NHC Weekly Episode Club 2.0

[CousinMerl]

All right, now it is my week in the Weekly Episode Club and I've done a lot of thinking of what episode to pick, seeing as there are several ones that I would like to choose but as I only can go with one episode, I ultimately settled for a really underrated episode that has gotten quite a bit of flak throughout the years and deserves some recognition:








Kill The Alligator And Run







Just joking!; the episode for the upcoming weekend will be:





























My Sister, My Sitter

[zartok-35]

You had me scared there for a little bit, NumberZone.
Good choice, I'm looking forward to it.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

You scared me as well Zone, but good choice. Honestly I'm surprised no one picked it yet.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

Love that episode, It, like you said, is very underrated

[Blobulle]

I think it's in this episode that Bart had the worst behaviour.

[cloneasaurus]

Nice choice, Numberzone. I'm not the biggest fan of that episode so it should be fun reviewing it.

[Financial Panther]

Darn, when I saw KTAAR, I looked at it for a while, thinking "oh boy, this will be fun to read!" But then I scrolled down a bit further, and my hopes were dashed...

[Nauru-1]

I'm getting in a bad habit of getting here late on these, but seeing as it's Friday here are a few thoughts on Sideshow Bob Roberts without going into a full review.

I love how they did political satire back in these days. The cynical yet witty ridicule was so well-realized back then. The take on the political attack ad was one I appreciated and thought was hilarious even when I was a kid. I didn't understand the Rush Limbaugh parody until later on, but it simply allows an already entertaining episode to be understood on a deeper level when you're a little older.

The absurdity in some respects (like the Republican Party gathering) and the barely exaggerated portrayals of politicians in some other respects are fun here. When you mix that with a detective angle using sleuths Bart and Lisa it ends up being a very fruitful episode in terms of story and ideas. I'd probably put this in the top three of Sideshow Bob episodes along with Krusty Gets Busted and Cape Feare. 5/5 (A)

I must say I'm also looking to My Sister My Sitter. I consider it to be a fairly underrated episode and a gem of season 8.

[zartok-35]

The demolition crane in this episode is pretty much the same animation that Mark Kirkland used in the prelude to 'Kamp Krusty':

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

^Homer's grin at the end of that scene was great, as pointed out on the commentary. That scene reminded me of the one in the movie.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

My Sister, My Sitter

We return to Season 8 with an under-appreciated classic. Written by Dan Greaney with animation directed by Jim Reardon, "My Sister, My Sitter" manages to be entertaining, funny, and eerily heartwarming while conveying a wonderful sense of nostalgia for all who had a younger, or older, brother or sister. It also sees Lisa fail in almost every aspect showing that sometimes you just can't win no matter how hard you try. But, before we get to that, let's examine the episode as a whole.

Our story begins when Homer, while watching Eye on Springfield, learns that the Springfield Squidport has finished being restored and will reopen with a gala. Homer and Marge decide they will surely go to the event, while Lisa, with a rarely seen Janey, reads books about The Babysitter Twins and longs to babysit herself. Alas, at her young age no one really takes her seriously at first, but she finds herself being needed when Maude is taken hostage in the Holy Land. Lisa does a fine job with Rod and Todd and soon begins babysitting several children around town, including Ralph Wiggum:

As the night of the gala nears Lisa's display of responsibility is not lost on her parents who decide she will babysit Bart and Maggie as we end act 1. Bart, outraged at this injustice, is determined to ensure Lisa never babysit again and vows to make the night hell for her. What we get throughout act 2 is perhaps the single best example of Bart being a 10 year old as well as an older brother throughout the entire series, and is just absolutely fantastic and dead on to such an extent that it can not really be praised enough. Bart starts slowly with playing with his food and getting Maggie hyped up on coffee ice cream.

Soon however he's ordering giant party subs, claiming to see aliens and need fake emergency operations, and even calling Krusty for an emergency bachelor party! By this point Lisa is near her breaking point and demands Bart go to bed, which he does.....almost. After some awesome word play gags Bart accidentally falls down the steps inflicting a large bump on his head and dislocating his shoulder at the end of act 2. Whether you were Bart or you were Lisa anyone with siblings while they were near that age should be able to look at these scenes and instantly relate with them. If you can't, I have to wonder about your childhood.

Bart appears fine as we begin act 3, but after seeing the extent of his injuries tries to inflict further harm upon himself to get Lisa deeper into trouble. Meanwhile, we get several nice scenes with Homer and Marge at the gala, with the best easily being when Homer breaks down almost instantly after being made a fool of by walking out onto a fountain. Bart succeeds and actually knocks himself unconscious, much to Lisa's dismay. She considers her options, and ultimately chooses to take Bart to see Dr. Nick, hoping to at least make things as discreet as possible. She places Bart in a wheelbarrow, Maggie in a pet carrier, and begins her journey hopeful that this night is nearing its end. Unfortunately for her Dr. Nick's is no good and she is nearly caught by Chief Wiggum. In the end though everyone in town sees what has transpired and Lisa's babysitting business meets certain doom....right? Not exactly, as Lisa is still getting calls from her clients as we end the episode with a little bit of hope.

As I said in my opening the characterizations of Bart and Lisa in this episode are so very good that its almost eery. To be sure, this is a Lisa centric story and Yeardley Smith is fantastic. I just adore how she handles Lisa here, beginning with her being calm, cool, and kind as she tempts Bart with bubble bath. Over the course of the night she breaks down though more and more ending with a noise of exhaustion, confusion, and utter defeat. Her line reading on "Maggie!" when the little one grabs Bart's face is just really wonderful, as are several other moments such as the great bed or bread debate. Nancy Cartwright is equally excellent as our favorite 10 year old hell-maker. The other voice actors are no slouches either, but this really is a Bart and Lisa episode.

The stuff at the gala is fine, but doesn't really pay off until the very end when Lisa's greatest fear is realized. There is the question of Bart's behavior here which is rather cruel. Yet, as all with brothers or sisters should know, children can be surprisingly cruel and that must go double for siblings! It is merely the way of the world! Taking that into consideration, as I said earlier, Bart is just wonderful here. Maggie, while not the center of attention, performs her part admirably as well. The secondary characters in the episode are great too, from Flanders to Dr. Hibbert to Ralph, Sideshow Mel, and Comic Book Guy. They have small parts, but provide necessary and effective humor or story progression.

Animation wise I'll leave things to zartok and the others but ho hum, another great episode supervised by Jim Reardon big surprise. This really is one of those deeply underrated outings from Season 8, an overall underrated season. What else is there to say though? A fantastic character driven story worthy of a 5/5!

"My diagnosis? Excellent Episode!!!!"

[zartok-35]

Well done, Raspberry! I always loved 'go to bread', one of the greatest moments in Simpson history. I know all to well the painful challenges of sibling rivalry, and your absolutley right, as is this episode in its depictions. I can't say I, or my borther, have ever been injured as badly as Bart, though.
I'll make my post about the animation tomorrow.

[Jesse Pinkman]

My Sister My Sitter is one of the best episodes from season 8 I think, and that is saying something (coming from someone who loves the season so much). I love most episodes from season 8 and this is surely no exception. Lisa wanting to be a babysitter is an interesting concept, and there are many funny moments. Lisa babysitting Rod and Todd has some great moments. “Daddy says dice are wicked,” them freaking out because of a moth, etc. I also liked Chief Wiggum later on being disappointed that he got tickets to Bob Saget, not Bob Seeger (the moment he realizes this, and his “Aw crap!” is one of those moments in an episode that never fails to make me laugh. His sheer disappointment is just really funny to me). Ralph’s “I dressed myself” is more or less classic Ralph (Not his best line/joke, but it is pretty funny).

Then the plot really kicks in, when Bart finds out Lisa is his babysitter when Homer and Marge are away. This is a great plot and it is executed really well. As mentioned, the “Go to bread” thing from Bart is great. I also am fond of Bart giving Maggie the ice cream and making her all hyperactive. I know if I was in Bart’s shoes I would be pretty pissed too, and he is annoying throughout this episode, but it serves a purpose and he’s pretty funny. Bart acting like a baby while eating, the ‘go to bread’, him jumping on the bed, calling and pranking people. It all works. I love Krusty refusing to leave until he gets paid, the guys saying that Lisa supposedly claimed she saw a UFO, the guy looking for the Ambassador, the giant sub, etc. A lot of the humorous moments take place in this act.

Then Bart gets hurt by falling down the stairs. Then he makes his injury worse when he keeps hitting his head on the door. Lisa trying to decide what to do, take him to Dr. Nick or Dr. Hibbert, is good. Her imagining what would happen if she took him to Dr. Hibbert is a great moment in the episode. The line of people at Dr. Nick’s walk-in clinic is great too. This episode, like many others from season 8, has a lot of humorous parts and the plot is really well executed. I like the town discovering Bart in the wheelbarrow, the “She’s on drugs!” line, and homer asking for the drugs.

The only joke I’m not really fond of is the ending, with Ned asking Lisa what time she could come over. I mean, it just doesn’t seem funny, and it seems kind of OOC that Ned wouldn’t care about Rod and Todd’s safety, over hearing how Lisa almost ‘killed Bart’, yet he acts like there is nothing wrong and assumes Lisa can still babysit. I know it shows the dysfunctional state of Springfield (I’m assuming that’s why he does not care), I just don’t find it funny really, and like I said, it seems kind of OOC that Ned would not care too much about his own kids‘ safety. The rest of the episode however is really funny- “I dressed myself”, Wiggum being disappointed about Bob Saget, etc (a lot of the jokes I liked I already listed). Great episode from my favorite season. Probably top 5 or so for the season. Even if I disliked the ending, it was only one joke, and it’s not like it’s a terrible joke, I just don’t think it’s a good one, but my final grade is still going to be an A+.

BTW, this doesn’t have a lot to do with the episode itself, but this has one of my favorite commentaries. I know some people are not fond of the kids on the commentaries, but this was really interesting. It’s always nice to hear kids’ perspectives on shows, and I thought it was cool. Some people complained they ‘asked stupid questions’, but it’s not like the entire commentary was them talking. Again, I know that this does not have anything to do with the actual episode really, but still a great commentary.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Nice review Percy, totally agree on the commentary. Matt's story about his older brother is also great.

Regarding Ned, I know the episode makes it appear as if he just found out about it but I always assumed he must've suspected, like Dr. Hibbert, that the circumstances behind Bart's injuries were pretty fishy. I mean Ned must know how much of a trouble-maker/handful Bart would be. He and Maude probably decided Bart was an aberration on Lisa's otherwise stellar track record. Plus Rod and Todd are the exact opposite of Bart and Lisa had already showed she could handle them.

[Jesse Pinkman]

i haven't listened to the commentary for a while, but is it the one where matt says something about a 'game' (or whatever he referred to it as), where 'no means yes and yes means no. do you want me to hit you?' because if so, i agree, i love that.

that makes sense. I try to bring things up in my reviews that others can discuss, so it's more than just reviewing each week. I never really thought of it as maybe Ned expected what happened, I just figured Ned was clueless (he's 'smart', but only in certain areas) and didn't care about his sons' safety or anything. granted, what happened with bart happened because bart was, like you said, a handful, and rod and todd aren't at all like him, but there's always the chance lisa could just blow up at them for some reason. not that it really matters a whole lot, as lisa never did babysit again after the episode

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Well it is just my interpretation so we never really find out but he clearly talks with Maude about something. Maybe they just needed someone in a pinch and Lisa would have to do? I always just interpreted it the way in my earlier post though. A small detail though to be sure regardless.

Yeah, Matt says that but the part that makes me laugh is where his brother made him go to bed and not say a sound and when he would call out his brother would say, "If you would've only been quiet for 5 more seconds..." Gets me every time

[Jesse Pinkman]

yea, definitely one of my favorite commentaries. just thinking about that line in it makes me laugh. gotta love siblings, huh. i almost forgot about it.

sorry to derail (slightly) the thread, but like i said, this is one of my favorite commentaries and it does technically still have to do with the episode.

[CousinMerl]

Great reviews, Raspberry and Percy; it's definitely one of the standout episodes from Season 8 and so incredibly underrated. I will have my review up today or tomorrow and as usual.

[hammster]

right, school has finished for the year so I'll join in starting tomorrow.

[cloneasaurus]

"My Sister, My Sitter", written by Dan Greaney and directed by Jim Reardon, stands out as being very dark compared to its contemporaries. The episode as a whole revolves around Lisa's attempt at babysitting, which takes a turn for the worst when babysitting Bart, who refuses to be ordered around by his younger, more responsible sister. Bart's behaviour and Lisa's nightmare-come-true scenario can make "Sitter" an almost distressing watch.

This is the main reason I never used to enjoy "Sitter". In fact, when I was younger I considered it one of my least favourite episodes. As the "responsible" one in my family, "Sitter" rang true with me and I could not help feel sorry for Lisa as she chases Bart and Maggie around, as the situation descends into chaos. What made it worse for me was the fact Lisa had been doing so well before and obviously had tried hard to be a good babysitter, only for Bart to screw things up.

The fact Lisa ends up covered in mud, embarrassed in front of a large crowd of people, with the spotlight on her, made this episode particularly dark for me. I even found that the distressing nature of the episode took away from the humour of potentially funny gags ("and she's on DRUGS!" "Gimme the drugs, Lisa").

Thankfully, after repeated viewings over the years, "Sitter" no longer feels as distressing for me. Whilst I still feel a large amount of empathy for Lisa as she struggles to monitor the chaos unfurling in front of her, I see this as a positive aspect, as relatively few episodes can make me feel so much empathy for a character and still be dramatic and funny. However, the Homer and Marge subplot was largely dull, as it sort of flickered on and off in the episode, before going back to Lisa's story. It failed to go anywhere despite nicely tying together nicely with the main plot. However, there were a couple of good jokes, namely the celebrity restaurant, and, the best joke of the episode:

"This isn't faux dive.... this is a dive"
"You're a long way from home, yuppie boy"

The rest of the humour in "Sitter" is spaced out, seemingly coming in short bursts before disappearing again. The first act proved to be the funniest, with the "Eye on Springfield" segment, and Homer's attempts to lie to Ned:

"Gee.... I'd really love to wanna help you Flanders but... Marge... was taken hostage... in the Holy Land and -"
(I also loved Ned's "anyhoo-diddly-doodle")

As Bart's rampage begins to kick in though, the humour disappears for part of the second act, as Bart starts to test Lisa. I found his behaviour to be mostly unfunny and jerky, although I wouldn't say I hated Bart in this episode, because he did apologise and was needed to create conflict, and I didn't feel it was out of character. As "Sitter"'s second act progresses though, the humour re-appears as numerous people appear through the door, including Krusty, although it's still fairly unfunny. Upon Bart's dislocation of his elbow, the humour disappears once again, as Lisa's struggle intensifies. Here within lies the problem with "Sitter" - for an episode with a particularly dark main plot, the sub plot and main plot just don't have enough humour to balance it out. That said, the episode certainly has it's funny moments as stated. Other humourous moments include: "Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix", and "I like, fell, on a bullet, and it drove itself through me". In fact, Riviera's clinic added some much needed humour to "Sitter"'s main plot, helping it become easier to digest.

Animation-wise, "Sitter" succeeds. Jim Reardon aided the episodes dark theme by making various scenes highly dramatic and compelling. My favourite moments, direction-wise, from this episode were:

I just thought Lisa's stance here perfectly reflected how she was feeling, it's kinda cute too.

During this fantasy sequence (which, visually, was all fabulous), there's some great top down camera angles going on, not to mention some atmospheric lighting and shadows.

And I loved Homer's outfit.

"My Sister, My Sitter" therefore proves itself to be a mixed bag (by classic era standards). Although the episode was well placed, and well directed, with good characterisations, humour-wise, there is perhaps not enough to balance out the particularly dark main plot, which can be seen to be particularly distressing. So whilst on a pure enjoyment level, this doesn't rank highly, I can certainly appreciate its successes in other areas, such as drama, animation, and characterisations.

B

7.5/10

(P.S I'd also like to mention Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartwright's brilliant voice work here, which I forgot)

[zartok-35]

Directed by Jim Reardon, assistant director Mark Ervin. Animation by Ray Persi, Luis Escobar, Eric Stefani, Bill Ho, Steve Mealue, James O'brien, Brad Ableson, Dexter Reed, and Jeannette Bose, in what is probably her first episode. A fine example of a Reardon production in season 8. No sign of Paul Wee.

Ray Persi did alot of work on Jim Reardon's season 8 episodes. In this epsiode, Ray handles the sequence where the Simpson kids sit down to dinner. Bart complains about Lima beans, and Maggie eats some coffee icecream.

The scenes of Bart eating are by Luis Escobar, they were revised after the fact.

Ray comes up again, doing the animation when Lisa goes to phone Dr. Hibbert, but thinks better of it. He does the garage loadout scenes, too.


I have been informed that Ray Persi animates the church scenes at the start of the episode, as well.

Luis Escobar draws Homer with a tall head all through the sequence where he and Marge wander around the waterfront, looking at the stores and restaurants. Gotta love going down to the Malaria Zone!


Lew also animated Bart during the tuxedo scene. Bart has a tall head aswell.

Lew then does the scenes where Bart gets up after falling down the stairs, with a dislocated arm.

Luis also did some scenes of Homer stuck on the sprinkler fountain.

The great Steve Mealue does lots of animation here. He is the master of drawing Bart Simpson. He does the best scene in the episode, where Lisa finds Bart in the kitchen. He thought she told him to 'Go to Bread'.


Steve also does some of the ensuing fight scenes, and bart falling down the stairs.

I'm pretty sure Steve Mealue also handles most of the angry Bart scenes when he learns Lisa is going to babysit him.



I think Steve does the door scene with Ned Flanders, also.



Eric Stefani was another favorite for Jim Reardon in season 8, and ofcourse, does lots of animation here too. Eric animates Bart phoning for the sandwhich, and most if not all of the many different people who arrive at the house afterwards.




Then, towards the end of the episode, Eric does the scenes when Lisa is discovered at the waterfront by everyone. "Give me the drugs, Lisa."



Lisa dramatically heads through midnight streets of the ghetto with Bart in the ol' Yard king. Bill Ho handles this scene.

I think Bill Ho does some of Homer on the fountain, too.

Jim O'brien does the scenes when Lisa encounters Wiggum on the road, and Bart falls into the mud.

[Old painty-can Ned]

Having just watched Dead Putting Society a few nights ago I think a good comparison can be made between the two episodes regarding the Bart and Lisa dynamic. My Sister My Sitter certainly takes the darker side of both characters characterizations. Bart is extremely mischievous for no other reason other than jealousy and embarrassment and Lisa is arrogant and naive. While in Dead Putting Society Bart wants/accepts Lisa's help. He doesn't fight her every move like he does in this episode even though he is getting helped by his sister. I will of course admit the baby sitting thing is faaaaar more embarrassing than accepting help in your putting. Both of them in this episode are extremely realistic to their age groups as well as their classic era characterizations. Bart acts terribly towards Lisa but that is how he always acts towards authority figures and he acts like a normal 10 year old boy would if being baby sat by their younger sister. While Lisa shows her maturity beyond her years in baby sitting many kids around the nieighbourhood. But she also makes some poor decisions because of course she is still really young and not able to handle Bart(it makes you really appreciate Marge's character more because she is able to handle Bart and seems to be the only one who can)or the situation she is in. Dead Putting Society on the other hand uses the positive sides to their characterizations. i.e Lisa helps Bart for no reason other than just to help and she is shown as vastly more intelligent than the average 8 year old with the geometry and the spiritual questioning. Bart respects Lisa and takes her advice so that he can impress and win Homer's favor. Last thing I want to talk about in terms of the Bart and Lisa dynamic is the ending. It's a rather bitter ending between the two and it's probably the redeeming factor in their plot. Bart gives a unconvincing apology and leaves Lisa just sitting there. It's one of those Simpsons moments that may seem sweet but is in fact not. As he doesn't do anything to make her feel better. He doesn't talk to anyone about his actions or buy seeds from her it's a great showcase to the darker side of Bart's character.

Thoughts on the comparison? Other episodes that can compare to MSMS?

As for the episode as a whole I felt the Homer and Marge plot just felt dull and dragged the episode down. I get the comparison of how they're having the best night out while Lisa is having the worst night of hers. But it just didn't click with me. I also didn't find myself laughing very much at this episode except for the go to bread and the more obvious stuff yadda yadda. The episode as a whole feels very season 9 rather than season 8 esque. I think the ending does say a lot about the town of Springfield though. In that despite the fact that Lisa was shown to harm her client(Bart) as well as the accusation of drug use she is still called for baby sitting jobs. The towns ideal family(The Flanders) give her a job, the police chief(The Wiggums) and even the wealthy doctor family(the Hibberts) all give her jobs still. For A)she is cheaper than most and B)they want to have their fun so they need someone to drop their kids off with.

[Nauru-1]

My Sister My Sitter has grown to be one of my favourites of season 8 and this most recent viewing confirms that.

There's certainly comedy to be had, but was the case in many of the great episodes, it flows naturally from the story taking place. Homer and Marge at the waterfront gives a few nice gags and is a light hearted against the rather dark climax to the main plot, but then again Lisa's babysitting endeavours gave some laughs as well, especially in babysitting the Flanders children and Ralph. Still, this is the kind of episode where I'm not tracking how much laugh because the interaction of the characters and their situations is entertaining in itself.

As was usually the case at this point in time, I felt the characterizations were strong and put to good use. I know for some the behaviour of Bart has been questioned, but not only do I think it's consistent with his character, but it's one of the most realistic treatments of the Simpsons' children. I can't think of any household where things would be rosy if the younger child was put in charge of the older one, and the banter and mischief (albeit exaggerated in the case of the latter) really resonates with me and seems to expertly follow the logic that would arise if you put two siblings in this situation. Homer and Marge are setting up absolute chaos, which actually is not too surprising as both of them are naive parents in their way, and the inevitable problems develop instantly. I should also mention Lisa who is pretty much the star of the show in this one. She has that balance of likeability, intelligence, and vulnerability that reminds of another favourite: Summer of 4 Ft. 2.

I don't know why, but from the dinner scene through to when Bart falls down the stairs, it reminds me back to the old days of the Simpsons. By this I mean it has a certain feel more akin to, let's say, season 2 or even 1. Despite some extraordinary happenings (some of Bart's pranks like the UFO guys), there's something really old-school about much of what takes place. Having to chase a Maggie-hopped-up-on-sugar around the house or Bart asking for more peas with no intention of eating them just reminds of the skilled groundedness of early Simpsons.

A great episode all around and an impressive example that the Simpsons was still fantastic in its eight season. 5/5 (A)

I would also agree with Percy Wellington that the commentary is really neat to listen to. Having the kids on there allows you to get an idea of how they perceive a Simpsons episode, and personally I think this is a pretty fitting episode to do that because the sibling relationship is particularly well done.

[Financial Panther]

It's been a while since I listened to that commentary, but as I recall, I hated those stupid kids on there. I wanted all the attention to be focused on the episode, not answering some kid's dumb question.

[Jesse Pinkman]

i get why one who listens to the commentaries would want the entire thing to be about the episode, but the right amount of it was in this commentary that it was focused on it where it was entertaining(IMO). i haven't listened to it in a while, but i'd say 90 or so percent of the commentary is about the episode and production, and the rest is the kids' asking 'dumb' questions.

besides, the episode is about siblings and how they do not always get along, and so it makes perfect sense that Josh Weinstein would have his young son and daughter participate in the commentary

[CousinMerl]

An episode from the eight season, 'My Sister, My Sitter' which is written by Dan Greaney and is directed by Jim Reardon is definitely one of the best and one of the most underrated episodes from the season. The plot deals about Lisa, being inspired by a series of books and starts a babysitter career which at first doesn't go too well, but then picks up after she has babysat Rod and Todd Flanders while Ned is away to get his wife released from the Holy Land where she is being held hostage and in time, Lisa becomes well liked as a babysitter and is ultimately is put in charge of Bart and Maggie as Homer and Marge is away for a night and it is a story that at first glance seem pretty simple, but it is incredibly rich with effectful animation, humor and even a lot of character-driven stuff that helps expanding the main characters of the story; Lisa as well as Bart. I also really like how it shows a darker side of sibling rivalry, which here occurs when the younger sister is put in charge over the older brother, who doesn't want to find himself in his current situation and makes it a night his babysitter wont forget. It is a very solid episode and has a really good plot with a pretty dark tone to it towards the end, and I love how it is pulled off; It is simply put a great episode from a great season.



Speaking about the animation, it is simply put great and is filled with a lot of visual effects; It almost foremost has an excellent use of high and low shots throughout the episode, the shadow effects are great as well and lastly, the various lighting effects (such as the car headlights and the lights in Lisa's imaginary sequence) are great as well and are really put to good use throughout the story; all of these greatly enhances the episode's quality and really helps set the mood. Other animation effects shots I noticed that were especially great was the short panning shot through the wooden tunnel leading to Moe's Tavern, the animation of the water fountain Homer finds himself trapped in is also great and the whole imaginary scene of Lisa thinking of what she thinks could happen if she had brought the unconscious and injured Bart to Hibbert is full of solid shadowing, great lighting effects as well as the high and low shots; overall, I think it's a very effectful sequence. As an episode from the eight season, I think this is one of the episodes from this season with the best overall atmosphere which is helped a lot of the animation and the various effects.



The episode is well paced and the plot evolves in a solid fashion, so nothing feels rushed or incomplete and the small subplot about Homer and Marge enjoying their night at the Squidport works incredibly well with the main plot about Lisa's fateful night of babysitting her younger sister and older brother. As for the characterizations in the episode, I think all of them are great; Lisa has a great characterization (how she does her best and deteriorates towards the end is pulled of so nicely) and I have no problem with anyone else of them, even the much criticized characterization of Bart; he is dead set on making Lisa fail to babysit him properly and therefore starts acting like an immature jerk and I actually think this is pretty much in-character for him in the situation he finds himself in; It's very understandable since his two year younger sister is put in charge of him and he even stated that he thought it was an outrage earlier in the episode (I think something like this is pretty natural behavior for a kid his age and who's in a similar situation with a younger sibling being his babysitter) and also, Bart isn't sometimes referred to as a 'hellraiser' for nothing. Another thing is that as we know, he has broken down many babysitters before with his unruly behavior and I have always been pretty sure he wouldn't spare his sister a similar treatment, which is shown here where he puts on an ever greater display of his unruliness and is prepared to even put his health on the line to make sure Lisa fail so not only is his behavior pretty funny and in-character as the troublemaking ten year old boy he is, it is also quite interesting since the writers dared to show a different and darker side of Bart here in this episode. About the overall voiceacting, it's simply great; Yeardley as Lisa and Cartwright as Bart are definitely the standouts here and I'd even go so far to say this is probably one of their finest performances as their two principal characters.



I disagree with the ones saying this episode is low on jokes and gags; sure, it is not one of the most hilarious episodes, but it still has some really funny moments throughout: the world's first two-story outhouse ("Oh, God!, stop!"), Kent Brockman's report on the Squidport; "Now abandoned by all but a few longshoremen and allied tradespeople" (prostitute in the background during "allied tradespeople" part), Homer very slowly and half-assedly coming up with a lie about Marge being held prisoner in the Holy Land , "Daddy says dice are wicked" and "I don't like this story!" (it's great how Rod and Todd are portrayed as complete sissies here), The Bob Saget/Bob Seger joke, "I dress myself!", Homer using his tuxedo as much as he can before intending to 'cram it through the mail slot', Hibbert talking about his supposedly non-reliable car mechanic and drives home lying down in the car, "Can you see the pie stains?""It'll be dark" (fun exchange), "I don't think we should be driving here, the mayor is yelling at us" followed by the mayor yelling at them (I love how the mayor's yelling fades in and then out as they drive by; it's an excellent sound gag), "I didn't say I was gonna eat them, I just wanted to look at them because they are so gross, what's for desert?" (great reading), Bart feeding Maggie caffeine ice cream (I love how Maggie does all those twitchy and jerky motions with her head, arms and hands as a result), Moe having disguised his tavern as a fancy bar (which is simply a long tunnel leading into the normal tavern), Lisa having to deal with the results of the prank calls Bart has done (such as the medics who have come because of the reported 'sisterectomy', the military people because of the supposed UFO spotting and the driver who has come to pick up the ambassador from Ghana; "Why would the ambassador do such a thing?"; all of that is just great), the 'go to bread' bit, Homer accidentally getting himself 'trapped' in the fountain ("Don't laugh at me, I was once like you!"), Chief Wiggum in Lisa's imagination explaining to Hibbert that she beat Bart silly with a box of frozen lima beans, "Loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix!", Wiggum telling Lisa about walking with traffic and being slightly unsure about it, "Citizens of Springfield; I officially declare this- what the hell is that!?" followed by the townspeople reacting to Lisa and assumes that she has killed Bart and intends to "drown that poor caged baby", the line "And she's on drugs!" followed by Homer sternly walking up to Lisa and asking her to hand over the drugs (hilarious), and Bart saying that he hoped that the doctors were gonna give him a steel claw ("but what are you gonna do?"). There's also the somewhat hidden gag with Smither's standing the waiting room of Dr. Nick's clinic in a stiff, upright position while seemingly holding a little cage and it is a another funny yet disturbing gag, considering what it might possibly allude to; I wish that they maybe could have talked about it a little on the commentary track but then again, the Weinstein kids were there (by the way, I am one of those who likes the commentary and I have no problem with the kids being on it and asking their questions).



The babysitting plot and how it escalates towards the end is done just perfectly and Lisa's breakdown is too pulled off really greatly (I like how the animators have given her bags under the eyes and sometimes has her hair hang down in a limpy manner which effectively really that she has been under a lot of pressure and stress due to Bart and the highly caffeinated Maggie); the episode really takes a dark turn when Bart's arm gets twisted and how he gets a bump in his head, which he then tries to make bigger and knocks himself out, whereupon it's up to Lisa to get him some help; it's honestly one of the stronger third acts of the season, at least in my opinion. As said before, the majority of the episode character-driven and the whole last act is pulled off in a dramatic and effective fashion all the way up to the climax where Lisa is discovered in her, Bart and Maggie's current state just next to the Squidport by the Springfielders; despite Lisa having gotten a bad reputation because of the incident, at the end of the story and after Bart, with a cast on his arm, has apologized to her, Hibbert as well as Flanders contacts her about babysitting their children; I think it's a great and also a sweet ending and it shows that some Springfielders might understand the incident and as for Ned, he never was there at the Squidport and got surprised to hear about it from Lisa, but judging by the pause in the call and him then quickly asking what time she can come over suggests that he was either in a something of a hurry or just goes by the saying that nobody is perfect (makes sense since he is a devout Christian). All of this shows that this episode is, as said, very rich with both story and emotion.



Overall, Jim Reardon is one of my favorite Simpsons directors and 'My Sister My Sitter' is definitely one of his stronger episodes, along with 'King Size Homer' which was also directed by him and written by Dan Greaney. The whole plot of 'My Sister, My Sitter' is as said very strong, the humorous moments are really funny (most of them are pulled off perfectly) and the animation with all it's effects is in company of the story a definite winner in my book. I understand that many fans have a problem with Bart and his extra unruly characterization in this episode, but as I have clarified, I have no problems with it and it shows just how much of a cruel and troublemaking jerk he can be and it really helps expanding his character a bit, both for the sake of the story and even for the rest of the show. This episode is definitely one I will be revisiting more times and it also shows how cruel older kids can be to their younger siblings even in real life (though they arguably doesn't go as far as Bart did towards the end of this episode); it is indeed a great eight season outing and one of the most underrated episodes of the show. Top marks.

[hammster]

My Sister, My Sitter is one of those episodes that I always forget about. And while the episode isn't one of my favourites, it's certainly a hidden gem.

The episode is dark (we literally have Bart self harming in this episode out of spite), relatable and subtle in it's humour. It almost reminds me of a season 1/2 episode (albeit not good enough for season 2).

The jokes are generally just in passing and for this reason, it's hard for me to point out my favourite joke. It really is a case of the jokes being a bonus rather than a key feature. This doesn't matter but for an episode to pull off the lack of laugh-out-loud joke telling then the characterisation and story telling need to be perfect for the episode to stand-out from the rest of the classic era for me. Like Moaning Lisa. Most episodes in the classic era balance joke telling, story telling and characterisation amazingly well (sort of irrelevant but balance is probably what makes an episode 'feel' classic for me. A balance between low-brow and high-brow and all the key elements that I've mentioned above). For the episodes that wish to focus less on one than the other two, they need to nail the other two. I believe that this episode nails story telling. It's a great story that is incredibly relatable. But the characterisation of Bart is perhaps a little off and this is the episodes greatest problem for me. I can see that he is perhaps closer to the Bart from Bart vs. Thanksgiving but, even then, I do not feel that he would go out of his way to SELF-HARM himself just to spite his sister. Not saying sorry is very different from knocking yourself out (confirmed). It's not a huge problem but this kind of thing is what makes season 8 a weaker classic season for me. I just found Bart horribly unlikeable in this episode. He was being an ass for the sake of it. I can understand the resentment but he took it way too far. Whereas other seasons of the show would nail everything, 8 lets things like this slip.

But never mind, the episode is still fantastic. The jokes, while subtle and not exactly laugh-out-loud, still provide consistent chuckles and the darkness of the storyline is sorta refreshing. It's not an episode I'm gunna switch on to laugh but it is definitely an entertaining 20 or so minutes.

The story's greatest strength is the relatibility of the situation. Anyone with siblings of a similar age will have experienced sibling rivalry and this episode is a perfect mirror to that. I love the go to bread thing because it's so kidlike. It's exactly the kind of stupid joke that kids use to wind eachother up. The Simpsons is best when it rings true and this moment definitely rings true for me.

I guess that the episode suffers from the unlikeable characterisation of Bart which means that it becomes a forgotten gem in my eyes. It's better to be a forgotten gem than a memorable turd though and this episode has a great dark twist and is hugely relatable. Nice episode.

P.S. Sorry for the lousy review. I haven't reviewed anything in ages so I'm just getting back in the swing of it.

[CousinMerl]

I just found Bart horribly unlikeable in this episode. He was being an ass for the sake of it. I can understand the resentment but he took it way too far.

I still have to disagree with a statement like that; I don't find Bart unlikeable in the episode and I never got the feeling that Bart was being a jerk for the sake of it because he had a reason which was the fact that his little sister was babysitting him and this being Bart, he doesn't want to find himself in this situation (like I've said above and it's in-character for him) and therefore he starts acting like a jerkass just to make it a hard time for Lisa; I have as said no problem with his characterization and saying that he took it all "way too far" comes off as something of an overreaction (I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel).

As for the self-harm thing, I don't see why Bart wouldn't resort to it at least once in a situation like this to try to prove that Lisa is a horrible babysitter and making her crash and burn; he had his own motive and I think that it shows just how far he is able to go to try and prove something and as I've already stated, it also helps to expand his character a bit. It is not at all because this is a Season 8 episode I let characterizations like these slip, it's because here it is pulled off in such a solid fashion so that I have no problem with it; it's one of those cases where I think a jerkass-kind of characterization has worked on the show.

(Maybe I'm not making a lot of sense here, but I just wanted to get this said).

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Bart is only unlikable here if you never had brothers and or sisters you fought with...imo of course.

And this isn't up to Season 2 quality Hammster? Really?!

[Old painty-can Ned]

Bart is only unlikable here if you never had brothers and or sisters you fought with...imo of course.

And this isn't up to Season 2 quality Hammster? Really?!

I have a brother who I fight with and I find Bart pretty insufferable. It's in character for him well the darker side of him but he is still unlikable. Also yeah this episode isn't close to season 2 standards and also doesn't have the same style as season 2 so I can see where Hammster is coming from.

Edit: Numberzone I don't how you could see Bart as anything other than unlikable. He does take it too far but it's in character for him.