Rate/Review "Bonfire of the Manatees" (GABF18)

[nico_192]

F 0/5

Horrible, dreadful; after that I honestly wouldn't mind if they cancelled the series now...maybe I'm overreacting, but...

Luckily no Simpsons episode has ever been without a funny moment; even Call of The Simpsons, Bart to The Future, New Kids On The Blecch, and Bart-Mangled Banner managed to get a laugh, and this episode did too (dumb country mouse, can't even count).

Other than that it was terrible. It ripped off a joke from Family Guy (he's not really a bear, he's a tiger) but did a horrible job at it, and the vomiting from Homer and the Manatee was certainly one of the series worst moments.

The plot may have been the worst ever; it was the same basic "Marge & Homer fight and one of them leaves" plot we've seen 300 times before, but this time it was 20x more half-assed than ever before.

One of the 10 worst episodes ever, probably one of the 5 worst.

I too noticed the HORRIBLE rip off of the family guy "broom" gag. Seriously, what were they thinking??? My message to the current batch of simpsons writers "you've tried and failed miserably...the moral here....STOP trying and end the freakin show before BAD episodes outnumber the GOOD ONES'!!

[Bartman3010]

Nothing really stood out to me. Plus it seemed odd that Marge took those box of chocolates and flowers after she said she didnt want them.

Then again, it wasnt Kwik-E-Mart brand, probably.

The Manatees were okay, but they didnt really get into anything about them. Simpsons totally need that two minutes back, it still drives me insane that these episodes are shorter than before. Mirkin put it best saying that its harder to do stories (B stories, onoes, I suck being a geek) It just needed to be more elaborate.

Some of the jokes made me giggle a little, like "Oh the Denvers just won the game" ignoring the football game for ABC to promote their crap. Not much else other than that stands out to me...

Worst Show Ever

C

[Raging Abe Simpson]

I'd like to finish by saying that I don't really hope they cancel the show...(unless the rest of the episodes are going to be this bad of course)

[breadharrity]

Here's the funny and not funny

Funny: All Homer Parts, Couch Gag, Ending.
Not Funny: most of all Marge Parts.

really good jokes

jokes keep it alive. 70%, 3.5, C-

[Kalbelgarion]

I really like Homer in this episode. I liked his naivete and helplessness. Seemed quite in character.

All in all, I liked this episode. 4/5.

[Sarcastic Guy II]

3/5

It was forgettable, but overall I was laughing throughout.

[silent_rob]

Count me among the few who really liked this one.

I thought it had funny jokes throughout, but really liked the stuff with the country cousins (the "My recording studio" was a nice callback to the "My tool shed" line from a previous episode), Fat Tony, the ending and some of the stuff with the manatees.
I also dug the way Alec Baldwin was used without taking over the episode (and had a funny mean streak w/ eating the manatee).

Also, yeah, the plot's been done before but I like the way they made references to that in the episode.

4/5

[Nowhere_Man]

4/5 I thought it was pretty good and funny, but where was Maggie when Homer, Bart and Lisa went to their cousins house in the country?

[JHutch]

agree with most...boring plot some funny moments. 2.5/5

[Homer Jay]

Even though it means that the episode is shorter than usually, there is something nice about seeing the full opening sequence. Also, with the long couch gag and the shortened length of the show overall left me wondering if this is shortest episode in terms of running time ever.

The opening episode with the parody of the network promotion and reality tv shows was great, but the rest of the first act wasn’t that good. I didn’t like involving the mob or the snuggle flim, and the trip to Santa’s Village produced few laughs.

Everyone’s reactions to Marge leaving were pretty good, but having Homer call Moe and their interactions weren’t particularly funny and really took away from the better story that was happening later in the episode. Marge explaining what will happen was great but the next part of the episode was the worst part. I didn’t find the Baldwin character particularly funny, although Marge was characterized pretty well in those scenes. Homer tracking Marge down had its moments but I thought that he was dumbed down too much in some of the scenes.

Homer staying with his cousins had some great moments but it could have been better used in another episode. I did like the little twist of having Marge staying was good, as was having Homer saving the Manatees, although him provoking the gang was typical of the problems that show still has. In the older days, the scene would have ended after Homer saving them. The scene with Burns and Smithers at the end would have been better if they didn’t know that it was a manatees posing as Homer and thought it was just him.

By the way, where was Maggie? This is becoming a chronic problem.

B-, there had to have been better episodes to start the season than this one.

[Wasteland]

("Marge, does the pizza guy take a check, and if so, where are the checks, and also, how do you write checks?")

This aggrivated the hell out of me. We all know that Homer, no matter how retarded he is, can write a check (he has done so in almost every season). That had to be the most uninformed joke that I have ever heard on this show. This is why I am calling for the firing of Dan Greaney.

[Wavy Gravy]

I too noticed the HORRIBLE rip off of the family guy "broom" gag. Seriously, what were they thinking??? My message to the current batch of simpsons writers "you've tried and failed miserably...the moral here....STOP trying and end the freakin show before BAD episodes outnumber the GOOD ONES'!!

I'd hardly call the bear/tiger gag a ripoff of the man/woman/horse/broom gag from "Family Guy". I could understand your thinking if the bear became two different animals, followed by an inanimate object.

I really think that there are far too many people who are determined to prove that "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" are doing nothing but ripping each other off.

[Charmy]

That was just... meh.

Nothing special. A few laughs here and there (I have to admit I enjoyed Homer being tortured by the mob, though I don't know why), a plot that's just sort of boring... there's really nothing of interest to speak of here. Nothing bad, either... it's just sort of nothing.

For that, it gets a B, and it should be happy with it.

[Mira]

I too noticed the HORRIBLE rip off of the family guy "broom" gag. Seriously, what were they thinking???

Those jokes were actually totally different. The Family Guy one was making fun of how talk shows always have "I'm not the gender you though I was" shows and exxagerating it. The joke on The Simpsons was making fun of the way "surpirses" on reality shows are always something insignificant that doesn't make a difference... having a tiger rather than a bear for example.

[%$#fg#@%&*aaZ__t]

THAT EPISODE SUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The SIMPSONS ARE REALLY PISSING ME OFF LATELY!!!!!!!!!!

[Harbinger]

It was alright.

3/5

It at least had some actual plot unlike most of last season.

[Hooray For Everything!]

Although the plot line was a little lacking, there were several jokes that made me want to wet myself. Anyone who doesn't think Fahrenheit 9-on-1 is hilarious is a square.

I don't believe in grading episodes, but I will say this: it has my personal seal of approval.

[pat]

last two or three minutes was pretty entertaining. besides that, boring as hell. only thing that really, really made me laugh was homer asking if the pizza guy takes checks, where the checks are, and how to write a check. not really that great of an episode overall.

2/5

[nico_192]

That was just... meh.

Nothing special. A few laughs here and there (I have to admit I enjoyed Homer being tortured by the mob, though I don't know why), a plot that's just sort of boring... there's really nothing of interest to speak of here. Nothing bad, either... it's just sort of nothing.

For that, it gets a B, and it should be happy with it.

for that it gets a B???....lmao
So you give all episodes B's that dont have ANYTHING amusing? Come on, sympathy votes just arent cool.

[%$#fg#@%&*aaZ__t]

i didnt get any of the spoofs that were supposedly said in this ep

[Mira]

One thing that clearly threw it off was the timing and anticipation. A lot of the reactions were just akward and ruined the humor. When Homer kept complimenting uh... Manatee Guy he just kept going and stopped really quick, it was weird. There were a few other moments like that where it just seem like the actors didn't connect right or something.

[%$#fg#@%&*aaZ__t]

Yes I can agree on that. seriously, when was the last time someone actually laughed at a simpsons episode???

[Patches O'houlihan]

I didn't pay attention to the plot since the "Homer and Marge have a marital problem" as been reused so much, but for every good/clever joke/line there seemed to be a bad one.

BEST JOKE: "Our Dogs are brothers."
WORST " : Home vs. the Jetskiers

2.5 / 3, so I'll round up.

[Number 10767]

This episode regurgitated that same old "Homer does something irresponsible, Marge gets really mad, but everything's okay in the end" story we've seen a million times and tried to convince us it was different by having Homer and Marge both allude to the fact that it has happened in so many episodes before. Not enough for me. If it actually was different, I'd be more willing to accept it, but instead we get another lame, thrown-together, all-over-the-place plot. A few good jokes though, such as Homer being prejudiced against his cousins, and the car wash sequence.

I'm not convinced the bear / tiger joke was stolen from Family Guy, but I am curious why they used almost the exact same "outhouse" joke that Grampa did in Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 2.

Grade: 2/5

[Semaj]

I really think that there are far too many people who are determined to prove that "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" are doing nothing but ripping each other off.

That got old some time ago, even before some started saying "FG got old".

[thrilling bargains]

not awful, but certainly not great.

i really enjoyed all the talk of "rubes."

3/5

[Charmy]

for that it gets a B???....lmao
So you give all episodes B's that dont have ANYTHING amusing? Come on, sympathy votes just arent cool.

On the contrary, I found several things amusing. My comments about there being "nothing" were really an exaggeration.

Is it just me, or have people been having trouble spotting exaggeration lately?

Anyway, there were several funny bits in the episode, even if they weren't spectacular, and there wasn't really anything that was bad, so yes, I would say that's about a B.

[grissom]

Sort of mixed for me, the ending was hilarious though. B-

[Snack Related Mishap]

*May Contain Spoilers*

Now it is time for . . . My Opinion Which Nobody Gives Two Shits About!

Plot and Pacing:
Okay, first is first, this episodes central plot, Marge/Homer marriage troubles, is disgustingly overused. I feel that, although I have liked many of the episode in the past with this plot, it is like beating a dead horse. It is time to move on from these stories because they are really just not new anymore.It follows the same events of every episode like this one, Homer does something stupid, Marge gets angry, says it is the worst thing Homer has ever done, and she leaves; then Homer does something really caring to win her back. I wanted to scream at the end at Marge saying, "How many fucking times does he have to show he is a devoted husband. He has already proved it maybe 5,000 fucking times!" Marge must have suffered some damage to the hippocampus a few season back because she just ain't understandin' this. That having been said, I actually liked the plot device of the Manatee. I think it was the one unique factor brought to this show, which attracted me. Had this been an episode just centered around Marge finding love for taking care of Manatees, I think it could have turned out much better, well, providing they had a sub plot as well.

The pacing really wasn't a problem for this episode. I felt it was paced decently and didn't have any reall porblems there. I did, however, get a vibe that they were desperately short when they made this episode, thus the almost full opening, longer couch gag, and the strange Manatee ending with Mr. Burns and Smithers. That was just fucked up!

Voice Acting/Directing/(Characterizations)*:
Voice Acting: I don't know about anyone else, but Moe and Homer's voices sounded off for some reason this episode. Maybe it is just from watching too many season six episodes this summer, but they sounded weird. I thought that besides that there were so good performances on the part of the actors, though marge's sounded a bit strained. I actually feel, probably unlike other on this board, that Alec Baldwin voiced well.

Direction: This was a pretty average episode with directing not really amazing or bad, but rather squarely in the middle. I did however notice that the model for fat tony and marge seemed to look a bit diffeent to me, but my eyes are really awful right now, so it is probably just me.

Humor:
Well, even though the show was lacking a lot of things, it certainly did fullfill itself in the humor department for me. Although, the point from homer baring to the credits really annoyed me and was a cringeworthy moment imo, the rest of the episode was funny. I especially like the chalkboar . . . wait, what is that you say, a chalkboard? Shit! Anyway, I thought the opening was good, and the episode was pretty funny. I especially liked the reality shoe bit at the beginning. I think my favorite part had to be the dilema Marge porposed.

Final Thoughts
While, this episode was a very funny one imo, the plot was lame, and the direction and acting were nothing special. I particularly liked how they included a couch gag and chalkboard, but that still didn't make it up. I am kind of dissapointed, but this episode was much better than I expected, and this doesn't mean we will see a horrible rest of the season. I just hope they stop using these Homer/Marge problems episodes, and then I would celebrate by adding chocolate to milk!

MY EPISODE RATING: 6/10

* This category will only be mentioned if I feel there are out of characters moments for certain people

[Dr. Wily]

I was expecting more from a season opener. I got a few light chuckles but overall this episode was a bunch of nothing with some manatees thrown in for no reason. We have seen Marge get mad at Homer too many times, and you'd think they could've come up with something just saying "I'm sorry" and giving her flowers. Maybe I'm just spoiled from watching so many season 6 episodes on dvd lately.

2/5