Rate and Review: "The Fat And The Furriest" (EABF19) [Archive]

Wavy Gravy

11-30-2003, 05:42 PM

And so ends the EABFxx's. What a long, hilarious production line it's been, and in my honest opinion, this was no exception. This one started funny, especially with Homer's "window" line and Abe as the Sprawlmart greeter. The Kitchen Carnival offered some good visual gags ("only my hairdresser knows for sure"), and the bit with Homer's candy ball was also done well ("I was saving sugar for my wedding night!"). The bear scenes also had their humor, and we had another great visual gag with Homer's "welding mask" bit. The episode got even funnier as they went into the woods (the hunter's myriad uses for dead animals surprisingly never got old) and it wrapped up rather nicely. Though it had a few clunker moments (Homer trying on the tag, for instance) it still held its own - a nice surprise considering the spoilers. I guess this is just living proof that an episode can indeed look lousy on paper and still work out on screen (especially with the awesome animation we had - the VeggieTales ripoff, the mass of oscillating fans, Homer's maniacal laughing silhouette, Homer struggling to get out of his room wearing the suit, etc.) Altogether another fine Season 15 episode. I don't see how anyone can argue at this point that "The Simpsons" hasn't gotten better.

4/5

newhook_1

11-30-2003, 05:43 PM

2/5
There where far too many throw away jokes. The "Branded a coward by the media" thing was just as bad as when the residents of Springfield started thinking the Homer Simpson of OFF, and "Homer Simpson" from "Police Cops" where the same person. Typical season 11 style "Captian Wacky" adventure.

Mike Scully: *Sitting in an ally with other crack addicts, watching this episode on a black and white TV by the light of a burning oil drum* Ha Ha Ha, Homer got electrocuted.... twice! Now that's comedy. *Looks at other bum* You got any speed?

Spooner

11-30-2003, 05:43 PM

Yes, it was supposed to be a parody of that documentary.

Anyway, it seems that the lower expectations you had going in, the better you thought it was.

I was ready to give it a 4, but you guys convinced me it sucked.

But hey, if you didn't like this ep, I'll spray ink on you.

And that line probably just got as many laughs as it did in the actual airing of the show.

pat

11-30-2003, 05:44 PM

In the words of Krusty upon watching Worker & Parasite: "What the hell was that?!" My opinions are for the most part the same as the rest of the board so far. Some of the jokes were good, like the KFC line and the Intensive Care Bear. That whole dialogue between Cletus and the hunter (I already forgot his name) was inane and pointless, like 95% of this episode. The plot? There wasn't one. This is the worst episode I've seen since Helter Shelter; neither had a decent plot, but this was funnier, a little funnier anyway. It lacked anything even closely resembling a plot or a point. I hope this is the only stinker of the season. No plot, but some good jokes that saved it from the dreaded "Maybe Simpson Safari wasn't that bad after all" category. I gave it a 2/5 on the poll, but out of 10, I give it a 3. I liked what I saw for next week's episode though, it looks like we'll be able to put this bad one behind us and move on to some more good episodes.

Silent_G

11-30-2003, 05:44 PM

Homer: Are you a Care Bear?
Bear: No, I'm a Intensive Care Bear!

Clarence

11-30-2003, 05:47 PM

I would say slightly below 3/5 because for the first time this season I actually laughed at a few jokes. But I'm actually surprised for once the blamming this episode is receiving.

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 05:48 PM

Once again, those from outside this message board enjoyed tonight's episode, from what I've seen, and naturally everyone here hates it. The reason? Casual fans care 80% about humor, 20% about story. NHC cares 70% about story and 30% about humor.

Well, I'm a man of 50/50. Tonight's episode was pretty dang funny if you ask me. The imaginary bears attacking Homer, the Mother's Day gifts, Sprawl-Mart, Lenny & Carl's spots, the hunter's "lunch", etc. genuine laughs. The only jokes that did nothing for me were the three physical ones: red eyes, claw-scratch bleeding, and shocking tag. So, laughs, all's good.

Now, story. Although not as meandering as Joel Cohen's last full episode, this one also had something of the three act differences. Act 1: Mother's Day and Candy Ball, Act 2: Homer against bear, Act 3: Homer saving bear. I didn't like the direction it took in act 3. I wanted to see Homer actually confront the bear and conquer his fears. The story was ridiculous obviously overall. In real life, would anyone actually blame Homer for being scared of a friggin' bear? Act 2 still managed to make the ridiculousness of it interesting though. Too bad Act 3 ended that side of it.

Overall, 3/5.
Not quite the disaster I was expecting (although I know we'll be hearing endless flak about it on this board for years to come, unfortunately). At least it's out of the way, right?

PS: Don't tell me this was anywhere as bad as "Helter Shelter".

Mr.Bunny

11-30-2003, 05:48 PM

Originally posted by Wavy Gravy

Just like always, i agree with your review.

ReadySteady

11-30-2003, 05:49 PM

Not great, but not bad either. Par for the course, maybe?

I thought the country/western octopus outfit was highly bizarre, even for this episode. Still funny, though.

lance

11-30-2003, 05:49 PM

Wow. First below average episode of the season. It was really bad, with some alright stuff sprinkled in. Nothing at all that stood out. 2/5

doyle

11-30-2003, 05:53 PM

Well, I had a slightly pessimistic view coming in, and I wasn't given much to be happy about. The more this Joel H. Cohen does, the more episodes I have to hate. This was just awful. The best act was the first, actually. The carnival was ok, and in introducing it into the plot, a number of minor characters were used. Homer's love for the sugarball was a tad dumb, but it didn't bother me, and reminded me of his sandwich in 9F11. The main plot was introduced in the final seconds of the first act. Overall, it was pretty funny, as only a couple gags fell flat, notably Nelson sucking things into his mouth.

However, it was all downhill from there. This episode had a good chance to show Homer as an isolated man trying to gain acceptance in a society that had branded him a coward. But all chances for social commentary were thrown out the window. Homer's encounter with the bear didn't show any raw emotional fear or feelings coming out of Homer, just a stupid sight gag involving him popping his head in and out of toilets. For the entire second and third acts, I think the number of terrible jokes outnumbered the good, and there were only one or two memorable scenes. Homer's little hallucination in the kitchen and the "missing and presumed bald" line were the only things that drew smiles from me. The hunter added little, and the jokes surrounding him eating animals quickly got old. During the second act, we are introduced to a Lenny/Carl/Bart/Homer wacky adventure in the forest. As the second act ends, once again he meets the bear, and my hopes for a decent third act were intact.

Those were quickly dashed. I thought the song at the end of the second act which had Bart Lenny and Carl dancing was bad, but the song that played while Homer and the bear were bonding was far worse. The bear was revealed to have humanlike qualities, as he understands Homer's speech and dons Homer's armor for the final scene, as he races towards the wildlife sanctuary in a final, "climactic" scene. Utterly pointless, and very forgettable.
Grade: D+

Oh well, can't win 'em all. I am already looking forward to the episode next week, which has much more promise.

kevin

11-30-2003, 05:53 PM

Another stinker. :(

Season 15:
Treehouse of Horror XIV- B
My Mother the Carjacker- B+
The President Wore Pearls- A-
The Regina Monolouges- D-
The Fat and the Furriest- D+

Blinky

11-30-2003, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
Once again, those from outside this message board enjoyed tonight's episode, from what I've seen, and naturally everyone here hates it. The reason? Casual fans care 80% about humor, 20% about story. NHC cares 70% about story and 30% about humor.

Well, I'm a man of 50/50. Tonight's episode was pretty dang funny if you ask me. The imaginary bears attacking Homer, the Mother's Day gifts, Sprawl-Mart, Lenny & Carl's spots, the hunter's "lunch", etc. genuine laughs. The only jokes that did nothing for me were the three physical ones: red eyes, claw-scratch bleeding, and shocking tag. So, laughs, all's good.

Now, story. Although not as meandering as Joel Cohen's last full episode, this one also had something of the three act differences. Act 1: Mother's Day and Candy Ball, Act 2: Homer against bear, Act 3: Homer saving bear. I didn't like the direction it took in act 3. I wanted to see Homer actually confront the bear and conquer his fears. The story was ridiculous obviously overall. In real life, would anyone actually blame Homer for being scared of a friggin' bear? Act 2 still managed to make the ridiculousness of it interesting though. Too bad Act 3 ended that side of it.

Overall, 3/5.
Not quite the disaster I was expecting (although I know we'll be hearing endless flak about it on this board for years to come, unfortunately). At least it's out of the way, right?

PS: Don't tell me this was anywhere as bad as "Helter Shelter".

Once again Tomacco has taken the words right out of my mouth.

I enjoyed the episode... and i actually felt for the Bear at the end. I laughed out loud when it hit the elephant with the bat, haha.

Moose of Doom!

11-30-2003, 05:56 PM

I have a feeling this episode will be NHC's token "Bitch of the Season"....

Reading the other reviews, I agree the most with Tomacco.

Mafia

11-30-2003, 05:56 PM

3.5/5

I laughed a bunch. It was a funny episode. However, I did not like the whole Homer and bear being friends thing. What was that? The candy ball was funny for 1 joke, the Wiggum joke. Still, I laughed. I found this episode better than THOHXIV (while it was no where close to the quality of Stop the World.)

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by Retro Moose of Doom!

Reading the other reviews, I agree the most with Tomacco.

Really? But you gave the episode a 1/5.

joe

11-30-2003, 06:07 PM

yeah, its funny. on all the other boards I post on, this episode is getting extreme gushing from casual fans. People really liked tihs episode...Some people have even been declaring this and last season the return to the "Classic" era in quality. I don't want to go that "nutz", but it is clear that this board is overly harsh.. With that said, I still stick by my review...

2/5

ShadowBun

11-30-2003, 06:11 PM

Hm. Color me pleasantly surprised.

Act 1: I missed a chunk of act one, but managed to see everything from Patty and Selma at the store onward. The Kitchen Carnival scene was fairly amusing, but the animation was what really stood out here; Homer dousing the cotton candy in caramel had some great visual effects that seemed to have popped up often this season. Nice lighting. Unlike most of you, I really enjoyed the scenes with the candy ball. Homer carrying around a huge snack everywhere seems in-character enough, and the "Ants! Birds! Cats! Flandereses!" scene was funny (topped with Todd's "wedding" line). 4/5, from what I saw.

Act 2: This was also solid, actually. Despite the unbelievability factor (that the townspeople would actually make fun of Homer so much from running from a bear), the act was enjoyable and crammed with jokes. Again, I have to stress the great animation and direction...all the scenes where Homer is fearing bears (Burns' trophy, entering the house, Maggie's room, the kitchen scenes) really pull off some great dramatic angles and amazing lighting. I also liked Grampa's website, Oldcoot.com (anyone tried going there yet?). Homer's bear-suit was also good, with a few funny jokes and creative design. Lisa in the octopus-cowboy outfit was just too weird, though, and Lenny/Carl/Bart's song wasn't as funny either. Still, a lot of good jokes and great visuals make it fun to watch. 4/5

Act 3: Like the writer's last episode, Brawl in the Family, act 3 takes a different angle, storywise. I didn't like it as much, though...it smelt of a Call of the Simpsons with better animation. I did like how, throughout the episode, they didn't rely on Homer-getting-hurt at all (hardly). People's biggest fears about this episode were that the jokes would just be about Homer's pain. Fortunately, there were only three gags regarding this, and I think the fact that they skimmed down the physical jokes really shows growth in the show's humor (from a couple seasons ago). However, Act 3 was too brief and took a weird story turn. It still had some laughs, though, and wrapped up things fairly nicely. 3/5

This was certainly better than last week's train wreck, I thought. Season 15 has been surprisingly good so far, and all the episodes have incredible animation. Keep up the good work, writers.

4/5, B

Moose of Doom!

11-30-2003, 06:11 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
Really? But you gave the episode a 1/5.

I did? I voted 2/5 though. I'll just blame it on the ever-present NHC Peer Pressure!

Radioactive Man

11-30-2003, 06:12 PM

This episdoe was different than what I was expecting. That's all I have to say.

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

Body Massage

11-30-2003, 06:13 PM

I dunno . This is my first post and review. Personally I thought this episode was terrible and forgettable to the 17th power. There were just too many awful jokes that I can't see anyone laughing at, such as Lisa in the Octopus costume, Homer and the Ear Tag, The Bear clubbing the Elephant, etc. etc. It also didn't seem to want to stick to story and constantly jumped around going in no specific direction. I didn't mind most of the episodes so far this seson but this one just didn't connect. 1/5

Jolly Bengali

11-30-2003, 06:17 PM

Pasted in -> Tomacco's opinion, essentially

I may never have been more conflicted when trying to review an episode. On the one hand, "The Fat And The Furriest" was an episode 'chock full of hilarity, with more laughs than a lot of episodes that I've given an A too. On the other hand, the entire episode turned its back on the principles that the show's greatness was built on. Intelligence, social commentary, sub-plot, and realism were all thrown out the window in this episode in favor of human-like bears and crude jokes. So, where does that leave me for reviewing? At a complete crossroads. I could embrace the side of me longing for the golden era of "The Simpsons" to be ushered in again, complete with the scathing wit and nuanced observations about daily life that made the show have such an impact on me and millions of others. Or I could resign myself to the fact that the show is never going to reach that peak again, give into my more light-hearted side, and embrace how good the episode was as pure comedic entertainment. I can't make that choice, however. For the terrible mooning joke with Homer there was the hilarious "Mmm... Moses" line. For the sight gags in the city dump that brought a smile, there was a wince from Lisa randomly appearing in an octopus costume. For the hilarious "bear hug" there was a painfully bad segment with hunters. The only choice is the middle ground. As much as I want to give in to pure comedy, I can't ignore the fact that this is "The Simpsons" and that there is a higher standard involved. But, at the same time, I can't ignore the fact that I haven't been so entertained for quite a while. The difference has been split, but I hope in the future I won't have to downgrade such a funny episode because the writers simply got lazy. Grade: B-

MacGyver 666

11-30-2003, 06:21 PM

It may have not been the best episode ever, but it is not as terrible as everyone is making it out to be. The first two acts were interesting and amusing, but the third act (while not horrible) brings down the score of the episode. I just wasn’t as “drawn” to Homer becoming friends with the bear; it was too much like a Saturday Morning cartoon. Overall I’d give it a B/B+ due to the good first and second acts.

ZombieFlanders

11-30-2003, 06:28 PM

I dont really like it compared to anything old but out of the last 3 years its the funniest episode Ive seen. Overall the plot wasnt great but I dont know, it just reminded me alot of older episodes in alot of ways. Plus it addedi n the angry elephants just like the old stampy episode haha. Elephants are assholes in the Simpsons.

SpongeBob No Pants

11-30-2003, 06:35 PM

just watched it agian, and i love it even more

i'd have sex with it if i could... i love it that much!

but seriously, i really liked the ep, i'd probably bump my score from 4 up to 5

perfectlycromulent

11-30-2003, 06:37 PM

this kind of reminded me of a homerized "strong arms of the ma"

Eart

11-30-2003, 07:04 PM

Sometimes I hate the reviews here.

Tomacco hit in on the nail with:

Once again, those from outside this message board enjoyed tonight's episode, from what I've seen, and naturally everyone here hates it. The reason? Casual fans care 80% about humor, 20% about story. NHC cares 70% about story and 30% about humor.

You guys are too picky and look for the tinyist details to make fun of. It's like it's cool to hate new episodes..

5/5+

Mayor Quimby

11-30-2003, 07:05 PM

Blinky

11-30-2003, 07:05 PM

Originally posted by Eart
Sometimes I hate the reviews here.

Tomacco hit in on the nail with:

Once again, those from outside this message board enjoyed tonight's episode, from what I've seen, and naturally everyone here hates it. The reason? Casual fans care 80% about humor, 20% about story. NHC cares 70% about story and 30% about humor.

You guys are too picky and look for the tinyist details to make fun of. It's like it's cool to hate new episodes..

5/5+

Tibor

11-30-2003, 07:10 PM

Yawn, yawn, yawn. Thin, forgettable plot, limp humor. I can't even think of enough stuff to write a review worth reading, really. Scattered laughs salvage it, somewhat. C-/C

Moleman...Hans

11-30-2003, 07:10 PM

Ummmm that was REALLY strange. Not as bad as many people said it was but still bad. I'm giving ti a 2.5/5 but I'll vote 2/5. The story was WEAK but some of those jokes were funny and the bear was cute lol.

Roger Myers III

11-30-2003, 07:13 PM

I have to ask: who is indicated by the phrase "those outside this message board"? Just curious.

E.T phone homer

11-30-2003, 07:15 PM

The Simpsons is a Comedy, an animated comedy. It made me laugh and that's all I ask for. I'd rather have an almost plotless laugh-fest then a well plotted bore. Plot is important but an intelligent plot isn't always needed for a good laugh.

or_smth

11-30-2003, 07:16 PM

Move over, Saddlesore Galactica.

Matt Groening must of really hated that episode. I mean loathed it. He hates animals acting like humans.

Toxic Monkey

11-30-2003, 07:17 PM

whole lot better than last weeks. this one actually made me laugh a few times. 4/5

Tibor

11-30-2003, 07:18 PM

Entertainment is the end goal. It's not 70/30 plot/comedy or anything like that. If an episode is poorly plotted it can be picked up with strong humor, to an extent. When both of those things go wrong, it's a mess.

skittlebrau

11-30-2003, 07:19 PM

Meh, I only ever really laughed at Homer's hallucinogenic bears. Everything else was pretty damn lame. 2/5

Yup, this season's turning out to be a total disappointment so far. Hope it gets better soon.

Stackhouse

11-30-2003, 07:36 PM

Where's DTBM? He'll give us the final say on this episode.

newhook_1

11-30-2003, 07:39 PM

Yes where is DTBM? He usually has good well thought out reviews.

reyontoyeny

11-30-2003, 07:55 PM

Although I didn't laugh or chuckle once in this episode, I didn't have a problem with any part of it. I thought revealing that the tracker was the cause of the bear's problems and giving the bear suit to the bear to be a decent way to tie up the episode. The very last gag sort of reminded me of the ending of the Stampy episode.

2/5

Crotis Jivefunk

11-30-2003, 07:58 PM

Good:
The whole first act
Homer's bear hallucinations

Bad:
Red Eyes
The hunter
A Bloody Homer Gag

Not too bad. It's on the Where's My Ranch program. 3.5/5

Kefka

11-30-2003, 08:01 PM

PS: Don't tell me this was anywhere as bad as "Helter Shelter".

It was almost as worse.

DaSimpsons

11-30-2003, 08:01 PM

Originally posted by E.T phone homer
The Simpsons is a Comedy, an animated comedy. It made me laugh and that's all I ask for. I'd rather have an almost plotless laugh-fest then a well plotted bore. Plot is important but an intelligent plot isn't always needed for a good laugh.

I disagree, I'd much more be entertained with a great plot that had sub-par jokes. I dont think ANYTHING can be good without a good plot. Of course it all differs depending on what one considers good. I agree with Tomacco's assessment, most hardcore fans wants plot, plot and more plot. IMO, the simpsons writers have always had hilarious jokes, but its the episodes that have a good flowing plot that stand out the most.

Eart

11-30-2003, 08:22 PM

OldCoot.com isn't even owned by FOX.. weird

Channel Surfer

11-30-2003, 08:22 PM

My review (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-146/epid-205583/blockid-79455/)

First off, I am going to say that I do believe an episode can be carried by humor and humor alone. I do think it is possible that their could be an episode with a horribly disjointed plot structure and characterization problems, but with humor so strong it could go in my top 10. Is it likely? Hardly, because chances are if there's a horrible plot flow and contrived characterizations, it's a tip off to lazy writing. Plus it closes outlets for other forms of entertainment (the storyline) and limits the potential of character/story humor.

On the flip side, I bet an episode could be written with no humor at all, but it still be carried by highly engaging characterizations or storylines. As Tibor said, the ultimate goal is to entertain. I could care less about how it gets there. I'm not into checklist grading where if episode doesn't have such and such, it gets punished, despite other elements carrying it just fine.

That said, this episode neither favored plot nor humor well, as there weren't very many good gags in all honesty (most are in the first couple of minutes). A lot of gags just fall flat too. "Suckle my sugar ball", Homer debating over whether to listen to Marge or the sugar ball, Homer smoking a pipe when about to be mauled, Homer's red eyes while constructing/testing the suit, Lisa in the octopus costume, the shock tag, Homer's "bear hug", the hunter debating with Cletus, and the bear and the elephant fighting together are some bits of strained attempts at humor, which is quite a bit for a gag episode. And the plotline really is bad. Not just because it is wacky either. I can handle a completely surreal storyline as long as the characterizations are believable in them (believable characters in surreal situations). But...Homer smoking a pipe when about to be mauled by a bear for some reason, constructing a suit just to fight it, teaming up with a very personified animal. This is too much of a stretch of his childish insecurities to bear, and with humor as lame as that pun, the episode just isn't going to score very highly.

Some decent humor in the first act, as well as scattered bits here and there afterwards. And the episode is not anywhere near as bad as "Helter Shelter". But it still wasn't very good all the same, and it isn't scoring high marks for not being quite as bad as something else.

Grade: C-

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 08:25 PM

Wow, my review's been referenced a lot tonight.
I am honored. :D

I wonder what DTBM will think of my review this week. We've been matched up with our reviews this season.

Mike Scully

11-30-2003, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by Kefka
It was almost as worse.

It was much worse.

Andy

11-30-2003, 08:32 PM

Better than last week, definitely. Surprisingly unannoying for a slapsticky 'Homer gets attacked by something' episode. Some of the sight gags were unnecessary, but otherwise considerably well done. Charles Napier (Duke from the Critic, the warden from Pokey Mom) had a good guest shot as the hunter, even though his character was a tad bit extreme. Still not incredibly awesome, but with some of the better jokes tonight you've gotta give credit for trying... those bear hallucinations had some of the better laughs this season. Nice job on that.

And yeah, I got some of those Call of the Simpsons vibes too.

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 08:33 PM

Originally posted by Kefka
It was almost as worse.

Just because you said it a second time, I'm gonna point out that your sentence makes no sense. Either say "it wasn't as bad" or "it was almost worse". Sorry, I've been studying all day so my mind is focused on pointless shit like this.

Crotis Jivefunk

11-30-2003, 08:34 PM

Originally posted by perfectlycromulent
this kind of reminded me of a homerized "strong arms of the ma"

That's what I was thinking the whole time.

Channel Surfer

11-30-2003, 08:35 PM

Originally posted by Mike Scully
It was much worse.

Correcting Kefka's grammar, or do you believe it is much worse than "Helter Shelter"?

Just curious, because I could see why someone would rank this below that infamous train wreck, even though I'd disagree.

ryan o

11-30-2003, 08:36 PM

Meh. The "Intensive Care Bear" joke was painfully dragged out like most of the jokes, and the candy ball was so stupid. There were some funny moments (I have to admit, I laughed at the bear batting the elephant), but this was a pretty OK episode. Good thing it wasn't as bad as Helter Shelter, but it most likely will become the worst episode of the season if the tradition follows and the second the FABFs hit, we are all claiming it's a "revolution"...3/5...

Tman

11-30-2003, 08:39 PM

Oh my god. Seriously, i can't see how anyone didn't like it. Fuck plotline. Shit, who cares about the plot, The Simpsons is a comedy cartoon. I thought that was 20x better then The Regina Monologues, and better then My Mother The Carjacker. I laughed so much, i just thought it was hilarious. Spongebob cartoons don't make sense, but people still like it for the humor. So you should like this episode for the humor, not the plot. I give it a 5/5.

kuumuus

11-30-2003, 08:39 PM

I loved the whole episode. Most of you can't excuse the far-fetched plots of recent episodes, but I just assume I'm watching a cartoon, and a damn funny one at that. 4.5/5

Before anyone tries to chastise me for being a brainless punk who only likes post-season 8 episodes, let me say that seasons 2-9 are still a lot better for me, but I love the humor this season, which is why I've been giving high grades (nothing less than a B- thus far).

Rowdy

11-30-2003, 08:40 PM

Really enjoyed it....first act provided the humor....second had a storyline that it stayed with the whole time....some throwaway gags near the end are the only minor nitpicks I have.......4/5.....

Season 15:

THOH XIV: 2.5/5
My Mother The Carjacker: 5/5
The President Wore Pearls: 3/5
The Regina Monologues: 4/5

blueguy

11-30-2003, 08:45 PM

I thought it was alright. I didn't like the story that much, but found a few jokes that gave me a good laugh. The candy ball was good all the way through, Sprawl Mart, the window joke, Wiggum, Lisa deep frying a carrot, hallucinating bears, Burn's prank, heck, I even liked how the episode started with the sound matching up to Homer opening up each eye. I liked the red eyes and the tracker shocking everything in the lake. Each joke from the Hunter got progressivly out there and funnier. Drinking from a penguin, eating frozen butterflies from a microwave? The sandwich.
The Lenny and Carl stuff didn't seem all that funny, but what Bart did I liked. The whole animal acting like a human I didn't like, and just the overall story.
4/5

Glumplich

11-30-2003, 08:49 PM

What I thought was a missed opportunity was when Homer and Grandpa were crying in the corner. I thought that Grandpa would mention something to tune of, say, he's just been fired from Sprawlmarts, so that's why he's crying.

I agree with you all. I bet I'd be just as cowardly as Homer if I were to meet up with a real bear, so I don't know why the town was making fun of him. Grade: B-/C+, worst ep of the season so far.

Thus concludes the EABF series. Bring on the FABF's!

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 08:51 PM

I don't really understand so many people's incredibly disgusted reactions to the episode, comparing it to some of the worst ever. I don't think I could ever pinpoint something really horrible in the episode, like panda rapes, jockey elves, celebrity cameos, abrupt/crazy endings, jerkass Homer, extreme meta-referencing, or out-of-character writing. I mean, those are serious complaints from past episodes. I'll admit tonight's story wasn't very interesting, but I would never label it "worst episode ever" or even one of the worst because of a bland plotline, especially since there was enough humor to keep it good. I mean, there's uninteresting stories, and then there's offensively wacky or awful ones, like "Helter Shelter", "Saddlesore Galactica", "The Mansion Family", "Little Big Mom", "Homer to the Max", "Sunday Cruddy Sunday", "Kill the Alligator and Run", "Simpson Safari", "Tennis the Menace", "New Kids on the Blecch", or "Homer vs Dignity" which are all far worse than tonight's episode.

I gave it a 3/5 and that's by my current standards for the show, which are higher than they were in season 13 and below, or even at this point in time last year.

|RABiD|

11-30-2003, 08:52 PM

Hmmmm...very difficult to review. But most likely a 3.5/5, I totally agree with Tomacco except i actually liked the shock tag joke for some odd reason. Homer's movements, IMO, were hilarious. On another note, hasn't the animals in the show always been created with a little human characteristics in them? Alot of people seem to be complaining about this alot. I thought they handled the bear stuff well enough. And yes, this episode was carried with humour alot more than story (obviously!)

Smeagol88

11-30-2003, 08:57 PM

I rarely post here (I don't have the time for a board like this) but I always read the reviews.

However, I have to mention the bit of classic style animation before Homer started to strangle Bart. That ruled. I'll have to watch it again to make certain, but I'm pretty sure it was there.

StrideR

11-30-2003, 09:00 PM

Wow... I'm surprised. On a normal Sunday Night, I'd feel at home with all these reviews. However, tonight's different.

This episode had one thing going for it-- characters remained in character all through. Nothing incredibly wacky or extraordinary thrown in for laughs. That said, it was bland and boring and rarely entertaining, although it did try to make good use of what it could, using Lenny, Carl, Bart and Lisa for visual background jokes.

I wasn't looking for classic jokes, humor or satire and I wasn't pleasantly surprised. Still, I didn't cringe at any joke attempts... well, except for the "suckle on daddy's sugar ball" line. On the whole, the episode broke even.

Homercles and the bear = 5.5/10.

Mike Scully

11-30-2003, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
Correcting Kefka's grammar, or do you believe it is much worse than "Helter Shelter"?

Just curious, because I could see why someone would rank this below that infamous train wreck, even though I'd disagree.

Both!

I really disliked Helter Shelter as well, but at least that episode had a few LOL jokes: the Law And Order scene, Cosby's appearance, Maggie as a drunk, the KOTH parody; and at least it works reasonably well as a lampoon of reality TV.

However, I got no laughs out of Fat And The Furriest; maybe some chuckles. I was expecting something hilarious from the candy ball, akin to Homer's giant sandwich in Selma's Choice, but it fell flat here. Even the hallucination scenes didn't work. The plot twist with Homer befriending the bear was as irritating as Helter Shelter's 3rd act less abandon. And this episode is much more pointless and empty than Helter Shelter, unless you're familiar with Project Grizzly.

If I have time, a full review later, but this gets a grade D.

Cole

11-30-2003, 09:07 PM

Am I the only one sick of Homer's overly-whiny crying? It has to be one of the most annoying sounds ever. I find it every bit as annoying as his "jerk ass" behavior.

Tibor

11-30-2003, 09:14 PM

Tomacco
I don't really understand so many people's incredibly disgusted reactions to the episode, comparing it to some of the worst ever. I don't think I could ever pinpoint something really horrible in the episode, like panda rapes, jockey elves, celebrity cameos, abrupt/crazy endings, jerkass Homer, extreme meta-referencing, or out-of-character writing.

Just because nothing sticks out as a whipping-boy for the pungent funk of failure surrounding the episode doesn't mean it entertained in the least.

To try and flesh out my review...

The best thing that can be said for it is that is wasn't an offensive barf-o-rama. (which helps elevate it above most of the season 14 lightning rods). Many jokes fell flat, but I don't remember cringing. Then, I don't remember much about the episode. But that just don't cut it. The plot didn't seem to progress logically. The developments seemed contrived to advance the plot, rather than flowing naturally. Why would Homer be branded a coward by getting mauled by a bear? I have to say his post-traumatic reaction to it (hallucination and all) was somewhat funny, but none of it was written in an interesting, engaging way. As Jonah said, I probably would have rather seen Homer conquer his fears, or whatever. It would have at least given some kind of structure here. If there ever was a 'just a bunch of stuff that happened' episode, it's this. Argue about humor being more important than plot, but a handful of gag buttons do not an entertaining half hour make.

ReadySteady

11-30-2003, 09:15 PM

I was disappointed that they subbed the line in the promo: "Bart, you always know what to say... TO MAKE ME WANT TO STRANGLE YOU!!" with something weaker.

Cole

11-30-2003, 09:20 PM

Originally posted by Tman
Fuck plotline. Shit, who cares about the plot, The Simpsons is a comedy cartoon. Silly me .. I must have forgotten that cartoons don't have plots. Who needs a coherent story line? I want to see Homer dress up in a ridiculous outfit and fight a bear!

Channel Surfer

11-30-2003, 09:26 PM

Originally posted by Mike Scully
Both!

I really disliked Helter Shelter as well, but at least that episode had a few LOL jokes: the Law And Order scene, Cosby's appearance, Maggie as a drunk, the KOTH parody; and at least it works reasonably well as a lampoon of reality TV.

However, I got no laughs out of Fat And The Furriest; maybe some chuckles. I was expecting something hilarious from the candy ball, akin to Homer's giant sandwich in Selma's Choice, but it fell flat here. Even the hallucination scenes didn't work. The plot twist with Homer befriending the bear was as irritating as Helter Shelter's 3rd act less abandon. And this episode is much more pointless and empty than Helter Shelter, unless you're familiar with Project Grizzly.

If I have time, a full review later, but this gets a grade D.

OK, the curiosity was quenched. Nothing really to argue here, your review is quite well thought out as expected, and most of our differences come down to gags. The biggest thing that keeps "Helter Shelter" below this episode for me is essentially that I don't find the merits that people give credit to "Helter Shelter" for (namely the mockery of reality TV cliches) to be all that good. Marge's confessional in the camera was about the only thing that I found to be even remotely clever. The rest I either felt was strained, obvious satire (people watch it to see the participants exploited or fighting with one another) or as a means of various forms of unfunny, typically slapstickish gags on the family. And many of the praised gags as well, the "Law in Order" and Cosby gags in particular, were again nothing I found to be particularly good at all, the later being recycled twice, and the former an obvious observation on the couple of "Law and Order" spin-offs. So both to me were fairly empty experiences, but this one gets the edge for starting out stronger in the opening with the Mother's day gift trek, and IMO doesn't degrade to the same extremes as "Helter Shelter" did either. And there were also, IMO, just more good gags in general in "The Fat and the Furriest".

Not defending this episode by any means. It just doesn't strike me as being quite as bad as "Helter Shelter", even if neither should expect a rewatch anytime soon.

Tomacco

11-30-2003, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by Tibor
Just because nothing sticks out as a whipping-boy for the pungent funk of failure surrounding the episode doesn't mean it entertained in the least.

To try and flesh out my review...

The best thing that can be said for it is that is wasn't an offensive barf-o-rama. (which helps elevate it above most of the season 14 lightning rods). Many jokes fell flat, but I don't remember cringing. Then, I don't remember much about the episode. But that just don't cut it. The plot didn't seem to progress logically. The developments seemed contrived to advance the plot, rather than flowing naturally. Why would Homer be branded a coward by getting mauled by a bear? I have to say his post-traumatic reaction to it (hallucination and all) was somewhat funny, but none of it was written in an interesting, engaging way. As Jonah said, I probably would have rather seen Homer conquer his fears, or whatever. It would have at least given some kind of structure here. If there ever was a 'just a bunch of stuff that happened' episode, it's this. Argue about humor being more important than plot, but a handful of gag buttons do not an entertaining half hour make.

Understandable, but for me, episodes with descriptions like you just gave are the ones I simply deem "forgettable", like "Bart vs Lisa vs Third Grade" and "Children of a Lesser Clod".

blueguy

11-30-2003, 09:29 PM

Originally posted by ReadySteady
I was disappointed that they subbed the line in the promo: "Bart, you always know what to say... TO MAKE ME WANT TO STRANGLE YOU!!" with something weaker.
I agree. Although I don't think it was replaced, but just cut.

Channel Surfer

11-30-2003, 09:34 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
Understandable, but for me, episodes with descriptions like you just gave are the ones I simply deem "forgettable", like "Bart vs Lisa vs Third Grade" and "Children of a Lesser Clod".

I think if there's nothing worth remembering in them, then it is quite shitty. One of the, IMO, very worst episodes of all time is "The Old Man and the C Student", simply because it has virtually no humor or dynamic at all. There isn't anything truly offensive in it the way "KTAAR" offends, but it is completely empty of almost anything worth seeing from beginning to end, gags and all. With episodes like that, I might as well just stare at a blank TV screen for a half hour, because I'd be about as entertained in the end.

Le Jake

11-30-2003, 09:47 PM

Originally posted by Eart

You guys are too picky and look for the tinyist details to make fun of. It's like it's cool to hate new episodes..

No, nowadays it's 'kewl' to gush endlessly over the new episodes. When a writer sez it's gonna be a great season, the NHC turns into a buch of nerdy bobble-heads. Anyway...I'd rate this episode the same way I'd rate "New Kids on the Blech"--both had great first and second acts, but the bottom fell out when the core plot is explored in the third act, i.e. Navy Plot/Homer vs the Bear.

I'd give the first and second acts a B+ and the third a D-. Overall, a C+ and much better than last week's mess.

Icedragon

11-30-2003, 09:47 PM

Dammit! I missed this ep, so I of course wont vote, but it seems like I should not be in a hurry to see it, judging from the average reviews.

Could someone give me a quick promo about next weeks ep? Just what the teaser at the end says, kinda...

(note to self, get some sleep and then post!)

chiefdan

11-30-2003, 09:56 PM

Quite funny. 4/5.

Also...was Homer's vision of the various bears a parody of a vision by, I believe, Robin Williams, in the movie "Toys"?

ryan o

11-30-2003, 09:57 PM

Hmmm.

I've viewed it again, and this time I was laughing my head off. When it was first on, I had to keep on the look out for my friend to drop off his PC (my dad fixes those things in his meantime), so I really wasn't paying attention. This time I noticed that this is, pretty much, a laugh-out-loud episode in the style of "Homer the Vigilante". I'd like to change my review to a 4/5 (still, the crappy plotting knocks it down a grade)...

PhthaloType

11-30-2003, 10:05 PM

3/5. Pretty much average. Much, much better than last week.

bovine_university

11-30-2003, 10:07 PM

This was a pretty decent effort. I liked the plot and the pace of the plot in this episode, with two exceptions. I thought the giant sugar ball dragged the plot down and a little too much time was spent towards the town making fun of Homer. Otherwise, the story was good, few of the jokes fell flat, and the hunter was an entertaining character. It seems that nowadays when a joke or a story involves an animal, alot of the humor involving that animal is some kind of joke that requires the animal to act like a human. There were a few times in this episode where I was bothered by the human-like actions of the bear, but thankfully it was nowhere near Furious D's characterization, and overall I enjoyed the portrayal. This episode felt a smidge above average, so I'm giving it a generous 4/5.

chris

11-30-2003, 10:19 PM

I did not go into this episode expecting anything deep, and I was pleasantly, pleasantly surprised by the first two acts (and unlike some of you, I thought Bart, Lenny, and Carl singing along to that Starland Vocal Band song was hilarious; it probably helps that my girlfriend and I consider it one of the worst songs of all time). There were very few misfire gags, I'd say (I also liked Lisa in the octopus costume, which seems to be getting trashed); it was all fun. By the time act three rolled around, I had a big smile on my face, but I worried, as it was 8:25; a five-minute final act is usually a problem. And it was. Oh, God, how it was.

An insanely frustrating, overlong shocking scene. Stupid hunting gags (in fact, the final act felt like a combination of "Simpsons Safari" and the turkey scene in "Homer the Moe"). Homer and the bear's wacky adventures. The elephant throwing the bear around, and the bear clubbing it in revenge. Everything just bombed to the extreme. These five minutes were one of the worst moments in the history of the show.

I was really glad to hear good ol' Duke Phillips again, though, I can tell you that.

So, I was going to give this a 4/5, until it ended in a horrible wreck. 3/5

King Homer

11-30-2003, 10:59 PM

It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible. People here are still expecting episodes worthy of classic season 2-8 form but it ain't gonna happen so don't be TOO hard on it. In later years, we'll see this is not as bad as all the other animal episodes. First time was okay, second viewing I liked it. Plot and reality were a little bizzare but this is much better than Joel H. Cohen's last episode, Brawl in the Family (God that is one of my least favourite episodes!). I don't know why so harsh sometimes, but I haven't seen one episode get predominately positive reviews this year. Even My Mother the Carjacker and The President Wore Pearls had some negative detractors. Personally, they all are okay to me.
THOH XIV: B-
My Mother the Carjacker: A-
The President Wore Pearls: B+
The Regina Monologues: C+
Homercles and the bear: B
Somewhere around 1998 the Simpsons lost the ability to sustain a great plot with equally wowing humour. Even some zany season 4 stuff like Marge vs. the Monorail had some coherent plot despite plenty of superb jokes and gags. Since then we've had episodes containing funny parts but a questionable plot, and episodes with solid plots and occasional humour (The President Wore Pearls is a great example).

jesle

11-30-2003, 11:07 PM

I came into this episode with exceedingly low expectations, so anything that I enjoyed was definitely a surprise. I'd give this episode a 3/5 or a B because, like everyone's said thus far, the episode lacked an intriguing plot. Despite this major flaw, the episode did provide some hilarious gags. For one, the bear hallucination scene (which I believe is a parody of the elephant hallucination scene in Dumbo, which was previously parodied in D'oh-in in the Wind) was one of the best visual gags of the season and I found it to be particularly hilarious (the use of the Teddy Bear's Picnic music was great). Also, I loved the books in Maggie's room scaring Homer (as my bf said, "Wow...I didn't realize so many kid books involve bears"). I'm a huge fan of the Berenstein Bears, so that also made me happy.

Those gags aside, very little else piqued my interest. The whole bear suit thing was stupid and only became interesting when the bear donned the suit (he looked like a cute dog...aww). I also liked the wedding night gag, but everything else fell flat for me. Physical humor is something I despise, so Homer's continually being shocked did not impress me. Also, the Starland Vocal Band song was sooo lame...as Homer himself said "Starland Vocal Band? They suck!"

All in all, a very weak episode with little to offer. I would give it a 2/5, but the hallucination scene was so well done, it gets bumped up to a 3/5, which is the worst grade I've given for an ep this season. On the otherhand, next week's looks great (the line "Are they married yet?" cracked me and my bf up, which is always a good sign).

By the way, has anyone else tried to check out "oldcoot.com"? It is not similar to whatbadgerseat.com. Weird...usually Fox gets a hold of the web address they use on the show.

bauer

12-01-2003, 12:28 AM

Highly forgettable. 2/5

Shlomo

12-01-2003, 01:00 AM

To be honest, I actually find it a 4.5/5. For a season 15 episode, it was great. The only problem is the dumb friendships idea which keeps happening (like Moe and the Pickles Jar, Homer and the ham, etc). this episode had the Homer with the Sugar ball and the Homer wtih the bear.

thugie

12-01-2003, 02:01 AM

necrulez

12-01-2003, 03:16 AM

It was an okay episode. Stupid story, rushed ending but loadz of jokes. 3 outta 5 for me...

necrulez

12-01-2003, 03:24 AM

Originally posted by Tomacco
Once again, those from outside this message board enjoyed tonight's episode, from what I've seen, and naturally everyone here hates it.
So true. Just look at the toonzone forum; they absolutely love this episode. It's getting higher rating than i.e. The President wore Pearls.... :-O

Bartman3010

12-01-2003, 04:12 AM

I didnt like this episode. I chuckled a few times but thats about it. The bear references was cute, didnt break much of a smile. But there was some very bizzare things in this episode

Homer in the suit
The guy shooting the air, killing a bird, sandwiching it, then eating it.
People overexaggerating the whole bear thing.

Okay, those were the real big things about this episode I hated...but a couple of them are big parts to the plot.

Tomacco

12-01-2003, 05:12 AM

I don't know why I'm bringing this episode into discussion, but I found "Brake My Wife Please" was worse than tonight's. Not as many laughs, even more disjointed, and featured an even wackier unrelated first act. Both got 3/5 from me, but the one given to "Fat and the Furriest" is worth more.

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 05:55 AM

ok, first of all, this wasn't by any means a full-on Scully-style episode. Everyone was in character, there was no really obnoxious stupidity - but it was still a bad episode. The humor was OK, but the plot was awful. Every single plot twist was contrived and just plain stupid, and to make things worse it wasn't even fast paced, it meandered around on each stupid plot point for a while milking it for all its comic worth. Homer making a giant candy ball and becoming its best friend was very uninspired, and really just a retread of previous similar scenes. He takes it to bed, puts stuff on it to make it look like a person, it gets mouldy and Marge tells him to throw it out.....very predictable. Then someone filming Homer and putting on the news, before the whole town inexplicably started making fun of him, was very, very silly. Especially considering the supposed cowardly footage we were shown that was supposed to be disturbing Homer so much was a crazy gag bit involving Homer popping in and out of toilets, and the bear behaving anthropomorphically (I know this, and wackier things, have happened many times before, but it was the context here that bothered me, it was hard to buy Homer's subsequent serious trauma when the footage was so ridiculous). And as Dondelinger said, it's hard to believe the entire town would make such a big deal out of Homer being scared of a grizzly bear anyway. And then Homer making friends with the bear - aarrghh. it didn't make any sense, it just happened. if they had found a creative way to endear Homer to the bear or something, it would have been fine, but they didn't. extremely uninspired and didn't produce any good humor at all. now again, it wasn't Scullyesque, the plot wasn't irritatingly random, it was surprisingly focused and structured actually, for a wacky episode, but it was just extremely hokey and not at all interesting. If you're going to do a surreal gag episode, you need to make the plot twists exciting and surreal too - they weren't here, they just seemed very half-assed and the easy way out. I'm not saying they were of course, how would I know, but they seemed that way, and I somehow can't see the idea "Hey...let's have Homer make friends with the bear for some reason!" being the climax of an intensive 6-hour writers' room brainstorm to find the most interesting plot possible. It was definitely "just a bunch of stuff that happened", and had a very kids-cartoon feel to the whole thing (not the humor, just the plot). it had none of the edge or cleverness that the Simpsons should exhibit. Avoids a C minus due to some clever humor. C

And it's nothing to do with some different ratio I have for story/humor or anything. As Channel Surfer said, it's about entertainment. whether that be through jokes, an enthralling plot or clever satire, or whatever, it doesn't matter. there are plenty of episodes with crazy plots that I am very entertained by - Homer The Great for example. That episode gets a big thumbs up from me because the plot, while ridiculous, is written in an interesting, clever and believeable (i don't mean the events themselves are necessarily believable, but the way it's written ensures the viewer can buy what's going on - not the case with this episode) way, and because it has consistently excellent humor. This episode had fairly amusing humor, but there was some really strained humor too, and all of it's delivered through a plot that is both far-fetched and very bland, so I wasn't entertained that much. I give it a grade based on pure enjoyment and try to pick out which aspects I didn't enjoy and which aspects I did, not the other way around.

Max Power

12-01-2003, 06:00 AM

I almost forgot to review.
It's alright. The candy ball scene scared the hell out of me. Besides that, pretty good...eat my shorts...
3/5

whisman

12-01-2003, 06:14 AM

Good episode. The plot was kind of in and out for a while. But still I thought it wasn't half bad. Season 15 is really hammering some good writing down. I forgot the name of the movie this ep parodied, but after seeing this, I need to watch the movie. Once again, alot of blood and gore came out of no one, on a non-THOH episode. The amount of blood needs to cut back. Everytime I turn around, Homer is bleeding to death and just walking it off. But anyways, nice little episode. Forgettable no doubt, but still good.

3.5/5

MaxpowerAK79

12-01-2003, 07:03 AM

Just not that great. I did like the Homer to P & S comment: "You slags are alright".

Rob G

12-01-2003, 07:38 AM

The first act was strong, but it fell apart from there. While not horrible, I started thinking about Mike Scully in Act 3.

Citizen Kang

12-01-2003, 07:55 AM

My complaint is that the episode couldn't hold my attention. I found myself working on music during the show and I was missing jokes. The story seem to move very slowly and didn't really go anywhere.

I need to watch this ep again to fully rate it - but what I saw 3/5.

The funniest thing I can remember is the elephant attacking the bear.(the bear attacking the elephant wasn't as funny)

DotheBartman

12-01-2003, 08:48 AM

FINALLY got on. I can seemingly only post through the school computers. I'll post something in town square or something about it...but if a mod could read my future post there or the e-mail I sent to webmaster@nohomers.net and fix this problem that would be great. Also I just came back from Cleveland yesterday so that contributes a little to the lateness of this.

Anyways, on to my review.

Now, there's a lot of stuff in this episode that didn't bug me for whatever reason. Somehow characterizations didn't bug me, even Homer's (and BOY was he dumb in this one, though not a jerkass thankfully). The pacing was odd but fitting for an episode like this and it didn't feel rushed or non-sensical suprisingly.

Now, the plot left a lot to be desired. I'm all up for silly plots if they are clever, but this just didn't seem very clever or interesting in any way to me. As others said it just kind of meandered around with no point to it, and near the end of the episode I said "what is the point of this episode?" aloud. But all that doesn't matter, at least not too much, if the episode is funny, right? Its just a for fun episode.

But that leads me to the, IMO, biggest problem with the episode, which is that it just wasn't very funny. There were some laughs, sure. I liked the "reserved for dvd players" sign, the "intensive care bear", and a few other things. But even those were mostly chuckles, and in all honesty the decent jokes were very few. At the same time I can't think of many cringe worthy jokes, with only a couple ("Daddy's sugar ball" was just wrong, so that's an example) that really come to mind. But that's kind of the thing. No jokes, good or bad, even really stood out at all. I was basically just bored by the episode. Not disgusted, but just bored. It was like watching an episode of one of those bad shows that gets cancelled a couple months or so into its run. Not one of the offensively bad ones like "The Pitts", but more like one of the horribly forgettable, bland ones like "Greg the Bunny".

So, as Tomacco said this does not fall into the offensively bad category as troll jockeys, rhinos hatching out of eggs, etc. Even the jokes didn't make me cringe. But there wasn't anything funny either, and given that this is a "for fun" episode I'd say that counts as a fairly significant failure. This isn't an episode that I'll constantly bash and use as a quick example of Simpsons done wrong like "Pray Anything" or "Simpsons Safari", but instead I think it'll just be so forgettable that I won't think of it either way, like "Bart vs. Lisa and the Third Grade" (although this is worse then that episode).

Grade: D/D+

I shot Mr. Burns

12-01-2003, 09:24 AM

I have a CRAZY fried who says "The Fat and the Furriest" was a good episode; is he CRAZY? This episode seemed to be full of one-liners, and a hallucination scene is always nice. I'm all for the one-liners, but I'll agree with people that the story didn't do too much to hold your attention. People keep saying, too, that everyone was in character the whole episode; however: Lisa putting on an octopus costume for kicks? Marge actually enjoying a carnival candy machine that was bought to please everyone in the house but her? That's not in character for them, is it?

Also, what was with the elephant/bear fight? What the hell? And Bart dancing with Lenny and Carl? Huh? Although, I didn't find the sugar ball gags over-the-top; so, go figure.

I did like this exchange, though:
Lisa: I got mom [latin name for daisies] for Mother's Day.
Homer and Bart: (blank stare)
Lisa: Daisies.
Homer and Bart: (blank stare)
Lisa: Flowers
Homer and Bart: (blank stare)
Lisa: (shows the flowers)
Homer: Ooooohhhh, flowers, yeah.

As a whole, a good episode: 3.5/5

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 09:27 AM

what's everyone's problem with Lisa putting on the costume? that was cute and funny, to me. what was the problem?

joe

12-01-2003, 09:31 AM

most everything in the closet was a reference to a past episode... what was the reference with Lisa trying on the/that costume?

if it was just a sight gag with no pop/culture/ or meta reference, it seems forced, and random, and unfunny to me now, though initially it didn't.

MacGyver 666

12-01-2003, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
what's everyone's problem with Lisa putting on the costume? that was cute and funny, to me. what was the problem?

They probably "forget" that while she’s smart, she’s still an eight-year-old girl; And that is something that an eight-year-old might do. And for the record I thought it was funny as well.

ShadowBun

12-01-2003, 09:36 AM

What's everyone's problem with the "sugar ball" line? Is there some hidden meaning to that I missed? I just thought it was a funny line...

SpongeBob No Pants

12-01-2003, 09:48 AM

you know in a scully era episode, i would have hated the sugar ball, but for some reason here it felt funny

i also liked homer's cotton candy afro

plus i was dissapointed that the bear part didn't spoof the bear that took maggie in the camping episode (how cool would it have been to see the bear sucking a pacifier in his cave)

anyways, i still don't see why so many hated this ep, it made me laugh so in my eyes it did its part to entertain me, yes an emotional episode is good once in a while, but the simpsons is a comedy and as long as its funny i'm satisfied

kupomog

12-01-2003, 10:03 AM

Meh...forgettable. Extremely forgettable episode. The first act I could handle. The second act seems like it was put there just to bore me to tears. The third act, I barely even remember because I could hardly pay attention. And for some reason, I really didn't like Homer's "suckle my sugarball" line, or whatever it was he told Bart and Lisa. 2/5

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 10:13 AM

dear people who liked the episode,

stop implying that the reason why so many people didn't like it is because it was a fun-orientated episode.

thanks.

Alpha

12-01-2003, 10:56 AM

Well, I liked it. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Bad stuff:

ACT 1:

The flowers joke

Homer saying the kid's gifts would look like crap

ACT 2:

Nothing bad here :)

ACT 3:

I didn't mind Homer putting the tag on but putting it on TWICE??

The blood (but not much so no biggie)

Good Stuff:

Firstly, they used my favorite couch gag!

ACT 1:

The mug joke was funny. Calling the store "Sprawl Mart" and the Veggie Tales part had me laughing as well. The joke with Nelson shoplifting was clever. I also liked Homer calling Patty and Selma "Fatty and... Felma". Everything that happened with the kitchen carnival was great. The thing that I loved most was Bart's great little line about eating his shorts.

ACT 2:

I was happy to see no blood on Homer after the attack. Kent Brockman's president joke was good. The Scooby Doo-esque gag with Homer in the toilets was excellent. The joke about getting your gun confused with your camera was funny as well. Homer's bear phobia was great. Bart, Lenny, and Carl dancing was odd but funny. Sorta like the "mmm... promo" joke from "Mr. Spritz".

ACT 3:

I liked how Homer helped the bear when it was hurt. So humane. All the gags where Homer and the bear were friends made me laugh. Homer killing all the fish was very clever and funny. Homer helping the bear past the hunters was cool as well.

Overall: Very nice. A

I'M A BRICK

12-01-2003, 11:07 AM

Overall a very good episode, lots of laughs.
The only thing I could have done w/o was the line when Homer tells the kids to gather round or lick, I am not sure of the excat wording,
Dady's big sugar ball.

Hans Barber

12-01-2003, 11:09 AM

Wow. A lot of disses for this one. I felt this was one of the best Simpsons episodes in a long time. Atleast, one of the funniest ones. Plot was tied in well, and it did not just jump around, it had a nice flow to it, and some very humorous parts. I'll admitt, there were some corny jokes, but other wise I thought it very funny, and that was what I was looking for and it was delivered quite well. It is definitely a good humor episode, and was decent on the reality level.
3.5\5

chris

12-01-2003, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
what's everyone's problem with Lisa putting on the costume? that was cute and funny, to me. what was the problem?

Exactly. My biggest problem with current Lisa is that she seemingly forgot how to be a kid, so this was a breath of fresh air. And for some reason, I thought of Ringo Starr when she donned the thing...

Warren

12-01-2003, 12:07 PM

2/5
Pretty bad, worst of the season.

Crotis Jivefunk

12-01-2003, 12:56 PM

In addition to Strong Arms of the Ma, the first act reminds me of Homer and his sandwich in Selma's Choice.

SpongeBob No Pants

12-01-2003, 12:56 PM

who played the hunter, his voice sounded so familiar

has he done the simpsons or another animated show (i'm thinking family guy) before?

Citizen Kang

12-01-2003, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
what's everyone's problem with Lisa putting on the costume? that was cute and funny, to me. what was the problem?

Because it would have been funnier if was left to the imagination of the viewer and not forced down the viewer's throat.

Even if they took as far as her putting it on, the following Lisa joke was beyond stupid - which granted it probally was suppose to be but it wasn't stupid "haha" it was stupid "zzzzz"

J.Re*

12-01-2003, 01:19 PM

Goofy ass Scully-style plot with an excellent Al Jean-style execution. It was really funny. 4.5/5
oh look...Homer clipped his ear for a second time
4/5

Mr. Plow

12-01-2003, 01:22 PM

I wasn't expecting much from this episode, and I barely laughed. I didn't really get into the story, either. I'm also getting bothered by Homer crying in every episode. 2/5.

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 01:25 PM

Originally posted by Citizen Kang
Because it would have been funnier if was left to the imagination of the viewer and not forced down the viewer's throat.

if what was left to the viewer's imagination? i don't understand.

Sloppy Jimbo LXIX

12-01-2003, 01:30 PM

Originally posted by SpongeBob No Pants
who played the hunter, his voice sounded so familiar

Originally posted by PsycheEnFuego
Charles Napier (Duke from the Critic, the warden from Pokey Mom) had a good guest shot as the hunter, even though his character was a tad bit extreme.

mh002a6228

12-01-2003, 01:31 PM

I would say 3/5 it was ok but not great

SpongeBob No Pants

12-01-2003, 01:33 PM

you know why i think i liked this episode

because it wasn't hyped at all, i only saw the FOX ad twice and up till tuesday i didn't even know what the ep was about

i think hyping an episode to much is death, for example last weeks "regina monolouges" was so hyped in the media that the only way it could go was to down (also known as the phantom menace syndrome)

i think FOX needs to tone down all the hype, because i found i enjoyed the episode alot more without all the weeks and weeks of publicity leading up to it (having FOX hype a guest star months in advance makes the cameo seem like publicity rather then storytelling)

and besides, at this point in the series, FOX could stop all publicity for the show and millions would still tune in every sunday night (is there anyone above the age of 10 that doesn't know where and when the simpsons air?)

NoOneFamous

12-01-2003, 01:38 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
And then Homer making friends with the bear - aarrghh. it didn't make any sense, it just happened. if they had found a creative way to endear Homer to the bear or something, it would have been fine, but they didn't.Homer befriended the bear by removing it's shocking tag... but thats no excuse for those following scenes of Homer "frolicking" with the bear afterwards. I think it should have just gone straight into Homer helping the bear reach the sanctuary.

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
Homer befriended the bear by removing it's shocking tag...

yes, but it's still hardly believable, is it? i mean, it's a bear.

eric

12-01-2003, 01:50 PM

I would like to take this time to complain about maggie befriending the bears in "call of the simpsons." c'mon, a bear sucking on a pacifier and bringing toys to a baby? hardly believable.

EDIT: didn't read your post about them needing to find "a creative way to endear Homer to the bear"

prince jafar allah

12-01-2003, 01:54 PM

Originally posted by Number One
I would like to take this time to complain about maggie befriending the bears in "call of the simpsons." c'mon, a bear sucking on a pacifier and bringing toys to a baby? hardly believable.

i agree. i don't like Call Of The Simpson.

squishee lady

12-01-2003, 02:01 PM

I liked this episode. It was just a plain ol' goofy romp and sometimes we need that. Nothing was HILARIOUS but it definatly had some incredibly funny moments and was entertaining all the way through. B+.

Citizen Kang

12-01-2003, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
if what was left to the viewer's imagination? i don't understand.

The image of the Octopus suit - They didn't need to expand on the idea of it. Just the thought alone of the suit made me laugh when Lisa mentioned it but then it wasn't funny when she put it on...

simplysimpsons

12-01-2003, 03:00 PM

Okay, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it wasn't nearly as good either. Here's my list:

The great:
Mmm...Moses!
Fatty and Smellma!
Deep fried carrot, Grampa's caramel teeth!
Finally I can eat my shorts! <- A nice little meta gag that WORKED.
oldcoot.com
Animation

The good:
New windows!
Lisa as the octopus
The map with all the kill zones
Homer's suit works!

The bad:
Wish they kept that strangle line as mentioned before in, it would have been better.
"Suckle daddy's sugar ball?" questionable at the least.
The toilets thing.
Everyone thinking Homer's a coward
The bear acting too human-ish, this was handled better in Call of the Simpsons.

The ugly:
Homer's red eyes. That was horrible.
Did Homer have to put the tag on twice? The first time was bad enough! And it went on too long both times.
The drinking from a penguin thing and the butterflies? AND the eagle? Sick and wacky.
In fact, I really disliked that hunter overall.
The blood! I knew something like this would happen!
The bear and the elephant fighting at the end. Unneeded.

Kinda in-depth Review: It was a bad plot to begin with, and it's no surprise it wasn't pulled off too well. It was better than last week's trainwreck, if only by a bit. There were plenty of gross out gags in this one, but had it been in the Scully era there would have been more. There wasn't anything VERY funny, even though this one was meant to be gag driven, and there was Homer getting hurt, but it wasn't quite as bad as I thought (but it was still way too much). On the plus side, the family wasn't pushed to the back, all were relatively well in character (Homer had one or two questionable lines but nothing serious) and there were some good gags in the first act. I'm not keen on these wacky gagfest episodes, but overall, I'd give this a C , 2.7/5 (rounded to 3) for now. I'm certain that this will mark the end of the mediocre episodes for Season 15, thankfully. Bring on the FAB's! :) GRADE: C

Jolly Bengali

12-01-2003, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by NoOneFamous
Homer befriended the bear by removing it's shocking tag... but thats no excuse for those following scenes of Homer "frolicking" with the bear afterwards. I think it should have just gone straight into Homer helping the bear reach the sanctuary.

That was the one part of the entire sequence I actually liked. That was because I was under the impression it was a parody of "Shrek", and thus forgave it a lot. Anyone else think it was a reference to that (scene with Fiona and Shrek walking in the plains and pushing each other back and forth)

Dennis

12-01-2003, 03:50 PM

That was so bad, I had to clean my slate by watching Simpson Safari, New Kids on the Blecch and Kill the Alligator and Run. 1/5.

Magnum

12-01-2003, 03:54 PM

I got my brother to tape it so I'll say it wasn't on a level of stupidity like say the first act of Pray Anything and I didn't think it had as many flat jokes as Sweet's and Sour Marge nor did I think it was as reminescent of Scully as Helter Shelter, all good points. But comparing it to lesser episodes doesn't make it any better.

Pretty average all around. C

SpongeBob No Pants

12-01-2003, 04:33 PM

wow, a 38-38 tie between a 4 and 3 rating for the episode

its nice to see that most people at least rate it 3 or above

i guess the majority of people who liked it just vote and don't post, because most of the thread reads like a bashing thread

Body Massage

12-01-2003, 05:26 PM

"It was like watching an episode of one of those bad shows
that gets cancelled a couple months or so into its run."

I thought the exact same thing. If this was any other animated show it would be ripped to shreds.

"who played the hunter, his voice sounded so familiar"

His voice sounded incredibly similar to Jeff Foxworthy.

used

12-01-2003, 05:44 PM

opening: are we ever gonna get a chalkboard. The couch made up for it though, that was sweet

act 1 (part 1, i had to split up the act because the first half was so good, and the second half sucked): Homer not knowing what flowers are, and bart, homer and maggie all having same gift is funny. hahahaha, the window. Veggie tales parady was ok, hahahaah, grandpa works there. Nelson shoplifting with his mouth = kinda dumb. YES, patty and selma, and fatty and smelma are genius. They arent TV pretty, haha. MAggies belly is nice. Hairdressed joke was pretty stupid. Homers insane laughing was funny. 4.5/5

act 1 (part 2): Eat my shorts joke was nice. What is this? "suckle daddys sugarball". Wiggums line was not really funny. ahahahha, the saving sugar for my wedding night joke would have been a lot better if he hadnt have eaten sugar in that other episode. Homer deciding between marge and candyball isnt funny. and here comes the bear attack. What was that smoking joke? A huge step down form act 1... 2.5/5

act 2: OK, it really makes no sense that they would make fun of Homer for being scared of a bear. I would shit myself. The bullies jokes were ok. The plant making fun of Homer was awesome. Nice, a hallucination. This is awesome. Grandpa wanting to join him is kinda lame. Eating butterflys is kind of disturbing. Homers red eyes were nice. Hahaha, if he gets really scared he doesnt want to ruin the suit. At least he is wearing pants now. "Joe Kick-ass" ahahhahahahahah. Lisa in the octupus suit was funny. Hey, no jackass style testing. good. Oh god, homer getting attacked again. ...3/5

act 3: Why did he eat the bird whole? Not funny. wow. Homer is getting shocked again, how original. and he puts it back on, hardy har. and now his back is bloody. sick. This montage is nice. too short though. ahhahahahahha "the hunter has become the hunter". Lisa and bart on Lenny and Carls shoulders is nice. Forest bride... call back to Homer vs. dignity? hahahahaha, looking for a male bear eh? HOmer helping the bear get to safety was awesome, but completely ruined by the elephant joke, which was then saved by the baseball bat ending. meh. 3.5/5

overall 3/5

robb

12-01-2003, 05:57 PM

Was I the only one that loved the "Joe Kick-Ass" line?

8/10 here.

whisman

12-01-2003, 06:09 PM

The scene where Homer encounters alot of bear related objects was well written. I dont think I could have thought of all those things about bears.

The Joe-Kickass line wasnt half bad.

newhook_1

12-01-2003, 06:16 PM

Upon another viewing I've found a joke I really like that I somehow missed the first two times....

Homer: I'll make sure this thing never harms another creature again!
*Throws ear tag into nearby pond where it sends electricty through the water followed by a ton of dead fish and a scuba diver floating to the surface*

I still stand by my 2/5 rating (well maybe a 2.2/5 now), even though a few years down the road I may check out this episode again just for that gag. I couldn't quite put my finger on why I disliked it so much before (besides the "Homer gets hurt" jokes and the throw away gags) but I think DTBM hit the nail on the head, at the end of the episode, I was just thinking "What was the fucking point of that?".

doyle

12-01-2003, 06:36 PM

Originally posted by simplysimpsons
I'm certain that this will mark the end of the mediocre episodes for Season 15, thankfully. Bring on the FAB's! :) I think you're right. That is why I've already put this one behind me. This plotline was the worst in some time, IMO, so I expected little. From here on, the plots look solid and realistic enough to all be good episodes. Even the shaky ones seem ok. There were several times last season where I was skeptical reading the synopsis, but ended up being pleasantly surprised.

chris

12-01-2003, 06:48 PM

Originally posted by simplysimpsons
I'm certain that this will mark the end of the mediocre episodes for Season 15, thankfully. Bring on the FAB's! :) GRADE: C

Indeed. Each new production code brings renewed hope...

Dark Homer

12-01-2003, 07:11 PM

Not great but not bad either

Positives
"I know! I'll get her a window!"
Sprawl Mart
Crying in the corner
The hunter
Homer's candy thing
Lenny and Carl
Kent Brockman
Homer afraid of bears
Joe Kickass
edit: oldcoot.com

Negatives
Bear seems to have violated Groening's rule that animals should act like animals, not humans several times

Tomacco

12-01-2003, 08:01 PM

People are saying the "suckle Daddy's sugar ball" line is disgusting and offensive. Now somebody, take 5 seconds to tell me WHY??!

Channel Surfer

12-01-2003, 08:14 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
People are saying the "suckle Daddy's sugar ball" line is disgusting and offensive. Now somebody, take 5 seconds to tell me WHY??!

For the same reasons as "chew on my ball sack" in "Skinner's Sense of Snow". Double meaning sexual innuendo, which I'm sure you had to catch. Only here, it's with Homer telling his kids to "suck(le) daddy's (sugar) ball", which can come off a bit perverse.

It didn't disgust me or anything. It's just a cheesy sex joke under the guise of an innocent Homer line that fell incredibly flaaaat.

chris

12-01-2003, 08:20 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
People are saying the "suckle Daddy's sugar ball" line is disgusting and offensive. Now somebody, take 5 seconds to tell me WHY??!

Bart and Lisa are making disturbing sucking noises and Homer is taking pleasure in it.

Tomacco

12-01-2003, 08:27 PM

You're all perverse.

chris

12-01-2003, 08:46 PM

Originally posted by Tomacco
You're all perverse.

Well, Joel H. Cohen obviously wrote it to be perverse, so blame him! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sexaholics meeting to attend...

ShadowBun

12-01-2003, 09:07 PM

I asked the same thing earlier at the top of page four...I didn't see it as a perverse line at all. Maybe--MAYBE if the word "sugar" wasn't in there (and "ball" was plural), but as it is, no. I saw it as just a random Homer line that made me smile.

Channel Surfer

12-01-2003, 09:50 PM

Originally posted by ShadowBun
I asked the same thing earlier at the top of page four...I didn't see it as a perverse line at all. Maybe--MAYBE if the word "sugar" wasn't in there (and "ball" was plural), but as it is, no. I saw it as just a random Homer line that made me smile.

That's how it's supposed to work though, under the guise of an innocent Homer comment. Hence the joke, the double meaning, sugar being associated with sweet. Homer's not going to literally tell his kids to suck his balls. FOX wouldn't even allow that...I think. And it'd be quite out of character too, and the worst joke in the series. It's the implication of fitting "suck" and "ball" in the same sentence that makes it a clear sex joke. And even if on the off-beat chance that it wasn't, there's no way the writers didn't think of the double meaning when reading it.

They've done sicker and subtler stuff than this throughout the series anyway, going at least back to the masturbation gag in "Like Father Like Clown". And I seriously doubt, given the track record of the series, that they would put "suck" and "ball" in the same sentence without implying a sex joke.

Tibor

12-01-2003, 09:58 PM

I thought it was supposed to have some kind of imagery association with animals nursing or something, the double entendre didn't come up for me.

Cole

12-01-2003, 10:32 PM

The double entendre came to mind as soon as I heard the joke. But, I thought I was just a sick, twisted bastard and didn't want to mention it here.

DotheBartman

12-01-2003, 11:03 PM

Sorry Tomacco, I thought of the double entendree too. I wouldn't even mind if it weren't for the pedophilic aspect to it (as Surfer said it obviously wasn't meant for Homer to actually be making a sick comment, just a "ball sack" thing only the audience gets, but it was still sick). If it weren't for that it wouldn't bug me really, though it would still be a pretty lame joke.

prince jafar allah

12-02-2003, 12:07 AM

i have to agree with tomacco and tibor, you're all ridiculous sick-minded perverse wackos. it was clearly only "innuendo" to a nursing mother. the way Bart and Lisa were drawn, Homer's motherly-type tone, etc. I suppose if Homer was putting together a bonfire, and he said "here Bart, TAKE THIS STICK" you would all interpret that as sexual innuendo too? jesus.

originally posted by used
opening: are we ever gonna get a chalkboard.

nope. no more chalkboards.

Gunstar

12-02-2003, 02:39 AM

Jesus...I really don't have anything to say in defense of this shitty episode. The only thing that saved it from a '1' was a few mildly funny sight gags at the end (the bear attacking the elephant with a baseball bat, for one), but other than that...horrid. 2/5

Shlomo

12-02-2003, 06:44 AM

Let's all agree on this:

This episode, for good or bad, was childish (than usual).

SpongeBob No Pants

12-02-2003, 06:55 AM

i didn't really think the "suckle Daddy's sugar ball" line was offensive, at least not on the level of "chocolate salty balls" joke from south park

i agreee that if "ball" was "ball[s]" then i may have disliked it, but seeing as homer had become obsessed with the sugar ball, i thought it was just ramblings from a madman

besides i'd take a line like "suckle Daddy's sugar ball" over a character saying "penis" anyday

or_smth

12-02-2003, 08:42 AM

I found that it was more in the way he said it than anything else. It was weird and out of place, much like a lot of the sex jokes. I think you'd have to be pretty blind not to think of that in a sick way.

Like usual, it's not funny when it happens to the family and not secondary characters

SpongeBob No Pants

12-02-2003, 08:48 AM

Originally posted by or_smth
I think you'd have to be pretty blind not to think of that in a sick way.

actually the fact that you find it sick, says something about you

any line can be considered a sexual inuendo, its up to the person listening weather they percieve it that way

prince jafar allah

12-02-2003, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by or_smth
I think you'd have to be pretty blind not to think of that in a sick way.

it probably should be classified as a "sick" joke, yeah, but thinking that purely having "suck" and "ball" in the same line makes it a sex joke is really pretty dumb. it's not sexual innuendo.

Mr. S

12-02-2003, 09:31 AM

This whole discussion on the "suckle on Daddy's sugar ball" is really a waste of time. I want the 5 minutes of my life spent looking at these absurd posts back. Even if it was intended as a sexual joke (which I can almost guarentee you it wasn't), who cares? Stop being overly sensitive to everything. I think I am sticking with the collectors part of the board.

To MoJaf and the other people displaying common sense in regards to this topic, don't even bother :)

Channel Surfer

12-02-2003, 10:48 AM

Originally posted by Mr. S
This whole discussion on the "suckle on Daddy's sugar ball" is really a waste of time. I want the 5 minutes of my life spent looking at these absurd posts back.

Five minutes?

Anyway, this needs at least one more reply, if only because I've been specifically drawn out.

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
it probably should be classified as a "sick" joke, yeah, but thinking that purely having "suck" and "ball" in the same line makes it a sex joke is really pretty dumb. it's not sexual innuendo.

From the mind of a pervert or not (which it very well could be considering coming from my middle school days where classmates would laugh at people who had suckers in their mouths), I think you're giving the writers too little credit here. It's not often you can mince the words suck (or suckle) and ball into the same sentence without it actually directly meaning the more infamous expression. "Take" and "stick" don't have the same synonymous connection (though your example, yes, could be warped into a sex joke with little doubt). And even ignoring the fact there wouldn't have been much of a punchline without the innuendo, and hence just limiting it as a more of a sequence of an animal/mother sharing its food with its offspring, that still ignores the fact that the writers, staff, and censors wouldn't have thought of the potential double-meaning. And there's no way it didn't escape at least one of their minds if so many people here thought of it.

Nah, it's a sex joke, or at the very least supposed to play on the idea that it could be a sex joke. And taking into consideration both the double meaning (and ordering) of the words coupled with the very fact that it would undermine the very tone of the scene (hence the joke), I don't see how it is dumb to draw that conclusion.

prince jafar allah

12-02-2003, 11:42 AM

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
And even ignoring the fact there wouldn't have been much of a punchline without the innuendo, and hence just limiting it as a more of a sequence of an animal/mother sharing its food with its offspring, that still ignores the fact that the writers, staff, and censors wouldn't have thought of the potential double-meaning.

Nah, it's a sex joke, or at the very least supposed to play on the idea that it could be a sex joke. And taking into consideration both the double meaning (and ordering) of the words coupled with the very fact that it would undermine the very tone of the scene (hence the joke), I don't see how it is dumb to draw that conclusion.

it obviously has inadvertent (if insubstantial) sexual connotations, and I could easily believe the writers would have thought after writing it "hey, that sounds kinda sexual there" and had a little chuckle at it, but there is no way in hell the joke is derived from "suck on Daddy's sugar ball" having the double meaning that you are all suggesting. "chew on my ball sack" is an obvious sexual innuendo joke, it's explicit and undisputable, the joke is the sexual part. but the only sexual innuendo here is really just an inadvertent aside to the joke itself, which is very obviously (to me) the allusion to nursing animals. the way the kids are drawn obviously suggests animals nursing. Homer's motherly tone hardly suggests sexual overtones. and it barely makes sense as sexual innuendo anyway, given that it isn't plural. as for it "not having a punchline", I don't believe it needed one. Homer acting as a nursing mother was (potentially) funny enough.

and really, I don't believe even Mike Scully would have let through a joke which implies Lisa & Bart are gleefully sucking on Homer's balls.

i feel dirty. the dirt's not coming off!

simplysimpsons

12-02-2003, 11:57 AM

I think it's much better this than having something so blatant as in the sex jokes in, for example, Jaws Wired Shut. IMO, this would have been more acceptable to many if Homer said it to Marge instead, as it wouldn't be percieved as an incest joke like it was. But watching it again, I don't think it's nearly so bad because it was much more subtle than many things from the Scully era.

HoyvinGlavin64

12-02-2003, 11:58 AM

Act I: Funny and smart. A
Act II: Funny and stupid. B
Act III: Unfunny and stupid. D

A very mixed episode that started out great, but got worse. I felt this problem made it fail managing Call of the Simpsons/Seasons 5-7 quality wackiness, but the first two acts save it from Scully crudiness. I gave it a 3/5, and gets a B- grade in general.

SpongeBob No Pants

12-02-2003, 12:08 PM

This episode reminds me of Moonraker - Compared to Goldfinger, it sucked, but on its own is was pretty damn good

its fun once in a while to have episodes like this one, that do nothing for story, but are full of laughs

I'm David Croket!

12-02-2003, 01:08 PM

Loved the first act and the nice surreal jokes about the big candy ball. It had also some enjoyable moments like Homer's hallucination with the jelly bears, Bart and Homer with the same crappy present and the clever line: "we can buy him a new window!". :LOL:
The episode went down at the third act, after Homer's friendship with the bear, pretty surrealistic and stupid. I don't like animals behaving like humans, they have to stop doing these things.
Average episode, liked more after the second viewing though.

BTW, I think the fans at the supermarket were computer-made, looked too smooth.

Lord Daftwager

12-02-2003, 01:30 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
and really, I don't believe even Mike Scully would have let through a joke which implies Lisa & Bart are gleefully sucking on Homer's balls.

Cut scene from "Make Room for Lisa":
(Lisa and Bart are standing over a drawer with a baby in it)
Lisa: Mom and dad must never know about this.

Mike Scully says it was the best joke in the original brainstorm. The scene was only cut thanks to Fox. I think he would have gladly let such a gag get through. However, this wasn't a Scully episode, it was Jean. Therefore, I agree that you all just have sick minds.

Channel Surfer

12-02-2003, 01:57 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
it obviously has inadvertent (if insubstantial) sexual connotations, and I could easily believe the writers would have thought after writing it "hey, that sounds kinda sexual there" and had a little chuckle at it, but there is no way in hell the joke is derived from "suck on Daddy's sugar ball" having the double meaning that you are all suggesting. "chew on my ball sack" is an obvious sexual innuendo joke, it's explicit and undisputable, the joke is the sexual part. but the only sexual innuendo here is really just an inadvertent aside to the joke itself, which is very obviously (to me) the allusion to nursing animals. the way the kids are drawn obviously suggests animals nursing. Homer's motherly tone hardly suggests sexual overtones. and it barely makes sense as sexual innuendo anyway, given that it isn't plural. as for it "not having a punchline", I don't believe it needed one. Homer acting as a nursing mother was (potentially) funny enough.

Well, that kind of gets back to my point of why would the writers leave something in that alludes (directly or not) to sexual innuendo in such an obvious way? Besides, it's not much of a stretch to derive this from the nursing gag (especially considering what you'd have to nurse on a man anyway). Whether or not it's a clear sex joke or an unfortunate aside is disputable, and I'm not even quite sure if the potential double meaning was "discovered" or consciously written. But it does have sexual connotations that I'm confident the staff were aware of - or became aware of - when writing it.

and really, I don't believe even Mike Scully would have let through a joke which implies Lisa & Bart are gleefully sucking on Homer's balls.

Maybe not Scully, but with Jean...

Homer: Remember when I used to push you on the swing?

Bart: I was faking it.

Homer: Liar!

Bart: Oh yeah? Remember this? Higher, dad, higher! Whee!

i feel dirty. the dirt's not coming off!

The dirt hasn't left since my last visit to ats. I've just come to accept my smutty state.

prince jafar allah

12-02-2003, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
Besides, it's not much of a stretch to derive this from the nursing gag (especially considering what you'd have to nurse on a man anyway).

see that's what i mean. you didn't need to "consider what you'd have to nurse on a man". why would you do that? it's got nothing to do with the scene or the joke or anything.

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
Maybe not Scully, but with Jean...

Homer: Remember when I used to push you on the swing?

Bart: I was faking it.

Homer: Liar!

Bart: Oh yeah? Remember this? Higher, dad, higher! Whee!

i had a feeling you were going to bring that up. it's not the same. it doesn't put forward the idea of Bart & Homer having sex (I hate you for making me type that :( ) it only derives humor from using cliched "sexual" dialogue for the situation.

Wonderboy

12-02-2003, 02:23 PM

Well, I gave it 1/5. This episode was just so..stupid.

chris

12-02-2003, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
the way the kids are drawn obviously suggests animals nursing. Homer's motherly tone hardly suggests sexual overtones.

It was in fact Homer's tone that made me think it was sexual. When Bart and Lisa dug into the sugar ball, I immediately thought, "Heh, just like nursing animals." But then Homer piped in with his creepy voice, and suddenly there was dead silence in the room as my girlfriend and I exchanged incredulous glances. Homer's comment was made to sound sexual (disguised as a reference to suckling animals), there's no doubt in my mind...

StrideR

12-02-2003, 02:59 PM

"Daddy's sugar ball" ~~~~~~~~ "Sugar Daddy's ballz"

Channel Surfer

12-02-2003, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
see that's what i mean. you didn't need to "consider what you'd have to nurse on a man". why would you do that? it's got nothing to do with the scene or the joke or anything.

It doesn't if you limit it to suckling animals, obviously. But I don't think it's just that. The kids suck on the giant ball, Homer tells them to "suckle daddy's sugar ball", then it is followed by a pause with all parties gathering contentment. I think it has quite a bit to do with the suckling/nursing sequence.

i had a feeling you were going to bring that up. it's not the same. it doesn't put forward the idea of Bart & Homer having sex (I hate you for making me type that :( ) it only derives humor from using cliched "sexual" dialogue for the situation.

No, they aren't the same are they. But the differences I think are irrelevant. It clearly showcases a double-meaning sexual innuendo through use of Homer and Bart's dialogue together, which in that respect is no different than what I am suggesting with what Homer said here. Or Marge's "They're making beautiful music together" in "Dude, Where's my Ranch" to bring up another example. Same kind of thing, even if what's implied or what parties involved are different.

Originally posted by ClauS KinkY
"Daddy's sugar ball" ~~~~~~~~ "Sugar Daddy's ballz"

And that introduces a whole other aspect I didn't even bring up. Though you still have to buy that it was sexual innuendo to begin with.

tim_duncan2000

12-03-2003, 02:47 PM

What I liked:
Sprawl Mart and how Grampa was a greeter (like how Wal Mart has old people as greeters)
The comments made by the bullies (child support and the one about his dad beating up 6 people at KFC)
The Beta, laserdisc, and DVD piles at the dump

What I didn't like:
Lisa having to resort to showing them the flowers (as if they wouldn't understand what she meant by "daisies" or "flowers"
The sugar ball (especially when Homer thought it was talking)
Homer randomly smoking a pipe when he's about to get mauled
Homer freaking out when he saw bears on anything
The hunter character and the stupid jokes about eating animals (especially shooting a bird and eating it)
Lisa in the octopus suit wasn't horrible or anything; it just wasn't funny
Homer getting shocked again and bleeding, 2 things that aren't funny and I am getting tired of seeing
Homer befriending the bear for no reason
Homer's ideas about saving the bear (pulling out his fur and the painfully unfunny "male bear" line)
The elephant and the bear stuff was stupid

prince jafar allah

12-03-2003, 02:59 PM

Originally posted by Channel Surfer
No, they aren't the same are they. But the differences I think are irrelevant. It clearly showcases a double-meaning sexual innuendo through use of Homer and Bart's dialogue together, which in that respect is no different than what I am suggesting with what Homer said here. Or Marge's "They're making beautiful music together" in "Dude, Where's my Ranch" to bring up another example. Same kind of thing, even if what's implied or what parties involved are different.

I disagree - the two examples you mention derive their humor from implanting sexual cliche dialogue into non-sexual situations. "suck my sugar ball" is not a sexual cliche, it only has very thin sexual connections because it happens to involve sucking of a ball.

Urath28

12-03-2003, 03:20 PM

Will...It was better than the week before, I liked the begining best with the Wal-mart joke and don't challenge my perceptions of what old people can do!

Joey1138

12-03-2003, 05:46 PM

I think this episode was the weakest of the new season so far. 3/5 Meh.

Tibor

12-03-2003, 09:43 PM

Eh, to throw my two cents in on the topic, I don't see it, at all. The explanation as the joke as innuendo sounds like a real stretch to me. Even conceding that it can be construed as such, it's clearly incidental and/or after-the-fact. It wasn't as if the word "ball" was chosen because of sexual overtones. It was a candy ball- not many other ways to say it. And the word suckle associated with nursing.

StrideR

12-04-2003, 02:26 AM

you're probably right about our seeing sexual innuendo where it was not intended. At the same time, the mental image of Homer suckling anything is equally gross, even if it was obvious that he's clearly referring to the ball.

prince jafar allah

12-04-2003, 02:28 AM

i'm sure there is a place for the occasional gross-out joke on The Simpsons.

NukeTheWhales

12-04-2003, 07:21 AM

C+

Ooooh boy this year is not looking good at all.

This may be the only animated series where I can sense that the characters themselves are exhausted. Not created that way, but are actually tired inherently. This season for me can be summed up by saying it seems like all the characters have just given up. Now they are nothing more than mindless pawns being moved around by hack writers.

Channel Surfer

12-04-2003, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by Mohammed Jafar
I disagree - the two examples you mention derive their humor from implanting sexual cliche dialogue into non-sexual situations. "suck my sugar ball" is not a sexual cliche, it only has very thin sexual connections because it happens to involve sucking of a ball.

The similarity was in that, IMO, they were supposed to disguise sexual innuendo unintended by whoever said whatever phrase in each example. Though, yes, you do have to buy into the whole thing that there was innuendo actually to hide in the "Suckle daddy's sugar ball" example.

Anyway, the problem with this discussion is that it is mostly speculative at this point. Had this paralleled an actual sexual cliche, or perhaps even if ball was plural, there'd be no question of its intention. Ditto for if the actual words chosen and actions taken had no sexual connotation at all (if suckle and ball were never mentioned in the same sentence). But as it stands, there's an unfortunate vagueness surrounding the scene. I've already explained in my previous post(s) how such a sequence can be construed to have sexual connotations. There's a fair bit of "incidental" material in there, and the sequence itself is already, IMO, a bit creepy as is, even just taking it in as a nursing sequence. And quite honestly, as I've said before, I somehow doubt that the staff wouldn't catch the potential (even if thin) double meaning, and not leave it in without the intent of letting it be thought of as innuendo.

Tibor

12-04-2003, 07:42 PM

I'm baffled that RMIII hasn't thrown in on the discussion, this is his type of thing after all...

fissionhead

12-06-2003, 01:05 PM

"P.S. this continues to be the season of no chalkboard gags - whats up with that?"

What's up with that? More like what's the reason? Probably for the same reason we almost never see Itchy and Scratchy anymore and for the same reason we saw Yogi Bear meets Bam Margera and the Simpsons: the current writers just aren't creative or talented enough while Jean (who judging by interviews apparently now gauges quality by how many guest stars he can book and how long a series lasts) and the old guard have run out of ideas.

But griping aside My Mother The Carjacker and The President Wore Pearls were both very good IMHO. I have cautious hopes for Today I am a Clown.

And you'd have to be blind or a hermit not to see that the sugar ball joke was yet another lame sophomoric innuendo gag. Maybe our young writer who is "younger than Bart" is trying to see how many genital jokes he can stuff into the season.

prince jafar allah

12-06-2003, 01:49 PM

THE CHALKBOARD GAGS HAVE STOPPED. THERE IS NO LONGER ENOUGH TIME ALLOCATED TO THE SHOW BY FOX FOR THE CHALKBOARD GAGS. i have said this already. twice.

Originally posted by fissionhead

And you'd have to be blind or a hermit not to see that the sugar ball joke was yet another lame sophomoric innuendo gag. Maybe our young writer who is "younger than Bart" is trying to see how many genital jokes he can stuff into the season.

hey, well, i'm not blind or a hermit, so kindly suck my sugar ball.

fissionhead

12-06-2003, 05:01 PM

Meh. Get a better avatar.

prince jafar allah

12-06-2003, 05:36 PM

burrrrrrrrrn!!!

George Cauldron

01-17-2004, 01:13 AM

I was expecting a hugely terrible episode, and quite honestly I was surprised. The idea of Homer fighting a bear was frankly preposterous. The Fat and the Furriest is by no means a classic, but I would not label it a terrible episode, or even a bad one. Homer's cowardly manner could have stood to be more defined, and his motivation for fighting the bear back came out of left-field. However, the bear did not behave in a cartoon-like manner, and acted more or less like a bear would be expected to act, so no animals acting like humans, ala Duncan from Saddlesore Galactica as being the worst example of the lot. Homer's fantasy about the bears to the tune of the Teddy Bears' picnic was so stupid, I was laughing my head off. The only moments that soured the episode came where Homer tried the shocking tag on himself. The first shocking went on for long enough, but then it had to be repeated. Overall, I have to say that I have seen worse than this. Much much worse.

Tamaki Suoh

01-09-2008, 08:54 PM

I saw this one for the first time tonight and have to say that it was quite good, almost great. There were only a few jokes that ran too long or were blatantly unnecessary, and most of the gags were well-crafted and balanced. There were even a few that made me laugh aloud. The story was simple and linear, but it worked well and the steady pacing made for a well-rounded, solid story with a mostly sweet and funny ending. 4.5/5

Moe Nopoly

01-09-2008, 11:45 PM

It's an average episode for me.
The story is ok and has some good gags (e.g Homer's suit of armor :D )
But nothing great or special in this episode.

3/5

Slink

03-25-2008, 02:46 PM

2/5

Not too many laughs. How I yearn for real storytelling and loathe stupid gags and a 38 year old who acts like a 5 year old.

Mindy Simmons

06-10-2008, 02:37 PM

Well, its definitely better than the plot summary would suggest. I think its an entertaining, funny episode that lacks standout quality, but is a fine way to spend a half hour. There were some good jokes, and nothing to really dislike. I laughed most at the crying in the corner joke and Homer's line about bear hugs.

3.5/5

Granto

04-20-2009, 01:36 AM

I just saw this on repeat and I had totally forgotten about it. After watching it I assume it was a repressed memory.

One of the worst plots in the history of the show and only Carl gave me laughs.

1.5/5 rounded to a 2/5

Capt Hammer

04-20-2009, 01:52 AM

I just saw this on repeat and I had totally forgotten about it.

.

i thought it was great, it had a really bad plot idea, but IMO it worked.

4/5

LisaFan17

04-20-2009, 04:18 AM

Aside for an excuse to be a little goofy and try a few experiments, it was just PAINFUL. They should have neutered the episode in planning mode and ended it...:p

2.5

Sprocketeer

04-22-2009, 09:25 AM

Parts of this are funny, but I recall enjoying this more when it first aired than on rewatches. However, with the rise of Blu-Ray Disc, the "RESERVED FOR DVD'S" joke in the landfill is now way funnier.
3/5

Jimbo77

04-27-2009, 08:00 AM

First Act was good, but once the bear came it got stupid

One of the most memorable and funny jokes, to me, was when he is making the candy and he is laughing manically as it is thundering out. I don't know why but I love that part

Brodie

06-20-2010, 07:47 PM

This is defiantly one of the weaker episodes in season 15, but compared to a lot of the crap we've seen in the past 5 seasons it was downright great. The sequence where Homer keeps encountering bears was neat... and innuendo or not, the sugar ball line always gets a laugh from me. As someone above said, the "Reserved for DVD's" gag has only gotten funnier now that we're on the doorstep of the Blu-Ray era.

The plot is weak, but it still exhibits enough good Jean-era traits for me to give it a 3/5.

The Wiggs

06-20-2010, 09:32 PM

Decent episode. There's nothing really that bad about it, but nothing really all that great either. Its a mostly meh-ish episode. I'd give it a 3/5

tom cody

06-21-2010, 04:51 AM

2/5. One of my least favourites of Season 15.

Oh, that's raspberry!

05-07-2011, 01:38 PM

Homer faces a bear and it turns out to be...the best of the first 5 episodes of Season 15! How?....

Season 15 continues, rather appropriately, with Homer and the kids shopping for Marge on Mother's Day. The excellent humor starts early with Bart making a pretty crappy gift for his mother, only for it to be revealed that Homer made the same thing, only for it also to be revealed that Maggie made the same thing as well! On the way to Sprawl Mart, a location which would resurface in at least one future episode, we also get a great Veggietales spoof. Patty and Selma suggest getting Marge the Kitchen Carnival, something which leads to several great gags. These include Maggie's gut hanging open, Grandpa caramelizing his teeth, and Homer's cotton candy afro. This eventually culminates in Homer creating a monstrous sugar ball which delivers at least three more very funny gags. These include Homer allowing his kids to, "suckle daddy's sugar ball," Chief Wiggum wishing Lou was also a big piece of candy, and finally Homer almost listening to the ball when it tells him to get rid of Marge. Finally, Homer decides to get rid of it at the dump, but is attacked by a bear! End of a fantastic act 1.

After narrowly escaping the bear Homer comes home rather traumatized. Eventually, the family finds out why as he show's up on Kent's Cowards. The kids mock Homer, who naturally chokes Bart. However, Homer's response to Lisa telling him he can strangle Bart but not his shame is a line I have quoted from the show for year's now and forgot was from this episode. Homer replies, "It's a deal!" and I am instantly driven to hysteria. Such a wonderful setup and line reading by Dan Castellaneta here, fantastic joke and one of the most memorable post-classic strangling scenes. Anyway, Grant Connors, voiced by the always wonderful Charles Napier, was the one who captured Homer's episode on film. The hunter also gives us several great gags throughout the episode, mostly having to do with him killing/eating strange animals. Homer is soon the laughing stock of town and is made fun of at work with a fine little joke. Eventually, Homer begins hallucinating he is being attacked by several bear food mascots, another great scene. Grandpa tells him to man up and go after the bear, but not before attacking the Swedes so unexpectedly that I cracked up. After visiting Grant, Homer decides to make a suit to protect him from the bear. Against Marge's wishes he sneaks out with Bart, Lenny and Carl to face the bear. Unfortunately Homer is found alone, without his suit, by the bear while Bart, Lenny and Carl sing Afternoon Delight, a great gag to end act 2 on.

As Homer awaits certain doom he manages to assist the bear by removing an electric prod from his ear. Meanwhile, Marge and Lisa discover the boys missing and we get a nice, rather cute scene of Lisa being a kid as she tries on a cowboy octopus suit. Eventually, Marge and Lisa get help from Grant who inexplicably shoots down an eagle for a "snack" and eats it in one bite, yet another funny little gag. Homer and the bear look for food with the bear acting more human than Homer, insisting Homer use a spoon when eating ice cream. Finally, Homer decides to help the bear reach a wildlife refuge but he has to make it past Grant and his hunters. Here we are treated to a rather funny interaction between Cletus and Grant. The bear manages to make it, but is quickly attacked by an elephant. As the Simpson family leaves the bear picks up a stick and begins attacking the elephant as we end the episode.

So, with a premise as ridiculous sounding as Homer vs. a bear how does this episode work? It's funny! The entire first act is almost unrelated to the bear plot, but has many great jokes. The bear plot itself also has many great jokes. I acknowledge that this episode does, at times, almost reach Scully levels of wackiness but this is forgiven because of the wonderful humor. Everyone is in character here as well, even Homer who, again admittedly, walks a fine line of Scully-esque wackiness in the third act. Also, Grant provides good laughs and turns out to be a great one time character. I loved Charles Napier on The Critic and he's just about always great on the Simpsons too.

Finally, this episodes animation is superb. This episode has many great shots involving animals but the bear is really the star. The acting on the bear is just so great in many scenes. His contemplation over whether or not to still attack a sobbing, pitiful looking Homer after attacking him in a maze of toilets is just one example that comes to mind. I just love that last little paw gesture he gives in that scene before leaving Homer. The ending scenes involving the elephant are also great, mainly due to the animation. A bear fighting an elephant in a Simpsons episodes sounds pretty ridiculous but looking at that scene of the elephant having the bear in it's trunk made me laugh pretty hard, and the following scene with the bear using the stick was also good. These scenes could have come off as horrible, but the animation made them work.

So yeah, I love this episode. I know I wrote alot, but I genuinely think this episode deserves defending. I understand why it might be hated by some as it has an inherently wacky premise, and trust me when I say I am no Simpsons apologist or anything, but this is a good example of an episode with a wacky premise succeeding with excellent execution. I'd give it a 4.5/5overall, and a 5/5 on the poll. Best of Season 15 so far.