R&R: Faith Off

[IAMHOMER]

Just saw this episode for the first time this evening, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. It has a flow to it not unlike most golden era episodes, a great musical number, and for once everyone is nicely in character. I also liked the feeling of continuity with Homer revisiting Springfield University and meeting up again with the nerds from Homer Goes to College. Even the seemingly far-fetched premise of Bart becoming a faith-healer was tackled reasonably realistically (as Lisa pointed out, the metal bucket only came off Homer's head because the bright light caused it to expand, and as Bart was called on as a last resort to cure Anton Lubchenko, at least there wasn't the kind of of cop-out miracle solution that I was initially dreading, like when super Maggie saves Homer from drowning in Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder).

Of course, it wouldn't be Scully if we didn't have to suffer the typically tasteless scene of Lubchenko's broken leg coming off and the fans using it as a victory souvenir with blood dripping out of it, and the somewhat lame ending of Dr Hibbert oddly still believing in Bart's healing powers. So unfortunately my rating had to go down a grade or two because of these flaws.

But anyway, it's a B- for me. Best Season 11 episode IMO after THOH X, Days of Wines and D'ohses and Behind the Laughter and a rare beacon of light in an otherwise murky sea of poor to mediocre episodes.

[Semaj]

Coulda been better.

3/5

[brody]

Sorry, but any episode where someones leg flies off is not good.

[Mister Cheech]

Sorry, but any episode where someones leg flies off is not good.

I told that idiot to slice my sandwich!

[qwertyuio]

I told that idiot to slice my sandwich!

Not the best example IMO .

About this episode, there wasn't anything considerably bad apart from that flying leg (which I find disgusting), but anyway it was pretty worthless and disappointing. I had great hopes for the premise, in fact Bart as a quack doctor could make a very good development, but in the end the storyline felt dull and lacked interest. Yes, it had some good jokes here and there, but it wasn't exactly what I would call a gagfest. Apart from that, Homer was slightly unbearable here, the ending was rushed and Testify didn't catch me. Not a bad episode at all according to season 11 standards but it was flawed and forgettable. 5.5/10

[Mira]

I really didn't have any problems with this episode besides the things that happened at the football game, most moments before that were good. I thought Brother Faith was a funny character, Bart's song was good, showing Homer driving from his POV was hilarious and that cow college exchange was great, Lenny's expression made that one of the best lines ever.

[Green_Peaness]

Oh god, I had no memory of this and just watched it. Very bad episode!

This episode features one of the worst-ever characterizations of Homer, and gets my vote for all-time worst characterization of Lisa...and Dr. Hibbert. Lisa's character is just a more stereotypical, less dynamic version of what it was in "Lisa the Skeptic" imo. This episode, especially after the first act, just feels like a long sequence of the lamest Scullyesque adolescent/cheap jokes you could imagine, and some of them are especially cringe-worthy. The drill-in-the-eye gag was not only disgusting, it was very predictable. Lenny's line, "You're only calling it a cow college because it was founded by a cow" is very lame. But then there's a several-second pause that only makes the lameness of the line sink in! Worst of all, I got the impression that the writers enjoyed writing this. It's an episode that's proud to be lame.

All in all, this episode is a big crapfest that climaxes (in terms of story and lameness) with the severed leg being revealed. I laughed one time, though I'm not sure why, at Homer whining "I wanna see the freaks." But that wasn't a very memorable moment anyway, so here's my grade:

F

[Bella Drape 'er]

Oh god, I had no memory of this and just watched it.

Same. I had to look back on what I had just watched via snpp. The college scenes were quite tacky, going back to see the nerds, although welcome like I said it felt tacky.

The episode was quite amusing in act 2 and 3, I liked how Bart's healing powers had to be confronted in the final act, I knwo they have recyled this story method in later episodes, but it was quite slickly done with care in this episode.

B- (6/10)

[DotheBartman]

I wouldn't go as far as Fuzzy, but I'm not quite getting the praise either. Honestly, this one just seems like typical season eleven shit to me. Not notably dreadful in the way the very worst are (Kill the Alligator and Run, Treehouse of Horror X, Bart to the Future, The Mansion Family), but just plain bad and unmemorable. The story is too silly and directionless, Homer is too "Captain Wacky" as always, and the gags are inconsistant at best. The song is good, but nothing else about this episode really stands out in any way. C-/D+

[Corkus]

I am seriously going to hell for laughing at the leg flying off to win the game. I mean, in my mind, I knew it was a horrible, horrible gag. That said, the episode still hardly had any redeeming qualities to it. The song was actually pretty good, I must say, and the first act is a pleasant throwback to "Homer Goes to College". Otherwise, everything else blows.

D+/C-

[Imperciph]

Very forgettable episode. I would like to review it, but I have forgotten everything except that god-awful ending of the leg flying off to win the the game and some typical season 11 Captain Wacky behaviour. So it gets a C-.

Is it just me or is IAMHOMER getting lenient on the Scully Era? He gave "Tennis The Menace" and "Faith Off" same grades he gave to "Itchy and Scratchy :The Movie".

[IAMHOMER]

Sorry to sound pedantic, but I actually gave Tennis the Menace a C+ (lowered on second viewing from a B-/B) and Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie a B.

The thing is though, I rated those two Scully episodes you mentioned at a time when Channel 4 are currently showing nothing but Season 11 and 12 episodes, whereas I reviewed Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie during a run of episodes from Seasons 2 to 5. And I don't know about you, but when you're watching mostly dross that is a chore rather than a pleasure to sit through, your standards do tend to slip a bit. Also, while I'm not defending the Scully years in any way, the Scully Simpsons is in a very different style to the classic era Simpsons, it's almost like watching a different show. So I tend to adjust my grades accordingly.

Anyway, Faith Off is one of only 6 or 7 Scully episodes that I rate above a C+, so I wouldn't say I'm being more lenient than most.

Also while I'm still in pedantic mode did you mean to give this episode a 6/10 on the poll?

[Imperciph]

Nope, my finger slipped. I just awoke from sleep and found this poll and sleepily voted for 6/10 . I wanted to vote on 5/10.

I was just kidding: I knew you were grading on a curve.

[Veryjammy]

Yeah I watched this last night and it was pretty bad, but the first time I saw it I thought it was ok. I think when you're ploughing your way through Scully for the first time, anything which vaguely resembles the classic era suddenly seems very good, even if it does still have a lot of his flaws. And especially when you see the Jean era afterwards, you realise things didn't have to be this way, not to mention that once the novelty of seeing a new episode has worn off, I think the Scully episodes generally hold up very poorly.

This episode isn't without its moments but after Bart's song it goes to Hell, and even before that it was hardly a rib-tickler. I think jamming Fat Tony in there for all of 1 minutes is incredibly lazy and that leg scene is just ugh. C-

[grissom]

D+
Really bad episode. I haven't seen it in a while, but from what I remember I don't think I want to ever see it again.

[Postmaster]

Yeah I can see this episode getting some credit for some vauge attempts at satrising something but it's still not very good, I watched it again too and Homer was a lot more annoying than I remember goes down to a D+ from a C-.

[Art_Vandelay]

From what I remember, I really detest this episode.

D-

[Reverend Lovejoy]

Could be worse, could be better. That's my opinion.

[California Prunes]

For most part it wasn't the typical Scully cringeworthy stuff, however it was simply bland and yawn inducing which is sometimes just as bad. Just above average by season 11 standards, well below for the series as a whole. C/C-

[simplysimpsons]

Used to give it a B but now it's a C. It's okay, I guess, but the build up has too much stupid Homer characterisation (and salting Flanders' garden was pure jerkass). The middle part is better, but the ending drops down again with that gross out leg scene which I really do not like. They could and should have done something else in the third act, but this *is* season 11.

[Mike Scully]

I quite liked the first 2 acts; most of the gags made me laugh/smile, and the song was pretty well-done. However, act 3 was very very weak and pointless. What annoyed me most was that the plot development with Milhouse getting run over was mostly forgotten to make way for the Homer subplot, and the leg flying off made it oh-so-obvious the writers didn't know how to conclude the story. C+

[Whip-Smart]

Pretty dull episode, story goes nowhere and has only one or two funny moments. C-

[Sprocketeer]

Like a lot of Season 11 episodes, it starts of decent, and even stays decent for quite some time, but then morphs into something ridiculous. The song is the exact point where things take a turn for the worse, with a very poor use of Fat Tony. Some early-episode chuckles save this one.

2.5/5

[Moe Nopoly]

I don't mind episodes or stories with a religious topic, but this one isn't so good imo.
It has some good moments, but in a way i just don't enjoy this episode in whole.

2/5

[Mr Johannson]

I don't really remember much from this episode. Nothing really stands out. The song was okay, and there were some funny moments, but for the most part it's just bland.
The drill to the eye is much worse than the leg falling off. I cringe every time.
C

[ThatAsianGuy]

C, typical Skully crap.

[Roger Wilco]

Though the first act is very weak the rest is pretty decent.
B

[Swartzwelder]

Kudos to Don Cheadle for his performance which was pretty solid and to Alf Clausen. The lyrics to "Testify" could've been so much better, but Alf made the song so damn catchy anyway. Such an underappreciated part of the show.

Other than that, a couple laughs but nothing else.

[Dental Plan!]

Wow, very surprised to learn that Frank Mula, writer of I Love Lisa and The Last Temptation Of Homer, wrote this one. Having said that, I still think it's above average for a season 11 episode. 3.5/5.

[Dylan]

woo scully you suck!

3/10