Rate & Review: "Catch 'Em if You Can" (FABF14)

[Magnum]

Originally posted by That Jerk
How is Marge's characterization off? She's been known to escape for "Marge time" and negect the family many times starting with the Rancho Relaxo episode...

Sure but I don't seem to recall her ever having a 'my kids ruined my life' attitude, not by a long shot.

[Spooner]

Marge has been known to leave teh kids, but it's always been with Homer or someone home. Granted, them being with homer is potentially more dangerous then being alone, but I don't see how Marge would ever leave her children entirely alone for any reason.

(Yes, I know she left them with Grandpa Simpsons, and I can understand them blowing off Uncle What'shisname to go to Miami, but once they left the kids in Miami and other various places, it jsut got a bit too much for me to handle. I mean, c'mon, she didn't even like tehm watching Itchy and Scratchy.)

[DotheBartman]

Wow, what a suprise. I didn't have high expectations for this one at all, but it was a pleasant suprise. As Tomacco said, this episode's focus was on fun. And I have to say it met that requirement well.

The storyline, wierd as it was, was legitimately clever and inventive, and felt very fresh. Characterizations were great even; Bart and Lisa as purely kids (instead of bizarre mini-adults) and Homer and Marge as exhausted parents. The Catch Me if You Can parodies were particularly nice, and the parody of the intro (Homer's dream in the airplane as it turns out) was great and well animated.

And humor wise things were pretty much great through and through. Homer and Bart's stolen credit cards, the choking scene, nearly all the Grandpa/old people scenes, the "Futurama" poster, and the ending with Ned and Rod....all just examples of good gags that stand out. I should also note I particularly liked Bart and Lisa playing "the floor is made of lava", since my sister and I played similar games as kids.

All in all I don't know what else to say about this one. It didn't have the absolute greatness of, say, "Tis the Fifteenth Season", but it was nonetheless very good. This "Beatle Browed" internet reviewer liked this one a lot.

B+

DYN: I'm fairly sure Dayton is actually Nancy Cartwright's hometown (and is also close to Cleveland where I myself have a bunch of old relatives).
If it wasn't already obvious, some of the relatives seen in the Dayton flashback first appeared in "Lisa the Simpson".

[Mira]

Originally posted by Spooner
I gues I'm just a little confused as all, wheras before you guys were raving over meticulously defined plots that left nothing unanswered and were always sewn up nicely, sometimes at the expense of humor, now you guys are allowing major plotholes and mis-characterizations and giving humor the right of way.

Which don't get me wrong, I've always said I'll take a few minor plotholes or out of character lines for teh sake of humor, but these were major (Maggie missing, Marge way out of character) and the jokes weren't even that funny. Grandpa seduced by a gay guy in Miami... where are the calls of blasphemy? Why hasn't a fire been set? I went fires set, and I want cars overturned, and I want to see a candlight vigil for the Simpsons of Yore by 9 AM tomorrow. The only thing that can show how serious we are about wanting decent shows is with destruction and candles.

Well I can only speak for myself here, but, Mis-Characterazations and Plot-holes/ Conituity Errors etc. Have never bothered me at all. too much Blandness and Dullness or extremely unessecary wackiness are things I give low ratings to.
If it's supposed to be a funny episode and it is funny or a an emotional episode that feels emotional, then It'll get a good rating from me.

This episode seemed like it was just meant to be funny and nothing else and it made me laugh. I've nevered cared about little character problems and such.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Spooner
Grandpa seduced by a gay guy in Miami... where are the calls of blasphemy? Why hasn't a fire been set? I went fires set, and I want cars overturned, and I want to see a candlight vigil for the Simpsons of Yore by 9 AM tomorrow. The only thing that can show how serious we are about wanting decent shows is with destruction and candles.

Grampa hung around with Raoul becuase he finally found someone to listen to his outrageous stories.

And as for Maggie, she didn't get her reputation as "the forgotten Simpson" for no reason.

And I found Marge was mainly out of character in what she said verbally, not her actions.

[Spooner]

I don't think they delved far enough into the Drandpa subplot for us to make any assumptions on it. All we know is:

a) THe guy wanted Grandpa Simpsons
b) Grandpa though the guy might be gay
c) Grandpa will tell stories to anyone whether they care or not.

And I know of the reputation, but c'mooooon, it's not like they wrote her in THEN forgot, they just completely left her out!

And in your third point, I have no clue what the fuck that means. I saying something not an action? When was this law passed?

[Crotis Jivefunk]

I expected the episode to be a good, fun vacation episode, which is what I got. Plenty of laughs, no really bad jokes, with the exception of the tornado destroying the basement and one or two in the third act. No tasteless gay jokes either. Ralph was funny too. I'm expecting next week to be on par with The Fat and the Furriest, maybe a bit better. I don't think we'll ever see any more Helter Shelters anymore. Final Grade: A-

Season Rankings:

The 5/5s:
-My Mother the Carjacker
-The President Wore Pearls
-The Regina Monologues
-Today, I Am A Klown
-Tis The Fifteenth Season
-Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore
-The Wandering Juvie

The 4's:
-THOH XIV
-I, D'oh-Bot
-Diatribe of A Mad Housewife
-Smart and Smarter
-The Ziff Who Came to Dinner
-My Big Fat Geek Wedding
-Catch 'Em If You Can

The 3s:
-The Fat and the Furriest
-Margical History Tour
-Co-Dependent's Day
-Marge Vs. Everyone

[HomertheGreat]

Pleasantly surprised. This season has had a tendency to be very bland and run-of-the-mill, (The Ziff Who Came To Dinner, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) but this certainly has to go down as one of the most creative episodes the show has produced. But what I liked about it was that it still, for the most part, remained true to the characters. I disagree with many of you in that the characterizations were excellent. Bart and Lisa were actually KIDS, and Homer and Marge were the typical, middle aged couple looking for an escape from kids and from their normal boring lives. Combine this with a great set of one-liners, gags, and a riotus parody of "Catch Me if You Can" and you've got yourself a nice episode. Buuuuttttt there are some minor flaws. I'm not sure if I liked the ending that much. Falling off of Niagra Falls and having sex took it a little over the top. There are also some other things like "Where was Maggie?" but I feel like I'm nitpicking with that.

Overall it was a breath of fresh air and the kick in the ass this season needed. Hopefully they can pull off the wacky, zany episode two weeks in a row. B

[doyle]

I missed the episode last week, my first missed episode in quite some time. As a result, I had gone about a month without seeing a new episode. This was a decent one to see to getmyself back into the Sunday night routine. This was mostly a Bart on the Road-esque adventure episode that relied on humor above everything else. It delivered there as few jokes fell flat. Homer and Marge each had some very good lines. Abe's "I'm a legal guardian" line stands out as a highlight of the night. The Catch Me if You Can parody was very nice. The plot held up pretty well. The main plot at least. Abe's subplot really just filled up space because the main plot was a bit empty, as fun as it was. However, the parody made took up some space with no dialogue, and that didn't bother me too much, so the subplot shouludn't really be a big deal. The romance plot was a bit hokey, and there were a few moments that reminded me of Natural Born Kissers, but the problem was a different one than in that episode. The Niagra Falls scene was the worst part, but still not something that disgusted me. Characterization was iffy, particularly Marge's line about all the children being accidents, but Maxtone-Graham has done worse. In fact, he did a pretty good job with things in this episode. Overall, it was a decent show that got by with good humor. B

[Maddog53]

4/5. I thought this one was pretty good, and quite un-wacky for Graham episode. Maggie being left out bugged me too, as was the total forgetfulness of Grandpa at the end, and Lisa is supposedly Wiccan now?

Other than that, a pretty funny episode that was meant for nothing else. I didn't find Marge to be out of character at all (or anyone else for that matter). Marge and Homer are a married couple who just want a few minutes to themselves, once they find it, they don't want to lose it. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa don't mind going with their parents to places, just not to boring ones (their uncle). When they find out that they are having fun without them, they get appropriately mad. Of course, the lengths to which each set goes to accomplish their goal is a tad extreme, but I thought worked overall, and this is why my grade is so high.

The parodies, jokes, one-liners, and sight gags were all very well done, and more than overcompensated for some of the plotholes. As well, the Marge and Homer problem seemed to be solved for sex, which really wasn't their motivation to begin with. Now THAT is being too overanalytical.

I found this episode to be quite funny and among the best of the season. That is extremely ironic when I gave Graham's last episode (the horrid Dude, Where's My Ranch) a 1/5, but in this episode he redeems himself and produces a GOOD wacky episode.

Maddog.

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Spooner
I don't think they delved far enough into the Drandpa subplot for us to make any assumptions on it. All we know is:

a) THe guy wanted Grandpa Simpsons
b) Grandpa though the guy might be gay
c) Grandpa will tell stories to anyone whether they care or not.

And I know of the reputation, but c'mooooon, it's not like they wrote her in THEN forgot, they just completely left her out!

And in your third point, I have no clue what the fuck that means. I saying something not an action? When was this law passed?

Meh. I can tell by your attitude that there will be no discussion or reasoning with you, so catch ya later, Simpsons hater!

(joking, I know you don't hate Simpsons, but you do hate this season)

[Icedragon]

I'm with the minority on this one. I hated this ep.

1) Bad Characterizations all over the board. I could not imagine Lisa following her parents just to keep them from having fun. I was not sold by her actions during this "episode".
Marge as well. I understand getting away from hte kids, but as it has been stated before, not caring that her pre-teen children are traveling unsupervised all over the US? This isnt the Marge of old.
I was not impressed with Homer's characterization either in this ep, but less than the first two. At points in the first act, I thought I saw Jerkass Homer come on out for a while. After the first act break, Homer was tolerable.

2) Bad plot. I bought Homer and Marge needing some R and R from the kids, but I couldnt buy Lisa and Bart following(when they could have gone somewhere else and had fun on their own). The Grandpa subplot as handled poorly, and the absense of Maggie for some reason doent suprise me.

3) Not the greatest jokes. Some jokes just ran too long, like the scene with Homer and Marge and the young couple.

Anyway, this got a 2/5 for me. Not memorable at all.

[Cole]

Originally posted by Spooner
Grandpa seduced by a gay guy in Miami... where are the calls of blasphemy?

Originally posted by Spooner
a) THe guy wanted Grandpa Simpsons
b) Grandpa though the guy might be gay
c) Grandpa will tell stories to anyone whether they care or not.

a) It has been established that Grandpa is a lonely man.
b) We all know that he enjoys telling longwinded stories.
c) The gentlemen in Miami was willing to listen to the longwinded stories.

I don’t see where the “seduction” takes place.

[Spooner]

I don't hate this season. I hated the bad seasons. I'm pleasantly surprised by this season. I just think you guys are overrating it a bit.

A 3/5 isn't bad, which is what I've given most eps this season, but it's just not the quality I've come to expect from The Simpsons.

[Spooner]

Originally posted by Cole
a) It has been established that Grandpa is a lonely man.
b) We all know that he enjoys telling longwinded stories.
c) The gentlemen in Miami was willing to listen to the longwinded stories.

I don’t see where the “seduction” takes place.

a) Yes, we know.

b) yes, we know.

c) He turned his hearing aid off.

If you weren't getting the gay vibes that were going, you sure as hell weren't paying paying attention. Grandpa wasn't aware that he was being seduced, but oh, he was. Then they completely dropped that storyline for some other bad jokes.

[OldCootAbe]

I liked this one more than I have liked most off them this year. It seemed like the Grandpa thing was kinda tacked on. And they should have included Maggie somehow (just drop em of with Patty and Selma, how hard is that?) the chase scene was awesome. A lot of funny one liners too. Good episode. I voted 4/5. Grade: B+

[Cole]

The man was a homosexual, yeah, I got it. Grandpa wasn't participating in some sexual activity with him. He was having a conversation with him. As incognizant as Grandpa frequently is portrayed, you could make the argument that he wasn't even aware the man was attempting to seduce him. It doesn't matter either way. It's not unbelievably "out of character" for Grandpa to want to share his incoherent stories with this man. That’s the only point I’m arguing.

[Spooner]

We're not on same planes here, I'm not arguing Abe was out of character, I'm just saying that the whole idea of Abe being seduced by a gay guy sucked. And the delivery of it was even worse.

[ShadowBun]

The reviews for this one are far higher than I thought they'd be. Allow me to break from the norm...

I wasn't too impressed with this one. My biggest gripe with it is the characterization. First of all, the entire family was WAY too mean. I mean, they were positively brutal, boorish, and angry throughout the whole episode. While I understand that the characterization has to be stretched sometimes to make the plot work (Bart and Lisa needed to be aggravating so Marge and Homer could want a second honeymoon), I found they were extremely over-the-top here. Marge, especially, was characterized terribly. Honestly, this is some of the worst Marge I've ever seen on the show, and she's been pretty nutty. She was yelling at her kids ("None of you were planned!"), complaining non-stop, and lacked ANY of the endearing, forgiving Marge characterization of the past. This felt like far more like the psychotic Marge of Mad Mad Mad Mad Marge and Strong Arms of the Ma than the generally-relaxed warm-hearted housewife we've all come to know and love. And in the case of Homer Alone, she never once insulted or screamed at her own children. Likewise, she and Homer were positively sex-crazed throughout the whole thing. It was very odd.

Outside of Marge, Lisa and Bart were similarly mean-spirited. The water-balloon sequence was great, but everything after that was too over-the-top to be enjoyed. Their obsessive behavior revolving around destroying their parents' time off just feels unjustified and dumb, and a very flimsy reason to travel from place-to-place.

Finally, a couple smaller things annoyed me. Grampa and Raoul's subplot went pretty much nowhere (and that's probably for the better in some ways). Where the heck was Maggie? The ending was just too blasted wacky, with Marge and Homer apparently having sex while in the inflated castle (that was quick...and probably hard to do while plummeting over Niagra Falls, of all places).

Now a lot of people here are saying that these don't matter in this episode, as it's just supposed to be a fun, funny show. But I didn't think it was THAT funny...not any moreso than your average season 15 episode. Besides, I find character-driven humor the funniest on the show, and when the characterization is this messed-up, I just can't enjoy it that much.

Now for the good parts. The humor was generally consistent, if unremarkable. The animation was very good. There were some really funny moments, not the least of which was the inspired Catch Me if You Can parody, with a hilarious cameo by Moe. Ralph's role was really good too (the finger-in-the-eye bit, followed by the scissors). By the middle of the third act, when Bart and Lisa decide to apologize, the episode looked like it would finally end well (and showed that OFF wasn't completely heartless), but then they had to follow through with that crazy spacewalk section.

It was an inventive premise, but it honestly didn't make much sense and the characterization was just too mean-spirited for me to enjoy it fully. The best "all-out humor" episodes still have strong, likeable characterization (Homer Bad Man) while retaining a wonderful sense of humor. Besides, I didn't find this one THAT funny.

3/5 C

[Cole]

Well, I felt the Grandpa subplot was often unnecessary but I don't see anything horribly wrong with the premise. I agree that the execution left much to be desired. I now see your point, Spooner, but I don't entirely agree. We'll leave it at that.

One thing that I did find humorous was Lisa’s criticism of the character in “Love Story” being “wooden” when, in fact, that’s also a perfect description for some of the characters in this episode.

[Mira]

Hmmm So Far I would say this Season has been OK, just OK.

Tis the 15th Season (A+)
President Wore Pearls (A+)
Smart & Smarter (A)
My Mother the Carjacker (A-)
I Doh Bot (B+)
Catch em' if you can (B)
Milhouse doesn't live here anymore (B)
Diatribe of a Mad housewife (B-)
THOH 14 (B-)
The Wandering Juvie (B-)
Co-Dependance Day (B-)
Margical History Tour (C+)
Today I am a Clown (C+)
My Big fat Geek Wedding (C)
Regina Monolouges (C-)
The Ziff who came to Dinner (C-)
Marge vs. S,S,CC&T&G (C-)
Fat and The Furriest (D+)

So, yeh some people do seem to be overrating it a bit.

[Tibor]

An unexpected gem, really liked this one. The pacing- great! Really impressed at how the pace was so fluid and fun, just grabbed me up. And the consistent humor really kept me in it all the way, with well placed gags keeping everything buoyant. The most memorable being the Miami Vice (?) and Catch Me If You Can parodies. And the freshest marital stress angle in a long time. Marge and Homer's romantic eloping was written with empathy and charm, not as well-written as Natural Born Kissers but more than enough to hold the story up and to get you into it. Characterization is fine, people. Even the kids' pursual of Marge and Homer wasn't written in any kind of irritating obnoxious way, they were just written as kids- in an unusual farce, but not out of bounds. Even Grampa and Raoul's bit was sweet and funny, if superfluous. Even things like Maggie's glaring absence and the (I suppose, appropriately) silly ending don't stop this from being pure fun. All of it taken together made a neat original jaunt. A refreshing episode, especially with it being a vacation/travel episode without just using it as an excuse for new ker-aziness and an onslaught of made-for-promo gimmicks. Have to hand it to IMG (or whoever was responsible ) for this one. B+/A-

[Crotis Jivefunk]

Best of the season: Tis The Fifteenth Season 5/5
Worst: Co-Dependent's Day 3/5

[Radioactive Man]

Originally posted by ShadowBun
Likewise, she and Homer were positively sex-crazed throughout the whole thing. It was very odd.

There have been a lot of jokes that have felt odd and weird this season. For one, I didn't need to hear Marge use the phrase "triple x throwdown." I also didn't like the fact that ralph was about to cut off his own finger. I liked the ralph joke up until that point. Another joke from the other episode tonight I did not care for was when it was revealed that Ranier Wolfcastle is apparently an anti semite. These jokes do not ruin the episode for me but I wish they were not included in the episodes. I'm not offended by them or anything they just seem weird because it's The Simpsons.

[pat]

I'm not going to nitpick this episode too much, because it was just meant to be a fun, enjoyable episode, and it was. The episode had some great lines (Grampa's "TLC" line, Grampa's "I'm a legal guardian" line,). The water balloon bit at the beginning was good too, as was the "Miami Vice" homage. Of course, the Flanders opening their credit card bills at the end was an amusing end to the episode. The chase scene, a la "Catch Me if You Can" was outstanding, and the animation involved in it was something never done before, and the animators pulled it off well.

I only had a couple problems: One, I felt the Grampa subplot was unnecessary or could have actually been concluded instead of forgotten about. Two, I was hoping the episode would end at the hotel room when the family decided to sleep there for the night and go back to Springfield tomorrow. Besides that, it pulled off what they set off to create: a fun episode. Because of those two main problems I stated, I lowered the grade, but it was still a respectable B (4/5 on the poll).

Season 15 Rankings:
1. 'Tis the Fifteenth Season A
2. My Mother, the Carjacker A-
3. The President Wore Pearls A-
4. Today, I Am a Klown A-
5. The Wandering Juvie B+
6. My Big Fat Geek Wedding B
7. Catch 'Em If You Can B
8. Margical History Tour B
9. Diatribe of a Mad Housewife B
10. Treehouse of Horror XIV B
11. Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore B-
12. Marge vs. Many, Many People B-
13. The Ziff Who Came to Dinner C
14. Smart and Smarter C
15. The Regina Monologues C
16. Co-Dependant's Day C
17. I, D'oh-bot C-
18. The Fat and the Furriest D
Average: B-

[Jessfrogger88]

Honestly I was expecting to come here and find a ton of terrible reviews and im shocked (and worried) that it is getting such good reviews. I thought it was TERRIBLE 1/5, 1/10, F TERRIBLE. I thought the whole families charcterization was way off. Marge and Homer were jerks and sex fiends. Lisa and Bart were annoying and Lisa was over annoyingly PC Thug. Maggie disappeared mid act. The plot was REDICULAS lets go on the run from our children. Lets leave our eight and ten year old children chasing us through the streets of Miami, Atlantic City etc.. while we go do the nasty. The plot disgusted me and I wish this episode could be erased from the Simpsons history. There were a few good gags like the Miami/old stuff montage, but it does not nearly make up for the horror that was this episode. Probably in my top ten worst episodes ever.

[Spooner]

Originally posted by jsad
There have been a lot of jokes that have felt odd and weird this season. For one, I didn't need to hear Marge use the phrase "triple x throwdown." I also didn't like the fact that ralph was about to cut off his own finger. I liked the ralph joke up until that point. Another joke from the other episode tonight I did not care for was when it was revealed that Ranier Wolfcastle is apparently an anti semite. These jokes do not ruin the episode for me but I wish they were not included in the episodes. I'm not offended by them or anything they just seem weird because it's The Simpsons.

Actually, I thought Ralph wanting to cut off his finger kinda fit his neurotic self. I mean, the leprechaun did tell him to set fires, remember?

[Hockey Mask]

Loved the episode. Reminded me of Season 5-10 stuff. Before the gross-out jokes that offend so many of you.

[Moose of Doom!]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ShadowBun

Outside of Marge, Lisa and Bart were similarly mean-spirited. The water-balloon sequence was great, but everything after that was too over-the-top to be enjoyed. Their obsessive behavior revolving around destroying their parents' time off just feels unjustified and dumb, and a very flimsy reason to travel from place-to-place.

If your parents had lied to you, made you believe they had died (indirectly, but that's not the point), and ran away to an extremely fun and relaxing JUST to get away from you, wouldn't you be mad?

The ending was just too blasted wacky, with Marge and Homer apparently having sex while in the inflated castle (that was quick...and probably hard to do while plummeting over Niagra Falls, of all places).

As wacky as Groundskeeper Willie coming out of nowhere with a video? Or Sting digging a mine to rescue a little boy that publicly humiliated an entire town? Or Mr. Burns bursting into Seussian rhyme? Or Sideshow Bob singing the entire score to H.M.S. Pinafore?

Many of the best Simpsons episodes have endings that can be considered "wacky". Plus the Niagara Falls ending can be considered a reference to a running gag found in several Simpsons books where we see Homer going down the falls during their (SURPISE!) second honeymoon.

[Spooner]

All those examples were contained randomness. They were random, but they tapped you on the shoulder before they punched the face. They were meant to be random. However, with this ending, they didn't try to make it come off as random. Thya attempted (badly) to have it make sense. Marge and (an apparently drunk?) Homer just automatically making teh sex in an inflatable ride after going over Niagra falls... c'mon man.