Rate & Review "Four Great Women and a Manicure" (LABF09)

[pecken]

I didn't think it was great. This season has been really inconsistent.
Queen Elizabeth: 2/5 (saved from a 1 by Moe at the end)
Seven dwarves: 4/5 (great moments scattered throughout, great ending)
Macbeth: 3/5 (not that good, not that bad. Theater director was awesome, as was Dan's performance when Homer finally gets Macbeth right)
Fountainhead: 3/5 (Jodie Foster gave a good performance, but the teacher knocking down Maggie's buildings lasted FOREVER)
Overall: 3/5. Okay, but no "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe".

[Kiyosuki]

What's the big deal with Bart not being in this? Does he have to be in every single episode even if there's no point? I don't get it..

But it was still just below alright I guess. I don't really judge or grade, or think much about these mini-story episodes. The Macbeth one was enjoyable, though it would have made a much better THoH episode.

I'm a little let down that they decided to do the old talking baby schtick instead of having her talk as an adult, but I kind of expected they'd wuss out on that. This way, Maggie still hasn't technically talked.

It's too bad, if they made a the general idea of the last one a whole future episode, except having it be Maggie in the future, would have been kinda neat.

[Ryan]

-Ayn Rand parody 1/5 (also could have been a Treehouse of Horror segment)

Hahaha, how?!

This started out TERRIBLE, then once the Snow White parody started it became tolerable. The Macbeth parody was very well done and funny, and the Fountainhead was short, but cute, especially the tongue-in-cheek ending.

Ultimately, it was cute. Not great, but not a total trainwreck.

3/5

EDIT: By the way, is this is first episode Bart has not appeared in at all? I don't really care, but it seems like something that hasn't happened anymore. It also supports my theory that the character has fallen an incredible amount, from "Bartmania!" in the early '90's to not speaking in the first ten minutes of the feature film version, to plain not appearing in an episode altogether...

[That Don Guy]

This was a strange episode. They rushed into the first segment awfully quick, and it lasted 5 minutes. It was probably the weakest segment and there really wasn't anything funny. The Snow white segment was better, but at the same time pretty mediocre.

The last 2 segments were interesting but in a rather weird way. The Macbeth segment was original, yet confusing.

The Fountainhead segment was pretty good and definitely better than the first two IMO. Maggie speaking had some good shock value, and it was so random, that I couldn't help but be amused.

Anyway, first segment was below average, second was mediocre, and the last 2 were better than the first two. I grant this episode an average rating of 3/5. It could have been alot worse.

I couldn't have put it better myself, except that I liked the Macbeth one better than the last one. In future anthologies (for example, THOH XX), they need to leave it at three stories, and find some other way to fill either the first act or the last one.

-- Don

[chagopian]

Wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be, obviously the Macbeth act was the best. The Snow White one was alright. The entire episode was a mixed bag.

Speaking of the Macbeth act, I gotta say, I loved the way they killed off Hibbert. That was a damn clever way of killing him. But anyone else notice how that segment was a little more... pop culturish? Two movie references dropped in it, Matrix Reloaded and X-men 2, I can't remember if there's anything else, but those two seem odd enough for the Simpsons.

Hopefully next week's is better, but I didn't mind this one either.

[Semaj]

What's the big deal with Bart not being in this? Does he have to be in every single episode even if there's no point? I don't get it..

It's not really a big deal, but it's something new that people weren't NOT going to notice.

I have been advocating the idea that a main character should not be in an episode if there is absolutely no purpose for their presence. Many shows would rather stick a character in a side story, or try to squeeze them in for a couple filler jokes anyway, even if neither relates to the main story, which gets extremely tiring, because it feels like they're just around for their own sake, and only because the writers and producers like them THAT much. (Case in point, if Family Guy doesn't have a place for Stewie in the main plot, or even a suitable subplot, you can bet that he won't be set aside for next week.)

[lionelhutz123]

I couldn't have put it better myself, except that I liked the Macbeth one better than the last one. In future anthologies (for example, THOH XX), they need to leave it at three stories, and find some other way to fill either the first act or the last one.

-- Don

Yeah, now that I think about it, I like the Macbeth segment the best too. It stands out the most among the rest, and the direction/format was quite enjoyable.

[bovine_university]

I got at least one big laugh out of each story (which is alot more than I can say for that awful Valentine's day episode from last year), but that's just not enough to truly lift this episode above the same old trilogy feel, only now in four parts.

If they are going to do the four-act format for this kind of episode, why not just have three stories and let the first act be an introductory piece of sorts, like with some of the older Treehouse of Horror episodes? The flaws of letting each act have its own story really showed with the first story, which was really rushed and uninteresting with its humor and its plot. A parody of Elizabeth: The Golden Age could have worked but there just wasn't enough time and everything was thin. The last story had a similar problem, but at least it was a simpler story, and I did like that little monologue by Jodie Foster at the end.

The Snow White parody was definitely my favorite, with the song, the choice of who would play which dwarf, and even the ending made me laugh too. The faded colors did feel a little done since the Lady and the Tramp story from last year did that too, but it still looks stylish and nice. I only wish they had tried to make a whole episode parody out of this, since with only so much time the dwarves didn't get an opportunity to really have much of a role and only Moe really got any jokes either. Also, the witch's demise was very predictable. As for the third story, Dr. Hibbert's death might be my favorite moment of the episode, really twisted and dark, and yet fitting and funny. Still, the story as a whole felt a little too clever for its own good. I appreciate the use of actual Shakespeare but it felt dragged out by the end, and Homer's last joke was very predictable and too silly.

All in all none of the stories were great, but none were awful, simply under-utilized. I'm torn between a 2 and a 3, and maybe it's just my dislike of this kind of episode, but I voted a 2/5.

[Toon~g@l!]

This episode was okay but not that great. The Macbeth parody was good since I spent all of senior year reading that stupid play so it was kind of good to see it in that format.

The thing that bugged me about this episode was that during the Snow white segment, Lisa lured a turtle into the soup. I was surprised to see that happen since Lisa is a vegetarian and all you would think she would not do such a thing.

but yeah very mediocre.

[TriforceBun]

Yeah, I didn't like the turtle joke much. Not that it conflicted with Lisa's character so much that it conflicted with the feel of the rest of the Snow White story (Lisa/Snow White was always being kind to the animals otherwise). It felt shoehorned in to make the segment feel a little "edgier," I guess.

[lionelhutz123]

I thought the animal gags were pretty well done. I liked the bear putting in too much detergent, and then Lisa shunning him outside as if he is an inferior creature. As for the turtle gag, I don't see anything wrong with it. Lisa is the vegetarian, but as for snow white, who cares? I find it enjoyable when a classic character is portrayed in such an "out of character" way, when parodied. It's just like when Mickey Mouse's character was portrayed as an asshole in "South Park", and that was part of what made that episode (The Ring) funny. Besides, who here honestly wants an accurate characterization of Snow White in a Simpsons episode? That aspect of the segment was probably the most enjoyable part of it.

[arii]

I thought the turtle joke was actually pretty funny, and I didn't care that it was Lisa portraying Snow White basically killing it - hell, in the same episode we had Marge not even playing Lady Macbeth telling Homer to go murder a bunch of people for no good reason. These aren't the kinds of episodes where characterization ever really matters. And Lisa wasn't even getting the story of Snow White straight (another touch I liked in that segment), so... yeah.

As for the "edgier" bit to it, yeah, I'll agree with that, but that's what we've been getting a lot with the Disney parodies lately, so I'm not bothered by it. It is kind of making it more adult, but part of the parody is to take away the innocence that's supposed to be there, because it's Disney - kind of in light of the gag in the movie, when the animals undress Homer and Marge in Alaska, and then all balk in horror as the two start to have sex. It's the same as the other animals eating the witch in this parody, or in the Lady and the Tramp parody last time, shoving Goofy into a gas chamber. I had no problems with any of those; I had no problems with this one.

[Cartoonnetwork]

Yeah, I also thought it was pretty boring overall, as always with these episodes. First segment was ok, but not very funny, second was somewhat enjoyable due to the animation and some decent gags like Willie's and the dwarves, third one was very mixed, parts of it were hilarious (mainly Hibbert's death) and others felt pretty forced...it was probably the stronger one in therms of story...fourth was looking pretty interesting but then it ended in an incredible rushed way. I did like the final gag that took place in the present, though.

Actually the wraparounds are usually my fave part in these episodes and I really enjoyed the blue haired lawyer, even though the copyright gag had been done before I LOL at his extremely long nails.

Overall, meh. 3/5

I don't even know if I will ever watch this one again.

[Fox Executive]

Well, it was waaay better than I expected. The animation was awesome and the storis were good. The Maggie story was a little flat though.

Overall a 4/5.

[Mr Johannson]

Queen Elizabeth
Rather short, and nothing really notable.
2.5/5

Snow White
Getting tired of Disney parodies. Even though it's not really Lisa, it still felt weird to see her lure a turtle to it's death and laugh about it. Odd that the role of the Queen wasn't taken by an existing character. I didn't like Lisa suddenly reworking the end of the story either. Willie was funny though.
2.5/5

Macbeth
Felt more suited to a THOH episode than a trilogy quadrilogy episode. Unlike all the other stories which went by rather quickly, this one just dragged on. I didn't find it particularly funny, and Marge's nagging got really annoying. And I don't see why the ballet teacher had to make a return. Hibbert's death was cool though.
2/5

Fountainhead
Meh. Maybe it's because I'm unfamiliar with Ayn Rand, but I didn't get this one.
2/5

If they are going to go with 4 stories now, they should at least get rid of the wraparound stuff. It's rather redundant at this stage. Also strange that Bart didn't appear at all, though admittingly I didn't realise this until some time after the episode.

Overall:2/5

[EthanRunt]

Unforgivably boring and overly unfunny, yes a couple of jokes about the usual act of the show, but they fell flat, and squeezing 4 in made them all too short to fit anything interesting in, one of the worst.
2/5 for a couple of jokes, and the final segment being alright.

[hughes]

It was pretty good, the worst since the HD switch but still enjoyable enough

The Macbeth one was really good, and I liked the parody song

On the other hand, no Bart and there was nothing really funny in the wraparounds until Act 4

A bit of a step down, but easily the best trilogy episode since "Christmas Stories", so a 4.5/5, B+/A-

[Tomacco]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected, since I'm usually not a fan of the trilogy (now quadrilogy) episodes. This one ranks above "Love, Springfield Style" and far ahead of "The Wettest Stories Ever Told", and probably about on par with "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times".

Queen Elizabeth: B-
Snow White: B+
Macbeth: A-
Ayn Rand: B

The Macbeth one was the most creative, IMO. I loved how they used the normal Springfield world to tell the story, instead of just dressing up all the characters like they did with Hamlet. The characters didn't act entirely how they normally do (Homer and Marge particularly of course), but it made for a dark and funny parody within the normal Springfield world. All in all, it basically felt like a good THOH segment. Hell, they could have used this exact segment in a THOH episode and it would have fit better than some previous segments have in THOH episodes. I wonder how the dude who does "MacHomer" feels about all this. His inbox must have been flooded at 8:30 last night.

Overall, a good episode. B

[Fox Executive]

I think you guys have already heard the bad news, but I can tell you again:

This epsiode is the lowest-watched ever. only 5.19 million people watched it last night. Too bad, they missed quite a bit.

[Semaj]

How the fuck was this beaten by that terrible FG episode???

[Captain Squid]

I think you guys have already heard the bad news, but I can tell you again:

This epsiode is the lowest-watched ever. only 5.19 million people watched it last night. Too bad, they missed quite a bit.

Well, besides being an anthology episode (which are never too popular) it was also Mother's Day so I'm sure many were either out to dinner or out of the house.

I give the episode a 4/5 compared to all the other non-THOH anthology episodes. Way better than many of the ones to come in the past few years. I particularly enjoyed that they mixed it up a bit, not every segment was a costumed period piece. I like when Springfield itself has a story loosely based on a piece of fiction (The Telltale Head/The Telltale Heart and Itchy & Scratchy Land/Westworld for example). Queen Elizabeth was the worst of the bunch(2/5), while the final three segments were quality (rated 4/5, 4/5 and 3.5/5 respectively).

Forgot to mention: PLOPPER!!!

[Thrillho]

I can't really say anything that hasn't been said before. Bart doesn't appear, but does that really matter? I don't see his appearance adding much to the episode, it worked fine enough without him. It was decent for the most part, but as expected many of the stories were so rushed that none of the potentials of each were reached. Maybe they should just cut it down to 2 stories that span the 4 acts, and have them continue after the ad breaks.

Wraparounds:
The Blue-Haired Lawyer fingernails joke pretty much came of nowhere, but the rest warranted some laughs, notably the ending. B

Queen Elizabeth:
Some funny lines, but overall was pretty cluttered and rushed. Nothing terrible, just short. The medieval/classical era segments feel like they've been done over too many times now, this felt like all the others. C+

Snow White:
Funnier and more organized than the previous one. The song was (somewhat) funny, plus the slightly unexpected ending was nice. I was caught off guard by the Plopper cameo, I thought the show had officially forgotten about the movie. It wasn't unfunny, just unexpected. B-

Macbeth:
Made good use of the time it was alotted. Honestly, if every segment was this good I might even learn to like quadrilogy episodes. It did feel like a THOH segment, but why should that matter? I loved the irony of Dr. Hibbert's death. B+

The Fountainhead:
I liked how they chose a lesser-known subject for the last one, and I'm somewhat familiar with the plot. The Jodie Foster cameo was short, but no shorter than Ellen Page's last week, albeit less funny. The segment itself was decent, it was hugely reminiscent of the subplot in "A Streetcar Named Marge". Better than the first and second, not quite as good as the third. Another B.

This one was an improvement the last 3 trilogy episodes, "The Wettest Stories Ever Told", "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" and "Love, Springfieldian Style". So, a B.

[Ryan]

I think you guys have already heard the bad news, but I can tell you again:

This epsiode is the lowest-watched ever. only 5.19 million people watched it last night. Too bad, they missed quite a bit.

In its defense, the Celebrity Apprentice was on at 8 last night for its season finale...

[chagopian]

In its defense, the Celebrity Apprentice was on at 8 last night for its season finale...

I'm pretty sure Celebrity Apprentice had some pretty terrible ratings for a finale as well.

What's it going to take for Fox to come down hard on the creative team for the Simpsons? Probably this season's the last straw, who knows. I hope to see a shakeup in the news soon as this has been going on for a while now.

[Mr. Krikt]

The thing that bugged me about this episode was that during the Snow white segment, Lisa lured a turtle into the soup. I was surprised to see that happen since Lisa is a vegetarian and all you would think she would not do such a thing.

So you think the other characters were also inline with their normal selves?

Anyway, this episode was a hodgepodge of mediocrity. The stories were poor, rushed and unimaginative.

- Queen Elizabeth
This was so short that nothing was developed properly. At the end Marge says that Elizabeth gave up the one man she loved... When?
Also, I don't like Julio (or whoever the generic gay guy is) in terms of his voice acting or character. Similarly, I wish they would stop using Ralph. His random, wacky lines are uninspired and aren't funny.

- Snow White
The song didn't sound like it was voiced by any of the characters and so looked ridiculous when lip-synced. There wasn't anything interesting in this segment.

- Macbeth
This should have a been a Treehouse of Horror episode.
Also, at the end it continued the curious case of the Simpson writers thinking lists of things are funny (e.g. list of cafeteria foods in Father Knows Worst and the drink names in Waverly Hills).

- Fountainhead
I don't understand the motivation behind this segment. Maggie tries to build things and they are destroyed, then a mock trial takes place and the episode ends with the cliché where the baby is capable of things that normally babies can't do.

This is generally just like a modern TreeHouse of Horror episode, but then again, the new ToH episodes haven't been shown until after Hallowe'en for years now anyway.

[Green Man]

That was actually really good.

Queen Elizabeth 2/5
Man, that was mediocre. It was short, useless and badly written. Though most of what Moe said was funny and for that reason I'm giving it a 2.

Snow White 4/5
Spider Pig is back! This was a fun segment and it was also very well directed.

Lady Macbeth 5/5
My favorite segment. This was a really great parody, probably the best one this season

The Fountainhead 4/5
I was wrong Maggie talking was great, but Jodie Foster sounded more like an Adult.

Overall: 4/5 Way better than what I was expecting. The LABFs have been so great

[WBadger]

Okay, here is my review:

Queen Elizabeth: Easily, the worst segment of last night's episode and maybe of recent 'trilogy' episodes. But Moe had a few good jokes to save it. C-

Snow White: Wow! Surprised on how great this one was. 'The Simpsons' have been good with parodying Disney material and this one was no exception. Lisa played the role perfectly and the seven dwarves were fun. Also, liked the turtle in the pot gag. Best segment of the episode, IMO. B+/A-

Macbeth: This seems to be everyone's favorite but I think it was just a little too silly for my liking. Especially, when we saw Marge as a ghost and the ending. Not to say it didn't have it's moments, I liked Homer's killing scenes and Dr.Hibbert going mad with laughter. B-

Fountainhead: Lots of Maggie in Season 20. It was just okay, I guess and ended pretty quickly. Not much to say about it, it was kind of flat. C+

Overall though I'll give it a grade of a C+, probably will change upon rewatch

[Ramier Wolfcastle]

Only 5.16 million viewers, and Family Guy got 1.51 million more? Both shows were crap last night, but we almost got beat by American Dad again!

P.S. I just realized that Bart was absent from the entire episode. Yet Nancy Cartwright was credited in the end credits. What a load of crappy-crap-crap.

[sung]

P.S. I just realized that Bart was absent from the entire episode. Yet Nancy Cartwright was credited in the end credits. What a load of crappy-crap-crap.

i believe she plays the voice of kearney

[Kiyosuki]

And Ralph

I don't understand the motivation behind this segment.

It's supposed to be a take on an Ayn Rand novel (that's not Atlas Shrugged for once.) It's a really, really really simplified version of it but basically the story was a statement against enforced conformity and all political ideals and out of date traditions that glorify it (she probably had socialism in her sights.), and the idea that individual excellence should be acknowledged instead of stamped out for the sake of everyone being "equal".

Something kinda funny about using the Fountainhead in this particular episode though is that the original story was a distinctively male driven story, with a mostly male cast. Though I like to think the ideal behind it is universal.