RATE AND REVIEW: "The Debarted" (KABF06)

[The Governor]

RATE AND REVIEW: "The Debarted" (KABF06)

SUMMARY:
When a new, tough-looking kid at school named Donny (Topher Grace) teams up with Bart to help him carry out his pranks, Bart thinks he has found his ultimate partner in crime. However, when Bart’s seemingly foolproof pranks begin to backfire, Groundskeeper Willie warns Bart that he smells a rat in Bart’s group of friends. With Principal Skinner on his case and the possibility of expulsion on the horizon, Bart must figure out who he can trust and who he must get rid of before it is too late. Meanwhile, Homer receives a fancy loaner car after Marge damages their old car in an accident, and he grows extremely attached to his new set of luxury wheels.

(MODS: Please open this after the episode airs.)

[Tomacco]

Great episode! This worked extremely well both as a parody and as a solid character-driven story in itself. The specific elements from The Departed used (the soundtrack, Donny's appearance, and especially the hilarious "the rat symbolizes obviousness" line at the end) were all hilariously implemented. Great to see Bart as his bad-boy self, with some good lines from the secondary characters of Springfield Elementary (Skinner, Chalmers, Milhouse, and Nelson). The Homer subplot had a few good laughs (Homer nudging Bart, Homer and Marge's romantic drive), but had sort of that filler feeling to it. It didn't really add much, but it didn't detract at all either. Gave the rest of the family something to do. Direction and voice acting was swell as well (direction most notably in the chase scene and the montage of Bart's pranks being foiled in funny ways).

In the last few years, the Springfield Elementary episodes have time and time again proven to be the most consistently solid episodes ("President Wore Pearls", "24 Minutes", "Girls Just Wanna Have Sums"), and this one continued that tradition.

5/5

[McClure]

Some notes from the episode

Not bad couch gag, hasn't there been one similar to it before?

First act
Wow, Lisa's voice sounded really off in the opening scene in the car
Lisa kicking Bart in the face went on far too long
The bit with Moleman and the aitbag was decent
Ms. Krabappel's voice sounds a little off, it's deeper than normal
Wiseguy's voice also sounds off
Homer's dialogue in the car was pretty good
Nice to see Bart back to his old bratty self
The bit with Skinner's feet being pulled by magnets also went on too long. It wasn't very funny to begin with and having it go on several sections was overkill.
I don't really like Donny's voice, it's a little too deep, it would be better suited for a teenager. However, Topher Grace hasn't been doing that bad of a job
First act was pretty good, nice set up for the plot although some of the gags went on too long. Haven't been a lot of obvious Departed references yet. 3/5.

Second act
Now we're starting to see some Departed stuff
Lisa's voice is starting to sound more normal now
Wiseguy's reaction to the sounds of Homer and Marge bit was the best part of the episode
"This bag labelled crickets" - good line
The montage set to "Shipping off to Boston" was very well done, one of the best montages in a while - "Bronson's View Blockers" was a nice addition and the direction in it was fantastic
Wow, the second bit set to "Shipping off to Boston" was also extremely well done
There was a character who looked similar to Lunchlady Doris, but sounded nothing like him
I loved the line about "my best friend, my other best friend or the guy I just met", that was also one of my complaints about The Departed and it was a nice observation
Cletus using Milhouse as a toilet... Terrible. This act had been going so well until that.
Overall a great act with some great Departed jokes, and it was nice to hear some Dropkick Murphys in the show. 4/5.

Third act
Lisa's voice sounds weird again.
The thing with Terry Gross was tacked on and really not that funny
Nelson's voice now sounds a little off too
Kind of a weak ending, which is disappointing because the second act was done so well. The ending to the subplot was kind of weak. The final line was pretty good. I'll give the last act a 3/5

Overall, not a bad episode, better than the last few. 3.5/5

[Ezekiel 25:17]

5/5!!! great episode!!! possibly the best episode since "funeral for a fiend"

[homer2121]

Not bad, the music was a cool and i liked the twist at the end.

4.5/5

[Jeff Vader]

2.5/5 - don't know if I'll round up or down yet.

The first act was pretty terrible. It picked up the second two acts with a parody of The Departed, but the good plot was plagued by a lot of weak dialogue.

[The Governor]

A terrifically fun episode with some of the dumbest gags ever. 'Twas a great story and it was fun with Topher Grace being a great guest star, albeit with a voice a little too low for a 10yr old, but he did great nonetheless.

As for the dumb gags, the "Storm in the Car" and Homer laughing at the Sarcastic Guy almost made me change the channel. And the ending was almost perfect, but we had another "Explained!" joke.

Anyway, a 4/5.

[grissom]

Holy shit, that was actually a good episode. Loved all the Departed references, and Ralph's line at the end was the hardest I've laughed at anything from this show in a long time. Best of the season, no question.

[arii]

Naw, THAT was the best of the season. It was fantastic! Loved it! It felt longer than it actually was, but in a good way – maybe part of that was due to that Nascar bullshit, but I dunno, the whole thing was just great to watch.

Some jokes went on too long – most didn’t and a fair amount actually did make me laugh. Great beginning. Even great ending. Laughed a little at both of those. Nelson was pretty funny too, “See-saw!” and “running away is cool!” or whatever it was he said there, something along those lines. The magnets bit did go on a little long but even that was pretty funny as well.

Loved how Bart completely missed out on Donny being a rat on the most obvious trait and then only caught it in a slightly deeper manner, with Skinner’s tongue being blue.

Also? A lot of it was fun to watch – including that magnets bit – and that recurring song gave it a perfect air. Haven’t actually seen The Departed so I don’t know if it’s from that or anything, but it worked out very nicely.

Ah… The first act did drag a little, the second really picked it back up, and the third slumped a little again, but dang. Still. Wonderful. 5/5 at this point and I doubt it’ll go down – I’m easy and Bart’s my absolute favourite, anyway. Springfield Elementary is such a fantastic place for episodes, definitely, and it was wonderful seeing Bart so well-written.

[Gatorgod]

I loved it! 5/5
Great Sunday night animation entertainment,.. Thy name be SIMPSON!
This episode was full of laughs & surprises. was better than i expected or deserved.
4 more years! ...4 more years!

[Dave Shutton]

Great, Great episode. I loved pretty much everything about it, the atmosphere, the characterization, nothing seemed too out there. The animation was superb as well, wow i really hope the rest of the season is drawn so well. Donny was a pretty good character and I like the way that we were in on it. At first is didn't like tha was he looked based on the promo but since the animation was so good i really liked him. I wonder if we will ever see him again, even just in schoolyard shots, or if the ending ment he was gone forever. I was sorta disapointed by Willie being a traiter but o well, his appearances were funny. Chalmer's "Skinner!......Skinner?!" " I'm fine sir" "O don't ever scare me like that again" was great. The Rat ending with Ralph was good too, I always thought the ending of "The Departed" was really obvious. I can't wait for "N is For Nerder".

My only two little problems were with Lunchlady Doris' voice (wtf that wasn't even an imitation of Grau) and the stupid wind and storms in the new car.

5/5, for the show's current standards

[blue_pants]

Although not the most original the idea (seeing as how it is basically the Bart version of [1F17] - Lisa's Rival), with the twist of Donnie (?) being an inside man. It turned out to be one of the better episodes this season (so far). It did feel a bit rushed, it hardly ever built up to joke or even a story point, it was just like bam here’s your joke, bam here’s your story point, which leads to the feeling like it is a very short episode. I think it is worth mentioning that the Cletus outhouse joke was just cringe worthy though, IMO for obvious reasons. I hate those gross Family Guyish jokes…. horrible. I love the fact that they used the Dropkick Murphy’s “I'm Shipping Up To Boston” I have been a fan of theirs long before the movie “The Departed.” This episode gets a star just for that in my book. The final Ralph line was the perfect toper for one of the better episodes this season. I think it deserves a 4.5 ( I don’t really have that option) but not a 5 so I guess I will have to settle (like a have choice) and give this one a 4/5

[NoHomersClub]

It doesn't seem like the simpsons knows how to parody movies anymore. A lot of scenes went on too long like the magnets and the parts with shipping up to boston playing. The ending was quite bad and the subplot was useless. The only part I laughed at was with ralph and the rat but people who haven't seen The Departed (great movie) may not fully understand the joke. 2.5/5

[McClure]

A terrifically fun episode with some of the dumbest gags ever.

As for the dumb gags, the "Storm in the Car" and Homer laughing at the Sarcastic Guy almost made me change the channel. And the ending was almost perfect, but we had another "Explained!" joke.

Don't forget Cletus entering what he thought was an outhouse and thinking Milhouse is a toilet.

And is it just me, or did a lot of characters sound off this episode: Lisa, Nelson, Willie, Skinner, Wiseguy and Ms. Krabappel all sounded weird at times.

[blue_pants]

It doesn't seem like the simpsons knows how to parody movies anymore. A lot of scenes went on too long like the magnets and the parts with shipping up to boston playing. The ending was quite bad and the subplot was useless. The only part I laughed at was with ralph and the rat but people who haven't seen The Departed (great movie) may not fully understand the joke. 2.5/5

Now that is what I call hatin'! God, lets just nit-pick every little why don't we? Just so you know I am not just saying this to you NoHomersClub, this is directed a lot of people, you just happen to be the lucky candidate this time.

[Gaz]

5/5

I liked the "I shipping out to Boston" music montage. Along with the mentos/Diet pepsi combination.

[The Law-Talkin' Guy]

Very fun, good plot, good music, some really good lines... see told ya the show doesn't suck. 4/5.

[McClure]

Who wrote and directed the episode? I forgot to check.

[hobbesup]

Really good episode, it may be the best of the season. 4/5

[Wilsons926]

wow, what a great episode. i've never seen the departed before, but i really enjoyed this ep. the only gag i didn't like was the storms in the car, but oh well. i think we have all learned they just don't make em perfect anymore. "don't ever scare me like that again" had me dying. and i haven't laughed that hard at Ralph in ages. even the generic b plot was great(theres something hilarious about homer and marge listening to r&b). i can't wait to rewatch this one. lets hope the next ep holds up to this one's standards.

[arii]

Who wrote and directed the episode? I forgot to check.

Joel H. Cohen; Matthew Nastuk.