Havana Wild Weekend S28 E7

Synopsis: After Homer finds a spot on the rug and blames the dog, Abe steps forward admitting that he was the one who had the accident. All the Simpsons are worried about Abe’s health and go to his old folks’ home to see if they can help. The old folks’ home offers to drop him off at Skid Row. After a failed visit at the VA, Abe hears that he can go to Cuba and be patched up on the cheap.

The Simpsons go to visit Cuba to fix up Abe, but there is nothing that the doctors can do for him. Abe decides that he will just sit and wait for death’s sweet release, until he sees a vintage car. Abe gets a drive around the block in the car and finds himself transported back to the 50s. After the car ride he becomes invigorated and lively. Abe is eating a lot, walking around town, and even flirting with girls.

Abe falls for a bartender named Isabella and at the bar meets his old war mate. The old pal shows Abe an old airplane turned night club and asks Abe if he wants to become his business partner. Abe says yes and Homer worries that Abe will never come home, so he rats on Abe on the USA government. The Simpsons finally find the airplane nightclub filled with awful Americans who ran away to Cuba. Isabella turns out to be a USA government agent and flies the plane full of American criminals and the Simpsons back to America.

Best Quote: “Now that’s a Milhouse I can marry” - Homer Simpson.

Special Guests: Stacy Keach and Deb Lacusta.

The Verdict: The couch gag was smart and creative in a classic Simpsons way. I enjoyed that the Greek mythology was continued with Homer giving birth to Lisa because of a headache alla Zeus and Athena.

Yet again, another episode that focuses on just one story line. I love that they are doing that! I also think it was interesting that Abe was getting close to his end. We don’t really think much about any of the characters dying, but it did bring to my attention that Abe is old and near death. Abe is shown as feeble and then turns out to be strong and popular, it’s nice to see him in this light.

The integration of Spanish was really cool in this episode and had a funny quip about how Bart was not using the formal tenses when speaking with a stranger. Although there were definitely funny moments like the flamingos tumbling out of the luggage shoot, the vultures nest, and Maggie taking all of the food out of the mini fridge, the episode laid a little flat. The I Love Lucy reference was good, but got confusing as it continued. I enjoy the fact that the Simpsons always get kicked out of a new country, and am sad to see that they weren’t this time. If the episode kept up with how strong the entrance was, then it would have been much better.

Ranking: A flight where you have sleeping gas the whole time or a 7/10

There Will Be Buds E6 S28

Synopsis: The town is a buzz for the opening day for peewee football. But, when there is a smoke machine incident all of the kids can’t see and get concussions running into each other. The mothers become frenzied with the idea of their babies being hurt, so Springfield has a town meeting to find a new sport for their kids to play. Kirk Van Houten tries to get the crowds’ attention, but fails to be heard. Homer helps Kirk be heard by the crowd thanks to Marge’s insistence. Kirk shows the town lacrosse and the town goes wild, Kirk ten asks Homer to be the assistant coach because he believes that Homer is his bro.

The Springfield children are surprisingly good at the sport and don’t lose one game while Kirk and Homer are coaching. Since Homer and Kirk are spending more time together Kirk thinks that they are best friends and tries to rope Homer to do things outside of coaching. Homer only bears with Kirk because he wants his children to continue to have fun and build teamwork skills. However, Kirk overhears Homer saying that he dislikes Kirk and that derails the major championship game. Kirk is no where to be found and it’s up to Homer to find him and save the game before the Springfield team has forfeit. Homer finds Kirk at a strip club and convinces him to leave to go to the game saying that he is not his friend, but he respects Kirk. Kirk then valiantly returns to the lacrosse game and the Springfield team wins the whole championship. 

Best Quote: “Rice sandwiches? That’s mush on mush. Doesn’t this guy know that kids need bologna to win?” - Homer Simpson.

The Verdict: Now this is an episode I can get behind. There was not a bunch of different subplots, it focused on just two characters, and showed the real struggle that people do face of having to spend time with an annoying person to benefit the greater good. I loved that we learned things about Kirk. Any time I can learn something new about The Simpsons, I geek out. We learned that he is essentially a neck beard who is really into bourbon, swing music, strip clubs, and lacrosse. He was an all-time lacrosse player and was going to play in the national leagues, but hurt his wrists. I especially liked the bit at the end that showed Kirk’s Youtube channel and how obnoxious of a guy he can be. In the end the audience learned a lesson that even those who are annoying can still receive respect when it is due.

What I disliked about this episode is that there was a musical scene. To me that always reeks of filler. I also wish that it went a little deeper in to the stereotypes associated with lacrosse or the kids’ reactions.

Ranking: The energy one gets from a rice sandwich or an 8/10

“Trust but Clarify” S28 E5

Synopsis: The couch gag was thoughtful in that Homer was shoved into an art museum and learned about the different forms of art. Once he left the museum, he began to see the whole world in a Cubist way. Personally I liked it because it shows how art can be eye-opening and change perspectives, but that’s pretty corny. 

Homer mopes about losing an impressive promotion to Tibor, but meets his own ambition. Homer’s ambition and Homer decide that they need a new wardrobe so that people won’t think that he’s outdated. Marge is thrilled that Homer wants a new wardrobe and takes him shopping for a new suit. Homer looks good and now feels good, so he asks Burns for a raise. Burns recognizes that Homer’s suit is just a cheap one and embarrasses Homer, thus reverting back to his old ways.

Krusty produces a new candy called “krustaceans” is actually tasty and is pretty popular among the kids. Lisa notices that the kids eating krustaceans are getting tingling in their hands and arms. Bart is such a fan and protector of Krusty that he brings Lisa to the lab where krustaceans are made to prove that they are okay. Lisa and Bart steal the chemicals that make the candy so that they can get tested. They find that there are a myriad of additives in the candy and that it causes paralysis. Lisa looks for someone who can break the story and bring it to the community’s attention.

Kent Brockman is caught in a lie when he tells a heavily fabricated story about him in the army. Channel 6 news promptly fires Kent and he must figure out a way to regain face. Desperate, Kent attempts to make his own news show with his camcorder, but quickly turns to homelessness. Lisa approaches him asking for him to be the hero and break the news, Kent first says no, but after reviewing it with his anchor support group he decides that he will help Lisa expose Krusty. Kent and Lisa are successful, thus thrusting Kent back to the top.

Best Quote: “Sweetheart, I’m always happy to temporarily lose weight” - Homer to Marge.

Special Guests: Dan Rather

The Verdict: There were  good quips throughout the episode and I liked the story arch. The story arch was that similar to the ones of the past, but yet again the story seemed rushed or that they were trying to fit more in than they should. Instead of focusing on one major story and two minor ones, I’d like to see more episodes of just one. I will say more than most episodes, this one had a few one liners that were pretty funny.

Ranking: All the tastiness of the krustaceans, but with the paralysis or a 6.5/10

“Treehouse of Horror XXVII” S28 E4

Synopsis: The first story is entitled “Dry Hard” which is a mix of the Hunger Games and Mad Max: Fury Road. Everyone, but Burns, has no water. So Burns offers to share his water with the family whose child wins the death match among other children. After some killings Lisa convinces all of the children and the folks of Springfield that since they have all of these deadly skills they can take it straight to Burns and demand the water back. The water is freed, but there is little. Then there is rain, but that floods the planet. In the end Lisa is freezing in an ice tundra.

BFF R.I.P. tells the story of Lisa and her best friends, who continually get murdered in horrific ways. The police search Lisa’s room and find the sparkle nail polish that’s at every scene of the crime. Lisa only wore that sparkle nail polish when she played with her imaginary friend Rachel, that she has since outgrown. Lisa is put into jail and Rachel finds out that Marge was the reason why Lisa left her. Bart, who does routine break ins at the jail, frees Lisa and they run off to save Marge from Rachel. Homer’s imaginary friend attempts to save the day, but it’s Lisa who imagines Rachel as her mother that can finally kill her.

Moefinger starts off with Bart running away from a beatdown from the bullies. Moe beats up the bullies and saves Bart. Both of the guys wander into the tavern and Moe reveals his secret lair. Moe then tells Bart that his recently deceased father was actually a secret agent. Bart is next in line to become an agent and revenge his father’s death. The new enemy they must fight against ends up being Homer and he has lured the team to a Steely Dan concert. Homer’s plan is to get all of the world’s beer supply. Bart ends up saving the day by killing Homer and becoming the next super spy very similar to James Bond.

Best Quote: “Also in the middle I sober up with no difficulty like real alcoholics” - Homer

Special Guests: Drew Carey, Donald Fagen, Kelsey Grammer, Maurice LaMarche, Judith Owen, and Sarah Silverman.

The Verdict: Alas! Another Treehouse of Horror episode. Although I say it in every post, Treehouse of Horror really is my favorite kind of Simpsons episodes. This year’s Treehouse of Horror also happened to be the show’s 600th episode, making it a huge landmark. I am excited to support and celebrate my favorite TV show to last 600 episodes. 

I am aware that many believe that The Simpsons has had a major downfall in quality, hence the creation of this blog, but I do really feel that this episode was another form of Simpsons gold. For the first time the couch gag had it’s own super mini story for a Treehouse of Horror episode. It was Planet of the Couches and it wasn’t dragged out too long at all. I think this slight new twist on a routine opening allowed for positive creative energy that kept the audience on its toes. There were so many quotable lines that it was hard to pick a best quote. A couple favorite being “Now that you’re interesting, you could be our best friend” and “We haven’t even gotten to the beginning of the song yet!”. Each one of the mini stories had a well rounded storyline that didn’t seem to lose steam like some have in the past. I think the incorporation of other media was well done and not over used. I also enjoyed that they had an original storyline with BFF R.I.P. I absolutely loved the ending to this episode which was a song about being the 600th episode to the tune of Goldfinger. It also had funny scenes like Patty and Selma swimming and acting as bikini babes. During the song it through countless shows that it helped promoted under the bus, including Futurama. 

The weak points in this episode were probably all in the first mini story of Dry Hard. Dry Hard relied the heaviest on outside media and had kind of an odd ending. However, the ending did poke fun of the incessant Part I, Part II, Part III, etc. where each part becomes more ridiculous and unpredictable than the next

Ranking: Having drugs at a Steely Dan concert, or a 9/10

“The Town” S28 E3

Synopsis: Homer is eager to get to Moe’s bar to watch the big football game. Homer, a die hard Atoms fan, wants to see how they do against their rival: the Boston Americans. Homer and the bar gang are immediately annoyed that there are Boston American fans at the bar and become extremely frustrated when the fans showboat the win due to the team’s questionable practices. Homer is upset, but becomes livid when he comes home to find that Bart has turned into a Boston American fan. Bart explains to Homer that he’s a fan because Boston is full of his people, the ultimate bad boys. Homer decides that he must change Bart’s mind so he instates a family “hatecation” where they vacation in Boston and learn about all of the things that they hate about the place. 

Instead of finding things to hate about the city, the Simpsons find that they love the city. Marge likes the health care and all of the progressive people, Lisa loves the nerds and education, and Homer loves the candlestick bowling. The Simpsons love Boston so much they have decided to move there. Everyone loves Boston and Homer finally gets to do his dream job. However, Bart quickly realizes that Boston is nothing like the gangster movies that he sees, in fact it’s the exact opposite of what he wants. To break the family’s love of Boston Bart takes them to a Boston American’s parade and when Homer refuses to wear the team’s hat they decide that they need to move back to Springfield, to much of Lisa’s demise. 

Best Quote: “See boy, see how the Bostonians aren’t exactly ugly, but they’re not sexy either” - Homer.

Special Guests: Bill Burr, Michael Chiklis, Rachel Dratch, Doris Kearns Goodwin,  and Dana Gould.

The Verdict: This episode did a great job of exploring a different place without it being the traditional “The Simpsons are going to ____!” episode. They showed many stereotypes of Boston without ti being too on-the-nose gaggy. I really like how instead of really exploring the city Homer just explored different candlestick bowling alleys. I think that was a good tie back to The Simpsons’ roots and more realistic for Homer and Bart’s character. Having lived on the East Coast for three years, I found a lot of aspects of the Bostonians (the Dunkin’ Donuts, the accents) to be funny. I like that they didn’t completely bash the city though.

It was a bit predictable that everyone would eventually love the city and that they would have to turn back to Springfield. However, I don’t know how the writers would have avoided that issue. As a result the ending was anti-climatic. I wish there was just something a little extra, maybe with Flaggy the mascot? Something to tie it all together.

Ranking: A slice of Boston cream pie, which is pretty good for cake or an 8.5.

“A Princess Guide” S26 E15

Synopsis: It’s bring your daughter to work day and Homer impresses Burns by his admiration for Lisa. Since the nuclear power plant is still in the hole, Burns needs make a negotiation with a Nigerian King, however the King asks Burns to have someone keep an eye on his daughter. Burns picks Homer and Smithers allows it because if Burns loses all of his money they will have to move to the south pacific together and Smithers hopes that there they will finally fall in love. 

Homer babysits the 25 year old Princess Kemi who wants to go out, so Homer decides to take her to Moe’s. Moe flirts with the princess until he learns that she is from Nigeria. Then he pulls Homer aside and talks about how the other month a Nigerian prince stole $5000 from him via an unsolicited email. Moe warns Homer to be suspicious of Princess Kemi. When the men come back to the bar Princess Kemi is gone. Homer goes out to look for her, but when he tells Chief Wiggum she’s missing he puts her in the drunk tank. Princess Kemi comes back because she wants to talk to Moe. Moe takes this as his chance to find out if Princess Kemi’s brother stole his money.

Carl and Lenny bail Homer out of the drunk tank. Princess Kemi stays with Moe and enjoys her time with him. She falls asleep on his cot while he sleeps on the bar. The next morning Moe shows Princess Kemi around town and she enjoys it. Homer interrupts their time together and Moe takes her away. Princess Kemi wants to go back so she does not upset her father, but kisses Moe on the forehead to show her appreciation. A paparazzo takes a picture of her kissing Moe’s forehead and it instantly leaks online. Princess Kemi’s father sees the photo and breaks the deal with Mr. Burns which gets Smithers excited. However, Princess Kemi explains that Moe has not stolen her heart which surprises both her father and Moe. Homer convinces the king that you must allow the daughters to do what they want, and the king forgives Princess Kemi and goes with Burns’ deal.

Best Quote: “If the royal court hears that I care for the commoners their tongues will be a wag!” - Homer Simpson.

Special Guests: Richard Branson, Yaya DaCosta, Jon Lovitz, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

The Verdict: This episode didn’t do much for me, it felt like there was something lagging the whole time. Perhaps it was because no one really quite related to Princess Kemi. The dynamic between Princess Kemi and Moe was confusing and unique, but there didn’t seem to be much of a connection. Although there were a few sweet moments of when Moe’s ears flapped and he recited his version of Goodnight Moon, the episode was lackluster. 

More could have been done with the email part of the story line to create more haw-haw moments. Smithers’ story line seemed to be the most Simpson like and had the greatest haw-haw potential.

Ranking: Having great writers who only produce depressing literature from your country or a 4/10.

“Friends and Family” S28 E2

Synopsis: Burns goes to his therapist that he has had for 70 years, only for his therapist to tell him that he gives up on him. The therapist tells Burns that he will never have a family that loves him, but Burns misses the point. The therapist suddenly passes. At the funeral the Simpsons talk about how the therapist helped them all to communicate, but are still having issues on the communication front. Burns gets booed out of the funeral because he is not sensitive to the family. On the way back Smithers hits Professor Frink as the doctor is crossing the road. Frink doesn’t realize a car is coming because he is wearing virtual reality head gear. When Burns finds out about virtual reality he demands to have one.

Since Burns’ therapist told him that he needs a family Smithers suggests that they program a family into the virtual reality set so he can experience it. The Simpsons apply for the role and everyone is let in, except for Homer since Burns will be the father in the scenario. The kids and Marge are worked hard for Burns amusement while Homer enjoys his free time at home. Most of Homer’s free time is spent naked, and while up on his roof late at night he meets his back neighbor who is a cool girl named Julia. He decides that men and women can just be friends. However everyone thinks that the two are dating. 

Burns is getting upset with the Simpsons’ acting. When Burns sees the future scenarios he gets upset and fires Marge and the kids. Marge comes home to figure out that Homer and Julia are best friends. She becomes so upset that she starts yelling at Homer asking why she isn’t his best friend. Homer tells Marge all of the things that Julia taught him so that he can be a better husband and they make up. Burns has the ultimate virtual reality experience of dying and is satisfied. 

Best Quote: “I’m taking my robe with me” - Bart Simpson. 

Special Guest: Allison Janney. 

The Verdict: Oh my god, Maggie talks! And won’t ever talk again because no one is listening? This is great, but also incredibly sad. It brings a realist moment into the dysfunctional Simpsons that I love to see. This episode continues with this by having the viewer see in first person point of view virtual reality. Experiencing what Frink is experiencing is a great demonstration of what is happening in that scene. 

Even past the virtual reality scenes, the first person point of view bleeds into the episode and it’s really intriguing. It’s a different take on the show that the viewer has not seen before. This episode is really innovative and I applause all of the different aspects of it. It lacked haw-haws though, but besides that it was really awesome. 

Ranking: Getting a selfie with the devil or an 8/10

“My Fare Lady” S26 E14

Synopsis: It’s Saturday and the Simpsons have a packed day. With Homer’s help, the parents can get the kids all where they need to go, but Homer doesn’t want to sacrifice his Saturday and runs to Moe’s to get legally too drunk to drive so that he doesn’t have to drive the kids everywhere. Marge is disgruntled, but does it successfully. Marge bumps into a rideshare driver and decides to sign up with the company so that she can make enough money to have a fridge with an ice maker. At first Marge loves her job, but she gets drained. All of the taxi drivers are upset at Marge for stealing their business and threaten her to leave. Marge finally quits. 

Meanwhile, Moe gets paid with a Laney Fontaine broadway ticket instead of money from Sideshow Mel. However, he can’t afford to leave the bar on a Saturday night. Carl, Lenny, and Homer promise Moe that they will take care of the bar while he’s out. When they see that Moe has no money, they decide that they will make a lot of money for him that night by having a ladies drink free night and having the men crawl all over the bar for the chicks. The plan backfires and the women ruin the bar. Moe loses his chance with Laney Fontaine because the bar is in shambles. To make up for what they have done, Carl, Lenny, and Homer suggest that Moe apply at the nuclear power plant. Moe does so well that he gets promoted, but he takes his job too seriously and all of his friends turn on him. Moe returns to the bar and all is at peace.

Best Quote: “See ya at the bake sale sucker!” - Marge Simpson. 

Special Guests: Christopher Lloyd and Rich Sommer.

The Verdict: The pixel opening was so cool that I watched it twice. The Jetsons like couch gag was also great, a real good haw-haw moment with the sing songy voice of “the problem child” with Bart. Since I am watching these backwards I didn’t realize that Laney Fontaine was a character that was already established. I have a deeper appreciation for The Simpsons for bringing her back in “Lisa with an S”, and I think that small things like that are an interesting twist for the show that keeps it classic, yet new. This also happens when Moe mentions how Elon Musk put the nuclear power plant in the hole. I think that it’s smart that The Simpsons are doing this. 

The story line on Moe’s part was pretty strong, I liked it quite a bit. However, the episode severely lacked haw-haws. I think that Marge’s B story line lacked quite a bit and could have been beefed up. 

The Ranking: Being the reigning champion of the battling book clubs, or a 6/10. 

“Walking Big and Tall” S26 E13

Synopsis: The city of Springfield learns that their town song isn’t an original that former mayor Hans Moleman wrote, but rather a song that every town has. The townspeople are outraged and Lisa suggests that she write a song for the town. Lisa and Bart work on the song together and preform it with the rest of Springfield’s kids. The song highlights that the town isn’t great and simply asks, “Springfield, why not?”. The parents love it and give the kids a standing ovation. Homer is stuck in the chair and when he finally gets up he brings the whole aisle with him, creating much damage and destruction.

Marge tells Homer that he needs to go to over-eaters anonymous, but when Homer gets there he goes to the wrong room and actually enters a support group. The support group is big is beautiful and they encourage people who are larger to celebrate their bodies. Homer is so overcome with joy that he becomes completely involved with the movement. Once the family becomes concerned about Homer Marge asks the leader of the movement to stand up and walk because he is in a scooter. He does stand up and promptly dies of a heart attack. Homer speaks at the leader’s eulogy and decides that he will yo-yo diet until he has everything figured out.

Best Quote: “Who knew goblins had feelings” - Carl. 

Special Guests: Kevin Michael Richardson, Pharrell Williams,

The Verdict: For no reason in particular, I LOVED the sushi couch gag. In this episode there were great haw-haw moments and cool realization moments. Pharrell’s appearance was hilarious and I never knew that Hans Moleman used to be the mayor. The intro was really cool because the viewer got to see how everyone grew up. Bart and Lisa teaming up is always positive and I like how they made the song about how Springfield isn’t great, but it isn’t awful. Also the episode did a great job breaking the third wall by spinning the newspaper or referring back to the old Michael Jackson episode. 

This episode dealt with the Body Positivity movement in an interesting light. It showed how people can respect the movement, but also why the movement does not necessarily mean positive things for everyone. This episode mixed current events with classic Simpson signature of haw-haws and an A/B story line, which was admittedly weak in this episode. 

Ranking: Being a one hit wonder, or a 7.5/10

“The Musk who Fell to Earth” S26 E12

Synopsis: The Simpsons have a menacing eagle and they capture it and name it (Squawky), only to nurse it back to health and release it into the wild. Squawky is immediately incinerated by the flames of a spaceship that is landing in the Simpsons’ yard. Elon Musk is the man in the spaceship and he reveals to the Simpsons that he is going town to town searching for inspiration because he has run out of ideas for inventions. Lisa is enamored by him and wants to watch him work, but is surprised when Elon finds inspiration in Homer.

Homer brings Elon to work and Elon drops a suggestion to sell and generate all of the electricity to Springfield in the suggestion box. Burns sees the suggestion and teams up with Elon to do exactly that. Elon does not care about the money and Burns is over thrilled. However, Smithers doesn’t trust Elon and urges Burns to not take the deal, which Burns ignores. Meanwhile, Elon is learning human emotion through Homer. 

The new deal with Burns is great for the environment and bad for business. Losing $50 million a quarter, Burns is forced to do massive lay offs. Everyone of Springfield hates Elon because most of them are out of the job. As a result, Homer gets upset with Elon and he must break up with him. Homer dumps Elon and Elon runs to space, holding on to the friendship he had with Homer by crying one single tear. 

Best Quote: “Attention fans of the Little Rascals! The last of them died today in Palm Springs” - Kent Brockman

Special Guest: Elon Musk.

The Verdict: The episode started and ended in a kind of odd manner. The beginning was an awkward length with the Squawky story line in comparison to their prior beginnings where it is either shorter or longer. It did not set up the story line well. 

Elon Musk becoming the savior then the satan of the town was well portrayed. The 1940s I’m-outta-work song was pretty good and a nice way to lighten up the episode. More could have been done with Smithers’ ideas on Musk or Lisa’s obsession and there were few haw-haw moments. The ending was a bit different for the show, not funny and more thoughtful. Bonus points for playing one of my favorite songs, Starman by David Bowie, which made the scene a little more heart wrenching. 

Ranking: Finding your ear after it was torn out by the hounds, but only after one of them pooped it out or a 6/10

“Bart’s New Friend” S26 E11

Synopsis: Don, the nuclear power plant’s other safety inspector is retiring. All of the years at the plant Homer’s lack of work was being covered by Don, but now that Don is gone Homer is responsible for everything. Homer struggles with the responsibility of being a safety inspector and the stress carries on to his home life. To make Homer relax, Marge buys tickets to the circus for the whole family. Homer still tries to work at the circus and gets stressed out over the bad wifi. Homer insists that they leave early, but Marge needs to use the restroom. While the family waits for Marge, they decide to see a hypnotist act. Homer becomes the subject of the hypnotist. Homer transforms into the mindset of a 10 year old boy, but before he can turn back the hypnotist runs away from the police.

Marge brings Homer to the doctor and Dr. Hibbert urges Marge to find the hypnotist ASAP because Homer is under a very strong persuasion. Homer ends up going to school and tries to play at recess with Bart, and Bart ends up having a brand new friend. At the end of the week the police have found the hypnotist and bring him to the Simpson’s house to change Homer back. To prevent this, Bart sneaks Homer out and they go to Itchy and Scratchy Land. Homer finally becomes unhypnotized and decides that he can no longer strangle Bart, but rather just hug him very tightly. 

Best Quote: “Everyday is the wrong day to wear culottes” - Bart Simpson

Special Guest: Stacy Keach

The Verdict: This story line is so similar to something you would find in theaters during the 80s; unlikely, but something that happens to create a feel good moment. This vintage, unusual circumstance of hypnotism to get Homer and Bart closer is unique and original for the show’s format, but a little done in many other animated shows. American Dad is a show that really employs the 80s story line well. 

The Simpsons executed the framework to the story line well, but it did not feel like a Simpsons episode. Things like the A/B story line and haw-haw moments studding the scenes is what makes up the show’s signature. I, again, applaud the show to go outside of the box. Despite all of this, there were some good haw-haw moments and the heartwarming moments were enjoyable. 10 year old Homer admitting that he would never want a wife with three kids could have dug a little deeper so that Bart could have had a better appreciation and understanding of his Father. As an end note, interesting appreciation for worldly news by having a morose Maggie holding a sign that says “Je Suis Charlie”. 

Ranking: Principal Skinner annotating his dry life with his even drier cartoon sketches or a 7/10. 

“The Man who Came to be Dinner” S26 E10

Synopsis: The Simpsons go to Dizzneeland, but the fail to have any fun on the many, many rides they go on. Bart finds a cool looking ride that just opened with no lines. The Simpsons go to ride it, but once they are half way through the ride, they realize that it is a space ship and that they have left Earth. It is Kang and Kodos who abducted the Simpsons and reassures them that nothing bad will happen.

Kang and Kodos bring the Simpsons to their home planet of Rigel Seven and show them what life is like on the planet. They want to show the Simpsons life on Rigel Seven because they plan on never letting them leave. Kang and Kodos put the Simpsons in a zoo and they are told that one of the family members will be eaten, but the family must choose which one. The family takes a vote and everyone chooses Homer.

There is a huge sacrifice ceremony for Homer and right when he is about to be eaten he gets transported elsewhere. The rest of the Simpsons are imprisoned while the aliens try to figure out where Homer is. Meanwhile, Homer is in a cave with some hippie aliens who call themselves The Resistance. The Resistance is throwing a large underground party, but interrupt it so they can learn about Earth’s culture from Homer. The aliens don’t understand the feelings of spousal and familial love and is surprised when Homer asks about saving his family. The Resistance promises to send Homer back to Earth and have a one man space shuttle where if Homer concentrated he would get everything he wanted.

Homer goes back to save his family, but as consequence all of the Simpsons must be sacrificed. As ritual states, the queen takes the first bite of Homer’s ass, which he doesn’t even notice is taken off of him. All of the fast food that the family eats is poisonous, and the queen dies from the meat. All of the Simpsons are spit out as a result. Maggie flies the Simpsons home, and the aliens promise by the time they land on Earth they won’t remember a thing. 

Beset Quote: “My cartoons weren’t good, they were just first!” - Mickey Mouse

The Verdict: This episode was definitely and interesting take on a normal Simpsons episode. The story line was a like a long format of Treehouse of Horror, but not quite. How the episode poked fun at Disneyland was funny, because a lot of it was true. The beginning was done up with some real good haw-haw moments. Once the story line switched to the outer space chapter it took a bit of a turn. There were so many references it was hard to keep up; The Matrix, Star Trek, Hunger Games, etc. The feel good moments of Homer choosing his family and changing the slip of paper to his name were good, but they could have been stronger. And although there were some real star haw-haw moments, like when the queen passed away to last hearing Bart’s words “I don’t see any breasts” once she admitted she had always been self-conscious of their size, they were a little too far and between for the ending. Overall, I really liked the idea of a non-typical Simpsons episode, but I would have liked to see it go further. It was a good dry run, and I encourage the writers to try again.

Ranking: Being healthy by eating hummus and rice cakes, only to find that the combination in your stomach is like arsenic or a 6/10. 

“I Won’t Be Home for Christmas” S26 E9

Synopsis: It’s Christmas Eve in Springfield and everyone has a place to go to except Moe. Moe guilt trips Homer into staying at the bar a little bit longer so that he won’t be lonely. Back at the Simpson’s house, Marge is becoming increasingly upset at Homer’s lack of presence. Moe sets the clock to the correct time in the bar and Homer realizes that it is nearly midnight and runs home. Marge is so upset when she sees Homer sneak in that she kicks him out of the house and tells him that she does not want to see him on Christmas. 

Homer mopes around town stopping at both the Kwik-E-Mart and Moe’s. Lisa is concerned because she can hear Marge sobbing and does not know where Homer is. Lisa fears that she’ll become jaded like Bart so she turns to him for help. Moe visits Lisa, Marge, and Bart and reveals that he was the one who made Homer come home late on Christmas Eve  because he was lonely. Marge feels relieved and tries to contact Homer, but Homer’s phone dies and his car is towed. Marge and the kids decide that they need to go outside and look for Homer.

Homer goes to the last place that is open: the movie theater. All of the movies are depressing so he chooses to watch the concentration camp film. While he’s there he’s recognized by other lonely weirdos such as Ol’ Gil, Groundskeeper Willie, and Kirk VanHouten. They depress Homer so much that he gives them his soda and popcorn and leaves the theater. Homer then runs into Flanders who is shutting down his Leftorium and buys an eyelash curler from him because he pities his loneliness. After making everyone happy except himself, Homer decides to lie on a bench and cry.

Marge, Bart, and Lisa go to the old folks home to ask Abe if he has seen Homer, but all of the old people get excited for a visitor on Christmas Eve that the flock the Simpsons. Marge decides it’d be best to sit down and listen to the old people’s stories. Homer is awaken by a nutcracker who is actually an employee of the mall. The nutcracker takes pity on Homer and invites him to a Christmas mall employee party. Homer enjoys the party, but misses his family. Marge finds Homer at the party and they make up. 

Best Quote: “Those hot dogs began life as Twinkies” - Apu.

The Verdict: Christmas specials are always interesting, especially since the Simpson’s first stand alone episode was a Christmas special. This episode did a good job of being heart touching, but not overly cheesy. There were some good haw-haw moments with come realistic plots, like Homer being kind to others, but sad. I thought it was funny that the episode had an “obligatory Frozen reference” and that it showed the real lonely side of Christmas. It was incredibly interesting that it had a preview for the next episode, which I do not remember The Simpsons ever doing.

However, I think this episode could have gone further. In the past, The Simpsons were able to create Christmas episodes that really resonate with the viewer. Although this episode goes deeper than the usual Christmas special seen on TV (Ernie Saves Christmas, etc), it did not go as deep as I would have liked it to.

Ranking: Dancing with a drunken Mrs. Claus, or a 4/10.

“Covercraft” S26 E8

Synopsis: The man who owns neighboring business, King Toot, and Moe get into a brawl because King Toot is always using Moe’s trash can. The brawl becomes so out of hand that they damage the King Toot storefront and are sent to jail. Lisa is so disappointed that she can’t get her instrumental needs at King Toot and must go to a big box store. Homer takes her and gets suckered in to buying a bunch of unneeded equipment when an employee player convinces him that he is a base playing god. 

Marge is annoyed by all of Homer’s base playing and learns that most fathers turn to music for a midlife crisis. Marge and the other women suggest that the husbands come together to create a dad band so that they can all play at one person’s house at a time. Apu asks to join the band as a singer, and the guys are hesitant at first until they hear him sing an 80s song by Sun Gazer. The dads let Apu into the band and become a Sun Gazer cover band which they deem Covercraft. The band plays their first gig at the Cabbage festival and start killing it at festivals and small gigs everywhere. 

Sun Gazer gets word of Covercraft and comes to Springfield to pay them a visit. The lead singer of Sun Gazer has passed so the band come to ask Apu to join the band on tour. Homer attempts to answer for Apu by saying no, but Apu accepts the gig. Homer dads become incredibly jealous of Apu and his success so he kicks all of the other dads out of the band out of frustration. The Simpsons get all of the VIP treatment to go to a Sun Gazer show and Homer plans on sabotaging Apu by taking his Kwik-E-Mart shirt that gives him confidence to sing. Apu wants a break from the band and they won’t let him, Homer over hears all so he gives Apu the shirt. But Apu and Homer poison the band by feeding them Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs and Covercraft plays the venue.

Best Quote: “When something great happens to one person something bad happens to everyone else. Look it up, it’s called physics!” - Homer

Special Guests: Will Forte and Sammy Hagar.

The Verdict: This episode did not go too far out there for a story line relative to past episodes. A dad band is a good idea and a direction that I don’t believe The Simpsons have gone through. Homer’s jealousy is relatable and the ending friendship with Apu and Homer is very sweet. There were few haw-haw moments. However, the Sammy Hagar scene was amazingly hilarious, that is a classic Simpson haw-haw that keeps fans coming back for more. All and All this episode fell a little flat. The beginning was certainly a lot better than the rest of the episode, but it didn’t quite sparkle.

Ranking: Not having thought about gels at all or a 4/10.

“Blazed and Confused” S26 E7

Synopsis: The school district holds its annual exchange of the lemons, where tenured teachers who are awful are switched around to a different school. Springfield Elementary receives the worst lemon of them all: Mr. Lassen. Mr. Lassen is assigned to fourth grade and Bart has a prank prepared for him. However, Mr. Lassen proves that he is a threatening teacher when he aggressively makes fun of Nelson. Bart continues with his prank and Mr. Lassen retaliates by giving Bart and embarrassing haircut. Marge disapproves of this while the rest of the Simpsons laugh at Bart. The next day at school Mr. Lassen tells Bart to touch an electrode and he is badly electrocuted. Bart decides to get back at Mr. Lassen. By making a fake online profile, Bart finds out that Mr. Lassen is the head weirdo of Blazing Guy and decides to film him there so that he can show the evidence and embarrass him.

Meanwhile, Homer forgot to rent out a spot for camping which he was supposed to do a year in advance and the whole family starts fighting. Marge begins to cry and Homer promises that he will make it better. Homer does not find any open campsite and is about to tell Marge, but Bart tells Homer that he has the perfect place: Blazing Guy. Homer looks like a hero, but Marge is still skeptical because she does not know what it is. Lisa feels at home and Marge takes tea from a stranger which is drugged. Marge begins to enjoy Blazing Guy because she is so high.

Bart and Milhouse are struggling to embarrass Mr. Lassen, but then decide that since Mr. Lassen is the man to light the blazing guy they will make the statue fire retardant. Mr. Lassen is embarrassed that he can’t light up the statue and he finds out that Bart was responsible. He attempts to light Bart on fire, but Homer accidentally destroys the blazing guy statue and all three guys fall down. Mr. Lassen is forced to be in a human prison for five days and due to his behavior is fired as a teacher. Mr. Lassen becomes a prison guard and fails to team up with Sideshow Bob to kill Bart.

Best Quote: “My biggest sin is I dare to hope” - Marge

Special Guest: Williem Dafoe and Kelsey Grammer.

The Verdict: This episode successfully made me laugh and created a creative, modern, story line that kept classic Simpson details. The classic Bart vs. teacher set up went pretty well considering that it’s been done before. Since Mr. Lassen was such a match for Bart it was interesting to see how the episode would play out. Mr. Lassen’s interaction with the other students was also smart, because it made the audience turn against him.

Blazing Guy, aka Burning Man, was a unique setting that allowed for a lot of good haw-haw moments. I like that Lisa felt more at home there, but I wish that was explored a little. Or maybe show how Maggie enjoyed her time there. Marge’s hallucinations are perfect. They’re so bright, bubbly, and innocent that there is no way that any other Simpson (except maybe Maggie) would have hallucinated that. Also Marge doing drugs is still surprising, what more she enjoyed it.

The twist ending with Lassen and Sideshow Bob was smart. However, I wish that the ending would have shown the more sadistic side of Lassen because I do feel like he was portrayed as such earlier in the episode.

Ranking: An elephant trombone man saving you or a 9/10.

“Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus” S28 E1

Synopsis: Lard Lad is missing and the town is in shock. Due to this shock half of the town riots and the other half opposes the riot. The Lard Lad company admits that the statue is missing because they are rebranding. When the new statue is revealed it is an abstract, chrome version of the old statue that rotates. After a few minutes the crowd goes from hating the statue to loving it, but due to the new design it creates a powerful sun beam that destroys the streets. Quimby promises that they will rebuild, but he doesn’t do anything in six months. So the Simpsons turn to Mr. Burns to help rebuild the town in one condition that there will be a variety show celebrating the town.

Burns holds open auditions at the Springfield bowl, but is disappointed. He wants it to be like when he was in the pee-wee pageant in 1913 at the very place. Burns goes to Springfield Elementary to pick children to preform. He asks Lisa to become his assistant director. Burns is unhappy with all of the children’s acts and reveals that when he preformed the audience laughed at him. Meanwhile at the nuclear power plant, everyone is goofing off and Homer realizes that he’s responsible for the safety of others at the plant due to Marge’s nagging. The party is in full swing at the plant, but Homer gets everyone back to work. 

Burns decides to shut down the show and blames Lisa. Lisa learns from Smithers that Burns’ pants and underwear fell down in front of the crowd back in 1913, and that is the reason why he is so evil. Thanks to Lisa he decides to get back to the show. All of the kids preform and it’s a success, but Burns declares that it is not the finale quite yet and goes out in his old costume. Burns’ pants get burned off and everyone laughs at him. Burns turns angrily at Lisa, but he can’t stay mad at her. 

Best Quote: “Your friends consider you the leader because you’re a little bit taller” - Marge talking to Homer

Special Guests: Amy Schumer and Pendleton Ward

The Verdict: I enjoyed the opening couch gag which mimicked the opening of Adventure Time because it definitely gave it The SImpsons twist that some of the couch gags miss when collaborating with other animators. This story line had promise, as many Burns-Lisa episodes do. However, I feel like this episode fell short many times. The episode started strong with the haw-haws, but they dwindled until the very end after the story line. There was a very weak B story line of Homer and the party plant, which could have ended better. 

Burns’ trauma should have had a bigger bang at the end. I do like the idea of understanding why he is evil and seeing his affectionate mother. I always thought that Burns would have a mother similar to Bojack Horseman’s on Bojack. The episode could have dug deeper into that and brought back something rich and new, but it didn’t.

Ranking: One failed attempt at a cartwheel or a 3/10

“Simpsorama” S26 E6

Synopsis: Springfield elementary decides to do a time capsule and Bart throws in a sandwich that he blows his nose into. When the town digs up the ground to bury the time capsule, they find nuclear ooze which they ignore and put the box in. An electrical storm occurs and a mysterious figure sneaks into the Simpson’s basement. Bart and Homer find out that it’s a robot (Bender from Futurama) from the future. Homer and Bender become quick friends. Lisa is unconvinced that Bender is from the future and brings him to Dr. Frink. Bender tells Frink that he does not remember why he came to the past and when he is rebooted he remembers that his mission is to kill Homer. 

Bender can’t get himself to kill Homer. Leela communicates with Bender in a hologram, Star Wars style, and yells at him for not completing the mission. Everyone on the Planet Express crew speaks to Bender and the Simpsons and explains that the evil bunny monsters destroying New New York have Homer’s DNA and therefore he must be killed. Bender can’t bring himself to kill Homer and the whole Planet Express crew comes to the Simpson’s time to figure everything out.

Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Frink, and Lisa test the DNA of the monsters further and find out that it was Bart’s DNA that created these monsters. The monsters are evolving and Bart figures that the monsters must be alive because of the snot in the time capsule from his nose mixing with Milhouse’s luky rabbit foot and the nuclear waste. Just as the gang gets to the time capsule area to dig it up to prevent the monsters, the monsters destroy the portal and suck everyone back to the future, except Maggie and Bender. Since Bender knows all of the outcomes to the horse races he takes Maggie there.

Meanwhile in the future the gang decide that all of the monsters need to be round up and then shot out into space. Lisa knows how to manipulate Bart best so she convinces the monsters to go into Madison Cube Garden by claiming there are a lot of Butterfingers and everyone is laying their fingers on them. She also annoys the monsters into going in by playing images of kittens, ponies, and rainbows on the holophoner. The gang is successful and they fix the portal sucking the Simpsons back into their time.

As the Simpsons get thrown out of Bender’s chest and declare the mission as completed, Bender announces that he will be going back to the future. Lisa points out that Bender is the portal, and Bender says that he will be getting there the old fashioned way. After setting his alarm clock for 1000 years and shutting down, Homer throws Bender downstairs. Only to come back with a Duff and pour it into Bender’s head, which Bender thanks him for.

Best Quote: “I brought a picture of my dad. He’s still at large, in my heart!” - Nelson

Special Guest: John DiMaggio, David Herman, Maurice Lamarche, Phil Lamarr, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom, Frank Welker, Billy West

The Verdict: This episode was SO GOOD! I’m a bit bias because I love both shows a lot. I have seen all of the Futurama episodes and movies at least three times over. I even bought the Simpsons Futurama crossover comic  book. Usually with crossover episodes both parties rely heavily on usual jokes or poking fun at one another. This time around The Simpsons and Futurama did a good job at showing the similarities between the two shows while also making them collide with ease. The story line was really interesting and kept me captivated. There were also so many good haw-haw moments that I could barely pick a quote.

I really appreciated how they played out different relationships like Bender and Maggie or Professor Farnsworth and Lisa. In true crossover style I also appreciated that the other characters would pick up the other world’s habits with ease like Lisa with the holophoner and Bender with bowling. I also appreciated that it was clear that this was still a Simpsons episode. Evidence being old throw backs like Bart and his Butterfingers. The only thing I was slightly disappointed in was that Maggie and Bender’s story line could have been a bit stronger.

Ranking: Having a diaper full of cash or a 9.5/10