Rate and Review: "The Blue and the Gray" (NABF06)

[The Governor]

The Blue and the Gray (NABF06)
Moe goes to a seminar to gain confidence in meeting women, but when he asks Homer to be his wingman, he isn't particularly happy that the women seem to be attracted to Homer; when Marge discovers a gray hair, she decides to let her hair go completely gray.

[The Governor]

Okay, some of the pros:

--Lisa's "Cousin Jessica" remark.
--"Gaybraham" Lincoln line.
--Maggie holding up the jar of pickles
--Bart and Lisa freaking out about their 'hairlines'
--Sherri and Terri being "Two-Thirds Triplets"

Cons:
--The entire last act seemed a bit 'meh'

Overall, a 3.5/5

EDIT: Finally got a predicted joke right!

[IceDoesntHelp]

Lousy Grammy awards, made me look for the FOX channel.
Anyways, saw the preview, and I heard Raulphs line, I found it to be funny.
The couch gag was pretty humorous.
What the hell just happened, between Crazy Cat Lady, and that...guy.
I always enjoy seeing Moe try to smile.
I hate that name, Kissingher. When I read it, I was hoping for a foreign name.
Haha, I love it when Homer talks to himself. I'll always find those humorous.
Milhouse's line about Seasme Street was hilarious.
Wow, haven't seen that psychiatrist in a long, long time.
Patty and Selma look even worse now.
Pretty funny episode and the story was pretty solid. 3.5/5 To be nice, I'll round it to a 4.

[D'ohmer]

No, not the best. I thought the plot showed some promise of a good plot at times, but I think it fell apart. I would have rather had more time spent on the Moe/Homer plot, rather than going to Marge's issue with her hair, which I found pretty forced. There were some funny moments, like with the Crazy Cat Lady, and I liked the scene with Bart being spied on, but some of the gags failed, like the kids' hair gag being called back to (it was funny the first time, but we didn't need to see it again). I also thought Lisa was kinda annoying, and her last line wasn't funny at all, it tanked (IMO). Finally, there were many moments of the characters acting too out of character, like Bart beating up Milhouse and Marge lashing out with her broom. On the plus side, the gags with Marge being made fun of were entertaining and I liked the ending with Maggie and the one-eyebrowed baby. Not entirely unwatchable, but nothing to write home about either. 3/5

PS: I did like the brain gag with Homer. That was over-the-top, but creative and funny (IMO).

[The Governor]

I also thought Lisa was kinda annoying, and her last line wasn't funny at all, it tanked (IMO).

Lisa thinking women empowerment "always being right because they're women" was actually funny, compared to D'ohomer's "every line Lisa says is automatically stupid because Lisa said it", which is not funny.

[bradbradford]

4 out of 5. Lots of jokes throughout that landed for me. Nothing exciting or surprising but still enjoyable throughout. Millhouse/Bart scene made me laugh, the hairline joke was good, all of Homer's wingman stuff was well done- nice touch having the attractive females saying "doh!" The "picture her as a bond girl" was hilarious with the pull out revealing the bond villains. Also, I thought the "homers brain" joke was pretty classic.

The Bart story line never got to pick up any steam, which is kind of a bummer, could have at least gave him some sort of rap up. Either way, the season is improving.

[biffwestwood]

4/5

This episode manages to be thinly plotted due to Moe's subplot of a story going over my head but the gag fest helps compensate for that problem. My favorite gag was when all three Simpson kids were desperately looking and feeling for their hairlines. Due to the Simpson kids being the only characters on the show without hairlines, I thought it was something the writers should satirize. The revelation that Patty and Selma have red and blond hair respectively was funny. My favorite part was when Marge was turning wicked witch-like little by little. I was thankful that they had some snow on the ground to make it look more accurate on it taking place on Valentines Day. The only joke I detested was when Lisa picked up a Peephole magazine and refered to Jessica Simpson as "cousin Jessica". Does this mean the real Jessica Simpson is a cousin of the Simpson kids?! Simpson is already a common last name. J Loren Pryor stating to Bart that Sherri and Terri were conjoined triplets and that the third triplet is out for revenge was hilariously disturbing.

[Brad Lascelle]

Yeah, the Bart subplot was left conspicuously hanging. Were they implying what I think they were implying... and, if so, why exactly?

[hughes]

jake has rated a modern simpsons episode higher than d'ohmer. i bet satan's looking for a sweater right about now

anyway, good episode. the plots were a bit weak, but the gags seemed much stronger than usual, and i actually found homer to be pretty sweet. strong 13/15

[lionelhutz123]

I didn't really care for this episode. The subplot was just another "lets watch Moe dive into the world of dating" story which didn't even have a point other than have Homer be caught at the club by Marge. That Kissingher guy was just another generic guy who thinks he's helpful and I thought his little love bubble observations were gimmicky. Marge's hair plot, despite some moments, was dense. The worst part was the witch transformation and how she goes nuts at the club. It basically ends with Homer, the big lug of Marge's eye saying something stupid, yet cute and a somewhat relevant speech that falls along the lines of "Gray, blue, black, orange...I'll still love you", while they play the slow, romantic simpsons theme in the background. I literally could have watched that scene on mute and I would know what was going on.

Also, there were alot of scenes that just went longer than they should have.

- Homer opening the door to Moes
- The fun at first meta-reference to the simpsons lack of hair lines
- "They never seem to check behind the jazz poster" (Thanks Skinner)
- Bond girl fantasy was hilarious, but should have ended without all the villains standing there.
-Homer chewing his leg
- Bart pushing Milhouse was fine, but the see-saw part was just a bit much

The only parts I found funny was Ralph's "forever box" line, the bond girl scene, and I liked Patty and Selma's observation of how Homer's cleverness means he hates the hair. Another good thing was Lisa actually said something smart without sounding preachy, which was the line about how those women can't take change like the newspaper using color photos. I liked how simple she put it, just to cheer her mom up without comparing her to some feminist hero. Other than that the jokes were either average or misses like the cat lady thing in the beginning. I'll give this a 2/5, because it wasn't completely unwatchable. It's just a pretty lame valentines episode.

[Jims]

Thought it was pretty average for this show, which translates into "bland" by objective terms. lionelhutz123 summarized my general feelings about the episode pretty well.

It's kinda funny how the continuity of Marge's gray hair actually works with that really old joke from "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". I would be shocked if the writers actually remembered that comment from 15 seasons ago. Even if the episode would've established that Marge's hair had always been blue, it's such a minuscule callback that it wouldn't have hurt the episode anyway. Just kinda funny that, for once, the super-mega continuity worked.

[The Governor]

Didn't Adam Carola (from Loveline) star on FG tonight? It's funny how FG had Adam and the Simpsons had a dating/relationship "expert" on the same night.

Thought it was pretty average for this show, which translates into "bland" by objective terms. lionelhutz123 summarized my general feelings about the episode pretty well.

It's kinda funny how the continuity of Marge's gray hair actually works with that really old joke from "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". I would be shocked if the writers actually remembered that comment from 15 seasons ago. Even if the episode would've established that Marge's hair had always been blue, it's such a minuscule callback that it wouldn't have hurt the episode anyway. Just kinda funny that, for once, the super-mega continuity worked.

Everyone forgot about Marge's 'confession' in "Helter Shelter" about blue not being her real hair color, too.

[Gatorgod]

Another hair heavy episode? .. I'm in heaven!

[Jims]

Everyone forgot about Marge's 'confession' in "Helter Shelter" about blue not being her real hair color, too.

I didn't forget! I just choose to not remember that episode!

[The Governor]

I didn't forget! I just choose to not remember that episode!

Ah, well played. But whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

[Financial Panther]

Wow! Another very strong episode. I genuinely laughed at the couch gag, and the jokes were really good, with only a couple failing (AARP). Wonderful show, rivals Donnie Fatso for the best of the season. 5/5.

[Xt'Tapalatakettle]

Didn't Adam Carola (from Loveline) star on FG tonight? It's funny how FG had Adam and the Simpsons had a dating/relationship "expert" on the same night.

I know, and it's odd that they both appeared on Valentine's Day weekend too! Crazy.

Overall, meh. Bland, bland, bland. I enjoyed Lisa's lines about female empowerment. I enjoyed all the D'ohs! this episode. Plot was cohesive, just not exciting. I did think of the episode about Marge dying her hair, but that's not the reason I give this one a C+ or 3/5.

[Cash Kerouac]

I wrote up a full review of this episode for my blog, but the gist of it is this:

I really liked this episode. I thought the main story about Marge's bold new gray was good for a lot of mileage, and while the Moe subplot was mostly a gag vehicle, everything was tied together very nicely. The story with Bart came out of nowhere and dissipated just as rapidly; it also messed up the pacing, but that was my only big complaint about the storytelling. I thought there were so many great gags in this episode, large and small. The standouts were 1. The Bart and Lisa freakout about their hairline 2. Patti and Selma's plane-destroying hair reveal 3. “As a feminist, nearly anything a woman does is empowering.” “As a man, when I create power, is it empowering?” “No, it’s just oddly dehumanizing.” There were great one-liners, background gags, cutaway gags, valentine's day gags, and even meta-jokes. Best of the season so far in my humble opinion. 4.5/5

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

The Blue and the Gray

I have to admit, this was a somewhat average episode, I didn't see what they were talking about. While they were some good jokes, most of the jokes were miss and there's also the problem of taking the gags from the episode, when that's gone the story doesn't really hold up that well (again 3 acts is better.)

Marge having letting her hair become naturally gray is a nice storyline. I could see the potential but I was mostly felt disappointed. The scenes at the salon were decent and the grey hair reveal is alright but the gay stereotype is really pushing it. While they were some smart lines about the age barrier, most of it was just the reaction to the gray hair. The girls commenting on the hair was mostly hit a miss, Ralph being a mostly hit for me. The AARP gag goes on for way too long (this is a cartoon, not a comedy club.) and I couldn't really get into the whole Marge turning into a witch from Oz after she crashes her car (no comment.) The ending was alright but placing Maggie and Gerald into it is just stressing it.

Moe and his wingman Homer had potential but Marge finds this out too late (it would of really worked better if this was placed earlier.) Most of the gags I felt were a miss and I did find the Dr. Kissingher jokes really funny. Moe felt really underused in this episode and while it was nice to see Moe getting chicks, it really went nowhere until the end where Moe just reappears. Homer seems to be able to fit to a wacky job well as he managed to look hot (not better looking to Moe btw) and knew the stuff as if he had done this before. Also the Homer brain gag isn't really as clever and original as people think. (though none have apparently did this in an office like setting.) No, Arthur did it before. In one episode where Buster is in some math tournament with Brain and another where Brain is thinking of nicknames. It's a good joke for those who haven't seen Arthur but for the latter, it's not. (EDIT: I also forgot this gag last appeared in an early Family Guy episode, guess I forgot about that...) Homer thinking of a bond villain really should of ended with the girl, not with the other bond villians.

This ties into the problem in which Jokes last longer then they should, they don't end naturally (like that leg eating gag.) Some of the jokes have potential but they should really have some of the fat trimmed so they can deliver their punchlines more effectively. The Bart plotline also went nowhere. It started off interesting with Marge running after a Macaroni diagram that Lisa made and Bart getting pissed off that her hair is gray, the teasing was nice but Bart beating up Milhouse just went on for too long. The therapy session was mostly hit and miss. Another teasing scene was a miss, so was Bart and Skinner but the camera gag was a hit. I really wanted to know what happened to Bart but alas, I guess it'll never happen.

Patty and Selma having different hair colors was clever and seeing the city in full Valentine mode was interesting but I disliked the various characters being introduced that were opposites (I mean come on, invent some original characters once and a while.) The couch gag where Homer broke his leg and he was replaced is alright and I liked the hairline gag. The main problem where it lies is it doesn't do much with the whole plot it's given, it would of been better if it focused on Homer's fear of Marge and Marge's worry of Homer and Bart's teasing but I guess this is what we got. For what it's worth, it's average and in my opinion not worth the 4/5's it's been getting.

In the immortal words of Flava Flav. "Don't Believe the Hype". That doesn't mean it's unwatchable, just don't expect anything special or mindblowing.

5.0/10

[arii]

We have seen Moe attempt to get dates before, we have seen Homer be a wingman before, and we have seen a demographic of Springfield overreact to something that a member of the Simpson family has done before.

Episode wasn't really sustaining my attention (I'm basically here because it's habit for me still to leave some sort of review after a Simpsons episode; this site still has a Simpsons section so I will continue to do that), pretty much because... well... why should it? Again, as I keep mentioning in all my recent reviews, it's not really the show's fault. There's just nothing to look for in it nowadays. It really has all been done before.

I can't remember if Moe's plot was resolved or if it was just a bridge to get Homer to go to clubs all the time to serve as a motivation for Marge to get jealous/feel further insecure about her hair... I can't remember if anything came of Bart's storyline... I didn't enjoy the climax, which was just overly staged, so Homer and Marge can declare their love in front of a group of people who probably don't even care. It just feels lazy all around.

Still decently put together though, not a terrible way to kill a half hour, a few laughs can be garnered from it still. But... really... ehh.

[Tomacco]

Pleasantly strong enjoyable episode, especially with such a simple premise. A bit more closure on Moe's story would have been nice, but the two plots joined up nicely at the end.

[Real Melvin]

I'm about 5 seconds into this episode and I think I might not watch after all.

but I have a project request:
would somebody like to make a tally of how many episodes are pinned down to an event on the calendar per season? I feel like a huge portion of episode have done this in the last couple years: Christmas themed, Mother's Day themed, Earth Day themed, Mardi Gras based, New Years themed, and now Valentine's themed. I don't know if they do it as often as they used to, but it feels like it's much more likely these days.

[EthanRunt]

Some very funny moments in an episode that had some good pace and some really long stretches of nothing. The topic and some jokes seemed like they should have been done some 10 years ago, but I guess now's as good a time as any.
3/5

[Cartoonnetwork]

I thought this one and Lisa Simpson, This Isn't your life are the best two episodes of the season.

This wasn't perfect by any means, and some of the gags were a little long or lame, but for the most part it worked and it was good fun. Even the most unbelievable situations like Homer and Moe being capable of attracting young women were handled in a good "silly" way, that made it fun. Same thing about Patty and Selma's hair color, pretty exaggerated gag that kind of worked, besides it was a curious image to see the three sisters with different hair colors.

I loved the way Marge transformed into a witch, another series of visual gags that worked, and Homer's brain gag. The thing about him having a "blue" type was also funny and the first time a reference to Avatar seems adequate and not too cheap. Lisa's/Bart's metareference about their hairdos was funny at first, then it got too long, then it was funny again when Lisa is drawing a line to indicate the hair.

Moe's perfect woman in the other point of the earth was also an interesting visual gag.

The two plots being somewhat related to Saint Valentin's day was also a nice touch. The ending gag with Maggie and Gerald was nice, but a little too long, and I find it weird that they actually kiss each other after their legendary rivalry but I guess it's fine.

It was just good fun. Not the most brilliant thing ever but I did enjoy it a lot more than most of the recent episodes.

4/5

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

The Blue and the Gray

Let me start off by saying that this episode didn't have a very interesting plot to begin with, so I did not have high hopes. I really dislike how the writers think they can change a characters personality and or appearance and the episode will just write itself out, it does not. The premise simply could not stand on it's own and it really fell apart during the third act. There were a few amusing jokes (eg. Moe's plot, Hair salon and the two smart guys) Many jokes failed in my opinion (Bart and Lisa's hairline joke was over stretched) Moe's plot was defiantly the best part of the episode although it suddenly disappeared in the third act, So over all it's a pretty dull episode with a good subplot

Score: 7.0/10

[D DEBBS]

M-E-H

But I did like the female Moe!

[Neptune]

But I did like the female Moe!

Yeah, that was my favorite joke. Funny, but also a bit depressing.
It was kinda strange, but I thought it was a good episode. Especially compared to most of today's episodes.
A few of the jokes were kinda pointless. I think most of them have already been stated, like the camera being behind the jazz poster. But there were some pretty good jokes, too. Like the conversations with Milhouse. It was nice to see Moe doing well, too.
Overall, a good episode.

[Little Nellie Kelly]

This episode was, as many others in this season, boring and unfunny. Marge has already known she had gray hair — but I guess the writers wanted to make up a different storyline to entertain bore us. Both plots seemed like subplots and after the first five minutes the Moe A-plot fizzled out and we were left with the subplot of Marge having gray hair to carry the rest of the episode, which made the episode flimsy and not very well executed.

Patty and Selma having red and blonde hair (respectively) was shocking and I didn’t like it very much, as it was shown since childhood they had gray-blue hair…but what do you get from the writers nowadays in terms of continuity? The same goes for Dr. J. Loren Pryor’s voice. The female Moe committing suicide (it is not known if she went through with it or not, so that makes it even more dark) was just as terrible.

Marge appearing as a witch was unfunny, and the only thing I liked about it was their using of “The Wizard of Oz” soundtrack. Generally, I didn’t laugh at many things in this episode, and I can’t remember anything I laughed (even chuckled) at.

I'll give it a C-, just because I'm generous.

[Mr. Krikt]

So little substance. The sad thing is, Classic Simpsons was a satirical reflection of society.
They had an opportunity here to mock and inspect how society treats the ageing process and how important looks are in the modern day*. However it was intensely shallow. Marge stops dying her hair** lets her hair go grey and then starts to die it at the end of the episode. What a thrilling journey.

*Compare this episode to Simpson and Delilah.
**Secrets of a Sucessfully Marriage

[Old painty-can Ned]

Another average episode in The Simpsons world. The writers destroying some form of continuity with Marge's hair colour. But i don't really see how Selma and Patty having different colour hair is that big of a deal as even when they were they smoked or whatever the gag was. The female Moe was a stupid gag and really made no sense and the crazy cat lady gag like usual was completely stupid and really over the top. At least there was no complete cringe worthy gags. But there were a few gags that went on far too long and could've been funny if they hadn't repeated 4-5 times and both plots just seemed really boring and were ideas we'd seen before.

Overall : C- and a 2/5 on the poll.