Rate & Review "Yokel Chords" (JABF09)

[TriforceBun]

The kids were voiced by Tress, Pam, and Nancy.
I don't think more guest stars in the ep would have been an improvement.
Yes, they should have Natalie Po... oh, I guess they are doing things like that already.

You're right--Pam Hayden and Nancy Cartwright did do some of the kids. I personally would like to hear more kid voices from those two, actually, simply because they sound a lot more unique than Tress's to me (though that may be because Tress's stock kid voices permeate nearly every cartoon out there).

Yeah, I thought Natalie Portman voicing a kid was a good decision in a recent ep...I do think there've been some positive traits in a lot of recent episodes, after all. :silly: Heck, I gave "Little Big Girl" a B and the phenomenal "Springfield Up" an A...

[Veryjammy]

.

Well, Price is rewritten just as much as everyone else in the staff - 70-85%; you're falling into that common trap of judging a large amount based solely on the 'credited' name. Additionally, Price didn't even come up with the Bart subplot - which you and others seem to feel was the 'better' of the two plots. I don't think that you might have caught on to how 'exploited' the kids were by Krusty.

Oh I know that it's hard to judge the quality of a writer by what episodes they've been credited with. However there comes a point when you wonder why Michael Price's episodes have all been free of some of the most irritating aspects of modern Simpsons, and why, say, Tim Long consistently seems to be credited with the some of the worst episodes ever produced. And, to me anyway, the fact that Michael Price didn't come up with the concept of the Bart plot isn't that relevant. He still had to make something of it regardless as to whether he pitched it or not.

Also I realise the kids were exploited by Krusty, I just don't feel it was done in a way that was either particularly funny or dramatically interesting. That's what I mean when I say I think the Lisa plot needed punching up, because it ended up a little flat by the end.

[sacrelicious]

It's taken me two days to get my review on here, but don't expect anything grand.

It didn't suck--that's my conclusion--but it didn't have any of the wow factor or even really rememberable jokes or funny stuff. The only reason this didn't suck is the dialog between Meg Ryan's character and Bart.

[jim2386]

Favorite line:

Martin: Tell us all you know!
Bart: Alright, imagine I'm holding a flashlight under my face.....
Milhouse: AHHHH!


Bart: My dad never took me on the merry-go-booger. He was always passed out in the parking snot

[TriforceBun]

Upon reflecting a bit, I remembered some of this episodes finer moments. There were three really good bits for me--the Dark Stanley European-style animation and music, the Mad-Lib segment, and the generally excellent direction during the songs (particularly the first few). I'll bump up the grade to a C+ for now.

[kid_presentable]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was a pleasant suprise. 4.2 out of 5 from me. Pretty good jokes, a very well done plot with Bart and the Lisa Plot was above average also. Yay!

[Handsome Peter]

I liked this episode. The first act was excellent, and I was really looking forward to the last two - they weren't as good, but still satisfying. I liked the way they handled the musical theme - every time someone breaks into song, they have "a reason to" (like trying to think), and the songs weren't overdone like they are in some musical episodes. Very well done.

I assume that Cletus' seven children was supposed to be a "Sound of Music" reference - where were the other 26? (I liked those childrens' names better, too - especially Q*Bert!) The ending could have been better too. Otherwise, an excellent show. I gave it 4/5.

[The Governor]

However, now when I hear people complain about somthing in the current seasons, then I see similar humor or joke or tone in "classic" Simpsons, it makes me feel better about the current state of the show.

Those 'tones' in the 'classic years' were either toned down compared to their modern counterparts, or they were fewer and farther between. (for the record, I hated Bart Gets an Elephant and Krusty gets Kancelled.)

Now, take away the 'surreal' moments and compare the old show to the new show: the old show felt like a skewed version of the typical family (NO, I didn't just say the 'classic' era was 100 percent realistic), while the new show is a standardized cartroon. Being an empathatic comedy was why the show became popular, otherwise it would've been a "Married with Children" with yellow skin or a South Park without the swearing.

[DumHonkey]

(I liked those childrens' names better, too - especially Q*Bert!)

Gotta admit, I also was eager to see which one was Q*Bert.

*sigh*

A man can dream though.

A man can dream.

[Xt'Tapalatakettle]

just 'walking in' wouldn't nearly have cut it. The humor was entirely based in their unloading on swanson, particularly in the delivery of the double-entendres.

Just walking in was funnier than all the double-entendres in the world. The fact that a counselor would see a store clerk and the guy who constantly robs him is funnier than any double entendre. Even if you do have those lines, there were far too many of them. Please cut 5.

[Firebird]

Well, the plot was a little dull...not bad in theory, but I just couldn't find myself getting very interested in either story, Lisa's in particular. That being said, the jokes were either solid or not cringe worthy bad, and characterization was pretty much spot on.

Also, I loved the animation for Bart's little horror story.

You know when Cletus plays the Harmonica? He's playing the 12 Monkies theme.

Was that the same thing playing during Bart's story? I thought it sounded very familiar.

[TriforceBun]

Odd...another episode that improved for me with a rewatch. Oh well, B- is the new grade from this increasingly-tolerant NHC member. Some extra lines I liked that no one's mentioned yet:

"Aw, ya never let Willie be Willie!"

"That's rated Bad for Everyone!"

"You kids got talent--and I should know, I used to have it."

"Look at those dumb hillbillies! I bet they don't even know what...something is!"

Steven Sondheim quickly smiling after getting hit with Krusty's wad of paper was quite a funny visual gag.

[zoidkat]

did anyone notice Willie's voice was a little different?

[Imperciph]

Finally saw this :

Lot of well-done and well-executed moments and references. One thing certainly should not be griped about this episode : lack of subtlety. None of the jokes appeared forced to me. Fantastic animation direction in Bart's "Dark Stanley" segment. The songs were not gut-burstingly hilarious, but were not completely uninspired either, just about likeable enough. Secondary characters were utilised well and written into the story with fairly creative situations. Missed jokes were few and thankfully were fairly low-key moments so as not to mar the quality too much. Lisa's role was kind of flat and one-note, but Bart's characterisation was refreshing to see.

The main problem of this episode ? It lacked cohesion. There were no thematic link between the two storylines and the main plot often felt like it could further development to make it less light-weight, so the transitions from the main plot and subplot came off as uneven and the episode at times truly felt like too much had been crammed into it. The subplot was thoroughly fun, in fact, it had the potential to sustain a full episode. But the main plot fizzled out in the third act and ended on a weaker note, especially compared to the first two act.

Lot of well-done humour and references, somewhat lacking in plotting. B/B-

[Disgruntled Goat]

The biggest problem with this episode IMO was that all the scenes with Krusty lacked pizazz. Krusty used to be consistently hilarious but pretty much every Krusty moment in the Jean era (exception: I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can) has been mediocre at best.

Apart from that, it was decent - heck, it was adequately satisfastory (I think I've done that joke too many times now...). The animation was great, the plot flowed fairly well IMO. Though I think Bart's plot should have been the main focus and Lisa's plot the "crazy subplot" cos it seemed that more could be done with Bart's plot.

Question: do you think there has been an influence from the old writers who came back for the movie? Maybe they stuck their head round the door of the writers room and contributed a few thoughts? (Probably not but it would make sense)

[Sextant]

One thing certainly should not be griped about this episode : lack of subtlety

One subtle touch that I just loved--and haven't noticed a mention of yet--was Homer's slight turning of the coffee cup to reveal the smiley face as he reassured Marge that everything had been taken care of. I also enjoyed the subsequent gag that he'd naturally done a very poor job of it, and Lisa's sandwich diagram was amusing, although Bart having Grampa's medication wasn't quite as funny to me as "a packet of sugar and peanut butter smeared on a playing card."

[Kiyosuki]

I think I may have been a bit harsh to it grading wise. Its still not my favorite of this season but I do think its a 3/5.

Its been surprisingly well recieved in other parts.

[Imperciph]

I think I may have been a bit harsh to it grading wise. Its still not my favorite of this season but I do think its a 3/5.

Its been surprisingly well recieved in other parts.

I had the same problem with the overall storytelling as you did, but just not to the same degree. But most of the characters and gags were written well enough for me so that I was able to look past the problems I had with the story and enjoy it by quite a fair amount.

[Malachy]

Above-average.

B

[Disgruntled Goat]

Also I just remembered - the Chalmers/antiques joke some people were complaining about - I thought it was going to be a "screw you" joke, but in the end it wasn't. But wait...that makes it a "screw you" joke!