I've been running through the series over the past few months and THIS is the season that went over the cliff! 11 and 12 weren't stellar, but this one should have killed the show! It was pretty rotten for almost the next DECADE! But after watching it all again, they managed to pull things together pretty well. It's not the same show anymore, but they found their groove. The show has a heart again. I'm currently on season 27 and for the most part it is really good! I never thought they'd be able to recover.
Can I suggest you maybe make a video about the history of Kirk and Luanne VanHouten ? The fact that they got back together (despite the fact they are clearly so wrong for each other) always confused me
Classic Simpsons = The Simpsons, The Simpsons 2, The Simpsons 3 & Flanders, Simpsons 3D Blast, Flanders Chaotix, ect. Modern Simpsons = Simpsons Adventure 1 + 2, The Simpsons '06, Simpsons Unleashed, Simpsons Forces, ect. Pretty simple to me imo the eras are clear as day
I think part of the reason the ending works is because Fox was known for making a lot of reality TV series that were in poor taste that basically just tortured people that were on them. Frame up almost seems like something they could do, almost.
I think there were two shows that Fox made that further proves this point. There was “The Moment of Truth”, a show where contestants had to answer intensely personal questions while attached to a lie detector, and it ended up destroying a marriage in real life and getting cancelled. There was also “Million Dollar Money Drop”, where a couple lost over $800,000 for getting the right answer, which resulted in a crippling income loss for the couple. This also ended up cancelling that show.
It occured to me that the twist ending might have actually been foreshadowed in the first act. Homer and his family are forced to pamper the screamapillar until it seemingly dies which appears to be Homer's fault, but then it turns out to be alive after all. When Homer and Marge are forced to pamper Mrs. Bellamy until she seemingly dies and they get blamed for her death, you can notice a parallel. The fact that the screamapillar was "alive the entire time" is a hint to the audience that Mrs. Bellamy didn't die either.
Steven Wills I mean from what I can see Season 18 was alright. It’s got Ice Cream of Margie, Springfield Up, Marge Gamer and 24 Minutes- with some other good eps assumedly in there. Sure there’s your occasional Boys of Bummer, but from what I remember things seem okay here.
It is inevitable, I have lived long enough to see many thing I love die or become corrupted and I’m not even 30. Also I for one have grown to hate the “spoilers for a -year old movie” line because pan pizza put it best. Not everyone has seen every movie.
All these really wacky meta outcomes in the 'teen' seasons of the Simpsons never really worked for me. Simpsons never really built itself on random silliness like Family Guy and the likes. It always feels like the serious guy at the office pretending to be a drunk party animal, especially when it's Marge or Lisa, characters who are designed to have some consistent earnest handling to them. Just makes me cringe instead of laugh at how forced it is. Ironically I think the one that least bothered me was the jockey elves one, maybe because all the wackiness revolved around the one shot characters instead of the Simpsons themselves.
Also that episode seemed to be more a genuine self parody rather than just doing a dumb thing and then pointing it out. At least to me. It’s a subtle but very essential difference.
@@zoewells3160 Homer's Enemy still felt like there was a fourth wall existent however. It wasn't just every character talking to the screen and making fun of the writing, it remained very in-universe. That was the secret sauce to early Simpsons.
Exactly how I feel too. I love that Adult Swim level of surrealism too, but the Simpsons just aren't on brand when they do that. They are supposed to be gently biting satire.
I think seasons 9-13 are fascinating in terms of the so called "End of the Simpsons Golden Era", because all the weak elements begin to arise, and in later Simpsons, are all over the place. This review compelled me to rewatch this episode, after almost 20 years, and I think it was pretty weak, and non-sensical, but I think that's not the main problem. Season 5 was all over the place in terms of wackyness, and it's considered classic. This episode made me realize that the real problem with "the end of the Golden Era", and the problem of modern Simpsons in general, is the complete nihilism in it. The show is basically telling you: "If you care about this, you are an idiot". It was around this season and Season 14 I really stopped watching the series, because in the end, if a show keeps telling you: "Hey, there is no meaning in any of this", then, you end up saying: "Yep, it's true". That's why the most famous "post-classic" episodes are the ones in which some meaning still exists, such as "Barthood" and "Holidays of Future Passed", in which, for all the lame jokes, there is still meaning to be found on these characters. I understand your laugh at the end. I also chuckled a bit. But the joke is on us: "Yep, we almost cared about this".
Yeah, I think that's a recurrent problem, after the show spent so long trying to be down to earth and earnest in spite of its comedy, you can't really 180 completely, have the characters sassing and winking at the screen and going "Oh, shut up, it's just a cartoon." every single episode, and that's what I felt with nearly every single post-Season 10 episode. I could argue they started having these little farcical breaches even early on, like Bart's super clunky and character breaking rant that saves his score in Bart Gets An F, or Wiggum arresting Sideshow Bob...just because, and similar telling everyone who points it out to just shut up and deal in Brother From Another Series, but these were odd moments, while at this point Simpsons was being subversive and nihilistic non-stop for the sake of it. Because they felt like they had to compete with other edgier cartoons like South Park and Family Guy, ignoring that they had foundations in that manner of storytelling and even then didn't do it as persistently as they were doing it.
I really hate this episode. Every single part. Unlike "The Great Money Caper" where the whole town is in on the joke for no reason this has the whole town out of the joke for no reason. Either way it's messed up and the Simpsons emotions in the end don't match their characters.
Yeah the whiplash I felt when I was 12 during this episode was wild. I genuinely was upset about the idea of Homer being executed for something dumb, but the twist just....ugh. I should have felt relief, but I was just annoyed.
I just watched oh brother where art thou for the first time ever. Why does the episode make it seem like it’s homer’s fault? As if him tracking down his half brother lead to a chain of events that would destroy the guy’s business. No that was entirely the other guy’s fault. He was the one that put homer in charge of those engineers and says he thinks homer is an idiot. I don’t know what he expected. I was actually supprised that’s how the episode ended because it looked like homer was gonna prove the engineers wrong. Also, I don’t know what homer is said about before he learns to be assertive. I wish I could just bring people their coffee for 200k a year
Because Homer designed the car, I guess? I don't really see how it could possibly have got to the point of being company ruining though without some further oversight, but I have not seen the episode in a while.
at the end of the day Herb is still a Simpson and Homer's half Brother. Herb didn't know how badly putting someone like Homer in charge could ruin him financially, as he doesn't know how Homer has a lack of business acumen, because they've only just met.
@@SocieteRoyale I feel like they sort of acknowledge this eventually, since a brief gag in a later episode mentions Herb lost all his fortune all over again.
I really want you to take a look at Season 18’s Jazzy and the Pussycats. The joke where a mysterious arm appears and replaces Bart’s broken arm has been bugging me all day, mainly since the arm’s person hasn’t been revealed, not even in the deleted scenes. I was expecting an answer when I got the season 18 DVD, since anything is possible after seeing the man in the Burns costume in a deleted scene in Midnight Rx (Lenny), but I searched and searched, and I got nothing. Everyone’s going over who really shot Mr. Burns, while I’m the only person covering the real mystery here! Make a Simpsons Mysteries on this, please. I need the most analytical Simpsons channel to help me on this.
Ah, how I always knew it was Lenny when stumbled upon this episode))) It seems I just that obsessed fan who recognizes favorite character in any disguise)) Also, call-back to "The Old Man & The Lisa", possibly? That moment with mysterious hand is just less subtle retread of the one with TV turned on by itself to show some plot-driving commercial for Homer and Lisa in one classic episode... if only I could remember what it was, but it was basically the same artificial self-aware "Deus Ex Machina" plot device trope, except less lazy, as the same would happen just with TV being turned on whole time, while the hand coming from nowhere to somehow resolve conflict. As Lisa's attic zoo subplot, honestly.
I was like 12 when this episode first aired. I remember mindlessly consuming Simpsons my entire childhood, even not thinking twice about the jockey elves. However, by the time I saw this episode I was kind of like... "uh, this show definitely isn't what it used to be." I haven't seen this episode in probably well over a decade by this point. Maybe I'll have softened up in my "old age" (I'm 30 lol), but idk. I generally find myself agreeing with you on Simpsons episodes.
I think there's enough Screamapiller to where it's absurd enough to make it's point, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome. He comes back at the end of the episode to see Homer's execuation and... what a little a-hole. He knows what he is... that's pretty funny.
I love the screamapillar, right up there with hypnotoad. My favorite parts are where Bart questions whether God wants the species to die and the gloating look he gets when they're going to execute Homer.
I remember watching this episode when I was a teen and liking it, mostly because I liked The Green Mike gag. Now as an adult, it kind of reminds me of some of the modern Simpsons episodes where they have a good idea or a story that starts off strong, but the execution or ending falls flat on its fsce
I will admit, as silly as this one was, the two most memorable lines that I still quote today are: “Meals on Wheels; eat it up or I go to jail!” “I’m so relieved! Relieved and ANGRY!”
You should cover "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" it is another controversial episode and I always wondered why you did not put it on your 50 worst episode list you made a while ago, seeing as I find it much worse than other episodes such as the jockey elves one.
I didn't realise it was controversial actually - was an interesting perspective on a what if scenario where lisa seriously got a restraining order on Bart.
@@gaymanlover I assume its "controversial" because it's one of the few episodes that kind of shatters Lisa's implied character. She's a genuine jerk in a few episodes like these. While people don't seem to like new Lisa, they seem to like it less when she breaks from that pattern. I personally think she does it often enough that being a jerk is actually just a part of her character, but due to the writers trying to push Lisa as a "good person" i can see why it doesn't sit well with some people.
@@gaymanlover I think it's because a lot of people really don't like how cruel Lisa in it, and the whole "can't think of 3 nice things" is just fucking dumb, we've seen way more than three in the entire series.
Honestly I remember Bart-Mangled Banner from season 15 being pretty bad too. Like between the sloppy parody of more extremist-patriotic(?) behaviours in Americans to pointless cruelty to the Simpson family, then driving that family out of America only to bring them back in a literal deus ex machina. There’s not even a good B plot to soften the cruel aspects. The Jockey Elves episode at least wasn’t trying way too hard with the political commentary.
Fun fact, I had exactly this episode loaded on my PSP. I think I just picked a random episode back then, because I just wanted to have a Simpsons episode on the go. Maybe it was one of the newest episodes back then, and that's why I picked it. So I watched this one a lot. And I hate it lol. It's so stupid. But it has some funny jokes.
You can tell the writers don't know shit about the Gov. since the EPA would have nothing to do with the screamapillar as that would be the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services.
*What if that's all the writers wanted to do in this episode. Reused tropes of manipulative old lady like Mrs. Glick, inheritance murder mystery, incompetent lawyer, ONLY to arrive at a genuine fear of Homer dying AS HE SCREAMS ON THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.*
The last really good episode written by the myth, the legend John Swartzwelder and in this episode there is one of my favorite dumb Jokes of his: Homer: "What he needs is a visit from kindly old Dr. Foot" Other dude: "Hold it right there, Dr. Foot" It is dumb on so many levels
I grew up watching The Simpsons, but since I was 7 in 2001 and we didn't start getting DVDs until I was 15, we saw a lot of Bronze Age (s13-19) and Silver Age (s9-12), and only smatterings of the Golden Age. It's hard to tell sometimes if I like silver/bronze age episodes like this one because of their actually good parts, or nostalgia, or because my sense of humor is permanently stunted because I watched the show in the wrong order. That being said, I really appreciate your channel. Thinking deeper about individual episodes and seasons helps me figure out which of those three reasons are operative.
I agree with this if you are gonna do an ending like this you need a story with low stakes at the beggining and characters that can commit at the end You need that moment when you feel it's gonna end just to screw with you and lastly you need it to be funny And it has it all this episode works. Incredible
For some reason, I remember this episode being completely erased from the show. After it aired, the episode did not appear at all on the Simpsons website. Wikipedia and IMDB didn’t have it either (although Wikipedia wasn’t really mainstream yet). I remember being traumatized that the show put us through all that. I was 12 and pissed off. And then all of a sudden, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Badge” aired immediately after. With no advertisements for it until the credits rolled for the Frying Game. THAT did appear on the Simpsons website and everywhere else, so it wasn’t a lack of an update. I had assumed so many people had called Fox to complain and they quickly decided to air the season premiere of the next season to clear the air and have THAT be the season finale. Give me a break, I was 12. I used to think that animated shows had made their episodes YEARS in advance, but I learned when I got older that that is NOT true at all. So...what was going on? Does anyone remember this? It’s recorded everywhere NOW, so I can’t prove if this is some false memory or a dream. But I remember this episode being weirdly skipped over.
I think the jokes and gags are what saves this episode for me. The story is an absolute mess, but I still laugh a lot while watching the episode. Lot's of great lines hear.
Ah, excellent review. Your thoughts on the outlandish ending befitting the episode is so apt. I’ve always liked this one, however I just realised this is one of few episodes where the title is completely irrelevant until the end. Couldn’t think of an alternative name though, haha.
I think the timing of the episode's release and the details of the Mrs Bellamy plotline make it probable that they were intending to do a riff on the case of Bernie Tiede and Marjorie Nugent. For those unfamiliar, Bernie Tiede was the close friend and business manager- as well as general assistant- to a wealthy elderly woman named Marjorie Nugent for several years in the 90s- a relationship that ended when he murdered her. However, the subsequent trials and media coverage were complicated by the fact that, according to just about everyone who knew her, Nugent was an insufferable and mean-spirited old bitch, and Tiede claimed that his actions were caused by her mistreating and bullying him for years. I can certainly see how Schwartzwelder and co would see the comedic and dramatic potential of putting Homer in a similar situation, but then shied away from making it the whole plot of the episode because the murder had only happened a few years ago at this point and it might seem insensitive to parody it to its full extent.
A thought just occurred - why couldn't the plot just cut out the middle plot of Mrs. Bellamy and the murder, and make The Simpsons conviction for the Screamapillar's death escalate due to shenanigans. It feels like it has two crime plots and bungled them together. Especially with the death sentence - the Screamapillar could open a can of worms that leads to Homer's "sentence" and the reality show twist, with the Screamapillar may be even being a part of it too. Heck, the Bellamy plot could have been its own show - murder and all.
I had a dream about this episode as a kid where Flanders was the one who accidentally squashed the screamapillar with a book and that somehow made its skin fall off
im glad RealJims commented on the Simpsons writers method of avoiding criticism because if theres one thing I've always detested about the show is its outward hostile take twords being criticized even constructively, even in audio commentaries they get instantly defensive and mocking of their fans for demanding things like story structure, good taste, or even respecting the very people who watched and made them 3 decades of being successful. I can tolerate Comic book guy and Poochy being their venting of our petty gripes, but I will punch David Mirkin in the face if I ever meet him for how much he'll Lalalala!! his through other peoples differing views
Yeah, and really it's kind of ironic given the creative team were actually famed for being sticklers about how the show and characters were handled in its early years. Some of them even disowned episodes because they were too gimmicky and cartoony, yet many of those examples weren't remotely as bad as later examples.
@@e-122psi3 I said it before, but I love David Mirkin's run on the show, he helmed the shows best episodes, but his complete hand waving attitude tword any level of criticism makes me really wanna punch him in the throat, because you are right, they were sticklers for not making garbage, so where is the inner conflict over how crappy the series has unquestionably gotten, even watching Commentary tracks in season 11, they still handwave how poor the show has gotten......which might explain why Matt Groening almost never shows up for them anymore.
like The Simpsons Movie it squanders it's final act, because you know that Springfield will be saved or that in this case Homer won't be executed. it's a case of The Simpsons Movie/The Frying Game being dramatically inept for the sake of laughs in it's resolution.
Self-Deprecation Humor was MAD Magazine's bread & butter for years (we're trash, and you shouldn't buy our magazine), a staple for the boomer Harvard writers in the '90s episodes (2002, but close enough). It's no surprise to me that said device was so popular in the writer's room.
I think that to Make the story more "believable" they should have Make the old lady more important from the Star, sacrifying the Caterpillar to Make the story more plot driven and also having time to show hints that ir was a prank from the beginning
The ending of Kill the Alligator and Run never made sense to me until I saw the deleted scene (th-cam.com/video/HsT1AgvtDCQ/w-d-xo.html) from it, which shows that Captain Jack had been lying in state inside the courthouse. So that's why he just walks out of it at the end!
"sexually attracted to fire" ... A lot of insects are. It's why bug zappers work, why fireflies light up, and why moths immolate themselves. It's the origin of the expression "old flame" to refer to a past relationship that you know was bad for you but have a hard time walking away from.
@Nathan Pollard It's literally the same frequency of infrared light they emit for the express purpose of attracting mates. To a moth, an open flame is constantly, shamelessly horny on main. If you think I don't what I'm talking about, please notice the user name.
The first episode I saw the full way through was ‘Treehouse of Horror XII’, when I was like nine, and I was so confused as to why The Simpsons were killing all the main/secondary characters off 😂
Man that screamapillar subplot. Once I stepped on a spider on the floor of my school's auditorium while my class was rehearsing for an event and they acted like I killed their pet spider (which wasn't even an actual pet spider type of a spider) and that it's my worst crime ever, which is just one for a long list of bullshit heckling I went through at school. No you stupids, it wasn't a pet or even an endangered species like the Screamapillar. Don't guilt trip me into Homerdom
I think there are a lot of good episodes from seasons 9-14, and a few from 15 to like 19. But after that I gave up. I wish they would stop. Im sure there are some episodes peppered in here and there but im sure they re exceedingly rare.
@Kenny McCormick Thanks ! One of my favs in the somewhat later episodes is the Treehouse Of Horror from either Season 16 or 17 with Lisa as Sherlock Holmes, and Ned as the guy from the Dead Zone
Hi there, I was wondering if you could review A Star Is Born again? It's a ok episode but I would kinda like to see a review on it , it was Flanders' first relationship kind of episode after Maude's death in Season 11
I am honestly not sure... The reality show part started for sure when Homer wandered in there for community service. But we don't know if it could've been anyone who would've walked into the situation. Or if they dropped the Screamapillar there to set him up. That EPA guy just coincidentally happened to be there. I'm leaning toward Act 1 not being part of it.
@@TheRealJims This actually reminds me of a debate the Spongebob Fandom had regarding "Procrastination" Some guy made a case about how Patrick was used, and it sparked a debate as to when exactly SpongeBob fell asleep. The EARLIEST he could have fallen asleep is immediately after having written the word "The", as it's still on the paper when he wakes up. The LATEST he could have fallen asleep is when he starts seeing hallucinations of his furniture talking. Everything between that (Taking a break, pacing, calling Patrick and talking with him, playing with pencil shavings, choking, getting water, talking to Gary, getting a snack, talking to the mailman, and watching the news) all may or may not have actually happened.
I feel pretty confident that, by Season 13, I had been gazing into The Simpsons abyss for too long...
This episode will do that to you
Yep
I've been running through the series over the past few months and THIS is the season that went over the cliff!
11 and 12 weren't stellar, but this one should have killed the show!
It was pretty rotten for almost the next DECADE! But after watching it all again, they managed to pull things together pretty well.
It's not the same show anymore, but they found their groove. The show has a heart again. I'm currently on season 27 and for the most part it is really good!
I never thought they'd be able to recover.
Season 13 gives me headaches when I rewatch it
Can I suggest you maybe make a video about the history of Kirk and Luanne VanHouten ? The fact that they got back together (despite the fact they are clearly so wrong for each other) always confused me
I love how this is "Modern Simpsons" despite being nearly 2 decades ago.
Woe
The last 15+ seasons aren't modern Simpsons. That's basically fan fiction Simpsons.
people consider modern simpsons 13 on. when al gene took over as showrunner.
haha i can 1-up you ALL first of all, its spelled "woah" and the rest of you are NERDY DORKS get rekt lulz
Classic Simpsons = The Simpsons, The Simpsons 2, The Simpsons 3 & Flanders, Simpsons 3D Blast, Flanders Chaotix, ect.
Modern Simpsons = Simpsons Adventure 1 + 2, The Simpsons '06, Simpsons Unleashed, Simpsons Forces, ect.
Pretty simple to me imo the eras are clear as day
Homer: I can't believe everyone was in on it!
Willie: Willie wasn't!
I liked that part.
Ya used me Skinner! Ya used me!
That’s from Season 12’s “The Great Money Caper” not this episode to let you know.
@@BaboDex Oops! I guess the episodes had a similar twist. I bet Willie still wasn't in on it
"nothing of value was lost" man, that's maybe the most pessimistic, backhanded compliment I have ever heard...
I think part of the reason the ending works is because Fox was known for making a lot of reality TV series that were in poor taste that basically just tortured people that were on them. Frame up almost seems like something they could do, almost.
True
I think most people don't know that or just forgot
I think there were two shows that Fox made that further proves this point. There was “The Moment of Truth”, a show where contestants had to answer intensely personal questions while attached to a lie detector, and it ended up destroying a marriage in real life and getting cancelled. There was also “Million Dollar Money Drop”, where a couple lost over $800,000 for getting the right answer, which resulted in a crippling income loss for the couple. This also ended up cancelling that show.
It occured to me that the twist ending might have actually been foreshadowed in the first act. Homer and his family are forced to pamper the screamapillar until it seemingly dies which appears to be Homer's fault, but then it turns out to be alive after all. When Homer and Marge are forced to pamper Mrs. Bellamy until she seemingly dies and they get blamed for her death, you can notice a parallel. The fact that the screamapillar was "alive the entire time" is a hint to the audience that Mrs. Bellamy didn't die either.
Great eye. I felt like the screamapillar was to convient to just show up and become their problem.
"I'm confused. Is this a bad episode or a good episode?"
It's an episode, that's enough
@@TheRealJims so bad it's good or so good it's bad
Bad episode and not to mention a torture episode.
"How much money did he piss away on this?" is a wonderfully delivered and timed line.
It's one of my favorites simply because we so rarely hear Marge swear
I can't wait to see the season 18 retrospective and see this guy slowly lose his mind and soul 😂love the vids though
His Top 10 video would be replaced by “Top 5 Tolerable Episodes”
i will wait for 5 years XD
Jims' Season 10+ reviews are strange because I won't understand what he's referring to in slideshow format.
@@flynnfoil Don't worry the coocoo bananas Millhouse will continue to appear in those
Steven Wills
I mean from what I can see Season 18 was alright. It’s got Ice Cream of Margie, Springfield Up, Marge Gamer and 24 Minutes- with some other good eps assumedly in there. Sure there’s your occasional Boys of Bummer, but from what I remember things seem okay here.
“How much money did he piss away on this”.
At least it was something thoughtful this time.
This is one of my most hated episodes, but I still laugh at that line.
"Oh, so it's a good thing she died! From our perspective. From a financial point of view!"
Gets me every time.
This felt like a really good representation of Season 13 as a whole for me. I laughed, but it felt meaningless.
"Spoiler for this 10 year old movie", thanks for making me feel old, lol
I put that on my to-watch list when it came out. I can hardly believe it's been 10 years and I still haven't watched it yet
It is inevitable, I have lived long enough to see many thing I love die or become corrupted and I’m not even 30.
Also I for one have grown to hate the “spoilers for a -year old movie” line because pan pizza put it best. Not everyone has seen every movie.
I have simultaneously every feeling about this ending and no feelings about this ending.
“A lie is just a boring persons idea of a prank” hahahahha
All these really wacky meta outcomes in the 'teen' seasons of the Simpsons never really worked for me. Simpsons never really built itself on random silliness like Family Guy and the likes. It always feels like the serious guy at the office pretending to be a drunk party animal, especially when it's Marge or Lisa, characters who are designed to have some consistent earnest handling to them. Just makes me cringe instead of laugh at how forced it is.
Ironically I think the one that least bothered me was the jockey elves one, maybe because all the wackiness revolved around the one shot characters instead of the Simpsons themselves.
Also that episode seemed to be more a genuine self parody rather than just doing a dumb thing and then pointing it out. At least to me. It’s a subtle but very essential difference.
Homer’s Enemy is still by far the superior self-parody episode of The Simpsons, however.
@@zoewells3160 Homer's Enemy still felt like there was a fourth wall existent however. It wasn't just every character talking to the screen and making fun of the writing, it remained very in-universe. That was the secret sauce to early Simpsons.
ToonReel001 Yeah, that’s why it works far better. It’s also a smarter and darker satire.
Exactly how I feel too. I love that Adult Swim level of surrealism too, but the Simpsons just aren't on brand when they do that. They are supposed to be gently biting satire.
I think seasons 9-13 are fascinating in terms of the so called "End of the Simpsons Golden Era", because all the weak elements begin to arise, and in later Simpsons, are all over the place. This review compelled me to rewatch this episode, after almost 20 years, and I think it was pretty weak, and non-sensical, but I think that's not the main problem. Season 5 was all over the place in terms of wackyness, and it's considered classic. This episode made me realize that the real problem with "the end of the Golden Era", and the problem of modern Simpsons in general, is the complete nihilism in it. The show is basically telling you: "If you care about this, you are an idiot". It was around this season and Season 14 I really stopped watching the series, because in the end, if a show keeps telling you: "Hey, there is no meaning in any of this", then, you end up saying: "Yep, it's true". That's why the most famous "post-classic" episodes are the ones in which some meaning still exists, such as "Barthood" and "Holidays of Future Passed", in which, for all the lame jokes, there is still meaning to be found on these characters.
I understand your laugh at the end. I also chuckled a bit. But the joke is on us: "Yep, we almost cared about this".
Yeah, I think that's a recurrent problem, after the show spent so long trying to be down to earth and earnest in spite of its comedy, you can't really 180 completely, have the characters sassing and winking at the screen and going "Oh, shut up, it's just a cartoon." every single episode, and that's what I felt with nearly every single post-Season 10 episode. I could argue they started having these little farcical breaches even early on, like Bart's super clunky and character breaking rant that saves his score in Bart Gets An F, or Wiggum arresting Sideshow Bob...just because, and similar telling everyone who points it out to just shut up and deal in Brother From Another Series, but these were odd moments, while at this point Simpsons was being subversive and nihilistic non-stop for the sake of it. Because they felt like they had to compete with other edgier cartoons like South Park and Family Guy, ignoring that they had foundations in that manner of storytelling and even then didn't do it as persistently as they were doing it.
0:41 so bad its lazy: any Adam Sandler comedy
So bad its meta: any Andy Kaufman rutine.
Do you mean Andy Kaufman?
Charlie Kaufman is a writer.
@@XantroyX oh shit, you are right. Dumbass me
7:17 reminds of that Bob’s Burgers quote. ‘No it’s not a twist, it’s a lie! A lie is not a twist’
This feels like a family guy episode structure
I really hate this episode. Every single part. Unlike "The Great Money Caper" where the whole town is in on the joke for no reason this has the whole town out of the joke for no reason. Either way it's messed up and the Simpsons emotions in the end don't match their characters.
Same. I'm not relieved, I'm angry, and that's not even close to describing how I felt.
What about the Surf’s Up ending?
Yeah the whiplash I felt when I was 12 during this episode was wild. I genuinely was upset about the idea of Homer being executed for something dumb, but the twist just....ugh. I should have felt relief, but I was just annoyed.
I just watched oh brother where art thou for the first time ever. Why does the episode make it seem like it’s homer’s fault? As if him tracking down his half brother lead to a chain of events that would destroy the guy’s business. No that was entirely the other guy’s fault. He was the one that put homer in charge of those engineers and says he thinks homer is an idiot. I don’t know what he expected. I was actually supprised that’s how the episode ended because it looked like homer was gonna prove the engineers wrong. Also, I don’t know what homer is said about before he learns to be assertive. I wish I could just bring people their coffee for 200k a year
Because Homer designed the car, I guess? I don't really see how it could possibly have got to the point of being company ruining though without some further oversight, but I have not seen the episode in a while.
at the end of the day Herb is still a Simpson and Homer's half Brother. Herb didn't know how badly putting someone like Homer in charge could ruin him financially, as he doesn't know how Homer has a lack of business acumen, because they've only just met.
Basically Herb is just a dick, his company was failing anyway so he just blamed Homer as a scapegoat
@@SocieteRoyale I feel like they sort of acknowledge this eventually, since a brief gag in a later episode mentions Herb lost all his fortune all over again.
The twist ending to this episode reminded me of the ending to the 1997 movie “The Game” but way stupider.
Shutter Island did it too!
Actually like that movie the game despite the twist not making any sense i
I actually like The Game, but this episode not so much... Ps, what I REALLY like is your profile pic 🤠
these are the best, i love every upload. This is one of the few channels i watch on repeat
Me: "The Frying Game? I don't remember that one. What was it about?"
Answer: E V E R Y T H I N G
I really want you to take a look at Season 18’s Jazzy and the Pussycats.
The joke where a mysterious arm appears and replaces Bart’s broken arm has been bugging me all day, mainly since the arm’s person hasn’t been revealed, not even in the deleted scenes.
I was expecting an answer when I got the season 18 DVD, since anything is possible after seeing the man in the Burns costume in a deleted scene in Midnight Rx (Lenny), but I searched and searched, and I got nothing.
Everyone’s going over who really shot Mr. Burns, while I’m the only person covering the real mystery here!
Make a Simpsons Mysteries on this, please. I need the most analytical Simpsons channel to help me on this.
Ah, how I always knew it was Lenny when stumbled upon this episode))) It seems I just that obsessed fan who recognizes favorite character in any disguise)) Also, call-back to "The Old Man & The Lisa", possibly?
That moment with mysterious hand is just less subtle retread of the one with TV turned on by itself to show some plot-driving commercial for Homer and Lisa in one classic episode... if only I could remember what it was, but it was basically the same artificial self-aware "Deus Ex Machina" plot device trope, except less lazy, as the same would happen just with TV being turned on whole time, while the hand coming from nowhere to somehow resolve conflict. As Lisa's attic zoo subplot, honestly.
Had me thinking this was a reupload for a second, nope, just an extended review.
I’m honestly 50/50. It was a funny bit.
But it was an extremely convenient way to get them out of trouble.
Carmen doesn’t deserve eye contact
I've made my choice
I can’t believe I only just realized it’s a “The Game” parody, except it’s a reality show instead of a birthday party.
I was like 12 when this episode first aired. I remember mindlessly consuming Simpsons my entire childhood, even not thinking twice about the jockey elves. However, by the time I saw this episode I was kind of like... "uh, this show definitely isn't what it used to be." I haven't seen this episode in probably well over a decade by this point. Maybe I'll have softened up in my "old age" (I'm 30 lol), but idk. I generally find myself agreeing with you on Simpsons episodes.
I think there's enough Screamapiller to where it's absurd enough to make it's point, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome. He comes back at the end of the episode to see Homer's execuation and... what a little a-hole. He knows what he is... that's pretty funny.
I love the screamapillar, right up there with hypnotoad. My favorite parts are where Bart questions whether God wants the species to die and the gloating look he gets when they're going to execute Homer.
This is a weird episode. I do remember finding the screamapillar plotline hilarious as a child though!
I thought jar jar was funny as a kid what’s your point?
I have a feeling I would find it to be either the funniest thing in the world or completely intolerable.
It's hard to remember toy story 3 came out 10 years ago when you had to wait 10 years for it to release in the first place.
I remember watching this episode when I was a teen and liking it, mostly because I liked The Green Mike gag.
Now as an adult, it kind of reminds me of some of the modern Simpsons episodes where they have a good idea or a story that starts off strong, but the execution or ending falls flat on its fsce
I will admit, as silly as this one was, the two most memorable lines that I still quote today are:
“Meals on Wheels; eat it up or I go to jail!”
“I’m so relieved! Relieved and ANGRY!”
Play the race card! PLAAAYYYY IT.
recently started watching your channel, and i like it a lot.
thank u.
You should cover "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" it is another controversial episode and I always wondered why you did not put it on your 50 worst episode list you made a while ago, seeing as I find it much worse than other episodes such as the jockey elves one.
I didn't realise it was controversial actually - was an interesting perspective on a what if scenario where lisa seriously got a restraining order on Bart.
@@gaymanlover I assume its "controversial" because it's one of the few episodes that kind of shatters Lisa's implied character. She's a genuine jerk in a few episodes like these. While people don't seem to like new Lisa, they seem to like it less when she breaks from that pattern. I personally think she does it often enough that being a jerk is actually just a part of her character, but due to the writers trying to push Lisa as a "good person" i can see why it doesn't sit well with some people.
@@gaymanlover I think it's because a lot of people really don't like how cruel Lisa in it, and the whole "can't think of 3 nice things" is just fucking dumb, we've seen way more than three in the entire series.
Honestly I remember Bart-Mangled Banner from season 15 being pretty bad too. Like between the sloppy parody of more extremist-patriotic(?) behaviours in Americans to pointless cruelty to the Simpson family, then driving that family out of America only to bring them back in a literal deus ex machina. There’s not even a good B plot to soften the cruel aspects.
The Jockey Elves episode at least wasn’t trying way too hard with the political commentary.
There’s a 50 worst episodes list? Did he delete it?
Fun fact, I had exactly this episode loaded on my PSP. I think I just picked a random episode back then, because I just wanted to have a Simpsons episode on the go. Maybe it was one of the newest episodes back then, and that's why I picked it. So I watched this one a lot. And I hate it lol. It's so stupid. But it has some funny jokes.
You can tell the writers don't know shit about the Gov. since the EPA would have nothing to do with the screamapillar as that would be the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services.
*What if that's all the writers wanted to do in this episode. Reused tropes of manipulative old lady like Mrs. Glick, inheritance murder mystery, incompetent lawyer, ONLY to arrive at a genuine fear of Homer dying AS HE SCREAMS ON THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.*
The last really good episode written by the myth, the legend John Swartzwelder and in this episode there is one of my favorite dumb Jokes of his: Homer: "What he needs is a visit from kindly old Dr. Foot" Other dude: "Hold it right there, Dr. Foot" It is dumb on so many levels
I love this episode.
Season 13 is my favourite post classic season... 100%
I grew up watching The Simpsons, but since I was 7 in 2001 and we didn't start getting DVDs until I was 15, we saw a lot of Bronze Age (s13-19) and Silver Age (s9-12), and only smatterings of the Golden Age.
It's hard to tell sometimes if I like silver/bronze age episodes like this one because of their actually good parts, or nostalgia, or because my sense of humor is permanently stunted because I watched the show in the wrong order.
That being said, I really appreciate your channel. Thinking deeper about individual episodes and seasons helps me figure out which of those three reasons are operative.
I agree with this if you are gonna do an ending like this you need a story with low stakes at the beggining and characters that can commit at the end
You need that moment when you feel it's gonna end just to screw with you and lastly you need it to be funny
And it has it all this episode works.
Incredible
It was just a prank, bro!
I feel like they had a few ideas that they couldn't stretch out to a full episode so they smashed them together
For some reason, I remember this episode being completely erased from the show. After it aired, the episode did not appear at all on the Simpsons website. Wikipedia and IMDB didn’t have it either (although Wikipedia wasn’t really mainstream yet). I remember being traumatized that the show put us through all that. I was 12 and pissed off. And then all of a sudden, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Badge” aired immediately after. With no advertisements for it until the credits rolled for the Frying Game. THAT did appear on the Simpsons website and everywhere else, so it wasn’t a lack of an update. I had assumed so many people had called Fox to complain and they quickly decided to air the season premiere of the next season to clear the air and have THAT be the season finale. Give me a break, I was 12. I used to think that animated shows had made their episodes YEARS in advance, but I learned when I got older that that is NOT true at all.
So...what was going on? Does anyone remember this? It’s recorded everywhere NOW, so I can’t prove if this is some false memory or a dream. But I remember this episode being weirdly skipped over.
Mrs Bellamy. Was alive. THE WHOLE TIME!
I love this Chanel it’s so good, keep it up
“Are you sure God doesn’t want it to be dead?”
“What’s God gonna do? Make my wife leave me again?!”
I think the jokes and gags are what saves this episode for me. The story is an absolute mess, but I still laugh a lot while watching the episode. Lot's of great lines hear.
So much prefer extra seconds than the 60 seconds review. The 60 seconds review basically acts as a preview trailer for the real video
We missed your videos Jims! Appreciate your hard work.
Thank you for making this!! Haven’t watched but i’m excited!
Ah, excellent review. Your thoughts on the outlandish ending befitting the episode is so apt. I’ve always liked this one, however I just realised this is one of few episodes where the title is completely irrelevant until the end. Couldn’t think of an alternative name though, haha.
I think the timing of the episode's release and the details of the Mrs Bellamy plotline make it probable that they were intending to do a riff on the case of Bernie Tiede and Marjorie Nugent.
For those unfamiliar, Bernie Tiede was the close friend and business manager- as well as general assistant- to a wealthy elderly woman named Marjorie Nugent for several years in the 90s- a relationship that ended when he murdered her. However, the subsequent trials and media coverage were complicated by the fact that, according to just about everyone who knew her, Nugent was an insufferable and mean-spirited old bitch, and Tiede claimed that his actions were caused by her mistreating and bullying him for years.
I can certainly see how Schwartzwelder and co would see the comedic and dramatic potential of putting Homer in a similar situation, but then shied away from making it the whole plot of the episode because the murder had only happened a few years ago at this point and it might seem insensitive to parody it to its full extent.
I thought this was that one season one episode that I forgot the name of...
There's No Disgrace Like Home!
''Can't you play the race card??....PLAY IT!!'' *Weaving closed fists*
A thought just occurred - why couldn't the plot just cut out the middle plot of Mrs. Bellamy and the murder, and make The Simpsons conviction for the Screamapillar's death escalate due to shenanigans. It feels like it has two crime plots and bungled them together. Especially with the death sentence - the Screamapillar could open a can of worms that leads to Homer's "sentence" and the reality show twist, with the Screamapillar may be even being a part of it too.
Heck, the Bellamy plot could have been its own show - murder and all.
I have a feeling there are three eras of the simpsons:classic era, Mike scully era and modern era
Your music is so relaxing and soothing
I had a dream about this episode as a kid where Flanders was the one who accidentally squashed the screamapillar with a book and that somehow made its skin fall off
im glad RealJims commented on the Simpsons writers method of avoiding criticism because if theres one thing I've always detested about the show is its outward hostile take twords being criticized even constructively, even in audio commentaries they get instantly defensive and mocking of their fans for demanding things like story structure, good taste, or even respecting the very people who watched and made them 3 decades of being successful. I can tolerate Comic book guy and Poochy being their venting of our petty gripes, but I will punch David Mirkin in the face if I ever meet him for how much he'll Lalalala!! his through other peoples differing views
Yeah, and really it's kind of ironic given the creative team were actually famed for being sticklers about how the show and characters were handled in its early years. Some of them even disowned episodes because they were too gimmicky and cartoony, yet many of those examples weren't remotely as bad as later examples.
@@e-122psi3 I said it before, but I love David Mirkin's run on the show, he helmed the shows best episodes, but his complete hand waving attitude tword any level of criticism makes me really wanna punch him in the throat, because you are right, they were sticklers for not making garbage, so where is the inner conflict over how crappy the series has unquestionably gotten, even watching Commentary tracks in season 11, they still handwave how poor the show has gotten......which might explain why Matt Groening almost never shows up for them anymore.
like The Simpsons Movie it squanders it's final act, because you know that Springfield will be saved or that in this case Homer won't be executed. it's a case of The Simpsons Movie/The Frying Game being dramatically inept for the sake of laughs in it's resolution.
You know, maybe there was a reason why I only remember the caterpillar and the electric chair fake-out ending to this episode...
This one of the earliest episodes that I outright hated from the get-go, I don't know why.
Love the George Bush Sr appearance (he would have celebrated the death of the Simpsons in real life) and the 'Ho. J' pun.
Your channel is like a guilty pleasure.
Every time I watch this episode I keep forgetting what episode I’m watching, but I can’t really say I mind.
Hell yeah been waiting for this, watched the ep the night before the 60seconds vid was uploaded, very good episode
Self-Deprecation Humor was MAD Magazine's bread & butter for years (we're trash, and you shouldn't buy our magazine), a staple for the boomer Harvard writers in the '90s episodes (2002, but close enough). It's no surprise to me that said device was so popular in the writer's room.
Aggravated Buggery.
I think that to Make the story more "believable" they should have Make the old lady more important from the Star, sacrifying the Caterpillar to Make the story more plot driven and also having time to show hints that ir was a prank from the beginning
I never noticed the newspaper headline that referenced the "Ho. J. Simpson" trial. Pretty good :)
The alligator is the newest topic in this channel. Came out a few days ago.
I just want to know if Willie was in on this one... unlike the Grifting episode...
How do I not remember the alligator episode? I could have sworn I remembered watching reruns of Season 11 on Fox8.
The only thing I like about this episode is the fight between the two priests.
They never did show any hidden Cameras .
"DID YOU DO IT?!!
The ending of Kill the Alligator and Run never made sense to me until I saw the deleted scene (th-cam.com/video/HsT1AgvtDCQ/w-d-xo.html) from it, which shows that Captain Jack had been lying in state inside the courthouse. So that's why he just walks out of it at the end!
2 upload days in a row?! keep it up!
"sexually attracted to fire" ... A lot of insects are. It's why bug zappers work, why fireflies light up, and why moths immolate themselves. It's the origin of the expression "old flame" to refer to a past relationship that you know was bad for you but have a hard time walking away from.
Are you sure it's not just a non-sexual attraction?
It'd be hard to tell, either way...
@Nathan Pollard It's literally the same frequency of infrared light they emit for the express purpose of attracting mates. To a moth, an open flame is constantly, shamelessly horny on main. If you think I don't what I'm talking about, please notice the user name.
Fun fact this was the first episode of the Simpson I ever saw.
The first episode I saw the full way through was ‘Treehouse of Horror XII’, when I was like nine, and I was so confused as to why The Simpsons were killing all the main/secondary characters off 😂
I put this episode in the "Turn Your Brain Off" category.
Man that screamapillar subplot. Once I stepped on a spider on the floor of my school's auditorium while my class was rehearsing for an event and they acted like I killed their pet spider (which wasn't even an actual pet spider type of a spider) and that it's my worst crime ever, which is just one for a long list of bullshit heckling I went through at school. No you stupids, it wasn't a pet or even an endangered species like the Screamapillar. Don't guilt trip me into Homerdom
THE EPISODE IS COMMONLY CITED AS EVIDENCE TO HOMER IS COMATOSE THEORY
I can't believe this isn't from season 12.
I think there are a lot of good episodes from seasons 9-14, and a few from 15 to like 19. But after that I gave up. I wish they would stop. Im sure there are some episodes peppered in here and there but im sure they re exceedingly rare.
@Kenny McCormick Thanks ! One of my favs in the somewhat later episodes is the Treehouse Of Horror from either Season 16 or 17 with Lisa as Sherlock Holmes, and Ned as the guy from the Dead Zone
Always Happy to see a reference to The Critic
It stinks.
Hey... I was ready for the toys to be destroyed in Toy Story 3. That's why I like Infinity War over Endgame.. Sometimes the good guys don't win.
The OG "it's just a prank bro"
Props for the Critic reference.
Hi there, I was wondering if you could review A Star Is Born again? It's a ok episode but I would kinda like to see a review on it , it was Flanders' first relationship kind of episode after Maude's death in Season 11
it takes 2 to lie, 1 to lie and 1 to listen
It was a reality show the entire time.
So, was the person who sold Homer the koi pond also in on the reality show?
I am honestly not sure... The reality show part started for sure when Homer wandered in there for community service. But we don't know if it could've been anyone who would've walked into the situation. Or if they dropped the Screamapillar there to set him up. That EPA guy just coincidentally happened to be there.
I'm leaning toward Act 1 not being part of it.
@@TheRealJims This actually reminds me of a debate the Spongebob Fandom had regarding "Procrastination"
Some guy made a case about how Patrick was used, and it sparked a debate as to when exactly SpongeBob fell asleep.
The EARLIEST he could have fallen asleep is immediately after having written the word "The", as it's still on the paper when he wakes up. The LATEST he could have fallen asleep is when he starts seeing hallucinations of his furniture talking.
Everything between that (Taking a break, pacing, calling Patrick and talking with him, playing with pencil shavings, choking, getting water, talking to Gary, getting a snack, talking to the mailman, and watching the news) all may or may not have actually happened.