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

[SilverEagle]

It was fantastic. Great plot, many strong jokes, good characterization. Subplot was good too. The lack of flaws was exhilarating. It wasn't perfect, but I very much enjoyed what I saw.

4.5/5 rounded up.

[SilverEagle]

It embodies everything that is current Simpsons:

Pointless retread of a subplot (which managed to squeeze a marriage crisis, bitchy Marge, and food monster Homer into one)

A "dark" twist involving death

A twist reversing a "dark" twist involving death

Punny dialougue

Reversal of a characters personality (Bart and Lisa)

Unfunny callbacks to past episodes

Desecration of a character's fundamental element for the sake of a cheap joke (Sideshow Mel)

Forced controversial humor that draws attention to itself. "He was like Jesus, only real" (and I'm an atheist)

Obvious attack on bad television

Extended cultural reference (Columbo), etc...

Uhhh....that happened in classic Simpsons too. That's what the show has always done. Attacks on bad television, cultural references, meta jokes, death twists...they've all been done. This isn't recent.

[Sniper Squirrel]

really enjoyed the main plot, Bart and Lisa's paranoia, Nelson as the Columbo type detective

I was pretty disappointed with the subplot, and I couldn't fucking stand the horrible stretchy body fat joke

that aside, I'll still give it a 4/5

[franck]

4/5. no huge laughs/jokes, but very solid episode. the "evil lisa" and "good" nelson twists were pretty interesting as well.

[The Law-Talkin' Guy]

Am I rubbing off on you people? Most of you are being really nice about this episode... Nice to hear, although I think that it is one of the weakest of the season, but still really fun and entertaining.

And yes, the Martin montage was the best part.

[The Governor]

Am I rubbing off on you people?

[The Law-Talkin' Guy]

What a strange picture... but glad you liked the ep.

[Dave Shutton]

I'm still dissapointed that we didn't get to see Martin's parents. It would have been the perfect opertunity to utilize them.

[The Law-Talkin' Guy]

I'm still dissapointed that we didn't get to see Martin's parents. It would have been the perfect opertunity to utilize them.

True.

[Yankeesfan21]

TV.com reports Bob Anderson as the director.

I thought the animation was really great in this episode. The angle of the Simpsons house from the bottom looking up was impressive.

[OfficerWriter]

My rating: 4/5

I really enjoyed this episode, despite a number of flaws. Probably because I'm also one of those nutbars that actually watches CHEATERS -- which is the reality show on FOX which they were spoofing as SNEAKERS.

They did a really good spoof of CHEATERS -- right down to the voice and appearance of Joey Crecko, the host of CHEATERS. CHEATERS incidentally, is a cheesy reality show, where they spy on people who are cheating on their spouse/partner.

The spoof of Columbo was also very well done -- Nelson's character traits meshed nicely with some of the sleuth's. Columbo always acted like he didn't know what was going on, only to turn on those he knew to be in the wrong, and catch them in the act.

The scene in the Kwick-E-Mart, where Nelson runs into Bart and Lisa, wishes them a nice day, only to turn and then mention something in passing, indicating he knows what they are up too, all this was very much in the same style as Peter Faulk's characterizations of Columbo.

I had a feeling that Martin would somehow show up at the end alive and well. They writers or maybe the producers or both -- have used and abused this plot device too often this season to fool us again. I think they are either getting lazy in the production collective, or maybe they are running out of good plot ideas. In either case, I was saddly disapointed when my feeling turned out to be true, that Martin wasn't dead, but through some unrealistic (but funny) twist, was still alive.

The whole episode focused on guilt and the reprocussions of our actions. Which was a nice thing to see -- with Homer's guilt around food and his untrustworthiness to Marge's diet, Bart and Lisa's guilt all about their involvement in the "death" of Martin Prince, and even to an extent, Marge's guilt about contacting a reality show, which was more interested in "breaking up" their marriage, than actually helping them resolve their issues.

The sub-plot with Homer was funny at times, but also somewhat weak at other times. I thought they over-used the bell pepper bit, and they ran that bit with him in the motel room with the lamb way too long.

Though it was funny and completely in keeping with the show they were parodying (CHEATERS).

The ending was rushed, and the montage of characters at the end (most of whom were not even in this episode) was pointless. It wasn't even funny.

But, hey, I'm a fan of both shows they parodied, so that upped their marks in my books.

[Yankeesfan21]

TV.com reports Bob Anderson as the director.

I thought the animation was really great in this episode. The angle of the Simpsons house from the bottom looking up was impressive. Bob Anderson did great on this as usual.

[waldnorm]

Just okay. I think the episode would've been better if it was spoofing Diabolique--In fact, I was hoping for it. I was really hoping the prank was on Lisa and Bart and Martin were in cohoots. Would've been much more satisfying.

As for the Homer story--ho-hum. It would've been funnier if he was at the All-You-Can-Eat and he ended up eating platters of bell peppers (they could have fat, etc. just like when he had that rice cake on his original diet. ).

The funniest moment was when Homer was hiding his secret, Bart and Lisa were hiding their secret, and then Maggie was hiding the Solitaire on the computer.

[Mr.Penguin]

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)

I agree with all of thatg! 5/5 for me. (Even if that motel scene was stupid)

[Captain Yesterday]

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.

My thoughts exactly.

[pizzaanddibs]

I really didn't like the Homer diet story I thought it was real stupid, but the whole thing with Martin dieing made me give it a 4/5.

[Tamaki Suoh]

Entertaining and interesting throughout, the main plot worked perfectly and actually showed some new dimensions of Lisa and Bart that were captivating to watch. Perhaps a little more remorse would be warranted, but their reactions still worked. I loved the memorial video, the whole climax in the butterfly house, Nelson's role, and Martin's story of how he survived.

Even the subplot, which I had predicted to be awful, was pretty good and contained some great scenes. The beginning of the subplot was really strange, but it got a lot better. The motel scene and Homer's whole "affair" with the lamb were very funny despite being on the stupid side, and while the ending of the subplot was anticlimactic, it wasn't too bad.

Overall, a great episode. Definitely the best of the season. 4.5/5

[caramelbart]

This should've been the movie (of course without the sick Homer subplot) -- the idea of the Martin Prince character being dead actually made me tear up a bit -- but the resolution made up for it. 4/5

[PreciousBodilyFluids]

Uhhh....that happened in classic Simpsons too. That's what the show has always done. Attacks on bad television, cultural references, meta jokes, death twists...they've all been done. This isn't recent.

Classic Simpsons found new even-handed ways to satirize bad television. Episodes like Itchy And Scratchy And Marge fairly represent both sides, neither of which come out looking better than the other in the end. Tonight's episode took an obvious, cliche'd stance against one side, effectively telling the audience who to support.

I have nothing against good cultural references. I do, however, have a problem with cultural references and "parodies" when they go on far longer than they should and offer no room for interpretation. Treehouse of Horror IV ended with the Simpsons family recreating a scene from a Peanuts Christmas special. While that and tonight's Columbo reference are similar in concept, there are several key differences. THOH IV referenced the Peanut's special without calling blatant attention to the fact that they were indeed referencing a Peanuts special. This decision was aided by the fact that THOHs are non-canon and characters can act in an uncommon manner without suffering from bad characterization (If executed properly, of course). Tonight's Columbo ending explicitly labeled itself as a Columbo parody, was tacked onto the ending of a "normal" episode, and had poor timing, something which the current episodes have in abundance.

If by meta jokes you mean the Happy Little Elves, the clip show, and Martin Priss/Princess, you're missing the point. Meta jokes are meant to be, like all jokes, funny. They should also require a higher level of prior knowledge from the audience member. Simply referencing old episodes to the brink of insanity does not incite anything other than nostalgia, for you see, nothing new is offered.

As far as death twists go, there were a varied few in the classic seasons. In comparison, this season has had several, all of which turn out to be false. Death is being used as a plot point, but the fact that there has been no real death in these types of new episodes is insulting. Frank Grimes' death really occured and fulfilled it's purpose in the story. The only real deaths this season have been of secondary characters like Gil and Moleman and yes, I know that moleman was killed numerous times in the classic era.

[bovine_university]

Another strong effort this week, though not quite as good as last time. Again we've got another very interesting, engaging, and funny main plot saddled down with a fairly useless subplot, but this time the subplot took up more time, which hurt this episode, but I still found this to be very enjoyable.

First the subplot, it had a few funny moments like the names of the restaurants, but otherwise it's more of the same. Another music montage, another easy dig at reality television, and some very long and unfunny jokes (the lamb gag did not need to be used more than once, if at all). I also thought that they didn't do enough to really establish whether or not the reality show host was actually trying to steal Marge, making her line in the confrontation scene pretty awkward. However, the main plot almost completely makes up for it. I was a little unsure about Lisa's characterization in this episode at first, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. Sure she's the more level-headed of the two, but when she gets emotional, afraid, or mindful of her reputation, she has been known to go off the deep end, so in the end I thought the dynamic between her and Bart was very well done. Nelson trying to solve the case seemed weird at first, but he just won me over thanks to alot of very funny moments. The tribute to Martin was sad and hilarious at the same time, and even though I was certain Martin wasn't actually dead, they did manage to surprise me with the explanation of how he survived (I was afraid the final revelation would stop the action cold, but it worked very well in my opinion). I did like the animation also, and even though there wasn't a whole lot of use of shadows, darkness, or dramatic camera angles, what they used did a good job of establishing mood. This might not have been one of the season's best, but it was still very enjoyable, if uneven. 4/5

[Xt'Tapalatakettle]

I forgot to mention my favorite joke in the episode:

Nelson with the magnifying glass at the site of Martin's fall. A simple gesture like looking for clues turns into him trying to fry an ant with the magnifying glass. Really clever and funny.

Also wanted to mention that the final scene in the butterfly tent, though a little strange, was very inspired and had a very unique aura to it like something the show has never done before. Sometimes fresh scenery makes a load of difference.

[Ryan]

Ahhh...not exactly a 5/5 effort, but that still feels really good. Even the subplot was well-managed. A weak first act gets the episode knocked down a grade, but I loved the last two. The Martin montage, Homer with the pancakes (hell, I even thought the bedroom gag was hysterical), Nelson investigating...it felt right and even the jokes were funny. And once again, while the first act was weak, it wasn't unrelated! Whoo-hoo!

Of course, we all have seen the "fake death" thing happen twice this season alone, so I was looking forward to seeing how Martin survived. Good thing it wasn't too ridiculous. Ironically, the thing I liked about this episode is that while it had many WTF gags, they were a good kind of WTF (especially in the aformentioned bedroom gag and the Columbo end credits)...

4/5, and the second best episode this season so far (behind Eternal Moonshine of course)...

[Stupid Flanders]

4/5

This episode is one of the better ones this season.

[BartSimpsonfan17]

I really liked the episode. Subplot had a few funny jokes, but agian not that great. I loved the main plot, Nancey really has been improving on her voice of Bart latley she sounds back to her old self in the past few new episodes. Animation was great and I loved Nelsons rol. It was great to see Lisa having a dark side agian. Some times they do tend to write her great.

[Sprocketeer]

I wouldn't really consider this a fantastic episode, but it was certainly refreshing to see an original Bart/Lisa story. There were a few fairly clever jokes scattered about the episode, but there were also some pretty bad ones, namely Homer's fat being pulled on. I rather disliked the sub-plot, as all of the Jean slams at reality TV havce come off as incredibly forced, but the main plot was original enough to make up for it. Obviously it suffered from sheer predictability, but the build-up was pretty solid, with some amusing antics from both Simpson kids. I said this exact same last week, but Nelson is one of the few characters who gets my seal of approval in regards to how characters are handled under Jean. I don't really reward an episode for continuity, but it was still neat how many tidbits from the past were referenced here. I didn't laugh too much, but at least the story was involving. B-

Of course, that's 30 minutes I could have been playing Brawl. Got to make up for lost time now...

[hot-choccy]

when bart took out sideshow mels bone his hair went down just like in one of the simpsons comic (can't remember which issue 80-something i think, but i loved that issue and therefore the sight of sideshow mel with his hair down made me happy, i wonder if it was on porpose...)
the side story was ok nothing special homer's relationship with the lamb (or as we call it here shawarma :P..i'm hungry) went on way too long.
detective nelson was to die for
also the way lisa and bart were acting lisa being dark and bart being sappy i loved that too ^^

[Ryan]

Of course, that's 30 minutes I could have been playing Brawl. Got to make up for lost time now...

You people with Brawl make me jealous...but of course school comes first...

(stomps off in a blind rage, but returns to make one small comment)

But back on topic, I forgot to mention that even Lisa's "Date with Density" callback was well-done. Great characterization on her and Bart's part...

(continues to stomp off angrily and jealously)...

[Colonel_Cool]

Really good 4/5 !

[G.K. Willington]

I thought that it was surprisingly good.
Lots of funny moments, and two quite strong plots. Some funny scenes with Homer cheating on his diet, although I wasn't too keen on the characterization of Lisa. Nelson had some good lines too, and I liked the part with him burning ants. I would say that this episode was very slughtly better than last week's, although they were both pretty good, for modern Simpsons. I would say that Dial 'N' for Nerder was definitely one of the best episodes of Season 19 so far, it was one of the only episodes with a mix of humour (that is actually funny) and a good plot. I would give it a 4.5/5 or A-, but I rounded it up to a 5/5 on the poll.

[überweiss]

Wow this is overrated. I thought almost every joke was horrible (aside from perhaps the memorial, the Sneakers advert, and I did get a cheap laugh out of Homer's metres of fat). The subplot was neither interesting or very funny, the main plot was interesting but even less funny. And the endings to both plots left me feeling unsatisfied. D.