Rate and Review: "The Scorpion's Tale" (NABF08)

[The Governor]

The Scorpion's Tale (NABF08)
After Lisa notices that the water in Springfield's desert makes normally agressive creatures passive, Homer gives some to Grampa, which cures his usual crankiness, only for a drug industry employee to try to duplicate the water's effects in pill form - including its side effects.

[qwerasdf]

Best Season 22 episode

[|Mr.Sparkle|]

I was liking the episode until the last act, that eye popping out gag kind of ruined it for me.

[The Governor]

Uh, up until the eyes falling out, this was a boring, but tolerable 3/5. After the eyeballs started falling out, I think the writers's brains fell out.

[D'ohmer]

I really enjoyed it. The plot was handled very well and the gags were funny throughout. The only thing I didn't like was Lisa saying that the worst possible fate would be not getting an A on her science project. Other than that, 5/5. I thought the eyes falling out was a clever side effect with many funny gags coming along with it, suck as the Crazy Cat Lady one and Grampa's goggles.

[Jesse Pinkman]

why does there always need to be something that happens in the last two acts that makes the episode go down for me? in this it was the eyes. although, i'm trying to not be so cynical about it, the first half was pretty great. i enjoyed:

homer's face at the end of act 1

the drug dealer answering otto's question as to why he 'can't dress nicely': Because i also take drugs!

grampa's rants in each of the simpsons' bedrooms, like his "I got a new roommate who won't stop yapping"

what i didn't like out of these first two acts:

nelson behind the cactus

carl's "I was wondering when he would state his name and occupation" (jokes like these seem to be trying too hard imo).

beside that, it was good, but the eyes dangling in the last like 6 minutes hurts it slightly. 3/5 or so seems fair. if the last few minutes was as strong as the first half it would be a 4/5, maybe a 5/5

[D'ohmer]

The eyes falling out was wacky, but it's a cartoon. It doesn't have to be realistic.

[biffwestwood]

4/5

Good episode. Grampa Simpson was used nicely especially when we see him sleeping in the bedrooms randomly. I liked Bart selling pills to other elderly people and then hiding in the suitcase and getting on a bus. Werner Herzog was great as the CEO of the factory. However, the only problem I had with this was the side effect of the eyes popping out of heads. They could've used a side effect less cartoonish.

On a side note, Jackie Mason's character of Rabbi Krustofski is depicted in this episode but was not credited in this episode due to his dialogue apparently being cut.

[Jesse Pinkman]

it doesn't matter if it is a cartoon or not. i know it is a cartoon. but that doesn't give it a right to go off and be as wacky as they want without consequences. the earlier years were way more realistic and it made for a better show (in most people's eyes). they were a cartoon but there was some realism. it made it funnier to most because they could laugh about it because some of the stuff is stuff they could see happening to themselves. but nowadays it really is a 'cartoon', when in the older days it was more than just a cartoon. simpsons always had a certain level of realism so you could relate to characters, at least they did in the first 8 seasons (sure, there was the occasional joke or gag that was cartoony, but they were far more scarce). stuff like this rarely happened in the older years, and so it is 'new' and often, bizarre. if the show started off being a cartoony cartoon and used these kinds of gags, ok, but to just start using them to try and not 'bore' the audience (i'm assuming is what they are doing), is just weird. again, yes, it's a cartoon, but that shouldn't give it the right to get away with pretty much anything, there should be imo some boundaries, and having people's eyes fall out crosses the boundaries for me

i just really hate the 'it's a cartoon' excuse, implying that as long as the simpsons want to do whatever they can, they automatically have the right, because 'it's a cartoon!' and therefore we shouldn't bring the episode down because of it

[The Governor]

The eyes falling out was wacky, but it's a cartoon. It doesn't have to be realistic.

And it doesn't have to be batshit insane, either. You've bitched an moaned about Lisa doing things that aren't realistic , but no one's telling you that you HAVE to accept it because "it's a cartoon!".

Saying "it's just a cartoon" is saying very little.

[D'ohmer]

The older episodes weren't really any less wacky. The show is still dealing with real life problems with side effects being the case here. It takes it further than real life, but it still involves a real life issue and with the way it was executed, it could have easily been something like hair falling out. The eyes popping out was just the side effect that the writers chose. It's not like Lisa went to space, found a drug there, and then when the old folks took it, they turned into mutants.

[Jesse Pinkman]

most of the episodes were realistic though, they just weren't all realistic because well... making a cartoon, you're going to have some overall cartoony moments every now and then.

and i'd rather it be something like hair loss, a side effect that actually does happen to people, as opposed to something overall cartoony like people's eyes falling out. the hair loss would've been more simplistic and realistic because it actually does happen with some medication, whereas i doubt people have had their eyes fall out before

but in the end it just comes down to what you prefer; a realistic plot turn or a cartoony one. i just really dislike the 'it's a cartoon!' excuse, it doesn't mean much, if anything.

[The Governor]

The older episodes weren't really any less wacky. The show is still dealing with real life problems with side effects being the case here. It takes it further than real life, but it still involves a real life issue and with the way it was executed, it could have easily been something like hair falling out.

The older episodes had 'wacky moments', but those moments were written around a solid story. Today's wacky moments ARE the story and they're like a bunch of youTube shorts tied together that tries to resemble a plot.

The eyes popping out was just the side effect that the writers chose. It's not like Lisa went to space, found a drug there, and then when the old folks took it, they turned into mutants.

I'd say we're heading down that road, unfortunately. I mean, Homer suddenly sprouted a tail.

It's too bad as the Simpsons was the only non-McFarlane show that has (had) the rep of being the last bastion of not going too cartoony on Sundays. Well, that ship has sailed.

[D'ohmer]

I like both realistic plots and wacky ones, as long as it's not too wacky. It's how they are executed that concerns me more. I would rather have a wacky episode executed well, like this one (IMO), than a realistic plot executed poorly.

[Tomacco]

I knew that people would react negatively to the eyes popping out, but it didn't really bug me that much. Maybe my expectations for the show have changed (just like how previously I might have groaned over the oddly adult nature of Grampa commenting on Homer and Marge's sex, or Nelson whacking off) . Overall this was one of my favorite episodes of the season though. Well-paced, some funny moments, good characterizations, and a plot that kept me engaged. Herzog's character was especially pleasing. I'm rarely bowled over by new characters lately but I enjoyed this one.

[lionelhutz123]

Even without the eye-popping moments, this episode was pretty bland. Grampa was annoying with his stereotypical cranky characterization that was only pushed to the extreme for the convenience of the plot. For an episode that featured the family in their home for a hefty chunk of the episode, there was absolutely nothing warm about it.

I just found myself not caring about any of the characters actions and it's not because it's the 22nd season, because I have definitely cared about plots this season, but in this case I feel like I'm watching the show for the first time. I never know what the characters motives are anymore because it seems to be entirely driven by whatever role the plot assigns for each character. I have never been a fan of these stories where something somehow unexplainable causes some weird outcome (Bully-repellent, moonshine blindness, etc.).

I did like some aspects of the episode, but there wasn't anything strong enough to save the overall poor structure. There were some really lame gags like the ranger being climbed on and Homer's tail. Everything else was just average. Nothing particularly laugh out loud this time. Sorry, but this just wasn't up to the standard of quality I expect from the Jean era. 1/5

[bartyboy]

The eyes falling out was wacky, but it's a cartoon. It doesn't have to be realistic.

no one said it had to be realistic, but tolerable comes to mind as a requirement. i mean, cartoons achieved realism in the late 30's.

[Gatorgod]

I watched tonights scorpion heavy (minus Scorpio) episode while struggling with a cold,(achoo) but the entertainment shown through and made me feel a little better. The eye-popping was the cherry whip topping on an already great episode. 5/5

[Flimpson Tide]

Yeah, the eyes were wacky, but I stopped expecting the show to eventually follow season 7-8 formulas long ago. And it was entertaining, possibly the second-best show of the night besides Bob's Burgers (American Dad's repeat kind of let me down, oddly enough). So were we really supposed to be led to believe Nelson was ejaculating behind a cactus? The thought crossed my mind, but man, I couldn't think of it that way. I decided he was just flipping through the dirty photos away from the rest of the kids and eventually regretting it. Pretty sure he's not even biologically capable of that at 10.

[Financial Panther]

I don't really know what to say about that. It started off well, and I thought we might get something good. It was interesting to see a character take a different form (Grampa being mild), and by that time, I was considering a 3/5 or so. Then the German guy came on, and he just irritated me. I'm not sure why. I was considering a 3/5 or 2/5 by that time. Then the eyes dropped out, and so did the episode. That was just dumb, and I see where D'ohmer is coming from, and I respect that opinion. However, I've come to expect a bit of realism from this show, and it let me down. 2/5 for the promising start.

[EthanRunt]

I was enjoying it solidly for the opening, Werner Herzog came in with his delicious tones and helped proceedings, as did Kevin Michael Richardson, and the episode looked to be going for mediocre but watchable, I even enjoyed the silly Bart in a suitcase bit, but then act 3 struck. I don't do optical comedy or optical anything, and this just made me feel sick, too disgusting and the episode wrapped up oddly, another rushed job. Shame.
2/5

[pecken]

wait, werner herzog was in this one?

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

The Scorpion's Tale.

First new episode of March. One that throws out some definition of story and plot in exchange for a comedy-club like episode.

I have to admit, the beginning of the episode was good, I did not like most of the stuff that happened at the field trip (Nelson flipping away the clever racial porn, Martin and the government., the Road Runner and Wild-E-Coyote gag.) but there were some stuff that was good such as Otto, Lisa (some parts, including the A in science part.) and Grandpa. I didn't like the way he was kicked out but him being in random people's rooms was funny, I have to admit that.

Lisa and Bart eating quickly felt interesting but was undermined from some totally wacky animation (undermines the beginning somewhat as it muddles the initial focus.) When Homer gives Grandpa the water, Lisa knows that Homer did it, (in both the end and the beginning of the second act) and confronts him. (kind of disjointing.) The way it was dropped was too casual and Lisa getting rid of the water in the ocean I disliked (not because of the gag afterwards, but because she should know better then that.)

The way the guest star was introduced was nice and the scenes at the bar was also nice as well. The guest star somewhat proves that he's willing of performing a guest spot in The Simpsons well (except the Grandpa part) and some of the stuff at the bar was done well, which was a plus. I wasn't as big of a fan of Grandpa tasting various syrums (a plus was that it was quick.) and I disliked Homer gaining a tail. These Simpsons episodes are getting too visual and simplistic in their joke telling (most of their jokes, I've seen too many internet memes on twitter to know how this goes.)

So Grandpa is given a prototype of the drug and the guest star just nonchalantly mentions that they could make a killing in the black market, this is where the episode goes downhill. There are then scenes which mainly felt like the writers trying too hard to write other cranky old people (with Bart in a business suit, to make his position more obvious.) Bart sells the drug to all of the old people and almost makes it off scotch free when Lisa arrives (I'm starting to question how their paths can intertwine when the story needs it...) Bart going into a bag and running onto the bus felt like something Family Guy would do.

There was also a part where Lisa returns home and totally forgets about Bart to tell Grandpa that he knows he's taking the drug and she supports him because it makes him happy. (What about Bart?). This was sweet but it was placed so awkwardly... I admit that I like their attempt to resolve that part of the story... Then the eyes pop out, not a fan of that.

The explanation that the scorpions also had their eyes pop out felt rushed (especially since the scorpions took the non-synthesized drug.) The gags showing the old people with the eyes popping out is nice but feels like a gagfest rather then a natural show of joy. The ending just evaporates slowly into thin air as Homer is in thick water while a mob forms outside and the guest star suddenly realizes he's abusing them... (How? The eyes popping out are not deadly in the least bit.) Grandpa gives out a good speech in the ending and they get all cranky. Homer destroys his car and they go and fix it... Huh? The ending also had no meaning then to try to end it on some sort of note, I appreciate them for trying though.

Overall, the beginning was good, I liked some of what they were trying to do with Grandpa feeling false happy and Lisa hating the fact that Grandpa isn't really happy. Unfortunately they take the wrong turn with the whole drug thing and it just turns into one big mememetic visual gagfest (which for me, I don't like that much.) While some of the jokes hit, most of the end just evaporates into thin air, and that's too bad because this episode could of had a good factor to it but as it is, it's just another episode of a product that you pop in just to get a quick laugh, it's not like you're going to remember it tomorrow.

4.0/10

[Jesse Pinkman]

Pretty sure he's not even biologically capable of that at 10.

how old is he? i figured he is a little older than 10, he'd just been held back before or something. or is he 10?

[bovine_university]

This one was going pretty well at first, some pretty good characterization, funny gags, a well-paced story, and then.......

First of all, the story got off to a good start, even with some of those bizarre long gags at the field trip like the metal sculptor, we got the driving forces of the story out there right at the beginning, Abe and the flowers. I was a little put off by Lisa's decision to not even consider the benefits of the drug or the necessity to at least learn more about it. Considering that she just kind of turns around later in the story for not much reason, it feels even more unnecessary. Then again, Lisa always has shown to be a pretty stubborn thinker. Werner Herzog actually had a great part in this episode, and some of the funniest moments were with him, between his rantings about the pipe, and his methods of extracting the drug and dealing with the mob's anger. The family was used very well here too, between Lisa's discovery and reluctance, Homer's decision to get the drug made to shut his dad up, and Bart's selling the drug in secrecy. Abe was pretty good as a whole too, good thing since the story kind of revolved around him. His crabbiness lasted just long enough before it could get annoying, his happier look on life was amusing, as was watching he and Homer try to hide it from Lisa, and even his little speech moment at the end was a fitting way to resolve the story. I must say though, the resolution seemed to meander before you could really realize what was happening. The humor worked pretty well too for those first few acts, and all in all it was shaping up to be one of the better episodes of the season. And then..........

Eyes started popping out. I'm reminded of that awful repeated gag about Sideshow Bob's face peeling off that almost soured his episode last year, except this was even worse and even more gratuitous. It was obviously for shock value and so that the writers could make a bunch of lame jokes about the eyes out of the sockets, but it was so unappealing and they kept throwing one low-brow visual gag about the eyes after another at us for almost the entire last act. They had a good story, with some decent humor, and believable characterizations, and then it's like their medication wore out and they just decided to get goofy. It's disappointing, disgusting, and really leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Like the face gag, I don't want to let that gag ruin what was a good episode (not great, there were problems I mentioned earlier), so I won't say it killed the episode, but it was such a bad decision, and I don't understand why they had to do it.

In the end, I guess I give this episode a 3/5, but again, those eye gags really hurt what this episode could have been.

[Brad Lascelle]

When eyes started popping out of the old folks' heads, I felt like gouging my own eyes out in response. So it was rather fitting.

The problem with this plot device isn't that we can't suspend belief or acknowledge that certain allowances must be made because "it's a cartoon".
That much was established back in Season 2 when Homer fell down Springfield Gorge and emerged relatively unscathed.

The problem is that the show had its own internal set of "realism rules" established for countless years on what was acceptable and what wasn't. And both here and in the equally unsettling Sideshow Bob face removal episode, the show has brazenly cast those rules aside in favor of a shock-inducing visual gag.

Eyes popping out of characters heads is PERFECTLY acceptable.
For a Treehouse of Horror episode.
Not for one that was masquerading as something else for 15 minutes.

I have no problem with the show challenging itself to be something different.
But if you're going to go against 400+ episodes worth of tradition then you'd better have something meaningful behind it.
This was just lame.

[Jakro]

Well that's not something you see every day. In the end I was for a while just accepting it, I guess I have gotten used to Simpsons being crazy, but at some point it really hit me... "WTF am I watching?"

It started decently and there were a few chuckleworthy gags, but it just got crazy in the end. I usually like insane humor but this just wasn't any good. Also the plot was once again pretty pointless. It's not the worst of the season, but definitely nearer that end. I mean it would have been mediocre even if it had mantained the momentum of the first act, but now the ending manage the smash the any remaining hope that the episode was any good.

Then again I still think that this season has been better than the couple preceding it (not saying much really). But yeah... It wasn't offensively bad until the end, but I still gave it 1/5.

[Diversity Pumpkin]

I really enjoyed it. The plot was handled very well and the gags were funny throughout. The only thing I didn't like was Lisa saying that the worst possible fate would be not getting an A on her science project. Other than that, 5/5. I thought the eyes falling out was a clever side effect with many funny gags coming along with it, suck as the Crazy Cat Lady one and Grampa's goggles.

Do you take the "Don't worry about the world ending tommorrow. It's already tomorrow in Australia" line in your signature literally?

[Mr.]

This episode had a funy moment now and then but it felt like they just taken the first draft without working On it. It was just a lazy solution after a lazy solution (mind you - with some good jokes once a while)

The eye-poping just felt like they had no idea how to complicate things for the last act so they took the very first thing that came to their head. It would be more interesting if - I don't know - Old people would started acting so pleasent that everybody would get sick of them quickly.
Or heck - If their already started to make things this strange why not go even further and make it even more wacky and surreal? The eye-poping on it's own isn't funny or creppy enough in my opinion. Plus - didn't they already made some eye-poping jokes in the past?

Heck! This episode emprace the stereotype of Old people being cranky old the time and I know tons of old people who are as jolly as Ned Flanders 24h a day.

[Üter]

Meh, it was an OK episode...

The storyline / plot I think was really good, however the jokes and sillyness fell pretty flat with me, plus agreed on the eye-popping out stuff was just... Not "The Simpsons"

Don't know if I make sense, I'm not a very good critic

3/5