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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of The Great North, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and The Blacklist.
The Simpsons "Write Off This Episode"
I thought the jokes and dialogue were strong, but I felt the plot was a tired cliche in the vein of stuff the show has done a thousand times before. Except the episode ended well, and on a good note, which is not something you usually see when they tackle the subject of Lisa and charity. And even if the rest of the plot felt a bit overworn, a good ending makes me forgive a lot.
One thing greatly troubles me. Kevin Michael Richardson played one of the Asian monks. The recastings happened in the first place because the roles of characters of color by the white actors were taking jobs from people of color, and having then lazily do offensive, stereotypical accents to boot. In fairness to Richardson, the monk HAS no accent. And he also voices the white accountant I guess to balance things out. But while I guess it could be argued the show was playing within the LETTER of the laws it had set up, it was sort of violating the spirit of them. Richardson was cast because they didn't want to pay a second Asian actor. Taking shortcuts on the voices for budgetary reasons was the thing that got them in trouble in the first place. In an episode that suggests each little short-cut adds up to negative karmic points no matter what your good intentions, it's weird that I noticed that here.
Biggest role for Bernice Hibbert ever. Dawnn Lewis is her new voice. Dawnn Lewis is an amazing singer. A musical number with Hibbert's wife will seem awkward to long-term continuity buffs, but for fans of Lewis, we actually know it's kind of a no-brainer. The familiarity Bernice actually shares by already knowing Marge gives the number more cred than if Lewis voiced a new character to sing it too.
Mr. Burns monologue at the end was terrific, and the finest moment for that character in years, but truthfully, Harry Shearer's performance sounds totally different now. I almost wondered if somebody new voiced him if not for the fact that Skinner sounds the same as ever.
Speaking of Skinner: "You got ice cream." I love that. I don't find Agnes a particularly funny character. It's mostly Seymour's reactions to her that make me laugh. That got a chuckle out of me though.
When they introduced Gil as a quickie, joke Jack Lemmon-style character back during the Mike Scully years I wonder if they knew he would be around for THIS long. They've hung onto him longer than that jerk who says "YEEESSSS?" at any rate.
Favorable opinion for this week. ***1/2.
The Great North "Rear Genius Adventure"
Just based on the Turd Drop, Lone Moose is not a place I'd like to live. And all the "selling points" of being Alaskans sound like drawbacks to me. And yet despite all that,. I find the fact that Wolf clearly fanboys the Obamas totally endearing. Not the first time he's said it either which makes it even more delightful.
Judy is the ONLY fictional female character who will use a fake case of diarrhea to get out of a tense situation. For every other teenage girl, that idea would be humiliating and TMI. It looks like that's her go-to instead. I love Judy, but she IS totally weird.
I love that Honeybee is slowly getting on-board, but I have to still say I don't agree with her. I still think the entire thing sounds nuts.
I was Ham as a young man. Not as a teenager (middle-aged women were hard to come by, and I mostly hung around girls my own age) but when I was a younger I used to hang out with pretty much middle-aged women exclusively. It's why Gilda And Meek is as female-leaning as it is. Ham has a virtue I did not back then. He's gay. So he is much less freakish for that than I was being a straight guy. But I HATED hanging around other guys my age. They valued different things than I did and I found them very unpleasant when all is said and done. Stand By Me is the stupidest movie ever, because I look back at my boyhood friendships with disdain and embarrassment rather than fondness. There is no nostalgia in my heart for teenage boy toxicity and it's weird other people think there is. Middle-aged women were chill to me. And they kind of dug the fact that I was the kind of person who couldn't stand hanging out with other dudes. They sort of appreciated that aspect to me, especially considering how rare it is. I'm a better person for those friendships whereas I was a worse person for my boyhood friendships. I get Ham totally here. When the woman here says "What looks good?" and he says, "You do," I'm like "I WAS this kid back in the day."
I'll be honest. I don't value too many of my friendships with GIRLS my own age (or younger) in hindsight either. They weren't exactly toxic, but they WERE a freaking chore. Yeah, I prefer the chillness of middle-aged woman. When Family Guy is portraying Lois Griffin as this manipulative sociopath, what they are doing is lying to the fourteen year olds in the audience. Women Lois' age aren't usually like that. It's a cartoon parody of how toxic male writers believe women to be, rather than how they are at that age. Lois' behavior is not outside a woman in her early 20's. But women Lois' age are usually all right.
I apologize to any male readers offended by the previous paragraphs. And I like and get along with plenty of males online, because there is a measure of space and etiquette involved. I even consider many of them friends. But I will NEVER be your "bro" in real life. I'm not built for it. That's the way it is.
Wow, this review got off-topic quick, didn't it? What we were talking about? Something about a turd drop or something? ***1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Radio, No You Didn't"
I loved it. What I appreciate most is that the people in the flashback were different characters with different voices. A lesser show would have had the Belcher family populating the story Bob tells. And maybe that specific thing impressed me because usually in situations like that they DO use the family for the stand-ins in question. It was felt like an actual piece of family history for that reason.
Also should point out the struggle in the climax was unusually exceptionally animated. They upped their game for that big time. Animation doesn't matter much on this show. But on a rare occasion it did, they just freaking went for it.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Family Guy "From Russia With Love"
So wait, are they doing an arc with Meg in Russia now? I guess we'll see next week.
I love the animal PSA with the wrong music. So wrong and so funny.
I love that Lois' note upon Brian's Instagram pimp is to lament she never expected him to live this long. Because that's the correct reaction.
The bullying stuff with Lois didn't really lead anywhere interesting.
Brian continues to be a cheapskate at the end.
The episode handled the fact that Meg isn't actually supposed to be able to really understand Stewie pretty well. She never directly responds to anything he says.
I like Peter in his sex costume calling down and saying he hopes everybody is having fun at the pool party.
Newspapers: Because your parrot can't poop on an iPad.
Another well-worn reminder that Brian is color-blind. Between that and the car ride offer I'm like, "We get it. He's a dog."
Bonnie ALSO noted the placement of the Stephanie's stretch marks. Women on this show are the worst. The writers clearly don't think much of them.
Peter loves us. I don't agree with him, but that's probably only because I'm on the outside of that mess. I guess it kind of works for them.
I love the idea that Lois always writes down the names of Quagmire's Girlfriends in case he ever "becomes a Dateline". I love it being put like that. Perfect for those Katillsday Night Mysteries. Don't watch it alone. Seriously, is that the absolute worst tagline for a newsmagazine of all time? I've been alive 47 years and cannot think of a worse one. And I lived through John Stossel. Give me a break!
Meg says in Russia you can eat root vegetables straight from the ground and not be placed in an involuntary psych hold. Meg, honey, that's a drawback, not a selling point. If the rules on that were entirely different, I'm betting Vlad Putin would not be where he is.
Decent episode. Bob's Burgers won Fox Toons tonight. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Postman"
That was great. The case was SO damn good, and I liked Harold's personal tie to it. I don't think Red's justifications at the beginning of the episode about last week were as convincing as they needed to be. For a guy who last week talked the merc hired to kill him into working for him by suggesting his working with the FBI was necessary, I expected a better argument than "It is what it is." For the record.
The rest of the episode is Aces. Although I MUST sternly point out the guy they got to play Young Harold looks nothing like Harry Lennix. In fairness I don't think there ARE many actors who look like Harry Lennix. It was probably an impossible ask.
I like that Dembe joins Herbie for foosball at the end. Why not? It sounds like fun. Why do Ressler and the new lady act like they have pressing dental appointments instead? I will never get why nobody on the task force seems to like Herbie. He's as endearing as Aram, without any of Aram's emotional baggage. Who wouldn't dig that?
So yeah. Another good week. I AM glad it's the last season and the show seems to be quitting while it's ahead. ****1/2.
The Simpsons "Write Off This Episode"
I thought the jokes and dialogue were strong, but I felt the plot was a tired cliche in the vein of stuff the show has done a thousand times before. Except the episode ended well, and on a good note, which is not something you usually see when they tackle the subject of Lisa and charity. And even if the rest of the plot felt a bit overworn, a good ending makes me forgive a lot.
One thing greatly troubles me. Kevin Michael Richardson played one of the Asian monks. The recastings happened in the first place because the roles of characters of color by the white actors were taking jobs from people of color, and having then lazily do offensive, stereotypical accents to boot. In fairness to Richardson, the monk HAS no accent. And he also voices the white accountant I guess to balance things out. But while I guess it could be argued the show was playing within the LETTER of the laws it had set up, it was sort of violating the spirit of them. Richardson was cast because they didn't want to pay a second Asian actor. Taking shortcuts on the voices for budgetary reasons was the thing that got them in trouble in the first place. In an episode that suggests each little short-cut adds up to negative karmic points no matter what your good intentions, it's weird that I noticed that here.
Biggest role for Bernice Hibbert ever. Dawnn Lewis is her new voice. Dawnn Lewis is an amazing singer. A musical number with Hibbert's wife will seem awkward to long-term continuity buffs, but for fans of Lewis, we actually know it's kind of a no-brainer. The familiarity Bernice actually shares by already knowing Marge gives the number more cred than if Lewis voiced a new character to sing it too.
Mr. Burns monologue at the end was terrific, and the finest moment for that character in years, but truthfully, Harry Shearer's performance sounds totally different now. I almost wondered if somebody new voiced him if not for the fact that Skinner sounds the same as ever.
Speaking of Skinner: "You got ice cream." I love that. I don't find Agnes a particularly funny character. It's mostly Seymour's reactions to her that make me laugh. That got a chuckle out of me though.
When they introduced Gil as a quickie, joke Jack Lemmon-style character back during the Mike Scully years I wonder if they knew he would be around for THIS long. They've hung onto him longer than that jerk who says "YEEESSSS?" at any rate.
Favorable opinion for this week. ***1/2.
The Great North "Rear Genius Adventure"
Just based on the Turd Drop, Lone Moose is not a place I'd like to live. And all the "selling points" of being Alaskans sound like drawbacks to me. And yet despite all that,. I find the fact that Wolf clearly fanboys the Obamas totally endearing. Not the first time he's said it either which makes it even more delightful.
Judy is the ONLY fictional female character who will use a fake case of diarrhea to get out of a tense situation. For every other teenage girl, that idea would be humiliating and TMI. It looks like that's her go-to instead. I love Judy, but she IS totally weird.
I love that Honeybee is slowly getting on-board, but I have to still say I don't agree with her. I still think the entire thing sounds nuts.
I was Ham as a young man. Not as a teenager (middle-aged women were hard to come by, and I mostly hung around girls my own age) but when I was a younger I used to hang out with pretty much middle-aged women exclusively. It's why Gilda And Meek is as female-leaning as it is. Ham has a virtue I did not back then. He's gay. So he is much less freakish for that than I was being a straight guy. But I HATED hanging around other guys my age. They valued different things than I did and I found them very unpleasant when all is said and done. Stand By Me is the stupidest movie ever, because I look back at my boyhood friendships with disdain and embarrassment rather than fondness. There is no nostalgia in my heart for teenage boy toxicity and it's weird other people think there is. Middle-aged women were chill to me. And they kind of dug the fact that I was the kind of person who couldn't stand hanging out with other dudes. They sort of appreciated that aspect to me, especially considering how rare it is. I'm a better person for those friendships whereas I was a worse person for my boyhood friendships. I get Ham totally here. When the woman here says "What looks good?" and he says, "You do," I'm like "I WAS this kid back in the day."
I'll be honest. I don't value too many of my friendships with GIRLS my own age (or younger) in hindsight either. They weren't exactly toxic, but they WERE a freaking chore. Yeah, I prefer the chillness of middle-aged woman. When Family Guy is portraying Lois Griffin as this manipulative sociopath, what they are doing is lying to the fourteen year olds in the audience. Women Lois' age aren't usually like that. It's a cartoon parody of how toxic male writers believe women to be, rather than how they are at that age. Lois' behavior is not outside a woman in her early 20's. But women Lois' age are usually all right.
I apologize to any male readers offended by the previous paragraphs. And I like and get along with plenty of males online, because there is a measure of space and etiquette involved. I even consider many of them friends. But I will NEVER be your "bro" in real life. I'm not built for it. That's the way it is.
Wow, this review got off-topic quick, didn't it? What we were talking about? Something about a turd drop or something? ***1/2.
Bob's Burgers "Radio, No You Didn't"
I loved it. What I appreciate most is that the people in the flashback were different characters with different voices. A lesser show would have had the Belcher family populating the story Bob tells. And maybe that specific thing impressed me because usually in situations like that they DO use the family for the stand-ins in question. It was felt like an actual piece of family history for that reason.
Also should point out the struggle in the climax was unusually exceptionally animated. They upped their game for that big time. Animation doesn't matter much on this show. But on a rare occasion it did, they just freaking went for it.
Great episode. ****1/2.
Family Guy "From Russia With Love"
So wait, are they doing an arc with Meg in Russia now? I guess we'll see next week.
I love the animal PSA with the wrong music. So wrong and so funny.
I love that Lois' note upon Brian's Instagram pimp is to lament she never expected him to live this long. Because that's the correct reaction.
The bullying stuff with Lois didn't really lead anywhere interesting.
Brian continues to be a cheapskate at the end.
The episode handled the fact that Meg isn't actually supposed to be able to really understand Stewie pretty well. She never directly responds to anything he says.
I like Peter in his sex costume calling down and saying he hopes everybody is having fun at the pool party.
Newspapers: Because your parrot can't poop on an iPad.
Another well-worn reminder that Brian is color-blind. Between that and the car ride offer I'm like, "We get it. He's a dog."
Bonnie ALSO noted the placement of the Stephanie's stretch marks. Women on this show are the worst. The writers clearly don't think much of them.
Peter loves us. I don't agree with him, but that's probably only because I'm on the outside of that mess. I guess it kind of works for them.
I love the idea that Lois always writes down the names of Quagmire's Girlfriends in case he ever "becomes a Dateline". I love it being put like that. Perfect for those Katillsday Night Mysteries. Don't watch it alone. Seriously, is that the absolute worst tagline for a newsmagazine of all time? I've been alive 47 years and cannot think of a worse one. And I lived through John Stossel. Give me a break!
Meg says in Russia you can eat root vegetables straight from the ground and not be placed in an involuntary psych hold. Meg, honey, that's a drawback, not a selling point. If the rules on that were entirely different, I'm betting Vlad Putin would not be where he is.
Decent episode. Bob's Burgers won Fox Toons tonight. ***1/2.
The Blacklist "The Postman"
That was great. The case was SO damn good, and I liked Harold's personal tie to it. I don't think Red's justifications at the beginning of the episode about last week were as convincing as they needed to be. For a guy who last week talked the merc hired to kill him into working for him by suggesting his working with the FBI was necessary, I expected a better argument than "It is what it is." For the record.
The rest of the episode is Aces. Although I MUST sternly point out the guy they got to play Young Harold looks nothing like Harry Lennix. In fairness I don't think there ARE many actors who look like Harry Lennix. It was probably an impossible ask.
I like that Dembe joins Herbie for foosball at the end. Why not? It sounds like fun. Why do Ressler and the new lady act like they have pressing dental appointments instead? I will never get why nobody on the task force seems to like Herbie. He's as endearing as Aram, without any of Aram's emotional baggage. Who wouldn't dig that?
So yeah. Another good week. I AM glad it's the last season and the show seems to be quitting while it's ahead. ****1/2.
