R&R: Beyond Blunderdome

[smileybunny94]

It was OKAY. More of a 2/5 really.

Hmmmm.
Come to think of it
It's kinda bad. More of OKAY to Bad.

[The Governor]

In my top 10 worst episode list.

1/5.

I wonder how much dick Scully had to suck to get Gibson on.

[Mr Black]

Considering season 11, it's a highlight. It's a stupid 20 minutes of off the wall fun with mel gibson doing a pretty good performance and a lot of pretty good gangs

- the dog with shifty eyes
- homer editing the film
- the re-make
- the chase

but the whole travolta flying a jet down a road was a bit too stupid. Nothing too offensive really, pretty good episode in season 11.

C+

[amr diab]

one of my favorites, people only hate it because they hate mel gibson

[Nauru-1]

I'm downgrading my vote to a 2/5 (D-). Most of the episode is actually, quite frankly, a mess IMO. I actually didn't think Gibson did a bad job as a guest voice playing himself for 22 minutes, and the odd gag worked (the ending with the dog was arguably the best part of the episode), but for the most part Beyond Blunderdome contained a lot of the biggest problems of the era. Homer is the obnoxious centre, plot is lazy and tangent-driven, and low-brow jokes aplenty.

[Financial Panther]

What is the 3-handed Homer thing? Could somebody explain it to me? Or show a picture?

[Rens11]

3/5 slightly above average for season 11 imo and the joke after running over "Mel oh no wait he's a dummy" "I know but he sells tickets......." gets me everytime

[Jesse Pinkman]

^ i like that line, but the 6-7 seconds of awkward silence was retarded {before anyone says something like "wow... it was 6 seconds", you have to admit it was pretty stupid}

[Squeaky Voiced Teen]

It was an alright episode. It was an episode with not alot of rewatch value but I won't change the channel if I see it on tv. B-

[SIR oinks alot]

mel gibson does a great job in a mediocre episode potraying mel in a mediocre way.

pure mediocrity aside from some decent hollywood references.

2/5

[Bella Drape 'er]

This is like promising a half-decent movie, because of the big name star...

And then it's Gigli

1/5

[mmm...forum]

This is one of the most boring episodes I've ever seen. I laughed once (maybe)

F

[Rens11]

^ i like that line, but the 6-7 seconds of awkward silence was retarded {before anyone says something like "wow... it was 6 seconds", you have to admit it was pretty stupid}

Yeah I agree the pause was a little bit too long though still a pretty good joke for season 11

[The Wiggs]

This episode, as with most of season 11, really is not that great. At best this could be considered average, but I'm not a fan. 2/5

[hammster]

I'm just gunna get this out of the way at the start of my review... I enjoy this episode. The main reason for this is that quiet simply it's a riot. It's hilarious. I'm not going to lie as it is obviously flawed and it doesn't feel like the classic era show at all but as a piece of television it's very funny.

But this is the Simpsons! And it does suffer from some problems. The first of which is that it isn't really very Simpsonsy... Allow me to elaborate on this meaningless statement. What classic era the Simpsons did well was be hilarious at the same time as telling a relatively down to earth story. This doesn't do that second thing at all. In some ways it's more like family guy...

However, I do get enjoyment from Family Guy and this episode is no different. I laugh frequently when watching this. The remake, the shifty eyes dog and that dummy thing are all laugh out loud funny.

I suppose what I'm saying is that this would be a good funny episode of any other cartoon but it isn't The Simpsons. Nonetheless I enjoy it. So I give it a 4/5. Fun episode.

Note: I hate Mel Gibson so I decided not to praise his outstanding performance at all simply out of spite.

[The Governor]

I suppose what I'm saying is that this would be a good funny episode of any other cartoon but it isn't The Simpsons. Nonetheless I enjoy it. So I give it a 4/5. Fun episode.

Just like the past 11 seasons have been "Fun"?

Oddly, Mel Gibson has turned into a bigger jerkass than Scully could dream of making Homer.

[hammster]

Just like the past 11 seasons have been "Fun"?

Oddly, Mel Gibson has turned into a bigger jerkass than Scully could dream of making Homer.

Firstly, no.

Secondly, lol.

[Dehumanizer]

Just got done watching this episode for the first time in a long time. There were a lot of good jokes in the first couple acts, but the third act was overall sort of a mess. The remake portion of the movie was funny and over the top, which is the way a lot of action type movies are. Great parody of action movie sequences. I enjoyed it, but the third act brought it down a bit. The producers were sort of funny, and there were a couple good jokes with them. The dummy Mel Gibson being ran over multiple times was funny, and the joke that followed was gold.

Nothing in this episode felt truly terribly, just lazy, but it was enjoyable. It was flawed in the sense that the story was just rushed, not developed hardly at all, and there was not much substance to the story. Though, as I mentioned, there were a lot of good jokes/gags, and while it felt like a clusterfuck, it was hilarious. If there were not a lot of good jokes and funny moments, I would give it a 'D' rating; but I laughed too many times to rate it that low. I can forgive the lazy execution of the plot due to the pure hilarity of it.

Overall Rating: C (3/5)

[MargeSimpson]

With the shifty eyed dog i could forgive anything, luckily i enjoyed this episode quite a bit.

Gibson: You want me to replace the villain with a dog? I mean nobody will know what's going on.

Homer: They will if you set up that the dog is evil. All you do is have to show him doing this. (lowers eyelids and glances around in shifty-eyed fashion) The people will suspect the dog.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Season 11 begins with a Homer and friends wacky half-hour! This time, after destroying a car and presumably killing two people and much marine life, Homer wins movie tickets to see the new Mel Gibson film. He naturally hates it and Mel inexplicably cares about his opinion over everyone else so he takes him to Hollywood to "fix" the movie. He adds several atrocities and he and Mel are chased down by producers ending with Homer being hit by a car and getting his ass stuck in it. The movie somehow manages to see the light of day regardless and is hated by all so Gibson finally dumps Homer as a shifty-eyed dog ends the wackiness!

Yeah I've never really cared for this episode. Homer flips from pure jerk-ass to just obnoxious very frequently. His response to Gibson at the door, "And I've been looking for you" seems to point this out rather nicely. I actually think Gibson gives a fairly decent performance here....but he doesn't belong as the center of a Simpsons episode. The rest of the family is basically filler in this one and really aren't worth mentioning. Despite not really enjoying this one I did like two things: Homer's tacked on appearance in the actual movie was so over the top I couldn't help but laugh. The shifty-eyed dog set-up and payoff was also good. Aside from those two things I guess there were a few grin-worthy moments but not enough for me to give this anymore than a 2/5 which is probably being too kind.


As a sidenote I kinda find it interesting that this episode involves Homer and Mel Gibson trying to save a horrible movie while the first Family Guy episode after the series' revival involves Peter and Lois trying to destroy a horrible movie and being chased by Mel Gibson. Anyway not a great start for Season 11.

[cloneasaurus]

I think this is another example of how the Scully era pretty much works as a pure comedy show made for casual viewing, but pales in comparison with the classic era. Because this episode wasn't unfunny (it did have Marge farting, one of the worst jokes ever, though), and it's rapid fire execution of gags feels like it's straight out of the Mirkin era, something that the newer seasons can't boast. Another thing to note is that, while the way it mocked Gibson and those who mindlessly love action films etc. was hardly the height of satire, it was still there. There was still some kind of bite to the show, even if it was in the form of Homer going on a wacky adventure with Mel Gibson. And this still felt like a full episode with good, snappy pacing, another thing the newer seasons completely fail at embarrassingly often.

But this is still a Scully episode, and there are flaws that I can't help but mention. Homer was very much on a sugar high here, and could also be quite annoying at points. It wasn't his worst appearance, but there were still moments where I sorta tired of his groany attire and boorishness, claiming to 'own' Marge. And the plot, whilst entertaining due to the typical fast pace of Scully, was incredibly wacky and pointless; ultimately this prevents the episode from being any more than 'good', even if the odd moment was funny.

These are flaws I would put more emphasis on, but recently I find myself taking a much more casual view of the show. And casual viewing hinges mostly on humour, and this episode at least provided some (even if it had significant flaws). This episode is just further evidence, to my mind, that the Scully years pale heavily in comparison to the classic era, but at least can still be sorta entertaining, if wacky, forgettable-ish, and slightly brainless.

So - not great, but okay.

C/C+ 3/5

[Les_Wynan]

5/5

A really fun and hilarious episode, best of a pretty shite season, I am a big fan of Mel Gibson and his movies, despite the hypocritical overreaction to 'Sugar Tits-Gate' and he really put in a great performance, least he's not one of those celebrities too snooty to take themselves seriously.

I also love Jimmy Stewart movies and the remake of Mr Smith goes to Washington is hilarious, love the fact the President of the USA is decapitated, In my mind, I always pretend its George W Bush

In short, a bona fide classic

[Prune Tracy]

What is the 3-handed Homer thing? Could somebody explain it to me? Or show a picture?