NHC Weekly Episode Club v3.0

[zach]

i watched it today...and then again with commentary. great episode.

[zartok-35]

I've got an animation question for zartok-35 regarding 'Lisa The Simpson': who animated the scene where we are introduced to the variety of Simpson relatives?

I'm really not sure, but I suspect now that the relative sequence is mostly the work of Istvan Majoros. Many of the characters feature crude wacky construction, and look like they're out of an older episode.


Compared to that, Istvan probably did the scenes with Lisa going down the stairs to watch TV with Homer and Bart, too.


@CousinMerl

[Financial Panther]

Watched Maximum Homerdrive. I don't understand what people don't like about this episode. It has some amazing jokes in it that almost always hit their spot. It's fun to watch Homer get bested in something at which he excels, and to see the first time in his life he's ever full. Homer isn't a jerk in the episode, and I like his relationship with Bart in it. The subplot is...meh. It takes up time, but there's better ones out there. This episode gets an A from me.

[zach]

now that is a cartoony squirrel.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

People just hate it because it's in the midst of the season with the most "Homer gets a job" episodes at that point. It's a pretty good show.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Maximum Homerdrive



The next episode up for discussion involves Homer indirectly killing a man, taking Bart on a reckless journey, and nearly killing them both before being saved by a crazy plot twist involving a trucker conspiracy which ends with said truckers chasing them. So in other words, it is very typical of the Scully Era. "Maximum Homerdrive" is not a terrible episode, but it is pretty mediocre. There are some laughs to be had, some nice and quick lines or gags like Homer stopping to butter a roll during an eating contest and every Tony Randall mention, but Homer is in his "captain wacky" and "jerkass" modes too often for my liking. From his early and mildly obnoxious destruction of Marge's dinner you know what kind of Homer you'll be getting in this outing. That scene though did manage to have the nice little "didn't I?" at the end at least.

Act 1 is definitely the strongest of the three, primarily after the family go to the steakhouse. We have a nice Mr. Burns gag and Dr. Hibbert flip-flop along with the cow hallucination and all the Tony Randall references. Homer has some good lines like his way of asking if people breathe when discovering Red is dead. Killing Red isn't even the worst thing Homer does in the episode, imo, and I like that he actually remembered him when Bart couldn't in act 3. Unfortunately the episode still has 2 more acts and Homer is already prepared to kill a little boy as we start act 2...

I find that my enjoyment of the way Homer is depicted in many Scully outings like this really depends on the plot and jokes and this one doesn't do too much for me in either area. I actually recently watched "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" from Season 17 which is another episode where Homer and Bart go on a road trip while Marge and Lisa try and take up some time. If you compare Homer's characterization from that episode to this he really is much more likable and less obnoxious in the later episode even with the scene where he's constantly flip-flopping over loving or killing Bart. Here Homer feels less like a father to his son and more like a pal, a childish one.

The B Plot is extremely forgettable, even moreso than the one from "Lisa the Simpson." Quite literally the only thing I enjoy about it is that it references "The Way We Was" by giving Homer and Marge's song. Of course then I remember the Homer from this episode feels all too similar to the one willing to use a blow gun on his wife next season...and I know I keep coming back to it but really that is my primary reason for not liking this episode. For every good line Homer gets he seems to get an equally idiotic one like talking about divorcing Marge in the diner or trying out a device he just learned about on an old lady. This is the Homer that is so wonderfully parodied in the opening of "E Pluribus Wiggum" and plagues too many Scully episodes.

I feel like I've already repeated myself too much in this review though so let's wrap this up. The animation is very nice but I'll leave that to zartok. Not terrible, but not good - 2/5.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

I'll try to do a detailed review later in the day.

[zach]

although i don't agree with what you said, that image is great.

I'll try to do a detailed review later in the day.

same.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

It basically sums up this episode for me.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

I mean captain wacky about to kill himself and his son.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

And all for just ten measly bucks...

[zach]

this episode is DYN-O-MITE!

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Sorry all, I tried to delete Handsome's double post but it deleted both of them for some reason. It should appear in between my previous two and say "you mean terrific?" or something to that effect, shant happen again I hope...

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Or maybe I didn't actually double post and it was just that auto update thing.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Perhaps, but it appeared as two posts to me. Regardless, the fault is mine and I apologize.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Oh, it don't matter at all.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

Comicshow I'll address your concern since I only just now realized you directed it at me. I'm all for discussing post-classics, honestly I would've thought you'd know that by now considering my posting style. To be frank I've got my pick for 2 weeks from now down to 3 possible choices and one is from Season 14, an episode I love but I'm sure most others feel is average at best. My "d'oh" was primarily meant to be funny, and secondarily just meant to show I really don't like Maximum Homerdrive, but let me be clear: I certainly support discussing it and other post-classics.

Anyway with that said, Maximum Homerdrive is officially up for discussion!!!

I understand completely, although it did seem from your comment and a few others last week when @CousinMerl revealed that Tennis the Menace wasn't chosen it seemed like you guys only wanted to review "good" episodes... (and besides, seeing as you don't like this one and others do it should spark a lot of great debates and such)

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

I could understand that Comichshow, and I find Tennis the Menace horrid, worse than this easily, you just happened to catch 2 episodes I actually agree with the common negativity for.

EDIT: Your post initially appeared as 2 to me just now before changing to one on a refresh so you might be right Handsome.

[The Thompsons]

Maximum Homerdrive

I think I'll be repeating what Rasp said about the episode. This is a typical Scully Homer gets a job episode with Homer acting overally compulsive at points (Marge's dinner) and just plain dumb (you're Tony Randall!). There were some good moments however with the horn joke and Homer reminding Bart about the purpose of the road trip. The Mr. Burns run was very well done and the Milhouse birdseed joke in the sub-plot was humorous. I also liked the HAL 9000 reference which leads to the ejection of the auto drive device (and good riddance). The auto-drive conspiracy was yet another zany plot device and a sign that perhaps Swartzwelder needed to recharge the batteries and Scully needed to be more critical of what he was getting from the writers.

Other than the Milhouse joke, the sub-plot was bland and seemed to be just slapped on to kill time, there's not much more to say about it.

Overall it wasn't as bad as I thought it was when it first aired (comparing it to the classic seasons that immediately came before it) but it is still very mediocre. 5/10

[zach]

and just plain dumb (you're Tony Randall!)

that joke is top class hilarity. my favourite of the episode.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Ah I forgot the Milhouse joke and I just watched the episode! So I guess the sub-plot had 2 good moments/things.

Also agreed on Dan Castellaneta's normal HAL voice for the navigation system.

[The Thompsons]

that joke is top class hilarity. my favourite of the episode.

I'm just not going to go there.. too easy.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

I think I liked the Tony Randall stuff simply because of how random it is. Though it probably doesn't speak too well of an episode to say it is the highlight...

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

I'm just not going to go there.. too easy.

You gotta have turbo turds!

[The Thompsons]

You gotta have turbo turds!

Hey, you try playing Ghostbusters without a pause button.

[CousinMerl]

I rewatched the episode and did the review yesterday:




Maximum Homerdrive, written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Swinton Scott, aired the first time on March 29th 1999 and is the seventeenth episode of season 10. The main story has the family visiting to the newly opened meat restaurant the Slaughterhouse where Homer goes up against a trucker, Red Barclay, in a jumbo steak-eating contest; Homer loses to Red, who is the reigning champion in the contest but suddenly dies after finishing his steak, and Homer decides to take on the deceased trucker's last delivery to Atlanta, having Bart tagging along with him. Meanwhile, the somewhat disgruntled Marge sets out on a little "adventure" herself along with Lisa, which is to get a new doorbell. This episode definitely feels like it is from the Scully era with Homer going on a wacky adventure; it starts out pretty good with the Slaughterhouse stuff but when Homer starts his brief career as a trucker it dips a bit in quality. As for the doorbell subplot, it's definitely one of my least favorite subplots; it's rather unnecessary and feels like a forced way to have Marge and Lisa in the story as well. I would have definitely have liked if the subplot was about Lisa protesting against the Slaughterhouse but instead, we got this. As a whole, it's not a terrible episode but it's not that good either; there are some pretty funny moments and the trucker story isn't so bad, but it could have been better; it's something of a mediocre episode to me.

Being from the tenth season where the animation was getting better and better, there are some nice lighting effects with the headlights of Red's truck at night there's some good shadowing as well; I also like the mirror effect on the truck's windshield as Homer and Bart watched the movie at the drive-in theater (seen above). The animators also did a good job animating the truck itself. The characterizations are rather good; Marge is portrayed well and Bart is too (I noticed he seems a bit more worked up here at times, even egging Homer to sock everybody at the restaurant), Lisa is pretty much in character too (but it seems like here they forgot how she was taught to respect meat-eaters in 'Lisa The Vegetarian' and mentioned "lousy meat-eating scum" when referring to the ones behind the idea of the Slaughterhouse. As for Homer, he wasn't characterized too well here and definitely feels like something of a jerk who is thoughtless and perhaps overly stupid; one of those moments I'm not a fan of is when he angrily shoves all the food off the dining room table and then defends that move with a "Didn't I?" when Marge says that he didn't need to do that (I didn't hate how they portrayed him in the episode, they just should have made him less, well, wacky and jerk-y here). The rest of the characters are portrayed in a rather good fashion so there's no real problem with them.

I like the lead-in with the Slaughterhouse and the steak-eating contest (the best part of the episode is the first act and the contest itself is probably the highlight) and while the episode dips in quality as Homer and Bart drives off with Red's truck and the unnecessary and poor sublot, it does keep my interest even though it's not one of the best episodes of the season. It's a silly one, but the idea of the navi-box (I call it that) installed in the trucks so that the drivers can just be lazy and let the truck drive itself, is a pretty funny Swartzwelder-esque idea and works quite well. Also, of course, in a Scully-era fashion, there's an action sequence near the end after Homer has revealed the secret of the navi-box to outsiders and the angry truckers are after him; one thing that I find sort of jarring is that they first are hot on his tail and have truckers jump at the truck he's driving and then they are suddenly all many feet infront of him, blocking the way with their trucks; it's just so sudden and poorly done.. Homer then manages to flip the truck over the blockade of trucks and land safely on the other side and driving off; this moment is definitely impossible and some wacky stuff, but acceptable. Two things I like about the subplot is that the tune of the doorbell Marge and Lisa gets is the "Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear" song which is used as something of Marge & Homer's love theme (it's a nice in-joke) and the amusing apperance of Senor Ding-Dong at the end of the episode; otherwise, other than a pair of humorous moments (one of them including Milhouse), it didn't offer too much.

There are definitely some nice jokes, gags and moments in the episode, such as Marge telling Lisa that maybe the animals at the Slaughterhouse don't mind since they might enjoy being the center of attention, Bart saying that he read that cows like being killed, Mr. Burns having several cows killed as he is choosing one of them to eat before changing his mind and only wanting a glass of milk from another cow (cue funny reaction from said cow before it gets put down as well), "They like me because I'm brave", Homer mistaking Red Barclay for Tony Randall after looking back and forth between Red and the pictures of Red and Tony Randall on the wall, "It's an insult, dad; sock him, sock everybody!", the Heimlich maneuver machine, Homer starting to butter a piece of bread instead of starting to eat the giant steak ("Homer, don't fill up on bread!") - (possibly my favorite funny moment from the episode), Homer hallucination that the cows are talking and mocking him ("Lousy drunks!"), the "I died at the Slaughterhouse" body bags, "He called me greenhorn, I called him Tony Randall; it was a thing we had", Milhouse getting attacked by birds because he was carrying seeds, the two Jehovas Witnesses giving up their job to get new lives, 'The Monster That Ate Everybody' ("It ate everybody"), Homer looking and laughing at the squirrel he sees ("Hey, pay attention and stop looking at that squirrel!"), "Your father traded our tools for M&M's again", the navi-box ejecting itself with a parachute to land safely (wacky as hell but fun). Overall, it was a bit funnier than I remember.

All in all, it's a mediocre episode with an okay, yet still entertaining, main plot and a rather weak subplot; Homer could have been characterized at least a bit better and the subplot should have been a different one (such as my Lisa protest suggestion at the top) or scrapped altogether to give more time and development to the trucking story, but they went ahead and churned it out this way. Again, it's not a terrible episode but it could have been better and it definitely suffers from what plagues several of the season ten episodes; it just has that mediocre feeling to it and I definitely feel that there were a bit too many Homer-heavy goofy episodes during this season, many of them being of the wacky adventure kind. Still, 'Maximum Homerdrive' an episode I could revisit in the future so it's not all that worthless, despite not being one of the real standouts from the season.

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

"Maximum Homerdrive"


Bart with Homer driving Red's truck to make its delivery on time


This episode has never been one of my favorites. It has also never been one of my least favorites. It's always been somewhere in the middle of season 10 and near the middle of Mike Scully's run. It just seems like a typical Scully episode with a wacky Homer main plot and a stupid, pointless subplot. There's nothing horribly wrong with it but then again, nothing is really note-worthy about it either. The first act is defiantly the best while the other two are pretty much equally dull. Characterization was mostly OK with the exception of a few Homer scenes. Both stories had their moments but neither were consistently entertaining.

The main plot is very similar to almost any 'Homer Gets a Job' episode while the subplot is just too much like the painfully dull Vincent Price egg thing in "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" but I guess that's sort of the joke. The plot is pretty thin but there are a few funny gags, as I mentioned above, in both stories...


* Mr Burns choosing which cow to have killed
* Homer thinking Red was Tony Randall
* Marge and Lisa trying to get the doorbell rung was pretty funny (Especially the Jehovah's witnesses and the pizza delivery guy)


Both stories ended very weakly though with Senor Ding Dong being possibly the worst thing about the episode (and leaving a sour taste in your mouth about the episode) I guess if I had to sum it up I'd say that the episode got increasingly worse as it went on but it's not that bad...


12/20 (C+)


(On a side note, you may or may not find interesting that this aired the same night as the first Futurama episode "Space Pilot 3000"...)

[CousinMerl]

raspberry, how exactly did Homer kill Red?; Red was the champ at the contest so he did like he usually did and ate the whole steak and I'm very sure that he was used to being taunted (maybe, do you mean that Homer taunting him was the reason he was indirectly killed by Homer?).

(Oh, and another thing I like about the episode is how Homer's new cap still has the price tag attached).

[Lionel Hutz]

Average season 10 outing.
It's a pretty typical Scully episode, with flourishes of Mirkin thrown in (the speech by the trucker at the end, the Jehovahs Witnesses, Homer being distracted by the squirrel).
I can remember seeing the premiere of this one and thinking it was pretty good, but not particularly memorable. Not much has changed.
The b-story is actually one of my favourite Scully ones. It works as good filler, like the Frostillicus one in Lisa the Simpson.

Best Quotes:

Marge: You still haven't told us why Lenny bit you.
Homer: Well, I really gave him no choice. You see-

Mr. Burns: I think I'll take ... Oooh that one.
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: No, he's a bit listless, isn't he? Give me..Oooh, that spirited fellow!
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: He didn't put up much of a fight. Why don't you pick one for me
Mooooo!
Mr. Burns: On second thought, I'll just have a glass of milk, from THAT cow.
Mooooo!

Homer: What's happening to me? There's still food, but I don't want to eat it. I've become everything I've ever hated!

Dr. Hibbert: This man is dead. Look's to me like meat poisoning .. probably from some other restaurant.

Bart: I want to go with ya, Dad!
Homer: Don't you have school?
Bart: Don't you have work?
Homer: Ah, touche

Marge:.. Lisa you ought to be a doorbell salesman.
Gil: Ah, that's just what I need, another piranha in the tank.

Jehovah's Witness Noreen: Wait, Marlon, I just had a thought. Maybe we're bothering people by trying to change their religion. What if we don't have all the answers?
Jehovah's Witness Marlon: You're right, Noreen. Let's go get real jobs.
Marge: Umm, I would have feigned interest.

Trucker 1: Then we'll have to teach our friend some discretion.
Trucker 2: Yeah, just like we did to Jimmy Hoffa.
Trucker 1: Hey, shut up!

Lisa: Mom, I need to get some sleep. I have a test tomorrow in birds suddenly appear-I mean English.

Senor Ding Dong: Does anyone have any jumper cables .. Oh, you stinking Chevy!

Highlights include the Tony Randall references, the heimlich machine, Homer's hallucination(lousy drunks, I'll show them!), the "truck driving music", Homer pulling his horn(Lousy punk!), Marge and Lisa's unsuccessful attempts at a doorbell ring, Homer and Bart at the drive-in(It ate Everybody, Stupid), The Gassy Knoll, Homer being distracted by the squirrel, and the Autotron bailing out.

[zach]

(lousy drunks, I'll show them!)

haha i forgot about that. love homer's reaction.