Rate & Review: "Lost Verizon" (KABF15)

[TriforceBun]

"Contained wackiness" sums up this episode pretty well. The storyline sort of jumped all over the place, but it did progress in a logical fashion that kept the main themes of the episode in check for the most part. I did think it took awhile to really find its actual POINT--by the end of the second act, all that's really happened is Bart found a cellphone and caused a lot of mischief with it.

I really like the theme of when a parent should let their kid go out and explore the world, but an excellent idea was poorly handled in this episode. If it was a recurring theme throughout the episode instead of just the third act, it would've had more impact when Bart ran back and clung onto Marge's leg at the end. As is, it's 15 minutes of silly adventures and 7 minutes of a solid theme that doesn't get enough time.

I liked Marge's characterization, and Bart was handled pretty well too. I found it odd that Homer didn't show up until about halfway through the show. The gags were kind of a weak point for the episode--none of them were terrible, but it had all felt pretty stale and basic. Even some of the prank calls felt like a stretch this time (and one reminded me of Maya Buttreeks). A few scenes stood out for me, like the fun construction site gag and the quick visual jokes of the day/night sequence, but most of the lines were standard fare and failed to impress.

Execution-wise, just sort of the typical Jean episode. And like Jean episodes, it has one or two visually impressive/creative moments (in this case, Marge's Machu Picchu sequence) and one or two lame music montages. It's not bad, just...stagnant.

3/5, C

[tom cody]

4/5, great episode. Season 20 so far has more promise, to me, than anything on the show in recent memory. I hope they keep it up.

[HappyPalooza]

I actually laughed out loud a few times. Milhouse getting knocked out is always good. And Denis Leary leaping for pop-tarts made me laugh somehow.

Also, I didn't think Leary really looked like, well, Leary.

4/5

[OfficerWriter]

Also, I didn't think Leary really looked like, well, Leary.

4/5

I was thinking that too -- usually celebrities are drawn to look very much how they really are. But not in tonight's episode, Leary seemed to just blend in with the rest of the Simpson's characters.

Maybe they had trouble drawing in some of his features? Or maybe they didn't know if he would be able to do the show until the last minute, so they had to rush through his drawing -- which might also explain why most of his lines weren't all that great.

[sung]

I was thinking that too -- usually celebrities are drawn to look very much how they really are. But not in tonight's episode, Leary seemed to just blend in with the rest of the Simpson's characters.

Maybe they had trouble drawing in some of his features? Or maybe they didn't know if he would be able to do the show until the last minute, so they had to rush through his drawing -- which might also explain why most of his lines weren't all that great.

I have seen Dennis Leary's pictures before, but tonight is the first time I'm seeing it while I'm aware it's him. Well overall, he kinda looked older as a 'Simpsonized' character of himself. His wrinkles were more apparent as a character and his eyes, I think were bigger also. But that's just a result of animators trying to emphasize his visage's main features to make a Groening styled yellow fleshed caricature of him, I guess.

[the simpsons brainiac]

4/5. Pretty good

[BatofZion]

I might give this a 3/5 later, but right now, it's just short of that.

Good to see a Bart-centric episode, especially seeing both the prankster and the child in him. Loved that the prank calls made an international appearance, and good to see Barney and the formerly late Dr. Nick again. But...

It fell short on characterization on everyone except Bart for the most part. I'm neutral to Denis Leary, but even acting angry, it all sounded so bland. Some moments just felt too stupid, especially the ending. Love Maggie writing semi-coherently, but didn't feel like she needed to be in that last scene.

All in all, it was fairly good, and maybe it is a 3/5 for me...but it still felt a bit weak. Plus, do they think we'll like Denis Leary more if they keep mentioning his career and hobbies?

[well, I for one don't want to feel his hot tarts in my mouth...not tonight]

[Semaj]

Strong episode, including some nice uses of coloring and camera movements (some of the show's usual hallmarks). But I don't think they really resolved the fact that they were using Dennis Leary's cell phone (unless he just decided to get a new one).

Yeah, the theme of "letting go" could've been made stronger if they focused a little more on Lisa wanting to go to Machu Picchu. And most of the humor was diluted by slow pacing. (Quick pacing just doesn't seem to be one of Al Jean's strengths, especially with his typical story choices.)

4.0/5

[Yankeesfan21]

4/5 am I the only one who thought the first act stunk but went great on act 2 & 3?

[Brad Lascelle]

This ep was a solid 3.5/5 for me. Nice characterization and some genuinely hysterical jokes. I bumped my rating up to a 4 to separate it from last week's which I largely disliked (apart from the over-the-top zaniness of the final act). Kevin Curran has penned only one solid episode (Season 14's I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can) whereas John Frink is consistently half-decent (although he's had better moments than tonight).

The laundry gag was priceless.

So yeah... last week overrated.
This week underrated.

Needless to say, it goes to show that there's still fuel in the tank for the Simpsons when people genuinely favor different episodes for assorted reasons over one another. Even the worst episode is bound to be a 5/5 for somebody.

[Gatorgod]

Seeing and hearing Dennis L brought me down a bit, but the rest of the episode was rock solid,.. Travel, birds, tracking chips, even a quick alligator gag
I loved it! ...5/5

[Steve]

I laughed out loud several times, particularly at the first act break and when Denis jumped for the Pop Tarts. I loved the GPS thing with Bart's head. Funny how the GPS also knew that Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney were in that one building. The Skinner Viagra gag was hilarious, great animation on his boner-walk. Denis Leary's appearance seemed unnecessary; the show would have been exactly the same if the cell phone had been Krusty's or somebody's, but oh well.

4/5 - Pretty solid episode, about on par with one of the weaker Oakley/Weinstein-era shows.

[ThatAsianGuy]

meh, 3.5/5. It wasn't bad but not great. Nothing really stood out though no cringe-worthy jokes either.

[The Sovereign]

3/5

it was okay

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

I'm gonna disagree with a few of you guys, I honestly found this way better than King of the Hill and Family Guy (which tonight was written by Brian Scully, brother of Mike ... and felt like a wacky mess).

The start with Skinner having to dodge high-speed traffic was hilarious. But something didn't feel right. In "Gump Roast," they joked about Moe getting a cell phone. Now Bart got a cell phone. Oh wait, didn't he have a cell phone back in Little Big Girl? What happened to it? But once Bart got Denis Leary's phone, all the laughter started to begin. It was nice to see the return of drunk Barney and Bart's prank calls (though I would have loved one to Moe with Bart saying he was Denis Leary...)

And Marge tracking him with a GPS was similar to the plot in The Debarted. And I'm a bit sick of music montages. But it had a nice wraparound when Lisa said that she wanted to visit Machu Picchu, and got her wish. And it had a reasonable ending, with Bart and Marge reconciling, but what about Maggie? I guess like last week (Homer was in jail at the end), she'll be back in the Simpson house as if nothing happened.

Anyways, I'll give this a 4.5/5, rounded up to 5/5. It was more enjoyable than Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes, but I would have preferred Matt Damon instead of Denis Leary. Being a Boston native, I found Bart sending him Yankees and Derek Jeter memorabilia to be hilarious. He could have done the same if he stole Damon's cell phone...

Overall: A-

[lionelhutz123]

First act was alright. It wasn't the best act, but it wasn't terrible. The second act was done really good and the 2nd act break made me excited for some reason. It felt like the direction of the episode was going in a very satisfying direction for me. The 3rd act was kind of wacky, but at the same time, surprisingly amusing. I think the one line though in this episode, is the first AMAZING Homer line that I've heard in years. I don't know what made it so great but it made me laugh out loud, which is rare. The hilarity I got out of it, was the same kind of hilarity as I get when I watch a class-era simpsons episode or seinfeld episode. It was when Bart's head was circling rapidly around the bird sanctuary, and Homer says something like, "It seems our son has lost his mind." It's not even necessarily a joke, but the delivery and the way he said it, was so hilarious. I hope there are more great lines like this in future season 20 episodes. 4/5

[caramelbart]

I like the animation and the fact that Milhouse and Bart were acting like childern. 4/5

[Jims]

Really nice episode tonight. At the risk of sounding too upbeat, nit-picks first.

The first act was pretty slow-going and uninteresting. The Bart-Lisa tea party wasn't really very funny and lasted a bit too long. Collecting golf balls didn't bring on many good laughs and wasn't really interesting. Things moved along much nicer once Dennis Leary showed up and Bart got the cellphone.

Oh yeah, and two music montages?!?!? So much for my hopes for Season 20.

With that out of the way, the good stuff.

1. Dennis Leary = Awesome. When we first saw him at the golf course, I was worried it was going to be a lame celebrity throwaway appearance. Whenever a celebrity plays themselves these days, it's pretty lousy. But when he showed up in Act 2, he was great. His conversations with both Bart and Marge were hilarious and insane. Also, the choice of Dennis Leary was just kinda random. Didn't think I would ever watch a TV show about Dennis Leary trying to get his cellphone back.

2. Strong jokes. Aside from Dennis Leary, most of the jokes clicked in Act 2 and 3. The joke about the FBI watching Moe watching Marge watching Bart was good. They had some funny slapstick moments, like flinging Milhouse against a steel support. The spirits speaking to Marge almost got lame, but it paid off pretty well when the conquistadors invaded. The "Day good, Night scary" montage was amazingly awesome and lasted juuuuust long enough.

3. Good silly plot. Yeah, there's no way that tracking chip could've kept working without a battery, but whatever. Attaching it to the bird led for some amusing visuals, as Homer and Marge watched on the screen. Them following the bird was stupid, but it was typical "misguided Homer" stupidity. The callback to Lisa's Macchu Picchu trip was great, although it took the episode in a silly direction. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.

4. Characterization just right. Bart's pranks felt natural for him, and it was nice to see some prank calls. Him ditching the family too, and then ultimately freaking himself out. Marge's overbearingness was well done, but not over-the-top. Homer was stupid but misguided. And Lisa was intelligent and sneakily self-serving. Nothing really out of place.

Oh, and the animation going between bars around the world was pretty cool. It seemed like a reference to something, but it was hard to identify.

Overall, a very funny episode with strong characterization. Hurt by a lousy Act 1, but whatever. 4/5. B+/A-

[franck]

i'd say 4/5 for this one. might change upon re-viewing it.

i liked the references to older episodes... the maggie appearance at the end, the viagra in skinner's coffee, the young kids with cellphones (they're everywhere in real life...)

i found that the whole trip thing was a bit far-fetched however. and bart's wrongdoings being foiled felt awfully similar to an episode last season, where his pranks on skinner were getting foiled by the mole.

[Ryan]

I've been horrible with reviewing lately, so I'm gonna stick to a cliche, but effective "plus, minus" system and see how it works.

Anyways, the episode was somewhat solid, but a definite improvement over last week's.

Pluses:
-Cohesive story with zero unrelated first act crap (though Skinner's antics ran a little long), and the Machu Picchu callback was smartly wrriten.
-Homer was contained and well used. I loved his attempt at doing laundry.
-I really liked the crank calls around the world bit. (see minuses for the one drawback)
-"Day is awesome!/Night is scary" bit was also inspired.
-Good hit/miss ratio for jokes overal

Minuses:
-TWO musical montages?! Oh, Jean. I'm telling you, if he had his way, the movie would have had four.
-Leary had some awful lines. (the Ice Age one took the cake)
-What's with Milhouse's voice?
-Maggie at first was a WTF, and eventually I settled on just stupid.
-Like I was saying, the one drawback to the crank calls is the writers seemed to forget that what made the bits just as funny, if not funnier was Moe's crazy responses to them. I wished they had hit on that as well.

It gets a 3.5/5, rounding up to a 4/5...

[JubJub17]

Overall, I found it better than last week's episode. 4.7/5

Yeah, going to Machu Picchu was kind of wacky, but I found Homer's astute knowledge of it hilariously surprising.

But then I later remembered, Homer and Barney had already taken a trip to Machu Picchu! So him knowing so much would make a lot of sense,no?

[jsc2600]

I liked it but I typically like Bart heavy episodes.
Especially enjoyed when bart had the house to himself.
5/5

[Tomacco]

Call me crazy, but I thought that was one of the best episodes in recent memory. Great characterizations, great animation and gags of all kind, a focused character-based story (not random or disjointed at all), very good inclusion of secondary characters, and really good pacing.

I have no complaints.

Oh, and Leary was a great guest star.

[Toon~g@l!]

This was a very well done episode, I haven't laughed out loud to an episode in a long time and this one had some great moments. Act three was a little off but it was still enjoyable. One thing I liked was how Homer did not show up until halfway through and he still wasn't in it much, he's been the center of attention a little too much lately. And it was great to hear the crank calls again, its been a long time since Bart did those.

And I also loved this conversation between Marge and Bart
Marge: Where did you get the cell phone
Bart: The Same way you got me, by accident on a golf course.

[lionelhutz123]

Damn I wish they would stop using "homer gets a job" and "marriage-crisis" plots!!! Oh...wait....they didn't! Also I should note this is the first time they used that evolution couch gag music in an actual episode.

[SilverEagle]

I actually laughed out loud. Several times. This counts for something.

However, yeah, the plot was thin, and the Machu Picchu bits were bizarre (two weeks in a row that I've wondered if Scully was somehow involved in the production of a season 20 episode), but damn, I actually had fun watching the Simpsons. That doesn't happen very often these days.

8/10

[ominousorb]

Alright. I am ... for once ... SATISFIED with a Simpsons episode premier. It wasn't fantastic, but it seems like they're finally getting back on the bike. I get the feeling that the pitch for this episode was just an uninspired as any other recent craptastic episode, but that the people involved in the production of it really beefed it up. The plot was cohesive (despite going insane in the third act,) characters made sense, and most importantly, it seemed like there was care taken to the jokes and the plot. I feel like the writers and crewmembers felt some sense of responsibility after the movie was in production to produce a slightly more polished product. The score was alive, the animation was fluid (YES, I KNOW, IT'S CRAZY), and the directing of the shots and actors even seemed more passionate than the usual fare. I think these aspects had the most influence in me perceiving the episode in a positive light. Because a crappy episode, directed without any life, is just accepting defeat. This was a so-so episode directed like they really wanted their time on it to be worthwhile. Moving on to the actual writing, I think the beginning of this episode was not far fetched in the least. The stuff with Skinner in the highway and the kids of Springfield calling each other seemed very classic in tone, minus the fact that they were using cell phones. Then, the involvement of Dennis Leary on the golf course actually made sense too, and I think he did a fairly good job in this episode. He wasn't always given the best lines, but he sounded pretty good in his delivery. I really did enjoy a majority of the lines and gags in this episode. I'm actually hard pressed to think of the ones that fell flat. It seems like a lot of you were also really able to enjoy yourselves on this one. I loved seeing, as many others did for obvious reasons, Bart prank calling bars! However, one comment on that (not a complaint): Bart could have totally called Eski-Moe's, because, heck, I'm really curious to know what Alaskan Moe looks like. Also, I loved Bart's line about how he got his cellphone, because it's funny and true. Another one everyone seems to agree on was the "Day is awesome!/Night is scary" sequence. That was such a hit. Oh, and that Norwegian (I think that was it) bar Bart called, I LOVED that. There was a lot in this episode that seemed to stir up my love for classic Simpsons again. Virtually my only gripes were the ridiculous Bart Tracking System (not the fact that they tracked him, but how they tracked him ... and that little Bart head) and the trip to Machu Pichu. Don't get me wrong, I think it's hilarious that they actually went to Machu Pichu, but it made no sense, and they really did nothing with it. Marge's dream sequence was such a pathetic attempt to cash into fans' love of classic era dream sequences, and to have the trip to Machu Pichu be worthwhile, which it wasn't in the least. But hey, the people on the Simpsons nowadays can't have a perfect episode, but this one sure as hell gave me some hope for the future. Oh, but I did like the Maggie gag at the end.

Overall, I gave the episode a solid 4/5. I usually give modern day episodes a 2.5-3/5, so that's how I think this one compares to the usual fare.

[Dark Homer]

surprisingly decent episode, total improvement over last week's episode. while the first act was somewhat dull, the next two acts were inspired and engaging. i especially like the way lisa and bart actually acted like kids for once - the tea party, bart reacting to being alone for the first time, etc.

good things - act break metajoke, the prank calls around the world scene (esp. bergman reference), "sinister ministers," Allied Peas, bart being bad, "accident on a golf course," dennis leary action sequence, the "tracking bart" sequence, marge/bart learning a lesson

bad things - joke toppers that almost ruin the joke (WE MEAN IT, FBI tracking moe) lisa's lifeless plot-advancing "you're spying on him!," weird machu picchu plot detour

[kuumuus]

pretty fantastic and funny episode, my favorite that i can recall since eternal moonshine. like all modern simpsons episodes, it suffered from clunky dialogue (most jarring was the way everyone kept saying denis leary's full name), but that's a minor complaint. i also wish they would've mentioned rescue me explicitly instead of just alluding to it since it's one of my favorite shows, but i liked the jab about him having one canceled show and one soon to be canceled show.

[dapper dan]

That was awesome. Unlike last week, where a second viewing was necessary to make it feel like a cohesive story, this one just felt natural. And it was funny. Some great jokes, though I won't point them out since they've already been mentioned.

It was probably the first time an episode had instantly grabbed me like that since Dial N for Nerder. Top stuff 5/5