Rate and Review "Funeral for a Fiend" (KABF01)

[arii]

It's my fault, really, for getting too hyped up about this.

It was okay. I wasn't too impressed, and the first act felt awfully slow to me... Things started picking up at the trial and then at the end of the second act. The dialogue felt really, really unnatural to me in the first bit, really... A lot of it just felt so forced and I wasn't really able to lose myself in it.

Though what I really liked was Bart's portrayl in this episode, jokes on how stupid he is aside (seriously? The kid is intelligent... don't give me crap like "the easiest maze in the world!" and him getting excited over it). His behaviour in the court room was great, his conversation with Cecil was great, and those bits with Bob at the end were pretty good, too, how he slowly started to realize that he might actually die and started to become a little more panicked. So for the most part, I loved him in this.

Didn't like Lisa's discovery/explanation in this one... Can't compare to Krusty Gets Busted or Black Widower in the slightest. Also, why do they have to continue dragging jokes on? Like in the beginning, we actually see Moe watching some Sesame Street DVD. The joke would have been okay if they had cut it off with Moe running off-screen after the SUV. It didn't need to be continued.

DID like, though, how it seemed to be getting a little more back to the basics with Sideshow Bob episodes. All of the right characters were there, and Bob was mostly after Bart in the end, which I greatly prefer to swearing revenge on the whole Simpson family.

So far, KABF doesn't seem any different from JABF. I'd have given this a 3/5 but some great stuff from Bart is enough to bump it up one more - at this point, 4/5, B. I still feel kind of underwhelmed, but I'll see how it plays on the second time since I won't be anticipating it as much then.

[cyrus64]

Kelsey Grammer was great! I wish that they had Sideshow Bob fake his death and at the end die for real.

4/5

thats what i toght would hapen ps who played his mom

[Simpsons_Fanboy]

Off Topic.

They're airing "You Kent Always Say What You Want"?, since when did they air two episodes every sunday?

[The Governor]

5/5

Fan-fucking-tastic.

I have no urge to make love to any member of the NHC after watching this episode. Stll: 2/5.

[Bob Snooters]

5/5

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Agreed! Definitely 1 of the best of season 19 so far. By the way I missed the couch gag, what was it?

[cyrus64]

Kelsey Grammer was great! I wish that they had Sideshow Bob fake his death and at the end die for real.

4/5

thats what i tohght would hapen ps who played his mom

[TriforceBun]

I think this episode's biggest problem was that it pretty much played it safe throughout the whole thing--it was, by all accounts, a generic SSB ep. Which isn't bad, of course, but it did feel predictable and at times rehashed. Although there is the small bit of doubt that Bob would survive, besides that, it was still handled in the same way we've seen before--Bob will succeed briefly, Bob will gloat for too long, OFF, with or without Bart, will foil him, and Bob will be sent back to jail.

That said, the episode wasn't bad at all. I quite enjoyed the now-traditional peppering of clues throughout that work together in the end (although it didn't quite feel as clever and fleshed-out this time), the rather impressive anagram, the big collection of Bob's family, the expected dark, shadowy direction, and various gags scattered here and there. I also liked the sheer ridiculousness on how elaborate Bob's plan was (build a fake restaraunt, quote Shakespeare, blow himself up, stage a trial, fake his death, be temporarily coma-induced, stage a funeral, and have his family convince Bart to return).

The episode had a good enough framework, but the writing kept it from being one of the better Bob episodes. Something like Bart finally making amends with Bob's "corpse" could be a potentially creative and interesting speech, but it pretty much just boiled down to "I didn't want you to die, just to get beat up," when we know their relationship is more complex than that. Somewhat hypocritically, though, I liked his "You stink like my butt!" which I thought accurately contrasted Bart's childness with Bob's sophistication, and how aggravated he must be at the entire family.

The gags were standard Jean stuff, some good, a few clunkers, and most of them being of the "okay, that'll work, I guess" variety. No real gripes outside of the episode's lack of striving to be extraordinary, but it did make it feel almost rerun-y.

Something like this is more interesting to watch than the standard episode, though. I quite like the Bob story arc, even if it has gotten repetitive, and I'd love to see the show pursue some more story arcs like this.

Watchable enough, but could've been great. B-

[MikeAaronB]

What. The Fuck. Was that.

1/5

[The J Man]

I have no urge to make love to any member of the NHC after watching this episode.

[Cornelius Talmidge]

I think this episode's biggest problem was that it pretty much played it safe throughout the whole thing--it was, by all accounts, a generic SSB ep. Which isn't bad, of course, but it did feel predictable and at times rehashed. Although there is the small bit of doubt that Bob would survive, besides that, it was still handled in the same way we've seen before--Bob will succeed briefly, Bob will gloat for too long, OFF, with or without Bart, will foil him, and Bob will be sent back to jail.

But in some weird way, isn't that kind of what Simpsons fans want from a SSB episode? Same basic premise of SSB wanting to kill Bart, but with new twists and gags(running and non) to make each SSB episode unique.

[TheFlandersMan]

BEST EPISODE EVER YEAAAH!!!

;-/

[blue_pants]

By far one of the best episodes of the season (so far). But another death fake out?!? God, I hope this doesn't become a trend... Seriously though I give it a 4/5. It lost some points for the fake out after the fake out in Little Orphan Millie, I am sorry that just gets to me (I don't know why, it just does).

[blue_pants]

What. The Fuck. Was that.

1/5

Would you like to explain the low rank you gave? I am just curious.

[TriforceBun]

But in some weird way, isn't that kind of what Simpsons fans want from a SSB episode? Same basic premise of SSB wanting to kill Bart, but with new twists and gags(running and non) to make each SSB episode unique.

I think the problem was that this didn't have enough twists. Or perhaps that simple formula is just running a bit thin after ten episodes. I felt episodes like Sideshow Bob Roberts and Brother From Another Series changed it up significantly and still made for quality Bob episodes. This one did have the fake death, but something that shed a little more light on the relationship between Bob and Bart would've been nice.

[OfficerWriter]

By far one of the best episodes of the season (so far). But another death fake out?!? God, I hope this doesn't become a trend... Seriously though I give it a 4/5. It lost some points for the fake out after the fake out in Little Orphan Millie, I am sorry that just gets to me (I don't know why, it just does).

I agree -- they can only use the ploy of killing off characters so many times before it becomes too common and defeats the purpose of plot development.

Though in tonight's episode, it was a good plot builder, used to promote another Sideshow Bob attempt at killing Bart.

[Luigi]

Have to say I don't mind this episode, definately not the best Bob episode, but not like the last one in Italy, which I couldn't really stand. I really liked the Moe gag and didnt really find it to drag on. Also I'm glad that they didn't have Judge Harm, I was really getting tired of her.

Some of the jokes just didn't do it for me though, so I am going to give this a mediocre 3/5. But probably mostly because I sorta expect more from a Bob episode.

[The Governor]

But in some weird way, isn't that kind of what Simpsons fans want from a SSB episode? Same basic premise of SSB wanting to kill Bart, but with new twists and gags(running and non) to make each SSB episode unique.

How about they make the final Bob episode where he actually DOES die and then that's it. It's a "Want you want" vs. "What you expect" scenario.

[Stevie V. Scrivello]

This could've been a great episode, but wasn't. The first act was a chore to sit through, pointless Tivo gags and all. When the dream sequence with Marge ran, it was stale to say the least and the joke with Olberman unmasking himself ran on for way too long. As for the ribs thing, I have to wonder exactly how Bob would ensure Simpsons would see his commerical, etc- ah, a strain of the plot. As for Opal, is she going to be the next recurring media personality on The Simpsons, successor to the likes of Boobarealla? I'd rather have Gentle Ben.

As for the jokes in the rest of the episode, they generally ranged from mediocre to passable. The echo joke overstayed its welcome...if it ever had grounds to be welcome in the first place.

That brings me to the rest of the episode. The Terwillinger family were sorely underused, in my humble opinion. Bob seemed to be in pretty good form (save "You can call me Slideshow Bob!"), and his exchange with Cecil during the third act brought a slight smile to my lips. At least the Terwillinger brothers and their ill rapport was mostly intact. Robert Mahoney/Dr. Terwillinger barely got a word in edgewise, though: a shame as I really wondered what he would be like as a character. (Then again, I was happy to see that Bob's wife and son didn't get large speaking parts.)

I have to admit, I didn't catch the signifigance of Bob's casket, which was probably the episode's only instance of cleverness. Actually, the plot in itself was rather juvenile, what with the exploding laptop and all. I guess the formula for Sideshow Bob episodes is becoming worn, and it's starting to show. It makes me wonder if this is the end for Bob's schemes, seeing as he's apparently gone mad...

All in all, it was a dissapointment...but not as bad as The Italian Bob.

3/5

[MikeAaronB]

Would you like to explain the low rank you gave? I am just curious.

• The jokes were weak.
• The entire first act was garbage.
• The second act was short, and I can't even remember it.
• The episode was too rushed for me to even develop an interest for it.

[Tomacco]

My favorite Bob episode since "Day of the Jackanapes" (not the hugest fan of "The Great Louse Detective" and pretty much didn't like "The Italian Bob"). This episode had all the pros of the best Bob episodes (elaborate murder plans, great vocal performances, continuity with previous Bob episodes, a big climactic scene where Bob gets foiled, and good Bart characterization). One tired gag it did lack was the rake bit, which they abused in "The Italian Bob" and am happy to leave behind at this point. It would have made the episode even more enjoyable if I didn't already know the surprises in the story (the restaurant being a trap, Bob not actually being dead).

I've heard the coffin line before, but am I wrong, or wasn't it originally going to be in the movie? I forget.

More thoughts soon.

[Gatorgod]

Great Episode! ..I liked it from start to finish, Seeing bob and the whole Sideshow/Terwillager(sp?) family was a treat. The mystery solving aspect of this ep was very reminiscent of early year shows 5/5

[Timayd]

I have to say that I really liked this episode, my only gripe would be the first act. A-

[McClure]

Homer's commercial joke was the first time I've laughed out loud at a joke in The Simpsons in almost 2 years. I'm impressed.

Best episode of the season, without a doubt. The Keith Olbermann thing was a LOT better than I thought it would be and Sideshow Bob was really good.

Some bad stuff though: Opal returns. Why the hell are they turning her into a recurring character? I have a bad feeling that she'll be season 19's "annoying character that the writers keep bringing back for some reason"

Overall: 4/5. Great start to the KABFs and with the next episode's description sounding really good, the KABFs could be the best production code in a while.

[MookiesSleeping]

• The jokes were weak.
• The entire first act was garbage.
• The second act was short, and I can't even remember it.
• The episode was too rushed for me to even develop an interest for it.

DING DING DING !!!

Exactly.

Ps. Also, the Simpsons have a way now of starting a joke out really funny, and not knowing when to cut to another scene. Krusty song for instance very long and boring. echo joke for instance, maybe amusing and then do it again.... and then again.

[ominousorb]

What. The Fuck. Was that.

1/5

What disgusted you so much? Anyway, much of what I have to say has already been said, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the delightfully mad expressions from Bob at the end that were very much in the classical Brad Bird tone. Those are always really fun to watch, even if they might not have been as animated as they could have been. And that brings me to another thought, did anyone notice how slick and cartoony the the I & S short was? It was more classic looking in that sense, and I wish the show itself still had that level of excitement in the animation. It's way too stiff nowadays. They actually did break away somewhat from that in this episode, but it's not enough. Overall thoughts on the episode: I enjoyed it, but there needed to be more going on, 4/5

[MookiesSleeping]

What disgusted you so much? Anyway, much of what I have to say has already been said, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the delightfully mad expressions from Bob at the end that were very much in the classical Brad Bird tone. Those are always really fun to watch, even if they might not have been as animated as they could have been. And that brings me to another thought, did anyone notice how slick and cartoony the the I & S short was? It was more classic looking in that sense, and I wish the show itself still had that level of excitement in the animation. It's way too stiff nowadays. They actually did break away somewhat from that in this episode, but it's not enough. Overall thoughts on the episode: I enjoyed it, but there needed to be more going on, 4/5

He just told you. I quoted it right above your post dude.....

[SilverEagle]

What a great episode. Solid writing, interesting plot...definitely gives me some faith in the post-film Simpsons.

8/10

[The Governor]

Actually, the funniest joke, intentional or not, would be why the freak is Bob using Wikipedia?

[ominousorb]

He just told you. I quoted it right above your post dude.....

Yeah, I kind of took a while on that post. (Typed it on a wii.) But you know what? I'm leaving it.

[Kyoya Otori]

A pretty funny episode. Good Bob mystery, good jokes, but for some reason, probably because I knew that the restaurant was a trick, and that Bob wouldn't die, it wasn't that interesting. But I did like the conclusion with Bob's whole family being in on the hoax. I'll give it a 3.5/5, rounded up to 4/5 because I'm in a good mood, things that could have been dreadful weren't (such as Keith Olbermann) and we didn't see much of Bob's wife and son. I'm looking forward to the rest of the KABFs.