Rate/Review "Bart Has Two Mommies" (HABF07)

[crak bot]

I think this episode had some of the elements that have made the simpsons so popular. That being a funny, sometimes silly plot but with a real emotional connection within the story.

I thought the way the monkey/bart and marge/rodd & todd stories mirrored each other was clever even though at times the monkey and bart end of it was a little weak.

On another note, I think Homer may have been the dumbest I have ever seen him before but I think it worked.

Overall, a strong 4/5 for this season.

"Hey, this race is for rubber ducks, not meat ducks."

[Jeremy]

I had no real expectations for this one, but I loved the Marge/Rod-Todd thing. It reminded me of Lisa being their babysitter, but with a bit of a twist since she actually tried her best to better them. Bart's nimrod and nimtodd line was pretty clever; I'm surprised it hasn't been done before. I don't think this was as strong as last week's show, but I do think it was enjoyable with some slight character grown involving Ned. I'll go with a 3.5/5.

[Jerry P.]

What's the deal with Maggie Roswell not being credited? It didn't sound like an impersonator.

[Postmaster]

So this was written by Dana Gould...

Thankyou at least someone thinks about people who want to know the writer but won't see the episode for a while.
The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselfs.

[Klia]

As said,I think the Rod and Todd/Marge aspect was handled extremely well and who did not let out an "aww" when they were praying and asked god to teach Ned how to make sandwiches? Still, I felt that they could have even gone farther-but the Bart subplot got in the way, not as much as I thought it would and they tied it together, but I still felt like they could have done it better.

However, unlike a lot of people, I felt Ned was a little over the top in this episode. He really overreacted at Marge in this episode, sure you can point out that these are his kids however in the episode where Homer gets the swear jar to stop his swearing, he wasn't half as overreactive.

I was also dissapointed with the appearance of Maude. I would have loved to see her looking over them instead of a "guest star" appearance.

[Gibbles]

Finally a Marge episode that isn't about her being lonely or mad at Homer.

I've been really trying hard to find something I hate about the current state of the show, but it is not easy. To be frank this episode was Excellent, it is always great when the main plot and the subplot weave in and out of each other until they both combined to pay off at the end.

The main plot gave nice character development for Rod and Tod and tapped some previously unexplored gold, Marge had something interesting to do for once where she wasn't going up against the world or various members of her family, she left Homer with the kids but it was not because she was mad at him which was a welcome change. The subplot that eventually led into the much talked about monkey kidnapping Bart worked pretty well, it may of been a good twist had the episode not been promoted this way, but whatever.

Ok bad things about this episode, to scrape the barrel of nitpicking the whole Homer and the mill bit was over the top, and was painful to watch, I'm not a fan of Homer getting hurt gags at all, so this was for me the worst part of the episode. Other thing was despite playing a somewhat big role in this episode, Bart really didn't have any good gags or memorable lines, apart from the gay bit at the end.

The duck race at the beginning was fun, and I liked some of the side characters appearances, such as Reverend Lovejoy increasing the church size because the other one across from it was bigger and made him feel small. The guest appearance also made me laugh despite not knowing who he was. Also not sure if it was intensional, but the monkey climbing with Bart up the church was a nice little spoof of king Kong that made me chuckle purely of it being a small church and a small monkey caring a child, as apposed to the skyscraper huge ape and all that.

Overall 4/5

[Stratman]

I chuckled a few times. The Flanders-English dictionary was funny. It was good to see Lisa having fun and not being "PC thug" Lisa, but I hate what they've done to Flanders. He was not originally a paranoid psycho. I guess their reasoning is becoming a widower made him this way, but I don't buy any of it, and wish they'd just bring Maude back and forget that whole mess ever happened, like they do with all kinds of other stuff.

Anyway, I gave it a 2.

Just remember Maude was killed in a shockingly random way.


I loved this episode. The Monkey kidnap B story was kind of weak and slow, but it tied in well with the strong, well paced, character building A story. I feel it ended brilliantly. The reuniting of mother and son was really touching, and the fact that Ned didn't go completely ape, pun intended, over Todd saying he was gay hit home that he was learning to let go.

As well as a strong story, this episode featured some killer gags. The Welcome To The Jungle parody was inspired, as was Homer's ''show'', the See What You'd Look Like In Hell mirror and the Flanders to English dictionary. There were also a lot of strong throw away gags such as when Homer drew ''he wants it'' eyebrows on the rubber ducky, ''the ring God gave Saturn'', and the nimrod/nimtodd line. The Ned Zeppelin Abrased and Contused line was clever, if a bit odd. Also, props to the writers for steering clear of a past its used-by-date King Kong parody.

The only things I didn't like were the Left Handers Convention and the gratuitous pain gags, the mill scene in particular.


5/5

[KMDSimpson]

I thought it was a good episode, but the whole monkey subplot could have been ended with a tranqulizer dart; it may have worked better if the monkey had escaped into the wild instead of staying in the cage.

At least now we know Mr. Teenie's real name, so that's something.

[Veryjammy]

Hmmmm I don't know what to think. On the one hand there was definetely some good material, but I just didn't enjoy it. It felt so achingly lifeless and slow, and I was clockwatching twelve minutes into the episode. There were so many points where the jokes were solid but I was wondering when the hell something was going to happen. The Marge story was definetely the better, but whatever conflict existed was weak and uninspired. Rod and Todd were good value and several of the best jokes revolved around them and their activities, but the plot they were involved in felt tedious. Take away Bart crying at the beginning (come on writers, you've turned him into a witless, stupid wuss) and he wasn't too offensive, but his story was one big yawn and barely even provided any gags. And surely I can't be the only person who felt insulted by the ending; Marge persuading Flanders to let Rodd (or Todd?) climb up the church steeple. He's what, ten years old? That felt like something from a much lazier show peddling some fake affirmation bullshit; it's one thing for Marge to advocate Ned being looser with the boys, it's quite another to say that unless he lets Rodd climb a huge church tower and rescue a boy from an unstable monkey he's being unreasonable. And when coupled with life in danger climax #101 I was groaning by the end of the episode, although the last few seconds saved it.

Some little bits and pieces - Homer was inconsistent, giving good one-liners (...not meat ducks :laugh: ) but also simply terrible moments where he obnoxiously hogged the scene (that big sarcastic spiel at the dining room table that went on and on without a punchline.) The duck race was mildly amusing but went on too long. The guest voices were terrible and the left-handed convention was barely mined for any potential. Marge's voice acting was rubbish again and Homer's wasn't much better.

Amazing that an episode with this premise could be so bland and forgettable.

C

[lethifold]

3/5

There were a few nice jokes and the character development was spot on, but there just weren't very many laughs. A few chuckles was probably the extent of it

[Jayrayman]

Wow, I’m surprised by the limited amount of reviews there are for this episode, these threads seem to get less popular.

[D DEBBS]

5/5-laughed out loud when Homer went through the gears at the windmill, and it was nice to see Maude!

[Nameless]

A few good laughs ("He's been monkey-napped!", ducks, etc.) but overall I agree with Veryjammy. It started out slow, got a little better, then had a dreadful ending. 3/5 C/C-

[derelictpi]

Minus the Mill/pain gag, this episode was perfect...and I don't think that is an overstatement.

[Snack Related Mishap]

Now it's time for . . . My review that apparently people do gives two shits about:

Sorry, my review is late, but honestly I needed the extra time to think about this one. I really wasn't sure how to feel. There were some jokes that I felt were unnecessary, and the monkey plot line felt painfully pointless, but then the episode contained a lot of classic material jokes in my opinion and the story of Marge and the Flanders' was a great story.

I felt the first act was probably the best of all, if you take out the useless guest stars, Randy Johnson and Susan Surandon(sp?), and the mill painfully destroying Homer, you get classic material. The duck race although seemingly pointless, was a a fun piece for this episode. It also had the Flanders to English dictionary, and who can sit still for the longest. It had some really great scenes, and I liked how they finally made very good use of Muade's death. It was a great story point and character influence for Ned. If the second and third act had been as good as this one, it would have easily deserved a 9/10. However, they were not.

The second act was probably the weakest of them all(has anyone else noticed these have been becoming the longest act of the show instead of the shortest like it used to be?). The Ned Plot still continued to be good, and I loved the way the mother was not taking Bart hostage just because it would be the zany thing to do, but because she missed her children. However, several jokes flopped in this act, the main one being the sarcasm at the dinner table scene. I think it would have worked well had they ended it once Marge left. It went on way too long killing the joke for me.

The third act improved greatly even as short as it was. It wrapped up the stories into a neat little package*, and it started off with the great parody of Welcome to the Jungle. I loved how the stories came together, but there was one thing in this act that pissed me off. Nelson. I'm sorry to be mean, I think the Jean Era has done a good job of bringing things closer to the classic era, but I think the bullies are only getting progressively worse. What was that, a joke? It seems like the writers are incapable of my making the bullies funny anymore. But enough about complaining, I loved the Bart prank at the end and the reuniting of Toot-Toot and Mr. Tiny. It was a nice ending, until it goot to the credits. I just really didn't like the credit's scene for some reason. It was okay, and i love every appearance of God, but it wasn't really that funny, a bit of a let down if you ask me.

Overall, the episode was entertaining. The humor really felt like classic era stuff, but that doesn't mean there weren't flaws. This episode a fair amount, but it levels just on the last respectable grade for an episode . . . .

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

Lost Points Breakdown (My new added feature)
Unneeded Guest Stars: .05
Homer Pain Gag: .05
Pointless feel of Monkey Plotline: 1.0
Missed Gags(i.e. Sarcasm, Nelson) 1.0
TOTAL POINTS MISSED: 3.0

* What? I'm serious. Sorry, if it sounded sarcastic.

[Reverend Lovejoy]

The duck race at the beginning was fun, and I liked some of the side characters appearances, such as Reverend Lovejoy increasing the church size because the other one across from it was bigger and made him feel small.

Does anyone know where I can get framegrabs?

I bet that Reverend Lovejoy fan on this site is going crazy with all of the appearances of Lovejoy in this ep.

I'll go crazy when I get framegrabs!

[babjay]

I can't say that it was the best episode of the season, but I think that it had the best jokes.
I Loved the 'gay' one at the end with Bart and Rod, as well as the Hell Mirror, Insert DVD, Windmill, Duckrace, Flanders/Simpson Dictionary, and some of Homer's acts towards Toot-Toot. Couch Gag was funny too.
1713 Had a better story, this one had better gags.

1713: 5/5
1714: 4.5/5 (I Voted 4)

[sean]

i have to say i didn't really enjoy this one all that much. i thought the marge feeling unappreciated by her own kids and finding other kids to "mother" thing has been done before (to better effect). the homer mill gag was horrible. flanders was too psychotically protective (when we've never seen any indication that he is such [at least in a physical manner -- he's always been protective about what they watch on TV etc]). actually, it seems to me Flanders' character just changes constantly at this point to fit whatever need the writers have. one minute he's staring through homer and marge's window like a psycho, then he's a hard-core right winger, then an overbearing father... just pin him down already. i found very little of this episode to be funny (i can't think of a single laugh i got out of it besides the gay joke at the end). basically i found it mediocre at best. 2/5.

[Postmaster]

Now it's time for . . . My review nobody gives two shits about:

Can you stop saying this at the start of your reviews, I am intrested in your reviews but that comment at the top almost makes me not want to read it. It's really outstayed it's welcome.

[Thrillhouse24]

Shit im the minority, i thought this episode was terrible. I was going to give it a 1/5 but it had a good ending so i gave it a 2/5.

[The mayor of Albuquerque]

7/10. A fair episode. I thought that everything Homer and Bart did was done just to keep them busy onscreen. The Marge with Rod/Tod plot worked for me, though.

I noticed another meta-joke about the show in the first act (and forgot what it was already). I am seeing that type of joke in almost every episode now. That's probably my least favorite feature of this season.

[User 1.0]

Can someone describe the Maude scene for me? My video cuts off before it.

[Snack Related Mishap]

Can you stop saying this at the start of your reviews, I am intrested in your reviews but that comment at the top almost makes me not want to read it. It's really outstayed it's welcome.

Sorry about that. I put it in the first few times I did my reviews of the episodes, and now it has kind of just stayed with me as a habit. If i had realized it was driving people away from my reviews, I would have taken it off sooner. Believe it or not from the title, I do want people to read it, so I will take it down next time. Thanks for the advice, and sorry it was so irritating.

[TransponderHut]

Did anyone else see the commercial for iTunes with all the album covers?
Was that not the coolest commercial?

Yeah. I actually had to back up the TiVO and watch that commercial frame-by-frame just so I could point and say "I have that one, I have that one, I have that one...".

As for the episode itself, I thought they were going to do more with the computer, but we never see it. It's nice to see Rod and Tod act, you know, human for a change. 4/5.

[Jimbo77]

3/8
IT WAS ok but they are kind of running out of ideas I mean king kongish??

[KMDSimpson]

Can someone describe the Maude scene for me? My video cuts off before it.

Maude is in Heaven with God and Bob Hope (voiced by Dave Thomas) looking down at the incident at the church: she says "My Rod is growing up," at which point Hope runs off a couple cheap one-liners about Dolly Parton and Susan Anton. Maude tells Hope to be quiet because she's "trying to watch this." Hope asks "What's gotten into her? She's fruitier than Carmen Miranda's hat rack" as he and a chuckling God walk off.

[Jayrayman]

There were some funny jokes, like Huggy Bear in the animal sanctuary and basically the last five minutes to the episode. But I did not care for the Marge storyline as it has been done before and the material they used for Rodd and Todd was nothing new. Overall a slow start, but the ending made it slightly more enjoyable. B-

[Dr. Spirograph]

2.5/5 for me. I really liked the Marge/Rod/Todd plot, especially the bit where Marge re-adjusts the see-saw -- you can almost feel the liberation Rod and Tood go through, particularly with Beethoven on the soundtrack. This aspect of the story really need more room, as it could've lead to more interesting character studies...but it was constantly cut short with the abysmal monkey plot.

And I don't usually care for unnecessary guest-stars, so I hate to admit that I found Randy Johnson's scene funny. Same with the bit where Bart's crying -- but then again, I find cruelty hilarious.

[brody]

Really suprised about how good this episode was. I was expecting a stupid gag episode, but it had some considerable depth. A-

Oh, and seeing Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas was cool, because I met him earlier this year, and he told me he'd be on the show.

[whisman]

Wow, this season has been funny as hell. Great episode. 4/5