Rate/Review The Wife Aquatic

[DumHonkey]

Homer murdering fish is not funny.

You say "pota-toe", I say clubbing a pile of fish with a club festooned with nails in slow motiong to a "feel good" song is absolutley hilarious.

[Snack Related Mishap]

I'd have to say this was one of the worst episodes of the season. I don't have time to go too indepth, but here are the basic reasons.

Plot Holes:
- Why didn't Marge and Lisa notice Bart was missing?
- Why did the supposed dump of a town, have nice, newly renovated buildings like the musuem and the church?
- Why when the the other boat caught them in a fishing net, was it perfectly nice outside?

Bad Jokes:
- The hook up Homer's nose wasn't funny, it was just gross.
- Homer killing the fish was stupid, and, to make it worse, it was nearly 30 seconds long.
- Comic Book Guy's joke at the beginning of the show was cringworthy.

Bad Characterization:
- Ned putting pamphlets of the car windows is not how the old Ned would act. Now they have changed him into an obnoxious, conservative Christian, instead of the nice, loving neighbour he was before. I hate what they have done to him.

Anyway, I know this review wasn't very articulate, but I am finding it the reviews these days. As the show continues to get worse, I am losing interest in seriously reviewing the episode. If this season doesn't get better fast, I might just stop watching. I hate to think of doing that, but I am starting to feeling like I am wasting 30 minutes of my sundays. I guess I'll see what happens.

Episode Grade: 3/10

[Tomacco]

It was an alright episode for sure. I thought it lost a little steam at some point in the second act though, before picking up again in the third act. Homer clubbing the fish, Homer hanging from the hook and muttering nonsense, the carousel scene, and a bit of "Homer the food monster" overdose brought the episode down for me a bit. I felt like the first act was incredibly short too, did anyone else notice? My favorite parts were "that's right, I know about Milhouse", the scene at Moe's, Fausto running off, the silent movie, "even I hope it's not porn", and the flashback sequence towards the end.

4/5 for this season's standards.

[Tomacco]

- Why when the the other boat caught them in a fishing net, was it perfectly nice outside?

I'm assuming the storm had passed by this point.

[Snack Related Mishap]

I'm assuming the storm had passed by this point.

Ah yes, but when the started drowning, the storm was still present, and then when they were suddenly swept up by the net, it was perfect outside. I didn't think a storm like that could pass that quickly, but then again I'm no expert, so I'm probably wrong about this.

[Xt'Tapalatakettle]

Very middle of the road episode. Third act was by far the best. Nothing outrageously funny. Jokes I did like were Homer's story about the shipwreck, the Shiiiiiipwreeeeeck! line and the transferring the DVD to I-Pod at the beginning. I also liked Homer and Kirk racing for the spot at the film.

I thought it was a pretty good portrait of a community not caring about the fact that their exploitation of their resources is what led to their demise. The ending was very dark and depressing, but it isn't any thing the show is new to (e.g.- Trash of the Titans had a similar feel). I am sort of upset that they really didn't follow through with the Marge plot. They really shouldn't have left out the semi-emotional connection Marge had to the place. I think it made the arc of the episode seem strange, but thankfully the first act was short enough that it didn't detract too much from it. The characters for the most part fine, though Marge's line about the island smelling like "hiney" gave me a small cringe. Other than that, no "bad" jokes that were completely out of character.

I give it 3/5. As I said, right in the middle for the season, which is not necessarily good. Its lack of great laugh out loud jokes held it back.

[Tomacco]

I loved the thought message from Homer that Marge was concentrating on, pretty much solely because it was great to hear Homer speak a full sentence that wasn't a roller coaster of intonation changes.

[BartSimpsonfan17]

LOL At least Bart and Homer were good in this episode. I didn't really like Lisa too much in this one =/
And yes it was sad how they droped Marges story.

[Desperado]

I think I thought this episode was decent just because Kill Gil was so awful. Anyway, the animation of the storm was nice and there a few pretty jokes. I liked the "I know about Millhouse" thing. The ending was sort of a downer and they sort of forgot about Marge being depressed and things though. I also thought the sea captain would make an appearance, but I guess not.

I loved the thought message from Homer that Marge was concentrating on, pretty much solely because it was great to hear Homer speak a full sentence that wasn't a roller coaster of intonation changes.

I agree, I feel like he hasn't talked normal in ages. It's especially makes me cringe when he starts whispering things.

[The "Urban" Lenny]

Overall, not a bad episode. Ok, so maybe it wasn't the best episode of the season but it was far from the worst. Unlike most of the episodes over the last two seasons, this one was funny, with a good story line, and great animation. However the execution of the story was not done very well and the were some plot holes that did definately bring the episode down. Also the whole Fisherman "knowing about Milhouse" didn't make any Goddamn sense. But besides that this episode was one of the first of this season that didn't seem forgettable and actually held my interest for half an hour. The animation on the storm sequence was incredible and some of the best I've seen in the whole series. I'm giving this episode a B-(or 4/5).

[McClure]

I noticed that Maurice LaMarche was credited as a guest voice. Who did he play?

[zipperblues]

I really liked this episode. It didn't have constant laughs, but then again that is not all we tune into The Simpsons for.

What I liked about it was that it was so different than anything we had seen on the show before. I really can't think of any other single episode I would compare it to. It was a, sort of, haunting drama and The Simpsons all at the same time. Something about the music during the film of Marge on the carousel was perfect.

The animation on the boat looked a lot like the ship in Futurama to me. Also, it may be just me, but I thought the font on the credits looked slightly different.

[The Governor]

Personally, this episode had a lot more emotional resonense for people who had lived in a really neat/paradise-esque town when they were younger and then return to see it falling apart. In THAT light, I'd give it a 4/5 because it captured that feeling of innocence lost.

FWiW, they did do a great job with Marge's younger childhood joy on the carousel.

[Philip Cheesesteak]

Sometimes I wonder how certain episodes that have quite a lot of potential can be written so poorly. I mean, some scenes were enjoyable, mainly the buildup with Marge's childhood trips to Barnacle Bay and the Moe scene, but this episode could have been so much better, as all of them nowadays. I hardly laughed at all, but at least the characterizations were accurate. D+
(The constant playing of Camille Saint-Saens "Aquarium" reminded me of the old Space Mountain.)

[Corkus]

Talk about an inconsistant episode. The first half was an absolute bore filled with really awful jokes, but the second half turned around pretty nicely. The animation was phenominal, the best I can recall in this series.

As stated, Act 1 sucked hard. The silent movie, while nicely-done, simply dragged on way too long. The joke with Ned and the pamphlets was a prime example of how negatively his character has morphed. "I was talking to the cat" was really the only line I laughed at, as everything else either fell flat or made me cringe. Though I believe this is the first time we've seen the Van Houtens together ever since they got back together over a year ago.

Act 2 started out equally crappy. I mean, how many times are they going to use that "I didn't say stop" gag in this series? I didn't even think it was funny the first time, to be honest. Homer dangling with the hook was wretched, and that "Queer strange/Queer gay" joke was probably the worst in the episode. But when it shifted to the Perfect Storm parody, things got a whole lot better.

Obviously Act 3 was the best of the bunch, continuing the parody. The cutaway to Moe's was pretty weird but also pretty amusing. I even thought the ending was pretty funny, with Lisa's over-the-top environmentalist attitude backfiring. The one thing that really bugged me about the latter half of the episode, though - The episode suddenly morphed from a 100% Marge story to a 100% Homer story. Marge was barely in Act 3 at all.

Unfortunately, a good second half doesn't automatically make up for a mediocre first half. C+

(And if I read correctly, the writer was Kevin Curran.)

[firemarX]

I was pretty disappointed, laughed maybe once the entire episode. Big downer for me but not the worst this season and it was a nice change. (2/5)

[Reservoir Dog]

I wasnt expecting much. I didnt get much. The silent film was pretty funny, Homer smashing the fishes was really funny, but most other jokes lacked in substance. The plot was ok, and i found the nostalgic quality of the episode really boring. I found the end funny though, despite all the mischaracterizations in this episode, as a family , they destroyed an entire islands environment and i thought that was pure simpsons. 3/5

[Sarcastic Guy II]

i was not a fan, aside from jimbo's description of radishes

Wow, way to post.

The episode, she was not-a-so-good. It looked like it'd be boring, and it was. there was nothing horrible, but it was just such a jokeless throwaway.

3/5, and I'm being generous on account of the really good animation at sea.

[bovine_university]

There was some good moments and some bad ones, so overall this episode was pretty average. The outdoor movie sequence was okay, but the silent picture itself ate up alot of time. However I really liked the innocent and sweet feel of the home movies. The idea of how the town fell upon its hard times was interesting, but given Lisa's angry rant with the fisherman and her big moment at the very end, she really needed to get some more screen time and involvement with the story. In fact, character usage was a big problem overall with this episode. Marge's role appears to be major at first, but once the fishing story kicks in she's all but forgotten, and Bart stowing away on the boat added nothing to the plot. The entire sequence of events involving Homer and the fireworks, the town turning on him, and his having to take part in the fishing expedition all felt kind of rushed. I did like the resolution (as simple as it was), though there really wasn't much need for a flashback. The resolution was just cynical enough, but again, Lisa felt kind of thrown into the role. The humor was good, but nothing special overall, so I gave this episode a 3/5.

[DuffMan72]

Very... different episode. It's kind of hard to rate it based on other episodes. I did notice however, the voice acting and the animation were both above average.

[Reservoir Dog]

^ Yeah i think that was Hank doing the captin of the fishing ship. I was impressed. It was a good voice. Glad you brought that up.

[Drew]

I'll rate a SImpsons episode since I finally watched one.

3/5

"Meh" is the perfect way to describe it. It wasn' off the wall lame with everyone out of character, and a halfway decent story. Wasn't that funny either though.

[Nameless]

Another reasonable-ish episode, but not brilliant.

C+

[Wasteland]

It was an ok episode. Homer's fish-clubbing montage went on too long, and the Clinton joke was horribly dated, but other than that, I kinda liked it.

3.5/5.

[NoOneFamous]

While the animation was beautiful and the song (anyone know what its from?) was pretty amazing, the story was just not focused at all. There was so much build up to it being a story about Marge wanting to re-visit her past... and I can honestly say it had a very awesome feel to it, like it was building up to something big and deep with Marge and her past. But all of a sudden Homer causes trouble, and its like "oh well, fuck that Marge story, lets switch over to a wacky Homer plot!" I can actually pinpoint where the episode went bad - with the terrible joke of the hook in Homer's nose.

The rest of the episode was nothing more than a horribly forced, obvious parody of The Perfect Storm, but with very little payoff. Its the type of thing that people who don't really "get" The Simpsons see and think "Ha! They are clever!" When really, it was such a cheap parody that it wasn't clever at all. Then after that, we get a rushed ending about Homer's rescue and a tacked on preachy environmentalist ending. The story of Marge and the town are left completely unresolved.

It really felt like two seperate episodes. The town is delapidated until it becomes a story about Homer at sea... then the seems pretty normal. Why? This isn't like nitpicking a small continuity error in the animation or something... I rarely even notice those... this was very obvious. When they first arrive, they were apparently the only tourists in years. Then later, there are several other tourists.

Al Jean/Matt Groening and whoever can sit there and claim how the show is still "as good as ever, just different, and use the scapegoat of assuming we are all "comic book guys" for not liking it, but I really wonder if they even look at whats being put out anymore. Plot aside, how could they let the town go from crappy to decent? Didn't anyone say anything? Oh, and "Yum-Yum Fish??" How did that even make it to paper?!?

I would give this a 1/5, but the animation, score, and somewhat decent characterization bring it up to a 3/5.

[Xt'Tapalatakettle]

I agree about the plot being somewhat unfocused. Two things would have focused the plot:

1) Lisa appearing in the boat instead of Bart. If they were going to pull the whole enviornmental angle at the end (which they did and which I liked), it would have added much more if Lisa had been on the boat trying to stop them from fishing. Perhaps the writers have been listening to our complaints that Bart has been a neglected character and were trying to work him in somehow. But Lisa made more logical sense there.

2) Some mention could've been made by Marge at the end that closed up her part of the story. It could've been something simple just to show that emotionally she had closure on Barnacle Bay. I do think that they didn't try to force emotion in this episode, and perhaps if Marge had said something at the end, it would've appeared forced. Nonetheless, it felt like it was completely dropped at the end.

I really think those two things could've lifted this episode a full grade higher.

As for the hook in nose thing, I really didn't laugh much, but I didn't think it was that stupid. I did laugh at people taking photos with Homer as he was on the hook.

I laughed at the CBG part at the beginning. Marge was "stating the obvious to the viewer." They really didn't commit that error much in this episode and, to be honest, the JABFs have improved in toning down forced jokes so far. Strangely, the JABFs have been overall less funny despite this improvement.

[vox]

before you read my review, i'd like it to be taken in consideration that i have been one of the most adamant defenders of the current jean era on this board and have practically crusaded to get others to be objective and recognize the positive potential of new episodes when watching them.


but this one was among the most derivative bad fanscript-style pieced together focusless shit heaps i've ever seen. what the hell. what the hell.

between almost not bothering to put any jokes in the marge part of the plot (which was discarded like the reeking flotsam it was in the middle of the episode), nonexistant plot development, and downright abhorrent characterization of every single gotdamn character, this was overall one of the most amateurish things the show has ever done.

i wanted to beat the lame out of bart after that shitty cod line, marge was dull as fuck, homer seemed like some underdeveloped prehistoric hominid with severe brain damage mixed in with a deft and repeated bludgeoning of any charm or substance he may have had. and lisa's "this isnt what i wanted at all" prompts the burning question of WHO THE FUCK CARES? i dont know where that line got off thinking that lisa and her shoehorned activism, stereotypical of every judgemental bitch with her self-rightueousness volume cranked up to 1000 that lisa is the diametric opposite of, was at all relevant to anything in this episode.

actually, i take it back. i'm fairly sure it got off at some bullshit environmental awards ceremony, while the writers got off on the notion that they just penned some trenchant commentary on the degradation of our ecosystem, while heartily contributing to the degradation of lisa's character and any story this episode might have been trying to tell. well bravo, i hope that works out just fucking swell for everyone involved, i really do. its just a shame that a bunch of ivy alums cant grasp the fundamental basics of storytelling that they teach you in kindergarten: beginning, middle, end. not beginning, begin something else, introduce some irrelevant shit that make us look like pretentious assholes, hastily add something about the perfect storm which becomes a major plot point, then deus ex machina, begin something entirely unnescessary with 5 seconds left on the shotclock, and no end to be found! let alone a joke to go out on because god forbid a comedy attempt humor

and talk about rehashing out the shithole. patty and selmas jokeless film reel was essentially the prince of tides flashback in selma's choice without a punchline, the climax with the boat flooding a bland mimicry of simpson tide's (a fact thats even acknowledged by jean on the commentary for that ep, gee thanx 4 doin somethin 2 fix it o venerable pontifist upyourownassimus) and plenty of isolated gags were ripped from episodes of yesteryear: bart and lisa twisting the carousel was a less humorous version of homer operating the cupcake machine in rosebud, chinese fishermen saving protagonists afloat having been done in das bus and more fun bits that i thank jesus henry christ for letting me haven already forgotten.

oh, and the animation was astounding and the score was just delightful! makes up for it 100%

raising the grade from -161% to a well deserved D-

[Green_Peaness]

This was a very different episode...it had a strange feel, kind of like Kill Gil but less terrible. There were several laughs, but the plot construction seemed very simple. The way it was put together felt like the writers were on auto-pilot. I'm not sure what to think yet, but for now: C

raising the grade from -161% to a well deserved D-

Don't you mean -59%?

and the Clinton joke was horribly dated

I don't think so. I thought it was poking fun at how a lot of conservatives still complain about Clinton.

[Jakebert]

I don't think the Clinton joke was dated whatsoever. If you listen to any conservative pundit for more than 5 minutes, they almost always throw in some reference to Clinton, or try to blame any problem Bush is having on Clinton.

[Malachy]

It was not too good.

C-