Scullyfied Simpsons: "I'm With Cupid" (Season 10, Episode 14)

"Both of my ears are filled with nougat!"

"You told me that it was an American tradition to work all the time and not see your wife!" - Manjula, to Apu. Give it 17 years, Manjula.

Airdate: February 14th, 1999

Plot: In 2005, in response to developments regarding Anglo-American relations, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe penned "I'm With Stupid", a satire on a theoretical romance between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush.

Whoops - this is a television episode... Patrick is afraid that his parents will mock him for being rather stupid. Therefore, SpongeBob decides to take up the role of "The Fool".

...I'm sorry, this is "I'm With Cupid", not "I'm With Stupid."

Apu's relationship with Manjula is on the rocks. Apparently, the life of a convenience store manager isn't exactly conducive to free time. To make it up to her, Apu goes all out in his Valentines Day celebrations. This, though, alienates the wives of Springfield's men. They all proceed to sabotage the actual Valentines Day celebration.

Review: 

Two years ago (because I am a lazy bum), during my coverage of Season 9, I reviewed "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons". There, my complaint lied in the fact that the episode revolved around Homer's antics, and was overall rather pedestrian. In hindsight, though, I can recognize some of the character development in that episode, even if I would've preferred more. That, and it was a pretty funny episode.

"I'm With Cupid" serves as a follow up to that episode... but it ultimately feels a bit underwhelming.

Scullyfied Simpsons: "Lisa Gets an A" (Season 10, Episode 7)

This grade is wrong, but not for the reason you might think...

Airdate: November 22nd, 1998

Synopsis: Lisa falls ill after being stuffed in a freezer to try and get some ice cream (no prizes for guessing who did it). Rather than study, she gets sucked into a video game, "Dash Dingo". She gets so hooked into the game, she forgets to read The Wind in the Willows... and comes back to a quiz on the book. ("Game over, mate!") Bart gets Nelson to hook her up with test answers, and she passes the test at such a level that the state no longer considers the school absolutely pathetic, and is willing to give them money.

Meanwhile, the aforementioned fridge-stuffer gets a pet lobster at the same supermarket. By "gets a pet", I mean Homer prevents Marge from cooking Pinchy, a lobster that the family brought for dinner.

Review (SPOILERS): Lisa Simpson is one of the more divisive characters in the Simpsons canon. This stems from the trend during the "double digit" seasons to have Lisa as the mouthpiece for the generally leftish writers, with little reasonable dissent or critique of said positions. While I see where they come from, my opinion of Lisa stems from the early seasons of the show - as it should. And while she did have moments where she seemed overtly opinionated, they were just part of her role as a wiser, more mature eight-year old, who still fell victim to the same weaknesses that eight-year olds have.

"Lisa Gets An A", surprisingly, has her fall victim to a trap that students tend to face - that of cheating. Not a bad idea, although does this episode execute it well?

Almost.

Scullyfied Simpsons: "D'oh-in' in the Wind" (Season 10, Episode 6)

Airdate: November 15th, 1998

Synopsis: While tracking down his middle name, Homer comes across a farm run by two former hippies, Seth and Munchie. Upon learning his middle name, and learning more about his rebellious mother and her interactions with said hippies (she painted a mural with Homer's full name), Homer takes an interest in the carefree lifestyle of hippies, and becomes one... not understanding that Seth (Martin Mull) and Munchie (George Carlin) have moderated their practices, even embracing the capitalist aspects of the 90s.

Review (SOME SPOILERS, POSSIBLY FOR OTHER EPISODES): In hindsight, maybe the 60s counterculture was too good to be true. Intended as an anti-establishment movement meant to get humanity more in touch with Earth and the fellow man, as well as generate social reforms, ironically, not only has it become the defining image of the 60s (to the point of cliche), but arguably became absorbed and moderated by the mainstream itself. Not that this was a bad thing, though. However, there is an irony here.

In many regards, The Simpsons was a counterculture in and of itself, or at least represented a counterculture. After the seemingly conservative, politically and socially stolid 80s, where American morals and archetypes were reinforced, came this show that managed to lampoon (if not subvert) every single aspect of Americana. Unfortunately, episodes like "When You Dish Upon A Star" seemed to represent the show becoming mainstream. Here's where the absorption of the counterculture in the mainstream proved to be detrimental - modern Simpsons episodes seem to run on cliche plots and hackneyed dialogue, attempting to be trendy and cool, and just coming off as a pathetic show that needs to be axed. Soon.

Now that that's out of the way, "D'oh-in in the Wind" is, in all honesty, quite an improvement over the aforementioned last episode. (That's not a hard feat, but still.)

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 24: "Lost Our Lisa"

Worst. Bus ride. Ever.

Airdate: May 10th, 1998

Synopsis: Lisa's attempts to go to a museum exhibit crash when Bart does something stupid with props and glue. (Surprise, surprise.) Marge is not a fan of Lisa's proposal to take the bus... so she gets approval from Homer. However, Lisa didn't look at the bus schedule, and winds up in the middle of nowhere. It's up to Captain Wacky to rescue her!

Review: This episode, in my opinion, is just a weaker version of "My Sister, My Sitter"- Lisa tries to get out of potential trouble with her parents. However, whereas that episode had damn good pacing, a great setup, and believable characterization... this episode has Homer hijack the plot so that a drawbridge can close on his head.

Elaboration? Fine.

Yes, the first part of this episode is Lisa... TAKING THE PUBLIC BUS! THE HORROR!! THE HORROR!!!

Actually, the bus system in the United States is actually a tad bit more confusing if you're not inside a major city. I mean, have you seen the Suffolk County Transit bus system out here on Long Island? Not exactly straightforward... nor is it as point-by-point as it is in New York City. Marge's concern is pretty damn realistic... and guess what, she was right!

Lisa winds up in the middle of freaking nowhere!

Actually, this is somewhat believable characterization for Lisa. Sure, she's a brilliant intellectual who might be the sanest in the family. However, when you think about it, she makes decisions that can be utterly brash and insane. There was no need for her to look at a bus schedule, and it came back to bite her.

I actually felt like this episode could've been a decent, if well-tredged through, character analysis for Lisa. Is she really as mature as she appears to be? We've seen her go to cruel lengths in "Girly Edition", and here, she seems hell-bent on going to the museum, no planning, no consideration of the consequences.

Still, it's a Scully-era episode. This, of course, means that they have to stuff Captain Wacky into the plot somewhere.

That's the problem that seems to dominate the second half of the second act, as well as the first half of the third. Homer leaves work, tries to find Lisa, and proceeds to suffer only minor injuries from otherwise mortal wounds. He drives through a bunch of planks. A drawbridge crashes on his head. Cars run over his skull.

On one hand, he appears to suffer no damage, barring some tire tracks on the top of his head.

On the other hand, this leads into a part of the episode that is often criticized by Simpsons analytics. For example, Simpsons fan Mike Amato, in his "watch them all" blog "Me Blog Write Good", dissected Homer's speech at the end of the episode- one where he encourages Lisa to take risks. Here's his interpretation:

When Lisa vows she’ll never take a stupid risk ever again, Homer slams the brakes and informs her otherwise, claiming that stupid risks make life worth living, and that’s why he has so many crazy adventures. So yeah, instead of being an average American man who has dramatic and absurd scenarios befall him (which is part of the reason why they’re funny), now he’s Captain Wacky, actively doing stupid things on impulse. It’s astounding how jarring this scene is; even Lisa in-universe seems kind of perturbed by her father’s statements. Homer loves the thrill of adventure? [...] His whole diatribe is almost like his new mission statement, as from this point on he’s pretty much always up to some wacky hijinks, a fractured caricature of his former self.

Mike Amato is pretty spot-on with his assessment, so I'll just build on it a tad bit.

Now, in the writers' defense, Homer has a point. Sometimes, you do have to take certain risks- you shouldn't be milquetoast. I also think he might have been coming off the "rush" he got from almost dying- thus, having a slightly different outlook on life.

The problem here is that, besides coming at a time when the character was "evolving", we have to remember that this speech was given by Homer. There was no reason for it other than the writers found that Homer was available. To me, this is the moment when Homer began charging full-steam to Mary Sueville - one where he did whatever impulses or fantasies the writers had because they're awesome.

Now that I'm done railing against that, I must admit that Homer is actually relatively sweet here. He goes to rescue Lisa, and despite almost dying, he and Lisa get to spend some quality father-daughter time together. It's actually a pretty sweet ending.

It's a cute episode, indeed, but one with a flaw that just seems too much like a bad omen of Sueness and Zaniness.

Tidbits:

• Uh... Lisa wants to go see the a bunch of artifacts from Egypt. The title of the program? "Treasures of Isis." Yeah... no comment.
• Personal note: I never encountered a "split weekday schedule" bus- Suffolk Transit only does Weekdays and Weekends.
• One more note: the "Not What He Seems" review won't be up until probably the end of the weekend. 

Favorite Scene: There's something particularly heartwarming about Lisa and Homer at the end of the episode. This show still has a bit of heart left.

Least Favorite Scene: Homer getting a drawbridge closed on his head... not so much.

Zaniness Factor: 3. Homer getting all those injuries and surviving? This is a cartoon now.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2.5, only and only for his "risk" rant. It isn't so much "callous" as it is "mary sue-ish and out of character".

Score: 6.5.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 21: "Girly Edition"

"K-I-D-Z. Z for Zap! It's a programme for ALL KIDS, made by ALL KIDS, and concentratin' on all the subjects that ALL KIDS are into today!" (Damn you, Ben Elton.)

Airdate: April 19th, 1998

Synopsis: With the FCC cracking down on educational TV, executives convince Krusty the Clown to add a ten minute news program hosted by kids to the end of his shows. Lisa and Bart are appointed as anchor and sports anchor, respectively. Bart's goofy delivery impresses the executives more than Lisa's straightforward delivery, and he is promoted to co-anchor. After hearing Lisa's complaints about him, and after a brief consultation with Kent Brockman, Bart decides to go into more of a "sentimental" route, much to the chagrin of Lisa.

Meanwhile, Homer adopts a helper monkey, Mojo, to help him with his busy life- that is to say, getting food and sleeping. Marge is not amused.

Review: Now THIS is what "Trouble with Trillions" could've been: a satirical look at a particular organization or institution. In this case, the writers decide to take a huge bite out of the modern news media and traditional media in general, and it's brutal enough to obscure any flaws that this episode has.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 20: "The Trouble With Trillions"

Bloggers note: FX Now showing every episode of The Simpsons isn't too bad. The crop job, on the other hand...

Airdate: April 5th, 1998

Synopsis: The IRS notes some minor discrepancies in Homer's taxes. (Read: Homer waited until the last possible second, made egregious claims, stuffed them into a manilla folder, and tried to sweeten the deal with mint candies.) Threatened with five years jail, Homer instead accepts a plea- work for the IRS to capture tax cheats. One such tax cheat is Mr Burns, who the IRS alleges took a trillion-dollar bill meant for European reconstruction post WWII. However, Burns's critique of the government resonates with Homer, and the two (plus Smithers) flee. Forced to escape the country, they decide to hang out on an island... one called Cuba.

Review (SPOILERS): The IRS here in the States is a government entity that is ripe for comedy. Americans have always had a skepticism of taxes, and that lends credence to the IRS being the least-liked bureaucracy of the US government. Mocking them by being a bunch of crooked spies who manipulate the system for their own gain would've made for an awesome episode.

Unfortunately, this episode let's that potential go to waste.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 16: "Dumbbell Indemnity"

Airdate: March 1st, 1998

Insert joke about remembering when The Simpsons used to be good here. (Image stolen from Wikipedia).

Synopsis: Moe has been entering into something of a depression: he has no companionship. While initial attempts at getting Moe a girlfriend at a local discotheque ultimately prove fruitless, he winds up meeting Renee (Helen Hunt), a local flower seller, and the two hit it off. When Moe wants more money to keep treating her to the finer things in life, he decides to commit insurance fraud... with Homer as his "guinea pig".

Review: The Mike Scully years of The Simpsons featured some awkward character development. As our primary characters were either phased into the background or turned into wacky, centre-of-the-universe type characters, the secondary characters were seemingly fleshed out to try and show more than just their identifiable features- Mr Burns and Ned Flanders, for one, were seemingly transformed into characters with hidden hearts of gold, or ones that had deep-seated "white-bread" lives. However, the scripts were haphazard, and the characters lost a lot of their humorous traits. In effect, the characters flattened as the show slowly transformed into one that wouldn't be out of place on a cheesy saturday morning cartoon. (I kid: at least some saturday morning cartoons around this time had well-written characters!)

It didn't hurt Moe Syzlak as bad (initially): it would be understandable to see his deep-seated loner tendancies, and try and show why he keeps failing to make friends or find romance. Again, this would degenerate as the scripts became more haphazard, but it's more tolerable here.

This episode's main hangup is that, for all it tries to paint Renee and Moe in love, this episode's heart is still connected to Homer. He starts the episode with the unnecessary water heater incident, and is the right-hand man for Moe, through the rest of the episode.

The problem with this is that it does not lead to a whole lot of development for the character that's supposed to be in love with Moe, Renee herself. What is her character, anyway?  Sure, she pity-dates Moe, then falls in love with him on a more genuine level. Apparently, it's his "insecure, sweaty charm". It's implied a few times that she's only in love with him because he spends money on her, yet also has standards on how said money is procured.

However, as an individual, we learn little, if anything, about her. Her character pretty much revolves around Moe. We don't learn anything about her as a character, what her background is, what her quirks are. She's just a prop- she's the raison d'etre for the insurance fraud scheme that Moe and Homer commit.

I think, to provide an accurate comparison, we have to take a look at another "love interest" for the show: Jessica Lovejoy, from "Bart's Girlfriend".

Ah, when one-shot characters had deep character development in the span of 22 minutes. (Image taken from Wikisimpsons).

In that episode, Jessica begins something of a relationship with Bart over their skirting of authority- in this case, the church. That episode gave us a look at some aspects of Jessica's past, her present standing, how she is able to manipulate anybody and everybody, and how she pushes Bart to her limit. Given that she's a one-off character, she's given as much depth as the time allows.

Here, Renee just exposits the relationship between the two. (This will be a problem in later seasons: exposition will trump actual storytelling). Again, she has no backstory, no flaws... she's just there.

Now, Homer and Moe's scheme, I can buy. While some would criticise a paring like this as just another example of "Homer buddies up with some character to get him into the centre of the plot", I can see why Homer became Moe's right-hand man. Homer always seemed just a little bit closer to Moe, compared to the rest of the patrons at the bar. In a more immediate sense, Moe's sense of self-doubt could explain why he felt he needed to throw money around to keep Renee happy.

Homer is, well, something of his jerkass self. He gets into the centre of the plot, winds up as part of a zany scheme, survives the impossible, and winds up in a violent rage (for a few seconds). It's a bit more tolerable here: he was pressured by Moe into the zany scheme, and Moe's betrayal would drive anybody a bit loony. Still, it was a bit over the top.

Humour is really a mixed bag. Most of the jokes that work are the quick comic gags, such as Snake trying to rob Homer's car, everybody's reaction to the bar tabs being called in, and of course, "Hail to the Chimp". The good character comedy is more sparse, although I think this is because one of the characters is practically a prop. Even then, Renee gets one or two decent lines. ("Yes, Moe. I'm going to find corpses.") There were also jokes that dragged on for just a bit too long, such as the "car drowning" scene. Once was fine. Twice, enough. Three times? A bit too much.

I don't know: it's not really a memorable episode. It's got the good, it's got the bad, it's got the Jerkass Homer, it's got some Moe character development, but it's really just... alright. Maybe it's just dragged down by Renee's bland character, but still.

Tidbits:

• It's worth noting that, around the time of this episode's production, Helen Hunt and Hank Azaria were dating. The two were even married for about a year.
• While the disco scene was alright, I was thrown off by Otto being there. What, was he reluctantly there on a date? Did he get roped in some other way? 
• This episode was written by Ron Hauge, who wrote "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" (which was also not memorable) and would later write "Mayored to the Mob". My expectations aren't exactly high.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2, but only for his getting into the centre of Moe's plot and surviving seemingly impossible injuries. He's actually relatively mild: it's the more outlandish tendencies that got to me. Who knows: maybe I'm preparing for the worst.

Zaniness Factor: 1.5. The only thing remotely zany in this episode was the car's plummet in the ocean.

Favourite Scene: A great bit of physical comedy occurs when Homer has to bail out of Moe's car. He rolls out, and thanks to a rock, winds up back in for....

Least Favourite Scene: ...the plummet into the ocean. Went on way too long. Second place is the infamous boiler incident. Cut both of these down, and the writers could've put in some good Renee character development.

Score: 7, mainly because of the quick comedy. I'm feeling generous.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 14: "Das Bus"

Airdate: February 15, 1998

Synopsis: While on the way to a trip to the Model UN conference in Capital City, the kids from Springfield Elementary wind up in a jam after a grapefruit-related brake failure drives the bus off of a bridge. With Otto floating away ("ZEPPELIN RULES!"), the kids wind up trapped on a deserted island. A combination of the island's lack of resources and their lack of survival skills scuttles their attempts at civilisation, and the kids have to live off of the snacks from the bus. All the while, the kids become suspicious of one another.

Meanwhile, Homer, inspired by Flanders's internet enterprise, decides to start his own internet business... despite knowing nothing about the internet. Thus, we take a look at the rise and fall of Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net.

Review: I had to read Lord of the Flies during High School. (Thank you, New York State.) For those that haven't read the book in a long time, the book focused on a bunch of British students getting trapped on an island after their plane goes down. Their connections to civilisation falter, and the kids become more and more savage.

I have to say, watching this episode after thinking about the book, I was a tad bit underwhelmed.

"Das Bus" seems like it was trying to be more of a send-up to Flies, which is alright, except, as others have pointed out, it tends to play to the beats of the novel a bit too closely. The Simpsons is best when it adds twists to the source material. Outside of the ending (which I'll discuss below), the episode tended to match word-for-word the novel. Kids try and form own civilisation after getting trapped on island, yet wind up becoming more and more savage and brutal.

This episode does take quite the stab at the United Nations, as, at the meeting, we see the kids bicker over the relationship between each other, setting the tone for what they would do without supervision from adults. Once they get stranded on the island, they begin looking at their self interests. Fighting Milhouse for the "food" is a collaborative effort, but in the end, the kids want their own instant gratification. Meanwhile, Millhouse, one of the remaining "civilised" students, winds up acting like a jerkass to Lisa and Bart, asking them to carry him to safety, and repaying them by abandoning the two after crossing the cliff. Is it symbolic of international relations within the UN, and providing a message about the flaws of the organisation? Or am I looking too much into this episode? Given Scully's legacy amongst the general public, I lean somewhat to the latter.

Either way, I think if the episode focused more on UN satire and less on ripping off Lord of the Flies, this might have been more enjoyable... a little bit.

The ending of the plot is actually pretty decent. While the reveal of "the monster" is a bit too in step, it actually does lead to a very interesting twist- one that plays off of the kid's instant gratification and one that is a direct stab at Lisa's vegetarianism. I also think the ending ending was a bit of a stab at the ending of Lord of the Flies. Normally, I hold Simpsons episodes that have haphazard-esque endings in a low light. Yet, here, I kind of liked it, given the source material.

Character in the A-plot seemed a bit uneven, yet I can somewhat pass it off, given the stressful situation they're in. Some of Lisa's dialogue might seem off given her normally intelligent nature, but it also helps reinforce that she's still a second grader. Bart's dialogue also seemed to show that there are flashes of brilliance in him, yet it is also balanced by his naiveté.

Plot "B" mocks the dot-com bubble just around the time it was, well, bubbling. Homer sets up a business with no knowledge of the industry, acts like an idiot, is somehow able to buy advertising (albeit on, apparently, Voyager fansites), and, when it comes time to sell, he gets trashed... rather literally, in fact. ("I didn't get rich by writing a lot of cheques!"). Sure, it's a prototype of the "Homer gets a new job and acts like a jackass" plot that would become the centre of season 10. However, I must admit, it was pretty damn funny. By far my favourite piece of dialogue would have to be between Comic Book Guy and Homer, as CBG wants faster internet.

Comic Book Guy: "I'm interested in upgrading my 28.8 kilobaud internet connection to a 1.5 megabit fibre optic T1 line. Will you be able to provide an IP router that's compatable with my Token Ring Ethernet LAN connection?"

Homer: [Stares for a few seconds] "Can I have some money now?"

Overall, while a bit of a disappointment compared to what I was expecting, it was still a pretty decent episode. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Tidbits:

• Some fans on the internet have complained that Bill Gates, who briefly appeared at Homer's business, voiced himself, claiming that celebrity guest voices helped kill the show. Hank Azaria actually voiced Gates.
• This episode was written by David S Cohen. It would be his third-to-last script under the title: after the Writers Guild unionised, he was forced to drop the S from his title, and instead put an X for his future scripts, including the pilot to Futurama, which I think is surprisingly underrated in the science-fiction world.
• The resolution to Otto's C-plot is pretty damn funny... it involves Chinese fishermen and slave labour. "I think I'm gonna like it on this boat!"
• Worth noting that the Model UN was also given a brief shoutout in "Lisa the Drama Queen", where the meeting goes awry due to the lack of certain representatives... in that case, Lisa. Strangely enough, that episode was also a parody of another piece of media- there, it was the 1994 film Heavenly Creatures. Much like this episode, it's less of a parody and more of a beat-by-beat retelling. It was a pretty weak episode, especially by the standards of the classics.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2

Jerkass Homer Moment: Homer came off as quite a bit of a jerk to Marge, between stealing her ideas without giving her credit, ignoring her, and telling her to get out when Gates arrives to make himself look good. It's a bit annoying.

Zaniness Factor: 2.5. An episode of this calibre was always going to be "out there". It does pull back on the slapstick, however.

Favourite Scene: LOVED CBG's attempts to boost his internet speed... via Homer. Pretty much sums up Telecom companies.

Least Favourite Scene: Milhouse abandoning Bart and Lisa after swinging over the ditch rubbed me the wrong way. Milhouse is many things, but a jerkass he is not.

Score: 7.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 13: "The Joy of Sect"

Airdate: February 8th, 1998

"Special effects by Industrial Lights and Morons" - Mike Nelson, Mystery Science Theater 3000 ("Space Mutiny")

Synopsis: Whilst wasting time at the Airport, Homer and Bart meet two members of the "movementarians", Glen and Jane. They convince Homer, amongst others, to visit a film, where they promise to use praise to "the Leader" to get "access to a starship to 'Blisstonia'". Despite initial difficulties (Homer being too thick, for one), their message manages to get into Homer, and he, alongside most of the rest of Springfield, are sucked into the cult. Said cult forces it's members to move to a farm to harvest Lima Beans. The Leader is said to be living in a forbidden barn, building his ship, making brief appearances to wave to the cult members. The cult's popularity manages to take over Springfield, right down to it's media. Only Marge is able to resist the cult, and has to flee the compound to find a way to deprogram the family.

Review: FINALLY! After, what, three weak episodes, we finally get an episode that's... good.

Overhyped, though? Maybe a little.

This episode's main strength is in it's scathing critique of religious cults.  Oh, boy, is it scathing. Take your typical cult tropes and exaggerate them to the nth degree. That's the Movementarians. Let's see, all they do is guilt trip people into being brainwashed, take over entire media outlets, poison those into submission, take their member's money and property, and force them into hard labour... and it's all just empty. They spend lavishly on themselves, descend the followers into petty fights, enjoy the tax-exempt status of the government to partake in the aforementioned self-serving spending, and pander to the follower's weaknesses/battle against their strengths.

This episode was also very topical, somewhat rare for a post-classic Simpsons episode. You see, this episode has it's basis in the Heaven's Gate cult, which, a year earlier, committed suicide in an attempt to ride Comet Hale-Bopp. Also gaining media attention around this time (I suppose: I don't have many memories of the 90s) was Scientology (which even had one of it's founders write a book that was adapted into a hysterically awful movie), as well as the Unification Church.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Simpsons episode without it's characters. For the most part, this episode does well in this regard. In all honesty, this episode shows Marge at one of her highpoints. It's not really as high as, say, "Marge on the Lam", but it's pretty awesome. Through her, we see her have to take "deprograming" manoeuvres similar to those of brainwashing. It's a tough call, but sometimes, you have to stoop low to achieve a goal that you know will be heroic in the end. Lovejoy and Flanders are perfect in their role as the Christian holdouts. That, and Ned actually has beer. Maybe I just have traces of ZS on the mind, but that's a deep, more "average" side to Ned. Willie's role as the "Id" of the deprogramming operation is perfect. I'll go as far as to say that, as much as Homer did have some jerkass scenes in the beginning, most of it is excused, as his character is made more realistic by the end of the episode. The twist to deprogram him is awesome, and totally fits in with his character.

Complaints? Pacing was a bit off: the airport scene seemed to just be there for a bunch of sitcom jokes, yet the placement of the third act seemed to make it so that said third act dragged a bit. However, it's an otherwise fantastically funny episode, with wicked satire and good characterisation.

Enjoy it. These types of episodes will be rarer as the years go on.

Tidbits:

• This episode was technically produced by David Mirkin, the showrunner for Seasons 5 and 6. Much like Scully, Dave Mirkin's twist on the show (especially in Season 5) took it into more outlandish and cartoony territory ("Deep Space Homer", "Homer and Apu"). Mirkin also took on some social commentary. ("Sideshow Bob Roberts", "Homer Badman"). However, Mirkin also used more character based plots, rather than plots that caused the characters to conform to the plot. This episode feels like a Mirkin-era episode... except for art, which is somewhat more rigid.
• I personally like the twist with the loaner bikes. Goes to remind us that not only are there still holdouts for the cult, but that Our Favourite Family isn't exactly doing so well. Hear me, Zombie Simpsons? Characters living the high life is not really funny!
• LOVE the scenes with the "Lawyer Department", especially when they barge into KBBL-TV to look for Homer. "Idiots? That's slander, sir, and we have it on tape." "Alright; I'll get out my chequebook!"
• "We are watching FOX!" I love the "take-that's" at FOX.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2

Jerkass Homer Moment: Most of Homer's jerkassery is a little justified, but almost mowing down the Movementarians certainly crossed the line. This is also a literal Jerkass Homer Moment: while driving to the Movementarian Centre, Homer screams "Outta my way, jerkass!" And thus, a name for the post-classic era Homer was born.

Zaniness Meter: 2

Zaniest Moment: Rover from The Prisoner appears in the barrier between the Movementarian Campground and the town... capturing Moleman. Mmm... I swear I remember that a later episode had a more direct parody on The Prisoner.

Favourite Scene: Everything (except the road rage) at the Movementarian Centre.

Least Favourite Scene: At the airport, Homer is an idiot as to the "free film this weekend" presented by the Movementarians. This joke was done better in "Mr Lisa Goes to Washington", with the VIP gag.

Score: 8

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 10: "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"

Airdate: December 21, 1997

So apparently, burning a plastic tree turns it into a solid with presents still sticking out from it, possibly intact. Did Ron Hauge pay attention in Chemistry?

Synopsis: Christmas has arrived yet again for Our Favourite Family. This time, Marge wants to ensure that everybody wakes up at the same time (7:00 AM) on Christmas Day to open their presents. Who else but Bart would sneak down to play with his gifts? One problem, though; he burns down the tree.

He manages to hide the tree under the snow, blaming thieves when the family wakes up to an empty den. The townspeople rally around the family and give them a whopping $15,000, which they promptly blow on a sedan (which wrecks). When Bart confesses about the tree, however, the town turns the family into social pariahs... again.

Review: As I've mentioned before, the fine folks at Dead Homers Society are not exactly fans of Season 7's "Marge Be Not Proud". They argue that it was schmaltzy, sitcom-ish, clumsy, and quite slow. I am willing to agree with that; it does feel somewhat more like a "special" episode than anything else, and one that's quite formulatic to boot. However, Dead Homers also points out that "Marge Be Not Proud" is, at least by modern standards, comically efficient and funny. I'll take it a bit further- "Marge Be Not Proud" is almost as funny as the rest of the episodes of that season; it's just dragged down by the overt emotion and slower pacing. Maybe it was a parody of the "very special episode", or maybe it was genuine. Who knows?

Why do I bring up that episode? Well, "Miracle" is essentially "Marge Be Not Proud"... with the schmaltz cranked up to "wham-o", a good 50% of the comedy siphoned, and the cynicism turned up to outright unbearable levels.

Now, keep in mind, The Simpsons is in and of itself a rather dark series. However, it managed to set the tone at the right amount to not only make it hysterical, but also allow for character development and sweetness. Here? It's just depressing and cruel.

I don't think it would be as bad if the characters weren't so screwed up. Blast "Marge Be Not Proud" for sapping up the characters and making Bart a bit too sensitive, but not only were the sappy moments still filled with funny lines, the rest of the characters were perfectly crafted for the plot. In this episode, not only do you have the entire town becoming just a bit too cruel to OFF for a lie Bart told, but the second the family wakes up on Christmas morning, Bart's character just seems off. I mean, it's alright to show some character development to try and not make Bart one-note, but the problem here is that it was controlled by the plot. Characters no longer control the plot; plot controls the characters.

Not to mention the first minute of this episode is dedicated to making Homer as much of a law-skirting buffoon as possible. There's him kicking the heater (which spits out snow, not kidding there), parking across three handicapped spots (stolen from "The Springfield Connection", only there, Homer's jerkassery lands him in jail), masquerades as a cashier to steal gifts for Christmas (which I suppose might have been there to set up the irony of him blasting the "thieves" when he himself stole the Christmas presents, but was more likely there to show Homer acting reckless), and he falls off of the roof (stolen from "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", only dragged out).

I also loathe the "Liar Revealed" cliche; I've mentioned it several times before. This episode embraces that cliche, for the most part.

I do think the plot makes a little sense. Of course, people are going to be irrational if they find out about potential theft of cash. I do, however, think that going to Los Angeles to go on Jeopardy was a bit much (as well as done simply to get Alex Trebek on the show). At least they kept the Jeopardy bit relatively short (and decently funny).

The ending with the town "reimbursing their losses" is admittedly a decent idea, and fits in with the show's tradition of mocking TV cliches. Too bad there were few laughs, and it required a good chunk of the characters to act, well, out of character (again, irrationality, but still).

It's a shame, since this episode did have some funny lines. There's Patches and Violet, the family buying an ill-fated car for more than it's worth only to have it wreck, damn near every scene with Brockman ("Little Homer's sausage?"), and anything with Alex Trebek. Still, it's not enough to save this episode. The trope of "Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy" is in full effect (the episode tries to come off as a "very special episode" when everybody is close to being unlikable), there seems to be little sense of timing, and the show was just too dry. It's a pretty empty episode, to the point where it's almost unwatchable.

In other words, this is the first Scully-era episode that gets a failing score. And it won't be the last.

Tidbits:

• Just one, really. This episode seemed to eschew logic and physics when the tree caught fire. For one, the rest of the den should've caught fire. There's no smoke coming from the tree, either. And instead of totally disintegrating, the tree melts into a wheel, with the presents merged inside. Also, how the smeg was Bart able to dig in one spot to cover up the remains of said tree and barely leave a dent in the snow?
• Oh, I forgot. I know Homer is an idiot, but wouldn't insurance have covered the car? Look, I know that's a very minor point, but still. Bugs me a bit.
• Flanders also says "there goes Christmas dinner" when seeing OFF after the truth is revealed... despite this being well past Christmas.
• I did like the Springfield Shopper headline; "Angry Mob Mulls Options".
• This was written by Ron Hauge, responsible for one of my favourite Season 8 episodes, "Homer's Phobia". Kinda tragic that he can veer between that and this boring mess.

Favourite Moment: In an episode as dry as this, the Jepoardy bit was pretty funny.

Least Favourite Moment: I just can't bring myself to even remotely smile for the entire first act. I can't bring myself to do so. I can't pick one moment in that first act that's worse than the other; it's just dull and stupid.

Zaniness Factor: 1.5

Zaniest Moment: Note the demise of the Christmas tree above. Nothing in there makes sense.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2.75. I'd give it a 3, but Homer's jerkassery mostly evaporates by the second act.

Jerkass Homer Moment: While not the worst act he committed in the episode, I pick him parking across three handicapped parking spaces. Why? Well, as mentioned above, Homer did that in "The Springfield Connection", wound up starting a conflict with Marge, and Marge wound up arresting Homer. Here, Marge just goes along with the zaniness.

Score: 4.5. This episode just bored me.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 8: "Lisa the Skeptic"

Airdate: November 23, 1997

Synopsis: Lisa organises a school trip to try and dig up fossils at an excavation site before it's turned into a mini-mall. At said site, a human skeleton with wings is found. The people of Springfield are convinced that it is an angel. Homer decides to take it and charge people to see the angel, turning the house into a tourist trap overnight. However, Lisa is sceptical about the whole thing, and has a scientist preform results... which come up inconclusive. In response, a mob forms to try and destroy "scientific" artifacts. Lisa goes to destroy the artifact, only to find out it is gone. She is promptly placed on trial for destruction of the skeleton. However, during the trial, the skeleton appears outside the courtroom, with a message about "the end" coming "at sundown".

Review: First, let's do a brief review to get the basics out of the way. It's not going to rank amongst the greats. Characterisation is slightly off (Homer, Marge, and Lovejoy come off as more irrational and jerkass-esque) and inconsistent (Bart first questions the "motorboat prize", then asks where the "motorboat" is), the plot jumps around a bit, the humour is a tad bit weaker than what you would get from, say, season 8, and the episode makes no bones about it's bias.

Now for the positives. The animation is pretty good, the conflict between scepticism and belief has the potential to make for a decent episode (with the elements of the Scopes Trial integrated in a decent, if unsubtle, manner), and the twist at the end is pretty good, a rarity for the Scully era. I especially like something else at the end; as much as Lisa presented herself as a sceptic, she might have believed that the skeleton was divine at least once or twice. That's pretty good consolation for those who think that the episode is too biased, albeit just that; mere lip service.

Also worth noting is the overwhelming theme of "marketing" that overhangs through the episode. Pretty darn good on the writers to satirise that with some level of subtlety. It does bring up a decent topic; does marketing cruelly manipulate personal beliefs? Also, while the humour is weak, there are some pretty good jokes in this episode (a good chunk of them are sight gags, such as the "Christian Science reading centre" being torched).

This episode, however, would better benefit with a compare/contrast; two from the Golden age, and one from the Modern era.

First, let's look at "Bart's Comet". The end is very similar: people begin anticipating the end of Springfield; in this case, it's a comet. There is a lone voice of scepticism over the percieved plot device; in this case, it's a snarky remark from Homer. However, there was a lot more subtlety in that episode's presentation of religion and/or fervour, and the "discovery" and "twist" are uncovered by the most unlikely sources (Bart and Homer, respectively). This episode is not as subtle, and said discovery and twist come from Lisa. That's a bit too predictable.

Second, we should look back way earlier to "Itchy and Scratchy vs. Marge". In this case, it's morality that's at the centre of the controversy instead of scepticism. In this case, both sides are given a nearly equal amount of ammunition, and both sides get attacked on a nearly equal level. While there is an end message in that episode, the viewer is left to debate it. This episode picks sides (with scepticism), and barring an occasional line, sticks with it. There is little room for debate with this episode.

However, this episode does have a leg-up on season 18's "The Monkey Suit". Not only does it repeat the topics brought up in episodes such as this one, but "Monkey Suit" is unsubtle (the end message is explicitly spelled out for us), nonsensical (especially with Lisa disproving religion), biased to the upteenth degree (not saying that this episode is unbiased, but it's somewhat more even handed) and not really funny. It seems to be a trend for Modern Simpsons episodes; take a theme presented in a classic episode, remove all the subtlety and a sizeable chunk of the humour, add in some pointless guest star to either get a line in or be praised endlessly by the town, and when it comes to characterisation... sheesh, don't get me started!

Overall, this episode is a decent time-waster, but nothing that will stand atop season 9.

Favourite Moment: The town's reaction to Lisa's appearance on Smartline? Wreck everything related to science... even if it's only connection to science is in it's name. This is how nihilistic the show is; the townspeople will do anything because they are idiots.

Least Favourite Moment: The intro with the sting operation. Season 9 began the tradition of intros that barely had any connection to the episode (if there was any connection at all). This is a prime example of this trend.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2

Jerkass Homer Moment: At the beginning of the episode, Homer says that the rest of the Simpsons are "the most paranoid family I've ever been affiliated with." That's the first sign that characterisation would become more alien.

Zaniness Factor: 1.25

Zaniest Moment: While not too zany, the twist at the end with the skeleton is a bit "out there".

Score: 7.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 6: Bart Star

Airdate: November 9th, 1997

Synopsis: With most of Springfield's children rendered unhealthy, participation in Pee-Wee Gridiron Football increases. Ned Flanders starts out as coach, using his kindness and Nelson's strength as an athlete to keep the team undefeated. However, Homer's heckling from the stands causes Ned Flanders to quit and give the job to Homer.

Homer quickly takes over, and initially is tough on the team, cutting people left and right. However, he begins favouring Bart, after remembering how tough Abe was on Homer. The team goes down the tubes in Bart's one game, and Bart tries to get out of playing. Homer refuses to play without Bart, causing Bart to quit the team. A rift ensues between the two.

Reaction: This episode is quite good. Not "shake the world" or anything, just quite good.

Probably the worst thing in the episode is that, while Homer's behaviour in the episode is very much a satire of the typical sport family/coach, and a wonderful one at that, they also give off awkward vibes of what was to come from the character. That, and "Lisa on Ice" did it first. In second place, there was the pointless joke between Marge and the cashier, which is just stupid. Also, Lisa's preachiness about the pigskin, while still funny, is also a sign of things to come under the Jean era.

However, this episode is still pretty good by classic Simpsons standards (which means that it is utterly brilliant by Modern Simpsons standards). I loved Joe Nameth's cameo (partially because I follow New York sports), Homer is at least given SOME rhyme or reason for his callous behaviour, the plot isn't too wacky (and when it was, it was quite funny), and the episode still contains that biting satire of the pre-teen sports world in America. Are we really cruel enough on our kids that we will make snarky comments when they lose? Are we that invested in pee-wee sports? Is it too much?

I don't have a whole lot more to say about this episode. It's full of satire and has aged relatively well. Slightly weaker than The Cartridge Family, probably due to slightly more zaniness, but still, a good episode.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2. His heckling of Flanders and cut-happy persona make him more callous than normal, but his interactions with Bart are realistic enough to save him.

Jerkass Homer Moment: Cutting Sheri, but not Terri, got to me.

Zaniness Factor: 1.5. Joe Nameth giving Bart advice and Hank Hill showing up to watch the game are a bit out of whack, but not enough to be zany.

Favourite Moment: Hank Hill watching Springfield trounce Arlen.

"We drove 2000 miles for this?"

Least Favourite Moment: Read "Jerkass Homer Moment" above.

Score: 7.75 (Rounded to 8 for Labels).

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 5: The Cartridge Family.

Airdate: 2 November, 1997

Synopsis: A football (association) game turns into a city-wide riot. (Oh, Springfield, you!) Not wanting to spend a lot of money on a security system, Homer decides to invest in a gun... freaking Marge and Lisa out. Lisa cites her opinion on the 2nd amendment, and Marge feels no more safer with a gun in the house. Not helping is the fact that Homer acts like an idiot with his gun. Marge wants him to get rid of the gun, and Homer pretends to comply. Pretends is the operative word... and when Marge finds out, she bails out of the family, with family in tow. Meanwhile, Homer tries to impress the NRA, including a meeting at his house... which ends in a substandard manner for Homer.

Review: Oh, boy. Our first regular Mike Scully episode, and there are TWO signals of the things to come in the future: Jerkass Homer and Preachy Lisa.

I'll get the Preachy Lisa out of the way: it's relatively mild. She does preach a bit about her opinion on the 2nd Amendment. Granted, this is evened out later in the episode (see below), but it casts some bad vibes. Al Jean must've seen the episode, thought "Lisa should share her opinion more", and thus came "G.I. Do'h". (And no, I might not do regular reviews of the Jean Era. I'll just sum it up right now; somewhere between season 17 and 20, the episodes went from either being "interestingly bad" or "noble failures" to just being a cluster of nothingness and sitcom cliches.

Jerkass Homer, meanwhile, is placed into the episode with a bit of vigour. He acts reckless with his gun, lies to his wife, hides a gun in the vegetable crisper, and shoots a TV and his beer. However, he will get off relatively easily in my eyes this once, because this episode was trying to make a point. The message of this episode was that "Idiots like Homer should not own a gun".  And he DOES apologise at the end. Still, this episode does bring some bad vibes.

Still, it is a pretty good episode. Really, with recent incidents involving mass shootings and gun violence, this episode has become more relevant than ever before. This episode is relatively even-handed, and it does show both sides in a flawed light: the ending shows some gun control advocates as blatant hypocrites, and the other gun owners are shown in an good-guy light. On the other hand, Homer is shown as a "take that" to the few pro-gun rights advocates who are insane, using their gun for everything and refusing to listen to the needs of the family over their own selfish desire. Also, some of the gun-owners in the show are shown to be quite brash. For those wondering, the staff of The Simpsons is split on the issue; John Swartzwelder (the writer of the episode) is pro-gun, while Matt Groening is sternly anti-gun.

(And let me make this clear: I am invoking the rule of cautious commenting judgement on this article. If comments appear full of insane rhetoric and the conversation goes well-off topic and turns into flaming each other over politics, the review goes down and the comments go bye-bye for a while. This is your warning.)

And besides, this episode tackles the gun rights issue in a funny way. Most of the humour connects, like the football riot, the "potentially dangerous" joke, the Sleep-Eazy motel, the NRA meetings... without Jerkass Homer and Preachy Lisa, this would be a 9, easy. Instead, their characterisations are taken a bit too far, and it does some damage to the score.

Jerkass Homer Meter: 2.

Jerkass Homer Moment: Four words. Gun. In. Vegetable. Crisper. No wonder why Marge bailed on the family.

Zaniness Factor: 1

Favourite Moment: Kent Brockman announcing that Mayor Quimby has declared mob rule.

For the next several years, it's every family for itself!

Least Favourite Moment: Not a huge fan of "The Waiting" montage. Given that montages would slowly take over the show, it is another sign of things to come.

Score: 7.5