Sunday, May 18, 2014

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 11: "All Singing, All Dancing"

Airdate: 4 January, 1998

Synopsis: Homer claims to hate musicals, revealing his disdain after renting a musical that Homer thought was a Clint Eastwood western. The rest of the Simpsons note the irony of this, stating the mere fact that the family (and the entire town) tend to break into song on a semi-regular basis. Meanwhile, Snake tries his hand at robbery... and reveals his distaste for musicals.

Review: This will be a short one; it's meh. It's a clip show; what more do you expect? I'm not really going to go into depth here, though.

First, let's get this out of the way; the clips themselves are sublime. The first eight seasons of the show featured some damn good music. My favourite would have to be a tie between "In the Garden of Eden" from "Bart Sells His Soul" and "We Do" from "Homer the Great".

Now the original material. It starts out great: "Paint Your Wagon" was pretty damn funny. However, by the start of the second act, it runs low on gas. While most of the characters are, well, in character, for some reason, I just can't see Snake backing off as easily as he does. Maybe it was an attempt at character development. Maybe they just realised they needed something to keep the plot moving. Who knows?

It's also worth noting that not even the writers wanted to do this episode; the ending makes this pretty clear. Worth noting that this episode came out shortly after the release of the CD Songs in the Key of Springfield. Thus, I blame FOX executives for the dryness of this episode.

That's really how to sum it up: it's just a largely forgettable episode. I'll give it a pass, but only because it wasn't as nonsensical as "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace", and it reminded me of more entertaining episodes. If you want to watch a good clip show, watch "So It's Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show", "Another Simpsons Clip Show", and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".

Tidbits: Just two.

  • At the end, a shotgun is fired during the credits. Two blasts are heard on one occasion. Said occasion is when Phil Hartman's name comes up. Five months and change after this episode aired, Hartman's wife shot him dead before turning the gun on himself.
  • David Mirkin was credited as the executive producer. For once, Mike Scully is absolved of blame.

Favourite Moment: "Gonna paint your wagon, gonna paint it good..." SING ALONG!

Least Favourite Moment: Snake leaves because he figures that the family would not make good hostages... because they sing. Just seems a bit off for him.

Zaniness Factor: 1.5, mainly for the singing.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 1. (That's a first, I think).

Score: 5.5.

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