Rate/Review Ice Cream of Margie (With the Light Blue Hair)

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B+

[Dark Homer]

fascinating review

[qwertyuio]

I had some hopes, and it finally became a huge disappointment. Although the idea wasn't bad, it was narrated poorly and almost all the scenes were absurd (Marge getting angry with Homer after he has an accident? Ridiculous.).

With hardly good jokes, an awful development and a lot of mistakes, I can't pass this episode. 4/10.

[NINirvana69]

B

I liked the episode overall, but Homer forcing a lactose intolerant kid to eat the ice cream was just... fucking... terrible

[littlejamshed]

4/5

One of the best episodes of it's season, IMO.

[troymclure17]

The thing with the sad pictures and then one of him laughing at the cat falling down the stairs made me laugh but otherwise an average episode. (ie i pods taking over the world, homer gets fired and gets a stupid new job yet again, popsicle sticks) C+

[D'ohmer]

Just rewatched it. I really enjoyed it. It had a decent plot with some great gags. My only complaints is the gag with Homer and the lactose intolerant kid and the fact that Marge could build a huge Homer out of popsicle sticks so quickly. Other than that, it was great. 4.5/5

[sung]

just re-watched it and turns out that it is much better than how i thought it out as (yeah, i did post my review way back when but from what i remember, i did not remain that impressed after then).

humor... well, i do not think it was that bland. in fact, the goods outnumbered the bad on this one. one joke that i was not sure about was that lactose intolerant kid joke but at least it had a funny wrap up with homer verifying that the boy's 'boyfriend' was some doctor. other moments that i was unsure of were the death of the old ice cream man (death by counting pennies) and perhaps, marge acting like rich texan, but i do not think it was as bad as some thought out of, in fact, i thought it was funny. one moment that i definitely did not like was that scene with homer and marge making out to ice cream music; a joke like that maybe would be suffice for few seconds or more, but it just took too long. other than those hitches that i felt, the rest was fine: homer thinking burns as ice cream, sevearl opal ones were actually pretty good (maybe the only opal moment that i've liked... maybe), the scene with homer dressing up, hockey in snpp, etc. best moment: ali g parody, which had some great graphics. the conversations were not that bad, nothing felt too dragged out, it was fine... though there were sevearl jean-trademark 'pointing out things' though, but it doesn't usually bother me unless if it's done too much (ala stop or my dog will shoot) one other thing is that... i wasn't pleased to see veryjammy's rant on this episode (for i do disagree with him, really, but i guess it's different thing for different folks) but on the i-pod joke in the end, i think he nailed it on the head on how it was inferior to the ending joke to 'rosebud', just a thought

What annoys me about something like the i-pod joke is that it's contextless wackiness for no real reason, which is something Scully used to do a lot. You could compare the ending to Rosebud or The Father The Son and The Holy Guest Star, but they were far better executed because they were actually related to the story. In the case of Rosebud, it showed a surreal continuation of the story far far into the future, with Burns never managing to keep Bobo with him. And the use of Smithers as the robo dog was inspired.

i used to think that the plot was bit sappy, but this time, several things were actually believable. best part was that, after the fiasco, marge did not felt annoying or over-the-top angry this time, but yet, remained calm and found a good resolution... i dunno why, but it kind of made it out to be a big plus for this episode (by the way... i do understand that anger is human nature and i would not really have objected it badly if the episode involved few bitchings from characters and what-nots, but solving the episode in this such was was definite plus imo) i would've liked a bit of reference back to brush with greatness with marge's success in art... eh whatever. homer had his jerk moment, but it was balanced out in sevearl other moments and... he felt generally lovable in this one. now, i'm not sure just how the hell marge managed to build that giant homer in that amount of time, but i really liked the ending this time.

oh yes, and pacing was great... i'm not really much of pacing guy, but for some reason, i kind of feel everything in the story went with good timing. nothign in first act felt dragged for too long; it simply went from moment to moment with some gags in to progress the story.

overall, much better than how i thought about it. better than most of the things i've seen in jean era and maybe in my jean era top 10 or 15. few unsure things, but rest are either good or acceptable B+/A-

[Tamaki Suoh]

Just rewatched. A perfect episode. All my previous compliments remain accurate, but I'd like to add the following: this is one of the absolute funniest Simpsons episodes in the series. Almost every single joke was hilarious, short, to-the-point, unpredictable, and perfectly executed. Also, this could be very likely be a top 10 episode for me. It's that good.

(And to those that complain about the lactose intolerant joke...Homer wasn't trying to make the kid sick. He obviously didn't what lactose intolerance was and was interpreting it as a variety of bigotry.)

[sung]

(He obviously didn't what lactose intolerance was and was interpreting it as a variety of bigotry.)

for the sake of the joke, i hope that's the case... i dunno, i don't think the dialogue really had much of indication that homer did not know what it was (unless if i missed a line, which can happen) and 'lactose intolerant' is something that almost everyone of homer's life level knows.

[Tamaki Suoh]

for the sake of the joke, i hope that's the case... i dunno, i don't think the dialogue really had much of indication that homer did not know what it was (unless if i missed a line, which can happen) and 'lactose intolerant' is something that almost everyone of homer's life level knows. i guess that explains the entire boyfriend thing...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he didn't know what it meant. Because he said something along the lines of "Intolerant?! I don't accept prejudice. You should treat all foods equally."

[sung]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he didn't know what it meant. Because he said something along the lines of "Intolerant?! I don't accept prejudice. You should treat all foods equally."

ah okay, i thought that line was one of those homer's jerkassy justification to throw away stuff that he did not like to hear as an excuse... which, i guess, gave me a bad impression of the joke initially

[Tamaki Suoh]

I guess it could be, but he seemed to genuinely be offended by the boy admitting to intolerance, and I don't think he would actually want to make the boy sick.

[dapper dan]

Yeah, I gotta admit, I didn't like the lactose intolerant joke 1st time round, but on a rewatch it seemed more fitting and was funny. And the overall episode is a good one, I'll second that as well. Not only funny but artistic, too.

[qwertyuio]

I rewatched this episode yesterday and I think I still hate the lactose intolerant joke as much as the first time. Not only for the discussion about if Homer knows what does "lactose intolerant" mean, it was on whole a jerkass, unjustifiable and brusque attitude of him towards an unknown kid. He forces the kid to eat the ice-cream, acting like a dangerous abuser. When the kid suffers his anaphylactic shock, Homer is still acting retardedly, making gay jokes about the bracelet. And the last line doesn't arrive on time to save the awful gag and the terrible characterization in this scene.

[Tamaki Suoh]

I rewatched this episode yesterday and I think I still hate the lactose intolerant joke as much as the first time. Not only for the discussion about if Homer knows what does "lactose intolerant" mean, it was on whole a jerkass, unjustifiable and brusque attitude of him towards an unknown kid. He forces the kid to eat the ice-cream, acting like a dangerous abuser. When the kid suffers his anaphylactic shock, Homer is still acting retardedly, making gay jokes about the bracelet. And the last line doesn't arrive on time to save the awful gag and the terrible characterization in this scene.

Whaa? Jerkass Homer is when he knows he's harming someone and deliberately does it anyway. Homer in this scene was obviously firstly unaware of what would happen if he forced the kid to eat the ice cream, thinking he was actually doing something good by promoting tolerance. He was equally misunderstanding of the boy's anaphylactic shock as well. If he actually had known what was going on, he wouldn't have been surprised by the Doctor's name on the bracelet.

[qwertyuio]

Whaa? Jerkass Homer is when he knows he's harming someone and deliberately does it anyway. Homer in this scene was obviously firstly unaware of what would happen if he forced the kid to eat the ice cream, thinking he was actually doing something good by promoting tolerance. He was equally misunderstanding of the boy's anaphylactic shock as well. If he actually had known what was going on, he wouldn't have been surprised by the Doctor's name on the bracelet.

I thought jerkass Homer was just every time when he acted like a jerk. This one is specially serious because he doesn't know the kid, therefore it's his first contact with him. Apart from this, even a one-neuron guy could realize that he can't use his strength and age advantage to force unknown people to do something. And the third point is that he is seeing that the kid is frightened and he still continues attacking him, taking his level of empathy to a new low since Homer Simpson In: Kidney Trouble.

[Tamaki Suoh]

Yeah, but he thinks he's doing something good. He thinks he is the defender of lactose-laden foods. To us, this obviously seems ridiculous, as foods are not feeling beings that need be defended against prejudice, but to Homer--someone who takes food quite seriously and is also often misguided by his own outlandish perceptions of situations--it makes perfect sense and is intended as a noble deed, not a jerkassy one. In my opinion, the scene was an example of Homer's attempt at good, one that failed due to his ignorance and rashness, (and also an amusingly ironic one as right after he defends tolerance, he makes gay jokes at the boy) rather than him trying to frighten and harm the boy for no reason, but I guess you can interpret it the latter way if you wish.

[qwertyuio]

I understand your view, Robin, despite I obviously don't share it. But I'm not too much convinced about Homer's good intentions. He wants a kid to eat ice-creams and that's not essentially bad, but insisting on his idea to that point is conscious or involuntary violence, and that isn't justifiable in any way. Moreover, the gay jokes made an impediment to those supposed good intentions, just because he was then laughing at the kid openly.

[Jesse Pinkman]

5/5, great episode, but the ending with the killer Ipods is about as random as you can get.

[Simpsonsfan1981]

I'm not sure what to make of this episode -which just has been shown in syndication here. The plot and storyline was relatively solid but did have moments where it seemed to fall off the rails slightly. Homer's characterization was very good considering the season and he seemed to be much more sensitive and caring than he has been in other episodes from this period (with one or two notable exceptions but I'll come to that in a moment). The first act and the plot with the original ice cream man and how Homer got the job was quite amusing (and at least they had Homer getting fired from his job instead of having what has become the standard plot of "Homer gets a job despite the fact that he already has a job -although there's no rationale behind how he got his old job back at the end of the episode, which of course he does).

The episode had some flaws. The Opal segment was cliched, irritating, unfunny and unoriginal. The lactose intolerant joke was really stupid, unfunny and obnoxious. The Rich Texan was totally unecessary in this episode and Marge's character development was uneven and not very sympathetic.

I'll give it a 3/5 -good but could have been better

[Nauru-1]

Very weak, but it's not like there wasn't anything to offer. 2/5

[Green Man]

3/5 Meh.

[Rest your giant head]

Thank God this didn’t turn into another marriage crisis episode, with a boring fight between Marge and Homer. Maybe there was a bit of arguing, but I’m glad it didn’t last that long.

I liked Homer and the rest of his colleagues playing at work. The Pimp my ride scene worked really good, and the one with Homer dressing ‘’in the most unusual fashion’’ made me laugh as well. The scene with Homer giving ice cream to the lactose intolerant kid was just awful, though.

I found the story with Marge’s sculpting quite unique, since we rarely see Marge doing something creative. The only one I can think about is her writing in Diatribe of a Mad Housewife. The sculptures were very cool, especialy grampa sleeping in the chair, and the one with Fat Tony and Jimmy the snitch.

The last act was nice, with Homer being sad and realizing he hurt Marge, instead of acting like a jerk, which is what he usualy does. The scene with polaroids was touching, but made me smile after Homer’s explanation of why he is laughing in the last polaroid. However, what’s the deal with IPods taking over the world?

B+

[bartyboy]

A not bad episode. 3.5/5

[Bella Drape 'er]

enjoyable enough episode, although the last two minutes of the episode outstretches what the episode was trying to lead to. B+

[cloneasaurus]

I'm not a fan of season 18 on the whole but I thoroughly enjoyed this one (from memory it's the second best of the season behind Springfield Up). A few genuine laugh out loud moments, an interesting plot (I like how it veered away from being another Homer gets a job episode). Naturally there were flaws, namely Marge shooting with the Texan, Marge's slight bitchyness, the stupid iPod ending, the lactose intolerant scene, every Moe scene and a couple of scenes that went on too long ie. Comic Book Guy and the needless Snake/helicopter thing.

Of course it's not great (it's late Jean, what do you expect), but it's a thoroughly enjoyable episode. Needless to say I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews here because I'm watching season 18 in order again and this was definitely the best so far, avoiding over the top wackiness (G.I.D'oh) and terrible storytelling (Jazzy and the Pussycats, The Mook etc).

B-/C+

[Toomanygrandmas]

This is the first time that I've seen 'Ice Cream of Margie (With the Light Blue Hair)', so my review might not be long, and my grade of it will probably eventually change. I thought it was an okay episode. It suffered from many late-Jean problems, but it had enough good attributes, so that the end result was relatively satisfactory.

The premise of the episode was so-so. Yeah, it was another Homer gets a job episode. Also mixed in though, was another plot that shows Marge and her love for art - though to be fair, there aren't many of these. Some of the ways in which the episode moved forward were pretty bad. Homer gets fired from the Nuclear Power Plant AGAIN, and the reasons and build up to him getting fired seemed pretty rushed. I also had problems with later parts of the plot. Marge seemed a bit harsh towards Homer, but she forgave him quite suddenly. The conflict between the two had it's moments, but it was nothing special.

The episode did actually have a reasonable number of funny moments (or at least moments to smile at), which helped save the episode from the depths of mediocrity. I found Grampa talking to the picture of the kids relatively funny, and I did like the scene where Homer is driving away from the kids, then suddently realises he's meant to be selling ice cream to them. There were some jokes I wasn't too keen on. Like others, I felt that Homer forcing the lactose intolerant child to eat the ice cream was overly-harsh. Also, the scene where Homer suits-up Ali G style, went on for far too long, like many jokes in the recent seasons. I did smile a bit at the I-Pod ending, but firstly it was unecessary and out of place, and secondly it just seemed like an attempt to reference new technology (to be fair though, the I Pod was five years old by the time this episode was made). At least it was short, and not as bad as 'Mapple'.

Overall, despite my complaints, I didn't think this episode was too bad. I didn't think it was paticularly good either, but an average episode in this era ends up being one of the season's best.

3/5 (Though a low three)

[rkell48]

Honestly don't remember much from it except the "milkshake" song. And that bit where Homer is getting dressed in his uniform like that matrixy kind of scene idk.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Ice Cream of Margie (With the Light Blue Hair)

We're already 7 episodes in and yet Season 18 manages to establish itself as the most polarizing season to date. You're probably asking how can it be polarizing if it followed almost the same formula for like 18 years? Well, one could be said about it's plots which seem as well constructed as cardboard paper; the same could also be said for the jokes, which seem a bit more random and jarring then the previous preceding speason before it, and that season was also disappointing. Regardless of the reason, episodes like this just further the belief established above.

Let's start with one of the oddest montages in Simpsons history; a montage where shots of the aforementioned truck is set to hip-hop music, more specifically Missy Elliot's "Get Ur Freak On". I mean really, really awkward choice of music; the fact that it was even considered for the scene just makes me question the writers sanity. I mean if they wanted a hip-hop song for the reveal then they should of gone with one of the following.

1. Kelis - "Bossy"
2. 50 Cent - "Candy Shop"
3. Xzibit - "Front 2 Back"
4. Rick Ross - "Hustlin'"
5. Fabolous - "Can't Deny It"
6. Fat Joe - "Lean Back"
7. Nelly - "Air Force Ones"
8. Ice Cube - "Click, Clack - Get Back!"
9. Slim Thug - "Like a Boss"
10. Beyonce - "Upgrade U"

All of those songs have been played on the radio/TV shows/various movies, have something to do with bosses/freaking and would of showcased the truck a bit better then the above song. All joking aside, there was no need to put a hip-hop song in there when a simple reveal would of worked fine. Regardless that montage will prove to show what's wrong with this episode as a whole.

Homer at this point can basically have any job he wants and while the premise of him being an Ice Cream man may sound like one that he may be good at, it doesn't fit him well; which is odd considering that he's somewhat good around kids, can't help to let someone down and he loves food. Of course, considering that the character of Homer has changed; I shouldn't expect him to be the same character as he was in the past but he could of been used a whole lot better in his plot, a whole not better. Case in point, he shouldn't be just as a shell for some bad jokes. Of course, he's not the only one at fault here. There is another premise that sidelines Homer's ice cream plot and that premise is Marge making detailed figures out of Popsicle sticks that Homer brings home. It isn't anything special that we haven't seen before but what makes this stand out is how it's used in a poorly written plot. The writer of the episode attempts to use both the Ice Cream plot and the Popsicle stick plot as a metaphor for Homer and Marge's goals/efforts and also attempts to create a Homer and Marge crisis episode out of those plots. While the writer may have been thinking of himself/herself as clever, I tend to think the opposite.

Why? Mainly because it isn't hinted properly that they're having problems. It's more like Homer gets a new job, Marge is feeling depressed/worried, both have new hobbies, both are happy and suddenly there's tension. I mean you have the middle part of the episode with Homer & Marge happy (especially since Marge knows Homer has a route to fulfill.) and now Marge needs emotional fulfillment? There is some problems in the first part of the episode but there is nothing that can erase most of the middle part, which is a problem since during none of the middle part has any problems been shown at all. Adding to the problems are the stuff that leads up to the Homer & Marge crisis. In good writing, stuff that leads to a crisis happens naturally or failing that, logically; in here the stuff just pops out of thin air without even a hint by Homer or Marge about those things. I admit, they might of needed that stuff to create conflict but stuff that appears out of nowhere creates plot holes and just pisses people off. Homer suddenly remembering that he has to get to Marge's opening pissed me off, Homer selling Ice Cream and acting like it was on purpose afterwards somewhat pissed me off (though I will admit it was nice to see him on his route.) and Marge's sudden opening and Homer's sudden crash pissed me off. It would of been mostly acceptable had there at least been some reasoning behind this but there wasn't and it ruins what the writer tries to do later in the episode; which is attempt to give the episode a romantic core.

The romantic core at the end of the episode is okayish and they did try to put some emotion and reconcilation (though an unnecessarily large reconciliation) in the end but due to the stuff that happened before, it has less weight then it should. I mean when you manage to remember the stuff like Homer's crash then it's a sign that nothing will matter much in the end, no matter how cute/sweet it is. I will admit that despite the sucky premise, poor plot and awkward characterization. I will say that there are some good jokes in here, jokes that go on for too long but jokes nonetheless. The Otto/Homer gag was somewhat clever/enjoyable (if you cut out the awkward hip-hop musical sequence.), there was a good Ralph moment in there and some of the sight gags were decent... The others, not so much; most of them are meh (even that Homer segment where he dresses himself as a Ice Cream Man.) with some bleh (the iPod ending) mixed in but it does remind you of how much the dynamic of Springfield has changed. Back then Springfield felt like an actual town and while it had the characters you've come to know and love, they wern't all over the place. Today it seems like these characters are just placed on the street just so they can serve some sort of fanservice or play the role of some joke; I know it might be a bit far-fetched but this is just what Springfield feels like today and it can end up being a bit unsettling.

So... Yeah... This episode just reaffirms Season 18's status as the most polarizing season. The characters here aren't like themselves at all and some of them even do stuff that is really questionable. The plot is admirable but it's ruined by moments where major plotholes are evident and that just ruins anything they might of had for the plot. There are some good jokes but a lot of the material here is just boring. I'm amazed that they had the balls to awkwardly use a Missy Elliott song in there; the fact that they even thought to use it proves that this episode is bad. It's not terrible and it does have some redeeming qualities but this episode is bad nonetheless.

4.0/10