Rate & Review: Dial 'N' for Nerder (KABF07)

[Semaj]

WATCH EPISODE ONLINE

I...guess we're on our own tonight.

Marge hires an investigative television show to follow Homer around after she suspects him of cheating on his diet. Meanwhile, one of Bart and Lisa's pranks on Martin Prince goes wrong and they become burdened with guilt after assuming they are responsible for Martin's accidental death.

Ready, set, go.

[MikeAaronB]

I thought it was really funny. I had a huge laugh during the motel scene. And like I said in the other thread, I hadn't laughed that hard at a new episode since Thank God It's Doomsday.

[Xihix]

Wow. That was a really solid episode! I think it was the best episode of the season! Many good jokes that hit well, and surprisingly, very little Jeanesque jokes.

4.5/5

[McClure]

The episode was co-written by a William Wright. They don't mean this guy, do they?

[MikeAaronB]

The episode was co-written by a William Wright. They don't mean this guy, do they?

Of course not...well, it isn't a too far off idea. He did help with the Simpsons game. =/

[I Voted For Kodos]

Lisa's line at the end about her dark socks was great. We saw a whole different side of the kids today, and I liked it.

However, taking the bone out of Mel's hair displeased me. 4/5.

[Alpha]

I loved it.

Nice "Lisa's Substitute" reference with 'Martin Priss/Martin Princess'.

[CHU-LIP]

I enjoyed the intense paranoia.

[Luigi]

Great episode. Some of the homer parts were a little disturbing, but was still funny. The whole Martin story was great. Lisa being evil is nice to see, and the whole Nelson investigator turned out good as well, especially with the Columbo ending.

Also dunno why its sticking out my mind so much, but I really like the Maggie playing online poker and then flipping back ot the Seasme Street thing.

Gave it a 4/5

[Elkwood]

The only gags that I enjoyed were:
Bart trying to make a "you blow" joke with Martin
"HELP ME TV SHOW!"
and Homer kissing meat

Anyway, I'm FUCKING SICK OF ALL THE FALSE KILLING OFF PEOPLE ATTEMPTS! First Kirk and Luann, then Sideshow Bob, then Martin, ALL IN ONE SEASON! I'M SICK OF THE REPETITIVE TWIST ENDINGS! ARRRGH! *foams at the mouth*

[McClure]

It was a decent enough episode, nothing spectacular, but the first act was pretty good. After that, the episode kind of fell apart and the bit with Homer making out with the beef was one of the worst things this season.

2.5/5.

By the way, who directed it?

[son of a wiggum]

Not as good as last week's but all in all an amusing episode. The first act was kind of boring, but it ended up getting going pretty well. The different ways Lisa and Bart expressed their guilt was interesting, especially with Lisa being the one who wanted to get out of it. Nelson as the detective really cracked me up, especially his line about burning ants. Enjoyed the video tribute using clips of former episodes, but I was glad it didn't go on too long. The gag that closed that part out was easily the funniest of the episode.
The other plot (still not quite sure which was the main plot and which was the sub-plot) was pretty well done too. My favorite scene was easily the hotel room.
Second episode in a row that a slow beginning pulls it down to a 4 / 5.

[arii]

If they had cut the subplot in half this might've garnered my third A+ of the season (right now I'm thinking A-, but that might join up to A... I'm not terribly hard to please and this was pretty good).

The subplot was a little too time-consuming for my tastes, and just... stupid. It wasn't really anything fascinating and I think it would've worked better pushed more into the background isntead of being treated as an equal to the main plot, which was FANTASTIC. It was actually pretty tense, with some fantastic bits from both Bart and Lisa - at the first act break I was actually questioning if Martin was going to die or if there would be some overly cartoony explanation... It would've been kinda creepy if he really did die but damn if that didn't look convincing.

But holy hell, Lisa got pretty intense in this one and it was just great to see a different side of her, expand her a bit more... She's pretty strong when it comes to such a desperate situation, even pushing Bart back a little... Though it's great to see that he still actually did care a fair amount. Wow. These two were absolutely fantastic. For Lisa not appearing much this season she really came back roaring here... that was great.

But, uh, yeah. Nelson's role was pretty enjoyable too, though I'm not sure why he was so curious about that... uh, and yeah, the subplot really should have been shaved off a fair amount more. That motel scene went on a bit too long.

Uhh... I'm not sure what else to say, but I'm looking forward to seeing the repeats tonight. Bart and Lisa were definitely the high points. The episode might've not been as funny as last week's or anything (but it wasn't unfunny, either) but they did a really good job creating a tenser mood here.

[Dave Shutton]

The begining and end were alittle weird for me but the middle was really fun. I thought they handled Martin's death at the school pretty well, I liked the slideshow from previous episodes and the picking the nose part. And did anyone else notice Dr. Pryor sitting there with the other teachers? I was waiting for him to talk. I was really surprised we didn't see his parents though, that didn't make much sense to me, his parent's should have at least had a small part in the episode crying from their only child's death. Nelson being the detective in Martin's "murder" was pretty good because I have always seen the two of them as friends although Nelson is constantly beating him. I liked the "Tash-Mah-Hall-You-Can-Eat" and the weird hotel thing with the piece of lamb and Homer was disterbing yet oddly funny to me. The explaination of how Martin escaped was alittle.....well alot far fetched and I would have prefered alittle more of a down to earth escape. And Martin and Nelson both immerging from behind the tree was pretty dumb (how could they not notice eachother?). Overall pretty good episode. But a few plot holes and just plain overlooks bring it down.

3/5, just wish it was alittle more realistic.

[thebeck]

What a great episode!

I loved how both stories revolved around the family. There were no silly and unnecessary guest stars, and nothing (except maybe the Martin story ending) felt too forced. Lots of laughs and memorable moments here.

5/5

[Jakebert]

I loved the main plot, hated the subplot. 3/5.

[lionelhutz123]

Wow amazing episode, I felt like there was so much depth to all the characters. The plots were fun and interesting and not a single joke failed for me. I loved the martin montage! This episode will definitely be remembered, and I hope people on this forum won't nitpick at things they thought were slightly off no matter how good an episode is like some usually do because if any episode doesn't deserve that then this episode is that one.

[Chou]

I'm really impressed; this is probably my favorite of the season at the moment.

The subplot was weightless fluff; it didn’t really garner my attention that much. However, I liked the Billy Graham joke and it was great seeing Marge hit that Sneakers guy as I found him very annoying. All in all, it was pretty meh, but like last week, I didn’t mind it that much.

The Martin plot was fantastic. I was surprised, it was pretty dark even. I love how both Bart and Lisa battled with their conscience. It was a great twist that it was Lisa who actually wanted to put it all behind them, her role in this episode was actually very dark for her character and super interesting to see fold out (and on a side note, I thought the joke with Lou at the Kwik-E-Mart was hysterical). I thought it was going to be Bart, but surprisingly, he was the one who wanted to do the right thing. I think this episode did a great job in displaying that Bart actually has a conscience; I mean that’s what I love about his character—he’s mischevious but he does have a meaningful side, he can feel guilty. Their paranoia was believable and tense; it actually seemed plausible that Martin was going to die because they did do a good job at making it convincing. Also, Nelson was great too. His little role as the detective was actually very intriguing. He and Martin always had this slightly odd relationship where it seemed like Nelson could actually be friends with him under different circumstances.

The memorial at school was hilarious and a little bittersweet even. I loved the video they showed with clips of old episodes, and the speech Principal Skinner made was funny too; it was one of those “cruel without trying to be” jokes that I love. Actually, one of my favorite things about this episode was all the callbacks. The Martin Priss/Princess from Lisa’s Subsitute, The Happy Little Elves, an appearance from Dr. Pryor etc…those were great. The part where Bart “goes to end it all” made my eyes widen a bit (probably because I was caught up in the episode, but whatever). It was pretty sweet to see Bart getting more of an appreciation for Martin, even if it’s posthumously. I think the episode did a good job of making Bart, Martin, and even Lisa sympathetic. The thing with the tape and Nelson playing that…thing I don’t remember the name of was kinda odd, but I didn’t mind it much as it was fun to watch. Martin’s explanation of how he got back was actually pretty funny, albeit unrealistic. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. I usually dislike those breaking the fourth wall endings, but the parody of Columbo was great.

4/4.5 out of 5 (I wonder how it will hold up on rewatches)

[Tomacco]

Another great episode this week. The only two downsides were the joke at the end of act 2 (the Sleap Eazy Motel scene was over-the-top enough to be hilarious, but they pushed it a bit too far with the bedroom gag at the end of act 2), and the Columbo parody at the very end. Seemed like a Family Guy joke to me, recreating credits and whatnot (as they've done with Law & Order and others).


The Bart & Lisa storyline was great, not only because it was fairly original for a full-length episode (it was a bit reminiscent of "I Know What You Did-Diddily-Id", but whatever), but because it was a memorable Bart & Lisa episode. They were both in top form. More thoughts later.


4.5/5

[Simpsons_Fanboy]

The subplot was an engrossing drag, another dull marriage crisis, disturbing and nonsensical, and the satire wasn't for me. But the main plot, on the other hand, was fairly intriguing. The peculiar characterisations of Lisa, Bart, and Nelson were nice to see, and commodious. I didn't like how they made it so goshdarn obvious that Martin had survived the drop - Nelson assuming a role of a detective had already made it obvious that he was gonna somehow resolve the situation. Thankfully, the episode wasn't entirely character driven.

The mini clip show was rather entertaining and heartfelt. I actually loled when the bullies attacked Nelson to no prevail. The bellpepper montage was entertaining and the bit at Moe's was hilarious. Nelson breaking the fourth wall at the end of the episode was hysterical for some odd reason. The removing of Mel's bone... that was.. awkward. What exactly was the point of that particular gag?

Overall, great episode, 4/5.

Oh, and by the way, is it just me, or was Lenny's house from "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" next-door to Martin's?

[TriforceBun]

I'm a little surprised at the positivity from NHC--I thought it had its merits, but didn't come close to last week's. Since I really want to get back to Brawl, I'll make this brief:

Darker side of Lisa and Bart handled very well. Homer/Marge subplot more or less one joke stretched into 10 minutes, not cringeworthy, but not great. Quite a few stupid lines: "He was like Jesus, only real," very Jean-style attempt to be controversial, only to fall completely flat and not even make sense (Bart saying Martin was "like Jesus" is just sloppy writing). Nelson was fun. Butterflies were good, twist ending predictable.

Hm, thinking about it, I can't think of too many negative things specifically, but for whatever reason, it didn't grab me like I hoped it would. Right now, a C. 3/5