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

**DotheBartman** · 03-30-2004, 12:36 AM

Originally posted by Spooner

Not saying RMIII is Jean, but I ran a cartoon, I'd sure as hell check out forums and see what people thought of my show.

Sure. I would too. But typically someone running a show wouldn't make scores of comments explaining jokes and hidden references (at least not as frequently as Roger does) and certainly wouldn't make the occasional negative comment about their own show.

Oh, and Psyche, there was an interview with ugo.com I think where Jean was asked about Family Guy and said he thought it was derivative and that it should be more original. And of course in the season three commentaries he made a couple comments about it, one fairly serious (when talking about all the cutaway jokes from around seasons three and four, that they later popped up on Family Guy and said that "they were ripping us off circa 1993"), and one more on the joking side (when talking about the "joke file" they used to keep that disappeared, he said "I think Family Guy stole it").

**Icedragon** · 03-30-2004, 07:35 AM

Originally posted by DotheBartman
First off don't insert your own writing into a quote of one of my posts thanks.

The Frink and Payne thing (again it could have been another writing duo, I just remember it being one of the duos) is just an article I read somewhere, I'm sorry I don't happen to have a link on hand (although I'm sure one could be found if you wanted to). All I remember is that they were asked if they felt threatened by Family Guy and then said something along the lines of "You mean the CANCELLED Family Guy? I think that show just proves that ripping off The Simpsons is harder then it looks".

My bad. I put the tags after the wrong paragraph. All fixed now.

I looked for some articles and the only one I found was this one from ugo.com. I could not find any other interveiw with any other person on the show, that had comments about Family Guy. If you do happen find that article again with the writing duo, I would appreciate if you could post it or PM it to me. Thanks.

**prince jafar allah** · 03-30-2004, 07:57 AM

could someone ram a pine cone into the mouths of the Family Guy kids, please.

anyway, i'm just going to piggyback on the reviews of tibor and CS. not by any means outstanding, but a reasonably well-written, consistently amusing character-driven episode that was much better than the last three episodes have been. gina was a somewhat derivative but still quite interesting (helped of course by a great performance from whatshername) new character. B

**BumbleBeeMan** · 03-30-2004, 08:08 AM

It was great episode, the end was very clever. Totality, it was very good episode. 5/5

**Icedragon** · 03-30-2004, 09:18 AM

*spits out pine cone*

great, now everything tastes like resin.

Season 15 is starting to make a comeback, albeit a slow one. Hopefully, "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" lives up to the expectations I have. "Special Edna" was great, and all the jokes about the upcoming wedding have been great, so hopefully it cuminates into a neo-classic episode.

**Magnum** · 03-30-2004, 10:32 AM

two more things

Having to see Cletus's prophecy come true was worth it for the grizzly in cuffs gag. And I really really wish it was Gina Vercetti instead of Vendetti.

**Tibor** · 03-30-2004, 11:29 AM

Originally posted by Maggie's Magnum
Having to see Cletus's prophecy come true was worth it for the grizzly in cuffs gag.

Ah, true.

Gellar's acting was pretty great when she did the fake crying routine.

**Postmaster** · 03-30-2004, 11:38 AM

Considering Jean seem's to struggle to find the time to do commentaries I wouldn't think he'd have much time to browse these forums as much as roger does, and I'm sure he would want to spend some of his free time with his family and not on a simpsons forum, as if working on the show all day isn't enough.
anyway its pointless speculating, he's not going to come out if we discuss it enough.

**Alpha** · 03-30-2004, 01:14 PM

Wow. That was really, really, really, really... good.

4/5

**The "Urban" Lenny** · 03-30-2004, 01:17 PM

Overall I thought this was a good episode, it had a lot of good jokes like when Homer becomes a Guard at the prison to protect Bart.
"So why don't you try picking on someone bigger than you with a gun" Also Sara Michelle Gellars character was great, but It makes me wonder why she dosen't have a family. Oh well maybe they're saving that for another episode in the future. Lastly some people say Bart was too much of a wuss in Juvie, but if you think about it, Bart maybe mischievous but he's not a hardened criminal. "She want's to turn me into a criminal, when all I want to be is a petty thug!" - Bart (Bart's Girlfriend)

**Bartman3010** · 03-30-2004, 01:43 PM

Bart needs to have some chance with a girl that doesnt end at the end of the episode.

I would like to see Sarah's character come back at least once. If Ziff can come back to haunt Marge, so can this girl.

**Tara** · 03-30-2004, 01:48 PM

Just watched it on JDI. It was pretty good but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be so I rate it: 3.5/5

**simplysimpsons** · 03-30-2004, 01:49 PM

A great story-based episode. HUGE step up from last week! I'll start with the bad first, then the great stuff:

The bad:
Another Homer "accident", wasn't too bad though
Surely the town would know who Bart was?
Willie sucking Moe's air (Too weird), everyone falling down in the tent
Wiggum actually being mauled (The carving was funny though)

Good:
Next episode reference (Skinner and Edna)
Bart scanning the barcodes (Hilarious Matrix ref! Great animation)
The Lenny thing ("Someone you'll never suspect...")
Krusty in the box
Edited I&S cartoon! Hilarious!
"I can close it faster...or I can close it right..."
Kent and Arnie Pie enemies again
Snake
Blacksmith making the key
Most other stuff

Great:
The whole story, fantastic. Great emotion too.
Animation once again
Characterisations

Review: The main positive point about this episode was the story. It was coherant and flowed very nicely. Everyone was perfectly in character, Marge and Bart especially. Gina was an interesting new character, and Sarah-Michelle Gellar did very well with the voice. Jokes mainly came from Homer, but they were hilarious. A great episode overall, just a few minor things that brought it down a little. Grade: A-, 5/5 .

Since everyone else is doing it...my season ratings so far:

THOHXIV B+
My mother the Carjacker A-
President Wore Pearls A-
Regina Monologues D+
Fat & The Furriest C-
Today I am a Klown C-
Tis the Fifteenth Season A-
Marge vs. a ton of people B
I, D'oh-Bot A
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife B+
Margical History Tour C+
Milhouse don't live here anymore A
Smart & Smarter B
Ziff who came to dinner B-
Co-Dependant's day C+
Wandering Juvie A-

**Spooner** · 03-30-2004, 01:56 PM

Someone, please, explain to me what "character driven" means.

From all I can gather, it means that they didn't fuck up the characters enough for you to hate them.

Is this what your standards have been lowered to? You just don't want them to fuck up? Them not fucking up warrants a 5? Since when?

The OC is character driven. The Simpsons is (or rather, should be) humor driven. We tune into the Simpsons to get a few laughs, not to be told an interesting story.

**DotheBartman** · 03-30-2004, 02:03 PM

Originally posted by Spooner

The OC is character driven. The Simpsons is (or rather, should be) humor driven. We tune into the Simpsons to get a few laughs, not to be told an interesting story.

No, a lot of people have been tuning into the Simpsons to be told an interesting story, AS WELL AS to laugh, since season one. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

And, yes, The OC is character driven. But why should we give a shit? As far as I can tell the characters are all stereotypical and suck.

The Simpsons has good characters that we like, and we like to see them driving the stories. Deal with it. And if all you want out of the show is humor, humor, humor, why do you care if they are in character?

**Sloppy Jimbo XOX** · 03-30-2004, 02:04 PM

Originally posted by Spooner
Someone, please, explain to me what "character driven" means.

From all I can gather, it means that they didn't fuck up the characters enough for you to hate them.

Is this what your standards have been lowered to? You just don't want them to fuck up? Them not fucking up warrants a 5? Since when?

The OC is character driven. The Simpsons is (or rather, should be) humor driven. We tune into the Simpsons to get a few laughs, not to be told an interesting story.

Character driven means the humor is derived from the character’s personality, in most cases, it’s a line or action that’s funny because it’s something that particular character would say or do. There’s a big difference between jerkass Homer and bland and uninteresting writing, for example.

**Spooner** · 03-30-2004, 02:07 PM

If they're not in character, they're not funny. That's why if an eps funny, you can just assume the characters were in character, and you don't have to worry about this "Character Driven" bullshit.

And how can you tune in for a "story" when a show follows no real central plot? You could air Simpsons eps out of order, for the most part, and not tell a difference. If you were to air another (funnier) show, Arrested Development, out of order than you'd corrupt the plot and it would be slightly less enjoyable.

EDIT- Ok, gimme an example of how an ep could be "character driven" and not be funny? According to you guys, the Simpsons being in character and being funny go hand in hand, but that's statistically impossible. There would have to be a way that an ep could have every character in character, but devoid of humor.

And it would get nothing but 5/5's.

**Malachy** · 03-30-2004, 02:11 PM

So you're saying The Simpsons would be just as good if we cut everything out of every episode except the jokes?? And by the way, Arrested Devlopment sucks and deserves to be cancelled. The only shows that even deserve to be discussed within the same room as The Simpsons are Curb Your Enthusiasm, Futurama, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and The Critic.

**Spooner** · 03-30-2004, 02:13 PM

KISS4EVER, you lost your right to a respected opinion months ago.

**Channel Surfer** · 03-30-2004, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by Spooner
If they're not in character, they're not funny. That's why if an eps funny, you can just assume the characters were in character, and you don't have to worry about this "Character Driven" bullshit.

You can't assume a character's in character just because it is funny. "Homer Goes to College" I think is funny (and I do like it), but there's no way in hell that Homer is anywhere close to in character. His behavior is inconsistent with past episodes and it isn't derived from his existing character.

Character-driven is a style. It's a style that entertains with likeable characters driving a story through their interactions and decisions within the contexts of the story. It's not the only way to appreciate an episode. But this episode was character-driven, so I'm going to praise its character-driven plot.

And how can you tune in for a "story" when a show follows no real central plot? You could air Simpsons eps out of order, for the most part, and not tell a difference. If you were to air another (funnier) show, Arrested Development, out of order than you'd corrupt the plot and it would be slightly less enjoyable.

Self-contained stories silly. Like a movie.

EDIT- Ok, gimme an example of how an ep could be "character driven" and not be funny? According to you guys, the Simpsons being in character and being funny go hand in hand, but that's statistically impossible. There would have to be a way that an ep could have every character in character, but devoid of humor.

If characters are in character but they aren't entertaining, they're bland and boring and not entertaining. "Marge vs. Everyone" more or less had everyone "in character" and for the most part it was "character driven", but the characters weren't very entertaining, and the episode was not well received if you recall.

And it would get nothing but 5/5's.

Complete and utter bullshit.

**Malachy** · 03-30-2004, 02:24 PM

Not here, I haven't. Look at every post I've ever made here, they're all well thought out and I'm not an asshole here like I was at DYA.

**prince jafar allah** · 03-30-2004, 03:00 PM

this just in : spooner to write next ker-azy its-funny-because-i-say-its-true comedy essay about his failure to comprehend character-driven sitcoms.

"Everyone's saying character-driven these days. Character-driven this, character-driven that. Now what's that about - I mean, are Bart & Lisa even tall enough to reach the pedals? Ah ha! Ha! Ha! "

**Tomacco** · 03-30-2004, 03:24 PM

Back on subject:

Does anyone know if the two Itchies dancing at the end of the I&S cartoon parodied anything? I vaguely remember seeing something like that somewhere, maybe in a video game..

**Clarence** · 03-30-2004, 04:23 PM

Can somebody please tell me the Family Guy reference that everyone is talking about? I completely missed it. Thanks alot.

P.S. I asked this earlier, but somebody deleted it.... I demand an investagation, and that somebody gets fired. Thank you.

**Magnum** · 03-30-2004, 04:28 PM

Gina calls Bart a "Family Guy" as an insult

or maybe not, I may have missed something there.

**TRexx** · 03-30-2004, 08:51 PM

Here's a link to screen captures from Bart and Gina's adventure...

The Wandering Juvie (clickable thumbnails)

--------------

**Malachy** · 03-31-2004, 04:14 AM

I just rewatched this episode at JDI and I forget what I gave it before but I'd like to change that to a 3/5. It actually makes me sad though because it was such a great idea and they totally didn't stretch it to its full potential.

**Furious D** · 03-31-2004, 06:29 AM

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

The writing was simply terrible. This is the episode where I have finally realized that the quality of the show is going downhill. Bart should have been a bit tougher in the pen. The only valid reason for the average rating is due to the use of Mr. Napier.

I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE THIS MY LOWEST RATING EVER........

SEVEN THUMBS UP

**J.E.T** · 03-31-2004, 07:15 AM

now im sorry guys... but i hated the episode... i didn't recall laughing much at all... I enjoyd "co-dependence day" that was great.. but "the wandering juvie" wasn't all that funny... if i have to rate it i would give it a 2/5.....

**Tibor** · 03-31-2004, 09:52 AM

EDIT: fuck

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