Rate and Review: "The Nedliest Catch" (NABF15)

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

There were a number of problems like Ned parting the water (far too much like Family Guy).

It was a bit cartoony but I let it pass seeing as how most Ned Flander jokes involving god also work the same way. Ned praying to God and Ned always getting what he wants through the work of God. (Trees falling, storms stopping, etc.) I don't have exact samples but I'm guessing it was done through most of the classic and post-classic episodes.

[Mr. Krikt]

It was a bit cartoony but I let it pass seeing as how most Ned Flander jokes involving god also work the same way. Ned praying to God and Ned always getting what he wants through the work of God. (Trees falling, storms stopping, etc.) I don't have exact samples but I'm guessing it was done through most of the classic and post-classic episodes.

There's a difference between an event being very convenient (regardless of what caused it) and Flanders exercising supernatural abilities, though. Rain spontaneously putting out a house fire is a lot different than the laws of physics being bent when Flanders commands it.
I just think jokes like this tend more towards Family Guy's domain.

[Jesse Pinkman]

One part of the episode I was sure would get ripped to shreds on here was when Edna was about to fall onto the sidewalk...and Bart just runs away. I mean, he's a devious character, but in the past, he's shown sympathy toward Edna, and I can't believe that he would do something like that.

there wasn't much else he could do. it's not like if she fell he'd be able to support her weight and catch her. running away might not been the best solution, but bart's a kid and he didn't know what to do in this state of emergency

[D DEBBS]

Ned had pre-marital sex with Sarah Sloane and he gets all huffy about Edna? WHAT A HYPOCRITE!!!

Still...not a bad ep...and I voted Pro-Nedna 3x's today!

[biffwestwood]

Plus if Bart tried to catch Edna, he probably would've been seriously hurt due to the likelyhood of getting crushed by the weight.

[M Prower]

Despite the fact that Ned and Edna DID meet before, and even had a date already (in the episode where Maude died, no less!), this was a surprisingly good episode, and had a lot of great jokes ('Wife blesser', 'If that makes me a bonehead, I don't want to be a brainhead', everyone's faces on Edna, 'EXPERIMENT!', 'He's a science teacher-he'll know what to do' etc).
I voted 'Yes' for Nedna, because honestly, I think a change in the status quo like this is just what the show needs in its 23rd season. And if the show does indeed end soon, shouldn't Ned just be given a new wife already? Overall I was pleasantly surprised and thought the idea was handled brilliantly.

[Jesse Pinkman]

Ned had pre-marital sex with Sarah Sloane and he gets all huffy about Edna? WHAT A HYPOCRITE!!!

Still...not a bad ep...and I voted Pro-Nedna 3x's today!

i don't think it's so much he's mad that she's had premarital sex, i think it's more so that she's done it so many times.

[Cartoonnetwork]

There's a difference between an event being very convenient (regardless of what caused it) and Flanders exercising supernatural abilities, though. Rain spontaneously putting out a house fire is a lot different than the laws of physics being bent when Flanders commands it.
I just think jokes like this tend more towards Family Guy's domain.

I'm not a great fan of this kind of joke either but to be fair in A Star Is Burns there's a joke when we see the hand of God and his voice talking directly to Flanders. Or maybe it was a deleted scene? Not, I'm pretty sure that was in the episode.

[lionelhutz123]

I was on the fence about the first act in regards to Edna slapping Bart, because I found it as a betrayal to their relationship. Bart pulls pranks, Edna disciplines him, and at the same time they have always understood each other on a more deeper level. It's something that has always existed since around season 2 and 3 and all the way up to recent episodes like "Bart Gets a Z". I guess it's a matter of whether you're in favor for change in dynamic which is ultimately what this episode is all about or if you're a traditionalist.

Of course, even though I liked the idea of Bart retracting the bleachers and causing mayhem in the gym, it still displayed him in his more recent era characterization of extreme mode when it comes to being a brat, so Edna's actions could be seen as way of addressing this and bringing him back down to earth. It seemed to be an impulse on her part which at the time seemed right, but afterwards she definitely felt remorse about it. However, this is the second time she has used her sad voice while in Skinner's office, which IMO comes off a bit forced, but nonetheless suckered me onto her side.

Bart also attempts to redeem his actions by trying to get Edna to escape (At first I thought he was a figment of her imagination or something since I think that place would make anyone lose their mind), which causes the Nedna storyline to spark when she falls off the ladder. The whole episode really should not be compared to other shows that otherwise have carefully mapped out arcs when it comes to developing relationships. I never expect The Simpsons nowadays to surpass any other series in this area, but still, for the late jean era, they did a pretty good job at looking at these two characters under a microscope.

No time was wasted when it came to acknowledging both characters' past, and their standards that conflicted them to progress their relationship. Edna has played the field repeatedly and Ned holds strict religious principles. These two characteristics are pretty intense walls that make their relationship so conflicting, but they found a way to analyze the situation and make everything seem plausible in the end. For one thing, the walls have cracks and both characters offer each other a new light on the other side (if they were to become a couple) other than the making up for the loneliness.

Edna gives Ned more of a backbone. We see her bring attention to a long-running theme of the series of Homer taking advantage of Ned's generosity. Ned also could be the end of Edna's desperation to connect with someone at any cost. It was good that they touched on her past behavior yet shows how she's still insulted that Ned had to forgive her like she's a monster. The message here is that who she was in the past, was in the past, and this new relationship could have her evolve into a new person who does not have to live a life of complete misery and self-pity.

Overall, I thought Ned and Edna were handled well here, and it took the notion that these are two characters seemingly pulled randomly out of hat, and then in a flip of a coin made sense out of it. Is it a perfect development? No, but it still worked. I might not care that much about it, but I'm invested or interested to see how it turns out. Homer wasn't really too much of a highlight during this episode except when he accepted Ned and Edna's relationship.

Other than that the ending with Homer and Marge did seem insulting to my intelligence despite the fun, "we get to vote!" factor. Honestly, it was like something out of a saturday morning cartoon and I agree with what was previously mentioned, in which it should have ended with at most, a meta-reference. As for the humor, I think I laughed once at something and the rest of the jokes were ok. Nothing terrible, but I didn't care for that oppossum gag. The main plot was still good though. I'll give this a strong 3/5 for the jean era. It's better than the last 2 season finales.

[Mr.]

Yes it had. God Himself save Todd from drawning.

Heck! "The Springfield Fiels" had aliens (Kodos), the Space Coyote episode had talking dog and the Mary Poppins parody had a women flying on a umbrella...

I think it's ok for Simpsons to have those thigns as long it's
a) a Halloween episode;
b) Just one quick visual joke;

Ned had pre-marital sex with Sarah Sloane and he gets all huffy about Edna? WHAT A HYPOCRITE!!!

There is a world of diffrence betwen sleeping once with a women your in relationship already and having sex with half of the towns male popluation

[Financial Panther]

there wasn't much else he could do. it's not like if she fell he'd be able to support her weight and catch her. running away might not been the best solution, but bart's a kid and he didn't know what to do in this state of emergency

I agree about the being unable to catch her. However, if we needed to get Bart out of the scene, I think it would have been a better idea for Bart to say something like "I'll go get help!" Anything is better than leaving her to fall to her death!

[Mr.]

Don't forget - Bart is just a kid and to be honest this is how kid would react to this sort of situation. Just run away afriad thinking he get's the blame... Lisa would propably call for help, but Bart is more of "save my own skin first" type of guy and proably would realise he should call for help or go back to see if Edna is ok.

(Heh. They could propably made a dark joke and cut in the middle of Edna/Flanders first meeting and show Bart all traumatize thinking Edna is dead...)

[lionelhutz123]

Maybe Bart WAS a figment of her imagination after all, and fate brought Ned and Edna together.

[The Wiggs]

If Ned and Edna become a permanant thing it'll be interesting to see how Edna's attitude as a teacher changes as well as how her relationship with Bart changes. I think it's about time that the writers try switching up the status quo and experimenting with new things.

1000th post, took me long enough.

[Jims]

This episode was a bit light on the laughs overall, but its story was coherent enough to make up for it. My favorite angle was Edna sticking up for Ned and confronting Homer about being taken advantage of. After 20+ seasons now, we haven't ever seen Ned really confront Homer about anything, even if Edna did it for him. It was a moment a long time coming, so it was kinda nice to see for him. It's also a smart way to keep the Simpsons involved in such a Ned/Edna heavy story.

Didn't really mind Krabappel smacking Bart either. Once again, it was kind of a long time coming with how many seasons Bart has tormented her now. I'm not for corporeal punishment, and the show did a good job of portraying it not in a positive light. But they didn't make Edna look malicious or anything about it... She just kinda snapped and seemed to immediately regret it afterwards. It's definitely seemed like a moment that could happen in real life.

I really disliked the ending with the contest, though, just because it seemed incredibly, incredibly lazy. Like others, I think about how they referenced the contest at the end of "Who Shot Mr. Burns", which is obviously how to do it right. And it's not like this ending would take a lot of thought to fix. I dunno, maybe set them in a public place having the argument? And then the fellow townspeople start weighing in on it? And then you can segue into a joke about the contest? But don't trot out Homer and Marge like they're gameshow hosts.

Despite hating the ending, I still laughed pretty hard about that joke about Maggie not actually being the one who shot Mr. Burns. After writing an entirely-too-long fanscript on that very subject, that joke kinda struck close to home.

3/5