Happy 50th, Doctor Who!

I just figured I'd give a brief shoutout to Doctor Who, for turning 50 years old today! What started out as a show with theatrical actors and a budget enough to buy a Big Mac has turned into a cultural phenomenon. Why?

Well, the possibilities are seemingly endless. The Doctor can go from the end of the universe to the beginning in 5 seconds flat... that is, if he had more control of the TARDIS. The relationships between the characters are wonderful, the comedy (when present) is sublime, the drama is excellent... what more can you say?

Now, I'd figure I'd give some of my own personal opinions on my favorites and least favorites of this wonderful franchise.

• Least Favorite Serial/Story (Classic Era): Time and the Rani. What a way for the much-underrated 6th Doctor to go... a minor injury. That, a story that made no sense, and no sense of pacing (even by classic standards) were just axes in the back for an already flailing show, which was placed in a coma mere years later.
• Runners Up: The Twin Dilemma, Timelash
• Favorite Serial (Classic Era): Earthshock. Adric was not a well liked companion... and his death made the fandom weep. Add in a brilliant story, wonderful execution, and brilliant direction... a pure classic for the classics!
• Runners Up: Logopolis, The Caves of Androzani.
• Least Favorite Story (Nu-Who Era): Fear Her. This story soured my opinion on the 10th Doctor for quite a long time. The story was boring, the plot was cliche, the resolution was pants, the writing was worse, the characterisation was pathetic... it might be the worst Doctor Who story ever.
• Runners Up: Love and Monsters, Let's Kill Hitler (Good plotline ruined by terrible writing for River).
• Favorite Story (Nu-Who): Army of Ghosts/Doomsday. I personally was never a huge fan of Rose, mainly due to the mediocre writing... and again, much like the Classics did with Adric, this serial did with Rose; it made me weep a bit. What more can you say... Daleks and Cybermen! The story was awesome and the writing was sublime... it's just proof the Nu-Who could (and has) held up to the classics.
• Runners Up: Blink, The Name of the Doctor, An Eleventh Hour
• Least Favorite Companion: Melanie. (No, not Melody. Don't flame me.). Melanie's actress, Bonnie Langford, was hired simply because she could scream... a throwback to the cliche of the screaming companion. She was poorly developed, the episodes that contained her tended to be the worst... nobody was sorry when she was replaced with one of my favourite companions of all time.
• Runners Up: Adric, Peri.
• Favorite Companion: It's a smegging tie.
• Ace. If Doctor Who was going out, it was going out with a bang... nitro-9, to be exact. Ace was the pyromaniac teenager, who's wacky catchphrases ("Ace"? Really?) and her costume being an 80s time machine were more than offset by being the first companion to take down a Dalek. With a baseball bat. Yet, she was also deeper than she first appeared, and the final season of the classics shows her character mature. Thus resulting in Survival, which is the best way to end the show.
• Sarah Jane. One of the most loveable companions of all time, and one of the best written of all time. It says something about her when she can not only begin her time in the 70s, come back in the 80s, return for a one-off special in the 90s, and get her own show in the 2000s, ended only by Lis Sladen's depressing death from Cancer.
• Runners Up: Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Amy Pond, The Brigadier.
• Least Favorite Villain: The Absorphomorph from Love and Monsters. I can't be too harsh on this villain, as the character was created by a grade school student. Still, the execution was pretty awful.
• Favorite Villain: Daleks. That is all. EXTERMINATE!
• Most Overrated Doctor: The 10th Doctor. Keep in mind; I love all of the Doctors. Still, the 10th Doctor is hailed as some sort of a demigod by the fanbase. Now, I'm not saying he is bad at all; he is the quintessential geek and everyman, who just happens to be an alien. Still, a general trend in series 3 was just him whining about Rose. Understandable, but he took it to extremes.
• Most Underrated Doctor: The 7th Doctor. While he gets some of the blame for the show's demise in the 80s, he is really overlooked. His later stories were some of the best in the show's history, and he was the chessmaster, manipulating anything for the good of the universe. Trekkies, think Ben Sisko... but British. And less bald. He defined the "Jerk With a Heart of Gold" archetype for British dramas and science fiction.
• Least Favorite Doctor: Sorry, but I have to give this to the 6th Doctor. Again, I like the idea of a cruel doctor who slowly reveals himself to be one of the kindest people alive. He DID get better scripts and a kinder characterization in the Audiodramas. Still, in the show, he always seemed to be an egoist, tended to use violence more than other Doctors, and do we have to mention his first story, The Twin Dilemma? Again, he got better later in his run, but it was too little, too late.

And now, for the moment all of you have been waiting for. The main event. The grand reveal. The moment to define all moments. The best moment in the history of this blog. The moment that will color me for

OK, OK!

• Favorite Doctor: The 4th Doctor. Yes, Tom Baker himself. God, I struggled to decide who was my favorite: the goofy 2nd, the childish yet mature 11th, the dark 9th, the chessmaster 7th, the sweet 5th. Ultimately, though, who else deserved this award but the quintessential Doctor himself. Tom Baker took the role in 1974, and didn't leave until 1980. He combined that childish yet also wonderful sense of, well, wonder. He never used violence, he tried to pacify his opponents with Jelly Babies, he was brilliant, he dressed fantastically.. at this point, it would be too much to list just how perfect the writing for him was. The best part about him was, for as alien as he was, he was also very human. It never got grating (as much as like 11, he can be a bit grating.) The 4th Doctor is and (barring a meteoritic change) always will be the best Doctor.

Please don't flame me about my choices.

New Scoring System for the Simpsons

...And so, with Treehouse of Horror VIII, we have entered the Scully Era.

While this era was loathed for many a reason, there are two focal points that caused the most ire. Those two will now be indicated in their own "meters", so to speak.

The first is the zaniness factor.

Yes, I know that this is not from the Scully Era. This is a parody of Twin Peaks... which managed to be less insane than Scully-Era Simpsons. Yes. I said that.

Starting in season 9, episodes would often take over the top twists, play it up for as much drama as possible, and make few aversions or twists to the ensuing clichés. Sometimes, they might joke around with how zany the episodes are, but in the end, episodes would go from, among other things:

• Homer joins the navy and launches a second cold war.
• Homer and Snake have a high-speed car chase.
• Homer and Marge have to run around town after being caught in scandal.
• Homer's idiocy causes the town to overflow with garbage, causing them to move.
• Homer moves to his old farm and grows "tomacco".
• A biker fights Homer in a sword-style fight... with bikes.
• Homer gets into a car chase with Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin.
• Homer winds up in the middle of a movie controversy including Mel Gibson.
• Homer (notice a theme here) and Bart have to run away from murderous Jockey Elves.
• I am not making this last point up.

Therefore, the episodes will be scored in wackiness in the following factor.

1. Your run of the mill Simpsons Episode, grounded in reality, maybe a hint of silliness.
2. More silly than the run-of the mill episode, but would not seem too out of place in an earlier era.
3. Quite silly and zany, with slapstick the act of the hour. A bit far from reality.
4. Over the top and beyond any normal sense of reality.
5. I'm sorry, I must've thrown on Twin Peaks, or Ren and Stimpy- oh, wait, this is the Simpsons?

The second point that fans complain about is Jerkass Homer.

This was a throwaway gag from season 4. It was funny then, because it was slightly too mean for that era of Homer.

Homer, in this new incarnation, often got into the aforementioned zany situations, most of whom involved him getting a second job. That's not too bad, right?

Well, Homer was also transformed into somebody who was overtly self-confident in his own antics. Again, not too bad, right. Well, in this era, Homer...

• Refuses to get rid of his gun, to Marge's chagrin.
• Sells out Kim Bassinger and Alec Baldwin
• Leaves his father to die from kidney failure twice
• Sells out the trucking industry
• Beats up the Japanese Emperor
• Gets Ned in trouble in Vegas
• Gives his daughter ulcers
• Callously uses techniques he learned in bodyguard school on his family
• Trashes Mr. Burns's Mansion
• Deflects criticism about his role in Maude's death
• Attempts to blow up town hall and kill many a citizen over area codes.
• Again, not kidding about that one. To many, that scene symbolises how far the character fell.
• Don't get me started on "Kill the Alligator and Run".

That's just the short list. Let's make a list of all the times Homer learned a lesson or got punished at an appropriate level for his actions.

• He got deposed as sanitation commissioner....

And that's about it. Might I also add that Homer wound up meeting every celebrity on the face of the planet, just so they could praise each other (Homer as the "common man" with "common ideas", and the celebrities for the good they did.) 

This new Homer was a borderline indestructible demigod, a Mary Sue for Mike Scully's insane fantasies. (Dude, you're living in Hollywood). And yes. I just said that Homer was a Mary Sue. Writers, if you are reading this, Homer is on the same level as a fanfiction original character. Pat yourselves on the back!

He was like Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation... except Wesley was evolved into a somewhat likeable character. Homer went the other way. 

So, we must line up our scale.

1. What you would see in the classic era. The everyman who just wanted food and TV. Just an average joe who did not care about celebrities.
2. Some jerkass qualities, but nothing to make the character grating. Maybe got involved with a celebrity, but that's it.
3. The average for the Scully era. He's quite insane, and goes on adventures with celebrities. This is the area where you start to tell him to cram it.
4. Very much Jerkass-y. He's cruel, abusive, would be placed in an asylum in the real world, and gets praised to the dickens by celebrities.
5. Congratulations, writers. You have made the Sixth Doctor sane in comparison. 

One more note. Dead Homer Society, a blog dedicated to all things The Simpsons (with a twist of criticising modern episodes, pulling few punches) cites seasons 7-12 as the general transition from The Simpsons (what it calls the classic era) to Zombie Simpsons (what it calls the modern era). While I do agree that there was a gradual transition, for me, I like to point to a threshold- a point of no return. 

To me, once both scales have reached 5 at least once, that is the moment when, going by the names set by Dead Homers, The Simpsons officially ends and Zombie Simpsons begins. Keep in mind, both have to had hit 5 at least once. For example, the zaniness scale can reach 5 about seventeen times and the show can still be part of the classic era. Once the Jerkass scale hits 5, the classic era is officially dead, and the show is a soul-less, corporate cash cow.

Get ready! Or be afraid. Whatever floats your boat.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 4: Treehouse of Horror VIII

Airdate: October 26, 1997

This might be the start to the most infamous era in Simpsons history (this is Mike Scully's first episode at the helm), but this is not a bad episode at all. THOH was actually pretty good right up until the show made the shift to HD.

Like my review of "Bottomless Pit", we will go segment by segment. Like always, SPOILERS!

First Segment:

After Mayor Quimby goes too far with his jokes about the French, the aforementioned French decide to do the logical thing... and nuke Springfield to a crisp. Homer survives because he was in a bomb shelter he was looking to buy to save himself. Homer is stunned by the fact that he is the last human being alive, but begins partying like it's the end of the world (pun intended). However, mutated Springfielders show up to try and create a utopian society without past mistakes... meaning that Homer is toast.

The first segment is probably my favourite segment of the episode. To an extent, it reminds me a bit of Red Dwarf (average joe schmoe is the last person of his kind). Homer's celebration of his freedom reminds us of the human id; we act on the first opportunity. However, the scene where he cries over his family really show his heart of gold... something that would be quite a bit less visible over the coming years. And must we mention Comic Book Guy's words as he realises that he will be the centre of the nuclear explosion?

(Almost deadpan) "Oh, i've wasted my life."

Just... awesome.

Second Segment: Fly vs. Fly

Homer purchases a matter transporter to make getting to the fridge that much easier, amongst other things. Having been refused access to the transporter, Bart sneaks downstairs in the middle of the night to test it out, and realises that if two living beings are granted access to the machine at the same time, their physical features swap. Bart tries it out with a fly, but winds up becoming a fly with Bart's head, while the fly reappears with Bart's body.

Probably my least favourite of the three, this still contains many a laugh due to it's shoutout to The Fly and the amount of physical comedy. Plus, why else would somebody use a matter transporter? To do simple tasks, of course! Still, the family holds on to the idiot ball rather firmly, as they think that Bart's head is just a fly, and that it is a phase. Also, Homer chasing Bart around the house with an axe? While it's funny, it also shows the earliest signs that Mike Scully was taking Homer to strange new places.

Third Segment: Easy Bake Coven

It is the late 1690s. Sprynge-Fylde is undergoing a nasty witch hunt, with few spared. Goody Simpson becomes the victim of the next cull. She winds up facing the ultimate test of witchcraft;

"You sit on the broom and we shove you off the cliff. If you're innocent, you will fall to an honourable Christian death. If you are, however, the bride of Satan, you will surely fly your boom to safety. At that point, you will report back here for torture and beheading."

They push her off a cliff... and are proven right. Marge goes back to her cavern, alongside Patty and Selma. They decide to go out and capture some kids. In the process, they start Halloween.

Another great one, although HΩmega beats this out by a slim margin. It's funnier if you read The Crucible. I had to read that in school; pretty good. Really, it's if they took Springfield and threw it back 300 years, with almost perfect recreation. Bonus points go to the town hall meeting, which will leave almost everybody in stitches.

Overall, a pretty awesome THOH. There seems to be very little concern about the future of the show, right? Well...

Score: I've decided that THOH episodes will not receive a score, nor will be counted in seasonal wrap-ups. They would be at the top of the list of best episodes of the seasons, so I might as well just review them without a score.

Speaking of score, I will be adding extra indicators to Scully-Era Simpsons.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 3: "Lisa's Sax"

Airdate: October 19, 1997

Synopsis: Lisa's saxophone gets destroyed in an accident. While Lisa is mourning her companion cube, Homer recounts the time Lisa got her saxophone. Two stories are then told: the first one connecting to the second one.

In the story, a 5-year old Bart loses his enthusiasm for school because his kindergarten teacher was apathetic and callous. While talking to the school psychologist, Homer and Marge note that Lisa is gifted. With no money to afford private school, Homer and Marge worry about Lisa's creativity being channeled in the cultural wasteland they live in. Meanwhile, Bart has to deal with his depression. Yes. Depression.

Review: This is going to be a slightly shorter review than normal, partially because there is not a whole lot to talk about. This is also the last episode until season 13 that did not have Mike Scully at the helm. Enjoy it.

Why? This might be the best episode between season 9 and season 13. It actually feels like a classic-era episode, with that sense of cruelty and heart that the show demonstrated during those wicked early years. The development given to Lisa and Bart is not only brilliant, it is also quite sad. Bart was depressed by a teacher, got ignored by his parents, and became America's Bad Boy because of it. We get to see how Lisa was put down by society and class, and how she got to channel her intelligence in the cultural wasteland called Springfield.

Might I also add that the humour is on par with what one would see during the Oakley-Weinstein Era. A bit sad, given the next episode had Mike Scully take over and launch his reign of terror.

It is truly a brilliant episode with few flaws. If there is only one episode to watch from season 9, make it this one.

Favourite Scene: The All in the Family parody opening. That might be even more hysterical because of the Sheriff Lobo reference.

Least Favourite Scene: Homer and Marge not paying much attention to Bart's Depression is a bit cold of them. Granted, The Simpsons is not an overtly-sweet sitcom (at least not when this episode aired) but still.

Score: 9.

Next Simpsons review... we delve into the Scully Era. Be afraid. Be Very afraid!

Depressing Tribute Time: Last Saturday, Marcia Wallace, the voice of Edna Krabappel, went to the great comedy club in the sky. This is, of course, depressing, and has shaken the show to it's core. Al Jean has announced that the character will be retired. Gotta give Jean respect for that.

The Red Dwarf Reviews Are Going on Hiatus.

Well, this news will make Mr. Flibble very cross.

Look, I have effectively plowed through half of the original Red Dwarf (1988-99). I don't want to go too fast in my reviews of this show. Also, I am currently a bit busy right now, and I'd figure I'd take a minor break from this show to renew my energy.

I will still update the blog with other reviews, maybe a few "Not Another Top X Lists", maybe do some other segments, just to keep the pace flowing. Still, I'd figure I'd take a break from Red Dwarf for a brief time.

So, what I am saying is that, until at least Christmas, my Red Dwarf reviews are going on hiatus. Again, I might do a few specials, and I might be back earlier, but don't count on it.

Now, about the rest of the shows I review, here is the deal.

• Gravity Falls airs in rather decent rotation stateside on Disney Channel. So, those episodes will be easy to review. Still, once episode 20 ("Gideon Rises") is done, that show will not be reviewed until next year (because episode 20 is the end of the season, and next season will debut... next year.)
• I own seasons 9-13 of The Simpsons on DVD, so those reviews will continue. Oh, joy. I get to watch one of the greatest shows of all time utterly disintegrate. Episode. By. Episode.

Red Dwarf Review: Series IV Wrap Up

Well, we have reached the end of Series IV of Red Dwarf. We are, in terms of series amounts, halfway through Red Dwarf's original run. (In terms of episodes, we reach the half point after "The Inquisitor".)

So, what do I think? Well, not much, other than this series was wonderful.

Sure, some episodes were weaker compared to the high standards of the golden age (Camille, anybody)? Overall, however, this season produced some wicked good episodes, including the uber-memorable "Dimension Jump". All of the other episodes, however, are very much brilliant.

As I said in my preview, this season often gets overlooked, sandwiched between the critically acclaimed series 3 and 5. This series, however, was just funny. Granted, the series began and ended with two of the weaker "classic" episodes ("Camille" and "Meltdown"), but even those episodes were very, very funny.

Like series 3, the development given to the characters is awesome. Rimmer gets the brunt of the development, however. We get to see just how deranged he is in episodes like "Meltdown", yet get to see how self pitying he is and "Justice". Making a character that is sympathetic, annoying, and funny at the same time is a hard feat. Red Dwarf simply excels at it.

The plots also got better and better, and more into the sci-fi territory. We had "Dimension Jump", which analysed the idea of alternate universes; "White Hole", which used a kooky twist on sci-fi that only Futurama could do better; and "DNA", which showed Kryten go from machine to man, with hilarious consequences.

This series is just a joy to watch. If you have iTunes cash, buy it. If you have actual cash, get the DVD. If you have a Netflix account, watch it.

Red Dwarf Review: Series IV, Episode 6: "Meltdown"

Airdate: 21 March 1992.

Synopsis: As Rimmer is boring the crew of Red Dwarf to death with his stories, Kryten discovers a matter transporter device in the research lab of Red Dwarf. It can convert an individual into digital information and then transmit them in the form of light beams to another point in space within 500,000 light years. The crew decide to explore the nearest planet with breathable air, 200,000 light years away. Rimmer and Kryten go first to see if the atmosphere is breathable and send the device back, but are then chased by two Adult Gappas, then taken prisoner by a gun-toting Elvis Presley and the Pope. Lister and the Cat follow but accidentally end up in what appears to be the Third Reich and are captured by Adolf Hitler, whose men take the device.

It soon becomes apparent that they have travelled to Wax-world — a Wax-Droid theme park that has been abandoned for millions of years, during which time the droids have broken their programming and gained sentience. Now the droid replica inhabitants of Villain World are waging war against Hero World, in "the ultimate battle of Good versus Evil". The evil Waxdroids use the heroes' wax to make more of their own kind. Thanks to this, the heroes are on the verge of defeat. Rimmer takes up the opportunity to turn the tide of the war.

Review: This episode gets a rather weak rap on Red Dwarf polls, as it is often cited for being too hokey and a bit unlike Red Dwarf.

And I can see where they are coming from.

Not only are there some shifts in character that are not explained well (the writers tried to keep Rimmer like a human, yet he is turned into a light bee that can practically stop him at any time), but the anti-war message at the end was pretty blatant. Not Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue blatant, but still pretty blatant.

Does that mean this is a bad episode? Not really.

This is not an episode that will place tops on the Best Red Dwarf Ever poll, but it still is a pretty funny episode. I actually like the idea of a two-plot structure seen in this episode, as it shows what happens when the Posse are split up. The end results are hysterical.

Not only is Rimmer training the Good Wax droids funny, but it also exposes an aspect of his character. He does not like being a leader so much as he likes a desire for control. He also does not give a lot about what happens to his solders: as long as he gets the personal feel of victory, all is right in the world of Arnold Judas Rimmer. That's why he is obsessed with war: he does not like the historical aspects or the mechanics or the ethics. He likes to control. He thinks that he is leading, but he is controlling. His dialouge with the Wax Droids shows it all. Also, he has no idea how to lead anybody. "We attack tomorrow, under cover of daylight!" And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Plus, Lister and the Cat's antics are pretty good. The scene with them in the jail cell is hilarious. There is the Cat flipping out, Lister watching the worst people come out and build gallows, and then...

They're tyin' him to a stake... it's Winnie the Pooh! [...] It's Winnie the Pooh, I swear! He's refusing the blindfold.

(after watching Winnie get executed, he simply steps down, completely fazed). That's something that no one should ever have to see!

Also, Elvis Presley as one of the good droids that kidnap Rimmer and Kryten? Brilliant! And the bad special effects of dinosaurs? Wonderful!

Of course, the critics of the episode do have a point when they criticise the "moral of the story" ending. Unlike in "Justice", where it was mocked by having Lister fall down a pipe, there was no such mocking of the moral. That's not really like Red Dwarf. When it does include a lesson, it's pretty subtle. Granted, some anvils need to be dropped, but still; a bit jarring.

TL;DR? A wickedly underrated episode, and a good closing episode to series IV.

Favourite Scene: The jail cell scene. Just, the jail cell scene.

Least Favourite Scene: The whole "moral of the week" ending. What is this, Red Dwarf, or Captain Planet?

Score: 8.

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 2: Principal and the Pauper.

Airdate: September 28th, 1997

Synopsis: Springfield Elementary School is about to celebrate the anniversary of Skinner's tenure at the school. Skinner is surprised at the glowing tribute given to him. However, a strange man (Martin Sheen) pulls up and enters the school, and announces that he is also named Seymour Skinner. Skinner conciedes that he was an imposter (really named Armin Tamzarian) and that he took the real Skinner's identity.... and, really, describing beyond that point would just be a waste of space.

Review: Oh, boy. This episode. To many people, this episode marked the very first signs of the show's descent into hacktackularity. The plot alone is considered to be the worst one ever made up by the show.

Now, what do I think of this? Four words: bad plot, decent execution.

The idea itself just screams "moronic" right from the get-go. Really, taking a character that had been developed over the past 8 seasons, and then revealing all of that to be a fraud? WHAT THE?  To add insult to injury, this creates tons of plot holes in the show's canon. (Who was serving with Abe in "Curse of the Flying Hellfish"? What else happened with Skinner in Vietnam?)

Also, with this, we get to see the show truly use a gimmicky plot that it would often mock. Granted, unlike other examples, I can see the idea of this (even though it was a stupid idea from moment 1), as a desire to experiment with the canon of the show. However, it still is stupid, and was a sign of things to come, with lack of care for characters or interesting plots. So, yeah, this episode deserves a goodly amount of it's hate.

Where is it redeemed? Well, it's actually quite funny. I would not consider this the funniest episode ever, but there are plenty of scenes that will still elicit quite a few laughs. A few include:

• The Road Trip to Capital City, with Agnes, Edna, the Simpson Family, Abe (also part of said Simpson Family), and Jasper.
• "Is this the line for those who want to badmouth Sargent Skinner?" "And have 12 Items or Less!" "12, 11, 10, the man's a weenie!"
• "The judge offered me a choice. Jail, the army, or apologising to the old man and the lady. Of course, if I knew there was a war going on, I probably would have apologised."
• Apu not caring what Skinner/Armin calls himself.
• "Keep looking shocked, and move slowly towards the cake!" 

Still, I can see why that this episode is quite controversial. The plot is stupid. Maybe, if they did not play it so seriously, it would work. That, however, is a failure that would also dominate later episodes, with cliches and/or stupid plot elements played dead straight. Even then, with the ending scene, they did tend to take the MST3K Mantra with this episode. However, with the fanbase of The Simpsons being as passionate as it is (seriously, log onto nohomers.net or deadhomersociety.com), I can see why they did not take kindly to this episode.

Favourite Scene (Spoiler): The very end of the episode, with the necessary deus ex machina (in which the town legally denies the real Skinner's existence).

Least Favourite Scene: The reveal of Armin Tamzarian. Except for the "move towards the cake" line above.

Score: 6.5.

Behind The Laughter (According to Wikipedia): If you thought only the fans hated the episode... not so. Harry Shearer, who plays Skinner (Our Skinner), hated this episode. Matt Groening also was not a fan of this episode. Ken Keeler, however, declared that this episode was his personal favourite to work on. I personally prefer his other works, like "A Star is Burns", "Two Bad Neighbors", "Brother From Another Series", damn near every episode he did on Futurama (such as all four series finales he did. Yes. He did all four episodes which, at the time of production, were supposed to be the end).

Scullyfied Simpsons: Season 9, Episode 1: "The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson"

Airdate: September 21st, 1997.

Synopsis: Barney Gumble, after being forced to stay sober for one night, goes insane and manages to land Homer's car between the Twin Towers of the New York World Trade Center. Yes. Those towers. He has to choose between picking the car up or having it towed away (i.e. trashed). Homer is sceptical about going to the city, as he had a bad experience there in the 1970s. The family go to New York, with Homer going to the World Trade Center to get a cop to unboot his car, while the rest of the clan tour NY.

The family overall has a good experience in New York, experiencing the good side of things (the top of the Statue of Liberty, a Broadway play, a carriage ride in the park, MAD Magazine). Homer, however, magnifies every single fault he has, and after missing the cop because he had to go to the bathroom at the top of the World Trade Center, he decides to drive away with the boot on the car. He manages to get said boot loose, picks up the family and speeds away from New York, with no intent to return.

Review: This episode is known for three things, two of which that would dominate the show in future episodes, and all of which could be seen as a detriment against the episode.

• An early apperance of Jerkass Homer.
• One of the many "The Simpsons Go To..." episodes.
• The episode with Homer's car is parked at the twin towers. Yes. Those Twin Towers.

It's partially because of the latter reason why this episode was never aired in syndication in the New York Tri-State area after 9/11. Being that I live in the tri-state area, that means it was not until 2007 when I caught the episode on DVD.

This episode was produced for the 8th season, although it aired during the 9th. So, the only reason this is included is because it contains traced of the flaws that would dominate the episode later. The main plot is a bit thin and random, Homer is loud and quite obnoxious, he gets off with little comeuppance (although his car is trashed), and the subplot is quite meagre (although, seeing how the subplots would fall later on, this is actually rather good).

Still, this episode is actually quite funny. For those of you who do not know what New York City was like in the 70s.... think of what Detroit is like now. It was pretty bad. I could see where Homer was getting at with his refusal to go to New York. Therefore, you expect him to amplify every single negative point about New York City and his trip. I actually do enjoy the contrast between Homer's view of New York vs. the family's experience of NY. Also, you can not deny the fact that "I'm Checking In" is a pretty catchy song.

This episode is, overall, not the best episode of The Simpsons ever made. But it could be worse. In fact, the next episode is going to be quite worse.

Favourite Scene: "I'm Checking In!"

Score: 7.5

Scullyfied Simpsons: The Fall of a TV Giant.

There is no denying it; The Simpsons has shaped American culture. It broke rules on what can be in a cartoon, it mocked everybody, it managed to merge both cynicism and sweetness within mere moments of each other (if not simultaneously), it had likeable characters, intelligent humour, and a wonderful setting. It was the very first prime-time programme I EVER watched, and I still quote various episodes to this very day.

Now, the show gets ready to enter an historic season 25. With this, we must take some time out to reflect on a show that is still shaking up norms, slashing-and-burning, making us think, and overall, bringing us strong belly laughs and warming our hearts.

I only wish that the second sentence in the previous paragraph was true.

Indeed, there is no doubt about it; at some point, The Simpsons slipped in quality. How badly it has fallen and when it slipped is up to every viewer. It is the opinion of this blogger that the show began slipping in season 9, entered freefall in season 10, and finally burned out completely in the middle of season 20.

There are various factors in the crash: running out of plausible plots, mischaracterisation, trying too hard to say relevant, etc... There are also many people to blame for this crash in quality: the less talented writers, Matt Groening, FOX, the cast, etc. etc. However, most of the hatred from the fandom is laid on the feet of one man.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the distinct honour to introduce you to Mike Scully.

Scully took over the show in season 9. Coincidentally, that is also when the show started to slip in quality. Now, it's hard to list every problem in minute detail, but let's go over the problems in quick succession.

• The tight control on the storylines got loosened. Suddenly, plots were seemingly made up on the spot.
• The nerd-humour was cut down significantly.
• A Decline in touching moments. We went from endings such as "You Are Lisa Simpson" and "Do It For Her" to "Jockey Elves trapped in Garbage Bags" (Not kidding about the elves) and "Pirates Rob a Yacht".
• Mischaracterisation. Often, characters would change from episode to episode. The most infamous example? Homer went from "selfish and moronic, yet lovable and somewhat down to earth", all the way to "Captain Wacky callous egomaniac". Others were changed, but Homer is the one most remembered.
• Adding on to the Homer example, he also became the centre of the universe, and met all these celebrities, had zillions of jobs, etc. You know, your average joe!
• Speaking of celebrities, the purpose of guest stars changed from having them voice characters created by the writers, to having them voice idealised versions of themselves.
• Storylines that were not shifting rapidly from second to second were repeated from earlier episodes.
• Stuff that would have been played for laughs in earlier episodes was played seriously, and vice-versa.
• Not a single care toward the audience, if not outright insulting them.

Now, I know what you are thinking: Mike Scully is not the one man responsible for the decline of a once brilliant TV show! And you are right. In Scully's defence, many factors involving the staff caused a slip in quality. Also, Mike Scully wrote some of the best scripts in the history of the show (Lisa's Rival, Lisa on Ice, Two Dozen and One Greyhounds, Lisa's Date with Destiny).

However, Scully was the man at the top of the food chain (Matt Groening had backed off the show and was developing some office comedy that was not well liked by FOX.)

Mike could have kept a tight control on the staff and their writing/animation. He did not. And that's why Mike Scully gets so much blame. He had so much responsibility, and he did not utilise it well. That's why he gets a chunk of the blame for the show's slip in quality.

Now, here's the deal with the episodes that I will be watching. We are going to span from the first episode of season 9 all the way to Mike Scully's last episode as executive producer in season 13. This will mean that we will cover a couple of episodes directed by Bill Oakley and Joel Weinstein (who are responsible for season's 7 and 8, but also had a few holdovers). One of those episodes from season 9 under Oakley/Weinstein is considered the beginning of the show's collapse.

Will we cover any more episodes? Maybe. We might go back to season 1 to analyse the beginning of the show, season 7 to try and rebut a claim by the popular "Kill the Simpsons and Do It 15 Years Ago" blog "Dead Homer Society" that the episode "Marge Be Not Proud" marked the very first signs of decline. We might even take a look at season 25, just to see how stupid and boring it is.

But the point is, we are going to analyse the collapse of what was once the de facto king of comedy.