Rate & Review: "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" (FABF12)

[Cole]

From SNPP
Matt Groening guest voices as himself when Mrs. Krabappel calls off her wedding (after Principal Skinner starts having second thoughts himself) and runs off with another man (hint: "big fat geek" - hint #2: Matt's appearance is at a comic book convention)

You can learn more about Groening's appearance in this thread. You can also check out the preview/speculate thread for more details.

The thread and poll will open immediately following the broadcast of the episode. You can also look forward to a repeat of "The President Wore Pearls" at 8:30/7:30c.

[Datoupee]

5/5 ...Just wow. The Al Jean Machine switches into overdrive with all of those comic book / nerd references. The ending was a bit out there but I'm not going to complain.

Toupee Moment of the Week: Milhouse's pronunciation of "Groening". Priceless.

[Tomacco]

I was about to declare it tied for best of the season until the comic convention. More to come..

[kevin]

This was nothing special really, but there were no major errors. Will probably end up being a more forgettable episode. There were laughs though, and I think it was just barely good enough to get a 4/5 or B

[joe]

I actually thought this was one of the better episodes of the season...

[Charmy]

DRUNK BARNEY!!!

Yee haw.

Anyway, the first act was kind of a dissappointment, with humour being a little below par. It picks up some in the second and third acts, but overall the episode is neither riotlessly funny or spectacular storywise. Decent, but not great. B

EDIT: Forgot to mention- the Homer/Marge conflict was horribly, horribly developed. The only thing that keeps it from dragging this episode into the pits is that it was given little screen-time.

[Bartman3010]

OKay, I did like the first act with the bachelor parties. Plus I was expecting the show to somewhat fix itself after Edna calls the wedding off.

But yeah, then the comic con scene just killed it, and once again, a guest star (Hardly a guest anyway) is given one shitty line and thats it. Then after building up the Skinner/Edna relationship for the past few seasons, they kill its continuity by having Edna not want to be married ever, just like every fucking episode that deals with love.

The Simpsons staff really has run out of ideas, Al, give the Simpsons another baby and end this show.

[jesse]

Hmm. The very end seemed very rushed. The deal with Homer and Marge had not only been done countless times (not to meniton the resolution of the re-marriage) but It all happened within 30 seconds or so. 80% of it was excellent though, so I give it 4/5.

[Pie Pants]

Originally posted by Tomacco
I was about to declare it tied for best of the season until the comic convention. More to come..

Agreed. It as a great episode, it started off good. Homer shaving batteries, that was cool. I thought it would of been better without the comic convention and if they did get married. Edna returning Comic Book Guy's gift since they didn't get married made me laugh. I think the episode would of still had its greatness without having Matt Groening's appearence. Overall, 5/5. Second best of the season to me.

EDIT: YEAH, DRUNK BARNEY! WOOHOO!

[Lenny 11]

100000/5 lol

[Wavy Gravy]

Eh, you know what's comin' from me. We started off great, jumping right into the main plot, along with some very funny additional scenes (Homer whittling the battery to set up the subplot, the "dodgerock" bit, etc.), and the respective parties were both pretty laughworthy. The wedding took it in a very interesting direction, with more laughs from Bart's walkie-talkie jokes and Nelson playing the sniper. Throughout these scenes, however, I actually felt for Skinner and Krabappel, which is a good thing. Nelson struck back again with his zingers in class, and the writers seem to have finally realized (as have I) that Barney works better drunk - woo-hoo! Skinner's attempts to get Krabappel back (including the song) were also great, and we had some funny Homer moments too ("Seymour? Wow, it really sucks to be you", etc.) Throwing in Comic Book Guy just made it funnier, and it all led up to the return of the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con, which was made hilarious by Matt Groening's self-satirizing guest spot. An anticlimax if I ever saw one, but hilarious nonetheless. To be honest, I wasn't sure if Skinner and Krabappel would have worked as a couple anyway, and I guess the writers didn't want to risk screwing up their characterizations. The episode ended a little strangely, seeing as how Homer and Marge already had a second wedding and this one was kind of rushed, so altogether, this one garners an almost perfect score. Still, a fine episode.

4/5

[Bort328]

My Big Fat Geek Wedding was an excellent episode, even if it did fall into a couple of plotting traps we've seen many times before. I'll make this a quick review, because one of my new favorite episodes is on now!

First of all, I loved the attempted marriage between Skinner and Edna, and the split was done very well - quite believable. Skinner and Edna were in character throughout the episode. Some of the pre-wedding scenes were also quite good, although one of my constant complaints surfaces again: why are Homer and Marge hosting the bachelor/bachelorette parties? They barely know Skinner and Edna. Anyway, it wasn't too distracting, but wasn't exactly a good thing. Also, it's great to finally see some confirmation that Barney is an alcoholic again!

The second act was weaker, just because of the implausability of the events. Edna falling for Comic Book Guy was done in a fairly unconvincing way... I just couldn't buy their relationship as authentic. The third scene, at the comic book convention, was better. Groening's long-awaited cameo was done pretty well, even if it didn't add anything to the plot. Milhouse mispronouncing "Groening" was good for a laugh, and I liked Matt's descriptions of things he is apparently okay with fans doing to him. The final fight between CBG and Skinner was pretty good, as was the preceding "Klingon wedding." Really, everything taking place at Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con was really funny and done really well. Skinner as Catwoman caught me off guard, and I got a big laugh out of that.

The resolution, with Edna breaking up with Skinner, was satisfying. I think it was a great resolution to this 7-year long plot. Honestly, having the two characters married would have been too big of a distraction... I'm happy with how it worked out.

One other comment: the parallel plot about Homer and Marge's marriage was done in a subtle enough way that it really helped the overall feel of the episode. I think we could have done without the final scene where it explicitly came out, but overall it was a really great addition to the episode. Marge's characterization was great, and I really think we learned a good deal about her character, which is impressive after 15 years.

Overall, My Big Fat Geek Wedding was a really great episode, although the old "the Simpsons become involved with other characters' affairs" problem surfaced yet again. And how could anybody hate an episode that finally ended the tragedy of Barney that started in Days of Wine and D'oh-ses!

Wow... that wasn't such a quick review.

My score: 4/5 = A-

[SpongeBob No Pants]

damn, i thought we'd finally see them tie the knot

anyways, really great episode 5/5 the ending seemed a little rushed, but still ended very well (great klingon joke)

[Larson Something]

Gotta say I enjoyed it. I don't have a problem with Skinny & Krabby not tying the knot. It's not like I was looking forward to the multitude of comic possibilities created by their union. The Groening appearance was underwhelming, but I didn't really have big expectation for it.

Loved the "Lion Sleeps Tonight" song, and Skinner in the Catwoman suit was disturbingly hilarious.

Recycling the ending from A Milhouse Divided was my biggest qualm, but overall, good stuff. 4/5

[rachel]

Some good laughs (Hulk melon baller, Duffman stripper), but i agree with the conflict between Marge and Homer being horribly developed, and how it was resovled in 30 seconds at the end. I liked Agnes' appearance...it was actually funny instead of annoying. Comic Book Guy played a good role (Was that a tat on his ass?). I was surprised at Groening's small part of the episode, but enjoyed Milhouse's pronunciation of his name. I wish they would have had Krabappell and Skinner get back together in the end. Pretty good episode with a wacky ending. 4/5

[J.Re*]

Originally posted by Larson Something
Recycling the ending from A Milhouse Divided was my biggest qualm, but overall, good stuff. 4/5

truth, i expected marge to point it out.

still 5/5. great story that left no loose ends.
CBG was an odd choice, I guess it just added humor for the rebound guy to be him. Could have been anyone.
Risque jokes worked without being to gross

[Tomacco]

Good stuff first:
Acts 1 and 2. Everything. I loved it all. They got the episode rolling very very fast, which was appreciated. The two parties for Edna and Skinner were both great scenes. Wiggum and Duffman had shining moments, as did the gang at Moe's. Homer was also genuinely funny. Everyone was in character. Edna's imagination of the future, with spider-Agnes was a laugh too. The attempts to win back Edna by Skinner and Homer fared well too. Pacing was all great. I really did buy into CBG and Edna's relationship, once Marge mentioned the rebound rule. Made sense. CBG is lonely as hell and will take any woman, and Edna is on the rebound. All in all, I won't list everything I liked individually, but know that I was on board for declaring it tied for best of season until the third act problems...

To continue, the relationship between Skinner and Krabappel has not only been in the background since season 8, but in the forefront in "Grade School Confidential" and "Special Edna", both successful episodes. To just nullify it all now, seven seasons later, is nothing short of frustrating since we were meant to grow attached to them even more when they got engaged in "Special Edna". Since then I had been looking forward to this episode. I expected the cold-feet plot to surface, but I was expecting them to wed at the end. We all pretty much expected this I think. I guess the writers thought "should we really write up an episode as incredibly predictable as this?", so they decided not to, at the expense of the Edna/Skinner relationship.

But that's not the biggest problem. What I didn't like was that the episode, until the last minute, WAS following the predictable expected pattern I was looking forward to. When 95% of the episode leads in this direction that has you rooting for the happy ending, and then they give you a sad ending, with no redeemable seriousness to it (basically, we didn't even get to see Seymour's pain at Edna deciding she is not marrying), the episode kind of just feels like a waste of time.

As for the Homer and Marge dynamic: I was enjoying this throughout the episode too, hoping Seymour and Homer would have to perform a dual effort in proving their love to their gals. They never merged in the end though. Seymour struck out. But Homer won Marge. How? By rehashing his "A Milhouse Divided" stunt within 20 seconds, but with the oh-so-funny Klingon aspect (sarcasm). This is all so frustrating because I felt they were pulling off the story very well and focused throughout the entire episode until it came crashing to this jokey last two minutes of half-resolved "conclusion".

So how do I rate this? I have no idea. I loved pretty much the whole episode. But the last minute was so damaging that I barely feel like I can praise the episode at all.

At least they OFFICIALLY got Barney back on drinking, in a very funny scene too.

[no rating....at least not yet]

[ShadowBun]

Let me say that the first twenty minutes of this episode were among the, if not the best twenty minutes of the show this season.

PLOT/CHARACTERIZATION

Despite a seemingly wacky premise, the story and characterization were surprisingly spot-on. The story starts right away with Homer and Marge's obvious marital problems, then dives headfirst into Edna's issue. No disjointed first act, no wacky trips, just some good old fashioned storytelling. By the end of the first act, we have a gripping conflict. We also get hints of Homer/Marge's own marriage trouble, which was a GREAT, GREAT tie-in, and a very unexpected dose of depth. Equally impressive is the way they integrated it into the story from the get-go, and threw in references to it at all the right moments. We get a great windowsill scene (every love story needs one) involving the four characters who have become coincidentally involved in each others' affairs. I think the interactions between Edna/Marge and Skinner/Homer were actually very good. Even Comic Book Guy's role made some sense, though it still felt a bit out of character for Edna to fall for that blob, rebound or not.

Act three is where we get an awesome buildup with a sub-par resolution. By the time they got into the comic convention, things started slipping big-time. I mean, that is an ANTI-CLIMATIC ending, seriously. Edna and Skinner just kind of walk off? What sort of resolution is that? I think they just ran out of time and crammed that in; either way, it was very unsatisfying. And Homer and Marge's wrap-up wasn't too great either, having already been recycled from another episode (Milhouse Divided, of course) and I don't see how that made up for everything from Marge's point of view. I was expecting a knockout ending after such a great beginning and middle.

BARNEY IS DRUNK AGAIN. REJOICE AND BE GLAD!!


HUMOR

Oh yeah, this was classic. Spot-on. Marge's recipes in bed, Homer in general (he was great tonight), Skinner's usual wishy-washy humor, the fact that they're getting married in the gym, the dolled up bus, Duffman making a sandwich, Chief Wiggum's role, Grampa's quick bit, Homer promising not to tell followed by the close-up of his face telling "Marge" (that was one of the best gags of the episode), Homer's Lake Michigan line, Bart and the others singing "Oh Edna K, oh Edna K" etc, Comic Book Guy's [EDIT] Superman tattoo, the Star Trek jokes, the fantasy of Edna and Skinner being old, with Agnes as a robotic spider, and Nelson pelting Skinner with a balloon filled with corn oil. Though there were a couple mediocre gags, not a single bad one in the bunch. Awesome.

OVERALL

What a great episode. If it wasn't for the shoddy, rushed, disappointing ending, this would be an A. As it is, a very good A-, which is equal to 4.5, which is equal to 5 on the poll. Nicely done.

[eddie]

Definitely a refreshing episode: Groening cameo, sci-fi con, drunk Barney, CBG, lots and lots of laughs. only thing I really didn't like was the ending. 8/10, B+

[pocketfox]

Well they ended 2 continuties in this one, one good, one bad. The good was Barney drinking again. the bad was Edna and Skinner. Were they too scared to add another continuity? It lasted so long. Still a good episode, with all kinds of hilarious moments (especially Homer telling Skinner what to day). I'll give it a 4/5 (like a;ways). The ending did hurt, but it was good for quite a long time. By the way, Tomacco, 'Tis the Fifteenth Season is your number 1 this year still, right?

[ECioffoletti]

3/5

I'm sorry I just couldn't get into it for some reason. There were some great one liners and the plot was actually coherant but there was just something missing.

I did love some of the comic book guy moments though.

CBG: "You have followed me to my car without running away. That's got to be a record."
Krabappel: "Oh, I just love those tinted windows."
CBG: "Those are garbage bags. Now, if you don't mind, would you please give the car a pushing start."

There was another great line about how he got married in an online game once and they considered having virtual kids but it would've seriously drained his power crystals.

[Dennis]

I was a little bit dissapointed by this episode.

First of all, why does Marge hold a bachelorette party for Edna and why does Homer hold one for Skinner? Since when are they friends? And why does Skinner confide in Homer about his cold feet? The first couple of minutes were actually pretty enjoyable, making me feel like it was from season 8 or something. Edna running off from the wedding seemed sort of forced to me, unless she heard what Skinner said. Also, why does Homer even care about Skinner's wedding. Seemed kind of off to me? And the relationship with CBG seemed really forced to me. Also, Matt Groening's appearance was embarassing to watch (the "The creator of Futurama" line made me cringe). I wish the first appearance of Matt Groening could have been an episode where the basic plot had a lot to do with him (yeah, I know he appeared at the comic convention, but by reading the basic plot, you would never guess this was the Groening episode). A lot of the things that happened just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like the jump from setting to setting. That's a problem I had with Special Edna too. Both ended up taking place in just really weird locations. I like how a related episode, "Grade School Confidential", just took place in Springfield, with no jumping to random locations and the emotion in that episode didn't seem as forced in that episode. I also really hated the ending. It's been done, it's been done. Spider Agnes and Skinner dressed as catwoman are the only really funny things I remember from the episode. Yes, I have short term memory loss but still... I also had some real problems getting into the plot...

2.5/5.

[pocketfox]

One question, in Groening's cameo, why didn't he tell the fans to "get a life" like the rumors said he would.

[J.Re*]

Originally posted by Dennis
First of all, why does Marge hold a bachelorette party for Edna and why does Homer hold one for Skinner? Since when are they friends?

since when do they have other friends?

And why does Skinner confide in Homer about his cold feet?

alcohol

Edna running off from the wedding seemed sort of forced to me, unless she heard what Skinner said.

she did... hence the closeup on her face

I wish the first appearance of Matt Groening could have been an episode where the basic plot had a lot to do with him

then everyone would complain he was used too much.

Both ended up taking place in just really weird locations. I like how a related episode, "Grade School Confidential", just took place in Springfield

this episode was all in springfield. and the bi-mon-sci-fi-con isn't really a random location considering its been featured before and you get the understanding it happens bi-monthly

sorry to pick apart your review..... i just felt opinionated on a lot of it

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by pocketfox
Tomacco, 'Tis the Fifteenth Season is your number 1 this year still, right?

Right.

[Bartman3010]

Originally posted by pocketfox
One question, in Groening's cameo, why didn't he tell the fans to "get a life" like the rumors said he would.

Thats a good question, probably why Fox runs way too many commercials and the episodes seem shorter than usual.

[Mira]

I thought it was ok. I can't remeber any quote that really stood out that much and I really did want them to get married. The Matt Groening apperance was ok and I like the fact that they use CBG as an actual character. Overall nothing about it seemed bad, but nothing was too great either, well except for the return of the REAL Barney. 3.5/ B-

The president wore pearls was genius though, that episode was great. It was funny and the songs ruled. A for that one.

And for some reason I found Lenny dressed as George Jetson to be hilrious.

[DotheBartman]

Let me open up this review by saying: What a wierd episode. Drunk Barney, Homer and Marge having a second wedding, the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con, The Larry Davis Experience, Skinny and Krabby not together....its like its the '90s all over again.

Anyways, on to my thoughts. First off I'll get my problems with the story out of the way. It seemed rather disjointed in a lot of ways, especcially in act three, and I didn't see much point or reason to some of it. The ending was also....a bit of a downer, and seemed like the writers had cold feet themselves about actually marrying the characters (characters getting married is often considered JTS in tv, and The Simpsons has certainly endured some criticism for changing things in the past). And all the Homer/Marge stuff seemed sort of forced in there at times, especcially the second wedding at the end. Already a reused concept from "A Milhouse Divided", and it wasn't as effective here, either in humor or any kind of sweetness factor (assuming it was actually supposed to be touching in this one). With all of that said, however, I should note that Krabapple and Skinner stories (as in ones focusing around them as a couple) have just never especcially interested me, even "Grade School Confidental".

Now, I think this episode was mostly meant as a farce anyway, and as such it did its job. I can't say I laughed out loud a whole lot, but I did consistantly chuckle at and enjoy the humor. Save for a few bits like the second-wedding ending there wasn't much that fell flat for me, and there were lots of great moments like Classic Professor Barney (I guess they're really planning on making him alcoholic again), the Nelson "sniper" bit, the Edna and Seymour as old people dream sequence, etc. Really the only place it faltered actually was act three, with that ending, and partially the "Star Trek" parody fight scene as well (already done better on Futurama). And even act three was otherwise enjoyable, including the long-awaited Matt Groening guest appearance.

I should also note some good direction effects in this one, like the battery scene with Homer, shot of Seymour behind the mug, etc.

Overall not especcially great, but enjoyable enough as a farce. I'd say roughly a B, bordering on B-. Good, but I hope this season picks up more soon.

[Maddog53]

A lot of missed opportunities in my opinion. I wouldn't have minded in the least about Homer and Marge hosting the parties at the beginning, but I too was wondering when they have ever been talked about as friends. It just seemed a bit thrown together, and all they would have needed was one quick line as to why Homer or Marge was doing it. Also, why was Mrs. Lovejoy at the Bachelorette Party? Isn't that a tad out of character?

I know, this seems like nitpicking, and it is, but for some reason this episode really bugged me in these little things, which is weird from a show that really has no continuity to begin with.

There was some good laughs in the episode (i.e. dodge rock, the "Lion Sleeps Tonight" with alternate lyrics, Comic Book Guy, the end fight scene). And, I also enjoyed that they had a unique ending with Seymour and Edna deciding to stay apart,something I truly was not expecting. However the subplot with Marge and Homer was handled shoddily. I agree with Tomacco that the two stories should have melded together more, with both Homer and Seymour realizing how to treat the women they love (and this is after I just said I liked the uniqueness of them not staying together, yes I know I'm contradiciting myself, but for once the cliched conclusion would have worked better).

So, not a great episode at all, although humor helped it a lot. 3/5 although close to failing.

Maddog.

[The "Urban" Lenny]

I thought the episode was okay, But it would of been nice to have Skinner and Edna actually get married in the end! The jokes were pretty good, it was entertaining and all but I still felt a little disapointed, I mean come on Skinner and Edna have been dating since like season 7, But I guess the writers thought Edna getting married to Skinner was tad too predictable. Well that's Life I quess! Matt Groening's cameo was also dissapointing too, it was too short and wasn't that funny! But enough about the negatives, the positives were seeing the classic drunk Barney!("If you stop drinking. I'll die!"- Barney's "mentor") Also the whole Chief Wiggum stripping thing was funny as hell! and Flanders reporting loud noise and a strip-diddly-dipper! Overall I give this episode a B/B- It was good but there have been better episodes this season.

P.s. did anyone else Notice that Luanne Van Houten was at the reception! What the Fuck, The Promo for "Millhouse dosen't live here anymore" said that she would leave Springfield forever!