NHC Weekly Episode Club v3.0

[zach]

i was actually excited when you picked Tennis The Menace. then i was saddened.

[HMS pinafore]

I would have liked to tear tennis apart but I haven't watched Lisa the Simpson in a while so that's good too.

[CousinMerl]

Sorry that I made some of you disappointed that I wasn't serious with 'Tennis' (I like joking a bit in these threads), but I think we can get some good discussion out of my real choice.

[Alex_Of_Darkness]

I'm was very happy when I saw that you don't really choose Tennis the menace but Lisa the Simpson. I will rematch it friday

[zach]

it's all goooood.

[Mozy]

I want to take part in this but I don't think I'll be able to this coming Saturday and next Saturday. Can I take part when I can or am I out?

[Financial Panther]

You're not required to post your opinion if you're in it. Do it if you want, or don't. Or just post your opinion on some episodes. I think "participating" just means you can pick an episode.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Once Saturday hits you can watch and give your opinion any day that week. And as Panther said you can skip weeks if you want or need to.

[Mozy]

Thanks! I'll be working later on Saturday and Sunday and I'm going out of town next weekend so...

[leprechaun_dan]

So stoked to watch Lisa the Simpson again. Definitely underrated as Cousin Merl said. Thank God it wasn't that other one - and yes, I shall refer to it as the 'other one'

Saturday is tomorrow in my country so I'll probably watch it at midnight in about 6 hours

[HMS pinafore]

I will go an watch it once I find my season 9 dvd

[Mozy]

Seeing I won't be available until Sunday afternoon, I've decided to do it now so I don't fall behind.

Lisa the Simpson

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Lisa episodes, there's just nothing fun about them; either Lisa is "better than everyone" or it's "feel bad for me because I'm different". Although I'm not a fan of these sorts of episodes, there are quite a few things that I'd like to share:

-There were some funny moments in this episode:

-the first conversation between Lisa and Milhouse ("It's call 'lice' and it's not something to be ashamed of."), it's classic Milhouse!
-The smiley face on Bart's homework was mildly amusing.
-Hooray for a Troy McClure appearance! His face was priceless at the end of the video!
-The "Plan B" scene made me laugh because I could relate to Homer and Bart because as a kid, my Mom always said "Dinner's almost done" and it felt like the longest couple minutes of my life!

-The "House of Usher" gag was pretty clever! These are the clever and witty jokes/gags that the Modern Simpsons episodes are missing out on!

-As bad as it sounds, it felt good to see Lisa struggle for once. She always seems above everyone else and has her nose held to the sky at all times so it was good for her to notice what real life is like and what it's like to be human.

Overall, I wasn't a big fan of the episode but it was refreshing to see Lisa just simply be a normal kid for once when she solved the simple puzzle at the end. 3/5 TOPS.

I hope this was what you were all looking for as a response to the thread!

[zach]

don't we discuss the episode the entire week after saturday?

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Discussion was supposed to begin tomorrow and continue until the following Saturday so yeah, Mozy could've posted his thoughts Monday - Friday of next week, but whatever. If discussion starts a bit early on the first week it won't hurt I suppose.

[zach]

yeah.
i'll hold on.

[Mozy]

I'm sorry everyone but I'm new to this and had the spare time right now. We're all human and learn from our mistakes.

[CousinMerl]

We can forgive you this time, but from now on, let's make it a rule that there will be no opinions or discussion posted until Saturday, OK?; if someone isn't available during the weekend, they can post their thoughts on Monday (or Tuesday).

[Mozy]

Well, now I know. Again, I'M SORRY.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Hey it's fine, we had early posters in the last thread initially too.

[CousinMerl]

Hey it's fine, we had early posters in the last thread initially too.

That's right, but from now on, let's have that rule I spoke of above (and you don't have to apologize again, Mozy; it's cool)

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Well naturally seeing as that was a rule to begin with...

[CousinMerl]

I know, but I thought that we'd clarificate it more to avoid any more mistakes (I just added a clarification to the opening post).

Now, let's just await Saturday. I've watched it and has written a longer review; I'm looking forward to sharing it with you people.

[leprechaun_dan]

Well it's Saturday in the sunny yet windy New Zealand so I'll just write out my personal review and opinion now

LISA THE SIMPSON

While not usually a fan of Lisa-centered episodes, I have to say that this episode took a big step in the right direction and produced such a wonderfully creative story that worked very well. The beginning and ending to this episode have always been a personal favourite with Lisa having trouble solving that puzzle and figuring it out in the end. The first time viewing this episode, when she figured it out, I remember saying "Ohhhhhhhhh". The characterizations in this episode are top notch, particularly Homer and Bart having those brawls with buckets on their heads. Funny stuff. And the B-Plot is the one of the very few B-Plots that stand out as clever and remains one of the best. I've always thought of this episode as incredibly underrated but for a Season 9 episode, it stands out as one of the best.

Favourite Quotes:

Troy McClure: Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such other medical films as "Mummy, what's on that man's face?" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"

Billy: Mr McClure, what does DNA stand for?
[Troy looks at camera, not knowing the answer]

I can relate to this quote very well. If someone asked me the same question, I'd end up doing the same

Homer: This is your great Uncle Chet. Go ahead Chet, tell her what you do
Chet: I run an unsuccessful shrimp company
Homer: Oh, but you run it right?
Chet: Oh yeah
Homer: Okay... Uh, this is your second cousin Stanley
Stanley: I shoot birds at the airport
Homer: Everybody hates birds, right?
Homer: You look pretty successful
Relative: Thanks! I play a millionaire at parties! [sighs] At least I'd like to...
Bart: You probably should have researched this first, eh dad?
Homer: What about you?
Relative 2: Well, sir, I step in front of cars and sue the drivers
Relative 3: I beg celebrities for money!
Relative 4: I'm a prison snitch
Relative 5: Jug band manager
Relative 6: My legs hurt

One of my all time favourite scenes from The Simpsons. Very funny yet on the other side, a good insight into the intelligence of the Simpson family males.

Lisa: Maybe I can't concentrate with all your cooties
Milhouse: It's called lice and it's nothing to be ashamed of

Rod and Todd: Show... me... your... t... Hey!
Ned: It says show me your tie, it's cute, c'mon let's go

Favourite moments:

- Bart feeling down because he holds the male genes and in future, he will be unintelligent. Homer cheers him up by saying he'll be a "spectacular failure"
- Lisa's future of being married to Ralph with a southern redneck accent
- Jasper's awakening from the freezer "Moon Pie"
- Ah fuck it, the whole episode is my favourite moment

Overall, I give this episode a 9.4/10 because it doesn't go overboard, it's not a complicated story, it's simple and short but sweet and contains many wonderful moments which therefore earns its spot in my Top 30 favourites list. Good stuff.

And CousinMerl, thanks for choosing this episode. I'd completely forgotten how amazing it is

EDIT: Never mind, Lisa-centered episodes are all awesome. It's the post-classic ones that generally suck

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

There are several solid post-classic Lisa episodes, and several horrid ones. Anyway I've decided that this time around if someone picks an episode that I find particularly interesting I'll try and ask you all some questions that occurred to me, just to attempt to aid discussion. I still haven't re-watched "Lisa the Simpson," but here are the questions that came to my mind after just thinking about the episode. Feel free to address one, all, or none and I'll try and do the same after my re-watch:

1.) I noticed Leprechaun thinks this episode has good characterization for Homer and Bart, but from memory I seem to recall thinking it made them too dumb to emphasize the Simpson gene. How do you feel on this subject?

2.) What do you think of the Simpson gene as a plot device? Does Uncle Herb blatantly contradict it?

3.) More of a topic than a question but I happened to catch "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life" in syndication yesterday and couldn't help but see similarities between the two episodes. Do you agree? Feel free to compare the two although I'd prefer something more than "Lisa the Simpson is good, Life was crap."

I dunno if I'll re-watch tonight or not, but we'll see! Less than 1 hour before Saturday!

[HMS pinafore]

Lisa The Simpson

Lisa has always been an outcast in the Simpson family and this episode explores just why that is. After being unable to figure out a brain-teaser Lisa start’s to feel like she is unable to do anything right. She is then told by Grandpa that due to the “Simpson Gene” she will lose her intelligence. At first she tries to fight this but after a while she just gives up to the fact that she is due for a life of disappointment. Lisa comes down from her room and sits in front of the T.V with Bart and Homer, and tries to act like one of them. This scene on the couch is one of the very best scenes in the history of the show. It’s such a soul-crushing experience for Lisa but still stays funny throughout.
Fat Lisa.png
Lisa realises that she has to make the most of her brain while she can so she spends that night enjoying the things that are important to her. During this time Homer decides that he has to calm Lisa’s fears about the Simpson gene so he enlists the help of the extended Simpson family to show Lisa that she can still be successful in life. The Scene with the Simpson relatives is an absolutely hilarious train wreck of Homer’s intentions as we find out that all of the Simpsons male relatives are complete loser’s and it saddens me to see them never return. In the end it turns out that the Simpson women turn out ok due to the Simpson gene only affecting the Y chromosome, but I don’t know if I am totally on board with the whole Simpson males are all failures thing. I mean Herb was a pretty clever guy and in my Simpson Bart ends up becoming chief justice of the Supreme Court, (Although you could argue that Herb is an idiot for letting Homer ruin his company in the first place ...) But overall this is easily one of the best episodes of the 9th season, (I would place it in 3rd place of season 9 tied with Simpson tide) and one of the best of the series. Lisa the Simpson is an underated, consistently funny and touching episode.

9/10

Other notes and notable quotes.
After 8 years you start to lose your intelligence, and a few years later you are a compleat idiot? Sounds like the show suffers from the Simpson gene to me, In fact this episode feels like Lisa’s last night of intelligence before the inevitable “Dumbining” of the show since this is the last episode from the Bill and Josh era.

Nice attention to detail as Bart is the only kid apart from Lisa not figure out the Picto-puzzle to help show the effect of the Simpson gene.

Lisa: Maybe I can't concentrate because of all of your COOTIES!
Milhouse: It's called lice and it's nothing to be ashamed of. (and the next time we see Milhouse he is still scratching his head.)

Nice Shot of the teachers and students running out of the school excitedly at the end of class time and another shot of them walking in to school the next day looking depressed.

I have still yet to mention the Sub-plot for this episode in which Jasper freezes himself in the Kwik-E-Mart. There isn’t much of a plot here but every line in it is just hilarious (Homer with novelty pens, “Hi Frozen body”, “The Behold the can of mystery! The label vanished many years ago. What strange wonders lie inside? Treasure? ..Dog food?”, and “Moon Pies, What a time to be alive!" Defiantly one of my favourite Sub-plots.

The DNA film is ok but there have been better (Although Troy’s blank look at the end of the film when he is asked what DNA stands for is Hilarious).

Nice animation of Homer and Bart watching T.V

"When Buildings Collapse" is great as well as Homers and Barts over the top reactions to the show. (As is Bart’s line “The best part was when the buildings fell down!”)

So the “Nude-E-Mart” is some kind of Strip club/convince store I guess. And we see “Just stamp the ticket” guy walk in obviously looking to getting his “Ticket Stamped”

I love the runner about proposition 305 (Mooching war widows...)

“Get me my Conversation hat.”

I can’t do this scene any justice talking about it so I will just post the whole quote instead
Homer: I rounded up every Simpson in the tri-city area so I can prove to
you there's nothing wrong with the Simpson genes. This is your
great uncle Chet. Go ahead, Chet. Tell her what you do.
Chet: I run an unsuccessful shrimp company.
Homer: Oh.. but you.. RUN it.. right?
Chet: OH yeah.
Homer: Okay.. uh.. this is your second cousin, Stanley!
Stanley: Um.. I shoot birds at the airport.
Homer: Everybody hates birds.. right? Wehh, you look pretty successful!
Guy: Thanks! I play a millionaire at parties. At least,
I'd.. like to.
Bart: You probably should have researched this first, eh dad?
Homer: What about you?
Guy 2: Well, sir, I step in front of cars and sue the drivers.
Guy 3: I beg celebrities for money!
Guy 4: I'm a prison snitch.
Guy 5: Jug band manager.
Guy 6: My legs hurt.

[Financial Panther]

Stupid Eastern time people...get to do everything first...

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

That pic you posted HMS pinafore is actually perhaps the best example of why the way Homer and Bart are depicted here kinda bugs me. I know the joke is supposed to involve them being mindless zombies which we've seen before but....I dunno, still irks me.

[HMS pinafore]

That pic you posted HMS pinafore is actually perhaps the best example of why the way Homer and Bart are depicted here kinda bugs me. I know the joke is supposed to involve them being mindless zombies which we've seen before but....I dunno, still irks me.

I felt like it stretched their charactizations but it worked well within the story so I don't really mind and I never felt like it got out of control like in say, the Scully era.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

I will say I didn't notice the "eight years" then decline comment which can clearly be interpreted as a prediction for the series as a whole. Whether or not you agree with it it seems pretty mean-spirited to me. Maybe I'm looking WAY too deeply into it though I still need to watch the episode after all.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

@CousinMerl, didn't you do that exact same trick in the last episode club?

Who cares? NHC Weekly Episode Club is back baby!

I'll try to get a review up in due time; maybe take some tricks from the Babar reviews I've been doing. This is going to be so fun...