The Simpsons - Season 35 |OT| Full Steam Ahead to the Next 750 Hams
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S35E14 - Night of the Living Wage
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On a tight schedule this week with eclipse festivities on deck tomorrow, so I'll make this brief.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING WAGE - Sunday, April 7th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF07 (#764) / Writer = Cesar Mazariegos / Director = Chris Clements / Showrunner = Rob LaZebnik
MARGE TRIES TO START A UNION
Marge gets a job in a high-pressure ghost kitchen, but when she tries to start a union, she gets more than she collectively bargained for.
View: https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1775978109386305967
EPISODE PREVIEW
Mazariegos is back to try and revisit some of the format-bending qualities that made his experiments with A Serious Flanders, I, Carumbus and Not It such successes (all landing spots in the HD Era's Top 50 list) by interweaving some of those larger than life parody/satire elements into a conventional episode narrative in a way that Homer's Crossing struggled to thread the needle on - outside of its Fire & Ice-inspired opening.
LaZebnik's last episode (Do the Wrong Thing) was well-received and he's been making ambitious forays of late on the presentation end of things while staying true to his social commentary roots that his episodes have largely excelled at over his fellow co-runners.
The Bear parody from the preview clip that was shared was on point... my biggest concern is how well all of these disparate elements come together or whether the episode struggles with a focused message and cohesive storytelling... which are obstacles both Mazariegos and LaZebnik have sometimes struggled with. I expect this will be solid - probably on par with the aforementioned Do the Wrong Thing and Lisa Gets an F1 but don't feel you have to drop everything to watch this right away if you've got other things on the go. The litany of supporting characters chosen to partake in this union-focused storyline are not among the show's strongest.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING WAGE - Sunday, April 7th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF07 (#764) / Writer = Cesar Mazariegos / Director = Chris Clements / Showrunner = Rob LaZebnik
MARGE TRIES TO START A UNION
Marge gets a job in a high-pressure ghost kitchen, but when she tries to start a union, she gets more than she collectively bargained for.
View: https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1775978109386305967
EPISODE PREVIEW
Mazariegos is back to try and revisit some of the format-bending qualities that made his experiments with A Serious Flanders, I, Carumbus and Not It such successes (all landing spots in the HD Era's Top 50 list) by interweaving some of those larger than life parody/satire elements into a conventional episode narrative in a way that Homer's Crossing struggled to thread the needle on - outside of its Fire & Ice-inspired opening.
LaZebnik's last episode (Do the Wrong Thing) was well-received and he's been making ambitious forays of late on the presentation end of things while staying true to his social commentary roots that his episodes have largely excelled at over his fellow co-runners.
The Bear parody from the preview clip that was shared was on point... my biggest concern is how well all of these disparate elements come together or whether the episode struggles with a focused message and cohesive storytelling... which are obstacles both Mazariegos and LaZebnik have sometimes struggled with. I expect this will be solid - probably on par with the aforementioned Do the Wrong Thing and Lisa Gets an F1 but don't feel you have to drop everything to watch this right away if you've got other things on the go. The litany of supporting characters chosen to partake in this union-focused storyline are not among the show's strongest.
Interesting idea of a plot. We'll see just how well it turns out. As a real life Gill fan, I wanna see what they do with him in this one... (ah who am I kidding, he's gonna get beaten down isnt he lol)
S35E15 - Cremains of the Day
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New episode tonight...
CREMAINS OF THE DAY - Sunday, April 21st
Episode Production Code = 35ABF09 (#765) / Writer = John Frink / Director = Gabriel DeFrancesco / Showrunner = Tim Long
When someone in Homer's life passes away, he and guys from Moe's go on a road trip to scatter the ashes... but will their friendship die as well?
EPISODE PREVIEW
RIP Larry the Barfly... status will soon be changed from Alive to Dead
Tonight is the de facto followup episode from scriptwriter John Frink in the wake of modern classics Pixelated and Afraid and Bartless. Now the thing about those two episodes is that they were backed by superlative showrunning courtesy of Carolyn Omine and Brian Kelley. Whereas Tim Long hasn't been anywhere close to their level since Season 33.
John Frink is one of the best writers on staff... but he's not the model of consistency that Dan Vebber is (outside of Al Jean's lax showrunning). But nobody in the writer's room has been hotter than Frink the past two years.
That said, I'm a little concerned about tonight's premise. It never seems to go well when they make a big deal about a character that has been treated like chopped liver for so many years passing away and then trying to convince us that the folks around him actually gave a damn about them no longer being around.
It's a tough sell... especially when you're also apparently short-shrifting fellow barflies Sam and Barney to roll ahead with the familiar foursome of Homer, Moe, Carl and Lenny. (To say nothing of Maya, whom Frink first introduced us to back in Season 20 and has remained missing in action for 2 1/2 years since getting engaged to Moe.)
While I'm more optimistic about tonight's episode than I am for the next two, I'm still not especially sold on tonight's episode coming anywhere close to the bar of quality of Frink's previous two outings.
CREMAINS OF THE DAY - Sunday, April 21st
Episode Production Code = 35ABF09 (#765) / Writer = John Frink / Director = Gabriel DeFrancesco / Showrunner = Tim Long
When someone in Homer's life passes away, he and guys from Moe's go on a road trip to scatter the ashes... but will their friendship die as well?
EPISODE PREVIEW
RIP Larry the Barfly... status will soon be changed from Alive to Dead
Tonight is the de facto followup episode from scriptwriter John Frink in the wake of modern classics Pixelated and Afraid and Bartless. Now the thing about those two episodes is that they were backed by superlative showrunning courtesy of Carolyn Omine and Brian Kelley. Whereas Tim Long hasn't been anywhere close to their level since Season 33.
John Frink is one of the best writers on staff... but he's not the model of consistency that Dan Vebber is (outside of Al Jean's lax showrunning). But nobody in the writer's room has been hotter than Frink the past two years.
That said, I'm a little concerned about tonight's premise. It never seems to go well when they make a big deal about a character that has been treated like chopped liver for so many years passing away and then trying to convince us that the folks around him actually gave a damn about them no longer being around.
It's a tough sell... especially when you're also apparently short-shrifting fellow barflies Sam and Barney to roll ahead with the familiar foursome of Homer, Moe, Carl and Lenny. (To say nothing of Maya, whom Frink first introduced us to back in Season 20 and has remained missing in action for 2 1/2 years since getting engaged to Moe.)
While I'm more optimistic about tonight's episode than I am for the next two, I'm still not especially sold on tonight's episode coming anywhere close to the bar of quality of Frink's previous two outings.
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Wow, had no idea the dude is named Larry. This feels like the trademark "need a death but cant get rid of main characters so pick someone only in the background" type plot. Like how they offed Krusty's father who's basically never used prior, so it didnt really feel earned.
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I was relatively impressed with last night's episode all things considered despite my lukewarm expectations. Easily Tim Long's best episode as showrunner since Season 33.
Speaking of which, based on the latest intel from the show's production staff, here is the expected final episode allocation for the Season 35 production season (half of which is being held over to Season 36) by showrunner...
Speaking of which, based on the latest intel from the show's production staff, here is the expected final episode allocation for the Season 35 production season (half of which is being held over to Season 36) by showrunner...
- Michael Price - 5 Episodes
- Al Jean - 4 Episodes
- Brian Kelley - 4 Episodes
- Rob LaZebnik - 4 Episodes
- Tim Long - 4 Episodes
- Carolyn Omine - 1 Episode (which we should expect to see around Christmas)
On a tight schedule this week with eclipse festivities on deck tomorrow, so I'll make this brief.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING WAGE - Sunday, April 7th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF07 (#764) / Writer = Cesar Mazariegos / Director = Chris Clements / Showrunner = Rob LaZebnik
MARGE TRIES TO START A UNION
Marge gets a job in a high-pressure ghost kitchen, but when she tries to start a union, she gets more than she collectively bargained for.
View: https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1775978109386305967
EPISODE PREVIEW
Mazariegos is back to try and revisit some of the format-bending qualities that made his experiments with A Serious Flanders, I, Carumbus and Not It such successes (all landing spots in the HD Era's Top 50 list) by interweaving some of those larger than life parody/satire elements into a conventional episode narrative in a way that Homer's Crossing struggled to thread the needle on - outside of its Fire & Ice-inspired opening.
LaZebnik's last episode (Do the Wrong Thing) was well-received and he's been making ambitious forays of late on the presentation end of things while staying true to his social commentary roots that his episodes have largely excelled at over his fellow co-runners.
The Bear parody from the preview clip that was shared was on point... my biggest concern is how well all of these disparate elements come together or whether the episode struggles with a focused message and cohesive storytelling... which are obstacles both Mazariegos and LaZebnik have sometimes struggled with. I expect this will be solid - probably on par with the aforementioned Do the Wrong Thing and Lisa Gets an F1 but don't feel you have to drop everything to watch this right away if you've got other things on the go. The litany of supporting characters chosen to partake in this union-focused storyline are not among the show's strongest.
I really need to catch up. Loved how they handled the camera and boarding for that clip with Marge. Hopefully the episode delivered.
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View: https://youtu.be/D4wIKaEsW14
If The Simpsons ever does a Lord of the Rings send-up (well, apart from that one couch gag), I hope the fellowship leaves Sam at home there too so as to not busy up the plot unnecessarily. Also, because of this decision, Sauron should win.
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Jims dives into one of the hidden gem episodes of the HD era...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF8_pnmcBAM
Love how the Lovejoys are employed in this episode. It's easily one of their best showcases and it's a shame they're flagrantly ignored or utilized poorly otherwise.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF8_pnmcBAM
Love how the Lovejoys are employed in this episode. It's easily one of their best showcases and it's a shame they're flagrantly ignored or utilized poorly otherwise.
This is definitely my favorite episode for the Lovejoys. I feel kinda bad that the episode makes fun of Helen in that "Belladonna" scene (with Marge making a puking reaction) because it is refreshing seeing her and Tim let loose a little.
I feel like you can't really do that dynamic much with them, because The Simpsons is designed around broader stereotypes. But I wish there was an implied running joke that the Lovejoys have a secret wild streak to them. I would definitely like them more.
(Aside from that sex shop joke, I mean) 🤣
Finally got around to the Larry episode. It was really good! As a barfly myself, I thought it was a good concept and a very focused episode.
- Carl's new voice actor got his standout episode, but you're finally seeing how well he really blends in with the rest of the town.
- Loved Barney's gag
- Animation had some oddly enjoyable quirks, especially with Moe.
- Bruno Wifebanger. Maybe that's what happened to Moe's wife.
- Carl's new voice actor got his standout episode, but you're finally seeing how well he really blends in with the rest of the town.
- Loved Barney's gag
- Animation had some oddly enjoyable quirks, especially with Moe.
- Bruno Wifebanger. Maybe that's what happened to Moe's wife.
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Yay for on the nose references in lieu of actual storytelling. No doubt Burns and Smithers will point out that it's Oppenheimer and have a discussion about it instead of simply letting the obvious reference go by unacknowledged, too.
(Apologies for coming off jaded but it's hard not to with Al Jean episodes these days. Especially when he's the one trumpeting out the reference.)
(Apologies for coming off jaded but it's hard not to with Al Jean episodes these days. Especially when he's the one trumpeting out the reference.)
This time, I get to share a Simpsons video I watched recently!
This guy recently did a video where he tried to solve Who Shot Mr. Burns before they reveal the solution. This is the same person who did this for Twin Peaks. It's really interesting seeing his thought process so many years after the fact.
View: https://youtu.be/BOzjFwD9ncY?si=v8se9pmj_eK-LzMe
This guy recently did a video where he tried to solve Who Shot Mr. Burns before they reveal the solution. This is the same person who did this for Twin Peaks. It's really interesting seeing his thought process so many years after the fact.
View: https://youtu.be/BOzjFwD9ncY?si=v8se9pmj_eK-LzMe
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Gave this a watch yesterday when it hit my feed. Was relatively impressed by Chase's deductive reasoning.
He got oh so close to cracking the mystery but veered away from Maggie at the end.
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Don't necessarily agree with this take but I've heard plenty worse from an outsider's perspective and it was delivered amicably and invited conversation and debate so why not give it some clicks...
View: https://youtu.be/bWEpWvIvZOU
We're now in the home stretch of Season 35 with only three episodes remaining set to air on consecutive weekends for the first time in a LONG while, so I'll do what I can to keep this thread both current and hopping over the remaining 2 1/2 weeks or so.
View: https://youtu.be/bWEpWvIvZOU
We're now in the home stretch of Season 35 with only three episodes remaining set to air on consecutive weekends for the first time in a LONG while, so I'll do what I can to keep this thread both current and hopping over the remaining 2 1/2 weeks or so.
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New Disney+ Simpsons short on track for release next Friday...
View: https://twitter.com/AlJean/status/1786068911450185772
Not expecting much from this Stampy / Dumbo / Disney moms / Marge appreciation short... but hey, at least it's appropriately Marge-centric given that Season 35 has largely been her season. So no complaints from me on that front even if I expect the worst from it...
And this Sunday's episode.
And the episode after that.
But don't worry... the season finale sounds like it'll deliver.
View: https://twitter.com/AlJean/status/1786068911450185772
Not expecting much from this Stampy / Dumbo / Disney moms / Marge appreciation short... but hey, at least it's appropriately Marge-centric given that Season 35 has largely been her season. So no complaints from me on that front even if I expect the worst from it...
And this Sunday's episode.
And the episode after that.
But don't worry... the season finale sounds like it'll deliver.
Way too much fluff and unnecessary tangents for an argument that essentially boils down to "end it with a 2nd movie". This video could have been 2 minutes long. Too many video essays are like this nowadays: all filler, no killer.
Anyways, onto the subject itself. Yeah, there should be a 2nd movie, and I remember hearing rumors a few months ago that it was in the works. I think to end the series they should bring back all the greatest writers throughout the series' history to write banger episodes for the final season, and also have a final bombastic movie. At this point they might as well get to season 40, since they show know signs of stopping now.
S35E16 - The Tell-Tale Pants
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New episode tonight... and because I'm throwing my preview together at the last possible second, you can already guess how enthused I am about it.
THE TELL-TALE PANTS - Sunday, May 5th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF10 (#766) / Writer & Showrunner = Al Jean / Director = Steven Dean Moore
Marge comes upon a surprising windfall and, angry with Homer, spends it secretly on herself.
EPISODE PREVIEW
Now I've always been consistent about saying that I'll invariably trust Al Jean to showrun his own scripts moreso than I'll trust in Al Jean to showrun someone else's script in terms of eventual quality. And that logic still holds... somewhat. While Mothers and Other Strangers and The Many Saints of Springfield were by no stretch of the imagination what one would deem to be "good"... they weren't unwatchable like most of the other efforts we get from the Jean umbrella these days (outside of like one episode per season... last season that was Pin Gal).
That said, I've also had to lower my bar of expectation for his own scripted episodes as well from the semi-respectable state they found themselves in through Season 30's Daddicus Finch. So yeah, I'm not expecting much from this... especially with "yet another marriage crisis" premise at its center. Marge isn't even secretly buying something we can watch her have fun with. Nope, she's buying a ring. Oooh, how exciting for the viewers!
Should you go out of your way to watch this episode at the top of the hour? No, probably not. In fact, I would advise you to instead seek out one of the highlight episodes from earlier this season instead.
We've got another likely dud lined up next weekend prior to what should be a banger of a season finale. So this strike-shortened season will go out on a high note.
THE TELL-TALE PANTS - Sunday, May 5th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF10 (#766) / Writer & Showrunner = Al Jean / Director = Steven Dean Moore
Marge comes upon a surprising windfall and, angry with Homer, spends it secretly on herself.
EPISODE PREVIEW
Now I've always been consistent about saying that I'll invariably trust Al Jean to showrun his own scripts moreso than I'll trust in Al Jean to showrun someone else's script in terms of eventual quality. And that logic still holds... somewhat. While Mothers and Other Strangers and The Many Saints of Springfield were by no stretch of the imagination what one would deem to be "good"... they weren't unwatchable like most of the other efforts we get from the Jean umbrella these days (outside of like one episode per season... last season that was Pin Gal).
That said, I've also had to lower my bar of expectation for his own scripted episodes as well from the semi-respectable state they found themselves in through Season 30's Daddicus Finch. So yeah, I'm not expecting much from this... especially with "yet another marriage crisis" premise at its center. Marge isn't even secretly buying something we can watch her have fun with. Nope, she's buying a ring. Oooh, how exciting for the viewers!
Should you go out of your way to watch this episode at the top of the hour? No, probably not. In fact, I would advise you to instead seek out one of the highlight episodes from earlier this season instead.
We've got another likely dud lined up next weekend prior to what should be a banger of a season finale. So this strike-shortened season will go out on a high note.
If you trained an A.I. on nothing but Jean era Simpsons episodes and then asked it to write its own I bet it would look an awful lot like last night's episode. It's time for Jean to retire and stop pulling down the average of every season.
You nailed it. That scene was painful.
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The joke's on us. Al Jean was secretly replaced by an A.I. named AI Jean several years ago and no one at FOX or Disney has been able to tell the difference.
The AI was especially confused this weekend because it decided to write an episode about jeans.
I was mostly bored watching the episode yesterday, but today I feel more actively annoyed by it. That AI description is so good, it's just grabbing a bunch of marriage crisis tropes from the later seasons and generating this bland paint-by-numbers story.
I respect Al Jean's work, but this episode is not good enough anymore. It brings literally nothing new to the table. You can't just throw in two songs and an Oppenheimer reference and call it fresh.
I respect Al Jean's work, but this episode is not good enough anymore. It brings literally nothing new to the table. You can't just throw in two songs and an Oppenheimer reference and call it fresh.
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View: https://youtu.be/5EAII_18E38
There are LOTS of things The Simpsons doesn't handle well. But yeah, this is a big one to talk about.
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Whatever you do... do NOT watch the new Disney+ short that just dropped an hour ago. It's the worst thing this franchise has produced in over 3 years. It's the worst of the Disney+ shorts. The only positive thing I can say is that I'm glad it exists if it means Jean is kept to 4 episodes/season or less. But that does not mean you should actively go out of your way and watch it. You will want the 4 minutes of your life that were wasted back if you do.
I just watched it and don't know what I expected. Wow. That was beyond god awful. Who are they making these shorts for? I'm yet to see one that wasn't cringe. It can't be for the fun and appeal of seeing the Simpsons interact with the Disney's other IP's because they manage to draw them in the ugliest way possible with terrible voices and out of place humour. It's a very sad thing to see.
I thought the episode was nice. Ending felt a bit rushed but unexpected.
What about the Mr. Burns voice? I thought it sounded noticeably off in this episode.
What about the Mr. Burns voice? I thought it sounded noticeably off in this episode.
S35E17 - The Tipping Point
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Penultimate episode of the show's shortest season since Season 1 is on deck tonight. We're closing out Season 25 with back-to-back episodes from newest showrunner, Michael Price. I'm much more enthusiastic about one of these than the other. Read on to find out which bucket this episode falls into...
THE TIPPING POINT - Sunday, May 12th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF11 (#767) / Writer = J. Stewart Burns / Director = Matthew Nastuk / Showrunner = Michael Price
Homer loses his mind over tipping culture run amok.
EPISODE PREVIEW
The first episode ever to be derived from a scriptwriter perusing old discussion threads from Resetera and REDACTED, we have ourselves a long overdue foray into tipping culture wars. Somehow I doubt the topic is going to be handled with the degree of civility that those threads were... and those threads weren't much civil at all.
This is Price's 3rd episode since donning the co-runner hat to kick off the new production season. His first episode, Ae Bonny Romance, boasted a lot of characters yelling incoherently over the slightest inconvenience and wasn't very good despite boasting a literal earworm of a musical number from Belle and Sebastian. His second episode, Lisa Gets an F1, was much better... but also boasted a Homer that yelled incoherently over his driving skills being questioned and an insufferable caricature of Jared Leto's Paolo from House of Gucci (one that was so on the nose that they literally give their caricature the same name in case you didn't get the connection).
So we have a common thread of characters yelling incoherently and being set off by the slightest thing. Seems very much in line with what we're in store for tonight. It's also very much in line with Price's F is for Family which ran for five seasons on Netflix. The nice thing about F is for Family is that as a serialized comedy, it had the opportunity to build up tension and events over time before paying them off and thus the drastic reactions didn't come off as inorganid and absurd. The Simpsons lacks that luxury due to its episodic structure.
The other issue that both episodes had is that they were a mite unfocused. Ae Bonny Romance especially struggled with this as it attempted to juggle a variety of storylines which CAN work well for travel episodes if they're reinforcing one another like the excellent Livin la Pura Vida, but that was not the case here. Lisa Gets an F1 started off straightforward but eventually built to a racing doc parody format out of nowhere in Act 2 and brought in the Paolo subplot with Bart as his lackey that only detracted from the main crux of the episode. So we'll have to be on the lookout for things getting unnecessarily muddled... especially if the litany of this week's guest content creators get leveraged beyond merely being brought in for a zany musical number.
Lastly, we have to discuss tonight's scriptwriter... J. Stewart Burns. His last great episode under the Selman umbrella was a brilliant takedown of media piracy that garnered awards recognition in Steal This Episode. Unfortunately, it's now been over a decade since that episode aired and Burns has been largely underwhelming on a consistent basis moreso than anyone else on staff in the years since. His effort last season, Write Off This Episode, which took on opportunistic profit-seeking charity enterprises and homelessness did not land well and was probably that season's most forgettable and underwhelming episode.
So yeah, I don't have especially high hopes for this one. Next week's finale is a Vebber script with a much stronger track record behind it so I feel much more confident in that one turning out decent even in light of the Price reservations I noted above.
THE TIPPING POINT - Sunday, May 12th
Episode Production Code = 35ABF11 (#767) / Writer = J. Stewart Burns / Director = Matthew Nastuk / Showrunner = Michael Price
Homer loses his mind over tipping culture run amok.
EPISODE PREVIEW
The first episode ever to be derived from a scriptwriter perusing old discussion threads from Resetera and REDACTED, we have ourselves a long overdue foray into tipping culture wars. Somehow I doubt the topic is going to be handled with the degree of civility that those threads were... and those threads weren't much civil at all.
This is Price's 3rd episode since donning the co-runner hat to kick off the new production season. His first episode, Ae Bonny Romance, boasted a lot of characters yelling incoherently over the slightest inconvenience and wasn't very good despite boasting a literal earworm of a musical number from Belle and Sebastian. His second episode, Lisa Gets an F1, was much better... but also boasted a Homer that yelled incoherently over his driving skills being questioned and an insufferable caricature of Jared Leto's Paolo from House of Gucci (one that was so on the nose that they literally give their caricature the same name in case you didn't get the connection).
So we have a common thread of characters yelling incoherently and being set off by the slightest thing. Seems very much in line with what we're in store for tonight. It's also very much in line with Price's F is for Family which ran for five seasons on Netflix. The nice thing about F is for Family is that as a serialized comedy, it had the opportunity to build up tension and events over time before paying them off and thus the drastic reactions didn't come off as inorganid and absurd. The Simpsons lacks that luxury due to its episodic structure.
The other issue that both episodes had is that they were a mite unfocused. Ae Bonny Romance especially struggled with this as it attempted to juggle a variety of storylines which CAN work well for travel episodes if they're reinforcing one another like the excellent Livin la Pura Vida, but that was not the case here. Lisa Gets an F1 started off straightforward but eventually built to a racing doc parody format out of nowhere in Act 2 and brought in the Paolo subplot with Bart as his lackey that only detracted from the main crux of the episode. So we'll have to be on the lookout for things getting unnecessarily muddled... especially if the litany of this week's guest content creators get leveraged beyond merely being brought in for a zany musical number.
Lastly, we have to discuss tonight's scriptwriter... J. Stewart Burns. His last great episode under the Selman umbrella was a brilliant takedown of media piracy that garnered awards recognition in Steal This Episode. Unfortunately, it's now been over a decade since that episode aired and Burns has been largely underwhelming on a consistent basis moreso than anyone else on staff in the years since. His effort last season, Write Off This Episode, which took on opportunistic profit-seeking charity enterprises and homelessness did not land well and was probably that season's most forgettable and underwhelming episode.
So yeah, I don't have especially high hopes for this one. Next week's finale is a Vebber script with a much stronger track record behind it so I feel much more confident in that one turning out decent even in light of the Price reservations I noted above.
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View: https://x.com/TheRealJimsYT/status/1789817939564122123
I enjoyed this one as well... even if we've seen Homer fall prey to addiction countless times before.
Great vid, and kinda highlights several eps I dont like (especially the essentially fake out ones that go back to "normal" by the end).
I feel even when its done right its handled wrong. Losing Edna is still a gut punch and writers not scrambling to get a replacement full time teacher for Bart asap harmed his character for years I feel, because the school is a huge part for Bart, felt like his stories were hampered because they couldnt do as much of him in school.
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That's still a fundamental problem despite the fact that he's had a new permanent teacher for over two years now. The writers are highly resistant towards doing any stories with Springfield Elementary these days. Almost like Wallace's departure gave them permission to move away from it and they're heavily resistant towards going back to it now.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br26hdoN5dU
Will take a look at the vid thanks. And yeah I agree. I feel the whole status quo thing doesnt help either, with them so resistant also to growth/change in characters. Dont get me started on what they did (or havent done) to Apu either... Its a shame... you have a great Carl spotlight episode, some great Marge episodes, and even hints at progress with Moe, but it so rarely feels like that stuff actually gets expanded on in future seasons. I know its probably a polarising topic/opinion, but honestly I love what South Park did in terms of breaking the status quo.
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I like the idea of miniature serialized story arcs even if I understand The Simpsons being resistant to going down that route or muddying up the status quo too much.
I really think they missed an opportunity not capitalizing on Michael Price being brought on as a new co-runner to not go that route with 4-episode story arcs with carryover storyline progression to book-end each season (spanning the final two episodes of each season and carrying over to the first two episodes of the next; while going the traditional route with the other 18 episodes). Essentially allowing them to dip their toe into the way South Park does things - not to mention shows like BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth and Price's own F is for Family - without fully committing or deviating too much.
Not only would it be a fresh concept for the Simpsons framework but it would provide the opportunity for consequential cliffhangers between May and September each season (giving something for folks to catch up on and talk about over the summer - not unlike Who Shot Mr. Burns) but it would allow for a bump in hype each September as well as serving to prop up those last two airings in May which have invariably dumped The Simpsons out of its 1st overall rated sitcom spot each of the past several years (a formula which is set to be replicated once again this week).
It would certainly give the series itself a shot in the arm moreso than the annual May Disney+ short which never seems to prop up the show's rating one iota and only contributes to negative hype as the show chases Disney memes and franchise crossover relevancy.
Yeah, agree 100%. I just think even little things like being able to reference what happened last week (or last season) with having a (s)Midge of character growth would be a fresh idea for the series. Even Futurama, heck even King of the Hill would do this at certain points and by and large it worked.
Its just frustrating that their are some legit excellent episodes these last few seasons, and yet there's a few real duffers as well... Its not a dead series like some love to say, but its so close to being much more again.
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Just polished off the annual refresh of the consensus SD Post-Classic Era Top 50 Episode List (found near the top of this thread).
Only one change of note this year... although interestingly enough, one that doesn't include any of the 6 episodes swapped last May.
CHANGES FROM 2023 (updated 5/17/24)
Added
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.89 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.2 out of 10
McNuggets are back on the menu!
The episode that Jims recently heralded as "I can't believe it's not constantly being talked about as one of the great post-Classic Simpsons" and his personal 2nd best episode from Season 14, The Dad Who Knew Too Little managed to clear enough rounding errors and poll adjustments to wind up back in the Top 50 after an almost 4-year absence.
I made a point of singing its praises back when Jims first released his middle season Hidden Gems video and my stance has remained unchanged since then... it's a special episode.
Only one change of note this year... although interestingly enough, one that doesn't include any of the 6 episodes swapped last May.
CHANGES FROM 2023 (updated 5/17/24)
Added
- The Dad Who Knew Too Little
- Dial "N" for Nerder
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.89 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.2 out of 10
McNuggets are back on the menu!
The episode that Jims recently heralded as "I can't believe it's not constantly being talked about as one of the great post-Classic Simpsons" and his personal 2nd best episode from Season 14, The Dad Who Knew Too Little managed to clear enough rounding errors and poll adjustments to wind up back in the Top 50 after an almost 4-year absence.
I made a point of singing its praises back when Jims first released his middle season Hidden Gems video and my stance has remained unchanged since then... it's a special episode.
S35E18 - Bart's Brain
New
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It's season finale night!
The OP has been fully caught up and updated accounting for all of the greatest (and not-so-greatest) hits from this strike-shortened season. We've been treated to two modern classics in A Mid-Childhood Night's Dream and Clan of the Cave Mom, three other well-received episodes and a Treehouse of Horror special with an absolute banger of a Cape Feare callback segment. Not too shabby for 18 episodes... although not without opportunities to be even better.
I've summarized my thoughts on the past season in a lengthy post over at the No Homers Club which can be perused here if you'd like to know my general thoughts on the past 8 months of the show. But for now, it's time to delve into what we can expect later tonight...
BART'S BRAIN - Sunday, May 19th * SEASON FINALE *
Episode Production Code = 35ABF12 (#768) / Writer = Dan Vebber / Showrunner = Michael Price
Bart makes a new friend.
View: https://x.com/TheSimpsons/status/1791514052042035596
EPISODE PREVIEW
What a riveting and exciting premise! Portends so much greatness.
Okay, in all seriousness, premises are kept intentionally vague by the marketing department for reasons. If Bart was merely befriending a new character as he did in such episodes as Pranks and Greens (Andy), The Debarted (Donny), Diggs, Bart the Cool Kid (Orion) or Bart's New Friend (Homer), we'd be seeing them interact in promo material and the "premise" would be a lot more specific than "Bart makes a new friend".
One clear tell on what to expect is that we see Bart excitedly rummaging through Abe's old army locker and showing off his bounty to Herman (more of Herman is always a good thing). No Abe to be seen in any of the promo material, incidentally... which is highly conspicuous. My personal takeaway - which could be completely off-base - is that Bart imagines up a new friend based on a younger version of his grandfather and he gets up to all manner of mischief across Springfield with this "new friend" as either a cohort or scapegoat in a prank spree.
Or perhaps Bart just befriends the brain in a jar seen ruminating across various promotional teases... I mean, if Moe's best friend can be a bar rag, why can't the idea of a jarred brain work? It'll be like the bit with Bart and the skull from Last Barfighter... just stretched out over 22 minutes. What could go wrong?
However this mystery unfolds, Bart's preeminent proud underachiever has been relegated to one single centric episode per season these days so I'm happy that we're not winding up this one without filling the requisite Bartman quota.
As for what to expect tonight in terms of quality for Michael Price's 2nd consecutive episode as co-runner, the key variable framing expectations here is the presence of Dan Vebber as head scriptwriter. Vebber boasts an unblemished string of well-received, critically lauded episodes under all showrunners not named Al Jean.
This is the track record we're talking about...
Bart the Bad Guy (S31E14 / ZABF08) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Jennifer Moeller | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.81 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.2 out of 10
The Book Job (S23E6 / NABF22) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Bob Anderson | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.93 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.9 out of 10
Boyz N the Highlands (S33E13 / UABF06) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Bob Anderson | Showrunner = Tim Long
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.89 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 6.7 out of 10
The Last Barfighter (S32E22 / QABF15) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Timothy Bailey | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 4.41 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.4 out of 10
Step Brother from the Same Planet (S34E8 / UABF22) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Matthew Faughnan | Showrunner = Carolyn Omine
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.82 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 6.5 out of 10
Thanksgiving of Horror (S31E8 / YABF17) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Rob Oliver | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 4.13 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.3 out of 10
Vebber's sole blemish away from Jean was an underwhelming Treehouse of Horror segment earlier this season under Kelley... but I'm willing to give him a pass there given he had minimal time to work with. The only writer more reliable for quality scripts these days aside from Vebber is John Frink (who's been on absolute fire of late). And you could easily make the argument that Vebber writes Bart better than Frink does... so that's kind of a wash.
I'm not even worried about Price given what he got out of Burns last Sunday. The Tipping Point wasn't a perfect episode by any means but it was the first sign of a motivated Burns in a long ass while and, given the back-to-back assisgnment here, I suspect Selman himself will be doing more heavy lifting on the showrunner end of things than he has of late to help carry the load.
Honestly, my only reservation here is Polcino. He's probably the most "willing to go off-model but not intentionally" of the show's directors right now. The tweeted out promo clip of Barney being a perfect example of that. If that's your jam or if you're not fussy about animation consistency, you probably won't notice anything amiss... but I'm keeping my expectations of animation quality tonight to a tepid level. If he rises to the standard he hit for Carl Carlson Rides Again, I won't have any objections.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4oEkBAgjeU
The OP has been fully caught up and updated accounting for all of the greatest (and not-so-greatest) hits from this strike-shortened season. We've been treated to two modern classics in A Mid-Childhood Night's Dream and Clan of the Cave Mom, three other well-received episodes and a Treehouse of Horror special with an absolute banger of a Cape Feare callback segment. Not too shabby for 18 episodes... although not without opportunities to be even better.
I've summarized my thoughts on the past season in a lengthy post over at the No Homers Club which can be perused here if you'd like to know my general thoughts on the past 8 months of the show. But for now, it's time to delve into what we can expect later tonight...
BART'S BRAIN - Sunday, May 19th * SEASON FINALE *
Episode Production Code = 35ABF12 (#768) / Writer = Dan Vebber / Showrunner = Michael Price
Bart makes a new friend.
View: https://x.com/TheSimpsons/status/1791514052042035596
EPISODE PREVIEW
What a riveting and exciting premise! Portends so much greatness.
Okay, in all seriousness, premises are kept intentionally vague by the marketing department for reasons. If Bart was merely befriending a new character as he did in such episodes as Pranks and Greens (Andy), The Debarted (Donny), Diggs, Bart the Cool Kid (Orion) or Bart's New Friend (Homer), we'd be seeing them interact in promo material and the "premise" would be a lot more specific than "Bart makes a new friend".
One clear tell on what to expect is that we see Bart excitedly rummaging through Abe's old army locker and showing off his bounty to Herman (more of Herman is always a good thing). No Abe to be seen in any of the promo material, incidentally... which is highly conspicuous. My personal takeaway - which could be completely off-base - is that Bart imagines up a new friend based on a younger version of his grandfather and he gets up to all manner of mischief across Springfield with this "new friend" as either a cohort or scapegoat in a prank spree.
Or perhaps Bart just befriends the brain in a jar seen ruminating across various promotional teases... I mean, if Moe's best friend can be a bar rag, why can't the idea of a jarred brain work? It'll be like the bit with Bart and the skull from Last Barfighter... just stretched out over 22 minutes. What could go wrong?
However this mystery unfolds, Bart's preeminent proud underachiever has been relegated to one single centric episode per season these days so I'm happy that we're not winding up this one without filling the requisite Bartman quota.
As for what to expect tonight in terms of quality for Michael Price's 2nd consecutive episode as co-runner, the key variable framing expectations here is the presence of Dan Vebber as head scriptwriter. Vebber boasts an unblemished string of well-received, critically lauded episodes under all showrunners not named Al Jean.
This is the track record we're talking about...
Bart the Bad Guy (S31E14 / ZABF08) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Jennifer Moeller | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.81 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.2 out of 10
The Book Job (S23E6 / NABF22) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Bob Anderson | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.93 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.9 out of 10
Boyz N the Highlands (S33E13 / UABF06) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Bob Anderson | Showrunner = Tim Long
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.89 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 6.7 out of 10
The Last Barfighter (S32E22 / QABF15) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Timothy Bailey | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 4.41 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.4 out of 10
Step Brother from the Same Planet (S34E8 / UABF22) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Matthew Faughnan | Showrunner = Carolyn Omine
NoHomers Consensus Score = 3.82 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 6.5 out of 10
Thanksgiving of Horror (S31E8 / YABF17) | Writer = Dan Vebber | Director = Rob Oliver | Showrunner = Matt Selman
NoHomers Consensus Score = 4.13 out of 5
IMDb Rating = 7.3 out of 10
Vebber's sole blemish away from Jean was an underwhelming Treehouse of Horror segment earlier this season under Kelley... but I'm willing to give him a pass there given he had minimal time to work with. The only writer more reliable for quality scripts these days aside from Vebber is John Frink (who's been on absolute fire of late). And you could easily make the argument that Vebber writes Bart better than Frink does... so that's kind of a wash.
I'm not even worried about Price given what he got out of Burns last Sunday. The Tipping Point wasn't a perfect episode by any means but it was the first sign of a motivated Burns in a long ass while and, given the back-to-back assisgnment here, I suspect Selman himself will be doing more heavy lifting on the showrunner end of things than he has of late to help carry the load.
Honestly, my only reservation here is Polcino. He's probably the most "willing to go off-model but not intentionally" of the show's directors right now. The tweeted out promo clip of Barney being a perfect example of that. If that's your jam or if you're not fussy about animation consistency, you probably won't notice anything amiss... but I'm keeping my expectations of animation quality tonight to a tepid level. If he rises to the standard he hit for Carl Carlson Rides Again, I won't have any objections.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4oEkBAgjeU
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A 2024 episode with a Yahoo Serious joke?
A lot of this season ended up being mostly filler type episodes, though I will say some were more enjoyable than a few years in the past. This one was just a well rounded and focused episode. One of the better examples of what the show can be as it moves forward.
A lot of this season ended up being mostly filler type episodes, though I will say some were more enjoyable than a few years in the past. This one was just a well rounded and focused episode. One of the better examples of what the show can be as it moves forward.
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The one wrinkle that wasn't disclosed to us in advance of last night is that last night's episode was the first script hastily thrown together post-writers strike and only allowed 3 weeks in the can to be refined as opposed to the standard 2-to-3 month cycle. Given all of that, I'd say it still managed to turn out quite well even if it did suffer somewhat in terms of overall focus and in terms of characterizations - most notably from Marge.
The end result being only a semi-decent non-Jean effort from Vebber (this story idea was originally one of Selman's) as opposed to the top-shelf universally praised effort we've grown accustomed to. And, even then, it's still being received favorably enough that it could manage to crack a "best of HD era" tier list in spite of everything which goes to show how well modern Simpsons vibes under Vebber's touch.
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TIme to deep-dive the Futurama crossover. No, not the one from the show. The one from the comics...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9LYwiH0tiM
Speaking of the comics, the 3rd Ominous Omnibus collection which compiles all of the Treehouse comic stories in one convenient collection is set to release this coming August. As someone who owns all of these, I have nothing but good things to say. It's a solid coffee table collectible.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9LYwiH0tiM
Speaking of the comics, the 3rd Ominous Omnibus collection which compiles all of the Treehouse comic stories in one convenient collection is set to release this coming August. As someone who owns all of these, I have nothing but good things to say. It's a solid coffee table collectible.
Ah the Bongo comics... I enjoyed the earlier issues of Simpsons and Futurama, I thought those were solid and the writers had a knack at nailing the first pages with some amazing opening jokes. But I definitely felt the comics get worse in those later years, shorter stories, worse art etc.
Pity, as there was a long stretch of time where Id re-read them tons.
Pity, as there was a long stretch of time where Id re-read them tons.