Rate/Review: Dude, Where's My Ranch? (EABF13)

[Andy]

Description: David Byrne guest voices as himself when Homer's not particularly glowing song about Flanders becomes a big hit, and the Simpsons end up vacationing at a dude ranch, where Bart and Homer get between Native Americans and beavers

Rate tonight's new episode here. This thread will open tonight once the episodes finishes airing on the East Coast (8:30 ET).

[Andy]

my show notes

open/first act:

--Rabbi Krustofski! But not voiced by Jackie Mason :-/
--David Byrne: not bad.
--Homer's annoying a little.
--David Byrne: getting annoying as well.
--Moe kidnapping people now?! Shit.

second act:

--Actually relieved to see CBG back, as he hasn't been used too much this season. Then again, there's the rich Texan PUT DOWN THOSE FUCKING GUNS AND STOP DANCING
--"Daddy, I need upsies." :LOL:
--And to think that was the voice of Simba... puberty killed his career.
--LOTR REFERENCE! HOLY FUCK. awesome
--How come we have casino references with every Indian appearance?
--Homer attacked by beavers = lamest thing this season
--COLLARGRABJESUSFUCK
--Luke = Jesse Grass. Unoriginal.
--The Britney thing was a little chuckle... but meh

third act:

--FRESCA?! heh
--STOP SHOOTING THE FUCKING GUNS
--I knew the "What-ever!" line wasn't in the episode, it looked so badly dubbed
--Moe song = HILARIOUS

Good to see a good multilayered plot... yet it should have started a lot earlier in the episode and the layers shouldn't have been sucky. Not the best of the year. meh

Next week looks somewhat cool... heh, Atomic Dog in the background.

[America: Fuck Yea!]

horrible...worst of the season...hello Mike Scully

[Brad Scanticon]

Surprisingly good episode 4/5

[YesMan]

Complete CRAP. Horribly diss-jointed plot, and I don't think I laughed once.

1/5

[Eddie]

Eh...it was pretty bad. Stupid first act, bad reason to go to a ranch, recycled "Lisa crush" plot, bad humor, not a lot of good jokes, bad character-action, creepy voice work...I was just not feelin' it tonight. :( 2/5

[Drayken II]

eh, 3/5.

[America: Fuck Yea!]

didn't Lisa have a crush on Nelson?

[Cole]

And Mr.Bergstorm, if you want to count that.

As for the episode .. ugh. One or two laughs at tops .. still better than Helter Shelter, but just barely. 1/5

[Zillionaire]

Not great, beavers sucked - 2/5

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

I don't know how that episode left the cutting board.

[matrix]

Oh man this episode was hillarious!!5/5!

[paul byers]

Above-average episode that has more than a few good laughs, even if the plot was silly. All three acts were realitively balanced in quality. I didn't like the darker then usual ending, but it still gets 4/5 from me.

[Datoupee]

I liked it. Enjoyable throughout... although not quite what this season has been thus far.

[Compdude]

A fair episode. Dull at most points but some highlights. Worth the watch if only for the "Maggie Spears" bit and the silly Ned Flanders song. 3/5.

[Toxic Monkey]

i liked it. the maggie bit had me laughing for quite a while. the song was funny too. but the smeagol bit was just pure awesomness.

great. 4/5 (the car thing at the end, and texan guy kinda put me off)

not sure, but i think this was the first episode of the year without an apearrance by cletus. and thats a good thing.

[thecapecoddah]

Weak, 2/5. There were a few good one liners and the psycho beavers were a bit amusing to me, but this one definitely wasn't up to par with the recent quality episodes.

[Simpson Purist]

6.5/10, Not bad

What I liked
Andy Serkis, you're officially the man, one line = pure hilarity. The plotlines tied well together, me like that. The Ned and Moe songs were catchy and amusing. Rich Texan was actually tolerable for the most part(his line about blanks was good). Maggie moments are good too.

What I didn't like
Moe almost got psychotic, but thank god that was resolved in the final minutes. Lisa's first crush? Highly doubtful. The first act went by way too fast (sheesh, Homer's song became a hit in less than 30 seconds).

EDIT: Oh I forgot, another stupid "The Simpsons are going to..." reference, god that was dumb.

[Mafia]

it was okay.....

They got Andy Serkis to guest star. Heh. I just thought it was a good Gollum impression, but they actually got the guy....

William Shatner's cover of the song
Krusty's dad
Maggie as Brit Spears
Fresca
Some Cookie bits

Episode went together well, and it had some jokes... but it was definetly rushed. It felt a lot like Simpson Safari. Lisa acted foolishly and definetly out of character (if Ned can be for having sex). Awfully out of character in the third act... not so much in second act.

3/5

[doyle]

well, there was some decent humor (fresca, "they outlawed that two years ago" maggie britney spears wasnt bad, daddy i need upsies)
some good characterization (marge consoling lisa at the end)
excellent lisa subplot. i know it completely reeked of the lisa the treehugger crush but this was a lot better

however, the plot was very disjointed and for the first time since the season opener do i think it really jumped around. i think a 22 minute episode about homer writing a song like that would have been good, although i am fully aware it has been done.

rich texan wasnt so bad this time, and i liked the character of cookie all right.

no terrible sex jokes for the first time in a while. huge plus.

i think it turned out better than everyone thought but the plot was just a little too much for me at times
3.2/5

[brentholomew]

2/5

A definite borefest. The only reason I gave it a 2 is because the Flanders part was fairly funny. Is it just me, or have poor episodes lately have had more of a yawn factor and then a " it's way too crazy" factor?

[Moose of Doom!]

Wow, I'm partially speechless. All I've got to say is too many rediculous sight gags. And I can't believe they've already re-used the "Maggie dancing" bit from C.E.D'oh

This and most of the recent episodes cause this to probably be the most forgettable, bland season.

[Wavy Gravy]

Well, it wasn't as bad as I suspected, but still not all that great. The opening scenes did seem awkward (this being late April and all), but they still offered some laughs. The Flanders song was very memorable, though I don't think David Byrne was really needed. I liked Comic Book Guy's appearance, but Colonel Tex seriously needs to be toned down. Thomas's character wasn't really annoying (probably because he wasn't playing himself). The beaver subplot actually went better than I'd expected despite some unneeded surrealism (the Indian reservation still being on the river's floor, etc.). The ending was pretty good (Moe's song was funny) despite the car thing - Homer's "That can't be good for the struts" saved it. Overall, not absolutely horrible, but not sensational either. 3/5.

[Froggah Prince]

Pure Crap, The britney spears things is the only funny thing in that episode. Lisa's Crushes have always been boring and obviously arent getting any better :o| And the Beaver joke "The little one isn't getting any" wasn't even close to something i'd call "Humor"

-Bad reason to go to the ranch
-Christmas Episode?

Oh and that guy who said 4/5 and used the word "Silly" I HATE YOU
I HATE YOU SO MUCH!

[doyle]

Originally posted by Lawnboy
didn't Lisa have a crush on Nelson? yes it definitely wasnt her first crush.

corey
mr bergstrom
nelson
luke
jesse (i believe this was the guys name in lisa the treehugger)

[Hapablap]

Very dissapointed am I. The songs were actually the best parts. 2/5, just because it wasnt a clip show and had a couple decent jokes. Worst of the season, and of the series, this from a defender of newer epys. uhhgg I'll cry myself to sleep tonight.

[Handsome Pete]

Something didn't seem right in that episode...it almost had a Scully-esque feel to it. Although the feeling wasn't complete (thankfully), it still left me a bit disappointed. Also, while a multi-layer plot structure was nice to have, it didn't work very well. Some of it was also reused in worse ways; for example, Lisa having a crush.And, of course, some of the jokes were simply bad. I didn't laugh during the Maggie/Britney Spears thing (yes, it's making fun of her Pepsi commercials, I get it!), and just about anything involving the Native Americans and the beavers was awful. And for the love of God, GET RID OF THE RICH TEXAN! He's never been all that funny to me, and the jokes that stemmed from him were very forced.

While I didn't like much of this episode, there were a few decent spots. Some of the jokes I actually laughed at. These included Shatner's spoken-word version of Homer's song (hey, I always like Shatner jabs!), Homer's interpretation of the "TAKE ONE" on the brochure stand (and some of the subsequent brochures...heh, Mr. T in the wax museum), and for some reason, the Gollum reference, just because I've always like Gollum.

So, in short, it wasn't a complete train wreck, but it felt too Scully-ish to me. Also, the plot and structuring was a little messy (especially the beavers) and some of the jokes were just terrible. Well, given that I've rated the last few episodes in the season somewhat favorably, I consider this episode just a spot on what is a decent season to me. 2/5.

Now that I think about it, David Bryne's appearance is just for the sake of a guest star on the show...didn't really laugh at his antics once.

[Hans Barber]

i'll list what i found good, because that would be easy, pretty much all of it was bad, as in funny wise, and it was just kind of lame...the goods:
-the lawyer, somewhat funny with the Aflat Gminor joke
-homers song revised(i forget the guys name) pretty funny.
-the misery "parody", pretty funny, i like stephen king
-the rich texan, few funny parts by him
-the cloud gag, pretty clever
-the end how marge explained love to lisa
-moes song, pretty funny

lotta little funny parts that no way in hell out weighed the bad. i gave it a 2\5, and thats being nice. this episode was a pretty big upset, but then again, i didnt expect much out of it.

[Urts]

Hmmm...one of my least favorites so far this season. Not atrocious, but never really elavated itself above mediocrity. I really hoped this one could keep up the level of quality that the show has had lately. It's been over 2 months since I've given an episode less than a 3.5/5.

The first act was so bizarre. Homer just suddenly writes a song about Flanders and everyone becomes obsessed with it? Homer having the brochures was pretty lame, and the unnecessary "Simpsons are going to..." line was an annoyance.

Homer and Bart's plot with the beavers really didn't get any laughs. They pull out a log and it's over. Maggie's Britney Spears thing was disturbing. Lame gags and season 12-like moments really brought this one down. A better reason for the vacation, more humor, and less childish moments could have really helped this one.

Rating: 2.5/5

[Pukahontas]

The first act of this ep was GOD awful, IMO. The only thing that was remotely funny was the Flanders Hate song. I can't stand that "The Simpsons' are goin to..." line is really old and annoying. I felt the way they introduced David Byrne was really stupid. I was ready to ditch this episode, but the second act was ALOT better. Cookie was very funny charater, and so was The Rich Texan. I loved the Homer and Bart subplot...or was it the main plot? Anywho, I thought when the beaver took a picture of the beaver was sooooo funny for some reason. The second and third act saved this episode. But I hated the ending when it said Cookie died, and when the car did that wheelie thing. Overall I give the ep a 3/5...could have been MUCH worst.

3/5

P.S. "Barting Over", which Im watching now is better the second time around.

[Blue Phoenix]

I missed this one but that may be a good thing it sounds entirely too goofy for my taste.

But I'm not gonig to judge what I did not see.

[Sam]

While the episode wasn't as great as the other recent ones, I really liked some directions the simpsons is taking that this episode evidenced.

I thought the musical sequence with the ned song was VERY well done. Redeemed the episode for me, which, otherwise was just average.

I thought the animation was very good too. The plot was disjointed, yes, but it was disjointed in two clear "sections"...it wasn't just there to be a vehicle for the jokes. Both "sections" were very well defined and held together as full plots very well. This was clearly a plot episode. It was better than I thought it would be.

I chuckled at a few of the jokes, and the references were not bad. Overall I had a positive opinion of this episode.

3/5. Has anyone really missed my long winded "pros and cons" posts?

(Beep)

[NoOneFamous]

I didn't have high expectations for this episode, and I was right. I didn't like it. Lately, low expectation episodes have been turning out good, like 3 Gays of the Condo. But not this. This was just yet another episode that stands for everything that sucks about the Simpsons these days, all rolled into one. It was another throwaway "wacky" episode with nothing worthwhile or even remotely rememorable, just a string of nonstop gags, characters reduced to gag-vehicles, and a half-assed plot tacked on.

My overview of the plot:
First act: The random Christmas opening was stupid, seeing as how its April and it had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the episode. I hate when they tack on "holiday moments" in non-holiday related episodes.

Homer's song about Ned was also incredibly lame. All it was was something a child could come up with, yet somehow it becomes a nation-wide hit? Lame. He had no real reason to write it either, and it was overly cruel to Ned and reduced him to nothing but a smiling "cardboard" happy neighbor. It might have been funny if the song wasn't basically like "haha, Ned, you suck! I hate you! You're a dork!"

*queue string of lame jokes about the song to fill up the remainder of the first act*

"The Simpsons are going to... Bart's idea" also pissed me off. Any episode with that phrase just means "lame vaction episode comin' right up!" Its also pretty pathetic that they use that phrase as much as a cheesy Scooby Doo catch phrase these days. Oh yeah, another phrase I really fucking hate is when a character sees the guest star and goes "Hey, are you *insert star's claim to fame* *insert star's full name for publicity* ?"

The second act: *Queue string of wacky ranch jokes* - None of which were really that funny, and many were downright pathetic (Homer getting attacked by beavers = typical wacky Homer humor for the Mike Scully kids), with a quick attempt at a plot right before the commercial with Lisa getting upset about her crush. (For some reason they referred to it as her "first crush." What about Nelson???). Like DoTheBartman (I think) always says, the bunk bed joke as Lisa was crying just seemed like a way to appologize to the wackyness lovin' kids for doing emotion.

Third Act: *queue string of jokes about Homer & Bart removing the dam.* I don't get it... couldn't the Indians have pulled out the log themselves?? The guy getting pissed at Lisa at the end was just another way of "appologizing" for attempting a realistic plot.

So yeah... I've really enjoyed most of this season, but every once in awhile a terrible, over the top, wacky, plotless piece of crap like this comes up, and thats very annoying.

1/5. Mike Scully would be proud.

[Stina]

3/5..it was okay, I kinda wasn't paying attention at some parts since I was doing something else at the same time.

[Handsome Pete]

Wait, wait...am I the only one who liked the brochure thing? It actually kind of seemed like Homer to look at them that way and take the whole kiosk. Besides, some of the brochure's actually made me chuckle.

Oh yeah, before I forget, while Cletus did appear in this episode, it was only for a second or two in a long shot, and he didn't even say anything. I had been getting sick of having at least one Cletus line per episode...you can have him, but don't overuse him.

[Mike Scully]

A disgraceful episode!

To imagine how much I disliked this episode, remember how sitcomish, boring, fake, and forced the love story in The Bart Wants What it Wants was, take away all the humor that episode had, add some truly Scullyish jokes like Homer being attacked by beavers, and you get this episode. It was a good idea to try to show some interaction between Lisa and Marge, but this episode showed nothing about Lisa's character.

Grade: D

[plot]

Unfortunately for the person who wanted to see a cletus-free episode in season 14, that has yet to happen. Although he has no speaking parts, Cletus is in the background at the dude ranch many times.

As for the whole episode, I give it a 3/5. Out of the three guest stars, Andy Serkis was the only one needed (I don't think any of the normal cast could do a decent Gollum voice), and the Lisa plot was too predictable. However, I think everything that had do to with the songwriting (Except for David Byrne)was hilarious, especially the Moe Syszlak connection at the end.

[paul byers]

Originally posted by Froggah Prince


Oh and that guy who said 4/5 and used the word "Silly" I HATE YOU
I HATE YOU SO MUCH!

Excuse me? I believe it was yourself who said it was a rather "dumb" reason to go to the ranch. Some episodes are more serious (Marge be not Proud, Moaning Lisa, Lisa's Substitute) then others (Large Marge), but this, much like the majority of this season, wasn't one of them. There were plenty of again, "silly", sight gags to keep me entertained for that half-hour. Please explain yourself as to why you hate me so much. You need to learn some respect, dude.

[perfectlycromulent]

they had the barflys in the ep though

[Milhouse Van Houten]

Terrible episode, tied for worst of season 14 with helter shelter. Stupid plot and sub plot ideas and honestly the Maggie/Brittny spears spoof was the worst thing I have ever seen in my life.
And I don't know why Lisa called that her first crush :-/

1.5/5

[Froggah Prince]

Originally posted by paul byers
Excuse me? I believe it was yourself who said it was a rather "dumb" reason to go to the ranch. Some episodes are more serious (Marge be not Proud, Moaning Lisa, Lisa's Substitute) then others (Large Marge), but this, much like the majority of this season, wasn't one of them. There were plenty of again, "silly", sight gags to keep me entertained for that half-hour. Please explain yourself as to why you hate me so much. You need to learn some respect, dude.


"Silly" is a word that Idiots Use, It falls into the catagory of words like "Dumb"(Which u also used) and "Dummy"

So Respect that Asshole

(I am ready to be banned)

[Hapablap]

Originally posted by ComixFan
I was just not feelin' it tonight. :( 2/5

that about sums it up for me too, something seemed way off here. I'm hoping they were filling up the last April show with this to pull out the quality stuff for May sweeps. Come on lucky fives

[Evan Conover]

2.5/5

That grade is just to be nicer to the improved season with Al Jean.

Originally posted by Froggah Prince
"Silly" is a word that Idiots Use, It falls into the catagory of words like "Dumb"(Which u also used) and "Dummy"

So Respect that Asshole

(I am ready to be banned)

Why would you pick a fight over something completely childish just to risk a banning?

[thecapecoddah]

Originally posted by Froggah Prince
"Silly" is a word that Idiots Use, It falls into the catagory of words like "Dumb"(Which u also used) and "Dummy"

So Respect that Asshole

(I am ready to be banned)


ok, you'll soon be halfway there. ignore him, paul.

[paul byers]

Originally posted by Froggah Prince
"Silly" is a word that Idiots Use, It falls into the catagory of words like "Dumb"(Which u also used) and "Dummy"

So Respect that Asshole

(I am ready to be banned)

Please, I am very curious in why "dumb", "silly", "dummy" are, as you say, are words in which idiots use but "asshole" is a word that is beyond the capacity of an idiot.

The truth is that you don't respect my opinions on the episode, which is okay. The plot was realively bland, just like it was in the episode two weeks ago. However, the crew that put together the animation for the episode added some great jokes, (like the Britany Spears gag with Maggie).

I agree that you are ready to be banned. One less jerk talking about the show I love is just fine by me.

P.S.- Tomorrow I'll ask my English professor about your interesting "theories" but I think I know what his response will be. Stop us from laughing.

[huh?]

It was what I expected it to be: crappy.
It just seemed liked it began from the start with the Christmas carols forced in there. It got a little bit better later on in the first act, the jokes about the remixes were pretty funny and I'll admit that David Bryne was pretty good for a guest star. But the dude ranch seemed forced again.
The second act didn't get any better. I just couldn't stomach the plot developing, despite one or two good jokes, mainly the Gollum like character. The beaver war was just stupid. Another thing that bothered me was that one thing with Marge and the Cactus; it just came out of left field.
The third act was the best act though. I think this whole thing about Lisa's crush was well written, but overall, I think this was a lousy episode, 2/5, the worst episode I've reviewed this season.
On the bright side, none of the remaining plots this season sound as bad as this one.

[nowhere]

I liked the song for a while, and then it got annoying. I wasn't impressed by basically anything else in the episode. (I thought the Gollum joke was very dumb.)
2/5

[Tomacco]

Oh man, I have a bad feeling I'm going to get flamed for what I'm about to write, or at least lose credibility to some.

I liked this episode.

But so I don't seem too crazy to you EABF13-haters, I do recognize all the problems that you've pointed out. Except everyone complaining about Lisa's "first crush" comment, which is just trivial. Yep, the story was disjointed. Yep, there were some wacky bits. Yep, the story was practically emotionally empty. So, why do I not care?

I did not interpret this episode as something that was trying to be emotional or serious in any way. I believe if they were trying to do that, they could have, as they've proven in EABF12, EABF02, EABF04 and EABF05. As soon as it started, it seemed pretty obvious to me that this was a pure "just for fun and laughs" episode. Now, in the Scully era, I hated this idea, because when he did "just for fun" episodes, there was absolutely no storyline whatsoever ("Kill the Alligator and Run", "Simpson Safari"). Well, this episode had a double-plot (plus the song bit that starts the episode). Lisa and Luke (story 1) and Homer/Bart vs Beavers, and both of these tied in at the end, which is great. There was definitely enough sensible stuff going on in the episode. And disjointedness is a little annoying, yes, but some very good episodes in the past have been disjointed: "HOMR", "Marge in Chains" and "Bart's Inner Child" come to mind.

As for the laughs, there were some lame bits, but overall, again taking a completely serious-free attitude towards the episode, there were some good laughs. The first act was original and funny, and the music montage worked very well in showing the song's rise in popularity. The "Simpsons are going to.." line wasn't as bad as past ones, and I didn't mind it. I didn't really mind anything in act 1.
Act 2 had a broader range of humor. The Rich Texan didn't phase me one bit, and I liked how they added one of his wild shots into the plot later on in act 3. It was nice to see some diverse behavior from the family in the whole situation too. Normally the whole family blindly follows along in wackier episodes. See "Kill the Alligator and Run", "Simpson Safari", and "Helter Shelter". In this one, at least Lisa showed objection. And her relationship with Luke was more developed than the Jesse Grass thing in "Lisa the Treehugger". The cloud joke was nice, and the Britney Spears bit was getting tired until they brought in the Pepsi joke which helped a little, the beavers weren't too off-the-wall, and there were some good one-liners. Act 3 was fine, and wrapped up everything. I didn't mind seeing Luke ditch Lisa, because c'mon she did do something wrong. By the way, the part of the story involving Clara was good too.

All in all, I never took the episode seriously, so it was fun. I watched it like Family Guy's "To Live and Die in Dixie", if I have to draw a comparison. If this is our wacky episode of the EABFs, then fantastic! I'm satisfied. Next week, we'll get down to earth again with "Old Yeller-Belly".

4/5 (MUCH better than expected)

[Crotis Jivefunk]

3.5/5 Much Better than expected. Too may stupid gags

[Mike Scully]

Man, this episode just felt like a slap in the face, after a streak of 6 episodes in a row that showed at least somewhat a return to quality.

I betting Channel Surfer and DTB really disliked this episode.

[Simpson Purist]

HA! At least I'm not alone about thinking this episode wasn't so bad. Sure it threw away continuity in the trash bin and it basically neglected my favorite Lisa relationship episodes, but it was semi-amusing for the most part.

Okay maybe I'm a bit biased because of that Gollum joke.

[HellBender]

I liked this episode (4/5)! What's wrong with me?

[HomertheGreat]

well Tommacco I agree that this wasn't a emotional episode but it tried to be during some points.(Lisa's crying and running to her bed and then having to go up two flights of stairs and the very end when Marge is explaining love to Lisa and Homer really ruined it with his comment) and that's what really hurt it a bit. During the second and third act it seemed like they couldn't make up their mind whether to be a emotional episode or one that was crazy and all over the place.

But overall not as bad as I thought it would be but compared to the past 6 episodes it just didn't stack up. The main thing that hurt this episode was the lame jokes. There were too many of them. But the good parts of the episode included the plot (I know disjointed, but they tied in well at the end) the two songs were awesome and really brought this episode up, and the animation was the best of the season. FINAL GRADE- C+/C

[Al-barto]

Oh common guys, it was hilarious. Nothing was exagerrated, even the beaver gig was funny because it wasnt over done.
Things I liked :

The carol singing was amusing
The Ned bashing song was catchy, and great typical Homer
Homer thinking of a Battle plan to get the beavers LOL
The brochure desrved a chuckle
Maggie doing Brit was AWESOME, with the wink at the end holding the buzz cola
Good Lisa plot ( and she had 3 crushes, Nelson, Mr. Bergtsrom , and the guy with the blond dreads from the treehugging episode)

Anyways, all in all, very good and much better than most expected

[Stackhouse]

Ok: my satellite dish got knocked out so I'm not able to watch this episode tonight on there. Can someone please tell me where I can download tonights episode (mIRC, a web address, anything), tonight, even a location with pre-airs would be fine. If it's a place with tonights episode, fantastic, let me know.

Although most of your reviews have been negative, I'm still wanting to watch this ep.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by HomertheGreat
well Tommacco I agree that this wasn't a emotional episode but it tried to be during some points.(Lisa's crying and running to her bed and then having to go up two flights of stairs and the very end when Marge is explaining love to Lisa and Homer really ruined it with his comment) and that's what really hurt it a bit. During the second and third act it seemed like they couldn't make up their mind whether to be a emotional episode or one that was crazy and all over the place.


See, I never took it as an emotional episode at all. The scenes you mentioned were basically there because they just had to be. Obviously, Lisa would be upset after finding out about Clara, so she has to cry. Something had to be said about Lisa's relationship, so Marge explained love. But that was hardly an attempt at an emotional explanation. Plus, the entire first act, and the Homer/Bart storyline weren't emotional at all, so that's at least 2/3 of the episode plainly obviously not being emotional, so it's pretty easy to figure out it's not an emotional episode. It reminded me of a mix of "Summer of 4ft2" and "E-I-E-I-(annoyed grunt)".

[NoOneFamous]

I disagree about this being Lisa's so-called "first crush" as trivial. Lisa has mentioned or had crushes many times throughout the show's history. For them to ignore that just seems like lazy writing to me.

On an unrelated note, this episode would have probably worked well, if:
1. They had a better reason to go to the ranch (ditch the stupid song thing altogether)
2. It showed the family actually living the ranch lifestyle rather than a string of wacky ranch jokes, and the cartoonish Homer/Bart plot to fight beavers. ;-/

[DotheBartman]

M-E-H. Meh.

Certainly not the train wreck I half expected, but not really good in the tradition sense other. Though some of the Lisa stuff had some good empathy, most of it was more or less just an empty void made exclusively to move from one gag to the next, so you I can mostly only rate it based on that. From that standpoint, it certainly had its moments of brilliance (Homer's song, Moe's song, pretty much anything Maggie related), and there were enough funny things for it be passable, but there were a lot of lame bits. Plus, I did take issue with a few things: continuity issue (Lisa's first cru...wha? I realize continuity isn't king on this show, but that's blatant), some wacky crap that didn't really work, and some seriously sick stuff (like the "beautiful music" joke). So decent enough to watch, but not really worth the time. C+

[Simpson Purist]

HA! I agree with you all the way DtB.

At least Tony Blair didn't guest-star in it ;).

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
M-E-H. Meh.

Certainly not the train wreck I half expected, but not really good in the tradition sense other. Though some of the Lisa stuff had some good empathy, most of it was more or less just an empty void made exclusively to move from one gag to the next, so you I can mostly only rate it based on that. From that standpoint, it certainly had its moments of brilliance (Homer's song, Moe's song, pretty much anything Maggie related), and there were enough funny things for it be passable, but there were a lot of lame bits. Plus, I did take issue with a few things: continuity issue (Lisa's first cru...wha? I realize continuity isn't king on this show, but that's blatant), some wacky crap that didn't really work, and some seriously sick stuff (like the "beautiful music" joke). So decent enough to watch, but not really worth the time. C+

Me and DotheBartman seemed to enjoy the episode for the same reasons, except I simply didn't take off marks for the stuff he was bothered by and I wasn't.

But I was expecting DTBM to have really hated the episode, and it's funny to see he was among the few that didn't this time.

[Stackhouse]

*points at plea for help*

[irv]

maggie dancing to britney spears was god awful

the first act was genius, though

[Handsome Pete]

You know Jonah, I think you're right with the "Simpsons are going to Bart's idea!" line. It didn't really annoy me like the other "traveling" lines, and it was actually a little funny, if you think about it. And I you justified your opinions very well, even if I may not agree with some of them. Though, I think you were right in Luke being more developed than Jesse Grass...

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Clown without Pity
*points at plea for help*

If you know how to use BitTorrent downloads, and if this is even working at the moment, try this:

http://www.torrentse.cx/stats.php?info_hash=1297c6b4e3f398d92b1661291f7d2b3b55fe1173

[Tibor]

Plot: 2
Humor: 2
Character: 2

Mediocre across the board. The first act was quite funny, if rushed, and at least it wasn't disjointed throughout. Scattered amusement, but this was a run through the motions hollow episode. I was worried that this was going to be awful, and out of the three lame gags in the promo, only two made it in, so the Scullyisms weren't rampant, but that doesn't help terribly much. Still, not the fifty car pile-up I feared.

EDIT: The sitcommie girl gets a crush story just keeps getting under my skin, so I dropped it to a -.

C-

[Stackhouse]

Um, ok, no, that's a little bit too complicated for me, Tomacco... is there any other place to get it at?

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Handsome Pete
You know Jonah, I think you're right with the "Simpsons are going to Bart's idea!" line. It didn't really annoy me like the other "traveling" lines, and it was actually a little funny, if you think about it. And I you justified your opinions very well, even if I may not agree with some of them. Though, I think you were right in Luke being more developed than Jesse Grass...

Thanks. At least some people are listening to my reasoning for liking the episode. :)

Just to add a little about the Maggie dancing bit:
Although it probably doesn't make it all that funnier to most of you, I read more into it than to be just a throwaway gag. I took it more as a commentary on how little girls (not babies, but pre-teens) are getting more slutty and shit at a younger age. The fact that it was Britney Spears music was really just incidental to me, until the Buzz Cola part, which just parodied Pepsi commercials, which was a little chuckle.

[Tibor]

I agree with Tomacco on "the Simpsons are going to Bart's idea" (it poked fun at the lame catchphrase it's become) and for the most part about the Maggie thing.

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by Mike Scully
I betting Channel Surfer and DTB really disliked this episode

It wasn't as bad as "Helter Shelter". And it's far from the worst of the series, like "Kill the Alligator and Run", and "Simpson Safari". And all three had far worse storytelling and far worse use of characters too (much like Tomacco said). But this episode was lousy all the same, and it did more or less blow the streak of good episodes.

Still, I did sorta like the first plot, revolving around Homer's song about Ned. The song was catchy at least, something I can't say about "Large Marge". And I didn't mind the Christmas theme in the middle of April, though it was unrelated to the rest of the episode. It was rushed, yes, but still pretty funny. The episode didn't really get sour until act 2.

OK, as for the double plotline. The first one, revolving around Homer and Bart vs. the beaver dam was just too wacky for my taste, even if not as wacky as some stuff from past seasons. Particularly the part when the beavers ate away at Homer. Not much else to say, because there isn't much else in it. It was a farce, but a boring one.

The other story revolving around Lisa's crush on Luke. Well, it had some good ideas, like Marge's fear of Lisa growing up too quickly, and Lisa going out with an older guy. But somehow, these ideas never clicked with me, perhaps because they were either forced or overly comical (Marge hiding behind the cactus comes to mind). And I didn't like the idea of Lisa leading Clara onto that so-called shortcut because she "believed" Clara was Luke's girlfriend. In any case, the plotline was a shallow use of her character, and it wasn't funny (or heartfelt) either, despite a laugh from Maggie. The continuity problem didn't bug me much though (this is Ian-Maxtone Graham after all).

So basically, the episode wasn't very funny (save for the first act), and the Lisa/Luke relationship was superficial and somewhat annoying.

Grade: C-

BTW, does it really matter that the plotlines connected? I don't feel it's worth connecting plotlines unless something greater can come out of it. Would "Duffless" or "Summer of 4 ft. 2" be better if their plotlines connected at the end?

[DotheBartman]

Yeah Tomacco, judging by most of the reviews lately I almost expected everyone to love this.


This time I really kind of have to agree with Tomacco that, sense this episode wasn't really made to be serious, a lot of aspects that would have been a problem in some other episodes were more or less okay here (its in episodes like "Too Little" or "Born Again" where this stuff really bothers me, since it ruins it). The "apologies" NoOneFamous mentioned did kind of bother me, since I think even a wackier episode shouldn't toil with whatever "sweet moments" it has (if you look at many older episodes that aren't neccasarily emotional, like "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge" and "Deep Space Homer", they still have somewhat sweet moments and know how to do them without "wrecking" them too much with jokes). And of course there were those other things I mentioned that I did take some issue with. But overall, its really only an episode that you can rate by jokes, and since I found the jokes to be "meh", that's the rating it gets.

[Bob Underdunk T]

I liked the many subplots going on at once.
When Homer started to say, "The Simpsons are going to..." I cringed, but that punchline had me laughing.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Thanks. At least some people are listening to my reasoning for liking the episode. :)

Just to add a little about the Maggie dancing bit:
Although it probably doesn't make it all that funnier to most of you, I read more into it than to be just a throwaway gag. I took it more as a commentary on how little girls (not babies, but pre-teens) are getting more slutty and shit at a younger age. The fact that it was Britney Spears music was really just incidental to me, until the Buzz Cola part, which just parodied Pepsi commercials, which was a little chuckle.

Exactly. I really loved that joke, and it was one of the few things that made me laugh out loud. One of the better gags this season (my sister had higher praise for it, calling it "the best joke in three sesaons"). The fact that it was Maggie was just a satirical exxageration. It was almost meant to disgust I think, to get its point across. It actually did it more elegantly then "Lard of the Dance" too (which I did think did it pretty well).

As well, despite my comment about it being an "empty void", the song stuff was actually decent commentary too. Homer's song was pretty simple and stupid, but aren't all radio hits these days? Again, satirical exxageration, even if it wasn't done as well it could have been. The idea that they would only spend a week away from the radio to escape it also seemed to be a comment of sorts on the music world.

[bmac]

dammit! why do i always forget to watch?
Guess i'll have to download this one too, *sigh*

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Exactly. I really loved that joke, and it was one of the few things that made me laugh out loud. One of the better gags this season (my sister had higher praise for it, calling it "the best joke in three sesaons"). The fact that it was Maggie was just a satirical exxageration. It was almost meant to disgust I think, to get its point across. It actually did it more elegantly then "Lard of the Dance" too (which I did think did it pretty well).

As well, despite my comment about it being an "empty void", the song stuff was actually decent commentary too. Homer's song was pretty simple and stupid, but aren't all radio hits these days? Again, satirical exxageration, even if it wasn't done as well it could have been. The idea that they would only spend a week away from the radio to escape it also seemed to be a comment of sorts on the music world.

Exactly, not to mention having it replaced with another piece of crap song (being Moe's funny one).

This is how I think I've been reviewing the episode on a different level. I wasn't taking most of the jokes as throwaway random gags, and I think a lot of people here might just be brushing them off as simply "laugh at this because it's trying to be funny" bits. Of course, a few of them were, like Marge and the cactus, and the car doing a wheelie (which I think was saved by Homer's comment on how it probably hurt the car). The Maggie bit, and the whole song/radio thing with Flanders were discussed already. Also, I found the episode overall was very sweet in a family sense. It opened with the family carolling, which was nice. Homer and Bart seemed to really bond in their beaver adventure. Marge seemed to have concerns about Lisa. Bart helped Lisa with the Clara situation. I dunno, the whole episode just felt lively, funny, and actually having story and a little empathy to it. It just seemed like good old fashion primetime animated series fun to me.

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Exactly. I really loved that joke, and it was one of the few things that made me laugh out loud. One of the better gags this season (my sister had higher praise for it, calling it "the best joke in three sesaons"). The fact that it was Maggie was just a satirical exxageration. It was almost meant to disgust I think, to get its point across. It actually did it more elegantly then "Lard of the Dance" too (which I did think did it pretty well).

I think much of the Lisa plotline was following that theme, and the Maggie joke played along nicely with it. Even the sicker stuff, like Marge's "Beautiful Music" comment I felt was used simply for commentary on girls acting older then their age. It wasn't anything great, IMO, but it was there.

As well, despite my comment about it being an "empty void", the song stuff was actually decent commentary too. Homer's song was pretty simple and stupid, but aren't all radio hits these days? Again, satirical exxageration, even if it wasn't done as well it could have been. The idea that they would only spend a week away from the radio to escape it also seemed to be a comment of sorts on the music world.

Kind of reminded me of Bart's "I didn't do it" in a way, if looked upon as commentary on entertainment in general. Less developed, but not in a bad way.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
I think much of the Lisa plotline was following that theme, and the Maggie joke played along nicely with it. Even the sicker stuff, like Marge's "Beautiful Music" comment I felt was used simply for commentary on girls acting older then their age. It wasn't anything great, IMO, but it was there.



Kind of reminded me of Bart's "I didn't do it" in a way, if looked upon as commentary on entertainment in general. Less developed, but not in a bad way.

Agreed, though I'll have to contradict my own comment by saying the beautiful music thing still kind of disturbed me a little, since it was just a little overly disgusting (though certainly not as bad as the Bart/Marge incest jokes in "Tennis the Menace", panda rape in "Homer vs. Dignity", or Marge raping Homer in "Strong Arms"). Still sort of a decent joke when you consider the context, but a little too disgusting for my tastes nothenless.

[Crotis Jivefunk]

Here's my short review, couldn't write it earlier, my sister needed the computer.

Pros-
Much better than expected
Christmas Carols
Flander's Song
Lisa subplot
Talking Heads references (with he suits.)
All of Maggie's scenes
MY PRECIOUSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Much better than Lastest Gun in the West

Cons-
Too disjointed
a few reused gags
Beavers
It was pretty unforgetable

Much better than I feared. 3.5/5
Once Again, the Spectacular Mr. Jean Surprises me!

[Moleman...Hans]

1.5/5 extra .5 was for the jokes that were actually funny.

As expected it sucked. Very few things saved it from being a 1/5 but since I was expecting it to be a 1/5 it was slightly better. I'll vote 2/5 because of the good jokes.

[used]

Wow, I'm surprised about negative feedback. I was expecting this to get reviews like "good to know they can finally handle wacky stuff right". I liked this episode, although it was a glaring example of how emotion feels fake these days. In the old days, they could have pulled off lisa's crying admist all the stupid stuff at the ranch well, but now it was just shit. That was a very small annoyance though. 4/5.

[homer5000]

Well...I liked it. Yeah, I didn't take it as serious, and the whole "Christmas" crap was only for three to four minutes.

1st Act: Not good, but okay. The "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" song was way better than other songs this season, especially when it shows that Ned is singing it too! The rest of meh, though. I actually liked the whole "brochure" part, though.

2nd Act: Pretty good. Luke (how old was he anyways) didn't sound like Jonathan Taylor Thomas, though. The whole Lisa's crush thing was well handled. And...I can't believe nobody mentioned this, but isn't the part with Homer planning his beaver stakeout with little statue things a parody of Caddyshack? Bill Murray did the same thing in that movie! The Rich Texan? Stupid. Utterly stupid. But Cookie was great. Too bad he died!

3rd Act: Most well-handled. The whole "save Clara" thing was a little too rushed, though.

Overall: Pretty good episode, as I was predicting another KTAAR (seriously, view my preview/speculation thread for that)...

4/5

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Agreed, though I'll have to contradict my own comment by saying the beautiful music thing still kind of disturbed me a little, since it was just a little overly disgusting (though certainly not as bad as the Bart/Marge incest jokes in "Tennis the Menace", panda rape in "Homer vs. Dignity", or Marge raping Homer in "Strong Arms"). Still sort of a decent joke when you consider the context, but a little too disgusting for my tastes nothenless.

I didn't like the joke much either, but that probably was the point, rather then a sex joke just for the sake of referencing sex (though I suspect that's a reason too).

Most episodes nowadays have commentary though. The two most popularly hated episodes of the season, "Helter Shelter" and "Pray Anything", have commentary, whether it be on the state of reality TV shows, or the person who puts their reliance on God for everything, without doing any of His work. I think my biggest problem with this episode is not what they were trying to say, but how they said it.

Originally posted by homer5000
Luke (how old was he anyways)

13, I believe.

[okayagain]

Luckily this episode wasn't as bad as I thought (a lot of them aren't anymore. I'm...happy about it...), but it wasn't good either. Every joke in it was poor, I only laughed at the Bart figurine Homer was using in his battle plan ("The Boy") and Moe's song at the end. It's really hard for me to enjoy something so full of jokes that try, but fail. However the stuff I didn't like about this episode (Lisa trying to cry on the beds, Maggie's dance) didn't bother me much, so I can't really say it was bad. I didn't even see anything wrong with the beavers of the car bucking. Still, nothing really got to me: The music montage was stupid, I HATED Cookie, and the LOTR joke was just pointless.

Eh...I liked the couch gag. 2/5

[Simpsonite]

It was O.K. to me,but not great.

The "Ned hate song" was actually kinda catchy.

My precioussssss!! joke was good. (Mr. Cleany if I remember)

Maggie imitating Britney Spears was funny.

I liked Cookie also. Very funny and charming.

(Now we all know good and well this is NOT Lisa's first crush.Why did they make her say that?!!) That was not very well thought out.

But the whole Lisa crush on the older boy was handled very well,without being unclean. To me,the episodes that spotlight Lisa are usually the best.(Unfortunately,this wasn't one of them.)

Beavers: absolutely stupid. Homer: absolutely not funny in this ep.
Bart: Daddy lift me joke, way out of character.

I thought the Moe kidnapping David Byrne was kinda funny,but more disturbing.(reference to movie "MISERY".)

Texan Guy: stupid. (I hate him!!)

But overall, not as bad as most of the episodes this season. I voted
3/5. :)

[EgoJudicata]

http://mojodude03.fh.rbftpnetworks.com/images/keith.jpg

[Jake]

The Good:
Maggie Spears
Homer's Song
Marge's line: "I didn't make that noise till I was 18!"
Homer's line: "That isn't good for the struts"

The bad:
The whole Beaver plot

The Ugly:
Homer being malled by the beavers

I give it a C. It's a good Scully episode and a bad Jean episode.

Jake

[Stackhouse]

Wow.. what's with all the bad reviews? I finally downloaded this one, and I gotta say, not too bad at all. Some odd jokes and stuff, but I thought it flowed pretty well and it had some hilarious gags. I don't see why theres so many 2/5s and 1/5s.

The LOTR gag is classic- I can't believe they got Andy Serkis for one line, though.

I give it a 7.5/10 or a 4/5 on the poll.

[Max Power]

Meh. The Britany Spears and the LOTR gags pushed it to 2/5.

[homer5000]

Jeez, the people at ToonZone REALLY hated this episode. In fact, one called it "Worst Episode Ever":

http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=74381

They also comment on the Britney Spears joke being the writers trying to be current. Jeez, the episode went in production way after those commercials, then why would the writers think it would be current?

[davidshirt]

almost every simpsons episode that involves the family going on a trip has this weird ass plot set-up just to get them there.

i find that amusing.

tonight's was no expection, homer writes a song about how he hates ned flanders and then gets sick of it so they flee springfield. that was funny in itself.

but.. i didn't care to much for this episode. after the opening bit the only thing i laughed at was maggie dancing. that was it.

i also picked up on lisa's "first crush" statement. sure, the writers forget neslon, corey, the guy from lisa the tree hugger, the substitute teacher, angdon alger etc

but the writers have forget to age the children and keep changing homer's age.

anyway, i just didn't like the episode. it seemed like mid season filler to me, to be honest. this episode, helter shelter, and the 300th episode were the ones from this season that i didn't enjoy. other than that this has been a good season IMHO

[necrulez]

not a great episode, but it was damn funny.
Liked the Misery-thing from Moe

[HomertheGreat]

Originally posted by Tomacco
See, I never took it as an emotional episode at all. The scenes you mentioned were basically there because they just had to be. Obviously, Lisa would be upset after finding out about Clara, so she has to cry. Something had to be said about Lisa's relationship, so Marge explained love. But that was hardly an attempt at an emotional explanation. Plus, the entire first act, and the Homer/Bart storyline weren't emotional at all, so that's at least 2/3 of the episode plainly obviously not being emotional, so it's pretty easy to figure out it's not an emotional episode. It reminded me of a mix of "Summer of 4ft2" and "E-I-E-I-(annoyed grunt)".

Fair enough, it just had that sweet, emotional feel to me. The sad, somber music Lisa running in in tears going to her bed and Bart is sleeping there. So it went back to the music and she went back crying and then she ends up having to go up another flight of stairs because that cowboy is sleeping there. (I can't remember his name right now.) And as for the car scene, it seemed emotional to me because Lisa just got rejected and was crying and Marge was right there comforting her explaining the tough things about love and then says something about finding the one person you love forever. I saw great potential for good parenting and emotional that was ruined by Homer's comment. Maybe I'm just a sap for emotion, but that's just the way I feel

And the spelling of your name in my previous post was horrendous, my apologies...

[Miss Springfield]

how long is jon it it for how come i cant find it on kazaa

[SpongeBob No Pants]

why the fuck did they kill cookie, he was a classic character that could have gone on to great things

why not kill that asshole moe, he is a useless character anyways

[Peacefrog22]

By far, the worst this season. But for having a smidgen of humor I give it a 2/5. The Maggie/Spears thing was funny, Lisa subplot has been used and it was much worse than previous ones. Songs were only so-so. Beaver plot completely humorless. I sometimes feel like the jokes are sinking lower and lower. Hey, I'm all for gag humor, as long as we don't lose the intelligence that makes the show great.

[NoOneFamous]

Who was "Cookie" anyway?

Also, that Matt Wilson guy at ToonZone should join this forum.

[irv]

that ned flanders song was probably up there with the best simpsons songs of all time

[Miss Springfield]

no not you the smoking scuz bag ,,,,, hey it wont be shown til august please answer me

[DotheBartman]

I actually recognize that name somewhere, Matt Wilson. Almost like he's been here before, or maybe to another Simpsons board....or maybe I'm thinking of something else, but I definetely recognize that name...

Anyways, the way he stated his opinion as "fact" and said that anyone who doesn't agree has something wrong with them(like JPPH does!) disturbs me, but if he could cut that crap out I wouldn't mind having him as a member here, since he seems to be well spoken and makes his point pretty well.

[StrideR]

Didn't see this one, but HA!

Actually, I caught the last 5 minutes of it. Wasn't the worst 5 minutes I ever saw, but nothing special about it either.

"My sister? They outlawed that 2 years ago." I actually laughed at that... weird.

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
why the fuck did they kill cookie, he was a classic character that could have gone on to great things

why not kill that asshole moe, he is a useless character anyways

O.K., The comment about Cookie being a great character,I totally agree with you there, but the comment about Moe being a useless character,WHAT ARE YOU INSANE!!, Moe is an A-list character! Not to mention, he has some of the funniest lines in the entire series.I know Moe is sometimes over the top in his conduct and does some pretty questionable things at times,but c'mon, he is a great complement to Homers' character.Besides who gonna run the Tavern,Barney?!, (yeah right) :( :)

[Tibor]

Didn't see this one, but HA!

Beg pardon, but what do you mean by "HA!"?

I don't care for Moe's character change from a bitter ugly jackass to a psychotic pervert, but I did find the Misery line to be quite humorous.

And food for thought: A couple of years ago, The Simpsons pandered to Britney Spears' fanbase (Mansion Family), and last night made fun of it.

EDIT:

The Simpsons has become irreverent comedy done wrong, and it's obvious why. The Simpsons writers are bitter about Family Guy's cult success (it's true), and the show is trying to emulate it, but the writers aren't on top of the news.

Grade A FDA Approved Bullshit.

I would agree on many points, though to a less fervent degree, but sometimes I think people that trash the whole series over one bad new ep were in a fucking coma during the Scully years. I was just relieved that this episode wasn't as horrible as I anticiptated.

[freddie freeloader]

Being a huge Talking Heads/David Byrne fan, I loved seeing Byrne animated and all the TH/DB references (big suit, salsa mix, David being a control freak, etc.) But oveall this episode was terrible.

I'm getting really sick of the "The Simpsons are going to..." line

The Fresca joke has been used already (with Mountain Dew).

Bart and Homer are getting increasinly annoying with each new episode.

Lisa's crush: ;-/

Maggie's "dance scene" would have been better if they used a generic dance song sound bite. Fuckin Britney Spears :(


I love David Byrne, but even he can't save the Simpsons now. 1/5

[Tomacco]

I find it interesting that the "Barting Over" rerun got higher ratings than the new ep.

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I find it interesting that the "Barting Over" rerun got higher ratings than the new ep.

I think "Barting over" was better written anyway. :)

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by Simpsonite
I think "BARTING OVER' better written anyway. :)

Mistake posting: please ignore (sorry) :(

[Maddog53]

I found the first act amazing, I found the song really funny and I thought that perhaps I was wrong for being afraid about this episode. Then they went to the dude ranch and everything fell apart.

I really liked the Maggie/Britney Speares thing.

I found the Gollum reference to be pointless and lame. I guess I'm one of the only ones to think that, but there you have it.

You can read my FULL REVIEW HERE!! (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-205580/blockid-97961/)

1.5/5.

Maddog.

[necrulez]

Just watched it again, and i even liked it better the second time. I admit, it felt like a Scully-episode with the weak storyline and the guest-stars, but this episode had good and clever jokes. No horrible Homer bleeding orf even jerkass stuff. The Flanders-song was awesome imo, and the many references(LOTR, Misery etc) were very well done.

I'm really suprised by the negative ratings on this forum, since this ep was ways better than Helter Shelter or Pray Anything, which both got a average rating above 3/5. Maybe that's because of the good string of episodes lately??

[Clarence]

2/5 , and what do I have to back up my opinion ... well nothing. It was just crap , but not bad enough to be called absolute crap.

[NoOneFamous]

I'd like to see who voted for what option in the poll, because the results sure don't match the posts. Almost everyone gave it a 2/5 or lower. I swear, a bunch of lurkers come and vote 4s and 5s each week regardless of how good the episode was.

[Mayor Quimby]

Personally I found this to be a great episode 4.5/5, I think everyone is so high strung on the wackiness of the first act they didn't enjoy the episode.

[Toxic Monkey]

wow...good to know i wasnt the only one who liked this episode.

[Simpson Purist]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
I'd like to see who voted for what option in the poll, because the results sure don't match the posts. Almost everyone gave it a 2/5 or lower. I swear, a bunch of lurkers come and vote 4s and 5s each week regardless of how good the episode was.

I'll admit it, I voted 4/5, if only because it wasn't a horrible episode. *bows head in shame*

That's the problem with this voting scale, I didn't think it was bad, nor did I think it was great. I thought it was middle-of-the-road, hence my 6.5/10 on my scale. Remember this, you have to read the members' reviews in order to get the real meat, if we just looked at the score, then people might mis-interpret as a bad review when in fact the reviewer meant to give the episode a mixed review than a negative one.

[HellBender]

This has to be one of the most underrated episodes in years!
This episode definitively gets the lowest poll rating of the season.

Sure it wasn't a brillantly written episode or satire; it was just very enjoyable light entertainment.

They made up for the mediocre plot with good jokes and some emotion. I found most of the jokes to be funny (Maggie dancing, the Christmas carol scenes) and the song was catchy and great, the fact that it took up most of the 1st act didn't bother me.

Well it obviously wasn't a perfect episode, it had some flaws: a few lame jokes (What was the deal with that cactus scene?) and the ending was weak, Moe's song was great though, and it pretty much justifies the Misery reference early on (I guess Moe wanted Byrne to produce one of his songs)

I voted for a 4/5, but I'd rate it 3.5/5 due to the poor plot. The episode was very entertaining, and that's enough to give it a good review.

[cboy]

Dude, where was the humour?

Not the best of efforts. Bad cameo, poor plot, the Flanders song was average.

[Thrillhouse24]

i rated it 3/5 it was pretty good but it seemed alot different like they were trying to make the simpsons family guy. well it was pretty good i liked seeing rabbi krustophsky

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by necrulez
Maybe that's because of the good string of episodes lately??

You might have something there. Even for me, as someone who liked this episode, it wasn't as good as every other episode since "Barting Over". But hell, that speaks wonders for this season, which has been great.

[Tomacco]

Do you think someone could record and host the Flanders song?
I think we would all love a download. :p

[caribou]

Hey, I liked this episode for what it was meant to be: Fun.

The songs in this episode blow everything since "We Put the Spring in Springfield" to hell and back -- which I can only assume is due to the expert writing abilites of one Mr. Ken Keeler, who co-wrote the Flanders song with Ian Maxtone-Graham. How long has it been since Keeler had a hand in the show? Here's hoping for a full episode next season...

Anyway, Ian Maxtone-Graham may be a jerk, but he wrote an okay episode.

[Warren]

The only times I laughed were the Gollum parody and the Maggie joke. This episode was horrible,it did exactly as I expected it to do. 1/5.

[Channel Surfer]

Origonally posted by Maddog53
I found the first act amazing, I found the song really funny and I thought that perhaps I was wrong for being afraid about this episode. Then they went to the dude ranch and everything fell apart.

I really liked the Maggie/Britney Speares thing.

I found the Gollum reference to be pointless and lame. I guess I'm one of the only ones to think that, but there you have it.

You can read my FULL REVIEW HERE!! (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-205580/blockid-97961/)

1.5/5.

Maddog.

Nice review. Very reminiscent of my comments on "Helter Shelter" back when it aired (OK first act, everything else sucked kind of feeling). I also didn't care much for the Gollum reference either, but it was quick and out of the way, so it didn't bug me much either.

My grade is a bit higher then yours (though I think that's the trend), but you more or less captured my feelings in any case.

[caffolote]

Aw man! I missed it, I was watching Backlash on PPV. :( Oh well, they will show it again.

[Miss Springfield]

whats going on i cant find it on kazaa lite someone answer me quit ignoring me. I wont be able to see it til after august because of the big brother crap.

[Channel Surfer]

Just to get an idea of where this episode ranks for me overall this season.

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

[Rowdy]

I could list the three moments that I let out a slight chuckle..........at least they were evenly spread out with one to each act.........

-Disney Gag in the first act
-Homer's line about Native Americans being "guests" to our nation
-That one character who kept dancing

There was a musical number that didn't go anywhere. A storyline featuring Homer and Bart that really served nothing interesting. Lisa's plotline could be spotted from miles away to say the least. Not to mention that she was totally out of character. The old Lisa would have instantly tried to ride the horses or take pleasure in the environment. Instead, she just tries to be as PC as possible the whole time. Ugh. The only good thing about the episode was that it moved rather quickly, so it would be less painful to watch again than this year's unbearable (for me anyway) "Mr. Spritz Goes To Washington". Kind of sad that the year's best ep ("Three Gays of the Condo") had to be so close to it's nearly worst one.

Grade: 1.5/5

[Rowdy]

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
I'd like to see who voted for what option in the poll, because the results sure don't match the posts. Almost everyone gave it a 2/5 or lower. I swear, a bunch of lurkers come and vote 4s and 5s each week regardless of how good the episode was.

You're definitely on the money there. I really think we need a new system. Basically, we should still vote using the same grading scale, but do it in our posts. The polls are pointless as we have so many people just simply giving an episode a grade. Obviously, it's the younger crowd of lurkers who want to get back to their Nintendos before going to bed are the ones that are doing this and it really screws up the results. I mean "Helter Shelter" seemed to be loathed by everyone that posted about it, yet it still ended up with a passing grade of over 3/5. There seems to be about twice as many votes in the polls as there are different people that have replied to the thread........

[Tibor]

Lisa's plotline could be spotted from miles away to say the least. Not to mention that she was totally out of character. The old Lisa would have instantly tried to ride the horses or take pleasure in the environment. Instead, she just tries to be as PC as possible the whole time.

I KNEW I was forgetting something. Yeah, that whole PC-thug Lisa thing surfaced a couple of times here. Oh, and the Gollum gag didn't do anything for me either. Not awful, more along the lines of 'WTF'?

IMG, you've done it again.

[Miss Springfield]

U GUYS R DOING IT ON PURPOSE~ HAVE ANY OF U DOWNLOADED IT ONTO KAZAA? COS EVERY OTHER EPI IS AVAILABLE BUT THAT ONE!

[Tibor]

Doing what on purpose? Listen, it ain't that great. If you want to see it solely because Jonathan-Whoever is in it, I'm sure there is a wide selection of pornography with his face photoshopped onto it on the internet. Who knows, he may have taken such a dive after Home Improvement that you can find the real deal.

[Calamachino]

I'd like to see who voted for what option in the poll, because the results sure don't match the posts. Almost everyone gave it a 2/5 or lower. I swear, a bunch of lurkers come and vote 4s and 5s each week regardless of how good the episode was.

Originally posted by Rowdy
You're definitely on the money there. I really think we need a new system. Basically, we should still vote using the same grading scale, but do it in our posts. The polls are pointless as we have so many people just simply giving an episode a grade. Obviously, it's the younger crowd of lurkers who want to get back to their Nintendos before going to bed are the ones that are doing this and it really screws up the results. I mean "Helter Shelter" seemed to be loathed by everyone that posted about it, yet it still ended up with a passing grade of over 3/5. There seems to be about twice as many votes in the polls as there are different people that have replied to the thread........

There's something called an OPINION! Some peoples OPINION can be different from others. I enjoyed the episode, but didn't think it was perfect, so I gave it a 4. Quit your whining, and let people vote what they want.

[Tibor]

He's right, you know. The whole concept of voting doesn't require the voter to be informed, or agree with you for that matter.

Of course, I agree with Rowdy that it isn't reflecting the quality of the episodes. But it isn't bothering me that much.

[DotheBartman]

I think Rowdy's point was that people who don't bother to POST shouldn't be voting, because obviously they didn't care enough to even type one or two sentences. If all you do is vote, you're not exactly getting your opinion out there in the best possible way.

Anyways, count me in as someone that really didn't care at all for the Gollum joke. That was a joke where they really DID seem like they were trying to be Family Guy, and do a completely random pop culture reference for the hell of it and without any real reason to do it (as many pop culture refs as the old episodes had, they were usually more or less in context, like doing a "Full Metal Jacket" reference in an episode about war), but they weren't really able to make it that funny. Plus, the whole thing smacked of "lets do a joke about a current craze!". My sister, who's a big LOTR fan (she's seen Two Towers four times in theaters) didn't care for it either, and verbally expressed that with "that was stupid".

[Handsome Pete]

You know, I recorded the episode yesterday for a friend and I watched it a second time, this time thinking that well...I was just a little bit harsh on it. Some of the gags didn't seem to be as bad to me (some of them were pretty funny this time), and the Flanders song was more bearable this time around. However, these differences didn't constitute a major change in my opinion of this episode, so I'm staying with my 2/5. I can see where some people might find some jokes I didn't like funny, though.

And I agree that the Gollum gag was a little stupid, DoTheBartman, but...I didn't really mind it. Besides, I've always liked Gollum...

[Tibor]

I must admit that it gets a little cred from me for the fact that it was actually Andy Serkis. I'm not sure why though...

...(as many pop culture refs as the old episodes had, they were usually more or less in context, like doing a "Full Metal Jacket" reference in an episode about war)...

Hey, they pulled of a FMJ ref in Dead Putting Society! ;)

[Andy]

Well, Dead Putting Society did have that whole war metaphor going on (Homer vs. Flanders).

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Tibor
I must admit that it gets a little cred from me for the fact that it was actually Andy Serkis. I'm not sure why though...



Hey, they pulled of a FMJ ref in Dead Putting Society! ;)


Well, the guest star itself smacked of "lets have an excuse to put another guest star on and use in future resumes and press releases!".

You're right, I'd forgotten about that. I was actually referring to Bart the General though (though, I guess you probably already knew that, hence the winking smilie). But as PEF said, even Dead Putting Society kind of had the whole war between Homer and Ned, and Bart and Todd, so it was still appropriate me thinks.

[chumpbender]

So many mixed reviews, I thought I would add one more. Personally I liked this ep. Not one of the best this season, but better than a few I can think of. I personally thought it was better than last weeks 3 Gays in a Condo, it sure made me laugh more. I have to say I was as worried about this ep as much as the rest of you, but a few minutes into it, I realized it might not be to bad. I gave it a 4 but I would have given it a 3.5, but thought, hey, it made me laugh more then a few times, why round down? I don't see how some people said its compleat crap, it seems like they must have been trying to to laugh, because I just couldn't help myself. All and all a pretty good ep, but nothing too special.

[NoOneFamous]

Originally posted by Calamachino
There's something called an OPINION! Some peoples OPINION can be different from others. I enjoyed the episode, but didn't think it was perfect, so I gave it a 4. Quit your whining, and let people vote what they want. I don't mind if you liked it or not, but at least you told us what grade you gave it. I just find it annoying that week after week, 4/5 gets the most votes, no matter how much the episode sucks, and half the time the poll results don't match the posts/review grades at all. The fact that anyone could give something like Helter Shelter a 4/5 baffles me, and I think its because many anonymous voters give a good grade for every episode no matter what, which really sort of defeats the purpose of these threads in the first place.

Maybe I'm taking the review threads too seriously, but this is really the only good open place on the internet to review new Simpsons episodes, and these are arguably the most important threads on the NHC.

[Maddog53]

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
Nice review. Very reminiscent of my comments on "Helter Shelter" back when it aired (OK first act, everything else sucked kind of feeling). I also didn't care much for the Gollum reference either, but it was quick and out of the way, so it didn't bug me much either.

My grade is a bit higher then yours (though I think that's the trend), but you more or less captured my feelings in any case.

Thanks. It is quite a bit like your Helter Shelter review, which brings up an interesting point for me. I think the atmosphere in which I watch episodes greatly influences my grades. I gave a pretty high grade to Helter (a 4/5) which I think I would drop down to a 3 or 2.5 on later reflection. I gave it such a high grade because I was with a group of people who were laughing at a lot of scenes and I felt happy while watching it because I was with friends and was having a good time. This episode I watched alone and just did not get into, hence the 1.5 grade. Perhaps I shouldn't post this question here, but I will anyways: does atmosphere influence how you grade episodes, or is it just me?

Maddog.

[necrulez]

Originally posted by brooke2003
U GUYS R DOING IT ON PURPOSE~ HAVE ANY OF U DOWNLOADED IT ONTO KAZAA? COS EVERY OTHER EPI IS AVAILABLE BUT THAT ONE!

i've put it on KaZaa, so u should be able to download it...

[Miss Springfield]

THANK YOU! whats ur user name i only get 1 result and it comes up as remotely quequed whatever that means.

[necrulez]

necrulez@kazaa ;have u tried 'search more'?? i've put kazaa online so u should be able to download it....

[Simpsonite]

You know guys,(sighs)... Do you think that perhaps most of us are being a bit too negative towards recent OFF episodes?

For instance,I saw the "Dude,Where's my Ranch" episode AGAIN, and I have to admit, it wasn't all that bad. I think that most of us who seem to be very studious and educated about OFF, walk into NEW episodes with preconceived notions, EXPECTING terrible writing,so when we do watch it,the nicking and picking on every little flaw is that much magnified and that much easier to do. Strangely, thats because we love the show.
Usually when you are endeared towards something or someone you expect the best for and from them,and thats probably the case with "Ranch"and other recent eps.. In the Earlier years of "THE SIMPSONS",WE WATCHED THE SHOW HAVING HIGH EXPECTATIONS and it met it or surpassed it with flying colors!!,NOWADAYS, we're let down when it does not reach it,and we get somewhat discouraged behind it,then the onslaughts toward the show ensues(which is,ofcourse, understandable)...But,IF YOU CAN,
try watching it again with a different,rather,POSITIVE frame of mine(or any upcoming episode)and see if your views change.

Ofcourse everyones entitled to their own opinion, but don't base your feelings on prejudgement,rather,look at "THE SIMPSONS" as though they were good friends coming over to visit every weekend. (I hope I'm making sense,somehow). :)

[NoOneFamous]

Originally posted by Simpsonite
You know guys,(sighs)... Do you think that perhaps most of us are being a bit too negative towards recent OFF episodes?Nope, because I've given many As and Bs to episodes this season, and more Cs than Ds or Fs. Its just that I know when I don't like an episode, and I didn't like this one, so thats why I'm being harsh on it. You're probably getting discouraged by all the negative reviews for this episode, but just wait for another good episode, or go read the reviews for Special Edna (http://nohomers.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20711) or 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky (http://nohomers.net/showthread.php?threadid=25225). Even the most negative of reviewers give good reviews sometimes.

[Jake]

Originally posted by Simpsonite
You know guys,(sighs)... Do you think that perhaps most of us are being a bit too negative towards recent OFF episodes?...



If I think it's good, I'll say it's good, if it's bad, I'll say it's bad. Why do people piss and moan saying I must give any episode fifty two repeat viewings in order to suddenly, nay--MAGICALLY--see it improve?

[used]

Originally posted by Simpsonite
I think that most of us who seem to be very studious and educated about OFF, walk into NEW episodes with preconceived notions, EXPECTING terrible writing,so when we do watch it,the nicking and picking on every little flaw is that much magnified and that much easier to do.

I would agree, but most people were expecting Large Marge, and Barting Over to be terrible episodes, but becausse they weren't they got good ratings. Many people expected this to be a bad episode, and many believe it was.

[Tibor]

For instance,I saw the "Dude,Where's my Ranch" episode AGAIN, and I have to admit, it wasn't all that bad. I think that most of us who seem to be very studious and educated about OFF, walk into NEW episodes with preconceived notions, EXPECTING terrible writing,so when we do watch it,the nicking and picking on every little flaw is that much magnified and that much easier to do. Strangely, thats because we love the show.

I watched it again, and liked it even less. In fact, the nagging things that bothered me about this episode only fester over time. Nit-picking isn't something I waste too much time on. For example, the continuity goof with Lisa's crush didn't really bother me. It is Ian-Maxtone Graham. In fact, I usually overlook nits when I really like an episode, such as Special Edna and Mr. Spritz.

I don't mind if you liked it or not, but at least you told us what grade you gave it. I just find it annoying that week after week, 4/5 gets the most votes, no matter how much the episode sucks, and half the time the poll results don't match the posts/review grades at all. The fact that anyone could give something like Helter Shelter a 4/5 baffles me, and I think its because many anonymous voters give a good grade for every episode no matter what, which really sort of defeats the purpose of these threads in the first place.

I think it has a lot to do with people being afraid to post that they liked an episode when the overwhelming and vocal consensus is that it was bad.

[King Lear]

It was a few hilarious gags and some "one-liners" that held together this otherwise "wacky" and disjointed episode. I've seen worse (Simpsons Safari, Mansion family, etc...) and I managed to get a few laughs from this episode. Definately not the best of the Simpsons but not the worst either, 2.5/5

[Furious D]

Originally posted by dondelinger
yes it definitely wasnt her first crush.

corey
mr bergstrom
nelson
luke
jesse (i believe this was the guys name in lisa the treehugger)

Don't forget Langdon Alger (spelling?). I was so pissed at the "first crush" line Lisa gave at the end, but then I thought about it later, is it possible that the writer's only put that in there to piss fans off, such all the regulars at nohomers? I'm definitely not going to rule out that possibility.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Simpsonite
You know guys,(sighs)... Do you think that perhaps most of us are being a bit too negative towards recent OFF episodes?

For instance,I saw the "Dude,Where's my Ranch" episode AGAIN, and I have to admit, it wasn't all that bad. I think that most of us who seem to be very studious and educated about OFF, walk into NEW episodes with preconceived notions, EXPECTING terrible writing,so when we do watch it,the nicking and picking on every little flaw is that much magnified and that much easier to do. Strangely, thats because we love the show.
Usually when you are endeared towards something or someone you expect the best for and from them,and thats probably the case with "Ranch"and other recent eps.. In the Earlier years of "THE SIMPSONS",WE WATCHED THE SHOW HAVING HIGH EXPECTATIONS and it met it or surpassed it with flying colors!!,NOWADAYS, we're let down when it does not reach it,and we get somewhat discouraged behind it,then the onslaughts toward the show ensues(which is,ofcourse, understandable)...But,IF YOU CAN,
try watching it again with a different,rather,POSITIVE frame of mine(or any upcoming episode)and see if your views change.

Ofcourse everyones entitled to their own opinion, but don't base your feelings on prejudgement,rather,look at "THE SIMPSONS" as though they were good friends coming over to visit every weekend. (I hope I'm making sense,somehow). :)

There is truth to this, whether you recognize it or not. Everyone went into "Dude Where's My Ranch" saying 'this will suck' and just began looking for problems when it started. Doesn't apply to everyone but it does to some.

[NoOneFamous]

Yeah but Tomacco, like they said before, everyone went in to MANY episodes this season thinking they will suck, and most of those episodes turned out fine. The majority just thought this episode sucked, and those who liked it just have to accept that. To be honest, I was trying to avoid looking for things I didn't like and trying to find things I did like, but I wasn't finding much, if anything.

Also, I agree with whoever that complaining about some continuity errors is just nitpicking, since its usually stuff the fans would notice anyway. But the Lisa thing was so obvious, that even someone who only watches The Simpsons every once in awhile would catch it, seeing as how shes had crushes or mentioned boys shel iked in at least 10 episodes.

[Miss Springfield]

i still get nothing. every week u guys go that sucked then go it wasnt that bad

[Miss Springfield]

necro i am having problems with my inbox some crap says i cant get messages even though i havent got any please respond here. thankyou for messaging me i emailed nhc with no reply from them yet.

[Molman]

I came in with low expectations, and after watching I can say that 'Dude' was an episode I could easily forget. The first act was useless; there could have been a better way to link the Flanders hate song to going to the ranch. It's also coming apparent that the Rich Texan must die, and the Maggie/Britney bit was somewhat predictable. However, I have to admit that if I watched the episode again I might like it more, but not by much. I'd give it a 2.5/5. The execution could've have been better.

BTW: Since when did Lisa NOT want to ride a pony?

[bmac]

Well, I finally downloaded and watched the ep. And I am now going to post my review without reading any of this thread whatsoever.

This episode was absolutely horrid. I give it a 1/5. Absolutely terrible plot and sub-plot, lame and/or reused jokes that weren't funny, the first five minutes was practically all in song, and the characters didn't even act like themselves. Such as when Lisa sent the girl down the wrong trail, she mumbled "i hate you", i don't know about you, but I have never seen Lisa act in such a way, completely out of character. And Lisa having another crush twas very predictable, along with her love of animals and not wanting to hurt them, seems like no one even tried to make this episode good. And Maggie dancing to Britney Spears made me want to slam my head into a wall. I laughed maybe twice the whole episode. Once again the writers have resorted to writing non-sensical, slapstick jokes that have no substance and hardly any connection to the actual episode. Absolutely terrible.

[*Waylon Smithers*]

3/5
It was actually better than I expected it to be, because I thought it was going to be an 'improvement' on EIEI-D'oh. Lisa was way out of character, I mean, since when was she that interested in boys and since when was she that mean. Since when did beavers become so vicioius? And that Maggie dancing was funny, but they already did something so similar. Everything else was fine, but it was kind of low on humor.

[necrulez]

Originally posted by brooke2003
necro i am having problems with my inbox some crap says i cant get messages even though i havent got any please respond here. thankyou for messaging me i emailed nhc with no reply from them yet.
in fact, downloading episodes is ways more easier and effective with Bittorrent than with Kazaa. Do u have msn-messenger? If so, i can add u, so i can explain the whole bittorrent-thing to ya

[Miss Springfield]

i dont want to download another program just to get that shit. it kazaa keeps fucking closing down on me every time i go to play it.......... its taking too longgggggggg........

[necrulez]

´aight. It really IS online now on KaZaa. Search for ´nohomers´ and u should get my file....

[Miss Springfield]

NO I JUST GOT IT OFF THE OTHER THING HOW DO I OPEN IT NOW IT WONT DO WITH WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER how do i get it off you from kazaa

[Miss Springfield]

how do i get it from youuuuuuu

[NoOneFamous]

Its nearly impossible to find a specific user over Kazaa, so just keep trying, and eventually, someone will have it. and if that doesn't work, IM or PM him or something. But stop filling this thread with pointless posts. I don't know why you care so much, it was a horrible episode anyway.

[Matty]

The stupid Home Improvement kid gueststarred. Apperently, there are even fans of him

[Friz]

What a vastly enjoyable episode.

I loved the Flanders song. Haven't had a song since.. well, last episode. Also, we could let the amusing "Flanders wife is dead" jokes away for a while. Every scene had an amusing joke. Candy was a very good character.

Didn't care much for the Lisa plotline. At all. Nor the beavers. What was this about again?

7/10

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by Friz
What a vastly enjoyable episode.

I loved the Flanders song. Haven't had a song since.. well, last episode. Also, we could let the amusing "Flanders wife is dead" jokes away for a while. Every scene had an amusing joke. Candy was a very good character.

Didn't care much for the Lisa plotline. At all. Nor the beavers. What was this about again?

7/10 You said "Candy" was a good character. I think you meant "Cookie", the old man or perhaps "Clara", the boys' sister. (just helping) :)

[Mafia]

hmm... Homer's song about Flanders is probably (and sadly) the best song of the season (not counting the bit in Disney World with Homer singing one line and walking away). What's with the return of songs? For most of this season, they have all been too forced, unfunny, and not even catchy.

[Friz]

Shut it, Simpsonite... ;)

Sorry, I had just been doing a test that day on "Of Mice and Men"

And I meant Cookie. Clara was just lameness.

[StrideR]

Strangely enough, I watched Duckman and The Critic a couple of hours after I caught the end of this episode and, wacky as they were, I found both to be more interesting and humorous than what I saw of OFF's adventure in hickville. It's also pretty strange how I stay up till 3 AM watching Duckman, while I'm nowhere near the tube at 8 PM on Sunday nights.

Strange...

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by Friz
Shut it, Simpsonite... ;)

Sorry, I had just been doing a test that day on "Of Mice and Men"

And I meant Cookie. Clara was just lameness. Yup,"Of Mice and Men" will do that to ya' everytime. :) LOL

(Besides,you're probably more educated on OFF than I am anyway.) :D

[Friz]

"Of Mice and Men" has a character named Candy.

You really wanna know why I put Candy? Really? Well, in a Friends episode, there is a birthing tape called "Candy and Cookie". I just got confused. There. I watch Friends. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW??!!

[|RABiD|]

A huge unexpecting surprise. This episode was chock full of fun stuff. Definitely not the abysmal episode people were expecting. Thumbs up! 4/5!

[Mike Scully]

Originally posted by HomertheGreat
Fair enough, it just had that sweet, emotional feel to me. The sad, somber music Lisa running in in tears going to her bed and Bart is sleeping there. So it went back to the music and she went back crying and then she ends up having to go up another flight of stairs because that cowboy is sleeping there. (I can't remember his name right now.) And as for the car scene, it seemed emotional to me because Lisa just got rejected and was crying and Marge was right there comforting her explaining the tough things about love and then says something about finding the one person you love forever. I saw great potential for good parenting and emotional that was ruined by Homer's comment. Maybe I'm just a sap for emotion, but that's just the way I feel

And the spelling of your name in my previous post was horrendous, my apologies...

I agree. I think this episode was trying to center around the Lisa story more than anything else, but with subplots involving the other family members, like in Summer 4'2''. And frankly, I thought it hurt this episode quite a bit to even include a half-assed tacked-on emotional bit if all they were going for was fun. This episode should have just gone for all-out wackiness with some satirical elements, like EIEI-D'oh, which was actually funny. The forced emotion shown in this episode just makes the show look very lame to casual viewers, and I would have preferred the Lisa subplot just scrapped out of the episode entirely.

[Simpsonite]

Originally posted by Friz
"Of Mice and Men" has a character named Candy.

You really wanna know why I put Candy? Really? Well, in a Friends episode, there is a birthing tape called "Candy and Cookie". I just got confused. There. I watch Friends. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW??!! Shhh. (I'm a "FRIENDS" fan also,so we're even.) ;)
Can't say I remember the birthing tape episode though,sorry. :(

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by Maddog53
Perhaps I shouldn't post this question here, but I will anyways: does atmosphere influence how you grade episodes, or is it just me?

Maddog.

This seems like a good thread topic.

I'd suspect atmosphere probably does affect my viewpoints on an episode, whether I'm conscience of it or not. I know, for instance, when I watched "Alone Again Natura-Diddily" with a large group of people about a year or so ago, I laughed quite a bit at some of the wackier gags (like the bear placing his droppings in the trash bin) then I would've had I been watching alone, probably due to the spontaneous laughter. Had that been my first viewing, I probably would've been more favorable to the episode then during my original viewing.

On the flipside though, I could see intersubjectivity producing a negative viewpoint too. Hypothetically speaking, if I viewed "Lisa's Substitute" in a group setting, and the crowd didn't care much for the Lisa/Bergstrom plotline, and was even poking wisecracks MST3K styled during the train scene, I'd suspect that'd probably affect the overall viewing pleasure of the episode in a negative way.

Generally speaking, I watch the episodes either alone or with just a few people though. Though there have been episodes that my views have changed on in retrospect though ("Bart vs. Lisa vs. the 3rd Grade" mostly).

Sorry for the late reply.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
This seems like a good thread topic.

I'd suspect atmosphere probably does affect my viewpoints on an episode, whether I'm conscience of it or not. I know, for instance, when I watched "Alone Again Natura-Diddily" with a large group of people about a year or so ago, I laughed quite a bit at some of the wackier gags (like the bear placing his droppings in the trash bin) then I would've had I been watching alone, probably due to the spontaneous laughter. Had that been my first viewing, I probably would've been more favorable to the episode then during my original viewing.

On the flipside though, I could see intersubjectivity producing a negative viewpoint too. Hypothetically speaking, if I viewed "Lisa's Substitute" in a group setting, and the crowd didn't care much for the Lisa/Bergstrom plotline, and was even poking wisecracks MST3K styled during the train scene, I'd suspect that'd probably affect the overall viewing pleasure of the episode in a negative way.

Generally speaking, I watch the episodes either alone or with just a few people though. Though there have been episodes that my views have changed on in retrospect though ("Bart vs. Lisa vs. the 3rd Grade" mostly).

Sorry for the late reply.

By contrast, I would enjoy episodes less if I watched them new with friends. A few of my buddies are very critical of new episodes, and tend to make a big deal about jokes that are lame, where as if I don't find something particularly funny, I don't moan much over it.

The only episode this season I watched with friends was "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", which happened to be a great episode though, so the response was good, and it was fun.

[Quimby]

A pretty good episode. 4/5

[Mayor Quimby]

Originally posted by Quimby
A pretty good episode. 4/5

Looks like your missing part of your name Mayor :D

[Friz]

I believe that the "Mayor Quimby" username has already been taken..

Another thing: Who cares?

[Glavin]

all in all i think for some reason the episode didnt flow very well, i can't really place my finger on it though.

The whole gollum thing made no sense at all. Don't get me wrong im a big LOTR fan but it looked like they just put it in there because gollum has been so popular latly and they needed to put him in somehow.

[Incognito, Guy]

If I see the collar grab or Maggie dancing one more time, I'm going to have to kick someone's ass. What are the freaking thinking???

[George Cauldron]

They think that's what the fans want.

[George Cauldron]

I wouldn't say the episode was terrible, but it was indeed very very very forgettable, with very few redeeming qualities in it. It's unoriginal, and the so-called gags, if they can so be called were hardly funny. The episode was nearly twenty minutes of complete boredom and/or random silliness. The song that Homer wrote was nowhere near as good, lyrically or musically as any of the songs I've heard on the show in the past, even You're A Bunch Of Stuff (from Large Marge) was better than this. The only bits that made me smile were the couch gag of the family miming onto an invisible couch, and the family carol