R&R Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily

[Sprocketeer]

Homer: "Oh Bartholamew, I feel just like St. Augustine of Hippo after his conversion by Ambrose of Milan."
Ned: "What did you just say?"
Homer: "I said shut your ugly face, Flanders!"

Now HERE'S a great episode, complete with some of the best Ned characterization in the series. Yes, he's a religious nut here, but not in the negative pushy jerk sense we've seen under Jean. Definite 5/5

[Snaked]

I never cared for the episode until recently to which I consider it to be top notch compared to the crap of the later years. Funny gags and such and the characters, especially Bart and Lisa, were all characterized properly to the point you could actually feel their pain and just how the episode felt completely natural. "Daddy, what's that red stuff coming out of kitty's ear?", LOL.

5/5

[Rowdy Roddy Peeper]

One of the greatest episodes of any sitcom of all time. Consistantly funny from the start, had one of the strongest stories the show had, as well as the emotional pull to make you really care for the characters.

For any aspiring comedy writers (The current writers) i suggest you study this episode.

[MILPOOL...]

"Mr. Simpson would you pl-"

"SHUUUTUP JUDGE!"

[D'ohmer]

This episode isn't bad, but I find it kind of dull. I like the plot, but I find the humor to be average for Simpsons standards (which is still good) and I think it has forced emotion. Overall, good, but not very original/special (IMO). B-/B

[Old painty-can Ned]

A really good episode but it is no where near the best episode of season 7 let alone of the entire series. solid B+

[Kid Moe]

Fantastic episode A+

[qwertyuio]

Just an amazing episode. There's no possible way to explain its greatness in a better way than TerwilligerBob did. And, as if that wasn't enough, any other point I could make has been largely mentioned in this thread.

This is simply one of the best blends of character-driven humor, real emotion and actual plot tension ever written. Such an awe-inspiring, funny, heartwarming gem. Everything you need in a Simpsons episode is here, and it's literally flawless. A classic, which comes quite close to my top20; it will probably join it in reviews. 10/10

That's Bart's ring!

[Mr.]

FANTASTIC EPISODE!!!!!!!!
Great plot, jokes are great (Flanders - Do you reject satan? Homer - Noooooooo!!!!!) and some very sweet moments.

One of best episodes of all time!!!!

[LittleMissLisaSimpson]

A great season 7 episode. I really enjoyed this episode so much 5/5

[Blobulle]

5/5 A Very good episode of the season 7.
"Now Maggie you're a Simpson again !"
"Buuurp !"

[Nothing127]

Funny...good story.....I loved it! It also featured one of Flanders funniest lines....

[The Governor]

Maggie turning her head and saying: "Daddily-Doodily" has to be the best funniest Maggie moment, ever!

[Alone With My Art]

The first "The Simpsons" episode I watched. Memorable, 5/5. I loved the entire premise, and there were several solid jokes in there, as well as tender moments and a strong plot. My favorite lines were "Marge! There's a spider next to my car keys!", "Daddy, should I poke holes with a sharp thing like the mouse did?" and "I love you Cletus!" Great episode!

[Toomanygrandmas]

I'm glad there was an option for 'best episode ever' in the poll, because in my opinion, 'Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily' is. It's just so very good. The story is simple, with no unecessary scenes that drag. The characters are likeable, and there are some genuinely emotional scenes as we see

Despite the serious, down-to-Earth nature of some scenes, this episode is definitely a funny one. In the first act, Homer's aquisition of the spa tickets, where he pretends to be a rich count is hilarious. I love the line about him also being able to afford a train. Funny too, were the events that led to the child welfare agents being led to believe that the Simpsons kids were living in a squalid hellhole. There were other scenes that made me laugh in the first act, but I don't want the review to drag. The second had some great moments too. Upon my most recent rewatch of this episode, I found myself laughing out loud at the Itchy and Scratchy short, which happens rarely. Oh, and 'Extra, Extra, Todd Smells' was great. So was Grandpa's 'Oh, bitch, bitch, bitch!'. The parenting class provided some funny moments, especially later one, in the scene where Homer and Cletus embrace - unexpected but hilarious. One of my favourite moments in the second act is the 'saxamaphone' moment. It was nice to see that Homer also used the same word in 'Lisa's Sax'. The third act, was probably funniest. 'Bible Bombardment' was great, especially Bart guessing that the answer was Jesus. I found Lovejoy somehow understanding Ned's babbling into the phone funny, too. The last moment that really made me laugh is Homer reasoning that Ned would be at the Springfield River by imitating his voice in his head.

Whilst the episode certaintly was funny, the episode's strongest points were it's characterisations of the family, the plot and emotional moments. As I said earlier, the plot is simple, but effective. In a rare case, the members of the Simpsons family are given equal screentime. In this episode, no moments drag, and there isn't any subplot added in that feels like it is merely using up time. All the characters are characterised really well. Since all the characters are only on screen for a roughly equal time, none of the characters are fully developed, but that's understandable. There are some really strong emotional moments in the episode, like when the kids are taken away, as Marge desperately tries to take them back. Despite their differences, the members of the Simpsons family do truly care for each other. The episode culminates in a scene that is not only hilarious, but moving too - they may not be the most civilised, orderly family (as shown as the contrast through Maggie's eyes, between the Flanders family, and Homer, Bart and Lisa), but their a family, and that's all that matters to them.

My review is dragging, so I'll end it here. They say that there is no such thing as a perfect episode. Maybe, but 'Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily'. There's only one other episode that I'd put in the same league as this - 'Marge Be Not Proud', another Season 7 episode, showing how truly fantastic the season is.

A+ Best episode of all time.

[rkell48]

Had some great gags and jokes. I loved how caring Ned was for the children, and it was funny to see how the Flanders family lived

[cloneasaurus]

Rewatched it for the top 100.

First things first, this episode has one of the best first acts in the history of the show. Everything is set up well in an amusing and well paced fashion, and there's some genuine drama at the end of the act. There's some pretty good jokes as well - for some reason I found the child welfare guy calling Abe "dishevelled" hilarious.

However after this, whilst the episode certainly maintains a high standard, it never really peaks again. The two plots generally work well together but they never feel that significant, and the jokes aren't as strong as in the first act. I didn't really like the scene with Homer not listening to the judge, it may not have been very long (about 10 seconds) but I just thought it was unnecessary. However, I recognise that these complaints are highly minor and nitpicky; there is certainly nothing majorly wrong with this episode. (if I were really nitpicky, I would point out how the house becomes suddenly dirty out of nowhere at the beginning, and how Flanders would never really pin a sign to his door saying "Gone Baptizin'", but whatever).

Ultimately a very strong episode with some great jokes and strong plot, however there were very tiny problems that stop this from being perfect. Top 20, probably. A

[Prune Tracy]

and how Flanders would never really pin a sign to his door saying "Gone Baptizin'", but whatever

Why not?

Anyway, this episode just narrowly missed my Top 50. Great plot, but I feel that the humour is lacking somehow. Still, it's funny enough to warrant a 4/5 from me.

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

One of the finest episodes ever created. 5/5, 10/10 A+

[Dangeresque Too]

5/5
One of the best season 7 episodes great mix of emotion and comedy.

"Stupid babies need the MOST attention"

[ANdre1001]

5/5 superb episode! Top 5 material

A whole episode, great story, awesome jokes, emotional, man golden age!

[Bert Stanton]

"Cool wet sack"

need I say any more

[Snaked]

As I look back on this episode, my opinion of it has once again changed, and not for the better, either. Yes there were good jokes but at the cost of making Flanders into a complete religious nutcase, it s rather depressing when you think about it (Homer taking a baptisimal for Bart comes to mind which, while humorous, comes at a cost). It's also depressing that such characterizations would become rather permanent down the line, especially in Rod & Todd going from unpopular but otherwise sane, levelheaded kids to complete lamewads & scaredy cats where they develop