Rate/Review "The Seemingly Neverending Story" (HABF06)

[HOMR]

Excellent episode. They tied together very good and it was probably the funniest of the season.


Did the Texan say anything more after 4 producers?

[Veryjammy]

How could I forget this gag:

Computer System : Please enter place of birth
Burns : Pangaea

That's everything a Simpsons joke should be. It doesn't scream that it's a joke, and if you don't understand the reference then it doesn't affect your enjoyment of the scene at all.

[Stackhouse]

this was really a very enjoyable episode. Most everything went right here, and the potential was definitely met... A-

[Stratman]

How could I forget this gag:

Computer System : Please enter place of birth
Burns : Pangaea

That's everything a Simpsons joke should be. It doesn't scream that it's a joke, and if you don't understand the reference then it doesn't affect your enjoyment of the scene at all.

What is the reference?

[Snack Related Mishap]

Does anyone else think that if they had to nominate one of the episodes so far in the season this should definately be the one? And am I the only one who is sure it would win?

[blueguy]

I really liked the episode, but I felt the lack of many quality jokes drops it to a 4/5. About the only things I liked was the gay outting joke (way I see it, they all know one of them is gay and all of them don't want that person known to be gay, or Moe just made it up) and Barney getting tossed from the bar repeatedly.
I might be alone here, but can we stop with everyone having a kid? It's getting a little much.

I noticed Burns stealing Grimes' headstone, but I didn't happen to catch anything on the scavenger hunt list to explain why he might have did that. Without motivation, it seemed like a wasted joke.

[bovine_university]

Does anyone else think that if they had to nominate one of the episodes so far in the season this should definately be the one? And am I the only one who is sure it would win?

Though this wasn't my favorite episode of the season, I agree with you here. It had alot of creativity and was very different from the other episodes of this season so far. I think it could really catch the attention of the voters if it got nominated for the Emmys or other awards. I can't say if it would win since we don't know what it would be up against, but so far it's got what it takes to be a contender.

[Nameless]

I think Maxtone-Graham is significantly improving, this was a pretty enjoyable episode. Best of the season thus far. A-

[blueguy]

What is the reference?

Pangea is the first continent. It's believed that all of the continents were all connected long ago, and over time split and moved apart.

[babjay]

Great Story, I love how the Gold goes through so many residents in Springfield. This stood above all of the others so far in Season 17 for me. The Jokes were all pretty good too, 4.5/5.

[Semaj]

The jokes like the Pangea bit are much better when the viewers are left to figure it out on their own.

[McClure]

I missed the last half, can somebody PLEASE tell me where I can download an .avi version (Torrents don't work under the network I use) of this episode? And if you can't tell me in this thread, please PM me.

Thanks!

[Stratman]

Pangea is the first continent. It's believed that all of the continents were all connected long ago, and over time split and moved apart.

Thanks for clearing that up. It's actually quite a funny joke now that I know the punchline.

I missed the last half, can somebody PLEASE tell me where I can download an .avi version (Torrents don't work under the network I use) of this episode? And if you can't tell me in this thread, please PM me.

Thanks!

You could always download it from an IRC File Server channel such as #tv-addiction at irc.irchighway.net

[alt.nerd.obsessive]

Speaking of that, where do you get your episodes from on the Net?

[D DEBBS]

Not bad-pretty bleepin' good!

[tburns6]

Great episode! laughed my ass off!

The apperance of Commander McBragg was a nice touch, for us old people.

[Brad Clarke]

Awesome Episode. I did Notice the tv14 rating and it changed the mood wich was great, and Mr. Burns saying Bitch. lol

Speaking of that, where do you get your episodes from on the Net?

*cough*(look in my sig)*cough*

[That Jerk]

I was going to mention this in my long review, but the ep is taking forever to download. One of my favorite gags wasn't pointed out by anyone, Maggie wanting to play with the bats. It was just such a perfectly timed Maggie joke.

[alt.nerd.obsessive]

*cough*(look in my sig)*cough*

Bless you, kind sir.

[Jayrayman]

Very impressive, it wasn’t a hilarious episode but it certainly was daring and original. B+/A-

[California Prunes]

What a clever episode, and a fresh and exciting one to boot. The intertwining of stories was handled wonderfully well, tieing together for a more than satisfying conclusion. Humour complaints? Just one really (1, 2, 3, 4) and that was still bearable, so nothing that made me cringe for 20 minutes then. Good stuff, last two episodes have shown signs of classic humour returning, not just the case of their being more quotable lines, but also in that jokes aren't being fired at the audience every line, giving the viewer time to digest the plot. This enhanced my enjoyment of the episode greatly and allowed me to appreciate the well done complicated nature of the plot.

And to those saying their was a lack of humour here, I have to disagree. VeryJammy's 3 LOL moments also made me laugh out loud too, something which occurs rarely in any post season 8 ep.

What do ya know? Easily the best of the season.
What do ya know? One of the best post classic era efforts.
What do ya know? That is two very good outings in a row.

Keep up the fine work writers. Oh, and IMG, you wrote my favourite season 16 ep, and this may very well turn out to be my favourite season 17 outing.

A- I wanted to give this a flat A, but I couldn't.

[Dark Homer]

I'm not sure what to think of this episode. Some parts were actually pretty funny, mostly the Burns scenes (the scavenger hunt sequence was really well done, and I loved the appearance of the Explorer guy from Rocky & Bullwinkle [what the fuck is his name?]) and the Rich Texan's "1-2-3-4.. that's where we left off!" act... unbreak (?).

But once it turned to the story of Moe's treasure, the episode went flat and underwhelming. I don't like scenes explaining the origins of characters/characteristics (i.e. Krabappel arriving in Springfield, Moe's first phone prank in "Homer and Marge At Summer Camp") - which really comes off as fanfictionish if you don't do it well. And just because you wink at the audience when you do it doesn't make it okay. I also don't like incessant callbacks to jokes that weren't that funny in the first place (ONETWOTHREEFOUR). The first minute, with the family visiting the cavern, was pretty stale. The showdown conclusion was pretty sloppily done.

Also I don't think we needed the shot of the family falling down the cavern from Homer's POV, as he can kind of see up Lisa's dress

The high points for me were the great sign gags - Carl's Dad Caverns, Excluder's Club, Moeview Motel.

[John Jay Smith]

A cetain 4/5, probably a 5/5. Easily one of the best shows of the season. I do not care what anyone says, the Rich Texan's obsessive compulsive disorder was hillarious every time. Mr. Burns' Panagea crack was great, and there was actually no cringe-worthy joke. Good job.

[alt.nerd.obsessive]

I actually really enjoyed this episode. It certainly ranks up there with the best Season 17 episodes, if not the best.

Moe came off as being believable, Mr Burns showed signs of being truly villainous mixed with humility and good-nature and there were many fast jokes that made me laugh and weren't distracting.

So, I wonder if that's what Snake studied at Midtown - archaeology, and I wonder if the absence of Smithers to get a fake tan was done as a little nod to his less than yellow complexion in his first appearance...

[Postmaster]

Also I don't think we needed the shot of the family falling down the cavern from Homer's POV, as he can kind of see up Lisa's dress

Now I really can't wait for this episode.

Oh shut up, paedophillia jokes are nothing shocking these days. well I guess that doesn't make it funny. well sorry then.

[Gibbles]

Yep thought it was going to be good, and it was.

Story was clever and interesting, although I must admit it got a little boring by the time it came to Moe's letter, but non the less this slow bit quickly passed after a minute or two. I'd expect it will be better on second viewing.

Jokes were good and the most part funny, like Veryjammy said, the password bit was a true simpsons joke and was hilarious for so many different reasons. I found the sheep story amusing, and enjoyed (despite it being over the top stupid) Bart and the bottle, Hell I remember, for whatever reason, enjoying a penny in a plastic bottle when I was a kid, killed a bit of time when your parents wont buy you a Saga Mega Drive. The 1-2-3-4 bit didn't really bother me, probably because I read about it on here first and saw it coming, wasn't particularly funny but it didn't make me cringe either.

I give it 4/5 because people complain if you give things 5/5.

[Rowdy]

As usual, I'm late to the review cauldron, but I will say it was the second best of the year after that Bart/Homer road trip.......thing. Fine storytelling, very funny jokes all around. Nice job!

[That Jerk]

long review!

I really loved this episode, and a feels like the kind you can watch again and again. A little something for everybody. There were some pacing issues, but i think in the end, it was all necessary to cram in this much story.

couch gag - nothing "woah" for once this season. But I'm glad they opted with a very short gag so we can get right into the ep.

Act one - Nice sign gag. I like the character related sign gags for some reason. The writers tend to use them a lot, but I still get a kick out of them. Bart's nickel thing... it all sounds funny in paper.. but the way Nancy read it.. it just seemed to take way too long. Not that I don't think Bart would be that dumb ("Don't be a cup-and-ball hog!"), if they just had Lisa give him the bottle and not waste our time explaining what it clearly is, and just shown Bart playing with it in the background... Also Marge's "he'll sleep tonight" line didn't really work.
- Lazy explanation of falling into the cave too. None of this really bothered me in the end, because it was speedy and allowed for more story. I did love the entry about the stalactite though, and Homer's trademark use of "SAVE ME...."
- Also, you can't see up Lisa's dress, and it kinda creeps me out that someone would even jump to that conclusion in the first place.
- At first I was worried with Lisa being chased. I just had flashbacks to "The Latest Gun In The West". But this turned out to be totally different! First of all the music was great, and very appropriate. Just about every gag was spot on (Despite Burns sounding a bit older than he usually does.). Pangea, the ram hitting everything, "So long sucker!"
- Some members of the "Excluder's Club": RM Jr., Uncle Pennybags, Ari Amodopoulos. Great cast! I also loved the New Yorker style Scavenger Hunt guy.
- Having the Rich Texan and Burns square off was one of those things you wonder why no one has thought of before. What a combo. Their reasons for hating each-other were perfect too. Nice "bullet in the brain" fakeout too.
- "Scavengers...SCAVENGE!" hahahaha great line.
- Although Burns + children is the kinda scene that writes itself, the whole thing had me laughing like crazy. Thrown in there were great "stupid kids" jokes, and Otto crying! haha. Also. Great picture for the Texan, bribing Jimbo for a pic.
- "I had to start at the bottom, but to get to the bottom, I had to work my way up from Moe's."
- "Moe has a cappuccino machine?" - For days when Barney is sober, I'll bet.

Great ep so far. So amazed by how much story they have crammed into this ep.

Act two - The best of Bart's painting defacing was Lisa - "I want to have your calf."
- I love the constant referring back to the layered story. Never breaking the chain, even with all the interjections.
- Young Edna was great. The episode is remaining entirely faithful to the characters in this one. They've made Edna and Moe together believable! I'm amazed.
- Lenny openly admitting to dressing up as a baby was not only funny, but led to the "out the one who is gay" gag nicely.
- Again, Snake... ridiculously funny, yet made believable. "I was like.. could you BE anymore Columbian?"
- Not exactly sure why Bart spray-painted "Munch my butt!" He was already saying 'Eat my shorts" all the time.
- "Fake-Good Moe's" Cat Lady impersonation was uh... weird.
- Get a load of Rich Texan's redesigning of the office. He Texas'd the desk, put some cacti in, and replaced the polar bear with a bull. Even threw down an indian rug.

Here's to hoping they don't flake out in the third act. The past three seasons they have been notorious for dropping plot points and rushing endings. For an episode as focused as this, it would be devastating.

Act Three - Already onto a great start with the act (un)break and calling back to the sheep. They even brought back that music.
- The ram trying to talk had me cracking up. Even though him telling a story was absolutely bonkers I was on the ground laughing. It just fit into the ep so well.
- And a callback to the photo thing. The whole episode is rounding out just fine.
- Maggie and the bats... oh god, perfect.
- "Oh, you didn't think it was so horrible when you were falling down the hole."
- Burns calling RT "Shadybird Johnson", "Texas left", Moe cocking his bat, "Coolest entrance gets the gold!" This ending may have been a bit rushed, but all these great character gags made it quite enjoyable.
- Okay, it was weird that the Texan 180'd like that, but you can kinda argue that OCD is just the tip of the iceberg with him. And at least Burns didn't flake out on us.

They've definitely still got it. This episode was a great example of what the past 4 seasons have been coming from. Just drawing from that well of 17 years of detailed characters and events. An enjoyable episode on its own, but lets face it, they're primarily writing for the fans at this point, and you don't see me complaining. 5/5.

[JHutch]

episode felt very original and very funny...loved it

5/5

[Alpha]

It was even better on a second viewing.

Grade bumped up to a 5/5.