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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of The Great North, Family Guy, American Dad!, and The Blacklist.
The Simpsons "The Very Hungry Caterpillars"
Over the decades, whenever The Simpsons has done a topical episode it usually falls flat. Not just because the lag in animation time makes the topic no longer relevant, but the stands it takes and how it explores the issue are often toothless, or even wrongheaded. And The Simpsons IS a 22 minute sitcom and always feels the need to provide a measure of closure to the week's given crisis, and that's not possible with real-world problems. So I didn't have much hope for this week.
It was actually pretty great, so it was an outlier to that trend. What I think the episode did right is it decided to NOT make the drama or the story about the lockdown crisis itself. It's about personal issues like Bart feeling bad for Skinner, Skinner connecting with his mother, Marge growing a resentment towards Maggie, Lisa going slowly insane, and Homer bringing out Flanders' true colors. All of these stories occurred BECAUSE of the Lockdown. But other than the show portraying political moron Kirk Van Houten as a "caterpillar denier", the show wasn't really focused on the political problems the lockdown caused. But the personal ones instead.
Let's go through these stories. I suspect the story the longtime fans will hate the most is the Flanders one. It might even seem like Peak Flanderization to other people. Let me put a worrying thought in your head. If there really IS no political bottom to the kinds of people Flanders is meant to represent, there can be no bottom to Flanderization either. If this episode was written a couple of years ago, remember that the extremist toxic political situation and polarization in this country has gotten not just worse, but more violent in the meantime. Who knows what he will be like two seasons from now? Flanders could wind up an even more extreme and less sane Dale Gribble by then. Great. Now you won't be able to sleep tonight. You're welcome
Let me also offer an additional pointed critique for people who used to love the character of Ned Flanders. I never did. Back in 1990 my political compass was VERY close to 1990 Ned Flanders and I still didn't like him. The joke back then is that Homer's hatred of him was supposed to be irrational. Now, because of the contrasts the show has been forced to make, it's understandable. But just because Homer hated a fictional saint for no good reason, doesn't mean I didn't always find the fictional saint obnoxious on his own. You can laugh at the fact that Homer unjustly hated Ned. That doesn't mean you should automatically LIKE Ned. That's not the message I got there, and if it had been, I wouldn't have been able to comply.
A lot of people will be upset he turned violent and called himself an extremist, and that he's joyfully singing destructive and evil apocalypse songs with his small children. But this is the contrast they have been forced to make in 2023. Don't blame the producers for that. Blame the society that got us here.
I love that Homer tells Marge during the Big Fight, "Marge, if I don't make it, tell Maggie I blame her." The funny thing is, Marge has gotten so fed up with the Ranch thing, I imagine if he HADN'T made it, she'd be telling her daughter in ten years exactly that. Marge was not in a charitable mood during the episode. And it wasn't just Flanders driving her nuts. It was Maggie.
Speaking of nuts, Lisa's descent into madness is troubling because she is aware it's happening. That must be absolutely terrifying. And I hope this is a one-off never to be repeated, because if this is a deep character insight instead, we are in for some trouble. But I doubt that's the case. I'm betting this is a one-off. Unfortunately, I believe psychopath Flanders is now The New Normal and Here To Stay.
I can't tell if it's amazing parenting or the worst parenting ever that Homer and Marge keep a toy they both know their kid will love in the attic and plan to give it to them in desperate times, to take their mind off a crisis. I'm leaning towards amazing, honestly. It beats Homer buying her a pony so Lisa will forgive him for being a bad father at any rate.
If the Simpsons don't keep a list of passwords written down somewhere, I absolutely refuse to feel bad for them. If the episode wants us to find THAT crisis relatable, I do not. I think it's stupid instead.
I felt Skinner's arc in the episode was the best done and left off on a good place. It was also nice for Bart of all people to grow a conscience and try to help him out. I always love when the show wrings rare heartwarming family moments between Skinner and Agnes. And the kids have great empathy for him when they realize he's losing his blankie and he's crying. He's a person to them then. What a great moment. And damn Agnes for putting the poor guy through that.
Very good week. A rare topical episode done right. ****1/2.
The Great North "Barrel Be Blood Adventure"
Is it just me? I'm starting to get the impression that Beef is not very smart. I always thought he was a bit off and strange, but some of the things he said and did tonight lead me to believe he isn't too bright.
I love that everyone is annoyed with Walter. For apparently no reason.
I also love that the guy lets them through because he hates his bosses. We think it's a funny joke but we quickly come to understand his bosses are actually VERY easy to hate. Were I in the room with them at the time I would have strangled them both.
Honeybee's "Beef, no," upon his suggestion of giving a scammer $200 is why I think the character is probably dumb.
Some pointed observations about shows like Yellowstone here. They mentioned on "Yosemite" that Ron Perlman is playing Steve Buscemi's son. Which leads me to believe Yellowstone has done age casting that bad itself. Honestly, as popular as Yellowstone currently is, I have NO desire to watch it. I do not get the appeal. Judy declaring the In-Universe stand-in of that "bad" is one of the reasons I dig Judy. Even if she likes bad Reese Witherspoon movies.
Has Ron Perlman ever done this show? I feel like he has. If he hasn't, he should.
I loved the observation that it's considered a stretch for Hollywood actresses when they take on a role to dye and cut their hair. Those ARE usually the performances that go on the Oscar reel, but I like the show suggesting it's probably done for superficial, commercial reasons. Reese Witherspoon once guest starred on The Simpsons. After that, I doubt she'd ever guest star on The Great North. Better call Perlman.
It was funny enough. The end credits movie trailer was great too. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Adult Education"
I'm saying that The Simpsons won the week of Fox Toons, but it was close. That was just plain great.
The ending to Meg in Russia was the best capper ever, and best way I have EVER seen a show end the need for a season ending cliffhanger in under 60 seconds. Beautifully handled.
I have to say parodying "Belle" from "Beauty And The Beast" seems counterproductive. Belle HATED the town she lived in, upbeat melody to the contrary. All of the things she's saying in the song are complaints. Later on in the movie after the townspeople go nuts, I see what she means, but as catchy a song as "Belle" IS, it doesn't make the viewer actually LIKE the character when they first meet her. Yes, Gaston is a pig and it's fun to see her punk him. But the townspeople don't just hate Belle's intelligence and independence. It's her utter refusal to interact with and be neighborly to the community. The show using that specific number to show Meg loving her secretly crappy life isn't right.
Ironically the song "Gaston" would have worked for this. That song is everybody listing Gaston's most obnoxious faults without ever being smart enough to realize every single one of them is the reason he actually sucks. That would have totally worked for Meg praising Russia, although I think the framing visuals there would have been tougher to pull off and the context nearly impossible. It's simply NOT the introduction "Belle" is. I think they should have simply avoided that movie homage here altogether.
I did not remotely believe how Chris got Shepard out of that fix but it was about the best they could do. Actually the best they probably could have done is to have kept that whole thing secret and to have had it crumble for an entirely different reason. American Dad would have (and actually once did) the second thing.
Maybe it was simply because the rest of the episode was making me chuckle, and when that happens a moderately funny thing is apt to push you over the edge, but when Chris screams at the actors on camera to get that cigarette out of the shot because kids are watching this, I freaking lost it. I probably missed about 2 minutes of the episode past that, I was laughing so hysterically. Him telling them later to cover up the baby was also funny, but it's actually the same joke, so I made it through that one okay.
We've come a long way from Peter losing his job on the school board for giving Chris access to his old nudie mag collection, haven't we?
The Steve Martin joke is great. The guy IS universally beloved and the show is pretty much talking about how annoying his career currently is. A guy that funny and talented should be doing funny and amazing things. It would be one thing if he were like Bill Murray and simply transitioned to dramas, but his career choices are just plain weird and frustrating instead. Family Guy does a LOT of unfair slams on celebrities. To take on a sacred cow like Martin is not just admirable, but I appreciate they actually complained about the correct things in a very precise manner. Hopefully the days of Minnie Driver's head being too big to be in the shot are done. A lot of celebrity behavior DOES suck. Family Guy exploring it instead of female celebrities aging is about damn time.
Any REAL complaints? It WAS funny, but I honestly think this episode probably shouldn't have been attempted on network TV at all. If Fox had allowed them to get away with what they did in Brian Does Hollywood, it would have been okay, but I was very aware of the censor constraints the show is now under on broadcast. It speaks well of the show that it's still a great episode. It probably should not have been.
Yes, America, our healthcare system IS worse than Russia's. That bit is actually true. Granted we have better doctors and treatments than they do (their Covid vaccine is a joke), but nobody is gonna go broke from medical bills in Russia. Which should sort of blow the 14 year olds who watch the show's minds. They aren't actually making that part up.
Yeah, that was great. And with the Meg ending it actually was a rare season finale for the show that FELT like an actual season finale. Neat trick that. ****1/2.
American Dad! "Better On Paper"
It's a bizarre premise, but I think it was handled very well.
The pay-off of Roger being found in the last scene was pitch perfect. Outside of that and his place in the theme song he is not in the episode at all. Stan confusing a spider, a rat, and a lawnmower for Roger suggests Roger's personas are getting a bit out of hand.
Should also note this is the first episode in years where Roger is JUST an alien and not doing a persona.
I'm going to give the show a compliment I never thought I'd give it. They had Klaus acknowledge (in a bored manner) he used to be obsessed with Francine. That early years running gag simply did NOT work, and was clearly only done to mirror the fact that Stewie irrationally hated Lois on Family Guy, to weirdly both differentiate the shows, and make them similar to each other at the same time. But the show dropped the terrible idea quietly somewhere around the second season, and pretty much never brought it up again. I never thought they ever would, and it would just be one of those weird early show things that most long running series simply ignore. Major credit from me for that.
Patrick Stewart is still on call for the show so that's good.
I love the fact that Jeff is miffed when Stan leaves the room. "He stretched my shirt! He owes me a new shirt!" And I think that's the way all people should react whenever Stan Smith leaves the room. The moment was so funny because it was realistic in a show that never is. And it's great it was given to Jeff of all people.
I thought that was solid week. ****.
The Blacklist "The Man In The Hat"
I think we needed that. The viewer has been SO concerned over the lines Red's been recently crossing it's good to get confirmation that when push comes to shove, he DOES help people. And even if threatening the hostages he saved would work, being nice works out better, and it's something he can afford to do. It's not surprising Ressler didn't understand they were b.s.ing him on the details of Red's escape because they wanted what he offered, not because they were afraid of him. What surprises me is that Dembe never surmised that. He mentions that it's unlike Red to threaten civilians, but doesn't go to the next logical step of that meaning he didn't.
Red's handing over of the blackmail file he had on Panabaker being the thing that changed her mind might be considered manipulative. But I think the thing Panabaker recognized when he did it, is that the reasons he gave for it were actually true. Whether that bit of kindness was done to get in her good graces or not is almost irrelevant. It was the right move for the Task Force at large.
Great episode title.
Herbie is giving some great advice to Malick all throughout the episode. It's a damn shame she doesn't take it. His perspective is so relatable and real. I'm having a hard time understanding why everyone on the Task Force dislikes him, or are at least annoyed by him.
Another good week. ****.
The Simpsons "The Very Hungry Caterpillars"
Over the decades, whenever The Simpsons has done a topical episode it usually falls flat. Not just because the lag in animation time makes the topic no longer relevant, but the stands it takes and how it explores the issue are often toothless, or even wrongheaded. And The Simpsons IS a 22 minute sitcom and always feels the need to provide a measure of closure to the week's given crisis, and that's not possible with real-world problems. So I didn't have much hope for this week.
It was actually pretty great, so it was an outlier to that trend. What I think the episode did right is it decided to NOT make the drama or the story about the lockdown crisis itself. It's about personal issues like Bart feeling bad for Skinner, Skinner connecting with his mother, Marge growing a resentment towards Maggie, Lisa going slowly insane, and Homer bringing out Flanders' true colors. All of these stories occurred BECAUSE of the Lockdown. But other than the show portraying political moron Kirk Van Houten as a "caterpillar denier", the show wasn't really focused on the political problems the lockdown caused. But the personal ones instead.
Let's go through these stories. I suspect the story the longtime fans will hate the most is the Flanders one. It might even seem like Peak Flanderization to other people. Let me put a worrying thought in your head. If there really IS no political bottom to the kinds of people Flanders is meant to represent, there can be no bottom to Flanderization either. If this episode was written a couple of years ago, remember that the extremist toxic political situation and polarization in this country has gotten not just worse, but more violent in the meantime. Who knows what he will be like two seasons from now? Flanders could wind up an even more extreme and less sane Dale Gribble by then. Great. Now you won't be able to sleep tonight. You're welcome
Let me also offer an additional pointed critique for people who used to love the character of Ned Flanders. I never did. Back in 1990 my political compass was VERY close to 1990 Ned Flanders and I still didn't like him. The joke back then is that Homer's hatred of him was supposed to be irrational. Now, because of the contrasts the show has been forced to make, it's understandable. But just because Homer hated a fictional saint for no good reason, doesn't mean I didn't always find the fictional saint obnoxious on his own. You can laugh at the fact that Homer unjustly hated Ned. That doesn't mean you should automatically LIKE Ned. That's not the message I got there, and if it had been, I wouldn't have been able to comply.
A lot of people will be upset he turned violent and called himself an extremist, and that he's joyfully singing destructive and evil apocalypse songs with his small children. But this is the contrast they have been forced to make in 2023. Don't blame the producers for that. Blame the society that got us here.
I love that Homer tells Marge during the Big Fight, "Marge, if I don't make it, tell Maggie I blame her." The funny thing is, Marge has gotten so fed up with the Ranch thing, I imagine if he HADN'T made it, she'd be telling her daughter in ten years exactly that. Marge was not in a charitable mood during the episode. And it wasn't just Flanders driving her nuts. It was Maggie.
Speaking of nuts, Lisa's descent into madness is troubling because she is aware it's happening. That must be absolutely terrifying. And I hope this is a one-off never to be repeated, because if this is a deep character insight instead, we are in for some trouble. But I doubt that's the case. I'm betting this is a one-off. Unfortunately, I believe psychopath Flanders is now The New Normal and Here To Stay.
I can't tell if it's amazing parenting or the worst parenting ever that Homer and Marge keep a toy they both know their kid will love in the attic and plan to give it to them in desperate times, to take their mind off a crisis. I'm leaning towards amazing, honestly. It beats Homer buying her a pony so Lisa will forgive him for being a bad father at any rate.
If the Simpsons don't keep a list of passwords written down somewhere, I absolutely refuse to feel bad for them. If the episode wants us to find THAT crisis relatable, I do not. I think it's stupid instead.
I felt Skinner's arc in the episode was the best done and left off on a good place. It was also nice for Bart of all people to grow a conscience and try to help him out. I always love when the show wrings rare heartwarming family moments between Skinner and Agnes. And the kids have great empathy for him when they realize he's losing his blankie and he's crying. He's a person to them then. What a great moment. And damn Agnes for putting the poor guy through that.
Very good week. A rare topical episode done right. ****1/2.
The Great North "Barrel Be Blood Adventure"
Is it just me? I'm starting to get the impression that Beef is not very smart. I always thought he was a bit off and strange, but some of the things he said and did tonight lead me to believe he isn't too bright.
I love that everyone is annoyed with Walter. For apparently no reason.
I also love that the guy lets them through because he hates his bosses. We think it's a funny joke but we quickly come to understand his bosses are actually VERY easy to hate. Were I in the room with them at the time I would have strangled them both.
Honeybee's "Beef, no," upon his suggestion of giving a scammer $200 is why I think the character is probably dumb.
Some pointed observations about shows like Yellowstone here. They mentioned on "Yosemite" that Ron Perlman is playing Steve Buscemi's son. Which leads me to believe Yellowstone has done age casting that bad itself. Honestly, as popular as Yellowstone currently is, I have NO desire to watch it. I do not get the appeal. Judy declaring the In-Universe stand-in of that "bad" is one of the reasons I dig Judy. Even if she likes bad Reese Witherspoon movies.
Has Ron Perlman ever done this show? I feel like he has. If he hasn't, he should.
I loved the observation that it's considered a stretch for Hollywood actresses when they take on a role to dye and cut their hair. Those ARE usually the performances that go on the Oscar reel, but I like the show suggesting it's probably done for superficial, commercial reasons. Reese Witherspoon once guest starred on The Simpsons. After that, I doubt she'd ever guest star on The Great North. Better call Perlman.
It was funny enough. The end credits movie trailer was great too. ***1/2.
Family Guy "Adult Education"
I'm saying that The Simpsons won the week of Fox Toons, but it was close. That was just plain great.
The ending to Meg in Russia was the best capper ever, and best way I have EVER seen a show end the need for a season ending cliffhanger in under 60 seconds. Beautifully handled.
I have to say parodying "Belle" from "Beauty And The Beast" seems counterproductive. Belle HATED the town she lived in, upbeat melody to the contrary. All of the things she's saying in the song are complaints. Later on in the movie after the townspeople go nuts, I see what she means, but as catchy a song as "Belle" IS, it doesn't make the viewer actually LIKE the character when they first meet her. Yes, Gaston is a pig and it's fun to see her punk him. But the townspeople don't just hate Belle's intelligence and independence. It's her utter refusal to interact with and be neighborly to the community. The show using that specific number to show Meg loving her secretly crappy life isn't right.
Ironically the song "Gaston" would have worked for this. That song is everybody listing Gaston's most obnoxious faults without ever being smart enough to realize every single one of them is the reason he actually sucks. That would have totally worked for Meg praising Russia, although I think the framing visuals there would have been tougher to pull off and the context nearly impossible. It's simply NOT the introduction "Belle" is. I think they should have simply avoided that movie homage here altogether.
I did not remotely believe how Chris got Shepard out of that fix but it was about the best they could do. Actually the best they probably could have done is to have kept that whole thing secret and to have had it crumble for an entirely different reason. American Dad would have (and actually once did) the second thing.
Maybe it was simply because the rest of the episode was making me chuckle, and when that happens a moderately funny thing is apt to push you over the edge, but when Chris screams at the actors on camera to get that cigarette out of the shot because kids are watching this, I freaking lost it. I probably missed about 2 minutes of the episode past that, I was laughing so hysterically. Him telling them later to cover up the baby was also funny, but it's actually the same joke, so I made it through that one okay.
We've come a long way from Peter losing his job on the school board for giving Chris access to his old nudie mag collection, haven't we?
The Steve Martin joke is great. The guy IS universally beloved and the show is pretty much talking about how annoying his career currently is. A guy that funny and talented should be doing funny and amazing things. It would be one thing if he were like Bill Murray and simply transitioned to dramas, but his career choices are just plain weird and frustrating instead. Family Guy does a LOT of unfair slams on celebrities. To take on a sacred cow like Martin is not just admirable, but I appreciate they actually complained about the correct things in a very precise manner. Hopefully the days of Minnie Driver's head being too big to be in the shot are done. A lot of celebrity behavior DOES suck. Family Guy exploring it instead of female celebrities aging is about damn time.
Any REAL complaints? It WAS funny, but I honestly think this episode probably shouldn't have been attempted on network TV at all. If Fox had allowed them to get away with what they did in Brian Does Hollywood, it would have been okay, but I was very aware of the censor constraints the show is now under on broadcast. It speaks well of the show that it's still a great episode. It probably should not have been.
Yes, America, our healthcare system IS worse than Russia's. That bit is actually true. Granted we have better doctors and treatments than they do (their Covid vaccine is a joke), but nobody is gonna go broke from medical bills in Russia. Which should sort of blow the 14 year olds who watch the show's minds. They aren't actually making that part up.
Yeah, that was great. And with the Meg ending it actually was a rare season finale for the show that FELT like an actual season finale. Neat trick that. ****1/2.
American Dad! "Better On Paper"
It's a bizarre premise, but I think it was handled very well.
The pay-off of Roger being found in the last scene was pitch perfect. Outside of that and his place in the theme song he is not in the episode at all. Stan confusing a spider, a rat, and a lawnmower for Roger suggests Roger's personas are getting a bit out of hand.
Should also note this is the first episode in years where Roger is JUST an alien and not doing a persona.
I'm going to give the show a compliment I never thought I'd give it. They had Klaus acknowledge (in a bored manner) he used to be obsessed with Francine. That early years running gag simply did NOT work, and was clearly only done to mirror the fact that Stewie irrationally hated Lois on Family Guy, to weirdly both differentiate the shows, and make them similar to each other at the same time. But the show dropped the terrible idea quietly somewhere around the second season, and pretty much never brought it up again. I never thought they ever would, and it would just be one of those weird early show things that most long running series simply ignore. Major credit from me for that.
Patrick Stewart is still on call for the show so that's good.
I love the fact that Jeff is miffed when Stan leaves the room. "He stretched my shirt! He owes me a new shirt!" And I think that's the way all people should react whenever Stan Smith leaves the room. The moment was so funny because it was realistic in a show that never is. And it's great it was given to Jeff of all people.
I thought that was solid week. ****.
The Blacklist "The Man In The Hat"
I think we needed that. The viewer has been SO concerned over the lines Red's been recently crossing it's good to get confirmation that when push comes to shove, he DOES help people. And even if threatening the hostages he saved would work, being nice works out better, and it's something he can afford to do. It's not surprising Ressler didn't understand they were b.s.ing him on the details of Red's escape because they wanted what he offered, not because they were afraid of him. What surprises me is that Dembe never surmised that. He mentions that it's unlike Red to threaten civilians, but doesn't go to the next logical step of that meaning he didn't.
Red's handing over of the blackmail file he had on Panabaker being the thing that changed her mind might be considered manipulative. But I think the thing Panabaker recognized when he did it, is that the reasons he gave for it were actually true. Whether that bit of kindness was done to get in her good graces or not is almost irrelevant. It was the right move for the Task Force at large.
Great episode title.
Herbie is giving some great advice to Malick all throughout the episode. It's a damn shame she doesn't take it. His perspective is so relatable and real. I'm having a hard time understanding why everyone on the Task Force dislikes him, or are at least annoyed by him.
Another good week. ****.
