April 2010

  • "The Squirt and the Whale"

    By MichaelP03 on 4/28/10 4:14pm
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    The Squirt and the WhaleThe Squirt and the Whale

    The Simpsons return in "The Squirt and the Whale", episode nineteen of season twenty-one. Wind turbines, a beached (and then blown-up) blue whale, sharks and an unintentionally harpooned seagull come together for an entertaining, if slightly disappointing episode, where Lisa learns an important life lesson and Homer saws into his brain. 

    The jokes start even before the episode kicks off, with this week's chalkboard gag reading "South Park - We'd Stand Behind You If We Weren't So Scared". It's funny (and brilliant) how in one single line, The Simpsons can say so many things. The couch gag, with its Onion-like headlines about the couch's escape from (and reconciliation with) the Simpsons, is similarly well done.

     

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  • "Chief of Hearts" (part 1)

    By MichaelP03 on 4/19/10 7:34pm
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    Chief of HeartsChief of Hearts

    Homer Simpson and Springfield's Chief of Police become BFFs over community service and parmesan sandwiches, while Marge worries that Bart is dealing drugs in "Chief of Hearts", the 18th episode of the 21st season of The Simpsons.

    After being sentenced to community service for smuggling a candy apple into a bank, Homer shares his lunch (consisting of a ridiculous assortment of parmesan-based sandwiches) with Springfield's chief fuzz, Clancy Wiggum (who, as a cop, has few friends and a wife who spends more time with her book club). Wiggum warms to the overture and spends time bonding with Homer, while the other delinquents (Kent Brockman and Krusty the Clown among them) perform such tasks as retrieving used condoms and arranging old bums by the wars they fought in.

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  • "Chief of Hearts" (part 2)

    By MichaelP03 on 4/19/10 7:33pm
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    Chief of HeartsChief of Hearts

    "Chief of Hearts" works as a cute episode without raising the bar. To be fair, this is the 21st year of The Simpson's existence, and it doesn't need to constantly reinvent the wheel in order to justify its existence. The budding friendship between Wiggum and Homer is alternatively charming (Wiggum letting Homer "spring clean" his criminal record) and clichéd (Wiggum excitedly asking Lou and Eddie if Homer's looking at him). I don't recall if the two characters have ever had a great deal of interaction in past episodes, and if this is the first where the two share significant time together, writers Carolyn Omine and William Wright could have done a much worse job.

     

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  • "American History X-cellent" (part 1)

    By MichaelP03 on 4/13/10 5:11pm
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    American History X-cellentAmerican History X-cellent

    After many years of "stock jobbing, gun running, attempted murder, successful murder and Tom-Peepery", Mr. Burns finally sees the inside of a jail cell. It's the 17th episode of The Simpson's 21st season (the 458th episode in total, if prefer), and the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant has a new boss. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa fight over, and are eventually brought together by, the last ant in Lisa's ant farm. It makes much more sense in the episode, believe me.

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  • "American History X-cellent" (part 2)

    By MichaelP03 on 4/13/10 5:08pm
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    American History X-cellentAmerican History X-cellent

    The components of "American History X-cellent" work really well. Lisa and Bart have a good 'B' story with great individual scenes (Bart licking Lisa and Lisa's bit about organ donors), and after decades of their own adventures, it's nice to see them acting like kids again. The elements of the 'A' story work as well: Smithers' evil streak is a nice change of character for him; Moe's unintentional influence of the plot to break Burns out of prison (first with the "meaningful eye contact", followed by the "whispered huddle") is a pleasing little nod to all the clichés we knew were coming;  and Burns' experiences in prison amount to good comedy moments.

     

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