Rate/Review: "Crook and Ladder" (JABF13)

[coltonwiggum]

I find it interesting because to me, it seems like people are having more trouble finding something wrong with episodes... or maybe I've been blazing too much. Only time will tell.

[Mira]

No 1/5's. Yayness!

[HappyLittleElf]

I really enjoyed this episode right from the begining. I thought that the whole Maggie loses her pacifier coul have stood as an episode itself. But overall this was a really well written Homer Get's A Job episode. It had a few lame jokes but had some really funny ones to like "You just got Apu'd" So overall I give it a 4/5.

[grissom]

My full review:
I usually try to prevent myself from speculating about new episodes too much lately, since we've had so many surprises recently where terrible sounding episodes turned out to be pretty decent, and promising sounding plots amounted to nothing noteworthy. But I couldn't help myself from anticipating a horrendous outing based on the convoluted and ridiculous sounding storyline for this episode. Maggie causes havoc after losing her pacifier, which leads to Homer sleepwalking, which leads to him disabling the whole fire department, which leads to him becoming a volunteer fire fighter, which leads to him becoming a professional criminal of sorts. I couldn't help but be convinced that this would be an unfocused and ultimately dissatisfying piece of work. But I'm glad to report that however inane the plot was, "Crook and Ladder" was really not too bad of an episode.

There's really no dispute that the plot was pretty much all over the place. It took a while to really get to the point, and a lot of the first act felt like filler material. Aside from a few decent gags involving Maggie losing her pacifier, there weren't a whole lot of laughs either. As you can probably guess, I wasn't appreciative of Homer's extended mood swing gag. Again, it followed the basic principal that these jokes nearly always do: it's funny for a few seconds, and after that it's just repetitive. The zombie montage scene was pretty lame too, and Moe seemingly believing that Homer was a woman was unbelievably creepy. Maybe there's something I'm missing with this one, but I really didn't get the joke behind Lisa starting to say the real name of the insomnia drug that Homer was taking instead of the fake one. I think pretty much everybody watching this episode knew the drug they were referring to was Lunesta, so what was the point of making a direct reference to it? It wasn't funny and it made no sense within the context of the episode to have a character mention something outside of her own in-show universe. It was a throwaway line and it wasn't a big deal, I just found that a little annoying. From the point just after the scenes with Maggie in the beginning up until Homer actually joining the fire department, there was really nothing memorable. This was the section that really dragged the grade down. It just wasn't that interesting.

The plot picked up its pace after this. Homer as a fire fighter was much more interesting than the weird chain of events that led to him becoming a fire fighter. The humor picked up as well. Obviously none of this was any kind of intelligent satire, but it wasn't meant to be. Occasionally it's not a terrible thing for this show to just do an episode that's just a decently written gag-vehicle, which is essentially what this was. The humor wasn't cutting edge or particularly creative, but it was funny anyway. Simple gags like Homer stealing five Segways at once and then cutting to a scene where they're all driving themselves aimlessly across the front lawn are perfect for an episode like this. Another thing I liked was the dynamic between the volunteer fire fighters, characters who don't often have a chance to interact with one another. Moe, Apu and Skinner all had their fair share of good lines, and their appearances were definitely worthwhile and added a lot of good stuff to the episode. As usual there were some awful gags even in this part of the episode, but thankfully they were small in numbers. The only particularly terrible one I recall is Mr. Burns being electrocuted on the power lines outside of his house, and then for some reason thinking that a kite was some fellow Yale graduate. The resolution to the plot wasn't anything surprising or new, but it served its purpose. Once this plot got off the ground, it turned out surprisingly good.

Homer was in great character through this whole section. He was irrational and a little crazy without being over the top. Part of the reason that Homer became such a terrible character during the Scully era was because every part of his personality that was even a little bit obnoxious was amplified to the point that he became increasingly loud and irritating. This episode was a good example of how Homer should be. He's unintelligent and often doesn't have much common sense, but he's more restrained and seems at least a little bit like a real person. That type of character is much more likeable than a completely off the wall lunatic.

Overall, even with the dead space in the beginning, this was a fairly good episode. It didn't have any really specific qualities elevating it over a lot of other episodes this season, it was just enjoyable to watch. I don't have a problem settling with that at this point. After nearly a whole season of inconsistent episodes with everything from total failures to modern classics, a simple enjoyable episode is a worthy entry. It was a happy medium between seriousness and silliness, it made me laugh, and I had fun watching it. B

[Rhodan]

4/5
After three bland episodes, this one was return to the better side of the season. I would say that some scenes like both montages, Homer,Burns, etc. were nearly classic era moments Story was flowing strangely and naturaly at the same time, much like "Little big girl" (hey, another with fire...). However just like we allready knew, Homer was acting like jerkass all the time and conclusion was far too quick. Still, it was a pleasent surprise.

[simplysimpsons]

I thought it was a little above average for the season. The opening was even more detatched from the main plot than normal, with the Homer sleepwalking thing joining them together. The Maggie story was a bit of a mixed bag. Some pretty funny moments, like Maggie spitting out everything, but some things I didn't like: Grampa moment, and the Larry Flint thing, and a lot of the dialogue seemed a bit forced. The Homer zombie plot was funny for the most part, but I can't get that horrible mood swings gag out of my head. Anyone remember the mood swings gag from 'Blowfish, Blue Fish'? That was very similar yet done a hell of a lot better.

The fireman plot was good for the most part again. Everyone had good lines especially when they were rescuing everyone the first time. I really hated the Burns moment though (floating down to the electricity poles, getting electrocuted...sigh). Burns has turned into such a pathetic character these days it's just sad, and this gag was, like most other modern Burns ones, very unfunny. I didn't really find the rest of the episode that memorable except a couple of lines "It's been in my family 47 seconds!", and Homer realising what he'd done wrong went by a bit too quick, although I did really enjoy Homer at the SNPP. Overall I quite liked the episode, it did feel longer than normal which is a good thing. But there is still definite room for improvement - they still need to shorten the extended jokes (mood swings, the siren). B-

[Roger Myers III]

Actually, the whole fire department were seen in The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons, at the bachelor auction.

I was hardly trying to be exhaustive - we've seen firemen and firetrucks many times before. Its clear they ]existed.

What I meant was that we hadn't learned muuch about the personnel or the 'structure' of the Springfield Fire Department. Its notable - not 'good' or 'bad', just 'notable' - that the show, which is centered in a town that has most of the regular 'basic society jobs' covered by regularly recurring characters we know, 'fireman' isn't one of them. (Others would include 'mailman', 'butcher', 'farmer', 'mechanic', and a number of others.)

Thanks for the work you put into this. I always look forward to your post.

Thank you. (And good call on Butch Patrick)

You know, the only reason that these are soooo exhaustive is that I try to cover all the things that our overseas fan wouldn't be aware of, and to which younger fans wouldn't get the reference. I know that many of them are very 'obvious'.

(And, btw - I did do one for "Marge Gamer", but didn't realize that it didn't post. I stuck in at the end of the R&R thread recently anyways.)

Great post. I agree with you that this episode had too many runs (I think you caught them all) and meta-references, which along with a bit of a convoluted story, made the episode lose points for me. But there were still a number of laughs, no question. One thing this episode did do for me was remind me how much I miss seeing Burns in central roles. I enjoyed seeing him here, and found Shearer did his lines notably well this time around (maybe no better than usual, but my enjoyment of it was enhanced by the fact that this is probably Burns' longest time on screen all season).

Yes, I enjoyed many things in the ep, but was still a little underwhelmed by it overall. But looking at the comments calling it a "comeback"... all I can deduce is that there is absolutely no way to predict immediate reaction, nor is there really any merit to immediate-reaction-measurement. Fun though it may be.

(For instance, I'm remembering that you were one of the few to really appreciate "Kill Gil" at the time - a really out-of-the-box ep that was really well done, but could overcome the anti-Gil bias that built up here from the title announcement alone. IMO.)

It seems that the Costtington guy is the new Rich Texan or Yes Guy, luckily they got rid of the annoying cheek thing and "mood swings" could have been decent but they made it awfully long.

'Mood swings, though, was a great performance and had great animation. And Costington still had the swinging jowls, (which is the 40-era businessman characteristric he's always had, not the "you're fired!") when they told him about the "fire-destroyed" equipment.

GMIII;

I thought the "3 Kids, no money" line was used by Homer as a justification to steal... like reasoning for the moral delema to rationalize his temptation.

Therefore, I thought thats what made the line great.

Am I remember the sequence of events wrong?

You are remembering the sequence of events wrong.

The line came in a scene just after explaining to Rod that his behavior was due to the Nappien, and just before he had Marge lock him in the bedroom for such behavior. It was a long, long time before he began firefighting. (Which he did because he was responsible for incapacitating the other firemen - not for income. When they began stealing, it was because they rationalized to themselves that they deserved the goods out of gratitude - at no point did Homer use a 'lack of money' as a rationailization for his deeds.

We had Homer/Apu/Skinner/Barney, and Homer/Apu/Moe/Burns, so now it's Homer/Apu/Moe/Skinner. I like Moe and Apu, two of my favorite characters, and they were put to good use. Skinner sort of faded away, but otherwise, I like the characters they chose to focus on.

On the contrary - Skinner was necessary as the 'nagging conciensce' of the group, and he increased in importance.

RMIII, I believe that the pacifier brand was actually Bink 182, as in binky. You also make a good point about the overusage of the "runs."

I also recall hearing the pacifier's name as "bink" and not "blink". Blink wouldn't make any sense as a pacifier brand name, but bink definitely would.

Thanks to you two and others that caught my typo.

[SilverEagle]

Now I wish I would have given the episode a 3/5 instead of 2/5. The jokes are really subtle and dialogue-oriented so it was important to watch it twice.

Act 1 was the best, even if most of it was filler. Lots of good jokes (I really liked the pacifier brands) and it seemed to be a good story up until they crashed into the Fire Department building for no reason. It was all downhill from there.

Act 2 was awful. The jokes were almost non-existent, and it would have been difficult to enjoy them anyway considering how awful the plot was.

Act 3 was much better. The jokes were stronger, the story felt a bit more realistic, and there was a more believable conflict present. I liked the "sad eyes" bit.

6/10 or 3/5

[DumHonkey]

Moe and Apu were on the fire department in the Focussin episode.

[I Love Lisa]

I finally caved in to downloads and downloaded this one.

Pretty good, I thought. Funny throughout, a couple of bad jokes (mood swings) and two montages but overall a very funny episode. B+

[Stupid Flanders]

5/5

I really enjoyed this episode having Apu, Skinner, Homer and Moe back reminds me of the Be Sharp. Great episode

[Dental Plan!]

Pretty terrible. Far too many jokes that went on for too long, and lots of easy to write meta references. 2/5.

[Charlie]

Average...the only bit I really liked was the part that was shown in the commercials here (...any moment...any moment). The entire Maggie thing was abandoned too quick, and the mood swings thing was painful. I also liked "this clock's been in my family for...forty...seconds".

7/10

I really enjoyed this episode having Apu, Skinner, Homer and Moe back reminds me of the Be Sharp.

Moe wasn't in the Be Sharps.

[George Cauldron]

For the most part, an enjoyable outing. I didn't know anything about the episode beforehand and wasn't sure what the title was alluding to (I assumed it was a spy episode - Cloak and Dagger?) but I was pleasantly surprised on the whole. Some of the first part of the show was hit-and-miss and I didn't think much of the 'zombie Homer' scenes, but once Homer, Apu, Moe and Skinner got into their role as volunteer firefighters, the episode improved sharply and became funnier as a result. My favourite joke was probably Homer playing the siren over Skinner's complaining, protesting and reasoning, but if I remember rightly, there were quite a lot of other jokes competing for "best joke of the episode." So it looks to me like The Simpsons is getting funnier than it has as of late. Which can only be a good thing. It is supposed to be a comedy after all.

[Jesse Pinkman]

3/5, it was enjoyable, some great jokes, but it does get a little boring sometime after Homer, Moe, Skinner, and Apu become firefighters. Still a great episode, but it could be better

[Green Man]

3/5, it was enjoyable, some great jokes, but it does get a little boring sometime after Homer, Moe, Skinner, and Apu become firefighters. Still a great episode, but it could be better

I agree.

[SIR oinks alot]

there were alot of funny joke such as moe saying " I cant believe mr burns is acting totally in character" and " you have just been apued"

B-

[Nauru-1]

Haven't seen this. I'm not expecting but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

[Rest your giant head]

Until it started to follow the typical overdone ‘’Homer gets a job’’ pattern, this episode was fairly enjoyable. The first act was actually my favorite part of it, mostly because I thought Homer’s sleepwalking was very original. I also liked the opening with Maggie’s little role.

What I liked the most about the sleepwalking plot was all the bizzare stuff going on, especially Homer eating the jewelry, the bit with mood swings, and Homer arranging the video tapes as dominoes, with some of the tapes spelling out Matt Groening. The zombie montage worked fine as well. The thing with Moe, Skinner and Apu joining the fire department along with Homer was predictable. I wish they introduced a couple of newer characters here.

From the moment the stealing plot kicks in, the episode goes downhill. That’s where it turned into another one of those ‘’Homer does something stupid, and the family is dissapointed with him’’ stories that I’m really tired of. The second montage made me laugh, though, and the episode picked up with Homer becoming a hero at the end.

C

[Sprocketeer]

This isn't a bad episode at all, but it's a pretty forgettable one. There were some good jokes but also plenty of ones that wouldn't end (if I recall, there was a pretty bad one with McBain). But as nice as it is to see Homer teaming up with some secondary characters again, the story isn't interesting enough to rank it up there with classics like "Team Homer" and similar episodes that feature Homer in a foursome. Still worthy of a 3.5/5, as it had me laughing frequently.

[amr diab]

kill maggie

[The Wiggs]

Just an average episode in my opinion. 3/5. Classicly Jean average episode.

[Bella Drape 'er]

Despite the "Homer becomes a fire-fighter" already done before in the Simpson comics (not that it really matters), this episode had a nice flow to it. Although the "Larry Flint" and "mood swings" were quite annoying, I think it's fair to give it a 3/5.

[Safety Inspector]

Excellent, because:
1. That was hilarious. Joke about signature, Homer-zombie and Bart and Liza sad face was original.
2. This episode was about high moral values
3. That was another episode about Homer new career (I love it)
10\10, A+
S18 rating: 5th place

[The Angry Animated Comedy Nerd]

I gave it an 5/5.. b/c when I first watched it I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it.

[Teddy]

Great episode. Had many funny moments. Abe's face after eating raisins, Maggie destroying the house, Homer's mood swings, Homer sleepwalking scenes, and the commercial Homer was watching ("He needs help!", "Help from a drug..") 5/5