Rate/Review EABF22 "The Regina Monologues"

[Tomacco]

Go for it! Sorry for the lateness!

[Mr.Bunny]

Ok, I as I watching it upon the first airing, I wasn't that impressed. There seemed to be way to many pointless guest stars, Joe Millionaire was not nessecary. J.K. Rowling and Ian Mckellan(spelling?) I didnt find that funny.
I thought there was some bad characterization on Lisa behalf, unlike last weeks episode. Most of her act in the first segment seemed too...fake remarks. "Mom does soo much for us...." It didn't "feel" like Lisa.
Some jokes didnt seem to fit on the first airing, but once I watched it again, some seemed to fit right. As I was watching, I thought of the UK viewers and what they were thinking. I doubt I would of liked the Canada episode as much if I wasn't from there.

Overall, there were some bad parts....very bad. But after watching it again, it got more points. Not the greatest episode of the season, but it was tollerable.
I would give it 3.5/5 Maybe a bit less. I'm not sure.

[Stackhouse]

Hmm... not bad. Not good, for that matter.

The guest stars were pointless (but not annoying- Tony Blair surprised me), and it really wasn't that funny- when it was clear that was what this episode was shooting for. It did entertain me, however. I might have to give it a rewatch before giving a final grade... but for now,

C+

[Moose of Doom!]

Pretty funny. Many many English references and somewhat good usage of guest stars. It ended quickly but having the episode mock the formula for the past vacation episodes makes up for it.

4/5

[thestonedkoala]

I liked some of the guests but most of it was bland. Homer was...well he wasn't the Scully era Homer but he wasn't the same Homer we saw last week.

Not good not bad but I hope they improve.

C+

[kevin]

Wow, that was "worst episode ever" caliber. Few laughs and baisically no plot. 1/5.

[Wavy Gravy]

Smashing good job! This season is just one hit after another. It started out fine, with a nice Burns/Smithers sequence (Smithers' face while helping Burns with the card, Burns being knocked over by the bill). Bart's little museum idea also elicited some laughs, especially the "200th Episode" shirt. Grampa's little subplot, while short, was still a nice little undertone. Once the show got to the UK, however, it really took off. Great satire in the same vein as 2F13 "Bart Vs. Australia", and I felt the guest voices weren't all that bad (Tony Blair was funny, as were J.K. Rowling and Sir Ian McKellen, though I didn't see the need for Evan Mariott). Great trippy scene with Bart and Lisa (if it was a parody, it went over my head), and a briskly funny setup to Homer's trial. Great to hear the return of Bart's cockney accent, Homer's prayer was hilarious, and it all wrapped up very briefly but still humorously. All in all, another fine episode - though I can't wait to hear the riots once it airs across the pond.

4/5

[Mafia]

8.8/10

After an episode last week that I thought was excellent for its elements, I realized after thinking that I didn't laugh as much as I'd like, thinking it didn't capitalize on the oppurtunity to make it better. As the problem in the later episodes of the series, certain things are missing while other things are correct. While tonight's episode didn't have the creative touch of last week's musical, i thought it filled up well in the hilarity column. It kept the problem of too many guest stars, but I wasn't bothered by it. I actually enjoyed this episode. It might have been my low expectations that made me think it was excellent. All guest stars weren't needed though (none were needed). I'll think of exact jokes upon my second viewing. Last week's episode was better, but this was excellent too.

[pat]

I guess it makes more sense to have it in The Voting Booth. I copied and pasted this from the speculation thread, lack of communication.

It was a pretty good episode, except for a few things. I was hoping for the Grampa subplot to be featured a little more than just in the beginning and in the very end, instead it's another wacky vacation episode. Also, the guest stars. Tony Blair's appearance was funny and Sir Ian McKellen's was really good. J.K. Rowling's was useless and could easily have been done without, but I won't complain about that too much. Jane Leeves was very underused, just like the whole subplot with Edwina. But, unlike previous wacky vacation episodes, this was funny, and I really liked the first act, especially the first scene with Mr. Burns getting knocked out by the $1000 bill. The traffic circle scene went on too long I think. So, although annoying in some parts, it was funny in others and it was a pretty good episode. This is gonna be a season to remember, when even the vacation episode is above average to pretty good. Grade: 8/10 or 4/5.

[newhook_1]

It was very funny, and the shot at Canada was great, I'm not very patriotic so I love when someone disses my country :P . Favorite part of the ep for me was Sir Ian McKellen. The whole thing where he just kept getting shocked and then the bill board fell on him was great (So Bart is really the one who brought balance to the force..... </Star Wars Nerd>). 4/5

[brazilian812]

while i liked the episode, Tony Blair's spot was pretty dumb. all he talked about was how nice England was. the script was porbably pretty edited for him to do it. that's my only major complaint

i did like how he was also Mr. Bean though.

[tim]

absolutely horrible. i hated every single second of it, and i didn't laugh once.

my expectations were too high.

[Spooner]

Well, I wasn't able to TiVo this episode *menacing glare directed at his Dad and his friggin Sopranos* so I can't rally go back and list the good parts. I remember laughing though. A lot. Couple groans, mainly directed twaord Sir Ian and the wholoe MacBeth bit. Not bad, but HORRIBLE.

(just a heads up, as a Family Guy afficianado I can tell ya some of the Family Guy fans are gonna be pissed about the Trainspotting refernce because it was done in the same context as it was in "Love Thy Trophy". But please people, I'm not up for another long pointless debate on something like this, so let's just leave this as a warning for you to watch out)

Favorite part had to have been Bart and Lisa's sugarbuzz, good stuff, with the bond style ferris wheel and everything. It's quickly fading from memory now.... and damnit, I forgot it. Anyway, good stuff.

3.5/5

JK Rowling sucks.

[magus7000]

wow... i actually thought that episode was fantastic. I loved all the little references. I didnt find the guest stars to be too pointless. I thought the story flowed well, no jerkass homer, and just all-around great satire.

but the best. the BEST part was the Giggs reference (see pic in sig)... i was dying when he said that.

[ShadowBun]

Well, can't say I was too thrilled about this one. It even flirted with KTAAR status at times...

Act 1: A good opening, in fact. The Burns/Smithers section at the beginning was funny enough, and I liked the four-digit-Burns'-age joke. The Museum of Modern Bart scenes were good enough, and I kinda liked Bart going along with giving Marge a vacation, plus the subplot showed some promise with Grampa. Good line: "...turns out, we really WERE being shipped off the next day!" 8/10

Act 2: Whoa, what happened? Suddenly we get thrown a ton of gags, but a great deal of them don't work at all...this includes most of the guest star spots, outside of J.K. Rowling's "Hello, little muggle." What was the deal with the two British gentlemen kissing? Random and unfunny. The whole thing was way over the top, and most gags just fell flat overall. I kinda liked Bart and Lisa's sugar rush, but was that a reference to something? It probably went over my head...anyway, way too wacky. 4.5/5

Act 3: Not really better. The court scene continued the trend of good gags outweighed by bad ones, and the characterization really started to slip here. I got a good laugh out of Bart and Lisa's "elephant butt" dialogue though. Umm...what else was there...more unmemorable stuff, mainly. Homer's speech to the Queen was fairly funny (Canada), and it was kinda funny seeing Abe's daughter, but the whole thing just felt disjointed overall. 5.5/10

Last week's episode was the best I've seen in years, but this one was overall, pretty bad. Few of the gags were really funny, and most bombed hard. It was a very Scullyish episode, with out-of-character OFF, and extremely wacky gags that didn't really work too well. A decent first act saves it from a 2, but I'll have to give it a

C-, 2.5/5

[Mr. Plow]

The episode was great in my book but the scene with the two men kissing had to do with nothing and really hurt the episode in my opinion. A lot of great jokes, and the apperances were pretty fun to watch. 3/5

[thestonedkoala]

Anyone noticed that again they go a little overbored with someone saying something in this episode?

Last episode it was Homer, this episode it was Marge. But I found it even more tiresome in this episode...just because it went even longer than Homer.

[The General]

I didnt have high expectations about this episode. The plot was dumb, the jokes were idiotic, lame and just plain not funny (And I think I counted 4 that were reused from other episodes. Homer crashing into the Queen was horribly unfunny, Bart and Lisa's candy trip was just a rip of of "Boy Scoutz In The Hood", and I think I can add Tony Blair, J.K. Rowling and Ian McKellan to my list of useless guest stars. The ending was stupid and this get my worst rating ever. 1/5.

P.S. Does anyone know where I can buy "Hockey Dad" for Game Cube?

[HomertheGreat]

Better than what I thought it would be, but meh it wasn't that great. It had some great moments. The whole first act was excellent, Hockey Dad's had me rolling. When Grandpa introduced his plot, I thought, hey that could be a cool plot, but I was really disappointed. It wasn't even used except for a 30 second bit and the ending. Though Homer's sister was hilarious. Some jokes also fell flat for me. Bart's dream was funny, but Homer's joke kind of killed it. The guest stars were pointless, and surprisingly Blair was the only one I laughed at. And the circle street (sorry I've forgotten the name) gag went on too long. And the two men kissing was terrible, though I saw it coming from a mile away. But there were some nice British poking and some good one-liners about America and England. B-/C+

[Clarence]

Once again, makes me question if I should continue to watch The Simpsons, for if this is the quality of episodes I can expect to see, they might as well cancel the show. Terrible, terrible, I almost couldn't stay for the whole episode. Alot of re-used predictable old/terrible jokes. And I still say the new animation sucks. The ending was tacky as hell how he avoided punishment. Just blah. I give it a Negative four billion out of five, it was so bad it actually brought down the show. This is the worst episode I've seen since season eleven. Well that's about it, ok I'm done. And I still say the digital animation sucks.

[Tomacco]

Okay, before I start, let's make sure we all understand and iron out the rules of a vaction episode:
1. Emotion is virtually unnecessary as these episodes are laugh-based entirely (ex: "Bart vs. Australia", "30 Minutes Over Tokyo", "City of NY vs Homer Simpson", "Itchy and Scratchy Land", and all of them, aside from "Special Edna")
2. Pacing and continuity still matters. "Kill the Alligator and Run" and "Simpson Safari" were no good because they were far too all-over-the-map.
3. The family should stay in character, but they don't really have to do much "work" in the episode, since most jokes are based on the family's surroundings.
4. There should be some concrete conflict on the vacation.

I think that'll do.

Tonight's episode was simple, and it was hilarious. As rule #1 says, this should be a laugh episode, and it was. Parodies of British culture and stereotypes were in force (dry British wit, Brits being gay, Harrod's, round-abouts, etc). British media and icons were there, and then some. From the Trainspotting parody (for those unfamiliar, it was the candy scene), to Dame Edna and Hugh Grant referencing, to plays, to Mary Poppins, to tabloids. Naturally, cameos were there too. All of them worked, minus Evan Marriott, who only had one small line, so I'll forgive that. In terms of the conflict, Homer being arrested will do. They brushed on Marge wanting a trouble-free vacation, which was good too, and the Grampa subplot was bonus I suppose. Basically, as long as it's not something as weird as the family going down an African river and monkey miners vs. Greenpeace, I don't complain much.

So what's left to keep it from perfect score? Well, act 1 I guess. However, act one was hilarious! Mr. Burns, the Hockey Dad game (as a past ref and hockey player, I've seen it all), and the Brazil meta-reference to the controversy after "Blame it On Lisa" it was funny funny stuff. The Bart Museum was the only thing in the episode that didn't work for me. Even the ending didn't bother me. I thought it was a lark.

4.5/5 (0.5 off for the Bart museum)

PS: This season will definitely be changing my grading scale very very soon.

[Charmy]

It ain't that great. It' everything I hate about vacation episodes: a bunch of random sketches about the country they're in with little plot to hold it together. The characterizations (Notably Burns and Lisa) were occassionally weird, and the whole thing didn't seem that funny. Grandpa's subplot was... what subplot? It's barely given enough airtime to form an opinion on.

C

[Jessfrogger88]

pretty terrible C- or 2/5

[SpongeBob No Pants]

its was a good ep

not the best of this year, i would rank it third, behind carjaker, and pearls

i give it a 4/5, not really because it was a 4 quality, but because i think giving it a 3 is to harsh

i'll have to watch it again to take it all in

[Icedragon]

4/5

Good eps, got a few great laughs, a few groans, but the good parts way outwieghed the bad parts in this one. It helps that I found the ending hilarious

[DotheBartman]

Before anyone asks, no I did not watch this. In fact, its airing right now I think, and I'm no where near the tv. You have no idea how much its killing me to not be watching it, but...its for the best.

Resume reviewing.

[Mr.Bunny]

Originally posted by Wavy Gravy

Very nice review! I agree with everything you said.

[Goty]

and the Brazil meta-reference to the controversy after "Blame it On Lisa"

Haha, cool..how was that?

[Maddog53]

I found this episdoe to be very good. I can see where people are coming from when they say that Lisa was a bit off in the first act, but I think that is very minor nitpick to the episode as a whole. I found everyone to be in character. More importantly, this episode was FUNNY. True, the second act was nothing more than a sketch show, but every vacation episode has followed the same basic structure (making many references to their surroundings). The minor nitpicks I would have to give would be the rifles of Homer, the two men kissing, Rowling's appearance, the elves and the horrible ending. Other than that I only have good things to say. 4/5. Read my complete review here. (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-223791/blockid-97961/)

Maddog.

[Tomacco]

What bugs me is how all the friggin promo footage wasn't in the episode. It's happened before, but man, that's a lot this time! The Homer giving finger bit, the Virgin Airlines airplane, and I'm not sure I remember the "I've been arrested in 6 continents!" line being in it (maybe I'm wrong about that one?). Also, I read there was a scene where Homer drinks tea with Tony Blair and spills it, like in the promo card.

This is why we need another 138th Episode Spectacular, especially since the DVDs have had no outtakes.

[eddie]

Fairly funny, interesting premise, and an okay use of the guest stars. Reminded me a little too much of "The Old Man and the Key" and "Bart vs. Australia" though, and the first act was awfully clunky (a common flaw in these Jean episodes). 6/10, B-

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Before anyone asks, no I did not watch this. In fact, its airing right now I think, and I'm no where near the tv. You have no idea how much its killing me to not be watching it, but...its for the best.

Resume reviewing.

I wish you would have watched it so I could see if we matched up reviews again. Personally, I think your protest is probably doing nothing but making you suffer. :( Hopefully you'll catch it in a rerun one day. And if you do, the Blair scene is the first scene folowing the first commercial break after act 1.

[used]

opening - are they ever going to have a blackboard gag this year?

act 1: hahaha, the bill knocked burns over. hockey dad joke is good. Sideshow Mel isnt funny. RD-D2 playing the bass... hahahah. Nelsons voice sounds off. HAahahah Lisa's diary. Why is Lisa standing on a half foot high stool? Grandpa's story was funny. Rifle joke is stupid. 3.5/5

act 2: uh oh, pointless guest star appearance number one. its not that bad. rocket pack is stupid. hahahahah Mr bean. Mini bar joke is ok. Pointless guest star number 2. Hahaha, british squeaky voice team. Sugar High joke already done. oh wait, this is turning into a good little bit. Homer and Marge in weird pod that glides on water not funny. Im sorry, but those two kissing brits was fucking hilarious. pointless guest star number 3. When will the simpsons writers understand that shocking isnt funny. We have traffic circles, doesnt the states? Homer has to get beaten.. gay. 3/5

act 3: Homecoming or dairy.. hahahah. Henrietta R. Hippo. Marge should not say friggin. Grandmother joke is good. Oh god, Homer's in jail. VCR joke stupid. hahaha, god of england, metric system is stupid.. hahahha, an elephants butt. Canada joke was awesome. Madonna ahahaha. Oh, they didnt completely forget about the grandpa story. I did. 3/5

overall 3.5/5. It was good. best vacation episode since Homer vs. nyc. All I can say is, if this had aired last year, I would have probably given it four, but they showed us with the last two episodes that they are better then this. Still good though. Im thinking Season 15 will be the best one since 8.

[pat]

Originally posted by Tomacco
What bugs me is how all the friggin promo footage wasn't in the episode. It's happened before, but man, that's a lot this time! The Homer giving finger bit, the Virgin Airlines airplane, and I'm not sure I remember the "I've been arrested in 6 continents!" line being in it (maybe I'm wrong about that one?). Also, I read there was a scene where Homer drinks tea with Tony Blair and spills it, like in the promo card.

This is why we need another 138th Episode Spectacular, especially since the DVDs have had no outtakes.

I think you're right about the "arrested in 6 continents" line, I didn't hear it either. I missed most of the promo, the only part of it I caught was the part with Tony Blair flying with a jet pack, which actually was in the episode. But I heard about what was in the promo the other day and I was surprised to see none of it in the episode, but since they cut stuff out of the episode every week seemingly, I shouldn't be surprised.

[Wavy Gravy]

Originally posted by Tomacco
What bugs me is how all the friggin promo footage wasn't in the episode. It's happened before, but man, that's a lot this time! The Homer giving finger bit, the Virgin Airlines airplane, and I'm not sure I remember the "I've been arrested in 6 continents!" line being in it (maybe I'm wrong about that one?). Also, I read there was a scene where Homer drinks tea with Tony Blair and spills it, like in the promo card.

This is why we need another 138th Episode Spectacular, especially since the DVDs have had no outtakes.

Precisely. I haven't seen promos this bad since BABF15 "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" ('member that one?).

[Rowdy]

Man, server is swamped right now or something.....

Looking at the mixed reviews, I'm not too entirely excited about seeing it when it airs here in an hour and a half.....I think the problem with the vacation episodes lately is that they don't have a singular storyline like "Bart vs. Australia" did for example. They usually move from one place to the next with silly two second jokes that border on the obvious or are just thrown in to help lengthen the script.......

Jonah, I don't see how you can knock "Simpsons Safari" for its continuity for instance when it was just as scattershot in its storylines as "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" was.......

[Mr.Bunny]

Originally posted by Wavy Gravy
Precisely. I haven't seen promos this bad since BABF15 "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" ('member that one?).
Anyone have a link to this weeks Promo, or Last Tap....
I havent seen either and would like to now.

[FooR]

I think its safe to say the "arrested in 6 continents" line was not in the episode

In my opinion, this was another disappointing vacation episode. 3/5 or C

[Tibor]

Meandering and quite meh, but not the offensively awful trainwreck many were anticipating. The guest spots all were as meh as the episode, the James Bond gag being the only thing working for Tony Blair (that and Homer's capper). J.K. Rowling's guest spot was mildly amusing and Ian Mckellan would have been good if shortened. The first act was quite strong and funny. The second act was a very hit and miss gag row. It wasn't until the third act that a clearly defined conflict (...of sorts) came about. Grampa's story had the most potential here but nothing came of it, save a few nice one-liners. The episode tried to have an emphatic plot thread in Marge never getting a good vacation (done and done better in I&S Land), but it never took hold and was left to go on the strength of the gags, which, as I said, weren't that strong, even if they had their moments. C+

[jesle]

I actually really enjoyed this episode. I thought that the acts were consistently funny and that few jokes fell flat. There were some gags that didn't make sense (Krispy Kreme at the prison?) and some unnecessary cameos (although I loved Rowling...I'm a HUGE HP fan), but overall it was surprisingly well done. I loved the Trainspotting parody (and don't give me the "it was on FG first" argument, cuz this was much longer and better IMHO) and, unlikely others here, my bf and I both loved the British men kissing. First, it appeared to be a parody of My Fair Lady (betting on individuals for fun), but then out of left field, they made out! Sorry, but I love that kind of joke, particularly when it's a jab at stuffy British people. My favorite part was the speech at the end about the US as Britain's children (and the subsequent gag about Canada and its gayness); it was so funny and well written.
Hockey Dad was also great and, although the Grampa subplot seemed under-developed, I really liked the ending. I guess Homer's got a half-sister now.

To sum up, 4.5/5, but for the poll, a perfect score of an A. Well done, Swartzwelder! Another great episode for this promising season.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Rowdy

Jonah, I don't see how you can knock "Simpsons Safari" for its continuity for instance when it was just as scattershot in its storylines as "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" was.......


I'll try to defend myself on this one. Here are the storyline steps to both episodes:

30 Minutes Over Tokyo:
- Family wants to go on vacation, and squeeze pennies to do so.
- They go to Japan, see sights.
- Things are really expensive (including bail for Homer and Bart) so they run out of money.
- They go on gameshow to get plane tickets back home (since they're broke)
- They go home.

Simpson Safari:
- Homer causes a bag boy strike.
- Homer wins animal cracker contest so they all go to Africa.
- They are shown around Africa, see sights.
- A hippo attacks them and drives them down a river.
- They meet a monkey researcher who shelters them.
- They help defend her refuge from poachers (Greenpeace)
- They find out the researcher is exploiting monkeys for mining.
- They're bought off.
- They go home.

The latter has more steps than "30 Minutes". Basically, "30 Minutes" was always based on the vacation idea, while "Safari" went from bagboy strike, to cracker prize, to vacation, to stranded in Africa, to monkey refuge defending, to getting bought off with diamonds.
That's definitely far more wacko.

[Toxic Monkey]

meh... 2/5

didn't laugh much, and got very annoyed with marge's "keep turning." im really losing all faith in these newer episodes. none have made me laugh like they used too. :(

[Rowdy]

In "30" though, Jonah, they didn't raise money to go on vacation.....the whole first act had nothing to do with it.....it was similar to the bagboy strike..sure "30" didn't take nearly as many twists, but "Safari" did have one joke relating back to the bag boy strike. I honestly don't see too much of a difference in their setup. I think the excellent humor in episodes like "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" help people to not care that it seems to jump around a lot.....it only became really obvious in "Simpsons Safari" since it had so many awful jokes.

[Spartan]

To me, it was just another vacation episode. The way they get to go wasn't bad, not bad at all. I especially loved Bart's dream in space and the R2 verse. Ho-hum in England.

TheSpartan's Official Rating: 5.1/10

[Handsome Pete]

Since I have to get something else done now, I'll keep this short and to the point. It was still a bit wackier (and more pointless) than I would have liked, and the guest stars didn't really go anywhere, but there were some lines good for a few chuckles (Topless Homer being advertised on the Sun's page 3 was amusing, and so was the Queen's intention of buying lightbulbs herself, just to name a couple). Also, this episode, while pointless and bizarre at times, didn't really annoy me too much or made me disgusted in any way. Even though a 2.5/5 (rounded up to 3) is the lowest score I've given an episode this season, I still think it's better than some of last season's blunders (the episode on after this still made me cringe a few times).
Aw well, you can't win them all.

[Le Jake]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Okay, before I start, let's make sure we all understand and iron out the rules of a vaction episode:


Here's another rule: Don't make any more vactation episodes. No go add that to your 'rule' book and go publish it.

After a very good episode and an episode that was mostly good, this one took the trend down a few levels. Homer's whining about America's greatness was downright irritating, the guest stars who the Simpsons 'just happened' to run into every 5 seconds made this thing seem downright hokey. Plus the 'sugar rush' scene and the bill scene were already used a long time ago.

This Simpsons is as the Simpsons does. Grade: 5/10. (D)

Jake
(Today's translation: "It was a lighthearted episode!", which means: "let's lower our standards!".)

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Jake
Here's another rule: Don't make any more vactation episodes. No go add that to your 'rule' book and go publish it.

After a very good episode and an episode that was mostly good, this one took the trend down a few levels. Homer's whining about America's greatness was downright irritating, the guest stars who the Simpsons 'just happened' to run into every 5 seconds made this thing seem downright hokey. Plus the 'sugar rush' scene and the bill scene were already used a long time ago.

This Simpsons is as the Simpsons does. Grade: 5/10. (D)

Jake
(Today's translation: "It was a lighthearted episode!", which means: "let's lower our standards!".)

The sugar rush scene was a Trainspotting parody, so it was new.
And Homer's American comments, you have to remember that these comments are coming from a bafoon who doesn't understand other cultures, so we should be laughing at him.

Was that rule book thing supposed to be hostile? It's hard to tell through writing, heh.

[or_smth]

3/5

+2 score for Trainspotting parody

No justification neccesary, but we all knew that this would suck anyway.

[MacGyver 666]

I wasn't expecting very much from "The Regina Monologues" so after seeing it, I was pretty satisfied with the episode. Sure there were a few gags that missed their mark, but the ones that hit were funny. (The ending being the most humorous) On the whole it was a nice solid episode; B+ (After the first viewing)

[Rowdy]

I kind of would have to agree with Jake there, I'd be fine if they never made another vacation episode again. The concept always seems tacky even if it's pulled off once in a great while. Come to think of it, "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" was the last vacation episode I enjoyed....

Don't Shoot! But I also think killing off the THOH series would be great. Obviously, it won't happen, but they seem so dull and lifeless these days that I can't help but want to see a regular episode instead...what are your thoughts on that, Jake?

[Andy]

All I have to say is that the sugar scene was the only thing that was funny or enjoyable. The rest was just filler.

Just really meh.

[Jolly Bengali]

Pasted - (poorly written, just not my night for this)

Well, I guess it was a little too much to hope for to get a third straight excellent episode. The bar was unfairly high for this episode, since two A's in a row has been a rare, rare thing in the second half of the run of "The Simpsons" on TV. It succeeded in some aspects, but I'm overall disappointed that more couldn't have been done with the story. As vacation episodes go, it was quite good, and if a few gags had been nixed and the plot tightened up some, it could have been up to the standard of the episodes before it. As it is though, "The Regina Monologues" is a disappointment. The story itself was standard vacation-episode fare, with a solid set-up for the family heading off for Britain. There were good moments with Burns and Bart, and Grampa's story was an entertaining ramble. Once in England, the episode gets funnier but also picks up some annoying habits. Pretty much every joke involving Britain or comparing Britain to America was intelligent and funny, which kept the episode lively. To go along with this, however, was an annoying trend of celebrities showing up, saying a few lines, and leaving. The guest appearances were funny, J.K. Rowling especially, but they also felt hideously forced. Tony Blair and the Queen seemed to be using the opportunity for propoganda, rather than serving the interests of comedy, and Ian McKellan's appearance was a comlete waste which messed with the reality that is usually present in the Simpsons universe. Besides the celebrities, though, the episode was consistently funny and most of the gags hit their targets. The most grating problem with the episode, though, was the sub-plot with Grandpa attempting to find the woman he slept with once in Britain. It kept being forgotten for long periods of time, and when it was re-introduced it was distracting. This in itself wasn't terrible, but the ending scene was so awful that it almost wrecked the episode for me. Throwing in a half-sister of Homer's out of the blue and then taking a clumsy and repetitive approach to the jokes utterly failed to wrap up the episode in a satisfying way. Instead, when coupled with a weak gag involving Madonna, it just left the episode with a black eye. Before the thrown-together ending, I would have given the episode a B+ or an A-. But the conclusion of the two plot threads was done so badly in comparison to other Simpsons episodes that it just magnified the flaws of the episode. I just hope that the next episode manages to be a return to the quality level that we now know can be regularly achieved on the show, and that it doesn't rush to the finish. Grade: B-

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I wish you would have watched it so I could see if we matched up reviews again. Personally, I think your protest is probably doing nothing but making you suffer. :( Hopefully you'll catch it in a rerun one day. And if you do, the Blair scene is the first scene folowing the first commercial break after act 1.

I don't think I'm really "protesting" per se, at least not anymore. I dunno...maybe I'll watch it in a rerun in a few years. But after last season severely tested my interest and love of the show (I was about ready to swear off ever watching so much as a rerun again at points), I just don't want to have my love and opinion of The Simpsons tested even more by watching an episode that guest stars a, (IMO of course) murderer. I'll be right back to watching the show come "Fat and the Furriest", no matter how bad it looks. But I have this nagging feeling that if I had watched tonight's episode, I'd be about ready to swear off the show again and would be dumping my t-shirts in the garbage can.

Basically, I'm just protecting myself from something that could ruin me severely on the show. Its like going to see one of those new live action/3D animation movies of a childhood favorite cartoon. Curiousity may make you want to see it, but in the end it can only disapoint and make you say "but the movie sucked" whenever the cartoon comes up in conversation. The Scully era has already become a staple of those conversations sadly. I don't need Blair.

[Le Jake]

Originally posted by Rowdy
Don't Shoot! But I also think killing off the THOH series would be great. Obviously, it won't happen, but they seem so dull and lifeless these days that I can't help but want to see a regular episode instead...what are your thoughts on that, Jake?

I'd rather see a one story, 22min THoH episode done at least once. I can't remember who wrote the idea, but a full-length epsisode that parodies "The Stepford Wives" would be cool.

[Moleman...Hans]

3/5 Not as bad as I originally thought it would be but still bad. There were some great jokes thought but I think they were out numbered by how bad the story was after the round-a-bout. Episode would have been much better if the Abe story was main thing.

For some deranged reason I liked that woman british Homer. I'm so ashamed lol.

[ShadowBun]

Wait, I missed something here...why exactly is DoTheBartman protesting this episode? Granted, it wasn't very good IMO, but still...

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by ShadowBun
Wait, I missed something here...why exactly is DoTheBartman protesting this episode? Granted, it wasn't very good IMO, but still...

Okay, just to briefly explain:

Basically, I'm very much against the Bush/Blair war in Iraq, to the point that I even took the time to attend a couple protests against it. I won't get into an argument about the merits or morality about the war here, just stating that as my stance. I'm against it enough that I pretty much think that if there were a hell Blair would be going to it.

So, when I heard the official word that Blair was going to guest star (it had been reported/rumoured that he might previously, and in fact I had decided I would not watch the episode if he did appear when even those early reports started to run) I basically decided that I could not stand to watch this episode. It didn't help, of course, that he apparently had recorded the lines during one of the most intense periods of the war, when I felt he should have been doing everything he could to protect his soldiers' lives instead of telling penis jokes or something for an animated comedy appearance.

[ShadowBun]

Originally posted by DotheBartman
Okay, just to briefly explain:

Basically, I'm very much against the Bush/Blair war in Iraq, to the point that I even took the time to attend a couple protests against it. I won't get into an argument about the merits or morality about the war here, just stating that as my stance. I'm against it enough that I pretty much think that if there were a hell Blair would be going to it.

So, when I heard the official word that Blair was going to guest star (it had been reported/rumoured that he might previously, and in fact I had decided I would not watch the episode if he did appear when even those early reports started to run) I basically decided that I could not stand to watch this episode. It didn't help, of course, that he apparently had recorded the lines during one of the most intense periods of the war, when I felt he should have been doing everything he could to protect his soldiers' lives instead of telling penis jokes or something for an animated comedy appearance.

Ah, I see. Well, I don't follow politics too closely, but I can see where you're coming from. Again, if you ask me, the episode is more of a blemish on Season 15 than a good addition (like MMTCJ or TPWP).

[Channel Surfer]

Simply put, mediocre. Not much of plot at all until the third act, instead relying on various skits to tie the story together, and many of the skits were fairly uneven. The family conveniently meeting the guest stars were, like Jake said, hokey, and Tony Blair's in particular felt like they were just pandering to him. Grampa's storyline was extremely underexplored and it almost made his visit there seem useless (save for a gag or two). And finally, while the Meta-referencing of other vacation episode weren't bad per say, still embracing the standard vacation formula almost seems to smack of saying "yeah, we know it's been done, but we just don't care".

Still, it was hardly a wash out. There were some gags I liked here and there, the Simpsonized video games, this one looking like a homage to the NES game "Ice Hockey" (I think anyway, it's been years since I've played it) and the Trainspotting thing too name but two. As always, there's some observational humor like almost any vacation effort, though much of it was fairly chessy, again like almost any vacation episode. The characterizations were...good enough, nothing quite as offensively bad as the family dancing while Homer's kidnapped or a strange Homer insanity. Not brilliant, and Homer's behavior could be argued to be over-the-top. But nothing bad either. Basically, it's the vacation episode I've come to expect from the show.

Grade: C

The Vacation Episode Run-Down:

"Itchy and Scratchy Land" A
"Summer of 4 ft. 2" A
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" A
"Special Edna" B+
"Bart vs. Australia" B
"The Regina Monologues" C
"Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" C
"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" C
"Blame it on Lisa" C-
"Dude, Where's my Ranch" D+
"Simpson Safari" D-
"Kill the Alligator and Run" D-

[Magnum]

Up untill the third act I would have called it "joke driven episode from season five" quality if you take out the guest stars. I thought it was that funny and it possibly proved more than any other Jean or Scully that I am more Burns bitch than Smithers ever will be.

Unfortunately the third act went a little too much with the obvious jokes and other little annoying things. But it was alright and I'm just thankfull it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Although I would call it the lesser this season has offered so far.

[Grandpa]

I really liked this episode. Maybe my love of England is clouding my brain, but I was laughing a lot more at this episode than I've laughed at any recent episode in a while. Hockey Dad, Tony Blair, MacBeth, and dissing Canada were all great. The granpa subplot felt stolen from King of the Hill, but over all, good. And I really identified with Homer's warning about buying videos in England, because that happened to me.

[Andy]

Okay, I'll say some more.

This really would have been a good ep if they decided to use Grampa's war fling as an actual plot instead of something shoved aside... well, except for the half-sister thing. That needed to be shoved aside all the way off the script. Instead they just decide to do a bunch of 'HAHA WE'RE IN ENGLAND! THINGS ARE DIFFERENT' jokes. It's nothing to be worried about, it's just they need to stop doing vacation episodes LIKE THEY'RE OBLIGATED TO DO SO EVERY SEASON. They aren't. They shouldn't. They're just throwaways for ratings ploys. They don't mean a thing.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by PsycheEnFuego
LIKE THEY'RE OBLIGATED TO DO SO EVERY SEASON.

There wasn't one last season really.
Well, unless you count "Special Edna", but most people seem to be forgetting that when they're listing the vacation episodes.

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by Tomacco
There wasn't one last season really.
Well, unless you count "Special Edna", but most people seem to be forgetting that when they're listing the vacation episodes.

"Dude, Where's my Ranch" also.

[bmac]

Wasn't anything to special, but wasn't that horrible of an episode either. Some annoying guest stars, some pretty pointless moments, but it also had it's moments.
also, the joke where Lisa says something along the lines of "oh no, the tunnel exits at the worst possible place" and Bart says "the elephants butt?", "yes Bart, the elephant's butt", i just burst out laughing during it. Don't know why i thought it was so hilarious, but it really got to me, just thought i'd share that for no apparent reason. Oh yea, a grade...6.5 or 7/10.

[Magnum]

EDIT: forget it

[Lord Daftwager]

First, I would like to lodge a complaint about the rating sysetm for this episode. "Bland as a Hugh Grant movie" should have been the 1/5 and "Better than the new Harry Potter book" should have been 5/5 (major fan, more on that later)

Well, this had potential to be the Sculliest episode since the Scully Era. A vacation episode filled with guest-star-cameos and incredibly unrealistic gags. That said, I was quite happy with this.

Blackboard (does not weigh on episode rating): I'm beginning to think that the "Blackboard-Chopping-Gag" in "Barting Over" should have been used in "Moe Baby Blues," as we haven't had anything written this season yet.

Couch Gag (see blackboard): Well, there's only so much you can do with that couch anyways. Plus, I have a soft-spot for anything involving Play-D(')oh.

Act 1: Let's see, we started with characters other than OFF for once, got a good Smithers-Gag out of it (facial expression while helping Burns guide his card was priceless) Burns' 4-digit age gag was somewhat unnecessary (although I suspect the first digit entered was actually 0), "Smallest amount of money I can think of... a thousand dollars." was a gag very much in line with Burns. Must create and/or buy real-life version of "Hockey Dad". Bart's Moon Mansion or whatever was pointless (although Homer singing the same song saved the gag somewhat), Bart and Homer putting up the poster was executed well (in the Scully Era we would have seen them fall off the phone pole and Homer walk away bleeding) and the lineup of people claiming ownership was good (although I didn't catch what Snake said, one for the rewatch-file) I actually liked the Museum of Modern Bart (although I'm going to need to see it again to catch the memorobilia other than the "200th episode" T-Shirt) The references to past vacation episodes were cleverly done (the monkey problems in Brazil). Grandpa's past and "Unfortunately, we did actually ship out the next day" were good, and I noticed the Hellfish tattoo on his arm in the flashback. Good touch. Also good to see Bart doing something out of the goodness of his heart (after some encouragement from Lisa) 4/5

Act 2: Let's see, the numerous Mary Poppins-esque nannies flying with umbrellas, not the best gag to come in on. This portion of the episode featured every one of the guest appearances, and besides Joe Millionaire they worked fairly well. All in all, the only guest truly squandered (and what can you do with the bastard anyways?) was Evan Whatever (can't be bothered to remember his name), although Lisa as the Celebrity Spotter got annoying by the time they got to Joe Millionaire. Sugar-rush felt recycled from Boy-Scoutz N the Hood until the Trainspotting parody came along (I know, I know, FG did it first, who cares, it still gets props from me). The rich-bet gag was good (although I could have done without the cheap gag name) and ended COMPLETELY different from what anyone could have predicted. J.K. Rowling's appearance was great and the shot at fangirls was very much deserved. If anyone doesn't understand, I invite you to check out the Harry Potter section of fanfiction.net and count the new characters who just HAPPEN to have the name of the author of the story who end up working their way into everything from the Great Griffindor Trio to the Prophecy to young Harry's heart, then tell me you don't get it. The "Curse of MacBeth" bit with Ian McKellen was overdone (by the third lightning-strike it was getting old), but "Good luck" reinvigourated the gag (and was fortunately the last we say of it). The Roundabout was too drawn out. I was glad to see that Tony's boys didn't censor out the bit about Americans acting unilaterally as we had speculated they would. Homer assessing the damage to the Queen's carriage ("That's SUPPOSED to be on fire") was good, although I didn't much care for the Changing of the Guard bit. The act that had the potential to go the worst made good use of everything it had and redeemed gags that really didn't work at first. I also liked Grandpa's call in trying to find his wartime girl, although I can't remember where that fell in. 3.5/5

Act 3: This part's still kinda fuzzy for me. I remember laughing as Homer explained how much Americans loved queens and that the Queen of England was a fake named Henry R. Hippo. I remember laughing at Marge's subsequent "He hit the freaking Queen!" I remember laughing my ASS off at the mockery of The Sun. (having British friends online made me appreciate the "pg. 3 Topless Homer" and the overall trashiness.) I remember laughing at Homer in the tower praying to the British God. I remember laughing while I added another notch to my "Simpsons Canada jokes" sheet. I remember groaning at the Homer-In-Drag half-sister, then laughing at "You make Dame Edna look like a dude." Don't remember much else, but everything seems to be in order here. 3.5/5 (lost MAJOR points for the rushed ending and Homer's sister)

Other (only slight bearing on overall rating): Most Meta-gags were worked in well and didn't pause the episode to remind us about them (it took a whole minute before I realised that they had referenced KTAAR) and any gags that had been used before had some twist put on them. Every gag that went on too long had a quick one-liner to redeem it, and the Return of Jerkass Homer that the promos promised/threatened did not happen. In fact, I suspect that the promos were deliberately put together from cut-scenes to make internet fans worry about the episode. 4/5

Overall: 4/5

Additonally: Look! My first written review!

[Rowdy]

Gotta run, I'll just be quick and say that some of the second act was meh, but the first and third were pure gold. Great episode, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....gotta go.........4/5.

[ryan o]

Cool. This SO makes up for seeing "The Cat in the Hat" today. I really like the Mueseum of Modern Bart (the 200th episode shirt was hilarious)...the Tony Blair scene was luckily toned down. Anyone worried about guest stars stating what they believe, remember that they're not the ones writing the things they're gonna say, SIMPSON WRITERS are. They won't say anything fucking controversial.

The Trainspotting parody was great, so was the ode to European Vacation (although it was a bad movie). Notice that the line "I've been arrested in six continents! Now I'll have to do is shoot a penguin!" isn't there.

Oh, yes, and Homer's new half-sister is just...wow. Unexpected.

Pretty good episode, better than expected. 4/5

[Crotis Jivefunk]

Blimey, this episode was the bloody bee's knees! It was sixes and sevens, but it worked. My only complaint was Sir Ian McKellan's appearance. Everything else was bloody ace. Cheerio. 4.5/5

[phil]

I'm not seeing chalkboard gags when the episode begins on GlobalTV and I miss them, there's typically some Bartesque social commentary in it and there's lots of fodder for that kind of thing in today's world. The Playdough thing was kind of childlish... but everyone liked Playdough so that's ok.

The episode as a whole was pretty hit and miss.

The episode started off well I thought, there were plenty of nice gags with Mr Burns and his old tyme wordonography. I liked the 'Hockey Dad' thing but thought it went on a bit too long.

Things started getting iffy around the Museum of Modern Bart, while appreciate the play on words (and Milhouse's appraisal on crosshatching) I don't think it flew all that well. More hit than miss in this act I wager, gov.

The second act had the Tony Blair cameo which was pretty 'meh', but Homer's Mr Bean comment almost saved it. I liked the Mary Poppins gag and the Trainspotting segment was totally amazing, especially with Maggie on the ceiling; where else but in The Simpsons could a movie reference to a dead baby be so funny?
Some horrible jokes in this act however with the Judi Dench Fish & Chips drive through for instance.

My favourite line from Homer ws when he was in the roundabout and said he was going to act the way America acts best, 'unilaterally'.

Unfortunately the last act was pretty lame. More miss than hit. But I loved the sparkly elves and Homer's reference to that 'Goody two shoes Canada' . I always like a good Canada joke.

Perhaps some of the cross-cultural jokes that fell flat should've been replaced with a more well thought out plot, perhaps involving something with Grandpa Simpson as mentioned before.

I'll give it a 3/5.

[kuumuus]

The plot was pretty unrealistic, but I thought this was by far the funniest episode of the season. B- OR 4/5

I thought Homer's sister was funny, and the part where Bart says, "An elephant's butt?" had me rolling. I thought ALL the guest stars were funny. Oh, and Homer telling the judge that he's a grandmother was gold.

[Joey1138]

I liked this episode, it had some good if less than memorable gags and, for the most part, I enjoyed the characterization of OFF. I do agree with DoTheBartman's comments on Tony Blair's appearance, but even that wasn't enough to deter my enjoyment of this episode. 4/5

[Tomacco]

Nobody's mentioned: Mr. Burns' age has 4 digits! Hahahhaha.

Nitpicky funny note: What does he do with his pin number after his birthday every year? Changes it?

I loved the Judy Dench thing too. Something about her face with the speaker in the mouth taking food orders just seemed so absurd and hilarious to me.

[Glumplich]

This episode was not as good as last week's ep. Grade: B-.

Here are some comments about Homer's half-sister. So Homer now has a half-brother (Herb Powell) and a half-sister!

This reminded me of a King of the Hill episode a few years ago, in which Hank Hill discovers that he has a half-brother, also born during WWII, but in Japan. So now OFF is ripping off both KOTH and Family Guy!

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Glumplich
This episode was not as good as last week's ep. Grade: B-.

Here are some comments about Homer's half-sister. So Homer now has a half-brother (Herb Powell) and a half-sister!

This reminded me of a King of the Hill episode a few years ago, in which Hank Hill discovers that he has a half-brother, also born during WWII, but in Japan. So now OFF is ripping off both KOTH and Family Guy!

I thought of that KOTH even when I heard the episode description including the Grampa war fling subplot. But it's okay.

[Kefka]

Alright here we go..

that was fucking SHIT. Here are a few problems:

1) Ian McKellan being shocked multiple times, and then getting crushed by the Marquee. Sometimes I wonder how the fuck some of the Guest stars agree to do this shit.

2) The 2 Brits kissing.. What the fuck? Why?

3) Tony Blair jetpacking away, Why?

4) Bart's Moonstation, what the fuck was that all about?

5) They pretty much DROPPED Grandpa's story going into the 2nd act. Only to bring it back at the end for that TERRIBLE and POINTLESS 'completion' with the british female that looks like Homer.

6) Hockey Dad? I saw that coming from a mile away. Then I thought "wow, is this poking fun at an event that ACTUALLY HAPPENED?!". I thoguht that kinda fucking stupid.

[lance]

who was jane leeves? my guess is she was grampa's fling.

this episode, while not as good as last week's or the one before, was still a better vacation episode than most. doesn't stack up to bart vs. australia or mr. lisa goes to washington, but good nonetheless. when they absolutely have to do one of these, the parodies/stereotypes need to be spot-on, and they were. loved the ian mckellen bit for some reason. loved the roundabout. loved the trainspotting ref. most was good. the worst stuff was in the first act. all in all:

4/5

[Rob G]

Much better than last week.

I thought it was a little wacky, but the wackiness didn't hang around too long each time.

I am tired of Homer preaching (like he did to the Queen at the end). And now it looks like Homer has a half brother AND sister :-O

[Rob G]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Nobody's mentioned: Mr. Burns' age has 4 digits! Hahahhaha.


I thought about that.... but then you have to press ENTER with those things, so that may have been the 4th digit (having 3 digits is pretty up there).

[|RABiD|]

Very funny episode once again. Although, still a disappointment in some aspects. But it kept me entertained. I agree with Tomacco mostly! 4/5

And yes, change the rating system. 5/5 should be "Better than Harry Potter!"

[Lord Daftwager]

Originally posted by homer5000
Cool. This SO makes up for seeing "The Cat in the Hat" today.

I feel your pain, brother. Dear God, do I feel your pain. Only for me, the pain of that movie has now had a day to sink in and feels as if it is jabbing me in the spine with a pike.


Originally posted by Tomacco
Nobody's mentioned: Mr. Burns' age has 4 digits! Hahahhaha.

Actually, I made a brief mention of that in my review. However, I do think it's odd that so few people even thought about it.

And thank you once again, Kefka, for your insightful reviews and well thought out arguments.

[Cole]

Hopefully the show has met its guest star quota now, considering the fact that guest after guest was crammed down my throat in the second act. To make matters worse, all of them were so very, very forced. As some have mentioned, Homer's "Mr. Bean" line was funny, but the rest of the Tony Blair scene and every other guest star scene was just plain irritating. The overused "Macbeth" joke sticks out in my mind.

I did enjoy Trainspotting segment and the scene or two involving Grandpa and his love affair. Other than that and a few jokes here and there, this was a very disappointing episode. 2/5

[Necromancer]

It was horrible, just horrible. I gave it a 2/5. No more vacation episodes, please.

[kupomog]

Well, I didn't think it was that bad. I actually laughed quite a bit, especially at the Mary Poppins floating around England and the Trainspotting sequence. And on a personal level, I loved the Rowling sequence and the Giggs remark. For a vacation episode, it was okay. 3.5/5

[Mr. S]

Bland and unfunny. Felt way too much like all of the other "The Simpsons are going to..." episodes. The only part I laughed at was the Hard Rock Phoenix reference, and that was because I live in Phoenix and the Hard Rock here absolutely sucked, before they closed it down. It was lacking in many departments, and just a disappointment.

1.5/5

[Radioactive Man]

A lot of the jokes just seemed kind of wierd. Those guest star annoyed me. Espicially since they have to announce the names of everyone, but I guess they are cartoon drawings so it might not be obvious who it is. i dont know what to think about the supposed half sister at the end. For now I'm going to stick with he doesn't have a sister. And why is everyone saying they ripped of KOTH? It's not like they were the first ones to ever do this. I didn't like the grandpa story much. It started out ok but I completely forgot about it until they went back to it with 20 sec left.

This seasons rankings;
THOH
My Mother the carjacker
The Regina Monolouges
The President wore pearls(I missed the first ten minutes so maybe that hurt my review

[bovine_university]

Well, this was probably the best vacaction episode since Thirty Minutes over Tokyo, but that hardly means that I enjoyed this episode. This episode connected in a few ways, some of the jokes were really good, I liked the attention they gave Marge, and some of the parodies were clever. Overall however, there were too many problems for me to truly have enjoyed this episode. I wish they had kept going with the plot of Grandpa and his search for his girl, but they didn't. Tony Blair was fine, but the other celebrity cameos (even though Evan Meriott shouldn't count as a celebrity) were awful, especially Ian Mckellen's painfully long joke about Macbeth. The two men kissing joke was bad enough in theory, but they prolonged it, which made it much, much worse. The plot seemed to take too long to get going, since I assumed the family would just use the original thousand bucks to go to Paris, but instead it lasted the entire first act. This episode could have been decent, but there was too much I didn't like, so it has to settle for a 2/5.

[Roger Myers III]

Ummm... how could it have "ripped off" KOTH - when Homer discovered he had a half-brother in Season 2?

I didn't enjoy the many "repeat' jokes - or the "stuck driving in a circle" scene, as it was done to far greater effect in "European Vacation", but I was very surprised at the high-culture joke involving "Joe Millionaire": 1) last year the West End theatres in London happened to feature an inordinate amount of American movie, and even television, stars, and 2) Chekov's play "The Cherry Orchard" contained a plot of a penniless suitor trying to win the hand of a noblewoman who has also become penniless, so she is desperate for a suitor. In other words, the premise for "Joe Millinaire!"

[DaSimpsons]

i thought the pacing of this episode worked really well. Very surprising for a Scully show. I liked it, but the ending was lacking.

7/10

[DaSimpsons]

Originally posted by Hippos hate water

Actually, I made a brief mention of that in my review. However, I do think it's odd that so few people even thought about it.



that because it isn't 4 digits. The last thing he entered was the word "enter" after putting his age, which was 3 digits.

[chris]

I'll review later. But first, as a vegetarian, I will take the time to say that I'd like to kiss both Swartwelder and Lord Daftwager or whoever he was for this line:

"Fish?! Erm...I don't know...I'm not really a vegetarian."

Spot on.

[StrideR]

On the whole, I thought it was much better than last season's brazilian fiasco, but that's not saying too much. I will give it credit where it's due, however. The guest stars weren't all that bad, though mostly unnecessary. Everything else pretty much fell below my standards, but the disparity wasn't too alarming.

22 minutes of animated programming - 6/10
22 minutes of Simpsons - 4/10

[skittlebrau]

Well, a slightly better improvement over last week's horrible episode. First act was decent, second was not so good with all of the guest stars crammed down my throat. Trainspotting segment was fantastic, two Brits kissing was definitely not. I did, however, laugh at Ian McKellan getting mamed. I wish they would've done a little bit more with Grampa's subplot, because I wasn't impressed with the end result being an ugly Homer clone. third act was ok....can't really remember much of the first and third acts. Looks like I'll have to watch it again sometime. Eh, I'll give it a 3/5. Not too good, but not the best episode either.

[prince jafar allah]

About what I expected. I don't like these full-on wacky stereotype vacation episodes (I&S Land not included) at all really, but this was quite good, FOR A FULL-ON WACKY STEREOTYPE VACATION EPISODE that is. But very mediocre, and a thumbs-down, for the series overall. The plot wasn't as all-over-the-place as Simpson Safari, which is good, and they at least held it together with some recurring elements (American attitude, Homer trying to make it an incident-free trip) but still, the whole thing was basically a skit show. A skit show with recurring elements is still a skit show. Which would have been fine had the humor been consistently great, but it wasn't really. It was decent enough, with some great moments like the aforementioned fish/vegetarian line, Henrietta R Hippo, Bart's act at the jail, "put out the fire first", Madonna, and the whole first act was decent enough. But there was a lot of incredibly weak stereotype humor - the guys kissing, the butler, heads on sticks, etc. you know which ones i mean. these gags were slightly cleverer than the similar (and awful) family guy episode that had corny english jokes up the wazoo, but not by much. And it hardly qualifies as satire, or "pointing out the differences between America and the UK" or whatever. Just dumb jokes based on corny stereotypes. Judi Dench Fish & Chips is probably one of the lamest jokes I've ever seen on the series (Homer's fish/vegetarian line excluded). Outside of the lame stereotype-based jokes however, as I said, the humor was fairly solid (it doesn't suffer from an abundance of horrible obnoxious gags like Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo). The self-played guest stars were horribly irritating however, all introduced with "WOW!! IT'S <INSERT NAME HERE>" and written in a very trite, uninspired and patronising manner, as if they were a chore for the writers. Seriously, stopitstopitstopitstopit with the guest stars. The only goodness that came out of the guest stars was Homer's Mr. Bean line, but that didn't make up for the overwhelming stupidity of that particular scene. The McKellen scene was dreadful, Rowling was flat and predictable (in fact, Rowling using Potterspeak and getting annoyed at people wanting to know the ending are the two most predictable and obvious jokes they could possibly have used for that scene). The use of the Queen was extremely "cartoonish". I didn't care for the ending either - the meaningful speech route is so horribly predictable, cliched, and a very hokey and bland way to get out of the plot. Characterisation was pretty much fine, they all behaved logically, but seeing as the plot gave them very little interesting hoops to jump through, they did come off as bland individuals overall.

The lack of plot, lack of a decent premise in the first place and abundance of childish stereotype humor lets it down hugely, just like every other episode of this type. Better than the obscenely overrated Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo and slightly worse than the mediocre Bart vs Australia (the best of the full-on wacky stereotype vacation episodes). Hopefully we can get back on form next week. C+, 2/5

"Bart vs. Australia" B-
"The Regina Monologues" C+
"Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" C
"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" C-
"Blame it on Lisa" D+
"Dude, Where's my Ranch" D+
"Simpson Safari" D-
"Kill the Alligator and Run" D-

[Shlomo]

This episode was very very poor.

What a waste.

[simpsonsbabe]

2/5

Reasons: writing was totally unoriginal. The "roundabout" joke was from National Lampoon's European Vacation. (I have never understood that joke, BTW, about Americans suddenly "discovering" roundabouts overseas. There are roundabouts in the States. There's one in my hometown of Brooklyn, NYC for God's sake.) The Macbeth bit was from a classic episode of Blackadder (when BA keeps saying MacBeth to two actors), and the plot was from KOTH, when the Hills go to Japan. The whole thing with Bart and Lisa having a sugar rush-- wasn't that sorta like when Bart and Milhouse went nuts and started singing, "Springfield, Springfield" after having that Super Squishy? (Did love the mod/ Carnaby Street getup, though, lol. Thought it was so cute.) But still, totally, 100% unoriginal.

The Dench thing: unfunny. The two guys kissing-- huh? The Rowling thing made me uncomfortable, because it painted her as someone who might be irritated by her kid fans. I know it was a joke, but... I think you have to be careful poking fun at personalities who deal with children. Would a kid see that and think, "She's really like that" even though it's a cartoon? I dunno.

Also noticed that the writers were being very careful in this episode. For every joke they poked at the British, they made sure Homer would say something that would make him sound like the most ignorant, backwards, Ugly American on the planet. We all know Homer's not a genius, but I don't think he's so dumb that he'd think the US saved the British in "Vietnam." His mother was a hippie and protestor who grew up during the 60s, the height of the antiwar era. I'm not saying I'm offended by the Ugly American stereotype-- just that it seemed really, really forced, disingenuous in this eppy, maybe to avoid the whole Brazil flap.

Okay, maybe I'm overthinking this. :-O

[Tyking]

not bad. not good either, although i did find the macbeth bit with ian mckellan funny.
not to mention the judy dench thing, which was surprisingly funny.
lisa in the first act sounded insanely fake and non-lisa-like.
their drawing of the queen was pathetically awful
lots of the jokes have been done(the sugar buzz)
what is up with the simpsons trying to put homosexual kissing into episodes at every possible point? not that there's anything wrong with it, but every time they've put it in the show it's just been stupid.
and they stole grandpa's storyline from king of the hill, and basically forgot about it until the end.
oh, and 4 pointless guest stars - tony blair(obviously edited in for no reason), jane leeves(abe's war love - completely ignored until the end), j.k. rowling(one joke, and it wasn't really that funny), and evan mariott(ONE FREAKING LINE? WHY THE HELL DO YOU NEED HIM TO DO ONE FREAKING LINE? JUST LET HARRY SHEARER DO IT. his one joke wasn't really funny either.)
ian mckellan was pointless, but i just happened to find his bit funny.

and on a personal note, i hate how marge pronounces vacation as "fuhkashun"

[Tomacco]

Has anyone mentioned the background gag at Harrod's of Prince Albert in a Can? :LOL:
I thought that was original and well-placed.

And I enjoyed Ian's guest spot, because it is based on truths. Back when Shakespeare's Macbeth was first being performed, and later on as well, the actors did find it bad luck to say the play's name out loud. So at least the joke was based on reality.

[Alpha]

Excellent! It started with a nice Burns/Smithers scene with a lot of good jokes (Burns having trouble with the ATM and being knocked down by the bill :LOL: ). It went through Bart's funny museum idea. The Grandpa plot felt tacked on, but no big deal. The Joe Millionaire spoof was good ("I only have a cherry farm" :LOL:). Homer's hallucination trolls were good. It had some awkward pacing at the end but that didn't matter.

4/5 (which continues their season 15 "Better than Futurama" streak :p)

[shhbly]

I don't care! I loved it!
I was laughing the whole time they
were in England - and I'm proud of it!!!

I only wish I had taped it so I could watch it
again this morning!!

[leaderbean]

i liked hearing monty burns talk like his old self again at the beginning of the episode. i also like the fact that they took a few stabs at the wacky vacation episodes of seasons past. i gave it a 4/5.

[Lance_Murdock]

Awful, just plain awful. It started with a nice Smithers/Burns scene, but they blew it after that (no pun intended).

Why do they have to keep repeating plotlines? They've used the floating money scene before when Bart found the $20 Homer lost. I figured Bart and Milhouse would take the cash and go crazy "Broadway Style" all over again. It was just another episode where the Simpsons go to another foreign country and wackiness ensues. I hated this episode and place this one in the "Scully-era trashcan."

Rated: 1/5

[SomePerson]

Only thing which I like in this episode was Lisa finding out a plan to release Homer in the Jail. "Push the gray brick"
*hear Homer screaming* Lisa: "put out fire first" this bit reminded me of them old Interactive Ficition games in which you're the character and you text in what the character does.

[Jessfrogger88]

There was alot to hate in this episode I can't believe people are rating it above The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.

Bad Stuff
1,000 bill coming out the ATM
Museum of Modern Bart, 200th episode shirt, "eat my shorts" (Bart should not be famous to the neighbors)
The fake and forced emotion in the first act
Tony Blair on a Jet Pack
The Roundabout
J.K. Rowling
The Sugar Rush
Homer's Sister
The Car Wrek scene "Dented the chariot and horse"
Two Guys Kissing
All the comparisons between America and Britian
Ian McKellen painfully long "MacBeth" cameo
Homer's escape into the queen's bedroom. "We found this escape route but we neglected to look at it before we told you what to do"
Judi Dench beating up the Nerd



THIS EPISODE SUCKED

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
I can't believe people are rating it above The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.

Maybe because City Of New York vs Homer Simpson stunk? it was bad for exactly the same reasons this was, and I would have suspected if you had liked it you would have loved this.

[Jessfrogger88]

No NYVHS makes me laugh this didn't. It was not nearly as random either. "The homer and the car" plot stuck throughout the whole show and was very humerous to me. "The Grampa's long lost love" plot was almost non existant. Marge and the kids did some random stuff but I thought most of it was funny. The Broadway Musical, Mad Magazine etc....

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
No NYVHS makes me laugh this didn't. It was not nearly as random either. "The homer and the car" plot stuck throughout the whole show and was very humerous to me.

Ha....I'd rather have a random skit show than a "focused" plot that merely drags out an already unfunny and very thin premise to the point of absurdity, which Ny vs HS does. Very, very tiresome, not only because the whole thing was so goddamn thin, but Homer's behaviour was so obnoxious and unfunny. At least in mile-a-minute Jerkass episodes like Beyond Blunderdome, the scenes are short so the viewer doesn't get too irritated with each wacky situation that Homer has somehow got himself into, but here it was the opposite. It was like Proto-Jerkass. They had figured out how to make him an obnoxious lunatic but hadn't really got used to writing the entire show around this obnoxious lunatic yet.


Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
"The Grampa's long lost love" plot was almost non existant.

I really didn't see the point in it either (though they got a couple of good jokes out of it). Couldn't they just have cut it, and come up with a different reason to go to England? But ehh, not a big deal.


Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
Marge and the kids did some random stuff but I thought most of it was funny. The Broadway Musical, Mad Magazine etc....

the broadway musical was mildly amusing (and I mean MILDLY). the Mad Magazine thing was horribly bland and unfunny tacked-on wackiness.

[joe h]

This episode in no way compares to the previous vacation episode. It was just one wacky parody after another, Scully must be rolling in his grave. D-

[Tman]

This was awesome,and funny. I give it 4/5.

[ShadowBun]

that because it isn't 4 digits. The last thing he entered was the word "enter" after putting his age, which was 3 digits.

Nahh, watch the scene again. The way Burns presses the first three buttons, then pauses and presses the fourth is definately an indication that the writers are making a joke. The timing of it in general implies that we (the viewers) are supposed to go "Wow, he's old" after he presses three buttons, then "Whoa, he's REALLY old" after the fourth. That's the joke, basically; that Burns is really old. Again, the timing of the joke with the comedic pause proves this, as there's nothing really too funny about pressing "Enter".

[Mr. S]

Hey MoJaf, quick question. Not trying to start anything, just curious. Why is 2/5 a C+ in your book?

[phil]

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
Maybe because City Of New York vs Homer Simpson stunk? it was bad for exactly the same reasons this was, and I would have suspected if you had liked it you would have loved this.

How dare you say that? New York needs our support now more than ever! Rememebr the WTC, Jafar! Rememebr the WTC!

[SpongeBob No Pants]

People, the Tony Blair Jetpack gag, was a James bond spoof

maybe i found it funny because i'm a bond fan, but like the ferris wheel that popped into the water, they were supposed to be a jab at how americans think all brits are like james bond with his gadgets

the only guest stars that bothered me was rowling and milionaire, remember when it was a big deal that a celebrity was going to appear and and it was expected that the celebrity would play a part in the plot

now a days its like they say, "well we've got this 3 second joke and rather then have dan, hank etc. do it, lets get joe millionaire, that way we can hype it as special appearence by"

while blair, and McKellan's roles were not intrigal to the plot, at least their screen time was justified (both the rowling and millionaire jokes could have been done with regular cast members, after all how many of you even know what rowling sounds like)

[blueguy]

I have to admit, I didn't watch it all. The first act started out great. Burns/Smithers. Then the $1000 bill and Milhouse. "there's a ladybug in your hair." "GET IT OUT!" then the museum. All good stuff. One question, what does "MOMK" mean? It was on some shirts in the treehouse.
Anyway, act 2 started a deep fall. The part by Tony Blair could have been good, but he sounded so lifeless. If it wasn't for the smile on his face, I think he would have came across the bore that he is. After the circle thing and the author, I was losing interest quickly and I started doing other things while the show was running. Being that it couldn't hold my attention over other things I needed to do, I wasn't too pleased. However I withhold my rating until I do see the whole thing.

[Tibor]

Very, very tiresome, not only because the whole thing was so goddamn thin, but Homer's behaviour was so obnoxious and unfunny. At least in mile-a-minute Jerkass episodes like Beyond Blunderdome, the scenes are short so the viewer doesn't get too irritated with each wacky situation that Homer has somehow got himself into, but here it was the opposite. It was like Proto-Jerkass. They had figured out how to make him an obnoxious lunatic but hadn't really got used to writing the entire show around this obnoxious lunatic yet.

Going from memory, Homer's character was thin in City of NY, but I wouldn't say jerkass, really. They explained in the flashback why he didn't like New York. The crazy idea in his head about getting out of town after dark is the only real stretch you have to buy. Which of the 'sketches' did you find to be jerkassish? The only one I see is his breakdown at the end (which is helped some by having his frustration built up all day).

[tim_duncan2000]

The good

Most of the first act (Hockey Dad [though that was a bit tasteless because something like that has happened], Museum of Modern Bart, $1000 bill) It did seem a bit odd that they'd be that interested in Bart as if he is a celebrity.
The tabloid jokes were good

The bad
The rest of the episode
Judy Dench restaurant and nerd getting beat up for no reason
Bart and Lisa's sugar rush
the Macbeth joke went on too long, and it was followed by another joke that went on too long (the roundabout)
The 2 men kissing was random and unnecessary
The JK Rowling appearance added nothing
The Grampa plot was barely a part of the episode and was handled poorly
Homer crashing into the carriage, his comments about the damage, the guards beating him, and the changing of the guard
I'm not that big of a fan of meta-references, but that didn't bother me as much as the stuff above

[necrulez]

Although this episode may look lighthearted on first sight, I really thought it was very witty. There were so many small, clever inside jokes, which -unfortunately- you only can understand if you are really familair with the English culture. If so, you'd probably really appreciate this episode. I also thought that Homer's stereotye-American behaviour was hilarious ("Look we shared a prostitute with your Hugh Grant" :D ). For me personally this was the best episode so far of this season, a well deserved 5 outta 5....

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by Mr. S
Hey MoJaf, quick question. Not trying to start anything, just curious. Why is 2/5 a C+ in your book?

because 3/5 gives the impression that overall it was a favourable experience, which it wasn't. it goes something like this -

1/5 - D- to C- (very bad)
2/5 - C to C+ (bad)
3/5 - B- to B (good)
4/5 - B+ to A- (great)
5/5 - A to A+ (excellent)


Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
People, the Tony Blair Jetpack gag, was a James bond spoof

So? that doesn't make it funny.


Originally posted by Tibor
Going from memory, Homer's character was thin in City of NY, but I wouldn't say jerkass, really. They explained in the flashback why he didn't like New York.

Well, he wasn't completely Jerkass as I said, more Proto-Jerkass. He was a annoying obnoxious retard, but they hadn't really managed to get his whole raving-lunatic-with-ADD Captain Wacky schtick down yet.


Originally posted by Tibor
Which of the 'sketches' did you find to be jerkassish?

Well him shouting at a random passerby was fairly jerkassish, as was him tossing his wallet in the fireplace for some reason then shouting at Lisa. Not huge problems comparable to S9-12 stuff of course, but as I said, it was only the beginning.


Originally posted by Tibor
The only one I see is his breakdown at the end (which is helped some by having his frustration built up all day).

hey, sometimes I have frustrating days too, I don't go nuts and drive my car through Central Park, ramming things...

really the problem with that episode was that it was tiresome and extremely thin, and empty in general. the characterisation was fairly bad too, but no worse than Boy Scoutz N The Hood for instance, which was a far more interesting and better-done episode overall for other reasons.

[Jessfrogger88]

hey, sometimes I have frustrating days too, I don't go nuts and drive my car through Central Park, ramming things...

But your not Homer

[jesle]

Originally posted by blueguy
I have to admit, I didn't watch it all. The first act started out great. Burns/Smithers. Then the $1000 bill and Milhouse. "there's a ladybug in your hair." "GET IT OUT!" then the museum. All good stuff. One question, what does "MOMK" mean? It was on some shirts in the treehouse.
Anyway, act 2 started a deep fall. The part by Tony Blair could have been good, but he sounded so lifeless. If it wasn't for the smile on his face, I think he would have came across the bore that he is. After the circle thing and the author, I was losing interest quickly and I started doing other things while the show was running. Being that it couldn't hold my attention over other things I needed to do, I wasn't too pleased. However I withhold my rating until I do see the whole thing.

The joke about MoMB (not MOMK) is that the Museum of Modern Art in NYC is also known as MoMA and some people pronounce it as such. So, the shirts Bart was selling were a play on MoMA.

Did anyone else like the recycling the pins joke? I thought that was funny.

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
But your not Homer

well then - would the Homer of seasons 2-4 have behaved like that?

[Jessfrogger88]

Hmmm possibly. Dead Putting Society Homer would

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
Hmmm possibly.

Example of similar behaviour from seasons 2-4 then?


Originally posted by Jessfrogger88
Dead Putting Society Homer would

No. Was Dead Putting Society Homer a lunatic? of course he wasn't, he was just very angry. Name one occasion in that episode where he goes anything beyond realistic, human anger. Had the Homer in City of NY vs Homer Simpson starred in Dead Putting Society, he would have concoted some kind of bizarre plot to break into Flanders house and spike Todd's lemonade with anthrax or something.

[Tibor]

Or bash him on the head with a pipe.

[Friz]

I may be the first Brit to rate this episode, or I may not. Doesn't really matter, as I'm Friz, and you must listen to my veiws.

Firstly, it appears that no thought is put into couch gags anymore. Whatever happened to the "parody of TV opening" sequence, or "film spoof"? Seems like their lookin' around the office, picking up bits of stationary and claiming "Let's make the Simpsons appear through this!". And no chalkboard again either. Onto the episode...

Classic Burns. I like what he thinks "ATM" stands for, as well the 1000-dollar bill knocking him to the ground. Onwards to some good jokes about the lost bill, but they didn't seem to stop!! "Yeah, I get it. Their looking for the owner of the money". I woulda been happy with the flier gag, and then cut to "30 Days Later". What ya gonna do?

The less said about the Museum the better. It just seemed tacked on for an excuse to go to Britain. I am glad they didn't do any airport gags, like messing about on a plane or doing dumb things at an airport- they just went straight to the UK. Good jokes about the UK involved Mary Poppins-esque umbrella women, London Eye, Homer mistaking Tony Blair for Mr. Bean and Homer praying to "Oh, God of England", promising to spell color with a 'U' (Color is spelt with a 'U', dammit!)

Really didn't need the real voice of Blair. Woulda been funnier to exaggerate his voice. I like his jet pack.

Surprisingly, the guest star I thought was gonna be the most useless (Joe Millionaire) was the funniest one.

Please, no more rushed endings. And no more vacation episodes. I don't care if they haven't been to Antartica yet.

7/10

[blueguy]

Originally posted by jesle
The joke about MoMB (not MOMK) is that the Museum of Modern Art in NYC is also known as MoMA and some people pronounce it as such. So, the shirts Bart was selling were a play on MoMA.

Did anyone else like the recycling the pins joke? I thought that was funny. ah thanks. The pin recycling was another joke I didn't get, but it just felt like it was supposed to be funny, so I'm sure I missed something there. Despite those 2 missed jokes, I liked the first act.

edit - I must apologize for my brain-dead method of speak and memory (MOMK). Working after 3 hours of sleep does screwy things.

[doyle]

Well, I didn't see it when it aired and had to wait until now to see it. I also havent read all the reviews and mostly just skimmed the last couple pages. So anyway...
This episode was definitely a step down from the two previous episodes. However, it didn't crash and burn like I thought it may. It started off pretty well, with the ATM incident helping to get the real plot going. Bart's $1,000 dollars becoming $3,000 wasn't particularly great, but it didn't bother me much either. The decision to go to England was much easier to swallow than the excuses for leaving in episodes like Simpsons' Safari. The British satire was solid for the most part. The James Bond spoofs were enjoyable, particularly the one on the ferris wheel. The guest stars weren't particularly well used, and Ian's appearance was more annoying than anything. Tony Blair didn't play much of a role and was overall worthless, but it didn't ruin the episode like I expected. The pacing of the plot was overall solid, with each act ending well. The biggest issue was the abandonment of the Grampa subplot, which really seemed to have potential. Characterizations were pretty good, and Homer was not annoying and actually played his best role so far this season, IMO. The humor was definitiely the focus, as vacation episodes should be. There were a couple recycled gags and lines, and some jokes were drawn out too long, particularly the Macbeth gag. Other jokes were pretty stupid, such as the British men kissing and the Mary Poppins parody, but the latter was ended quickly, so it didn't bother me too much. At other points, the humor was great. I loved Homer's mistaking the judge for a woman and I definitely enjoyed the hockey game parody, and it certainly did seem a lot like the original NES "Ice Hockey" game. However, the inconsistency in the humor did bring this down a fair bit. Aside from it though, there were solid characterizations and good pacing. The worst so far this season, but not bad really. C+

[SpongeBob No Pants]

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
So? that doesn't make it funny.

Actually, yes it does, its a play on the fact that most north american's get there knowledge of Brits from the james Bond movies or similar media, having Blair blast off in a jetpack, like bond in thunderball was hillarious and it was no different then having Godzilla attack the plane in Tokyo or the Bellboys kicking the suitcases like a soccor ball in Brazil


maybe it was just me, but i really liked Blair's Cameo

[untalented]

I think this episode was meh. It was funnier if you were British because it's amusing to see how Americans steretype the British, but it was also weird in parts. The JK Rowling joke, a lot of people wouldn't have understood but I know people that used to fancy Harry potter in their minds before they saw the film. Tony Blair was dissapointing because he sounded like he had just read the lines for the first time and didn't sound real. This is pretty pathetic for someone who's meant to be good at reading lines and sounding convincing and as if they mean it. I thought it was funny how Homer knew nothing about the British and acted real patriotic.

Overall 5.5/10

[SpongeBob No Pants]

anybody else suprised that there were no "Prince Charles is Gay" jokes

i know the alleged Prince Charles rumours broke just a few weeks ago,and that the episode was done months ago but i was really dreading that one would pop up in a badly dubbed new line or something

but i'm so glad it didn't

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
Actually, yes it does,

NO. IT DOESNT. BLEAH!!!! ;)


Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
it was no different then having Godzilla attack the plane in Tokyo or the Bellboys kicking the suitcases like a soccor ball in Brazil

yeah, you're right there. what's your point?

[SpongeBob No Pants]

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar

yeah, you're right there. what's your point?

i don't really have a point, i was just trying to explain why i thought the jet pack joke was funny by comparing it to other funny stereotype jokes we've seen in past Vacation episodes

we all know godzilla doesn't attack planes in japan, but it was still funny to see

its the same with blair blasting off in a jet pack like james bond

It was funny :LOL:

[simplysimpsons]

NOTE TO WRITERS: NO MORE VACATION EPISODES!!
Blimey! What a dreadful shambles this travesty of a vacation episode was, dear chap! You know, guv, it was practically precisely the way I thought it was going to be!

The great:
Burns unable to use the ATM card! "Guide me in!", and being knocked over by the note
Newspapers (Mirror, Sun and Mail!)
Animation

The good:
Bart's fantasy, plus Homer singing the song, was pretty good
No "The Simpsons are going to --!" line!
Homer's thoughts on Blair as Mr. Bean
The elephant's butt thing
Characterisation was alright.

The bad:
I really hated the meta references in the museum. In fact the whole museum thing was stupid.
The bruise thing? A bit of a rushed reason.
The nannies floating around was too silly for me.
Tony Blair blabbering on about how good England is. Although I liked the James Bond spoof.
The tea in the taxi was about as predictable as ever.
One useless celebrity after the next. "Oh look, it's ---!" Now look, --- has appeared out of nowhere!" "*gasp! for no reason, it's ---!" J.K Rowling could have been used better, too.
The fantasy was....good at first, but weird, and done before (even if it was a parody of something)
The men kissing? ugh! The worst joke so far this season.
The Macbeth shocking thing? wacky as hell...
The roundabout was good at first, but got very tiring.
Changing of the guard- yes just another excuse to further beat up Homer.
Another Homer-in-court appearance. Pretty dull.
Exaggerated accents got extremely irritating after a while, and Bart's was weird and annoying.
The madonna thing? What was that all about? Totally weird.
I'd forgotten about Edwina by the time she appeared. The story *SHOULD* have centered around this.
Edwina's daugher? I didn't find that funny at all, just totally weird and irritating.
The ending? They could have done much better than that!

This episode smashed the hopes of another A grade to pieces, and plummeted into the depths of wackiness. It barely missed the trainwreck status I predicted, but it was severely close to being one. On the same lines as 30 Minutes Over Tokyo, Simpson Safari, and maybe even Bart vs Australia, but slightly worse than Blame it on Lisa. It just didn't feel like a Simpsons episode at all, like the other vacation eps. I wasn't offended by anything, but there were elements of this episode that were way too wacky or weird for my taste, just like in other vacation episodes.
Final grade: C-/D+, 2.3/5. (Might make it a C- after repeated viewings, but no higher.)
Ah well, at least I don't have to raise the standards of grades for new episodes!

Let's hope this is the worst of the season.
<EDIT>: So glad they didn't put in Bart hanging out with Prince Harry like was predicted, but just put in that photo.

[Pukahontas]

WAY better than last week. More laughs, Homer was more in character this episode than last, although he still wasn't in perfect character. Guest stars were not needed, but they were small roles, so it wasn't that bad. Alot of little laughs nothing big.
7/10

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
i don't really have a point, i was just trying to explain why i thought the jet pack joke was funny by comparing it to other funny stereotype jokes we've seen in past Vacation episodes

we all know godzilla doesn't attack planes in japan, but it was still funny to see


hmmm. "what's your point?" was a rhetorical question, intended to show that I find the jokes you mention as equally unpleasant and as unfunny as the jetpack scene.

[Ranadok]

This one had far more bad than good, in my opinion. Perhaps it would have been funnier if I was from Britain, but it shouldn't rely on that for the humour. It felt like it consisted of only wacky stereotype gags, and wacky guest star scenes for the most part. With all the mention of previous vacation episodes, I hope they plan this to be the last one.

[kevin]

Season 15 Rankings:

The President Wore Pearls- A-
My Mother the Carjacker- B+
Treehouse of Horror XIV- B
The Regina Monolouges- D-

I'm surprised nobody has brought up the similarities to Kill the Alligator and run.
- Pointless beginning that does little or nothing for the episode
- They go on vacation for little or no reason
- Useless guest stars (Kid Rock, Tony Blair etc.)
- Homer runs over something (Alligator, Queen of England)
- Homer representing himself at his trial (Drunken hicks of the jury...)
- Trying to escape only to get in more trouble...
- Stupid, rushed ending
-

[prince jafar allah]

Originally posted by McStinkalot
- Pointless beginning that does little or nothing for the episode


more than half of all Simpsons episodes ever created have had unrelated beginnings, get over it...

[whisman]

Well, I had this long review typed, but I clicked a link and it opened in this window, and luck have it, it was erased. So I'll shorten it:

Half good and half unreal. Grandpas subplot went nowhere. Ending was just odd. I laughed plenty of times though, like when Homer mistook the male judge to be a grandmother. Two many gay kissing scenes these days though. Ive counted 3 since beginning of season 14. But all around partially good episode. It recieves a plain ol' B from me.

[TheBigHurtBEGOOD]

2/5 worst vacation ep ever by far

[Necromancer]

Originally posted by TheBigHurtBEGOOD
2/5 worst vacation ep ever by far
Simpson Safari is still 10 times worse.

[whisman]

I still dont see anything that badly wrong with Simpson Safari.

[kuumuus]

"There's Jimmy Page, one of the greatest thieves of American black music there ever was."

Thought I'd mention that one since he's in my avatar. A very funny joke imo.

[used]

I just watched it again, and this time, the good stood out a lot more then the bad. I got oer the fact that it was a vacation episode, and the shitty james bond jokes. there was some great stuff in this episode. The two brits kissing, now that i wasnt surprised it was in their made me laugh really hard. The elephants butt joke was perfect bart characterization. if they had cut out the fact that homer hit the queen, and expanded on the grandpa story, this could have been much much greater.

[Jolly Bengali]

Or the other way around... and Homer's sister was just ridiculously painful to watch

[used]

i guess. I just really hated Homer hitting the queen, and all the bits to do with the queen in general.

[Stackhouse]

Wow, that was "worst episode ever" caliber. 1/5

McStinkalot:

- Pointless beginning that does little or nothing for the episode Jafar went over this...
- They go on vacation for little or no reason Do they ever?
- Useless guest stars (Kid Rock, Tony Blair etc.) Mostly all guest stars are useless. At least these were good for laughs (Kid Rock was not.)
- Homer runs over something (Alligator, Queen of England) ... no.
- Homer representing himself at his trial (Drunken hicks of the jury...) A very obvious nitpick.
- Trying to escape only to get in more trouble... The Queen forgave Homer...
- Stupid, rushed ending Well, yeah. That's 1/7.


I don't like to tell people they're wrong (actually, I do. very much.) but you, my friend, are wrong. This episode is leagues ahead of KTAAR, and you are nitpicking. I didn't like the episode that much (it's moved from a C+ to a B- on a second viewing), but don't compare it to KTAAR. Please.

[Mr. S]

Originally posted by Stackhouse
McStinkalot:

- Pointless beginning that does little or nothing for the episode Jafar went over this...
- They go on vacation for little or no reason Do they ever?
- Useless guest stars (Kid Rock, Tony Blair etc.) Mostly all guest stars are useless. At least these were good for laughs (Kid Rock was not.)
- Homer runs over something (Alligator, Queen of England) ... no.
- Homer representing himself at his trial (Drunken hicks of the jury...) A very obvious nitpick.
- Trying to escape only to get in more trouble... The Queen forgave Homer...
- Stupid, rushed ending Well, yeah. That's 1/7.


I don't like to tell people they're wrong (actually, I do. very much.) but you, my friend, are wrong. This episode is leagues ahead of KTAAR, and you are nitpicking. I didn't like the episode that much (it's moved from a C+ to a B- on a second viewing), but don't compare it to KTAAR. Please.

How can an opinion be wrong? Oh wait, it can't. If he says it is worst vacation episode ever caliber, to him it is.

[Tibor]

I don't understand the frequency of guest stars, when it seems that they are shoehorned in just to say that they are there. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were under contractual obligation to have them. I don't see them boosting ratings dramatically. People watch The Simpsons because they're the fucking Simpsons. Nobody says "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, Tony Blair's going to be on TV!" The show in itself is a far greater cultural icon than about 99% of the people that have appeared on the show.

[Le Jake]

Originally posted by Tibor
The show in itself is a far greater cultural icon than about 99% of the people that have appeared on the show.

Scooby Doo Movies

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Tibor
I don't understand the frequency of guest stars, when it seems that they are shoehorned in just to say that they are there. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were under contractual obligation to have them. I don't see them boosting ratings dramatically. People watch The Simpsons because they're the fucking Simpsons. Nobody says "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, Tony Blair's going to be on TV!" The show in itself is a far greater cultural icon than about 99% of the people that have appeared on the show.

Yeah, I don't get it anymore either. The ratings don't seem to sway with the stars (as RMIII pointed out, New Kids on the Blecch didn't even get particularly great ratings), and at this point it seems like most of the audience is either sick of them or just doesn't care. The novelty of seeing a celebrity voice themselves has just lost most of its appeal.

[whisman]

Guest stars these days are just thrown around and are given like a 30 second cameo, and this makes me mad. I mean 3 guest stars in this episode and none of them had a significant role. And I still wish they would have asked Rowan Atkinson to guest star.

[SpongeBob No Pants]

i wonder if they asked Judi Dench to play herself?

seriously, i understood the Blair and McKellan cameos, but Joe Millionarie's joke could have been done by Dan or Hank, and The Rowling spot felt to much like publicity

"you've turned a generation of kids on to reading" - (I bet she wouldn't do the show unless one of the characters said that about her)

[tim_duncan2000]

If they did ask Dench to play herself, I don't blame her for declining. That joke was so stupid.

McKellan's scene was stupid as well, but the JK Rowling one didn't do a thing for me one way or another. I don't think they needed to actually use here since I don't know what she sounds like anyway.

[simplysimpsons]

Originally posted by Jolly Bengali
Or the other way around... and Homer's sister was just ridiculously painful to watch

I agree...that was the second most cringeworthy and awful joke of the season, just behind the men kissing thing. Especially her voice!

I also agree about the wacky McKellan appearance...what with the lightning strikes and all. J.K.Rowling was simply a "Oh look, it's ---!" character with a self-promoting line, that played no part to the episode.

Another thing I realised was Nelson was out of character with his "I wanna see it some more!" line. A while ago, he would have stolen it off Bart or would have punched Bart and took it.

[nickmeister]

from the footage I have sen it looks really good and captures Blair's character perfectly

[Friz]

Anyone else notice how they repeated some lines from old episodes? Not jokes, exactly, but actual lines that have been used in the past. The context of "An elephant's butt" was last used in 'Blood Fued', and Hom'R mentioned about Dame Edna being a dude.

Another thing, am I the only guy here that's updating his custom text/sig with Season 15 references?

[Warren]

3/5. Meh-worthy.

[Moose of Doom!]

Originally posted by Friz
Anyone else notice how they repeated some lines from old episodes? Not jokes, exactly, but actual lines that have been used in the past. The context of "An elephant's butt" was last used in 'Blood Fued', and Hom'R mentioned about Dame Edna being a dude.

Another thing, am I the only guy here that's updating his custom text/sig with Season 15 references?

Yeah, I think so.

And wasn't the character's name Lord Daftwager? It would make a lot more sense considering his joke (he makes crazy or "daft" wagers?).

[Friz]

Good point. I actually thought it was "Daftwager", but I then thought "Why would they call him that if he makes Daft wagers? That's like the lamest character name ever".

Then I realised that they are in their fifteenth season...

[Moose of Doom!]

What about Baron Von Kissalot?

[Friz]

Baron Von Kissalot was a good character name. It was as a joke to Marge's "made up name" being real. Much like the '123 Fake Street' joke. But funnier.

[whisman]

Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
Joe Millionarie's joke could have been done by Dan or Hank

That scene flew right by me. Could some one tell me what happened in this scene? These cameos all just passed by so fast.

[Friz]

(The family see a West End theatre showing: "Joe Millionaire in: The Cherry Orchard")

CUT: Inside. Joe is sitting on the stage, next to a lady.

Joe: "I don't really own a cherry orchard."

GIRL gasps.

*End scene*



Well I Laughed.

[Stackhouse]

Originally posted by Friz
Another thing, am I the only guy here that's updating his custom text/sig with Season 15 references?

No, sir.

Well, signature, yes. Text, no.

[Lord Daftwager]

Hey, if I could figure out how to change my NAME it would be S15. As for sigs, I don't do that. And I'm not sure at which point I can get a title.

[Magnum]

I think you have to PM a mod or admin.

[StrideR]

Originally posted by Friz
(The family see a West End theatre showing: "Joe Millionaire in: The Cherry Orchard")

CUT: Inside. Joe is sitting on the stage, next to a lady.

Joe: "I don't really own a cherry orchard."

GIRL gasps.

*End scene*



Well I Laughed.

Actually, I thought that could have been a classic joke... although it probably would've been better if they didn't credit him as "Joe Millionaire."

[Tibor]

although it probably would've been better if they didn't credit him as "Joe Millionaire."

If would have made no sense if it wasn't Joe Millionaire. That's the whole joke.

[StrideR]

Originally posted by Tibor
If would have made no sense if it wasn't Joe Millionaire. That's the whole joke.

True, but "Evan Marriott" would have sufficed, especially since there are probably going to be 3 or 4 more Joe Millionaires.

But let's forget about all this miniscule details - still a good joke.

[Tibor]

Urkel as Othello was hilarious.

[Rowdy]

Originally posted by StrideR
True, but "Evan Marriott" would have sufficed, especially since there are probably going to be 3 or 4 more Joe Millionaires.


Nah, Joe Millionaire 2 was the largest bomb of any returning series this season.....FOX will have needed to suffer a great many blows to the head to bring it back for any future installments...

[fissionhead]

Anybody think Jean is full of himself accusing other shows of copying the Simpsons when we have the grim reaper story and now a British Homer sibling? Japanese Hank Hill anyone? The episode was better than I expected but obviously would have been better without all the celebrity cameos. Remember the good old days on the show when people of the likes of n'synch and politicians and statesmen were made fun of, not *invited to be on the show*?

[Mafia]

Homer being death and the family guy episode were both copies of countless tv show specials and movies about the Grim Reaper. Also, having a foreign sibling was not King of the Hill's idea anyway. To use a very crappy analogy, people breathe air on the Simpsons. They must be copying the air breathers in other shows. Yeah... that was crappy. Besides, it was a joke anyway. It is inevitable that shows have plots that are similar.

[newhook_1]

Originally posted by fissionhead
Anybody think Jean is full of himself accusing other shows of copying the Simpsons when we have the grim reaper story and now a British Homer sibling? Japanese Hank Hill anyone?

Well the fact is, they wren't ripping off KOTH because "War Children" are very common from the WWII era. It was just a surprisingly realistic reason for them to goto Britian, even though they could have done more with it as a subplot.

[Homeboy]

My only disappointment: no Monty Python gags/references. Otherwise, a good, but, overall, average, episode, IMO.:)

[emrawkweasel]

From an English point of view, I found parts of it pretty funny. The newspapers & the roundabout for example.

[spiritofstlouis]

Just downloaded it...don't know if anyone will read this. But you never know!

Overall I gave it a 4/5. Entertaining, and some good gags, although the Abe sub-plot felt a bit out of place. The Museum of Modern Bart was really good IMO.
The major problem with this episode was the stereotyping (although this has obviously happened in other vacation episodes). As a Londoner, I just worry that naive foreigners will now arrive assuming everyone is upperclass posh twonks. There are...whisper it...non-white people in London! And the streets are dirty.
But, I know, it's a cartoon, so we'll ignore all that. The cameo from JK Rowling and Ian McKellen were annoying, but Tony Blair was actually quite good IMO.

Excellent parts included the roundabout, tabloid rips, trainspotting parody and the Giggs reference. The animation of the London Eye was impressive. A scene on the Tube would have been good aswell.

[sharybobbins]

3 words
best episode ever

[SideshowTim]

I thought this episode was pretty damn good, Great jokes all the way through, They didn't really go over the top with British stereotypes at all. It was pretty crazy though like Homer hitting the Queens cart, Tony Blairs appearance was pretty good actually not to shabby at all, Nice episode I give it a B+.

[George Cauldron]

I found the episode extremely funny. Unfortunately it did lack plot at times, with the London scenes being little more than jokes-after-jokes-after-jokes. Of course, the jokes were very good that the lack of depth can be overlooked slightly. The beginning should have got to the plot much more quickly. Instead of opening a museum and spending the trip to London with the museum's profits, Bart could have easily spent Burns' bill, thus resolving everything far quicker. The London jokes were excellent. Every London (or British) stereotype was covered, from our soccer yob culture, to the fact that our videotapes don't work on American VCRs, roundabouts (which I am now informed are not seen in the USA, making the joke funnier), fish and chips being the nation's favorite food, our people either being brash common Cockneys, or well-spoken upperclasses, and so on. Nice to see some London locations and landmarks, including Big Ben, The London Eye, (I think I saw St. Paul's Cathedral, I'll have to watch that again), Carnaby Street, Piccadilly Circus, Harrods in Knightsbridge, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Heathrow airport, and so on. Surprisingly, no Westminster Abbey or London Underground, but hey, we got enough. For a British viewer, a lot to like. The guest stars were too self-gratuitous for my liking. Lisa's "It's Prime Minister Tony Blair" wasn't too bad, but then we had to get something similar for JK Rowling and Sir Ian McKellan too. I thought the show had grown out of those "LOOK, IT'S ?????????!" lines years ago. All in all, very good, but the fact I'm a Londoner is probably clouding my judgement on some of the episode's flaws.

[Rory Mitch]

I loved this episode, I couldn't wait to see the Simpsons in England! The pointless guest stars let it down a little though.

RATING: 4.5/5
GRADE : A

[Jesus]

C+, less than average for the Simpsons, a little more than average for season 15

[Patriot]

Absoluetly loved this episode 5/5

[HOMR]

Stop bumping every fucking thread! i can't believe nobody tells him to stop, he should get banned.

[goodfella]

Probably my own personal worst episode ever, I didn't like the crap guest stars, a couple of good laughs but really annoying Homer. Hitting the Queen got me really annoyed. F

[Dorkus Malorkus]

Stop bumping every fucking thread! i can't believe nobody tells him to stop, he should get banned.
yeah, anyone who gives 'The Regina Monologues' 5/5 deserves to be banned. this episode is Dire

[Handsome Peter]

It has its laughs, but it's not rip-roaring, or even better than the new Harry Potter, and like many more recent vacationing episodes, it's not a very good one in my books. It was good enough until about the halfway point, when it started becoming "meh". 2/5.

[Son of Bomber]

this episoode wasn't very good. this episode was a disappointment.

[Garp]

B-. Nothing great, but has some nice things, like the Transpotting parody.

[Tamaki Suoh]

This episode started out with a fairly promising and funny first act, but immediately went downhill when the family traveled to England. Most of the second act was unfunny and uninteresting drivel, meliorated only slightly in the third act. 2.5/5

[Moe Nopoly]

I think it's a pretty episode.
The story is sometimes a little bit weird and the gags don't work every time,
but nevertheless still a funny and entertainig episode for me.
London is also my favorite city in europe, so that's a plus ^^

4/5

[lovedartsandsimpsons]

I'm from england so i know what english things need to be taken the p**s out of.And this episode did not do it.But the tony blair and sir ian mckellan scenes were funny. 3/5.

[sung]

This is a big mixed bag for me. First, the bad thing; the plot was very far-off and silly that kind of destroyed the promise that was built in a decent first and early part of Act 2. Other than plot leaving a pretty everlasting bad taste in the episode... but the good part of the episode is that, the humor was pretty outstanding with jokes-by-jokes in a lot of moments and I, for one, liked the guest stars. Bart and Lisa's candy spree would be one of my favorite moments of S15 (with featuring my favorite Iggy Pop song ever). Overall, very heavy on humor, but plot must've been sleeping in the house C

[D'ohmer]

I liked everything except for the kids going crazy for chocolate. However, I can easily get past it due to the great amount of funny jokes and references. 5/5

Edit: I've decided that the chocolate scene is a bigger problem than I originally thought. New grade: 4/5

[qwertyuio]

It wasn't too much bad, but a travel episode should never be boring. It's usual that they use stereotypes to make jokes, as they did in Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo or Bart Vs Australia, but the result should be a funny and entertaining episode. And this one hardly made me laugh.

5.5/10, just because it wasn't awful.

[Gatorsrule]

roundabouts (which I am now informed are not seen in the USA, making the joke funnier)

Okay I have to say, and someone mentioned this in the thread. There ARE roundabouts in the USA. There are plenty of them throughout the United States.

[joe miller]

I liked they went there for a reason, instead of just going there.

It had a decent amount of good humor from what I remember. They kinda dropped the reason why they went there during the second act and didn't bring it back until the very end. Homer getting in trouble and put in jail is never new though. Reasons like this are why this gets a 4/5. It was pretty funny but not perfect in any way

[Nauru-1]

Just entertaining enough for a 3/5. Not a great episode by any means, but somewhat funny so I don't mind this one.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Season 15 continues with yet another vacation episode. This time the Simpsons are going to England, but not before a first act which finds Bart aquiring a $1000 bill. Honestly, this first act was probably the best part of the episode, which is not a good sign. We start out strong with Mr. Burns. I absolutely loved the four digit age joke. Milhouse screaming for Bart to get the ladybug out of his hair was also very good. The museum part was abit slow, but didn't really last too long. We finally get a Grandpa war story reminiscent of the King of the Hill Japan episode.

At around the 9 minute mark the Simpsons arrive in England, greeted by Tony Blair who, aside from being Prime Minister at the time the episode aired, offers a pointless thirty second appearance marked with little to no humor. Not even the jetpack was really funny. Also at about the 9 minute mark we leave Grandpa and forget all about him until the very end of the episode, also not a good sign. As the family sees the sights they meet several famous people including J.K. Rowling and Sir Ian McKellen. Both of these parts I found alright, I mean Rowling had a funny line and was no more than thirty seconds and McKellen, unlike Blair or Rowling, at least seemed like he was trying to be funny. We also have a British candy scene which I probably would've enjoyed more if I actually got what it was supposed to be a parody of.

Eventually Homer makes a total ass out of himself by hitting the Queen of England and the episode screeches to a halt. During the rest of this episode, at least until the end, I only laughed one time, at the Henrietta Hippo line. Homer is imprisoned, but allowed to leave England provided he take Madonna with him, an admittedly clever gag. The ending finds us remembering about Grandpa as he meets the woman he loved so long ago. I have to admit that I remember laughing rather hysterically for a long time when I saw Homer's female doppelganger at the end of this episode for the very first time. It probably remains my favorite joke of the episode.

So how does this episode measure up? As a vacation episode it's alright. No where near as good as the best, or bad as the worst. It's in the middle. I usually don't enjoy these types of episodes unless the humor is flawless or I am interested in where they are going. Sadly, this was not the case here which is probably why I enjoyed the first segment in Springfield the best. This was John Swartzwelder's last Simpsons script. It isn't terrible, but considering the many classics he's written this is a rather sad episode to end with. Easily the worst of Season 15 so far, but still a 3/5.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

Season 15 continues with yet another vacation episode. This time the Simpsons are going to England, but not before a first act which finds Bart aquiring a $1000 bill. Honestly, this first act was probably the best part of the episode, which is not a good sign. We start out strong with Mr. Burns. I absolutely loved the four digit age joke. Milhouse screaming for Bart to get the ladybug out of his hair was also very good. The museum part was abit slow, but didn't really last too long. We finally get a Grandpa war story reminiscent of the King of the Hill Japan episode.

At around the 9 minute mark the Simpsons arrive in England, greeted by Tony Blair who, aside from being Prime Minister at the time the episode aired, offers a pointless thirty second appearance marked with little to no humor. Not even the jetpack was really funny. Also at about the 9 minute mark we leave Grandpa and forget all about him until the very end of the episode, also not a good sign. As the family sees the sights they meet several famous people including J.K. Rowling and Sir Ian McKellen. Both of these parts I found alright, I mean Rowling had a funny line and was no more than thirty seconds and McKellen, unlike Blair or Rowling, at least seemed like he was trying to be funny. We also have a British candy scene which I probably would've enjoyed more if I actually got what it was supposed to be a parody of.

Eventually Homer makes a total ass out of himself by hitting the Queen of England and the episode screeches to a halt. During the rest of this episode, at least until the end, I only laughed one time, at the Henrietta Hippo line. Homer is imprisoned, but allowed to leave England provided he take Madonna with him, an admittedly clever gag. The ending finds us remembering about Grandpa as he meets the woman he loved so long ago. I have to admit that I remember laughing rather hysterically for a long time when I saw Homer's female doppelganger at the end of this episode for the very first time. It probably remains my favorite joke of the episode.

So how does this episode measure up? As a vacation episode it's alright. No where near as good as the best, or bad as the worst. It's in the middle. I usually don't enjoy these types of episodes unless the humor is flawless or I am interested in where they are going. Sadly, this was not the case here which is probably why I enjoyed the first segment in Springfield the best. This was John Swartzwelder's last Simpsons script. It isn't terrible, but considering the many classics he's written this is a rather sad episode to end with. Easily the worst of Season 15 so far, but still a 3/5.

Wow, it's very strange that whenever you right a review I seem to always agree with you

[Mr.]

Strange. I was 100%s sure I did review for this episode already... Ow, well.

Very good episode... or should I say "Smashing"? I didn't care for the first act that much but all the british stuff was fun and I love everytime the Simpsons explore a diffrent country (it remind me of Asterix).

I have cousin from London with who I watch it and while he like the episode he hated Tony Blair part for some reason... However in my opinion this the cameo that shows how popular and powerfull this show has beacome. They can have anybody - an actor, a famuse children novelist... or the Prime minister of England. Why not?

It's a shame this is the last John Swartzwelder episode as he was my favorite script writer on this show.

[LittleMissLisaSimpson]

A really good episode about The Simpsons travelling to London. The apperances we're really fun to watch. Lisa and Bart getting hyper on the chocolate was a good scene. 5/5

[alex_on_ice]

I find the start of this episode quite strange. I didn't really buy into having Burns being pushed on the ground by a dollar bill (Later on in the episode we even see that he has a scar on his stomach from the dollar bill). The part where the dollar bill lands in Milhouse's hair is pretty great (and Bart tells him he has a ladybug in his hair). I didn't really like the new Character in the episode called Edwina but I did however find It somewhat amusing when she presents to Grampa her 58 year-old daughter at the end of the episode.

I liked a certain amount of scenes in this episode: Tony Blair at the Airport, the scene at the roundabout, Bart and Lisa who get hooked to candy and obviously the Macbeth scene.

An above the average episode, but not the best Simpsons trip in the Series. 3.5/5