Rate and Review: "Flaming Moe" (NABF04)

[Patches O'houlihan]

January 16, 2011. Flaming Moe (NABF04)
Smithers helps turn Moe's into a gay bar, but Moe thinks it won't work unless he lets people think he's gay; Principal Skinner gets Bart to link up with the daughter of the new, now-unmarried, music teacher so he can get closer to the teacher

[IceDoesntHelp]

I dislike the title and how its similar to the season 3 episode. Another short couch gag, thats new. I kind of enjoyed that old cartoon reference, and the homer line was perfectly timed, and not carried on too long. The Smithers wait line, was poor. The "be 4 points" line was funny. Rats commiting suicide is a funny thought. Somehow theres more no chicks, was humerous. I also enjoyed the references to the past. I didn't enjoy the Comic Book Gay joke. Angel Moe joke wasn't terrible, but not great. I enjoyed the Groundskeeper Willie as a horse gag. Homer choking on the piece of wood gag was pretty good. Groundskeeper Willie jokes are pretty good. The sexual innuendo joke, was decent. I enjoyed the Toy Story reference. 4chan is going to eat that furry reference alive. This was actually a pretty good episode, I'm surprised. I was expecting a crap fest. Expected ending. 3.5/5 evened out to 4/5.
PS: I think I smell a GLAAD award.

[Redem]

I'd give 3,5/5

Is is it me or its the Simpsons episode were the family does absolutely nothing

[McClure]

I loved the opening fight between the two shifts. I also enjoyed the Gertie the Dinosaur reference.

But, the poor characterization of Burns continues. So now he's only mentally competant for a brief period and completely nuts for the rest? Whatever happened to the good ol' fashioned super evil Burns?

Also, whatever happened to the good ol' fashioned subtle Burns-sexual Smithers?

And they referenced the fact that the Moe renovating his bar plot device has been used before. We're seeing jokes like this more often. Ackowledging your repetitiveness it does not make it okay.

I've never understood why the writers keep bringing back Mr. Largo. The character disappeared after a few seasons, then was brought back occasionally by Scully, then disappeared, and now in season 22 he appears as much as Ms Krabappel.

There were some good background jokes, like the bit with Groundskeeper Willie driving down a hole and some good one-offs as well, like Angel Moe.

Moe mentioned Hustler, I wonder if that was added this week in reference to that trailer for a Simpsons porn movie?

Also, Llewellyn Sinclair sighting!

The subplot was okay from what I saw. I missed bits of it.

All in all, from what I saw, the episode was not bad, definitely above average for this season.

But, Comic Book Gay? Worst pun EVER!

[Walid]

lowlights:

The title (this doesn't get marked down or anything, but the title really could've been something else).

burns' brain in the scene where we saw him doing his will

the sign that said something about a montage; yes, we know it was a montage, having a sign that says it isn't that funny or clever

Grady's new design.
highlights:

Comic Book Gay; I think a lot of people are going to dislike this gag but I actually liked it. Way better than Fit Tony. The reason i liked this one was because Comic Book Gay isn't replacing Comic Book Guy. It was still a stupid gag but it made me laugh

Homer, Lenny and Carl being shocked at the guy in the bathroom washing his hands

Superintendent Chalmers saying he's dating one of the kids' mothers, but not knowing who.

Overall it was a weird episode, but quite good. The Simpsons did not have a lot of screentime. What, Lisa had like one scene? Maggie had none if i recall. I might be in an ultra-good mood but this gets a 5/5 from me.

BTW, i missed the opening. what was the billboard, chalkboard, and couch gags?

[Muskrat]

Pretty good, but it got worse as it went along.

[Patches O'houlihan]

As I thought, the subplot held my interest while the main plot just seemed to be 'there.' The problem with this episode in particular, is we know how it's going to end regardless of what happens in the first 3.5 acts--Moe's will back to normal, Skinner will return and still be a momma's boy, ect, so with nothing at stake, there's no dramatic interest. I know it seems soap opera-ish, but I actually wanted the new music teacher to stay and be Skinner's GF, regardless if Bart and her daughter were friends.

For what it's worth, I didn't hate this, but I wish there could be SOME permanent changes to Springfield that challenge the status quo.

3/5, or C+

[D'ohmer]

I quite enjoyed it. The opening with the fight and Mr. Burns was quite interesting to watch (except for the gross-out Burns gag). We don't get to see much of the Power Plant, so it was a nice thing to start the episode out with. Then, Smithers feeling rejected and going to Moe's was a good way to lead in to the main plot. Moe was well-characterized too. He was desperate for customers, so he was willing to lie about himself. He didn't care about what he was doing at first, but at the end, he decided to come clean. The gay people were also pretty funny and there were many great gags involving them. I thought Comic Book Gay was a funny pun (though I saw it coming) and I liked the way he acted like CBG. I also thought it was cool to see the guys from TGotC again.

My favorite gag was probably the pretzals and first aid kit being painted on and Homer being too stupid to realize that they weren't real. I also liked the callbacks to the amount of times Moe changed his bar. The reference to teh montage that we never got to see was a good idea, rather than having an actual music montage.

The subplot, I thought, was a decently handled subplot. I liked how it somehow connected to the mainplot at the beginning. Skinner's fantasy was nicely animated and cleverly done (especially the paper airplane). It was also funny, I thought, how that girl was so obsessed with Bart, and how Skinner's romance only lasted one day after he left.

Overall, 4/5

PS: I don't think Lisa had any lines and Maggie didn't appear once. That's okay, I don't mind them not using the family when they don't need to. It would have been worse (IMO), if they threw in them into the plot randomly because they felt like they HAD to get them in there.

PPS: S. Bubbles, they only had the cough gag. Scoops of ice cream representing the family members were scooped into a dish that represented the couch. Whipped cream was added, and then a giant SLH ate them all.

[Captain_Smiley]

How obvious was it that when they introduced Caliope that they were going to do a montage to "Jennifer Juniper"?

[biffwestwood]

1/5

Plain Lousy. Moe turning his tavern into a gay bar could've had potential, but it was so lifeless due to the heavy use of supporting characters and just about all of them were put to no good use. The entire Simpson family was depicted in this episode so little that it seemed like one of those episodes that was made as a pilot for a spinoff. As for the subplot, this appeared to be thrown in just to involve Bart in a random situation and had a lot of missed potential.

[Jims]

I thought this one was quite good, easily the best episode of the season thus far. Hearing the plot summary of it made me think it was going to be an awkward trainwreck, but I'm glad to see that I'm wrong.

I really liked the core concept of Moe as the Closet Straight in this episode. It's exactly the kind of Simpson-esque twist on a concept that the show commonly did in the Classic Era. Whenever this show brings in a subject like homosexuality, I'm always concerned that they'll turn it into a preachy "topic episode" (like they did on Futurama this year), which always bugs me. But instead they just decided to take a concept that everyone knows about and have some fun with it.

Moe was the perfect choice for an episode like this. His complete and total love for money makes it logical that he'd be willing to go with such a business venture. As shown by the nice continuity gag, he already did it three times. I like that they didn't turn Moe into the Patron Saint of Gays and have him running around defending the community's honor. They just had him be somewhat weirded out by the circumstances. This is definitely believable for a character like him and gives the episode more humor possibilities. The fact that he has to keep going along with it only makes things more awkward for him.

They did hit us over the head with the "Hey, it's like coming out but backwards!" concept a little too much in his final speech... But there were some funny observations in there, so it's forgivable.

The Skinner subplot was fairly basic but still fun. Mostly because the two guest stars' characters were so interesting to watch. It makes sense that Skinner, a repressed militaristic type, would be attracted by a free-spirit type like the substitute. The loopy third-grade daughter was funny too, written like a high-functioning Ralph Wiggum. Wish she could stay a regular.

Jokes were really solid all the way through. Nice snappy deliveries in the dialogue and nothing felt particularly gimmicky. I didn't quite get all of the gay references (lemon squeezers?), but I don't really mind not knowing.

4.5/5

[McClure]

Wow, slow night for reviews. Perhaps everyone is watching the Golden Globes...

[D'ohmer]

Wow, slow night for reviews. Perhaps everyone is watching the Golden Globes...

Good thinking. Unfortunately, I think that could be a hindrance for ratings.

[Semaj]

Turned out better than expected, though I have to agree with Jake's comment on challenging the status quo. The argument could be made that people don't like changes, especially if they turn out for the worse, which is true. But change is inevitable, and as much as this show has tried to resist, it has undergone (mostly unfavorable) changes of its own. Marge was reading a book about the Status Quo in the end of last week's episode, which given the condition this show is in now, only reinforced another tired meta-reference.

In the main plot, Moe's business partnership with Mr. Smithers gives us another glimpse into Springfield's gay community. It also reminded us of a couple characters whom had come out the closet over the years, though I don't recall that being the case with Lisa's music teacher. I'm somewhat on the fence with this kind of development. It was known for Smithers very early on, and it was plausible when they did it with Patty, though that was probably inspired by a throwaway line from Season 4. But in many of these shows, homosexuality has swelled into an annoying stereotype used as a crutch, not a supplement for actual personality development.

In the subplot, we're thankfully not reminded of Principal Skinner's failed relationship with Ms. Krabappel, though he fails at a relationship with a substitute music teacher. It did provide an interesting sub-story where the teacher's daughter tries to be friends with Bart, which would've been better if the "Bart gets a girlfriend" bit hadn't been done so many times already. I would've given Skinner a chance with this new romance; having him incapable of finding another girlfriend after Krabappel is extremely depressing, and again, makes the insistence of keeping the staus quo a burdening one.

3.0/5

[That Don Guy]

PS: I don't think Lisa had any lines and Maggie didn't appear once.

Lisa had one line - when Mr. Largo mentioned that it was his last say, she told the other kids something like, "Act as if he meant something to you."

Maggie's absence made me notice something else - is this the first time there were no scenes inside the Simpson house?
(EDIT: I don't think the 138th Episode Spectacular did, either)

-- Don

[Brad Lascelle]

The online Simpsons fan community doesn't show enough appreciation to Matt Selman. I feel he is one of the very few veteran writers that "gets" what a modern era Simpsons episode should turn out like.

Tonight's episode was exceptional.
Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou? was the best ep from last season.
His other credits include The Haw-Hawed Couple, Girls Just Want To Have Sums and Trilogy of Error.
Granted, I can see some people holding That 90's Show against him... but the good far outweighs the bad.

The gags from tonight all largely worked and I frankly didn't mind having the Simpsons family largely act as window dressing for this one. It was very self-referential and even took jabs at what passes for jokes from other writers such as the non-existent montage showing Moe renovating his bar and the clear mocking of Fit Tony (via Comic Book Gay).

All three of the dream sequences were hysterical from the one homicidal floating Burns head to the Willie horse being turned into salisbury steak to one of the funniest devil-angel on the shoulder routines I've ever seen. Better yet there were no stupid list gags with dumb unfunny puns to act as time filler... in fact, this ep had plenty of material so padding was few and far between.

You can tell Matt took the time to make everything into a genuinely funny gag or meaningful to the development of the story. For those of you who want more material for OFF, you'll get plenty of that next week when Bart attempts to steal nuclear secrets from Homer for Russian & Chinese crime syndicates so he can get a dirt bike. I'm fairly confident from the leaked script that said episode was NOT written by Matt Selman.

I gave tonight's episode a 5/5 in tonight's poll and it is clearly the standout ep from Season 22 (not that there's much competition). The only thing I didn't care for was Alyson Hannigan's voicework as Melody.

If a celebrity can't pull off sounding like a young kid, DON'T CAST THEM AS YOUNG KIDS. Especially if you're going to waste their talents in a throwaway role. Give those parts to proven VAs in Los Angeles (i.e. preferably someone OTHER than Tress MacNeille or Maurice Lamarche) who can sound like young kids with little to no effort. Some of these VAs have had years of work in the industry and would appreciate having a bit part on The Simpsons to point to on their resumes.

[arii]

I thought it was fairly funny. Lots of good gags, I might have even laughed out loud once or twice, which is a rarity for me in general. Can't really recall finding any attempts at humour facepalm worthy or anything like that, so it was nice on that end.

That said, the episode failed to maintain my attention. I don't think I really caught everything because I was busy looking at other stuff while watching the episode. Because it's been done before. Moe has reformed his bar before. The show has tackled homosexuality before (though I will give them this - each time they've done it they've done it well, this episode included, for the most part being successful in avoiding retarded stereotypes but not going completely sensitive on the whole issue), the show has had Moe renovate his bar before as it itself pointed out, the show has had Skinner try to date a teacher before, the show has had Bart deal with girls in one form of romantic interest or another before. It's all been done before. I don't even care about the status quo bit - it's simply all been done before. And in this episode, there were no twists. Everything played out pretty much the exact same way it has before.

Above average and largely solid effort by the show, I'd say, but it's still the effort of a show that's 22 years old and clearly on its last legs. I can't fault it for that. But I can be bored by it.

[Charlie]

Maggie's absence made me notice something else - is this the first time there were no scenes inside the Simpson house?
(EDIT: I don't think the 138th Episode Spectacular did, either)

Technically 138th Spectacular took place on the "set" used for the Simpsons' living room.

[Matty]

lowlights:
The reason i liked this one was because Comic Book Gay isn't replacing Comic Book Guy. It was still a stupid gag but it made me laugh

What if it was Comic Book Guy with a fake moustache?

[Mr.]

A fun episode that rips on gays but I wish it would be more soild story wise. Like the whole Mr. Burns will thing - it set up the whole episode, then comes up only once. Skinner in love sub-plot felt way to short and under-develop, which is a shame since the new teacher character was pretty funny.
Comic book gay joke crack me up. It one of those things they are so stupid their funny...
Groundskeeper Willie beacoming a principal was great joke and I actuall wish they would shown him running the school.

What if it was Comic Book Guy with a fake moustache?

That's the buty of a mystery. We may never know

[Walid]

What if it was Comic Book Guy with a fake moustache?

i thought about that when watching, but i didn't know or really care. i just assume for the sake of it, it really was comic book 'gay.' the reason i found it funny in the first place was homer was all surprised to see comic book guy, and then we find out it isn't even him.

[Reverend Lovejoy]

Another 1/5. Didn't really find anything redeeming about this at all.

Comic Book Gay; I think a lot of people are going to dislike this gag but I actually liked it. Way better than Fit Tony. The reason i liked this one was because Comic Book Gay isn't replacing Comic Book Guy. It was still a stupid gag but it made me laugh

So... looks like I may as well give up on hoping we'll have one episode without him.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Flaming Moe

Title jacking aside, this was a very weak episode. Let me just say they should seriously consider bring back the whole 3-act format for future episodes because having 4-acts makes episodes like these feel disjointed and it doesn't really allow for episodes to reach their full potential.

Onto the episode. It starts off at the power plant and another fight similar to the previous episode happens (what are these peoples obsessions with fights). Then it cuts to Mr. Burns signing his will. It was nice of them to have a long name that didn't last long but I did not like the brain cap falling off, too cartoony and too appalling, then he becomes mentally incapacitated and it goes into a nice memory flashback for a while before cutting to the real world. The first part was slightly good but the second part was unnecessary as fuck. So Mr. Smithers takes the will from the safe and reads it, there is a list gag but luckily it does not last long. The conversation between Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers is average but I have to admit it was a nice touch, though one ruined with a slight touch of attempted humor that falls flat.

Now begins the main plot. I have got to comment, Bart vandalizing an iPod ad felt so 2005 (this is 2011, I doubt I have seen an iPod commercial with a white guy since like... Ever...) Mr. Smithers gets rejected from the gay bar which takes in stereotypical gay studs and he goes to Moes. Mr. Smithers gets the idea to redecorate the bar and Moe agrees after seeing Barney who I admit has lost all of his personality (seriously). There are certain scenes after this where Moe manages to keep his straightness a secret while he shrugs off stuff like a husband who just wants to sit down and watch TV. I just found myself slightly angered at these scenes (seeing as how the stereotypical (to me) gay people seem to eat it up like cake; Charlie Check'm must be having his day...) anyways... After a montage which portrays itself to be clever (but seems to feel like it's clever because no other show has done it before (I can see why obviously, feels very pompous.) Moe's is suddenly Mo's and the sign flies to the retirement home, I have to say the gag is average.

So after we're introduced to these gay guys (who look unique but still feel stereotypical), the bar becomes popular and Homer and the guys struggle to realize that it's gay... I get that it's the set up for jokes but come on man. come on... I have to say, the reference to previous bar makeovers was a nice touch, and a nice image gag to end the act. Already, I have to be saying that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" did this plot 100x better. The scene then cuts to SFE and band practice being horrible. Surprisingly, the teacher says that he's retiring and he's found a soulmate. I don't know why they pretended they'd love him, I guess it's their version of how it went down in Elementary School. Anyways, after Superintendent Chalmers appears stumbling with his words (not funny) the new music teacher comes in all sexy and hot. I get it...

Back to the bar. They're talking about tolerance and I don't get why Marge didn't notice it. Comic Book Gay (worst pun BTW and nearly exactly the same character as CBG except he's gay! I have to give props to the fact that he is not a replacement for Comic Book Guy, but still...) Marge and Patty being mistaken for guys doesn't feel as funny as it should be and the sign gags of Moe being gay throughout the episode is to my opinion, weak... Moe tries to reveal that he's straight, he sees all of the gay's faces and he proclaims everybody to dance... Eh, not going to complain (seeing as how it's a somewhat reasonable way to do things). The angel being a devil gag I did not see and it is somewhat clever, so I have to give them props for that.

Now they're at the mountains, a nice change of scenery and I'm kind of liking her personality but I felt like this was a poor way to introduce Skinner into the story, I don't get why he wasn't there when she's introduced, probably the story would be expanded and better thought out if he appeared early... So now Skinner is in love (I can see why) and the whole scene is good but some references I could not get into. Now Mr. Smithers is bringing in Mr. Burns, therefore fulfilling a main plot point but when a gay guy tells him to do stuff. Mr. Smithers takes Mr. Burns out for the rest of the episode.... So anyways, Moe keeps on making excuses, but Mr. Smithers is starting to hate Moe for pretending he's gay. Homer eats wooden pretzels in an unfunny gag (where he grabs a First Aid Kit) that ends the act rather poorly.

Now we're off to Mr. Skinner and Bart. The whole scene I thought was alright, both Bart and Mr. Skinner were good at this but the good part of the scene was when the prank goes off when Bart is in his office, saves it from being a totally average scene... Then we get a sign gag (I didn't see much of the sign gag to see it but I thought it was nice) and we get introduced to the nerdy Ralph Wiggum like character. I like her somewhat but she does not sound 8 or 10, and she also feels obsessive as fuck. I did like some of the stuff she did but her voice really detracts her character. Bart goes through the motions and we get some one on one time with Skinner and that female music teacher. I like her character in this but I disliked the volcano erupting when something sexy happened, makes me focus more of the sexyness rather then the character itself.

Anyways, Mr. Skinner is walking on sunshine with singing that I did not like (though I'm sure other people might of liked it). Superintendent Chalmers was unnecessary and unfunny (it seems like his characters purpose is to create unnecessary conversations.) Bart hits the hammer of a Buzz Lightyear like toy in order to make it come to life like that movie Toy Story. (I recently got information that it's not dated, it's actually very common. But if they're doing to do a gag like this then I'd prefer they use a toy that exists in the Simpsons universe rather then an obvious looking Buzz Lightyear doll. I get that you feel the need to explain the joke but maybe the intelligent people would respect it if they wern't told where the reference came from... Also while Toy Story is the shit, this felt like another shoutout to Pixar. IMO they need to ease off the Pixar references. Not that I appreciate them, it's just that these recent seasons have been littered with more Pixar references then normal.) Anyways, Bart lets the girl hang upsidedown and Bart ends the relationship abruptly by saying that she's so much like her sister and he can't be with her... Yeah, that's it... I didn't feel anything because we barely got time to connect with the character, I would of liked it if she was in more speaking scenes but eh, The Simpsons writes what they want to write. There is a rare moment when Mr. Skinner feels the need to go after an unfunny call from his mother (containing a James Bond movie stump... I don't think there are any Bond movies out right now.) and Skinner says no, but surprisingly he goes with her and there is a average gag following it. Then Mr. Skinner comes back in a bus appearing in Marti Gras clothing and it turns out he's been gone for 3 months and everything is back to normal... Okay, something need to happen to the status quo if it wants to continue past Season 23, these things can't continue to happen. Even D'ohmer would get tired of the whole status-quo restoring things.

Back the bar storyline. The gays have a problem where they won't let them march in the parade (few years too late but I'm sure it's still relevant in places where there aren't tolerance.) Moe declares that he's going to run for city council and this makes Mr. Smithers mad. He brings him to the backroom where Mr. Smithers berates him for pretending to be gay while Moe just acts like... Moe... The whole climax came too soon. It read 8:21PM on my clock, it just made me wonder how they were going to resolve this... And then it comes. Moe is making his speech and a lot of Gay people are cheering for Moe, his speech felt generic, and this is coming from the show who has made fun of politics and corruption in politics. So Mr. Smithers being forceful comes in too late (again, get rid of the 4 act format.) Comic Book Gay being honest is good but does not redeem this episode. So after Mr. Smithers and Moe go into a back and forwarth and Moe tries to kiss him, he decides to drop the act and tells them he's not gay... I thought the summary would be that these gay people figure out that Moe is just pretending to be gay and they teach him a lesson but it turns out that Moe just had a change of heart (these FOX summaries keep lying to me for some reason). Moe gives a speech resembling old-school simpsons but the whole republican ending was just very obvious (it's common fact that Republicans are closeted, for some reason, I feel like South Park and Family Guy does political stuff better nowadays). So there are some words from the gay guys about who to choose and after a thunderstorm gag (one half clever, one half lame). They nonchalantly walk away and Mr. Smithers tell Moe they had to do what he had to do, and then Moe kisses Mr. Smithers in a poor attempt to take people by surprise (Shock humor is not funny anymore, not since Eminem and a few others ruined it but the scene was still interesting enough.)

There are a few bright spots and a few signs of brilliance but overall this was a very weak episode of The Simpsons. I wasn't expecting brilliance but I did want something along the currently best episode of the season LSTIYL, hell, I even wanted to like the subplot but despite the characters it introduces (likeable characters as well, I feel like the music teacher could stay on but I didn't get enough time with Bart's girlfriend to get a consensus, though she seems nice, the voice actor being a heavy detractor.) it doesn't manage to do much with the plot it has, even ending abruptly. That added with a main gag-heavy plot doesn't really connect (although I have to say Mr. Smithers was well characterized, but it and many other excuses do not balance or negate the faults of this episode) making this one of the poorer episodes of Season 22. Some people might like this but I'm with the latter on this one. I have to admit, it did do some the things it wanted to do well...

4.0/10

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

Flaming Moe

(The Couch Gag was pretty good and not overly stretched which was pretty good)

The episode starts off with a rather forced fighting scene in the Power Plant, with some guys we have never seen before (This is becoming a running trend in the show) Oh and they look just like Homer, Lenny and Carl. What a coincidence. I could have done without seeing Burns' head fly open, what is it with the writers today thinking that Mr Burns has to be decapitated every episode he's in. Mr Burn's being mentally unstable was a stupid gag, with no real pay-off. Mr Burns' will was funny and I liked the gag that he left part of it to his tortoise, But I'm getting tired of the "Mr Burns doesn't like Smithers" or what ever gags. I liked the little background gag of Bart and Milhouse spraying paint on the "MyPod" poster, The gay club scene was quite funny as was Moe's first line. Smithers imagining Mr Burn's was quite a humorous gag, I liked the pairing of Moe and Smithers as they don't usually talk together and the Barney gag was OK. The old folks game was funny, Mr Largo again when will the writers learn, HE'S NOT FUNNY (Well I suppose he actually fits well with the plot) The new design of Moe's was quite nice, as soon as Homer, Lenny and Carl walked in it reminded me of "Homer the Moe" I hope it doesn't end that way. But I loved that they referenced it (Along with some other episodes were Moe changed the bar)

Finally we reach the first commercial break and we actually enter the Sub-Plot (Well sort of) Chalmers was funny as usual and the new music teacher had a good design which fitted here voice. The drum roll gag was stupid, Oh dear God "Comic Book Gay" was another bad pun but it did have a pretty good joke to go along with it so it wasn't that bad. Moe's pretty funny in this episode (He's one of the only characters that haven't been ruined with time) I really loved the "Angel" and devil Moe gag, Skinners fantasy was pretty good but Groundskeeper Willie as a horse and then killing himself was not funny. I felt happy for Smithers when he told Mr Burns he has earned his respect (But it probably won't last) Homer choking and the painted-on pretzels and first aid kit was a funny sight gag.

So we get introduced to "Melody" she has an OK design but I dislike her obsession with Bart, it just felt forced. The Nacho Cheese volcano gag was a nice innuendo and is it just me or does Grady's voice sound different? The Toy Story gag was funny and I liked Bart's line "Melody, your a great girl but I see you more of a sister, and I don't like my sister" Wow Skinner left, I never thought he would leave, I found the talk between Chalmers and Willie pretty entertaining. I liked seeing all the past homosexual character in the crowd (John, Play director etc.) I disliked the ending, it was just rushed and it didn't really wrap things up of why Skinner came back.

Conclusion: This was not a bad episodes, there were a few unfunny jokes but overall it was pretty good. It's probably the best or second best episode of the season.

Score: B, 3.5/5, 7.5/10, Great

[Little Nellie Kelly]

This episode was really terrible. Not just for the reason that they ‘tweak’ the title of one of the greatest episodes of all-time, but for the reason that it was really unfunny and boring. I had to skip the subplot because I saw five minutes of it and I knew that it was to be bland and boring. The joke “Comic Book Gay” was really cheap and I hardly found it funny; along with the fat Grady. They put him on a promotional image of the episode, so I expected more of him in the episode – but he was hardly in the episode for more than five-six minutes.

I can’t say much about the subplot – as I mentioned before – I skipped it. But from the five minutes that I saw of it, it seemed bland and it hardly seemed to last more than eight minutes since the storyline basically ended at minute 15. Two things I did find funny in the episode was the “Gay Day” at Krustyland, and Homer eating the fake pretzel. But that’s all I found funny, and I had only really chuckled at it.

Overall, this episode was terrible (as I mentioned above), as I had guessed. I give it a D+, just because I’m generous.

So... looks like I may as well give up on hoping we'll have one episode without him.

I know. Is there one episode that the writers can find that doesn't include Comic Book Guy where he isn't needed?

[Mr. Krikt]

• Another musical fight scene followed by a dinosaur? How droll!
• As if that wasn't enough filler, we have the musical segment with Principal Skinner.
• Also, I dislike how they've pissed all over the memory of Flaming Moe's.
• Apple haven't used the "Think Different" slogan since 2002, when they retired it, nine decades ago. How culturally relevant of the Simpsons to make fun of it.
• The Simpsons has already had its share of sexuality being a thing so I was wondering how they'd handle it this time.
• Moe referenced the three other times he completely changed the bar. Being aware how they're retreading material does not make it OK.
• Why did Homer have an issue saying "gay" when he saw "Comic Book Gay"? Hasn't he had enough dealings with (and performed marriages of) gay people?
• Actually this seems to be a problem with the episode as a whole, preferring the term "one of them". Perhaps it's the way it's spoken, one of them, that makes it seem wrong.
• Nearly every male gay character must be camp as hell. Shallow characterisations are all over the place.
• "You're a regular casa nova. Or in English, 'new house'"! Where's the humour in this?
• We never seen Skinner bond with the music teacher and yet we're supposed to accept that he'll skip town with her. But hey, Wullie's made the principal which is totally random so that makes up for it, right?
• "Like all gays, I'm attracted to all men." At least there's some awareness.
• "Furries 4 Moe" made me smile.
• Skinner just turns up again. One of the laziest returns to status quo I've ever seen. Glad to see Wullie so hilarious as the principal once they bothered to set that point.

We've already had Homer's Phobia, Three Gays in a Condo and There's Something About Marrying. This doesn't bring anything to the table.
I don't have any issues with gay people nor characters being gay in television. However when their sexuality defines them and the episode revolves around this fact, I'm disappointed.

[steamed_hamms]

I haven't finished watching it yet (died on me) but despite it being marginally entertaining, it is full of shallow stereotypes and easy jokes. Really heavy handed. Ugh.

[Postmaster]

Wait this is for real? They genuinely built an episode around a joke that was rejected in season 3?

[derek]

This was definitely a stronger episode than the majority of post season 20 episodes. It had plenty of flaws but was somewhat entertaining throughout. Throughout the episode Smithers seems off, his tone and idiosyncrasies of his voice weren't prevalent and perhaps lost what made him a great character in other episodes. The scrabble joke was funny, but it's almost as if these episodes rely on Grandpa's senility as a crux. The references to previous Moe's bar revamps tended to make it seem like the writers were aware the idea wasn't that original and I doubt this will be the last time Moe's will get a makeover before the series croaks. I loved Chalmers in this episode and he should really be used a lot more often, preferably playing off of Skinner as per. The Skinner subplot was probably the worst part of the episode, the new unmarried school teacher was boring and there wasn't enough to make me convinced of his (and more particularly hers) attraction. It flew over my head and wasn't memorable in the least. The Gayday at Krustyland joke was possibly the best of the episode, it didn't seem contrived and was actually amusing. While that was certainly good, the Vogue gag seemed tacked on and somewhat easy. If you're going to stereotype jokes about homosexuals then at least make it fresh and not straight parody. Lastly, the Comic Book Gay was a neat joke. I was unsure when the character was introduced but the subsequent appearance sealed it for me. A good, solid episode and I hope the next episodes in the season tries to hold the quality.

3/5

[Kiyosuki]

Yeah I was watching the golden globes and I was out too, but I checked it out later. Eh, I didn't think it was bad. Better than last week at least. Yeah the title sucks, really sucks, but even if they get pretty bad I'll never understand why some get so hung up on something that doesn't even appear in the actual episodes (sans one). I think the idea of this episode is a lot better than the previous two gay-themed eps, the idea of taking advantage like that. It's a good thing to poke fun at I think because you know that shit happens often. I also liked how it used Smithers a lot centrally; he's been one of the most criminally underutilized secondary characters on the show. I think he could be a more than just an extension of Burns' character if he's used right. He still took a sort of second fiddle place and yeah, it's a super gay-themed episode. Predictable etc, but whether it's blunt or not that's a big part of the character. They could certainly do more clever things with it but...whatever.

And I actually really liked that the Simpsons themselves were such a non-entity in this episode. Yeah they're OFF, but the way I see it...if you're gonna give a secondary character some spotlight every now and then what's the harm in letting them actually have it? I'd much rather have that than some shoddy attempt to tie Homer, Marge, Lisa, or even Bart into something that they have nothing to do with, just because they're the simpsons. It's ruined a lot of other potentially great secondary-centric episodes. The family gets like 90% of the series I don't see the harm in giving all of them a break every now and then.

All that said though, I wouldn't call it great either. The subplot really was sort of a bore (even if I like Skinner getting a break every now and then, and the weirdo girl as exaggerated as she is was one of the more personality filled guest kid characters in a good while to me.), and even though it didn't have nearly as many really bad gay jokes as I was expecting (I'm so glad they didn't overuse Julio. They can get so obnoxious with that character.), the comic book gay thing really was pretty fucking stupid. It would have been actually pretty damn funny though if maybe it actually did turn out to be him in the end with a bad fake mustache, or at least make up for it a bit. Way it is now though...I just think, what's the point? lol

So...I didn't think it was bad. Not great, but not bad. It's sort of sitting on top of a great idea, but kinda vanillas it up. By turning all of "them", whatever subcultures they're poking fun at, into over exaggerated cartoon stereotypes on top of a flimsy resolution and conflict, It skirts around a lot of things that could have made it feel like it had a pretty good statement at the end. Homer's Phobia's still the best of these, even if I didn't think even that was spectacular itself, but at least the whole idea of John's character was a bit more clever.