years). In the end, Homer returns to his family, and is happy again. Fast paced perhaps, but it connected well, and I didn't have a problem following it.

Anyway, this was just a fun episode with a hyper-gag nature. A few gags flopped, but as a whole, it was consistently enjoyable.

4/5, B+.

And my grades for the season.

"Special Edna" B+
"C.E.D'oh" B+
"Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" B
"I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" B
"Treehouse of Horror XIII" B
"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" B-
"A Star is Born Again" B-
"The Dad Who Knew Too Little" C+
"Strong Arms of the Ma" C+
"Barting Over" C+
"The Great Louse Detectives" C+
"Large Marge" C
"Pray Anything" C-
"Bart vs. Lisa vs. the 3rd Grade" C-
"Helter Shelter" D

[Max Power]

Awesome episode. The first half was dynamic with such lines as "Life is easy. You Suck." and Maggie's mix tape. Then, it sort of slacked down but all and all, it still retains it's 5 out of 5.

[*Waylon Smithers*]

So friggin' good it felt like and good ol' fashion episode (wipes a tear). It was beautiful! 5/5 :)

[chiefdan]

Originally posted by HellBender
Who did Bart say he was during the baseball game?

Ok, this is kinda interesting. I think that Bart said that he was Esteban Yan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. However, soon after I saw the episode, I was looking at a baseball site and noticed that Yan plays for the Texas Rangers! So if my recollection is right...then this is quite a funny error.

[Rob G]

Milhouse said his was Yan of the Devil Rays. Bart mentioned a player on the Montreal Expos.

[Capitol City Goof]

Good episode. This and "A Star is Born-Again" are the two best episodes of this season. I hope they keep up the streak they've been on in the new calender year (with the exception of Barting Over).

[Eat up Martha]

When Bart was batting, he said he was Tomo Ohka for the Montreal Expos. Ohka is actually a pitcher, but being on a National League team, he would bat. It was funny to me and my roommate who are huge baseball fans because those are players only people like us know... why? Because they are pretty mediocre.

[Brian S.]

4/5

Maggie dancing was awesome. I was dissapointed that Barney was back sober again though.

[necrulez]

Originally posted by jesus plays his hits
great episode. better overall than poppa's got a brand new badge, but not as funny. not as good as last week's episode overall, but still great. I love when they actually demonstrate that characters care about each other, and i liked the ending stuff with homer and burns. well done and cute. reminds us that burns is truly evil, but is also a feeble old man.

awesome diagram with homer at the bottom of the plant hierarchy, below the inanimate carbon rod. the ending of the second act was nice to hear the people cheer for homer. if this was the last three and a half seasons, they would have just let him fall or something.

the homer "helllooo" scene was hilarious.

lots of fantastic homerisms in this episode. "all my life, i've had one dream: to achieve my many goals."

4.5 out of 5 or an A-. i've watched it three times now, and am pretty satisfied with this score. i liked it for completely different reasons than gil. also, a majority of recent episode haven't revolved around homer.

gould is a talented dude. i'm willing to pretend homer the moe doesn't exist.

this is yet another great eabf episode and i expect nothing but great things from the next one two weeks from now, and so should you. i'm just so satisfied as a whole by the EABFs. here's how i rank them so far:

Great Louse Detective - 4
Special Edna - 4.5
The Dad Who Knew Too Little - 4.5
The Strong Arms of the Ma - 4
Pray Anything - 3.5
Barting Over - 3.5
I'm Spelling as Fast As I Can - 5
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington - 5
C.E.D.'oh - 4.5

EABF- Average: 4.28

i completely agree with ya

[StrideR]

To be honest, this episode was by no means awesome. It may be a good episode for this season, but from what I saw, it was still a showcase for silliness run amok. It felt as if someone was trying to do an episode of South Park, but without the guts to go all the way... especially in the area of wit.

Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, where are you guys?

[Crazy Leprechaun]

It was a decent episode. It was obviously better than most. Maggie getting the wrong tape, and Homer using all the oil was funny. 3.8/5

[caribou]

For the record: The canary wasn't "pointing out" the Canary Island to the audience. Homer commanded the bird to travel there, and it took off immediately, but then came back to find directions. It was cartoony, but it worked oh-so-well. One of the best jokes of the episode, in my opinion -- along with the graveyard scene.

[Joeinator]

did anyone notice that the plant chart had a picture of frank grimes crossed off? Also I didn't understand the billy crystal joke.

[mohammed jafar]

Originally posted by FarScapeR

Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, where are you guys?

watching another channel

[Mayor Quimby]

Originally posted by Joeinator
Also I didn't understand the billy crystal joke.

If you like baseball, he is amung the most annoying jerkass there is.

First off he likes the Mets and then tries to get everyone to like the Mets.

Secondly he for no reason is a guest star at Mets games for no reason, when he has been at almost every game the past 14 years.

Finally he is a shitty shitty shitty actor.

[used]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Whoa! It just passed midnight and guess what!?:

Poll results:

5/5: 16
4/5: 28
3/5: 10
2/5: 5
1/5: ZERO!

Someone help me out, has this EVER happened?

Just went and checked.. the only other one that got 0 1's is Special Edna.

[Jake]

Eh, my VCR choked on a brand new tape, but with the way Fox schedules its Simpsons episodes, I'll have five more chances in the next three months to tape it....

Jake :angry:

[Simpson Purist]

Originally posted by Jake
Eh, my VCR choked on a brand new tape, but with the way Fox schedules its Simpsons episodes, I'll have five more chances in the next three months to tape it....

Jake :angry:

That means five more times that FOX pees on Futurama's grave :angry:. I guess I'll have to scour the internet for "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles".

[Kamikaze_chimp]

pretty good ep. Graveyard scene was hilarious, as was maggies dancing.
Not really any terrible parts, so 7/10

[SpongeBob No Pants]

did anyone notice the homer's oddessy reference

man i love how they are referencing all of the the old eps this year

[Lard Lad Donuts]

It was okay but there wasn't enough humour. 3/5

[Mike Scully]

Meh, drab effort. I think Tomacco hit the nail on the head with his review. It seems like the writers took a simple and overdue idea, Homer taking Burns' job, and didn't know what to do with it. Too many themes tacked on. Homer climbing the corporate ladder, Homer not having time for his family, having too many responsibilities to deal with, Burns wanting the plant back, etc. I guess you can try to watch the episode over and over and find some meaning in this jumbled mess, but I think we can agree this was a very, very boring episode.

There were some individual scenes with substance and humor to them. The interactions between Burns and Homer was well-done, especially in the graveyard. Homer climbing the corporate ladder was rather satirical. I actually enjoyed the Valentines Day beginning. One big LOL moment was Maggie dancing to the Tom Jones tape. At best, it was reminiscent of the Homer-at-the-workplace episodes we got in season 2. Not enough to make the whole episode good.

I'd mention more in my review, but I'm having trouble remembering anything about last night's episode. Perhaps in a second viewing, I'll find more funny elements.

C, leaning towards C-

[Mike Scully]

season 14 so far:
How I Spent My Strummer Vacation C+
Treehouse of Horror 13 C-
Bart vs Lisa vs the Third Grade C
Large Marge C
Helter Shelter D
The Great Louse Detective C
Special Edna B
The Dad Who Knew Too Little B
Barting Over C-
Strong Arms of the Ma C
Pray Anything D
I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can C+
A Star is Born Again C+
Mr. Spitz Goes to Washington B-
C'E'D'oh C

[Citizen Kang]

4/5 - Not too bad...

[Rowdy]

Almost a 5, but that boob joke along with one or two others were achingly bad.

[Tomacco]

I was really expecting pretty bad results at this forum after the episode finished, I gotta say. Stuff like the many many sex references in the first act, and what I thought was a bit of an awkward third act is what people constantly complain about here, yet nobody cared about lines like "You're so sweet when you're begging for sex" and "I usually bring my A-game to the bedroom".

[Rowdy]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I was really expecting pretty bad results at this forum after the episode finished, I gotta say. Stuff like the many many sex references in the first act, and what I thought was a bit of an awkward third act is what people constantly complain about here, yet nobody cared about lines like "You're so sweet when you're begging for sex" and "I usually bring my A-game to the bedroom".

Well, those weren't in your face annoying sex stuff like we've had in the past. They were just slight jokes that came across as funny for me.

[nowhere]

I thought it was pretty solid. Nothing too spectacular, though I think Homer's line about his lifelong dream is one of my favourites already.

3.5/5

[Mafia]

pretty good... I really didn't feel too into this episode. I laughed out loud several times... but when i think back at it, i felt i was bored. There was plenty good of this episode that was mentioned... but i couldn't get into it.

3.5/5 (3)

[Urath28]

Best one this season! 5/5!! Hans molman OUT THE WINDOW! c'mon it was great, ify ending.

[cottonstreet]

Originally posted by Mayor Quimby
If you like baseball, he is amung the most annoying jerkass there is.

First off he likes the Mets and then tries to get everyone to like the Mets.

Secondly he for no reason is a guest star at Mets games for no reason, when he has been at almost every game the past 14 years.

Finally he is a shitty shitty shitty actor.


Actually, he is a huge Yankees fan and appears as such on countless baseball related TV shows, most famously the Ken Burns PBS documentary about baseball. He also directed the Roger Maris movie "61" for HBO.

[cottonstreet]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kalbelgarion

There were a few jokes that worked. I liked Cletus’ reference to the CBS show, “The Real Beverly Hillbillies..."



I think this was a reference to "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men". This was a book from the 1930s by James Agee that documented the lives of the poor in Appalachia. It was most famous for its photographs by Walker Evans that showed these people in their unbelievably squalid living conditions.

[NoOneFamous]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I was really expecting pretty bad results at this forum after the episode finished, I gotta say. Stuff like the many many sex references in the first act, and what I thought was a bit of an awkward third act is what people constantly complain about here, yet nobody cared about lines like "You're so sweet when you're begging for sex" and "I usually bring my A-game to the bedroom".
Those lines did annoy me, and at first I was worried the whole episode would be like that. But they pretty much halted except for the boob joke once Homer slid into the Success class. I also didn't exactly like the jam-packed 3rd act, but the plot didn't take any wacky twists, which made it much better.

[Peacefrog22]

Pretty good episode. I'd have to give it a 4/5. Not as good as I expected, but still some good laughs.
Pros: Mix tapes-Maggie dancing
Lenny & Carl Star Wars fight
Homer greasing up
Homer Odyssey Reference
Bird in Charge
Chart with the rod above Homer

Cons: Lego Land- it was just stupid
Homer on monitor-went on too long
Itchy and Scratchy
Water Skiing- Does there have to be a Homer likes boobs joke every episode?


How I spent my strummer vacation 4/5
Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade 2/5
Helter Shelter 3/5
Pray Anything 2/5
Great Louse Detective 4/5
Special Edna 5/5
The Dad Who Knew Too Little 4/5
Large Marge 5/5
A Star is born Again 4/5
Strong Arms of the Ma 3/5
I'm spelling as fast as I can 2/5
Barting Over 3/5
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington 2/5
C. E. D'oh 4/5

[PhthaloType]

Guess Im the only one indifferent to Maggie dancing.

[Mafia]

I didn't care too much for it.


Oh yeah? Well I'm Estaban Yan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


Take that, Bud Selig... who i have few problems with.

[Hans Barber]

wow, i was suprised so many people liked it so much, i did however think it was better than i thought it would be. kinda stupid though. im going to have to watch again to really know. one big plus, the first time this season they showed itchy and scratchy.
2.5\5...so so...but this is the best season ina while. high hopes for the next new episode...

[Hans Barber]

mike sculy, quick question, are ur ratings compared to the simpsons in general, as in ur rating them to their prime era, or just the last few seasons kinda ratings.

[homer5000]

Originally posted by Jake
Eh, my VCR choked on a brand new tape, but with the way Fox schedules its Simpsons episodes, I'll have five more chances in the next three months to tape it....

Jake :angry:

I could see the schedule right now:

March 30th--

Before Saturday, 7:00 PM is Futurama
After Saturday...7, Simpsons "Helter Shelter" (AGAIN!)

April 6th--

Before Saturday, 7 is Futurama
After Saturday...7, Simpsons "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington"

April 13th--

Before Saturday, 7 is Futurama
After Saturday...7, Simpsons "C.E.D'oh!"

And so on...

[Wavy Gravy]

I thought this was a quality episode. The first act was surprising (someone's delivered mixed spoilers again), but still pretty good. My mom is trying to succeed in her own business and listens to a lot of guys like the one who taught Homer's class. The second act was also fine - the most Burns we've seen all season, and he was used very well. Sure, the LegoLand thing was kinda dumb, but it was considerably short. The idea of Canary M. Burns was a very Burns-like thing to do, and it made me laugh, as did the visual reference to 7G03, "Homer's Odyssey". Act III was shorter, but it was still good. Seeing Homer's work stresses was funny, ans well as Burns trying to wall Homer up (more classic character). The ending, while inaccurate (it's 306) was still a decent way to finish. All in all, another hit from Season 14. 4/5.

[Ben]

4/5

I thought it had more jokes like it did in the old skool days, more subtle and not just endless slap stick and one liners.

[Hans Barber]

what was so subtle about it, just curious?

[Smilin'JoeFission]

Not only did this episode come close to having as many funny moments as last week, but it made much better use of supporting characters. It was great to see the power plant feautured prominently once again, as well as the "evil Mister Burns". The I&S cartoon got a laugh out of me, as did seeing the inanimate carbon rod before Homer as an owner of the plant. Homer's characterization was very consistent, to the point where he actually says something really clever: "All my life, I've had one dream: to achieve my many goals". Burns' crazy brick-laying remarks also helped this episode out. 2 great episodes in a row!

A+

[Number Two]

4/5 Not too shabby...

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I was really expecting pretty bad results at this forum after the episode finished, I gotta say. Stuff like the many many sex references in the first act, and what I thought was a bit of an awkward third act is what people constantly complain about here, yet nobody cared about lines like "You're so sweet when you're begging for sex" and "I usually bring my A-game to the bedroom".

Well, considering all the fuss over the penis gag last week, I can see why.

I'm actually surprised the board didn't fall in love with this episode the way it did with "Poppa's got a Brand New Badge". Both episodes had simple plotlines, but were hyper-paced with a ton of great gags. And while this episode didn't have anything as brilliant as the "Sopranos" parody, it didn't have anything as lame as the Springshield Commercial either. And I personally felt the plot flowed better in "C.E.D'OH" then "Poppa's" as well ("Poppa's" stalls a bit in the middle, as well as recycles a bit too much for my taste). And even with a rushed resolution here, it was still better to me then, say, Maggie shooting mobsters with her gun under her crib.

Ultimately, I personally found both episodes as a whole to be equally funny, but this one to be slightly better plotted. I'm curious to see how other people think this episode faired against "Poppa's".

[Mike Scully]

Originally posted by Hans Moleman Jr.
mike sculy, quick question, are ur ratings compared to the simpsons in general, as in ur rating them to their prime era, or just the last few seasons kinda ratings.

I don't curve grades for later episodes. I grade every episode from every season on the same standard, although I might be very slightly lenient on newer episodes. Each grade I give to any episode reflects simply how I enjoyed it. An episode that gets a C+ means I kind of liked it, kind of didn't. Anything higher, I liked. Anything lower, I disliked.

In the classic era, very, very rarely did I give an episode below a C+.

[Mike Scully]

Originally posted by Channel Surfer

I'm actually surprised the board didn't fall in love with this episode the way it did with "Poppa's got a Brand New Badge". Both episodes had simple plotlines, but were hyper-paced with a ton of great gags. And while this episode didn't have anything as brilliant as the "Sopranos" parody, it didn't have anything as lame as the Springshield Commercial either. And I personally felt the plot flowed better in "C.E.D'OH" then "Poppa's" as well ("Poppa's" stalls a bit in the middle, as well as recycles a bit too much for my taste). And even with a rushed resolution here, it was still better to me then, say, Maggie shooting mobsters with her gun under her crib.

Ultimately, I personally found both episodes as a whole to be equally funny, but this one to be slightly better plotted. I'm curious to see how other people think this episode faired against "Poppa's".

Heh, interesting. When I was writing my review and bitching about how unfocused this episode was, I was actually thinking the same thing, that Dana Gould's last episode could be accused of the same problem.

However, I do think that the plot in C.E.D'oh, while structurally similar to that of Poppa's, is much more uninspired and more poorly done.

Perhaps because Poppa's was written to be a fun, wacky, lighthearted romp, I wasn't expecting a dramatic, heartfelt episode. C.E.D'oh, however, seemed to be a more serious episode, so I expected a storyline with a little more of a coherent conflict, a little more character depth, and was disappointed in that respect.

I also quite liked how the story flowed in Poppa's. The heatwave causes the blackout, which causes the riot, giving Homer the opportunity to pursue law enforcement as a career. The episode felt like a realistic slice-of-life, just like the best episodes from the series, where each event had logical consequences and repercussions, and flowed with a fast pace. There was a simple set conflict in the end, that was developed nicely. In C.E.D'oh, events were more random/disjointed and less realistic. Homer is rejected by Marge, then enrolls in a success class for some reason. Some stuff happens out of the blue, like Homer throwing Burns out of the balcony. And, in the third act, too many conflicts are thrown at us, without any of them being developed enough that I actually cared about what was going on.

Basically, I found myself more involved in the storyline in Papa's. I felt glad for Homer as he became successful in his job, and was interested how the conflict with Fat Tony would be resolved. Homer was immensely likeable throughout and even showed some character, which made the plot that much better. I can't really say the same for C.E.D'oh.

Papa's Got a Brand New Bade, IMO, even as a pointless gag episode, is still a better all-around episode than C.E.D'oh.

[Simpson Purist]

I agree with the creator of "The Pitts" ;). I found the climax of Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge to be better than C.E.D'oh. To me, C.E.D'oh is kind-of a mixture of Poppa's Got and Homer the Moe. Its got the lame jokes and abandoned plotlines of Homer the Moe, but its also got old-fashioned charm and non-jerkass Homer of Badge.

[Shlomo]

BEST SEASON 14 EPISODE!!!

"Would you mind? Yes sir. Oh look at the little eels. ELECTRIC EELS!!! ZZZZZZZZZZ!! I didn't know Mr Burns had electric eels..."

"So Mr. Burns doesn't take you seriously. Big Whoop! Who gives A doodle. Whoopey ding dang doo."

"So my husband goes to a bar every night. Whooptey Doo. Who gives a Bibble. Gabba Gabb hey."

"Now a few words to tell about this year's company picnic: It's at the plant, no food will be served, the only activity will be work, and the picnic is cancelled."

"So the caterpillar has emerged from its cocoon, as a shark with a gun [what's that here? Gun full of mouth???]"

That episode unleashed the awesome power of the season 14.

[Tibor]

"A shark with a gun for a mouth," I believe.

The Burns writing in this episode was very reminiscient of Classic Simpsons.

[used]

Just realized this is the first episode since I started to actually care about the simpsons, and not just watch it(about 3 years ago), that i wished I taped, because I want to see it again, Right now.

[Channel Surfer]

Thanks for a thorough analysis. I can see where you're coming from. Much of what you said I agree with, though I do have a slightly different take on both episodes.

Originally posted by Mike Scully
However, I do think that the plot in C.E.D'oh, while structurally similar to that of Poppa's, is much more uninspired and more poorly done.

Perhaps because Poppa's was written to be a fun, wacky, lighthearted romp, I wasn't expecting a dramatic, heartfelt episode. C.E.D'oh, however, seemed to be a more serious episode, so I expected a storyline with a little more of a coherent conflict, a little more character depth, and was disappointed in that respect.

I got a different impression from "C.E.D'oh". While it had moments that seemed a little serious, the serious parts of the episode like Homer walking out after being rejected by Marge were handled in a lighthearted tone, much in the way the rioting (and its consequences) and death threat on Homer's life were handled in "Poppa's". If truth be told, I wasn't expecting anything character defining or heartfelt (or even satirical) by the end of the first act.

I also quite liked how the story flowed in Poppa's. The heatwave causes the blackout, which causes the riot, giving Homer the opportunity to pursue law enforcement as a career. The episode felt like a realistic slice-of-life, just like the best episodes from the series, where each event had logical consequences and repercussions, and flowed with a fast pace. There was a simple set conflict in the end, that was developed nicely.

To be fair, "Poppa’s" never felt disjointed in any major way to me either, and it did have good flow in the first act, and an awesome third act. However, there really isn't much to "Poppa’s" second act around the time Homer gets Lisa's dolls back. The second act was, to me, nothing more then a series of miscellaneous, unconnected tangents (commercial, paper boy, ect). This style of storytelling caused me to lose interest in the plotline (or lack thereof) until act 3, basically because it forced "Poppa’s" to rely on its jokes alone, many of which (like the commercial and the dessert gag) failed. And because of "Poppa’s" underplotting, there was nothing to back these gags up, making the bad ones stick out more then usual.

And, to be honest, not all the plot points worked for me either. The Lisa getting her dolls stolen plot point was way too similar to "Homer the Vigilante's" main conflict, and was introduced too abruptly for my tastes. And the conclusion of act 2 with Quimby giving Homer full control of the police force in his "blind rage" wasn't all that great either.

In C.E.D'oh, events were more random/disjointed and less realistic. Homer is rejected by Marge, then enrolls in a success class for some reason. Some stuff happens out of the blue, like Homer throwing Burns out of the balcony. And, in the third act, too many conflicts are thrown at us, without any of them being developed enough that I actually cared about what was going on.

I think we both can agree that "C.E.D'oh" was fairly overplotted, and I agree with many of the complaints you made (Homer throwing Burns off the ledge for no reason was particularly bad). However, even with the mess of plotlines at the end, there was still a consistent theme of Homer trying to better himself throughout all three acts. Also, many of the plotlines like Homer being overworked and Homer not having enough time for his family go hand in hand together, and Burns taking back the Power Plant back was a natural way to end it for me. And though there were many complaints about the resolution, I still found it more fitting then Maggie the super baby shooting mobsters (reminded me of the "Hello Gutter Hello Fodder's" ending a bit too much).

Basically, I found myself more involved in the storyline in Papa's. I felt glad for Homer as he became successful in his job, and was interested how the conflict with Fat Tony would be resolved. Homer was immensely likeable throughout and even showed some character, which made the plot that much better. I can't really say the same for C.E.D'oh.

Papa's Got a Brand New Bade, IMO, even as a pointless gag episode, is still a better all-around episode than C.E.D'oh.

I'll concede that there wasn't much character in Homer in this episode (though he was likeable), but I still found "C.E.D'oh" engaging, all the same. While the plot progression may have been jumpy, with some themes underdeveloped, there was always something going on, with the already mentioned constant theme of Homer wishing to better his life. Tangents such as Lego Land and Burns's search for opium felt like tangents instead of plot points to me, and the resolution was abrupt, but still satisfying. Also, most of the jokes worked for me, and many were down right hilarious.

On par with "Poppa’s" or not, I had a lot more fun with this episode then some of the other mediocre (or bad) episodes of this season, like "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the 3rd Grade", "Large Marge", "Helter Shelter", or "Pray Anything". It was just a nice, slightly overplotted gag episode that left me in a good mood afterward.

[HomertheGreat]

I feel the same way as Channel Surfer, it seems like the past 3 or 4 episodes I find myself smiling as the credits come up. And that hasn't happened in a long time. Season 13 did put episodes together where they left me laughing and smiling at the end but 14 IMO has put a string of 4 solid, funny episodes together.

[Tomacco]

Has anyone mentioned "Swedish Efficiency Team" yet? :LOL:

[Warren]

2/5

It wasn't that good.

[doyle]

Originally posted by Mayor Quimby


Finally he is a shitty shitty shitty actor. what? hes one of the funniest comedians out there

[Mike Scully]

Originally posted by Tomacco

See, if I saw that Ghostbusters ending now, I would actually be pissed off because now I do not expect awful stuff like that and don't really tolerate it anymore. My standards have risen, and rightfully so.

Hrrm, someone needs to stick in his tape of Pray Anything again. And, if time permits, the ending of Strong Arms of the Ma, the ending of Barting Over, and the 10 minutes of running time in Great Louse Detective devoted to Sideshow Bob being shocked.

[Simpson Purist]

True Mr. Scully, the Ghostbusters ending was silly, but so was the whole episode.

[DotheBartman]

Have to agree with Simpson Purist and Mike Scully on this one. The Ghostbusters dance was certainly random, but I was okay with it and even really liked it because the episode itself was pretty silly and random anyway. But its episodes like "Pray Anything" that are meant to be more serious (though that one, IMO, fell on its face) where "pass the popcorn chicken, Colonel" is completely unacceptable to me. As well, I think the general craziness, randomness, and violence has gone up quite a bit this season, compared to last:

All of Helter Shelter (house goes floating down a river, Marge's feet, Homer nearly bleeds to death from a razor...)
Marge gets breast implants and flashes people (I don't care if there was a "good" excuse, they only found that excuse so they could attract ratings)
Bart and Lisa get lost in the woods and are saved by hillbillies
Learn to Fart
Bob shocked repeatedly
Duffman shot in the shoulder
Homer eats a pie sword
Homer gets shocked by a power cord
Homer gets shocked by electric eels
God eats Popcorn chicken
Homer electrocuted by lightning
"You americans cant understand british comedy" which by the way also ends up being an ending...
Lisa blinds a man with a laser pointer
Homer gets shot in the shoulder
Homer and Tony Hawk have a midair skateboard battle (WTF?)
Bart just HAPPENS to live near Hawk and Blink 182 (one of the hokiest plot points/scenes in the series' history)
Ned randomly has sex out in the open
Homer throws Burns out the window (then jumps after him!)
A man is spiked to death by a giant lego
Marge takes steroids for no reason, and proceeds to rape Homer, lift a bus, use her "muscular ear", and beat up everyone at Moe's, then leave randomly

That's mainly what I can think of right now, but I think that's an adequete list. Seriously, after the Scully holdovers with their magic paper towel and all, how many instances were there in season 13 that could compete with some of these? And to top it off, things like the sex jokes have gotten worse and worse(that joke with Frink and the droid in C.E.D'oh was disturbing), and much more common. I think its just gotten more and more cartoony this year.

[StrideR]

Some might argue that God's consumption of popcorn chicken was just as random as Mozart and Hendrix playing air hockey in heaven.

But I agree with you.

[Friz]

Very nice.

I liked Maggies mix tape and the Megatronics class.
I disliked the Canary searching for the canary islands.

Better than "Homer the Moe", little worse than "Poppa's...". Dana Gould is vastly becoming one of my favourite writers

[HomertheGreat]

DotheBartman, I agree with most of your list but some of it I found funny but it's your opinion. But the problem I had with it was it was only a Season 14 lame gag list. I'm almost sure that if you put down the lame gags for Season 13 up to "Tales From the Public Domain" it will be almost the same.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
As well, I think the general craziness, randomness, and violence has gone up quite a bit this season, compared to last:

All of Helter Shelter (house goes floating down a river, Marge's feet, Homer nearly bleeds to death from a razor...)
Marge gets breast implants and flashes people (I don't care if there was a "good" excuse, they only found that excuse so they could attract ratings)
Bart and Lisa get lost in the woods and are saved by hillbillies
Learn to Fart
Bob shocked repeatedly
Duffman shot in the shoulder
Homer eats a pie sword
Homer gets shocked by a power cord
Homer gets shocked by electric eels
God eats Popcorn chicken
Homer electrocuted by lightning
"You americans cant understand british comedy" which by the way also ends up being an ending...
Lisa blinds a man with a laser pointer
Homer gets shot in the shoulder
Homer and Tony Hawk have a midair skateboard battle (WTF?)
Bart just HAPPENS to live near Hawk and Blink 182 (one of the hokiest plot points/scenes in the series' history)
Ned randomly has sex out in the open
Homer throws Burns out the window (then jumps after him!)
A man is spiked to death by a giant lego
Marge takes steroids for no reason, and proceeds to rape Homer, lift a bus, use her "muscular ear", and beat up everyone at Moe's, then leave randomly

Wow, talk about putting a negative spin on everything! Well, I might as well prove that season 13 is just as "bad". Hell, to be fair I'll only talk about the Al Jean-produced eps:

- A hamster flies a rocket ship into the church. WTF?
- Richard Gere coincidentally goes to SPRINGFIELD'S Buddhist temple?
- Negotiobot shooting taffy? WTF?
- Return of Vegas wives? GIMMICK!
- A human ball rolls across Springfield. WTF?
- Chocolate Johnny Depp crying upon melting. WTF?
- "Boner", "horny" and more sex refs in "Jaws Wired Shut".
- Ushers with giant kitkats? WTF?
- Sex refs in "Half-Decent Proposal"
- Mount Carlmore? WTF?
- Wolfcastle's truck climbing over a wall? WTF?
- Wolfcastle impaling a person with