Rate & Review “Coming to Homerica” (LABF12)

[CeetjeBeetje]

I've only seen it once, but it is still quite freshly in my mind.
The Norwegians coming out of Ogdenville was a little strange for my taste, and Maggie talking was kinda weird.
There werent's any jokes that made me laugh out loud, but it was still fun to watch. The ending with the wall in particular was very funny. Overall a funny episode, but lacks hilarity. A 3/5

[Zenmiester]

The plot was good, but imagine fan sites of the early 00s trying to extract and market continuity from this episode.

[Nauru-1]

I saw this again and it was worse than I thought originally. A 1/5 rather than a 2/5 I would say. :/

[bartyboy]

3/5. Pretty average episode with only a few decent jokes

[CousinMerl]

I think this is an really nice episode, which fared better during the rewatch for me. Several of the jokes and gags were fine, one of the funniest ones were the balloon chair gag with Lenny and Carl, and the plot itself was a really good one. The first act felt natural and not at all forced and I loved the brief cameo of Herman, it was nice seeing an forgotten character more clearly again and it would have been great if he had gotten a line or two. One of the best things about the episode was the positive portrayal of the Ogdenvillians, i'm a little tired of seeing new characters in this era of the show, if only one-timers, being portrayed as jerks (for example the Alaska Nebraska character in "Waverly Hills") so it was a nice change. All in all, it wasn't an awesome episode but it was a good one to conclude the 20th season with.

4/5

[zitro]

after watching a rerun, I can't give it more than 3/5. It is such a mixed bag of an episode!

the characterizations are great, there are some great moments, but there are also some terrible gags sticking out as well as a rather lame ending for a season finale.

[Cash Kerouac]

Upon rewatching, I am going to bump this up from a 2/5 to a 4/5 (which means that on my third watching I'll probably move it down to a 3/5). I'm not sure what changed my mind - whether I was in a bad mood when it premiered or in a good mood yesterday, but I realized that this is a particular kind of Simpsons episode. Aside from the Krusty eating gag, there really aren't many if any belly laughs in this episode. That said, there are an awful lot of little gags that just keep you smiling during the episode like Snake's discussion of bed pillows, and now and then, that's quite alright. Coming to Homerica is not an episode that's going to have you rolling on the floor, but you'll chuckle to yourself almost the whole way through.

[Bella Drape 'er]

That was the finale? What a pathetic episode.

There was a few touches of Bart I liked and I'm glad they used that couch gag again, but this was very blah and emotionless. 1/5

[Rest your giant head]

This was, without a doubt, the best season finale since Moe baby blues in season 14. Cleverly written, no dragged jokes, characters in place, and overall a fun episode from beginning to the end.

The episode started well, with some great lines by Krusty, and an interesting Deadliest catch parody. The Ogdenvillians were pretty cool, and their wacky jobs made me laugh, especially the guy cleaning Kirk’s glasses. My favorite bit is the scene with Homer losing his job, it was such a short and unpredictable joke. The sneazing gags were also simple yet funny, and the scene with Bart doing stunts was classic.

It got a bit disjointed when guarding the border came up (Wiggum and Lue can get really boring every now and then), but the episode picked up with the building scenes. The random dance party at the end was fantastic and quite reminiscent of Burns baby burns. The tumbleweed Ralph was another highlight in the last couple of minutes.

A

[HRH Sir Prince Charles]

I'm Norwegian and I loved this episode.

For those of you who are wondering why they chose Norway: It's because of Norwegian national day on May 17th. Kind of a tribute/celebration. (Registered just to clear that up for those wondering)

No, it's a pretty clear reference to people from the major cereal growing regions of the US (ie. Minnesota) being predominantly of Scandinavian origin. The problem is that they couldn't decide whether the Ogdenvillians were Americans of Norwegian ancestry or actual Norwegians. I have a feeling that the original idea revolved around Norwegian immigrants (BECAUSE NORWAY ISN'T ANYTHING LIKE MEXICO LOL) and they changed it a bit so it made sense.

I thought the premise was played out (Goobacks was infinitely better), Lisa's preaching was unbearable and the second and third acts both sucked. The first act was fantastic, however, and a lot of the jokes were quite funny ("This is Tennessee Titans country!"). I also dig the couch gag, long as it may have been... a fitting tribute to 5 decades of television.

3/5

[JimBob]

This episode is maybe one of the better episodes on season 20 but it's still not a great episode,overall I would give this episode a 2.9/5.

[The Wiggs]

I really like this episode. I think it has a very light, funny feel to it, without making it completely stupid like a Scully episode would. 4/5

[Captain Squid]

Really liked this one. Looks like I voted when it aired, though I forgot what I scored it. Looking back, I'd give it a 4.5/5

Great to see two series staples in one episode: Homer going to work at the snpp, Bart skateboarding. Both are rare nowadays. Also, I like episodes that rely on past established geography rather than creating new nearby towns. Now they need to feature Brockway in an episode. And what's this? No guest stars or celebrities playing themselves?!

[The Governor]

And what's this? No guest stars or celebrities playing themselves?!

The writers could've made up a musical 'guest' in Kill the Alligator and Run, but it wouldn't have made it better or worse.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Coming to Homerica

Reading that title makes me think that Springfield has been suddenly invaded by skankily clad woman you see in Hip-Hop videos who swiftly change everything for the worse and they have to make everything right before the episode ends... Watching the episode made me realize that what I had just written was wrong... This episode deals with Odgenvillians "invading" Springfield. While I do like episodes based on pre-existing geography and city names, I don't like episodes which have no idea what to do with themselves...

On one hand, this is ripe for satire about immigration and stuff but all I could get from watching the episode is that these people give them all of their jobs then they start to hate them due to ruining their lifestyle. Then the people blame all of their problems on the immigrants and then they want them out, but after a while they accept that they're the same and they're accepted once again. Yup... That's what constitutes as political satire nowadays. Stuff that a third grader could come up with... There could of been something deeper, like how people hate immigrants but grant them jobs anyway and whether or not they're changing our way of life or whether we hate them because their different. That could of been some deep stuff...

It would of been passable if the plot flowed naturally and decently but as it stands it just stands as a backdrop for the writers to drop tons of jokes, visually and aurally. Some of these jokes do hit and some of them do work due to delivery but most of them just fall flat or work only as a cheap and quick laugh. If you're a fan of these jokes then you'll laugh your ass off but for me, this will always be my motto. Plot/story > animation/line reading. I do have to say that most of the characters where themselves and they did manage to get in a few down-to-earth moments but there were some characters who just act as a shell for jokes and as I said before; those jokes are either hit or miss. The odgenvillians do look nice but they don't have much character beyond nice people who are looking for jobs, I mean did we learn about any one of them? Doubt it. I do say that the city of Odgenville was convincingly portrayed.

This may not have a guest star or an outlandish plot but the execution on this is poor. It's episodes like this which gives The Simpons it's name of time-wasting entertainment. Earlier episodes with premises similar to that had both a decent plot and better jokes; this just has a plot which acts like a backdrop... And if mostly every Simpsons episodes treat plot like a backdrop then it slowly loses it's charm and appeal and becomes just plain and simple, a playground comedy club where everybody is trying to unleash their brand of comedy whether it's funny or not.

4.0/10

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Season 20 concludes with a story dealing with immigration. We begin with Krusty who learns that his Krusty burgers are the most unhealthy fast food in existence. To counter this he creates the "Mother Nature" Burger which becomes a huge hit throughout Springfield, including with our favorite family. I really enjoy this opening set piece with Krusty, from his opening with his manager to the commercial he makes, to Apu dancing in Krusty Burger and Homer's demand for a Nobel Prize. Just a solid opening all around. It turns out that all the burgers were made with tainted barley from Ogdenville making anyone who ate them sick. When the town hears about this Ogdenville, which relied on its barley for survival, becomes a ghost town in all of one day. The displaced Ogdenvillians come to Springfield looking for day work as we end act 1.

In act 2 everything starts out fine as the immigrants seem like an unbelievable dream come true. Even Marge is okay with it enough to hire a nanny. Things begin getting out of hand when the family experiences first hand the problems with such a large increase in population. Bart is in a skateboarding accident and can't be treated at the hospital because of all the immigrants. Homer gets drunk and later fired from work. At a town meeting the citizens decide to ban all Ogdenvillians and Xylophones. To enforce this ban Chief Wiggum, after showing his own ineptitude, hires Homer and some other Springfieldians as we end act 2.

In act 3 Homer's group is at first successful at keeping out the immigrants. We get a nice scene involving Lenny and Carl and the balloon house from Up. Eventually though the town just decides to build a wall. Even Marge agrees when she discovers Maggie is speaking like an Ogdenvillian. In act 4 the wall is built, with help from the immigrants naturally. While building however everyone discovers they share more things in common than they thought. After the wall is complete they decide to let the Ogdenvillians in anyway as we end the episode with a party.

While not even close to an original plot I have always liked this episode to such an extent that at one time it was my favorite of Season 20. I don't think it is anymore but it remains solid. I just really enjoy the story here and am able to find several sweet or funny moments. I love Lisa responding to wanting hugs and milk, as well as Selma's boyfriend insulting Homer. Drunk Homer telling Mr. Burns to shut up had me laughing as well. The ending is obviously the weakest point though as the resolution makes the episode seem ultimately unnecessary. Overall I'd still give this a 4/5.

So that's it with Season 20 then, I will begin my final blogs/analysis of it sometime during the week.

[Blobulle]

"Ya ! Ya !"
I really like this episode, the Up reference, Maggie talking in Ogdensomething, the story, the dance at the end...
Mmmmaybe in my top 50. 5/5

[The Governor]

This episode was about Scandinavian's invading this country and taking all the jobs ala Mexicans but with Norwegian jokes instead of Mexican jokes. Big effin deal and not funny...even less so after seeing it again.

1.5/5, down from a 3/5, originally.

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

I despise this episode, utterly despise it. Not funny at all, not creative and such a fine example of how far from grace this once amazing television show has fallen. 1/5 and the guy who rates season 15 as better than 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9, please you can't be serious! top 50 Simpsons episodes of ALL TIME?!?

[Blobulle]

Yes, I remember I enjoyed it a lot the first time I've seen it.

[Ruffles]

6/10 as this wasn't really that good.

[clemsonfight]

Okay episode...4/5