"The Daughter Also Rises" Rate/Review

[zartok-35]

Lisa falls in love with Nick, an intellectual romantic, and starts a secret romance with him. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse team up with the gang from MythCrackers to debunk some urban schoolyard legends.

Guest starring Micheal Cera, and the guys from Myth Busters.

What did YOU think? I'll bet it sucked!

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

It's effing Saturday.

[irvine_11]

Better early than late.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Better never than someday for this show.

[IceDoesntHelp]

It can't be as bad as last episode, can it?

[jordanwj]

Welp, three hours from now I'll find out.

It's using a dead and smelly plotline, but hey, I dare to be optimistic.

[Hommer]

Hilarious so far.

[FranklinGeorge]

PABF06 - "The Daughter Also Rises" (episode 499, or is it really 500?)
Written by Rob LaZebnik.
Directed by Chuck Sheetz.
Lisa falls in love with Nick (Michael Cera), an intellectual romantic, and starts a secret romance with him. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse team up with the gang from MythCrackers (Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage) to debunk some urban schoolyard legends.
Couch gag - Moe is set to congratulate the show on its 500th episode, only for Lisa to announce that this is episode 499.

Good episode. Weak couch gag. The best PABF episode so far. The best episode that aired in 2012.

4/5, B-

[Veganpunk]

That was one of the best of this season! Loved it. Plot was a little broken and rushed during the last act, but that's normal for modern Simpsons. Jokes hit most of the time, and it had a sweet ending. I give it a 5 for modern Simpsons.

[IceDoesntHelp]

"I don't normally approve of out-breeding" had me in stitches. Funniest line all night.
Other than that, it wasn't as bad as the last episode, but it wasn't that great either.

[The Wiggs]

Some things I liked: The billboard gag "Rainier Wolfcastle's Valentine's Day Kick-Assacre", the couch gag was pretty funny too. The montage of Homer and Bart doing stuff together had some good little jokes. The "Doritos Nutrition Fair" was a pretty funny name. Grandpa's "drunken walrus" line. Flanders' "Babble on/Babylon" line. The Bart/Milhouse subplot was pretty solid. Overall I'd give this episode something like a 3.5/5

[Brad Lascelle]

This wasn't great but it was a big step up from recent PABF episodes.
For once, the 4-act structure was used really well. I also really enjoyed the subplot.

My quibbles are that Michael Cera was largely wasted and some jokes went a little too long (like the peripheral vision gag and the twins/triplets thing). irvine_11 also hit the nail on the head of the main plot lacking an emotional core. Most of the directions it took felt contrived; Lisa had zero chemistry with ... did Cera's character even have a name?

I rather enjoyed the Running of the Bullies gag as well in addition to Nelson's "candy as cigarettes/cigars" bit.

Gets a solid 3 out of 5.

[irvine_11]

I didn't really feel this episode. We had potential for a cute and original love story, but it moved around so fast, we barely had time to feel anything for the characters. At least there were some good jokes, but they were all cancelled out by crappy ones. I actually liked the subplot much better. C+

P.s. I'm 3 minutes into Napoleon Dynamite and I'm already getting better vibes.

[Financial Panther]

The first act was great, and had me hopeful. The part with Homer hitting Bart with the balls trying to revive him was hilarious. However, each act was progressively worse. I didn't really understand Marge's objection to Nick, and "Shut up and kiss me!" WHOA! Where did that come from? That seemed very out of character for Lisa. At that point, she appeared to be a bit like Nelson in Lisa's Date With Density.

I liked the subplot. It provided some humor, and that's what I ask for. Nothing spectacular, but solid nonetheless. Something that this episode did well that the previous few episodes haven't was balance the main plot and subplot equally. 3/5 overall.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Definitely in the upper half of this season so far as far as I'm concerned for whatever that's worth. Between this and The Blue and the Gray I guess Rob Lazebnik enjoys writing Valentine's themed shows huh? Anyway Act 1 seemed particularly strong. I really enjoyed the couch gag, Bart and Milhouse with Mythbusters, and Bart and Homer at the batting cages. There was some good stuff at Luigi's with Marge and Lisa, primarily Professor Frink's involvement.

The sub-plot with Bart and Milhouse was actually much more enjoyable than the main plot and I think making it centered around quick little things like breaking myths really helped it to flow better than most four-act structured episodes' sub-plots. I really enjoyed all the kids in this episode EXCEPT Lisa's boyfriend who really wasn't given much time for development. Considering I preferred the sub-plot though I'm not complaining/surprised about that. Bart/Nelson/Milhouse/the bullies/Martin were each pretty funny here and I liked Skinner's sole line as well. The nod to the Willie controversy mentioned in the Spurlock documentary was nice too.

I'll say 4/5 based on the first time viewing. The Lisa story wasn't given enough time to develop but still had its share of good moments and the Bart B story was highly enjoyable.

[Tubbb!]

Initial thoughts: Please don't let this have any horrible Michael Cera movie references....

Chalkboard: "I will not replace a candy heart with a frog's heart"
At least it's not a recycled couch gag, and it was sorta funny. I like the fact that Lisa had to check a reference book to make sure Moe was wrong.

ACT ONE:
Worst Itchy and Scratchy I've ever seen, maybe a time filler?
TV on a gas pump. Okay, that made me laugh.
Adam's "Blow it Up" Dance

Homer still eats flowers.
Homer gloating to the guy in the car about his Valentine's day.

Loved the whole Bart and Homer montage.

Frink finally got his date with Miss Wyoming.

Pizza Box Chef: "Now that's-a-spicy meat cute." (That was terrible. EDIT: I can't believe I forgot his name is Luigi, but I remembered he came from a pizza box.)
(So far, so good, aside from a few bad jokes...)

ACT TWO:
Wow. The A and B plots are working well.
Otto's continuing upset at Springfield's misleading store signs.

The Edith Piaf song is nice.
"The Doritos Nutrition Fair"
(Could it be true? Am I enjoying a PABF episode?)

ACT THREE:
Grandpa's story was well animated, had a nice joke, and added something to the story? What's going on here!?!?!

(Milhouse mentions American Girl Dolls. Second time they've been mentioned this season, if I remember correctly. EDIT: Nope. Lenny is addicted to "American Princess" dolls in The D'ohcial Network.)
Maury translation: "Hello, I'm Maury Povich. One of these seven men is the father of this crack baby."

ACT FOUR:
(I'm actually watching it because I'm into the episode.)
Looks like they're tying up Lisa's romance neatly.
Homer and the fan boat made me laugh! Cheap joke, but I'll take what I can get at this point.


All in all, a very nice episode. There were no wacky, zany plot twists that made me say "what?" to myself, and the B-plot went along nicely with the A-plot. However, there weren't any "laugh out loud" moments, or even anything particularly memorable about it. Hmmmm. Everything still went better than expected! I say 4/5, and probably the second best episode of the season so far... after "Holidays," of course. Nice.

(Honestly, after seeing some of the worst episodes of the series this season, the bar is set pretty low for me now.)

Second viewing addition: Is this the first time we see Sherri and Terri's mom?

(This is just a bonus image. I figured someone would enjoy having it.)

[bradbradford]

After last weeks disappointing episode this one really stood out for me. Maybe I'm just in a great mood, but I really, really liked it. I laughed throughout, and thought it was packed with great moments from all of the family members. A few jokes fell flat for me, but we got some great Millhouse moments.

5 out of 5.

[biffwestwood]

4/5

Quite an unusual Valentines Day episode this time. The main plot with Lisa and her new love was better than I thought. Michael Cera did a great job with the character. Lisa looking left and right at the dining scene was funny. Homer taking out Bart and Marge taking out Lisa was a good change of pace. The subplot involving Bart and Milhouse trying to watch Mythcrackers and later dispelling school myths was especially funny. However, I didn't care for Grampa's role in this episode since his story he told wasn't needed and how did the two of them later find Cletus.

On a side note, the couch gag was good since it suggests the writers are also getting impatient over the 500th episode that will air next Sunday.

We are now 499 episodes down and next week is the big 500. During the commercial break between the 3rd and 4th act was when they aired an ad for "At Long Last Leave" with some of the scenes that the promos were taken from so I am expecting to see the biggest hype to start now.

[FranklinGeorge]

Can someone explain what the point was to have those annoying stamp messages during particular jokes?

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

^I think it was a Mythbusters reference...

[Tubbb!]

This episode gives me hope for the rest of the PABF production run.

Can someone explain what the point was to have those annoying stamp messages during particular jokes?

O,TR is right. At the end of every myth segment on Mythbusters, either a "myth confirmed" or "myth busted" sign will be shown to cap the segment.

[The Governor]

'sigh'...this was an episode where the set ups for both plots were good, but it didn't deliver. Why? Nick didn't feel like a real character, he just felt like he was just 'there' and Lisa's blinders gag was one of the worst run-on gags in recent memory. On the otherhand, the MythCrackerBuster's plot after the parody Bart and Milhouse watched just felt like latter Jean-era blandtoma. Both the plot and subplot endings felt incredibly shoehorned and it felt like the writers painted themselves into a corner and had some instant, hacky ending. (Suddenly, Nick turns into a real lying, jerk! Willie's a werewolf! Oy!)

However, there were a few neat moments: Sherri and Terri's fakeout with Marge; Cletus's "Outbreeding" line and Granpa's Death planner.

Sorry, I'm not feeling this one. Yeah, both plots are down to earth for this late in the series, but this was not only dull, it was story that could've been much more enjoyable which is another strike against it.

2/5.

(Honestly, after seeing some of the worst episodes of the series this season, the bar is set pretty low for me now.)

Thank jebus this ain't a limbo contest.

[jordanwj]

Not reading anything....still have three god damn hours until it airs here....pfft.

[Tubbb!]

Thank jebus this ain't a limbo contest.

I tried to come up with a witty retort to that... but now I just have "Limbo Rock" stuck in my head.

[Alex_Of_Darkness]

I will watch it tomorrow because now, I watch the Grammy but I'm very happy to see that this is a great episode for practically everybody

[THUG LIFE]

I expected this episode to be very bad
But it was very nice
4.5/5

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

A big improvement on the past 3 episodes but that isn't saying much at all. The couch gag was good - 2nd episode in a row the couch gag has been good but that's the least import..well a positive is a positive - and this time short and to the point.

It started off very boring and I didn't like the way they introduced the Mythbusters plot, altho I didn't like the Mythbusters plot at all...and the jokes misfired. It did improve when the main plot arrived as we got confirmation that Nick is another pseudo-intellectual douche that obviously appeals to Lisa. Marge was incredibly annoying in these scenes but the Moe "We'll settle this later" and the Frink/Geek takes his hot girlfriend scene was decent writing material. Unfortunately we establish that for the 2nd week in a row, the Bart/Milhouse B-plot just utterly failed and the jokes within the school scenes bombed including Nelson and his "cigarette". Next a good scene where Lisa looks at Nick and imagines herself in Paris but to either side is typical Springfield zanyness - not laugh out loud worthy but grin worthy. Skipping the love montage, I have to point out one of the most CRINGEWORTHY scenes of this entire season - Jimbo picking Martin up by his...really Jean, REALLY?

Nothing else really happens in the episode except for a decent Lunchlady Doris cameo and the conclusion of Lisa deciding that she wasn't really in love with Nick because he is...a pseudo-intellectual douche, wow! Although to be fair, the final 7 minutes did provide me with 4 semi amusing scenes - Willie revealing he's from Orkney (I'm Scottish so I guess it had to make me smile), Grampa checking his diary for available time - It all says waiting for death, it's been done but still, Cletus saying -"I don't normally approve of out-breeding" and a moment which almost made me laugh when Marge is failing hard on the 2 water shoes and Homer says "Women and shoes, am I right?" *nudges Grampa. Okay maybe 5 semi amusing moments, with Homer falling into the water.

In summary: This episode for a Zombie Simpsons wasn't bad, wasn't bad at all. Despite the main plot going nowhere, despite the B-plot once more failing hard and despite a few misfired jokes, despite it having nothing of any quality, it did provide me with some semi amusing moments which I suppose is beyond expectations nowadays. If next weekends big 500 can improve on this even slightly then I won't be let down for Al Jean standards.

2/5, 4.5/10 D+

[zartok-35]

This was deffinatley better than other episodes we've seen recently, but I wouldn't get our hopes up just yet. The ending was sweet. I liked the MythBusters shooting the cat dummy at the oil well, and raising the price of gas. I also liked Cletus' "Outbreeding" remark. I'll give it a 2.6/5.

[jonnymack]

Haha. The boy's name was Nick. Clever!

[jordanwj]

Glad to see you all like it. Sadly 4 minutes into the Cleveland Show so not much longer until I get to tear this episode to pieces...