NHC Weekly Episode Club 2.0

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

A remake of the original thread as requested by bort. Basically each week one person nominates an episode for everyone who wants to participate in watching and begin reviewing and discussing on the Saturday of that week. And then we nominate the next episode we will review and discuss for the next Saturday. Its basically like a book club but with The Simpsons episodes. Episodes should be nominated sometime during the middle of the following week, preferably Wednesday or Thursday. The original thread had some great discussions in its heyday so lets see if we can recapture some of that. For the record:

Episodes Discussed in Original Thread:
Bart Sells His Soul
You Only Move Twice
Marge On The Lam
Bart Gets An F
The Last Temptation Of Homer
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
Radio Bart
Marge Vs. The Monorail
Summer Of 4 Ft. 2
Bart The Lover
Cape Feare
Homer Badman
Miracle On Evergreen Terrace
Behind The Laughter
Homer Vs. The Eighteenth Amendment
Lisa the Greek
Mother Simpson
Bart's Friend Falls in Love
Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily
Lisa the Iconoclast
Saddlesore Galactica
Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
Grade School Confidential
A Streetcar Named Marge
Whacking Day
Lemon of Troy
Two Bad Neighbors
The City of New York vs Homer Simpson
Bart The Mother
The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Lisa On Ice
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase

Current List of Members in Line for Episode Nomination:
Financial Panther- Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
joe miller- The Lastest Gun in the West
D'ohmer- The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
Oh, that's raspberry!- Treehouse of Horror III
Squeaky Voiced Teen- Homer Goes to College
Darren.Erg- Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Comicshow Molemanbob- This Little Wiggy
zartok-35- Sideshow Bob Roberts
CousinMerl- My Sister, My Sitter
The Wiggs- VACATED
Nauru-1- Half-Decent Proposal
Veganpunk- Last Tap Dance in Springfield
Zombies Rise from the Sea- Brother from the Same Planet
hughes- The Trouble with Trillions
hammster- A Star is Burns
cinco- El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer
Blobulle- Lisa's Date with Density
SpeedwaySquad- Lisa the Skeptic
Company Picnic- Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish
Flanderoma- Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"
HMS pinafore- Homer's Triple Bypass
Toomanygrandmas- The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
Little Nellie Kelly- VACATED

Please choose only from the first 13 Seasons and if you'd like to be added to the list just leave a comment. I have decided to put the current episode up for discussion in bold.

[The Wiggs]

I'd like in on this. Hopefully I'll be able to participate more actively this time around then I was on the last thread.

[Squeaky Voiced Teen]

I don't know, I think we should be able to do review episodes that have already been done, since like half of them were reviewed by like one or two people. Whatever though

[CousinMerl]

I don't know about you others, but I don't think I'm up for re-reviewing episodes we have already featured in the old thread.

Anyway, I'm ready to hear Financial Panther's episode choice.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Its a tough request but I also don't like the idea of choosing any episode that has already been reviewed, if for no other reason than the obvious need to keep things fresh. Even ignoring the episodes already discussed we still have over 200 episodes on DVD to choose from, over half from the classic-era. There should be no excuse why anyone can't find a perfectly good episode to discuss from Seasons 1 through 13 that hasn't been discussed already.

[LittleMissLisaSimpson]

I think you should list the ''Episodes already discussed'' by season. That way, it would make the members choose an episode easier

[Nauru-1]

I'll go back in again. I enjoyed it the first time while it lasted.

[Veganpunk]

I think it would be fun. I want to participate.

[Financial Panther]

All right, here goes. This is an episode that I like, and am puzzled that it doesn't get very much love. My choice is: (Drum roll....)


Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Lisa the Vegetarian

[Veganpunk]

All right, here goes. This is an episode that I like, and am puzzled that it doesn't get very much love. My choice is: (Drum roll....)


Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious

That's a good one. So what, we watch it on Saturday and then discuss?

[hughes]

i'm in

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

i'm in

.

[CousinMerl]

Good choice, Financial Panther; looking forward to the upcoming weekend.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Alright, we have our first episode(excellent choice) I'll update the thread accordingly. Now watch the episode and prepare for discussion beginning Saturday!
EDIT: Zombies, I assumed your post meant you wanted to be added to the list so I added you but if not I'll take you down if you want.

[Jesse Pinkman]

That's a good one. So what, we watch it on Saturday and then discuss?

or, if you're busy on saturday (This goes for anyone), you can do it friday, or sunday... pretty much the weekend, or sometime early the following week, before a new episode is picked.

and nice choice, financial panther. that's one of my favorites from s8

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

^True, just try and hold off posting reviews until Saturday...

[Veganpunk]

Gotcha. Should be fun!

[hammster]

I'm down for this (after exams).

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Alright everyone it's Saturday and the first episode is officially up for review, discussion, and debate. If you havn't already, please watch the episode sometime within the next few days and contribute. I just went through much of the original thread again and I was amazed by the things written in there, it was truly staggering. Personally I plan to watch the episode again pretty soon and will join in when I can.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(D'oh)cious

As it turns out, one of two Simpsons episodes produced for the eighth season under Al Jean and Mike Reiss is an elongated parody of a movie. Who'd of thunk it? Well, considering they made an entire show based on movie parodies it shouldn't be too surprising that this episode turns out as great as it does. The episode is basically one enormous parody of Mary Poppins and while the Simpsons has done other episodes centering around a movie such as the legendary Cape Fear, this one manages to remain memorable, fresh, and perfectly blend comedy and music in a truly amazing way.

The episode begins, as many classic-era episodes do, with the Simpsons family watching tv. Krusty the Clown makes a very poor set decision while playing at the Apollo Theatre leading to an absolutely hilarious sight gag. Krusty goes on to insult and mock former President Gerald Ford, who might still be living across the street from the Simpsons during this point in the show. Eventually, Marge begins to lose her hair with a musical montage that includes several great sight gags, my personal favorite being the tumbleweed made of hair.

After going to see Dr. Hibbert Marge learns she may be going bald from stress and the family agrees to hire a nanny to help her. It is here, during a Mrs. Doubtfire parody, that we get a pretty interesting bit of continuity as we can actually still see the mansion where two former presidents lived across the street of the Simpsons. I don't know how long this lasted but I never noticed it until this viewing. See if you notice it during the episode. Anyway it is in the next scene where we get our first song sung by the family and it descirbes what type of nanny Bart and Lisa want. I suppose now is about as good a time as any to mention that I love all the songs and lyrics in this episode. Kudos to Al Jean, Mike Reiss, and Alf Clausen. After shooting down Grandpa Shary Bobbins arrives at the end of Act 1.

Act 2 begins with a job interview and while Homer checks her qualifications he eventually decides that she must've once worked for Carl, or as he puts it, "the black guy." I love Dan's reading of this line and never really gave it much thought until this viewing. Of course, Shary Bobbins is certainly qualified and she begins her job by showing the kids a uniquely Simpsons way to cleanup, by doing it half-assed. The animation here, apparently handled by Eric Stefani, is really nice. After this we get a scene at the park which helped spark a controversy regarding Willie's birthplace in Scotland. The little back and forth here between Willie and Shary Bobbins is really great. As bedtime approaches we get another song involving Barney the boozehound. Again, credit here must be given to Dan Castellaneta as he is great as singing Barney. I love this little song so much that I have it memorized. I find the end of this song is very heartwarming and it ends with one of the most memorable scenes from the episode, Homer making Bart wait until 15 to be a boozehound.

So it seems that Shary Bobbins has done her job and must leave, but we're only at the end of Act 2! As it turns out, the Simpsons havn't really learned a thing. The smaller, final act gives us more of the Simpsons watching tv and three great scenes. The first is one involving a child Ranier Wolfcastle. Another is a great Charles Bronson/Andy Griffith parody. Finally, we get a spoof of Reservoir Dogs ala Itchy and Scratchy. Again I think scenes like these really tell you this was a Jean/Reiss episode. The two just love doing these kinds of parodies and in the classic era they almost always hit.

The Simpsons have broken Shary Bobbins and only they can fix her. The episode's last song parody refers to how the Simpsons just can't be changed and are happy just the way they are. I like this song so much that I have bits and pieces of it memorized as well. The episode ends with one of the most memorable Simpsons moments of all time, Shary Bobbins getting hit by a jet. Surprisingly, or perhps not so much, this joke was originally intended for use on The Critic. Instead, it has become a Simpsons classic.

What's left to say about this episode? It isn't some deep character study or satirical piece, but rather is simply a 22 minute long movie parody. Maybe that's why it is often overlooked, but I think it has a great atmosphere throughout, personified by the music. Just listen to the score over the credits and I think you'll see what I mean. If, like me, you liked The Critic you'll probably love this episode. As a parody and gag-fest its really fantastic. I can't finish this review without praising the perfromance given by Maggie Roswell as it is absolutely terrific. I also watched this one with commentary and let me say my favorite commentaries to listen to are the Jean/Reiss ones. They're usually always fun to listen to and you can tell they have great chemistry together. Ironically, Jean makes a joke about the Simpsons using magic in a then unlikely seeming Season 23, but it turns out he was off by one year!

Lastly, let me point out an animation goof: During the Cut Every Corners song in the scene with Wiggum if you check really closely you'll notice Snake has blue hair! So yeah, in conclusion I may be biased but I love this episode, 5/5.

[CousinMerl]

Okay, let's see if I still has got my more in-depth reviewing abilites from the old thread;



Written and directed by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious is a solid outing from the still popular and classic eight season of the show. In a way, it can be seen as a landmark episode since it is the first musical episode of the show; earlier episodes like 'A Streetcar Named Marge' and 'Homer's Barbershop Quartet' had some prominent singing as well, but this episode was the first true musical episode and with the classic Simpsons humor, it turned out to be a solid episode with great parodic songs and an equally parodic plot that's really fun and entertaining all the way through.

The pacing of the episode is something I cannot complain about and the plot unfolds in a solid manner; Marge starts losing hair because of stress and makes them hire the nanny Shary Bobbins who does her job well, but when she is about to leave with an improved Simpson family, it all goes to hell as the family immediately regresses to their usual ways and she has to stay, now being treated as a slave until they realizes the error of their ways and through a song, explains to her that they are 'happy just the way they are' and Bobbins finally realizes she is not needed anymore. It's not really a complicated plot but it's no doubt entertaining and fun to watch and the touch of added drama near the end with Bobbins turning into a wreck adds more color to the story; it's all solid stuff that makes this episode come together.

The expressive hand-drawn animation is colorful and all-round nice and there are a couple of cool shots in the episode as well, such as the one above where we see Hibbert examining one of the large holes in Marge's hairdo. The characterizations in the episode are good and the Simpson family is displayed in a pretty lax and dysfunctional state here (and personality-wise, Lisa and Bart are pretty similar) and it does work very well within the episode. The one-time character Mary Poppins parody Shary Bobbins makes her first (and only) apperance in this episode and I really like how she almost immediately proclaims that she is a completely original character even though she actually is a parodic one; she might not be one of the very best one-timers but she is definitely one of the more memorable ones and Maggie Roswell does a great job voicing the character. The scene where Shary and the Simpson kids are strolling through the park and several characters seem to have regressed historically and are wearing 1800's clothes (and Skinner is having Jimbo for sale to boot) is pretty wierd and of the more surrealistic kind but it works well since the episode is a Mary Poppins parody and it just adds to the fun.

Speaking about fun, the episode has of course many fun moments: Grampa talking into the iron, Bart making thirsty noises to get Marge to bring him some milk (moments like that are so effective and fun), The musical montage of Marge's hair falling out, Homers reaction to the gaping holes in Marge's hair (love the raising hairs as he screams), Marge imagining herself bald like Homer, "Didn't he Lisa?, didn't he?... hey, wait a minute, he didn't!", Homer angrily chasing away a couple of potential nannies due to his memories of 'Ms. Doubtfire', Homer confusing Bobbins' last employer with Carl, "Her butt waxed the banister", Willie singing 'Maniac', "I think your heart's beating again", Marge sticking a beach umbrella into her hair, Grampa soaring away with Bobbins' umbrella, "I've got a better game; it's called whippin' cupcakes" (it's a great line), the Charles Bronson parody, Itchy And Scratchy in 'Reservoir Cats' and of course, the final moment where (Spoiler!) Bobbins' gets sucked into the engine of a plane; that moment is one of those darkly humorous moments that you won't forget in the first place.

Finally, even though it's not a top ten favorite episode of mine, I can't see any direct problems with the episode story-wise and the songs are fun and memorable; it's a solid and well-written episode with a solid execution. They tried something different with making a parodic musical episode and they succeeded: it and it's humor and songs still holds up very well even after several more recent musical episodes so overall, I'd say it's one of the more overlooked episodes from the eight season.

[Jesse Pinkman]

5/5 a great episode!

nah, j/k, that isn't my review:

Act 1:

The Krusty Komedy Klassic, being written as KKK is pretty good. As is "Mad About Shoe." I like these moments because they are bad, but the joke is they are supposed to be as such.

Grampa using the remote and the iron are funny jokes, because they are about his senility, but it is done in a funny and clever way; it's not making him some overtly crazy old man, it's just poking fun at him in a funny way.

The hair montage is pretty good. Favorite part is when Bart and Milhouse are playing and hair goes by them. Clever and funny reference to when dust goes by people in movies about the west.

The songs in this episode are good. Bart and Lisa's songs about the kind of nanny they would want is catchy, as are a lot of the songs in this episode, if not all of them.

"Your mother seems really upset about something. I should go have a talk with her. During a commercial." This is pretty good.

"Hello, I'm Shary Bobbins."
"Did you say Mary Pop-"
"No, I certainly did not. I'm an original creation like Ricky Rouse and Monald Muck."

Grampa at the end of the act is another funny reference to old people, it is quick and not drawn out.

Act 2:

Homer's 'practically perfect in every way' line is pretty good. Good ole Homer.

Homer and Marge's conversation on if they know the last people Shary worked for, and Homer thinking it is Carl is good. Even funnier when he says, to her face: "So, you worked for Carl huh?"

The song, cut every corners, is pretty good, and again catchy. It might be nitpicky but I can't see Lisa putting Maggie in the toy chest. It goes along with the song of course but I just think it's something Bart would do, not Lisa. I dunno. Might be nitpicky, but oh well.

Can I be a Boozehound?
Not till you're 15.

the scene in the park is nice.

the ending, with grampa and shary's umbrellas being switched is good.

Act 3:

even though it's something bart would do, and has done, the 'little more' thing seemed weird. just a few minutes ago he was all nice and respectful to Shary, but now he is intentionally trying to annoy her.

Rainer Wolfcastle's commercial is probably my favorite scene of the episode.

I don't get it. The first like 4-5 minutes of this act is the Simpsons being the way they always have, and then they have a sudden change of heart, and apologize for the way they acted, even due to the fact they haven't learned anything from her. Like, what? Why apologize? Why have her for so long?

The whole episode is about how they need a nanny so Marge won't lose her hair. It's an interesting concept, one that had not been done before, and it was original and neat. Things seem to work, the Simpsons seem to be better people. Up until the third act, when they begin acting te same way they had all along. It makes me wonder why I should care about the episode, if they hadn't learned anything from her this episode. Doesn't that make it a time-filler episode? Granted, there was some good laughs in the episode; I'm not saying the episode is not funny or anything. A lot of the parts I listed above are parts I obviously laughed at; "Your mother seems really upset. I should go have a talk with her. During the commercial." KKK, Mad About Shoe, Rainer's commercial, etc.

But the whole 'liking who we are' thing makes the episode seem like a time-filler, to me at least. I know there's a point they were making. No one can change the Simpsons, and they spent an episode showcasing this; that's why Shary 'fails', but at the same time, helps them realize that even though they are all far from being perfect, they are still happy the way they all are. I understand the message, but i dunno. I can't escape this feeling that this makes the episode a time-filler. They hire a nanny, the nanny tries to fix them, the nanny succeeds for like 5 minutes, if that, the nanny realizes she can't change them, and the episode ends with the nanny dying (funny ending btw). In a way I see this as a time-filler, but in another way, it makes sense. So...

I'm stuck between a 4/5 and 5/5. The episode, whilst it did make me laugh, did not make me laugh as much as usual. It might be because I'm not in a 'Simpsons' mood particularly today. I dunno. I still did laugh but the jokes were not as funny as they usually are. What makes the episode be so good, to me, is that it is unique, and the songs in it are all catchy, for me. Boozehound, Cut Every Corner, We're Happy Just The Way We Are, etc. There's a deleted scene on the DVD where they visit Selma and Patty, and they sing a song about smoking. That would have been my least favorite song, just because it was not very funny or catchy. So luckily they did good by scrapping that.

So, I'm thinking 4.5/5. It's not quite as good as i remembered it being, but it still is a great episode from my favorite season. It has some laughs (not as many as I remember, which sucks a little), good songs, and the plot is nice. Only thing that stops it from being a 5/5 is that it feels like a time-filler, but i might rewatch it sometime in the near future and it might not seem like a time-filler then. Even though i weighted the pros and cons about it being a time-filler episode, i still can't decide if it feels like that to me.

[Financial Panther]

I am not a good episode reviewer. They're never very long, but I do my best. Bear with me, please.

I LOVE this episode. Easily my favorite of season eight. It was an interesting concept to try and make a musical episode, and they succeeded in spades. There are a ton of wonderful jokes in that I always find myself quoting. (Most notably "No, I'm practically perfect in every way.") I also can't forget the songs. Oh, the wonderful songs. They are PERFECT. This episode is so spot-on hilarious, it's scary. And speaking of scary, I can't forget the darkly hilarious ending.

[Jesse Pinkman]

if you want to do longer reviews, just focus more on why you liked certain things. for instance, you say 'there are a ton of wonderful quotes in which i always find myself quoting'; you could name some of them, other than the one you did. and you say the songs are 'perfect', you could elaborate more on why you liked them. Keep in mind I'm just trying to give you advice; you don't have to follow these little bits of advice if you don't want to. Personally I don't care if your review is long or short, and I don't think others will. As long as you give reasons why you feel the way you do, which you obviously did, I don't think the length matters (just saying this because in your first couple sentences, you say how your reviews are always really short; again, you obviously don't have to elaborate, like I am suggesting, but if you ever want to make your reviews longer, all you got to do is elaborate more).

[Old painty-can Ned]

I'll actually post a review later once I've watched the episode. But how do you guys feel this episode stacks up against other episodes that are largely parodies of movies i.e Rosebud(Citizen Kane) or Bart of Darkness(Rear Window)?

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Percy, I can see why you might not like the episode as much for being a time filler, because honestly the entire last act is a time filler. They even admit to as much in the commentary. They had their story told but still needed an act 3! The thing that makes it forgivable, to me at least, is that act 3 still has some great gags and the ending song, while kinda making the whole episode pointless, still brings alot of fun and is very memorable. I mean, I have all of Homer's lines from that song memorized as I said in my earlier post. Plus, act 3 is less than 5 minutes long.

Darren as I mentioned in my original post I think this episode matches up very well with the other movie parody episodes like Rosebud or Cape Feare. The storyline might seem simpler, but the types of movies we're dealing with here are pretty different. I find that all of these episodes are great in their own ways.

[Jesse Pinkman]

that's why i'm torn between a 4/5 or a 5/5. it's a great episode, and even though the last act feels like a time-filler, it is still pretty good (the ending, barney randomly appearing when shary is singing, sad in the living room). on any other day this would probably have been an easy 5/5, but like i said, it didn't seem as funny to me as it did in the past. but it's still a good episode in terms of plot and the musical numbers.

[Old painty-can Ned]

Darren as I mentioned in my original post I think this episode matches up very well with the other movie parody episodes like Rosebud or Cape Feare. The storyline might seem simpler, but the types of movies we're dealing with here are pretty different. I find that all of these episodes are great in their own ways.

I just feel this episode rather than parody is more of just redoing Mary Poppins with substituted characters. It brings nothing really original to its parodies except the songs. But they're more just Simpsonized than anything. It doesn't hold up well against Bart of Darkness for example because Bart of Darkness takes what Rear Window did and makes it seem silly/anti climatic with the whole drapes aspect instead of a real murder. It's also self referential of its parody with Bart seeing Jimmy Stewart in the window.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Well this episode is definitely self-referential, and even if it is merely a retelling (which I disagree with) I think it does a fine job and has excellent humor so why is it lesser than Bart of Darkness? The only difference is Bart of Darkness began with a different plot which quickly became a Rear Window parody. Simpsoncali did this too, but abandoned its original plot a bit quicker, but that allowed a fuller parody of the film it spoofs. Storywise perhaps I can see your point but the humor remains fantastic. Oh and this definitely parodies Mary Poppins. It gives a far more gritty, realistic approach with examples such as doing things half-assed and having her killed by that jet.

BTW Whoever floated this thread and added the episode being discussed to the title has my thanks.