R&R Maximum Homerdrive

[HMS pinafore]

Not perfect but an underated, one of the better scully episode

[alex_on_ice]

Yeah, you're absolutely right HMS pinafore. This episode from Season 10 is largely underrated. Personally it has always been one of my favorite episodes in Season 10 and I know a lot of the french simpsons fans really love this episode (on The Simpsons Park forum many of the members consider it to be the best of Season 10. At least when I was there).

I love the atmosphere at the beginning of the episode with Homer and his family who go out to a restaurant. And I love the whole competition between that truck driver who is able to eat huge steaks and Homer who's trying to show he's better.

But the whole idea of having truck drivers not needing to drive their trucks because of a new machine is wonderful. The scene where Homer and Bart are sitting on the trucks windshield is hilarious!

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Season 10 continues when Homer become a trucker! Lisa tells the family she's protesting a new steakhouse and Homer insists they eat there. While there he ends up challenging a trucker named Red to an eating contest. Red wins, but dies of food poisoning. Homer, feeling bad for indirectly causing his death, takes it upon himself to ensure the man's last delivery arrives in Atlanta, with Bart tagging along. Meanwhile Marge and Lisa decide to find a doorbell for the house.

While on the road Homer and Bart get into wacky shenanigans. Marge and Lisa get their doorbell but it won't stop and ends up keeping the entire town awake. Homer nearly kills himself and Bart but inadvertently discovers the truck has been installed with a machine that can drive it without the trucker needing to do anything. He is told by other truckers to keep this a secret but can't help but blab. In response the other truckers try to forcefully silence him but he manages to make it to Atlanta anyway and plans to take a train home with Bart. Meanwhile the doorbell problem is solved by Senor Ding-Dong himself as the episode ends.

Overall I don't think this is a terrible episode but its pretty mediocre. I actually like most of the first act up until Homer just decides to drive the truck without consulting Marge at all. That's when Homer become pretty damn stupid for the remainder of the episode. The steakhouse set piece provides several solid laughs involving Mr. Burns and Tony Randall. But once Homer is on the road he gets pretty unlikable. From planning to divorce Marge and live in a diner to testing out the machine he just learned of by trying to run down a woman he is just really a jerkass. The Lisa and Marge subplot hardly needs to be mentioned at all as it really is just there to take up time, although I guess the very end was alright. Not much else to say really, I don't think this is anywhere near the worst episode of the show, or of this season for that matter, but it isn't even average, 2/5.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

Why couldn't the sub-plot deal with Lisa petitioning to close down the steakhouse (Something that would have been at least a tiny bit relevant to the plot) and not about her and Marge looking for a new doorbell...

[The Governor]

Because this episode was written in the era when the writers really began to believe in their own brain vomit of "its a cartoon! It doesn't have to make sense!". The writers were like: "shit, making sense is too much work! Mike--let's go on autopilot and...hey, I just thought of joke with Homer, a semi and the spice girls and a panda...nah, we'll save the panda for later."

I know some of you have this internal dialog when you read these reviews:b-but it is a cartoon. H-Homer is such a funny fat guy I don't know s-someone can't like him. me laugh. he's funny!"

1. Shut up.

2. This is the attitude that's produced the horrid episodes since season ten, which means about 80% of them. If appealing to the lowest common denominator had a dick, Scully would put on a skirt and be going down on the Lowest ComDom faster than a Thai hooker: "Oh, Al, stop making puns! This is great you've got to try this!". It's not like Mike's fooling anyone with that three-days growth of stubble in all his photos, he's a girl.

[Stupid Like a Fox]

I agree to a lot of stuff that Jake is saying ^

3/5, I've seen this episode numerous times and it has a few good laughs. But still, as stated before. The plot just isn't believable.

My favorite:
"And for a drink?"
H:hmm, meatballs
"Excellent choice, sir"

[Lionel Hutz]

(2 birds with one stone. An episode review and an Episode Club review)
Average season 10 outing.
It's a pretty typical Scully episode, with flourishes of Mirkin thrown in (the speech by the trucker at the end, the Jehovahs Witnesses, Homer being distracted by the squirrel).
I can remember seeing the premiere of this one and thinking it was pretty good, but not particularly memorable. Not much has changed.
The b-story is actually one of my favourite Scully ones.

Best Quotes:

Marge: You still haven't told us why Lenny bit you.
Homer: Well, I really gave him no choice. You see-

Mr. Burns: I think I'll take ... Oooh that one.
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: No, he's a bit listless, isn't he? Give me..Oooh, that spirited fellow!
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: He didn't put up much of a fight. Why don't you pick one for me
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: On second thought, I'll just have a glass of milk, from THAT cow.
Mooooo!

Homer: What's happening to me? There's still food, but I don't want to eat it. I've become everything I've ever hated!

Dr. Hibbert: This man is dead. Look's to me like meat poisoning .. probably from some other restaurant.

Bart: I want to go with ya, Dad!
Homer: Don't you have school?
Bart: Don't you have work?
Homer: Ah, touche

Marge:.. Lisa you ought to be a doorbell salesman.
Gil: Ah, that's just what I need, another piranha in the tank.

Jehovah's Witness Noreen: Wait, Marlon, I just had a thought. Maybe we're bothering people by trying to change their religion. What if we don't have all the answers?
Jehovah's Witness Marlon: You're right, Noreen. Let's go get real jobs.
Marge: Umm, I would have feigned interest.

Trucker 1: Then we'll have to teach our friend some discretion.
Trucker 2: Yeah, just like we did to Jimmy Hoffa.
Trucker 1: Hey, shut up!

Lisa: Mom, I need to get some sleep. I have a test tomorrow in birds suddenly appear-I mean English.

Senor Ding Dong: Does anyone have any jumper cables .. Oh, you stinking Chevy!

Highlights include the Tony Randall references, the heimlich machine, Homer's hallucination(lousy drunks, I'll show them!), the "truck driving music", Homer pulling his horn(Lousy punk!), Marge and Lisa's unsuccessful attempts at a doorbell ring, Homer and Bart at the drive-in(It ate Everybody, Stupid), The Gassy Knoll, Homer being distracted by the squirrel, and the Autotron bailing out.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

In a twist, I used to very much dislike this one, but now I've come around to appreciate it thanks to @zach during the Weekly Simpsons thing. 4/5.

[zach]

aww...that makes me think about joining the club again.
























nah.