Rate & Review: "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can" (EABF07)

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 08:49 PM

To be fair, Barney appeared drunk in "The Blunder Years", but everyone counted it against the episode.

So the Bart kissing thing is from a future episode? Hmm...interesting...

It seems that this and "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" are my two favorites of the season, both Lisa/Homer episodes. That said, I'm looking forward to "Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky."

And DoTheBartman, you liked "Helter Shelter" more than "Spelling"? :-O

**Frank Grimes Jr.** · 02-16-2003, 08:51 PM

I think Barting over was just slightly better than ISAFAIC...

I gave it a 3/5..

I didn't really like the Willie/Skinner scene...kind of pointless I guess
And I hate Ray Romano in the first place, so I didn't like his scene at all...

"I made Bart in my pants" or something along that lines said by Ralph was cracking me up. You can always count on Ralph to bust you out of an awkard moment...

all the ribwiches was hilarious, and the first scene where he ate like 15 of them and you can see his arteries cloggin up or something...that was nice

I liked the new character, that little boy who won the spelling B, i forgot his name

I thought he bees were alright

and hooray for drunken Barney!

And I think they were waaaayyyyy over doing the congratulations for Lisa...really, it was a bit much. the banner..the crowd....the MOUNTAIN! ?

**davidshirt** · 02-16-2003, 08:55 PM

I can't believe Barney relapsed!

Good episode, much better than Barting Over.

**Jason** · 02-16-2003, 08:55 PM

4/5 one of the best of the season.

**DotheBartman** · 02-16-2003, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by ShadowBun

And DoTheBartman, you liked "Helter Shelter" more than "Spelling"? :-O

I was probably being to generous...but yes, I did. Helter Shelter's last act was mostly pretty bad, and there were some other jokes that fell pretty flat, but overall I enjoyed it more, mainly because it...actually made me laught AT ALL. Don't get me wrong, this episode did have its moments, but I don't think I REALLY laughed out loud at either episode tonight, just kinda chuckled, wheras Helter Shelter at least had some legitimate laugh out loud jokes (like the KOTH parody).

**Paranoid Android** · 02-16-2003, 09:11 PM

Not bad. I laughed out loud a few times. I saw some improvements from previous episodes. Still doesn't have that old Simpsons "feel" to it, but an overall pretty good episode from what we could expect from the show these days.

**DotheBartman** · 02-16-2003, 09:16 PM

Weird thing I noticed: both episodes had jokes about Cletus and Brandine's bad parenting, right down to the baby Homer accidentally bring home appearing again in the second episode. Interesting bit of continuity if intended.

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 09:18 PM

Hmm...refresh my memory, where did the baby appear in the second episode?

**|RABiD|** · 02-16-2003, 09:21 PM

Originally posted by ShadowBun
Hmm...refresh my memory, where did the baby appear in the second episode?

When Lisa is jogging and she meets Otto ("spell AC-DC")...Cletus asks lisa to spell scabies. And Brandine says they found a middle name for the baby!

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 09:39 PM

Oh yeah, hahaha! Thanks then, RABiD.

**Ryan** · 02-16-2003, 09:47 PM

Whoo-hoo! 5/5 ALL THE WAY!!! The only episode this season that was better than this was "Special Edna"! The EABFs are kicking ass, as this was a great, great, GREAT episode. "And a hotplate!" The Requiem for a Dream parody was well-called for, and considering I just saw the movie two months ago for the first time, it was even funnier. Again, 5/5...

**Stackhouse** · 02-16-2003, 09:52 PM

Mighty well and good. A notch down from Barting Over because for some reason I had more fun watching it. I'd say 9.8/10. Second Place this Season, followed by Special Edna.

**The Governor** · 02-16-2003, 09:55 PM

What the hell...IMO, this was the most enjoyable episode in five years and everyone around here knows I'm hard to please! Keep this up and I'll forget the Scully years ever existed. Likeable characters and a decent plot...Huzzah!

I give it a 5.5/5!

Jake

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 09:56 PM

"Mighty well and good. A notch down from Barting Over because for some reason I had more fun watching it. I'd say 9.8/10. Second Place this Season, followed by Special Edna."

W...wait...so you mean, Barting Over is better than...wait...or Special Edna...wait...huh? I am confused.

**Ryan** · 02-16-2003, 09:57 PM

Oh no! Jake gave a new episode 5.5/5! The world's ending is near!...

**Channel Surfer** · 02-16-2003, 10:05 PM

I liked it. I must say I did. But the way the writers tried to shove an underdeveloped Homer/Lisa relationship problem was the most contrived emotional conflict since "The Sweetest Apu". Not once did I give a rip about their father/daughter relationship in this episode, as the scenes were so brief and out of sync with the rest of the episode. It shows up rarely in the episode (3 very short times by my count), and has little relevance to the main conflict (until the very end). It doesn't help that this conflict is caused by a jerkish Homer either. It would've been better had they never introduced this conflict at all.

In fact, the emotional aspect of "Barting Over" was much better then this Homer/Lisa conflict, even with the Tony Hawk/Homer competition at the end.

As for the main conflict, Lisa deciding if she should throw the Spelling Bee, showed up too late in the episode to have little meaning to me, and unfortunately ended predictably. Her moral conflict was more interesting in "Lisa Gets an A", where either decision had its own repercussions (plus the Homer subplot was a bit more interesting story wise in "Lisa Gets an A" too). Maybe the writers should've dropped the cheating aspect of the Spelling Bee entirely, and focused more on the Spelling Bee itself, developing the tension of losing the Spelling Bee with a more dramatic angle.

However, most of the jokes did work, and they didn't fizzle out as badly as in "Barting Over" (and the guest star was better played here too). The ending itself was pretty sweet (maybe a bit too sappy, but still good). And it’s nice to see that I didn't catch every parody ("Requiem For A Dream"), so this episode may grow on me over time.

4/5, or a B (I know I focused on the negatives, but most of the positives were already mentioned)

And my rankings for the season:

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

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 10:07 PM

I hear you, Jake. I've been doing nothing but rave about this episode on these forums all night. I seriously think it could fit right in with Season 7 or 8. To pick out a few quotes (non-exact, these are all from memory from a single viewing)...

THE SPELLING GUY: "Weather, as in 'Whether the weather...'"

THE SPELLING GUY: "Rigged, as in, 'This contest is rigged.'"

LISA: "I was just K-I-D-D-I-N-G!" (pause)

BRANDINE: "Well, we have a new middle name for our baby."

THE SPELLING GUY: "...and a hot plate!"

HOMER: "Mmm...I could lick you all day..."

MARGE: "I just have to stay one lesson ahead of the student!"

BART: "Well, I got my laugh, I'm done here."

RALPH: "I made Bart in my pants!"

NELSON: "Shut up, Pee!"

THE TV VAMPIRE: "Stay tuned to see more of my BOOOOOOOOOMS!"

HOMER: "You're the best speller in this car! And that car! And that car! And...oop, don't look over there..."

KRUSTY: "Think smaller...and with more legs." (Krusty waves goodbye but a traffic light stops him)

SKINNER: "Schoooool's back in session..." (I forgot the rest)

MILHOUSE: "No! This's the happiest I'll ever be!"

(edit)OTTO: "Hey, I've seen one of these before!" (something like that. He then proceeds to order from Krusty's mouth

Look at all those diverse quotes...plus the best use of art direction (Homer's Ribwich experience) and music I've seen in awhile.

**Frank Grimes Jr.** · 02-16-2003, 10:09 PM

Can somebody refresh my horrible memory of what that little boy's name was, that won the spelling B?

Thanks..

**Stackhouse** · 02-16-2003, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by ShadowBun
"Mighty well and good. A notch down from Barting Over because for some reason I had more fun watching it. I'd say 9.8/10. Second Place this Season, followed by Special Edna."

W...wait...so you mean, Barting Over is better than...wait...or Special Edna...wait...huh? I am confused.

I believe my statement made perfect sense

Oh, and guy up above me.. I think his name was Andy. or Billy. or some Generic Name like that.

**lance** · 02-16-2003, 10:27 PM

best line:

homer: "that can only be good," when plimpton calls lisa aside

had me cracking up for a while

i taped the commercial between and paused it on the girl bart was smooching and she is no one from any episode i've seen (i've seen them all)

what's odd is that every other clip in that particular commercial was for "spelling" (minus one "take my wife")

sooooo, it could have been cut, but i can't figure out how bart kissing some girl on a bench could have possible fit in this episode

most likely, this will be in a future season 14 (15?) episode

edit: the spelling champ's name was alex

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 10:30 PM

Cool!

I missed the chalkboard/couch gag for this one...was it along the lines of "I WILL NOT CHOP UP THE CHALKBOARD"?

**Ryan** · 02-16-2003, 10:33 PM

There was no chalkboard, and the couch gag was recycled...

**Frank Grimes Jr.** · 02-16-2003, 10:36 PM

So his name is Alex for sure then?

Thanks

**chiefdan** · 02-16-2003, 10:38 PM

Originally posted by ShadowBun
Cool!

I missed the chalkboard/couch gag for this one...was it along the lines of "I WILL NOT CHOP UP THE CHALKBOARD"?

You're thinking of the chalkboard gag to "Barting Over", which showed Bart writing:
I WILL NOT
I WILL NOT

And then Bart stops writing, pulls out an axe, and chops the chalkboard in two. Very...unique.

**Ryan** · 02-16-2003, 10:42 PM

The problem with Barting Over's chalk gag was that the animation didn't flow well at all since it was new animation...

**ShadowBun** · 02-16-2003, 10:45 PM

"And then Bart stops writing, pulls out an axe, and chops the chalkboard in two. Very...unique."

I saw that one, I was just wondering if in the next episode ("Spelling," where I missed the opening sequence) he'd be writing on the board "I WILL NOT CHOP UP THE CHALKBOARD" or something to that effect.

**FlexMasterFunk** · 02-16-2003, 10:47 PM

upon second viewing, I enjoy this episode even more...
There are so many well placed jokes that it works fabulously well... not perfectly perfect, but fabulously well, and although the 3rd act seemed the worser of the 3 (they definitley should have thrown a little friction between homer and lisa in the 1st or 2nd act, that way, the emotion would have been more heartfelt @ the end when Homer showed up) overall I highly enjoyed this episode.... and I think I'll watch it a third time before I hit the hay...

View Poll Results: How would you rate "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can"?

Thread: Rate & Review: "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can" (EABF07)

Thread Tools

Display