Rate & Review: "The Wandering Juvie" (FABF11)

[Mafia]

Charles Napier played the same character, right? I thought he was a hunter in Fat and the Furriest, and now he is a warden? I thought it was a pretty good episode.

[FooR]

This episode was Good. The pacing was good, the animation was the best i've ever seen, pretty much Laura MacMullan did her thing.

But, as Charmy mentioned, the character development of Gina was not as good as it could have been. No one was horribly out of character, and the episode was overall pretty funny.

An enjoyable episode. 3.5/5, but since the animation and direction was great, X-Play...errr, I give it a 4/5

[Spooner]

I did a double-take when she said it, because admittedly I'm waiting for them to bash Family Guy at every corner. =P

If anything, they chose "Family Guy" over other insults as a bit of an inside joke. The main intention was still just whatshername making fun of Bart, but it doubled as a bit of an inside joke as the writers. But even that I doubt.

Anyway, case closed, discussion over, I don't wanna hijack your thread, go back to Simpsons now.

[SpongeBob No Pants]

haha, she meant that bart loved his family, it wasn't a reference to the show

People look way too far into these things

[Andy]

Originally posted by Mafia
Charles Napier played the same character, right?

No, the hunter was a completely different character. The warden is the same one from Pokey Mom and at least one other episode.

[Eart]

I was the one who posted that.

So.. are you saying that I'm a dumbass that's flipping out?

[The General]

I actually liked this episode.

The jokes were better than this season's standards, and I was glad they didn't make it a "Bart falls in love" episode, they kept there relationship as friends. I give this my highest rating of any 15th season episode (except My Mother The Carjacker and Tis' The 15th Season):

3/5

[pocketfox]

The Family Guy reference was one of my favorite parts of this one. The best line was came from Snake, though "I'll be on Conan with Heather Locklear and Third Eye Blind", hi-larious. A lot of good stuff on this one. Did anyone notice that Sarah Michelle Gellar's character was almost the polar opposit of her KOTH character. Like several other episodes this year, I'll give it a 4/5. You see, it's pretty easy to get a good a review from me, but I don't give out 5's too much. I used too, though.

[Bort328]

The Wandering Juvie was a great episode, making up for a slightly underdeveloped plot with excellent characterization and really funny jokes.

The first act was extremely well done. Unlike last episode, it gave an adequate lead-up to the plot, while not wasting an entire act. Bart's price-gun scene was animated very well, and it was nice to see some foreshadowing of next week's episode. Basically, all of the events leading up to Bart's imprisonment were believable and well developed.

Bart's time in juvenile hall was also done quite well. His characterization here was dead-on; exactly how you would expect Bart to behave in that situation. Homer's brief stint as a guard was kind of unnecessary, but was quickly dropped after a pretty decent joke. It was great (and honestly, kind of suprising) that the writers didn't fall into the trap of focusing on Homer much more than they did. On a related issue, I was glad to see that the writers didn't take the easy way out by placing the show's established troublemakers (Dolph, Jimbo, Nelson, and Kearney) in the prison. Bart and Gina's escape was also developed well, it was nice to see some lead-up to the dance where they escaped from (for example, the hilarious "prison-edited" Itchy and Scratchy episode).

As for Gina's characterization during the escape, the writers handled that extremely well also. She really was made a believable character, and her and Bart's mutual attraction seemed perfectly natural. The revelation that Gina didn't have any family did feel slightly forced and unnatural. It would have been nice to see a little more development of that idea, but it was resolved very well, with the Simpsons visiting Gina at prison.

Sarah Michelle Geller did an excellent job as Gina, and her apparance really hearkens back to the early seasons when guests voiced characters that had nothing to do with what the guest was known for. Also, some random jokes that I really liked were "Cash bribes only" on Chief Wiggum's badge and Homer's "I believe that children are the future... unless we stop them first!" Really, The Wandering Juvie felt just like a classic episode. With slightly better plot development in certain points, it could have been flawless. As far as Season 15 episodes go, it's up there with the best of them.

My score: 5/5

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by PsycheEnFuego
No, the hunter was a completely different episode. The warden is the same one from Pokey Mom and at least one other episode.

I'm pretty sure "Pokey Mom" was the only episode he was in. I guess maybe he showed up in the background once, but maybe not. I just know "Pokey Mom" was his only other speaking role.

[blueguy]

I just liked the carving of the Dough-boy in a bear trap.

[Larson Something]

Originally posted by blueguy
I just liked the carving of the Dough-boy in a bear trap.

Yeah, definitely one of Cletus' better appearances

[or_smth]

Originally posted by Spooner
Hey, was I the only one to notice The SImpsons stealing material from... The Simpsons?

Marge's "Anyone who ebats you up is not your friend" joke was rehashed from that one ep in syndication I can't remember.

Yeah, this is one of the major problems, but it is something that only fans like us pick up. If you really want to look into it, the whole "misidentified bathroom" thing occured (and much funnier) in Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming.

As for the episode: Great direction, moderate to excellent use of guest star, excellent use of secondary characters. Quasi-random bits like Cletus were halarious because they followed through with the gags. Same goes with the Fucking Yes guy, who was terrible but the Homer's gag afterword was funny. Of course, it had a couple dumb gags that are distinctive to the Al Jean era (the starting joke with the bum as well as Homer's untied shoes).

I thought the plot followed through properly and it just felt like a "Long" episode. Emotion was a little contrived but I felt the strength of the story overweighed all. We felt for Bart as he began to love the ugly inmate.

4/5, one of the best of the season in spite of some of the stupid out of place gags that plagues Al Jean.

[Tibor]

Datoupee gives it his lowest rating ever... Seven thumbs up.

It was pretty enjoyable, but (apart from the animation- will get back to that) it wasn't outstanding and just didn't show a lot of creativity with the premise. The best material from the episode is probably Marge worrying at home, nicely done character stuff with her. Most everything at juvie hall was nicely written, and the handling of the family at home with Bart in prison was done superbly (I particularly liked Homer's attempt to help Bart). As Charmy said, the stuff with Bart and Gina was the weakest. It was pretty by the numbers and too thin I think to get the kind of reaction they were reaching for at the end. One scene that stands out as silly is an obligatory "hey despite our apparent animosity we are now friends for some reason." Some of it was neat, like Bart puzzling over Gina's behavior (crazy bitch), but methinks they should have kept it in an adventurous vein ala Dad Who Knew Too Little. The touching moments with Marge were well done, though. Though the humor was more consistent than last week, it wasn't exceptional (my biggest laugh was probably Kent railing on Artie Pie). MacMullen's direction was excellent, of course. There are some big show stealers, but my favorite stuff was the subtle stuff like the courthouse scenes and Marge knitting frantically while watching the news. Overall, pretty fun first two acts, ultimately bogged down with a run of the mill heat n' eat dramatic development. B-

A note (or two or three or four):

Townspeople would be duped by a Simpsons-Cooties wedding? Also, the prank could've been more severe (shattering every window in town?) I think. Yes, it was cumulative with the rest of his record, but still.

Wiggum line was forced and a miss as many of his are nowadays. Wiggum's meta-commentary on the punchline machine role didn't help.

The Yes guy didn't really do anything annoying (so far as his voice is annoying). He could've been substituted for any Costington's employee. So no beef... this time.

The "sometimes I whittles the future" joke would have been perfect- we didn't need to see it play out, we got it.

[Mafia]

oh. okay. Napier played the hunter in "Fat and the Furriest," so I confused his two characters.

[Cole]

A very "meh" episode. I missed parts and didn't record it, so if you're looking for an in depth review (which I rarely provide anyway) skip this one. Like others have said, there was nothing "painful" in this episode, yet not that much was memorable. I don't understand the criticism of Bart not being "tougher" in juvie. The bullies there were atleast twice his size and it would be much more difficult to sympathize with Bart's character had he been "tough." His vulnerability was what made his character relatable.

This episode had a fair amount of laughs. The "negative reinforcement" joke where Lisa criticized Homer's parenting was my favorite. Homer's "sure, blame the strangler" rebuttal was also very humorous. Homer becoming one of the guards was pretty funny and a somewhat admirable by Homer to protect Bart. That's always good to see. Ofcourse, he only made matters worse .. but, doesn’t he always? Heh. The important thing is that he tried to make Bart's situation more bearable.

Some jokes were played a little too over the top. For example, the pine cone joke would have been much funnier if it had ended with Gina's line about "guess where the next one's going" (I'm paraphrasing here .. so forgive me if the quote is inaccurate). Bart's mumbled "up my butt" response dumbed down an already not-so-intelligent joke. There were several scenes which were .

Also, Gina's sacrifice would have had more of an emotional impact if it was not followed by the tacked on scene at the end with the family fiesta. Atleast that scene had one humorous joke (Lisa being frightened by Gina). I'd give this episode a grade somewhere in the B area. An improvement over the last three episodes.

[kevin]

This episode was freaking great. The characterization was right on, the humor was all right there, and the first act wasn't bogged down by some meaningless sub-plot, the writers got right to the main story. I'm not sure why everyone was un-impressed by this showing, because it certainly impressed me. Up there with 'Tis the Fiftteenth for best of the season. Great episode. A

[Wavy Gravy]

Man, I can't believe how little this season has disappointed me - barely at all! This was, yes, ANOTHER winner. We begin with a nice opening scene at Costington's with plenty of good gags (Homer in the dressing room, Bart with the barcode guns, etc.). It's virtually impossible for Lauren MacMullan to direct a bad episode. Bart's prank gets underway with a pretty good Willie/Moe gag, and the first of many good Wiggum bits in the episode. Constance Harm didn't distract from my enjoyment - it actually made sense, as we already know Jusge Snyder's too lenient on juvenile cases, and it wouldn't have worked any other way. Act I ends with a funny Ralph line, and Act II begins with lots of good gags and animation, especially on the playground and during Gina's introduction. Overall, I thought Gina was a fine character; not really too underdeveloped, but more of the orphan who lashes out at the world to compensate for her own problems. Characters with that kind of depth are rare on "The Simpsons" these days, and Sarah Michelle Gellar's voice acting was fine too. I notice Bart got whacked around A LOT in this episode, undoubtedly to satirize the brutality of prison life. Cletus's appearance was classic, and the episode takes an interesting turn towards the end with Bart and Gina's love/hate/primarily hate relationship. The ending, though a little awkward, still wrapped it all up efficiently. In all, another excellent episode, with plenty of laughs and the introduction of a new character whom the audience really can care about.

4.5/5

[Rob G]

Originally posted by Datoupee
I must give my lowest rating of the season for this episode. 3/5

Not when a piece of Simpsacrap like "The President Wore Pearls" exists.

This was a good episode. I am glad Bart wasn't rough and tumble in the pen... his whole act is that he's never as bad as he builds himself up to be.

Other than that, keeping the Homer potential subplot at bay was excellent and I thought the Bart/Gina dynamic was played out as well as can be given the time restrictions. The end was also sweet

A

[Crotis Jivefunk]

Updated Season Rankings:
-THOH XIV 3.5/5
-My Mother the Carjacker 5/5
-The Regina Monologues 5/5
-The Fat and the Furriest 3.5/5
-Today, I Am A Clown 5/5
-Tis the Fifteenth Season 5/5
-Marge Vs. The World 3/5
-I, D'oh-bot 4.5/5
-Diatribe of a Mad Housewife 4/5
-Margical History Tour 3.5/5
-Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore 5/5
-Smart and Smarter 4/5
-The Ziff Who Came to Dinner 4/5
-Co-Dependents Day 3.5/5
-The Wandering Juvie 5/5

[Rob G]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I loved the episode. I thought it was completely character-driven with some nice balance between humor and emotion. I've read some terrible reactions at other boards already, which shocks me, but I personally thought it was wonderful and I hope I don't get negatively swayed by others somehow.

Don't be swayed. It was a great episode.

[Icedragon]

3/5 for this ep. While the Animation direction blew me away, the writing for this ep was not up to par.

I don’t mind Bart not being tough in Prison, but He felt too much like a pussy in this ep. We get it, he is not a real bad boy.

I’ve never liked Judge Harm, I just cant stand her for some reason. Its probably the first ep she was in (the name escapes me right now).

I was also not that fond of Homer’s Characterization while Marge was upset. First I thought he would say he’s partially to blame, but he then says he’s a victim of Marge. Must he dodge responsibility again? Especially after last weeks ep. The line “blame the strangler” wasn’t really funny, and I thought it was a little out of character, as was the nose in the air. And to make it worse, they did it 3 times. It wasn’t funny the first time, why would it be the third time.

Bart felt a little too dumb in this ep as well, and it showed once he and Gina were freed form the handcuffs. It took him too long to get that she had no family.

The final bit with the taco dinner seemed like a resolutuoin that was added at the last minute. I wasn’t feeling that.

Now that I’m done bitching, Here’s what I liked about it. The wedding bit with Semoyr and Edna. While I’m getting a little annoyed with Skinner’s constant and unreasonable penny pinching, It helps to set the mood for “My Big Fat Geek Wedding”, and it was nice to see another refernce to their future wedding.

Also, on the Warden’s wall. The Picture with the phrase “His Judgement Cometh and that Right Soon” was great. Always nice to see subtle little things added.

Also to say again, direction was stellar. Only one nitpick. In the courtroom, Bart’s hair goes from down to up in one take, with no explanation. But that’s a minor thing.

I hope htat the last few eps can be great and salvage the season, because IMHO, this season won’t beat season 8, and is slipping below season 14 pretty fast.

[Rob G]

Originally posted by Wavy Gravy
I notice Bart got whacked around A LOT in this episode, undoubtedly to satirize the brutality of prison life.
4.5/5

He got punched three times by Gina and beaten once by bullies. Kinda reminded me when Lisa got really trashed in "Bye Bye Nerdie".

[Mira]

Originally posted by Tibor
The Yes guy didn't really do anything annoying (so far as his voice is annoying). He could've been substituted for any Costington's employee. So no beef... this time.

When I saw him I instantly thought "Oh no not him" But he didn't actually go "Yeesssssss!" so I didn't find him annoying this time either.

And to Tomacco, You did prove your point about Bart, can't really argue about that.

[Spooner]

I wanted to point something out:

"Touch my fence again and your puberty will be very boring."

Great way of getting ina dick joke without making it sound like a dick joke. Kudos.

[bmac]

excellent episode, will ultimately be one of my favorites from this season. no grande review from me, but A-.

and just for the hell of it, a rundown of my grades so far this year:

THOH XIV- B-
The President Wore Pearls- A
My Mother The Carjacker- C+
The Regina Monologues- D
The Fat and the Furriest- D+
Today, I Am a Klown- B+
'This The Fifteenth Season- A-
Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays- C-
I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot- C+
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife- A-
Margical History Tour- Unseen
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore- A
Smart and Smarter- B
The Ziff Who Came to Dinner- C+
Co-Dependence Day- C-
The Wandering Juvie- A-

Avg Grade: B-

[Rob G]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Along with everyone speaking like this, could you really have invisioned Bart taking on all the other inmates? He got put in the pen for theft. He has never proven to have any real aggression, and he's always shown getting beat up by Dolph, Nelson, Jimbo and Kearney. Also when he gets caught for things that are really bad, he always feels remorse, right back to "Bart vs Thanksgiving", and continued to "Marge Be Not Proud". Bart feeling fragile in a prison is seriously IN character.

What's endearing about Bart's character is that he is not as bad as he wants to be. He's closer to the middle of good/bad than many realize and that point has been made lo these 15 seasons.

The "stereotyped" Bart is the badboy. Those who are fans of the character know better.

[kevin]

updated season rankings:

Treehouse Of Horror XIV: B
My Mother The Carjacker: B+
The President Wore Pearls: A-
The Regina Monologues: D+
The Fat and the Furriest: C-
Today, I am a Klown: B+
'Tis The Fifteenth Season: A
Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays: B-
I, D'oh-bot: C-
Diatribe of a Housewife: B
Margical History Tour: C
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore: A-
Smart and Smarter: B-
The Ziff Who Came to Dinner: C
Co-Dependent's Day: B
The Wandering Juvie: A

[Spooner]

Hmmm... I just realised something...

The Yes Guy didn't say "Yeeeeeeeees!"

Does that constitute a WTF? I believe so.

[DotheBartman]

A mixed bag.

It opened with some decent scenes at the store and even some nice satirical scenes (namely the young girls clothing area and the "beauty killing spores" or whatever scene). Luckily it got this irrelevant stuff out of the way quickly enough and moved on to Bart's story. The prank wasn't gut-bustingly hilarious like some of Bart's mischief of the past, but was nonetheless amusing and creative to say the least.

Basically through the rest of the episode it maintained roughly that level of humor. Very consistantly funny, just not really anything that was hilarious . I liked the stuff with the cops (including Cletus' wittling of the bear attack), Homer's visiting, the beat-up slide, Captain McCallister, edited Itchy and Scratchy etc. And even though its yet more meta-referencing, I had no choice but to enjoy the "Do the Bartman" reference. There weren't really many (or any?) jokes that failed and it was thus consistant, but nothing seemed to really stand out.

The story is shakier. I like the basic concept of it but in practice it didn't quite work as well as it could have. The main problem, frankly, was probably the other lead character. She just wasn't developed enough to be interesting beyond the basic "tough juvenile hall girl" stereotype that I've seen on other shows before, and the "romantic" element was so underdeveloped that it seemed to come out of nowhere whenever it came up. Nonetheless many of the escaping scenes were fun, and before those scenes there were some nice moments with Bart at the center, and with some good characterization of him as well.

EDIT: Damn, how did I forget to mention this: As always McMullan's direction was great. It didnt seem as exciting as some previous shows (partially just from the nature of some of the scenes I think) but nonetheless it looked really cool with lots of nice angles and effects.

Overall, just a mixed bag. Could have been better if the consistant humor had also been really good humor, but an overall enjoyable show.

Grade: B-

Didja notice moments: The music used when Bart was walking around the playground was the same used when Bob talked about his prison life in "Black Widower"? (I'm not sure where the music comes from though).

Captain McCallister showed up for the first time in a long while? (I think) He used to be in the show all the time but seems to be used more sparingly lately?

For the first time in probably years an Itchy and Scratchy sketch actually showed the full theme (with Itchy and Scratchy hitting each other back and forth)?