Rate and Review "500 Keys" (NABF14)

[NoOneFamous]

Ok, maybe I was just in a really good mood when I watched it. I dunno, I don't really want to debate it because I don't want to ruin one of the few episodes I've enjoyed this season.

And yes, I do think Marge chasing and not being able to catch a slow moving, farting wind-up toy is hilarious. Also the best part was how at the beginning, Marge said "I hope I didn't stumble upon my anniversary present..." kind of sarcastically. And then at the very end, Homer revealed it was her anniversary present, and she rolled her eyes. Following through with jokes within episode is something they tend to not do much anymore, instead, opting for lots of unrelated side humor from secondary characters and whatnot.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

And yes, I do think Marge chasing and not being able to catch a slow moving, farting wind-up toy is hilarious.

If you loved that, then you'll love this!



Three guys who can't catch a slow moving baby, despite multiple chances. Absolute hilarity!

[NoOneFamous]

As a kid I DID love that movie


...look, what would you rather have, this, or eyeballs popping out?

[lionelhutz123]

straw man ^

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

...look, what would you rather have, this, or eyeballs popping out?

neither

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Alright guys humor is subjective and all, if he liked the Marge story he liked the Marge story. It shouldn't really imply he liked other, far more terrible things or anything like that c'mon now...

[Jims]

I honestly can't tell if this is a sarcastic post or not. My instinct was that it is sarcasm, but the response posts that followed it indicate otherwise.

I wasn't being completely sarcastic, because I really do think that concept for a subplot is hilarious. But, at the same time, I wasn't exactly praising the show either, as NoOneFamous seemed to imply. I laugh because it's the kind of thing that makes me want to grab the TV and yell, "THIS ISN'T WHAT A SUBPLOT IS!!!!!!!"

The tough thing to evaluate about this subplot is its intent on the part of the writers. Because from every objective standpoint, the thing is completely and utterly stupid. But, from listening to the commentaries and reading interviews from the writers, they have shown a propensity to do this kind of thing on purpose. I mentioned "trolling" in my original post, and that's probably the best word to describe it... Or more specifically "plot trolling". The writers know what they're putting on the page is absurd garbage that'll make people scratch their heads... But the sheer anti-humor of it is enough to keep it in the show. It's very Andy Kaufman-ish.

So I do enjoy the subplot, if only because it destroys my brain a little.

[Poison]

I think it is by far the best episode of the past 3 seasons

no guest stars

and they stay in Springfield

5/5 for a season 20+

lol for the 4 storyline that all end up going together

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

The anti-humor crown belongs to Family Guy (and The Cleveland Show), if only for the fact that billions of people complain about it as unfunny (a lot of weird shit goes on at that show and many people seem to like it, and it keeps getting renewed.) and also call the guy behind the shows unfunny as well. Seth McFarlane is pretty smart so I assume he's the king of all trolls.

The Simpsons however is not. According to the billions of interviews Al Jean has been given; I assume he's living in his own egotistical world, where there is no criticism or flaws; only glorious Simpsons gold. My main problem with the subplot is the fact that person tries to catch object which should be catchable except the person constantly fails to catch it has been done to death; it also contradicts the intelligence and the abilities that these people have. I mean I just love it when characters slow themselves down on purpose or is suddenly not able to catch the item despite the fact that they are perfectly able of catching it, and this doesn't apply to the Simpsons; many other shows do this and it just pisses me off (the fact that they do stuff they know will get them in trouble or put them in a worser situation.) I swear, we need more intellectually aware cartoon characters in cartoons.

I didn't think of it as "trolling" (due to the fact that most of Season 22 has been mediocre/awful, I can consider that "trolling".) nor did I scratch my head in confusion about the proper definition of a subplot (due to the recent quality of subplots that seem to be completely coincidental/random/time wasting/potential squandering.). I did however think of it is pathetic attempt at edge/anti-humor. Some people may think of it as clever (and I respect those opinions) but I'm inclined to disagree for those reasons above (I'm wondering if the older seasons "trolling" efforts were successful though...).

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

^My two cents? The older seasons had screw the audience jokes, Mirkin in particular loved them, but they were both funny and clever. I think the current anti-humor Family Guyish stuff began with Scully. The difference of course is that when he did it it was usually groanworthy or ran the plot into the ground. I think Jean tried to steer out of it for awhile, but several writers hired during the Scully era still write to this day and we're likely seeing thire influence here. Of course, Jean should still be vocal enough to spot this kinda stuff and say no, not here. I get the sense that Scully would fit write in as a Family Guy staffer, maybe he'll even be showrunner someday...

Keep in mind though that I too actually kinda liked this train story which is causing this great debate. Nothing great, but not really horrendous.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

^I think the current anti-humor Family Guyish stuff began with Scully. The difference of course is that when he did it it was usually groanworthy or ran the plot into the ground. I think Jean tried to steer out of it for awhile, but several writers hired during the Scully era still write to this day and we're likely seeing thire influence here..

I don't think it's anti-humor basically. Well it's certainly more random and gag based but it's not specifically Family Guyish anti-humor. My opinion remains that these people got lazy and/or cocky and thought that they could do no wrong and so they continue to write the episodes without really double thinking if it would work or if it was funny, also they barely bother to bring in any new blood (which WGA terms require the Simpsons writers to do.) so the writers as a result become mostly stale, even though they try and fail to adapt to today's comedy environment (not the stuff that's hot right now.The worst thing is that won't change in like ever because as long as people watch/write raving reviews on the critic sites while ignoring the obvious form of criticism (Simpsons fan in general), it'll continue to be produced as a generic animated comedy that just happens to have a recognizable name attached to it. I get that some people like it and again, I respect those opinions but if you can't produce a long-running series without making a lot of quality episodes then it shouldn't even continue on; it should respectfully end.

I get the sense that Scully would fit write in as a Family Guy staffer, maybe he'll even be showrunner someday...

He did write two episodes and he is an executive producer on the show. EDIT: Crap, turns out he didn't; I was thinking of Brian, not Mike, sorry about that. I don't think he hangs around at The Simpsons that much either as a staffer.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Really? I knew that his brother Brian worked for Family Guy but I thought Mike Scully was still with the Simpsons.

[noaizuma]

Zombie your point about the writers is right-on. No show should have a static writers room. Now I dont have ANY problem with shows swapping writers around. I mean hell believe it or not occasionally writers on different shows will actually "give" jokes, skits, gags ect. to writers on other shows whom they think the material is better suited. Are they supposed to do this? Oh hells to da no. But it's a pretty well known secret. But yay as a general rule I really dont think you should leave a writer on a show for more then 3 seasons straight.

[Jims]

I don't really want to argue over the humor of the situation any more because absurd humor tends to be ruined for me when I dissect it really closely. This is also the kind of situation where I honestly don't feel like I can sufficiently put into words why I find the situation amusing. I thought it was funny in a meta way, you didn't.

It's this point that's getting to me now.

My opinion remains that these people got lazy and/or cocky and thought that they could do no wrong and so they continue to write the episodes without really double thinking if it would work or if it was funny, also they barely bother to bring in any new blood (which WGA terms require the Simpsons writers to do.) so the writers as a result become mostly stale, even though they try and fail to adapt to today's comedy environment (not the stuff that's hot right now.The worst thing is that won't change in like ever because as long as people watch/write raving reviews on the critic sites while ignoring the obvious form of criticism (Simpsons fan in general), it'll continue to be produced as a generic animated comedy that just happens to have a recognizable name attached to it.

Do you realize that the writers aren't complete idiots? I know it's "OMG THE WRITERS ARE AWFUL LOL" around here constantly and it's so easy to make fun of the decisions to make... But what you're implying here is that the writers are so cocky and blind that they can't even see what a third grader could criticize about this subplot.

The hilarious "Wow, look at all my thumbs-ups" response is always going to be the "writers = incompetent" line, but that's a really shallow analysis of the situation the show's writing is in.

Of course they left it that way on purpose. Is it because they're lazy? I think you could make a reasonable case for that, but I really think it's more of a stylistic choice on their part. The writers have repeatedly shown (especially in the Scully Era) that they find this sort of "awful plot element" hilarious. And what they keep in the show is what they find hilarious. Where the laziness argument comes in is that they pitched this kind of crap in the classic era too, but they had the good sense to work out a real sensible joke. The modern era writers seem to be obsessed with this kind of humor, much to the detriment of the show.

Do they need to stop relying on this kind of humor?

YES

But I still found this particular instance funny... But only afterwards. While watching it, I thought it was completely stupid.

[Alex_Of_Darkness]

That was a very good episode ! This is my favorite of the season 22 ! I put 5/5 but this note can turn in 4/5 ! HanK Scorpio is really nice at the beginning in is plane of Globex !

Sorry if my english is so so ! I'm a french guy !

[noaizuma]

well welcome to the forum

[TriforceBun]

I don't have much to add about Marge's subplot, except that sometimes simple silliness can work (in an unironic way) on the show. One's mileage may vary in this case, but IMO, in a story with four different plots, I didn't mind one of them being pretty much fluff.

On a side note, did anyone else really like the one-time key-maker character? He had a fun, old-fashioned personality and several funny lines in the brief scene he appeared in. Plus, he had the voice of a younger Arnold's Grandpa.

[The Governor]

As a kid I DID love that movie


...look, what would you rather have, this, or eyeballs popping out?

B-But it's a CARTOON!!! It doesn't HAVE to make any sense!

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

On a side note, did anyone else really like the one-time key-maker character? He had a fun, old-fashioned personality and several funny lines in the brief scene he appeared in. Plus, he had the voice of a younger Arnold's Grandpa.

He was one of the better one-time characters. I actually liked that they didn't try to push it into something else entirely.

[NoOneFamous]

B-But it's a CARTOON!!! It doesn't HAVE to make any sense!

No, but not every episode needs to be an in-depth character study with emotional payoff, either.

Plus, it wasn't like it was *THE* subplot, the episode was somewhat of a format bender and had no real A or B story, instead just showing the events the key discovery led to for Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

If you loved that, then you'll love this!



Three guys who can't catch a slow moving baby, despite multiple chances. Absolute hilarity!

Well it's already got fat Tony in, just slap in a few other Simpsons characters and were in for a great episode

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Of course they left it that way on purpose. Is it because they're lazy? I think you could make a reasonable case for that, but I really think it's more of a stylistic choice on their part. The writers have repeatedly shown (especially in the Scully Era) that they find this sort of "awful plot element" hilarious. And what they keep in the show is what they find hilarious. Where the laziness argument comes in is that they pitched this kind of crap in the classic era too, but they had the good sense to work out a real sensible joke. The modern era writers seem to be obsessed with this kind of humor, much to the detriment of the show.

No, I don't think that the writers aren't complete idiots but stuff like "Mixar" and flaws in most of the plot definitely makes me doubt them and the overly simplistic parodies/references also adds to this doubt; I know you think I'm talking about this episode specifically but I'm talking about most of the seasons past season 13.

You have a point in that they're placing what they think is funny into the episode but that's the problem; it often feels more like a comedy club rather than something resembling a show and they're using these characters who today, lack any sort of personality (unless the episode manages to bring the personality out of a character.). I can relate to Bart and Lisa and even Homer and Marge some of the time but most of the time they just feel unrelatable due to the obvious reasoning of jokes over character.

Also, I agree with your assumption that they need to stop relying on the awful plot element; they've already managed to covertly include this into mostly every episode this season. But I do believe they're lazy for not trying to make Simpsons episodes the way they used to; a careful mix of character, plot, and jokes is what The Simpsons will be to me. I know that this may be as shallow as the last analysis but what else could it be?

[Alex_Of_Darkness]

Thanks you noaizuma ! Sunday it's The Ned least catch !

Now this is why I put 5 :

The episode begins with a very good intro where we can see Hank Scopio Globex on a plane! The couch gag n, is not very interesting, but a good length! Then the episode starts with a very good start in the shortcut deadly very nice. Then again I liked Barney when Homer goes to the Duff brewery and take a blimp! At first I thought the story of Bart and Marge was really anything but the 4 stories that join at the end and I love it when it is in the episodes! Here are some gags that made ​​me laugh in this episode: Chief Wiggum who said he was not able to look and Snake then passes beneath him, and his little boy Brandine of at least 4 years are still together because of the umbilical cord and goats who throw rocks at the car of Homer at the beginning of the episode. For the scenario, I think she is great, very enjoyable to follow and very effective. For my notes from this episode, I really hesitated long between putting a 4 or 5 until the end of the episode but I chose to put a 5 because I loved the epilogue when the bus falls and Otto wondered if the bus goes down very very slowly like in the movie Inception! An episode as we do not see much these days!

[bradbradford]

Good episode. Actually didn't like it as much I expected to, but still had some really great moments that got laughs out of me. Also, I'm a sucker for Springfield Elementary episodes.

[The Wiggs]

I think it is by far the best episode of the past 3 seasons

no guest stars

and they stay in Springfield

5/5 for a season 20+

lol for the 4 storyline that all end up going together

I did like the episode, but I don't think I'd go this far. To me, Eeny Teeny Maya Moe is still the best season 20+ episode. This episode is my favorite of season 22, but nothing more than that. I'm glad to hear that someone really liked this episode though.

[Miss Diko]

3/5

Aww man, this episode had some great jokes in it, but really, Nelson's aging kinda killed it for me. We already have Kearney being held back and other drop outs and it was kind of like a ship sinker for him and Lisa o.o especially with that last episode ;_; Otto's little explanation at the end was funny, and Skinner's pathetic moments are always good. Could have done more with Bart though he hasn't gotten much attention this season sadly.

[Gatorgod]

I enjoyed this episode more than anything else i saw for the entire night. I zoned out and it took me to wonderful places,..I dont remember to many details about the ep, but thats O.k!

[leprechaun_dan]

All I have to say is that the episode was great and Albert Brooks making a brief cameo as Hank Scorpio in the beginning was just what I wanted.

[Mira]

Really enjoyed all of Lisa's story. Bart and Homer's stories were pretty uninteresting and useless. Marge's plot was just dumb. 3/5 because I liked Lisa's plot so much. I loved the big reveal of it all being a whole lot of nothing.

[Cartoonnetwork]

No, but not every episode needs to be an in-depth character study with emotional payoff, either.

Plus, it wasn't like it was *THE* subplot, the episode was somewhat of a format bender and had no real A or B story, instead just showing the events the key discovery led to for Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa.

Exactly. I totally agree with NoOneFamous. Marge's story was a little dumb, but also funny and even kind of suited for Marge's character, cause she wants to stop that offensive toy. 22 Shorts About Springfield had a story about Lisa trying to take bubblegum out of her head, which is not exactly a extremely complex plot.

I'm surprised by the mixed reviews. I generally thought it was one of the better episodes of this season. Maybe not as good as the best format benders, but they have actually been a little mediocre in the last seasons. I think this was probably the best of this kind since "Gone Maggie Gone" and the quality was similar to that one.

I was happy they used Otto and Barney, two characters from classic era I really like and they are usually poorly used nowadays. They weren't brilliant here but at least they did something and there wasn't any drugs joke with Otto, which is pleasing for a change.

Also, they only devoted some time to Lisa's mistery but it was better explained and concluded than some other plots they have developed during a whole episode.

It wasn't a 5/5, but it was , at least, 4/5, if not 4,5/5.

It had a "best part of Scully era" feel to it and I certainly wouldn't consider this episode worse than Lost Our Lisa., for example. In fact I think they are close in quality, or maybe 500 keys is a little better.