Rate/Review "Million Dollar Abie" (HABF09)

[coltonwiggum]

Oh, I dare. I dare.

wow, you're even funnier than family guy.

[KMDSimpson]

Not bad. Could have been better if it picked one storyline and stuck with it.

And why did they have to be floating with balloons at the end?

[Lothars]

Hey, Family Guy is a HELL OF A LOT funnier than the average new simpsons (but I'm mostly refering to this ep) and at least they don't have out-of-character stories.

Well at least I know your wrong, Family Guy has went down hill alot since the last time

IMO the new simpsons episodes have been alot better than family guy has been in a long time.

I really enjoyed this episode, not the best plot but I did laugh throughout it

I would say something like a 3.5 - 4 im not sure

still a good episode though.

[That Jerk]

I just realized Homer's "stripper" line was cut

[chris]

Jesus Christ, this whole "Family Guy sucks" thing pops up as much here as "This upcoming movie signals the Apocalypse!" does over in Media Discussion. How many times can it be said?

[RivieraHibbert]

I thought it was an ok episode, not spectacular in the least, nor terrible, so it received a 3/5. A few funny gags here and there, such as the heart attacks, Maggie's "Laugh and Point", the suicide clinic, and the bit with Rob Reiner and the celebrity impersonators singing in "We Are the World" style.

BTW- I recognized the Michael Jackson, Jar-Jar and Quincy Jones characters during that scene, but didn't recognize the rest. Who were they supposed to be?

[AngryDad33]

5/5- Good episode Loved the diepod joke and th L.A. video

I also liked the simpsons movie teaser

[Semaj]

26.21% of voters voted 1 out of 5?

I highly doubt that THAT many people could've seriously hated this episode.

[DotheBartman]

This is another one of those episodes where I feel a little torn. Like a lot of episodes this season, the story simply wasn't very good, but at the same time, I can't deny laughing and enjoying a lot of the humor.

First though, the story. Once again, it just seemed like there were too many plot tangents that didn't run for long enough to become interesting, and things just seemed to jump around. And like a lot of episodes lately, the eventual emotional conflict (between Lisa and Grandpa) felt especcially forced; I'm not sure Lisa even had more than two or three lines before the third act, so there was no way for the story to feel remotely cohesive. It just feels like a bunch of different conflicts (Grandpa's issue with the family, then wanting to live, then bullfighting and the conflict with Lisa) mashed together without a whole lot of thought put into the structure or any kind of unifying theme. It's similar to "Hello Gudder, Hello Fadder" in that way, though of course no where near as poor.

But, as I said....I just can't deny that I laughed and enjoyed good portions of the episode. Things like Grandpa wondering aloud why cows would come back as hamburgers in heaven, or a bull conveniently finding it's way into an elevator to attack to the announcer are just funny, regardless of how thin the story around it is. Some things were lame (the "DiePod"? Eh....), but overall there was enough going for this episode that I can't say I didn't enjoy it on some level. Still, I can't imagine actually remembering much about it a year from now either, and I think this is destined to be another "okay" episode that's remembered mainly for having been aired with the movie trailer. B-/C+

DYN:
-George Meyer can be seen running from the bulls in one shot?
-"Manfred Manslaughter" seems to not have been the character's actual name (as was originally indicated by the description), but rather Wiggum's pun?
-In an episode about suicide, Moe of all characters doesn't speak?

[That Jerk]

-In an episode about suicide, Moe of all characters doesn't speak?

Good point. I guess the clinic is too expensive for Moe.

[Smo]

2/5 Some good jokes but the story line was too jumpy for me. I didn't like it very much.

[GrandmaBird!!!]

The emotional stuff with Lisa/Grandpa worked really well, but the overall humor was very lame in this episode. 2.5/5

Also, the movie trailer was just a waste. I wish they could have at least made it look like an actual theatrical teaser for a film and not a made-for-DVD movie.

And also, when the Simpsons walked in on Grandpa and the Commissioner of football - how the hell did Marge even know it was the Commissioner when she entered, his face was covered (and I'm not sure if she's ever seen him)?

[ruggeder]

I voted 1/5, so thats at least one real vote for it. I laughted a few times, and I think its sad that the clever McCarthyism at the credits was the most interesting part of the show, but I enjoyed it. Grampa isn't a show carrier, the football part was funny if they had taken it somewhere that didn't lead to bullfighting, but his character really p*ssed me off in this episode for some reason. The trailer was pretty funny though, considering it was 10 seconds and one line. Possibly a 2 episode and not a 1, but somewhere in there certainly.

[sean]

Did anyone living in the tri-state area see the "big surprise" spoiled by the local news plugging their story about the movie a whole commercial break before they ran the ad?

haha. i don't live in the tri-state area, but the DC fox station did the exact same thing.

[Gatorgod]

haha. i don't live in the tri-state area, but the DC fox station did the exact same thing.

I saw it mentioned the day before at Yahoo Movies, saying its going to be seen in the trailers before each showing of Ice Age 2. so I went and caught it Saturday afternoon and saw it. I give the Simpson Trailer a 4/5. Its not really a Trailer like the ones that actually show stuff happening, but it was enough to make me and my pals cheer

[Valhum]

2/5

I really thought the episode was bad, worst of the season. It did have its moments that made me laugh but overall it felt so all over the place.

[Jeff]

started off a bit interesting but it never really caught my interest. i actually took my eye off the tv 5 minutes early because it just wasn't interesting or entertaining at all but there were a few good jokes here and there. very average/mediocre episode, this has so far been a very weak season IMO. (3/5)

[Corkus]

Has Tim Long made worse episodes? Hell yes. Was this still a trainwreck nonetheless? Hell yes.

Let me get this one thing out of the way - Abe's 83 years old? Seems a little far-fecthed, seeing as how Homer's nearly 50 years younger. Than again, Abe's been confused about his age many times before (see Mansion Family).

Now for the breakdown. The first act actually wasn't that terrible. It had the only actual laughs in the episode, which were Nelson having a heart attack in the middle of his "haw, haw" and the shots at L.A. I had some trouble following the whole thing, but it didn't do anything terrible.

Act 2 was where it all went to hell. Though I thank God Homer's threatening phone calls mentioned in the summary didn't make the cut, the entire assisted suicide thing was seriously unfunny. DiePod? The hell? Some pretty out-of-character moments, as well.

Act 3 was even worse. It was as if they didn't know what to do with the remaining 7 minutes and tagged on the matador story just because they could. It didn't even make things come full circle, nor did it patch up things between Abe and Homer. Seriously, the entire thing had no point whatsoever. It didn't resort to the typical character-in-peril plot that we've often seen in these wackier episodes, but the conclusion was pretty poorly-handled, nonetheless. The credits sequence came out of nowhere, though I actually found it funny for some reason. Possibly because I was suffering greatly from the previous 15 minutes of agony.

Worst of the season, beating "Bonfire". Wasn't as horrible as some of Tim Long's previous outings, but in all honesty, this thing went nowhere. Most unstructured episode since "Fat Man and Little Boy" (except, ya know, that was actually still funny). D

That said, it was only a matter of time. I mean, S17 has had its fair share of episodes that barely came above average, but this was the first truly awful episode since the premiere. I suppose I can forgive it. At least next week's sounds interesting.

[bluemoose]

Not a great episode, but not horrible either. It had few cringeoworthy gags, and a few real laughs. I thought the worst joke was the floating chair one, but it was made up for with the thing over the credits ("I would like to name the following members of the communist party").

It did suffer from a long opening and a plot that began half way through the episode. Its score goes down a bit for that.

Overall, an alright episode, pretty good for a new episode. I rate it 3.5/5. I gave it 4/5 on the poll because I'm in a good mood today.

[The Governor]

Uh...I wonder how many people gave this episode one or two marks higher because of that damn 'teaser'? :P

As for this episode, I thought it reminded me of a more bland/watered down version of "The Old Man and the Key", which I really liked. Other than the dubbed "maggie line" I didn't find any of it really interesting or funny.

2/5. (D+)

[Jeremy]

haha. i don't live in the tri-state area, but the DC fox station did the exact same thing.

I didn't see that, but I might have gone to get a drink during an ad break.

[Rowdy]

Pretty fine episode..........a few more strong jokes would have elevated it to a 5/5 because the story was certainly intriguing. Also, loved the John Lennon and R.E.M. songs.

[DarthHomer]

This was the funniest episode in ages and it had the movie trailer and people still aren't happy! You sirs, are worse than Hitler.

[bovine_university]

These last few weeks have been all-or-nothing, and this was close to nothing for me. I wanted to like this episode more, since there were a fair share of funny moments (like Abe making the headlines, Rob Reiner, Die-Pod, and Charlie Chaplin), but overall the story (as has often been the case this year) was simply too sloppy. There was simply too much plot to put in one episode, and as a result the plots in each act really seemed to be lacking something. The first act plot just seemed to go on and on (and felt just a little too similar to the first act of The Old Man and the C Student), and really didn't need long gags like the speeches at the stadium or the song. In fact, this episode should have eased off of the musical montages overall. Abe's decision felt flat and needed more feeling or emotion, and Abe's life being spared came out of nowhere and was very uncreative. I was enjoying the idea of Abe thinking he was dead (as tired a premise as it might be), but it was dashed away so quickly. It was nice to see the first act plot contribute to the show later, but the third act also felt pretty boring. The bullfights lacked any kind of tension or danger and Lisa's contribution should have been alot more fleshed out than it was. The scenes after Abe lets the bulls go also seemed kind of gratuitous and awkward. There were some laughs here and there, but the plot was just put together too poorly. 2/5

[Upgrayedd]

3rd worst of the season. The episode was not that funny and had a barely decent plot. The first act was alright with Springfield gaining the NFL franchise then losing. The 2nd act and 3rd act were crap, I think the writers could've thought of something better for Grampa (I mean, assisted suicide and Grampa being a matador? Come on?) (C)

[TheFlandersMan]

Finally, I'm seeing some posts that make sense. My thoughts on the first page were making me look like an outcast compared to the rest....

[Nameless]

This was the funniest episode in ages and it had the movie trailer and people still aren't happy! You sirs, are worse than Hitler.

Most people knew about the movie trailer, why should it raise our grade anyway?

[Sarcastic Guy II]

Finally, I'm seeing some posts that make sense. My thoughts on the first page were making me look like an outcast compared to the rest....

If you look at the actual breakdown of votes (registered users only) you're still out of the mainstream of the board. Most of the votes were 3/5 or 4/5 (49 3's, 4's and 5's) and only 18 (about 26%) 1/5 or 2/5.

Judging from the registered votes, we can tell that the community has said that this episode was average (3/5) or above average (4/5).

There was obviously some monkey business going on with the poll right after the episode, but overall there are just way too many votes unaccounted for on both the 5/5 and 1/5 sides.

You should have to register to vote.

[Corkus]

This was the funniest episode in ages and it had the movie trailer and people still aren't happy! You sirs, are worse than Hitler.

I realize you're simply quoting something from the show, but that could be considered offensive. The trailer really wasn't all that, and it wasn't even part of the actual episode. Many of us didn't find the episode funny. Plain and simple. For the record, many of us also found "The Seemingly Neverending Story" to be one of the best in ages, so don't think we're people who cannot be satisfied.

I was enjoying the idea of Abe thinking he was dead (as tired a premise as it might be), but it was dashed away so quickly.

You know, now that you mention it, that could have made for a fairly humorous second half if the writers chose to have the plot revolve around Abe thinking he's dead (with a few Twilight Zone references thrown in just for the heck of it). And even if that fell flat, it probably wouldn't have been nearly as idiotic as the matador plot. It would have landed in at least the C range from me.

[TheFlandersMan]

This is irrelevant, but what if in the off-chance that the writers or executive producers inspect this site, the most respected harcore simpsons board there is? What will they think? They must be like "Wow, we're doing a great job, they generally like what we're doing! Give yourself a pat on the back, boys! Good job! We shall continue doing what we're doing!!"

Ok, so maybe a little unrealistic, but you never know.