Intermission III

 

Right, so the holidays are coming up and evidently you're supposed to "prepare" by "buying gifts" and "enjoying the company of your friends and family" and things of that nature, and I haven't really done any of that yet. So as a result, I'm taking a little time off from my "watch an episode of 'The Simpsons' every day" routine. Don't worry, though. For all twelve of you out there, I'll be back to doing this soon enough.

While we're on this temporary hiatus, feel free to read old reviews and comment and whatnot. Do something to let me know that you're out there, so that at least I know someone is reading.

Or don't. Ultimately it doesn't matter, I guess.

Happy Holidays! And so on, and so forth!

Season 02 in Review

General Thoughts: What a difference a year makes. Starting with the very first episode and continuing on through the finale, season two is (for the most part) a dramatic improvement over season one. Now, again: I don't hate season one. It has a lot of good moments, but unfortunately most of them fall in like two episodes. Season one isn't as notoriously bad as I'd remembered it being. It's just that the bad, for the most part, far outweighed the good. With season two, things are immediately *so good* that I really don't have anything bad to say about a lot of these episodes.

The show is getting a lot more comfortable (and successful) with sentiment. Season one swung for the fences in a lot of ways - like having Homer try to commit suicide. Season two dials it back and focuses more on smaller issues that are more identifiable. Entire episodes are devoted to dissecting characters in some of the funniest (and most touching) ways possible. Very, very rarely is an episode ever less than 100% successful in what it tries to accomplish. 

Which, obviously, is both extraordinary and really surprising. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that they must have replaced the entire writing staff in between seasons. It's that noticeable of a change. However, something even better happened: these writers were able to figure out what the show is and what it has the potential to be and were able to hit the ground running in the new year. I don't know that something as good as season two could exist if they hadn't made (and obviously learned a great deal from) the mistakes of season one.

There are still misses here, but they're all generally more enjoyable than the misses from season one because A) they're often a great deal funnier, and B) the pace is dramatically improved. Gone are montages where we get one joke every thirty seconds or so. The pace still isn't quite as "break neck" as it will eventually become, but it also isn't the glacial pace of certain episodes of the past. The show is also getting a bit more comfortable with the types of jokes that it's telling. We're getting a combination of great visual gags, snappy dialog and great pop culture references - all often within a few seconds of one another.

The humor is also coming directly out of the characters and plot, for the most part. There aren't any "references for references sake" to be found, even in something as pop culture reference heavy as "Three Men an a Comic Book."

It's clear that the writers still have a little bit of learning to do, but they've more than proven that they're capable of doing it.

This season has some really, really great guest appearances. The highlight is obviously Dustin Hoffman, under the pseudonym of "Sam Etic" as the wonderful Mr. Bergstrom, Lisa's substitute teacher. However, people like Danny DeVito and even Jon Lovitz all turn in wonderful performances throughout the year. The show is both letting these people play to the best of their strengths and using them to tell some wholly unique and really satisfying stories. Nobody shows up in a "Hey, isn't it WACKY that _______ is visiting Springfield?!?" capacity. The closest we get to that is Ringo Starr, and even he's worked into the plot in a way that is both funny and plays off a few great Marge-centric character moments.

The animation is really working itself out. There are still some signs of "early in the season jitters," but all in all everything looks very smooth and polished (note: those are synonyms, so the previous sentence might not make much sense).

A major theme of the second season is, surprisingly, love. We get a lot of episodes in a row, especially towards the back half of the year, that deal with relationships between characters. Patty (or Selma, I can never remember) tries desperately to find a husband. Lisa experiences her first crush (sort of). Homer and Marge continue to have marriage issues. Even though the show is animated and even while all the funny jokes are going on, the writers still manage to ground these characters in a sense of reality and have them go through genuine experiences.

All in all, with the type of consistent quality on display coupled with the fact that the writers are clearly interested in telling interesting stories beyond just fishing for laughs, "The Simpsons" has set itself apart from almost every other show on television almost immediately with its second season. Three of my top ten favorite episodes in the history of the series (at least for right now) are in this season. Three. That's a damn good record.

Is "season two" the best that "The Simpsons" will ever be? No. But that really does say quite a bit about just what's about to happen to this show in the coming years.

Best Episode: If "Bart the Daredevil" was one of my favorite episodes of "The Simpsons" ever, "Lisa's Substitute" is one of my favorite episodes of anything, period. It's so, so good. It's a story that single handedly makes little Lisa Simpson one of the most interesting residents of this entire fictional town. It makes her unique, identifiable and REAL. And at its core it's kind of a really adult story pulled off in a shockingly successful way for not just an animated comedy series but for a half hour television show, period. The writers don't waste a single moment and, thankfully, don't miss a single mark, either.

Worst Episode: "Principal Charming." It's not bad as in "this sucks", but bad as in "this does nothing for me." I don't find Patty and/or Selma all that interesting, and certainly not interesting enough to want to watch an entire episode devoted to them where Sideshow Bob isn't trying to murder one or the other.

To be honest, there really isn't a truly "bad" episode in the bunch. There are ones that I like a lot more than others. There are ones, like "Principal Charming," that don't really do much for me or I don't think are as effective as they could be. There was nothing that made me cringe, though. Nothing out and out "bad" in the strictest definition of the word. So when your bad isn't even really technically bad in the strictest definition of the word, you know you're in good shape.

Season High Point: For me, Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Bergstrom. Not only does he turn in a wonderfully subdued performance that manages to make me forget that he's Dustin Hoffman, but he also has one of my favorite lines ever AND his character gives me one of my favorite moments of all time: "You are Lisa Simpson."

Season Low Point: Homer's "Terminator Vision" from "Principal Charming." I get the joke. Really, I do. I just don't think it's funny. And it's a weird break from reality that isn't really worth it in the end.

Episode Scores (out of 10):

1. Bart Gets an F: 8
2. Simpson and Delilah: 8
3. Treehouse of Horror: 8
4. Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish: 8
5. Dancin' Homer: 7
6. Dead Putting Society: 7
7. Bart vs. Thanksgiving: 9
8. Bart the Daredevil: 10
9. Itchy & Scratchy & Marge: 9
10. Bart Gets Hit by a Car: 8
11. One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish: 7
12. The Way We Was: 9
13. Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment: 8
14. Principal Charming: 6
15. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?: 8
16. Bart's Dog Gets an F: 8
17. Old Money: 8
18. Brush with Greatness: 8
19. Lisa's Substitute: 10
20. The War of the Simpsons: 9
21. Three Men and a Comic Book: 10
22. Blood Feud: 7

Season Score Total (out of 220): 180


Final Season Score (Average): 81/100


Letter Grade: B-

22. Blood Feud

Episode Title: Blood Feud
Episode Number: 35
Original Air Date:  July 11, 1991

Plot Synopsis: When Mr. Burns misses the dedication of his new "Springfield Nuclear Reactor Status" warning sign, Smithers suspects that something must be wrong. His suspicions are soon confirmed when he finds Mr. Burns on the floor of his bedroom, writhing in pain. It seems that he's got something called hypohemia, which is where your body naturally runs out of blood. Mr. Burns has a very rare blood type, so a transfusion is very difficult to get. Homer soon finds out that Bart has that same blood type, so a transfusion is set up and Burns is saved.

Instead of the monetary reward that Homer was expecting, Burns sends the Simpsons a basic "Thank you" card because he's an evil dick. Homer is super annoyed and writes him an angry letter that will likely cost him his job. Marge urges him to sleep on it before sending it, which he does. Bart is impatient, however, and mails the letter anyway. Homer, horrified, attempts to get the letter before it is delivered but Burns ends up reading it. Because he's Mr. Burns, he demands that Homer be beaten in retribution.

Smithers ends up calling off the beating because he thinks (rightfully so) that Homer should be thanked for saving his life, not bludgeoned for it. Mr. Burns turns into the Grinch from the end of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and buys the Simpsons a giant, $30,000 Indian head statue as a gift. The Simpsons end the episode debating about what the moral of the last few days really was, and end up landing on the "it was just a bunch of stuff that happened" camp.

Overall Thoughts: A solid episode. It doesn't really have a ton going on by way of actual "story," as it squanders two pretty cool ideas (more on that in a minute), but on the whole this episode is totally funny enough to make up for it.

What Works: This episode starts out as a really fun story. I like the idea that Homer holds the key to essentially saving Mr. Burns life and the morality issues he sort of has to struggle with later on.

The  question of "Do we do nice things to do them, or to be rewarded?" is essentially handled very nicely when Homer expects a reward from Mr. Burns and ultimately gets nothing (for a little while, until he gets that giant head statute later on). Homer's disappointing is understandable, as is Marge's insistence that doing the right thing is important.

Bizarrely and awesomely, the biggest morality struggle in the entire episode belongs to Smithers. He has to grapple with the fact that Mr. Burns wants to rough up Homer even though Homer basically saved his beloved Mr. Burns. It's a nice character touch.

As I said before, this episode is very funny. There are a lot of great jokes, and even if the plot isn't all that strong the jokes still manage to tie directly into it. Thus far, "The Simpsons" has been really good at building jokes out of both character and plot instead of complete randomness.

Burns regaining his strength after his blood transfusion is a fun moment. I don't have a ton to say about it, but it's a great character bit and it's worth nothing.

Lisa teaching Maggie about random, non-barnyard animals is adorable. I also don't have a lot to say about this one, either. The first time Lisa teaches Maggie and Burns regaining his strength are probably my two favorite moments in the episode.

What Doesn't Work: Like I alluded to earlier, the episode kind of comes off the rails a little bit towards the end as far as the plot is concerned. I guess everyone learns their lesson, but it just kind of happens. Smithers tells Burns that he shouldn't be mad at Homer, so he's not anymore. Homer gets the point of "we do the right things because they're the right thing to do" kind of automatically. It's a little ho-hum and it ties up a bit too neatly and arbitrarily.

Burns giving the Simpsons the giant Indian head as a token of gratitude is such a bizarre idea. It's funny-ish, but it's not really strong enough to stand on its own as a great punchline for the entire episode.

Also, the idea that he suddenly turns into Mr. "I Love to Give People Giant Gifts" is a weird one. I know that Bart saved his life, and that's cool, but he's still Mr. Burns. And he presumably gives up being Mr. Generosity immediately after this episode ends. It's a sudden character shift that is never really worth it.

One big morality question that never really comes up is the most obvious one: whether they should save Mr. Burns at all. I mean, obviously they should save him. But remember, even by this point Mr. Burns is already an evil dick. He's already hit Bart with his car, for which they were not compensated. It would have been nice to at least have someone ask the question.

This is also the second episode in a row where the characters end the piece by discussing the moral. Settle down, there, guys.

Closing Thoughts: This episode is not as great and memorable as the last few, but still manages to be very funny. I do wish the season could have gone out on a higher note, though. One giant positive: even the sort of pointless episodes from season two, like this one, are still hilarious, which is a lot more than you can say about season one.

Final Grade (out of 10): 7

21. Three Men and a Comic Book

Episode Title: Three Men and a Comic Book
Episode Number: 34
Original Air Date:  May 9, 1991

Plot Synopsis: The Simpsons attend a local comic book convention where Bart spots a copy of "Radioactive Man #1" on sale for $100. It's the first appearance of his favorite superhero and he simply has to have it. The proprietor of the Android's Dungeon comic book shop, the fabled Comic Book Guy, won't budge on the price. His parents won't just give him the $100 and insist that he has to work for it. In a misguided attempt to do just that, Bart starts doing chores for Mrs. Glick, an impossibly old lady who lives... somewhere around town. It's not clear, exactly.

Anyway, Mrs. Glick's chores suck and Bart only gets paid fifty cents for them anyway. Completely dejected and now possessing the true knowledge of the value of a dollar (it's essentially worthless), Bart returns to the Android's Dungeon to try to haggle over the price. He spots Martin Prince doing the same, and Milhouse trying to buy a stupid baseball card like the dopey nerd that he is. Bart realizes that if they all pool their money together they can buy the comic and each own a third. Which they then proceed to do. They also proceed to almost immediately begin fighting over where the comic gets to "live" as all three of the boys insist that it should be kept in their respective homes.

The boys all spend the night in Bart's treehouse to try to figure out what to do with the comic. They end up reading it, and quite frankly it's a pretty honest representation of the quality of superhero comics from the era. Anyway, all three boys get more and more paranoid about their intentions. Bart thinks that Martin and Milhouse are conspiring against him to take the comic for themselves. Martin devises a system where they have a kind of "time share" system for the comic, but for the night the issue is staying put.

When Martin gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, Bart thinks he's trying to take the comic and ties him up. Milhouse tries to go talk to Marge about how crazy Bart is getting and Bart attacks him. Right around this time a storm rolls in and it starts getting windy. Milhouse falls out of the treehouse and is saved at the last second by Bart. At the same time, the window blows the comic up against the treehouse wall. Bart has to choose between saving his friend and saving the comic. He ultimately chooses his friend, and the comic is blown out onto the ground. The combination of rain, a well-timed lightning strike and Santa's Little Helper completely destroy the issue. The episode ends the next morning as the boys both reveal that they know what the lesson that should have learned is (that they lost their new favorite thing because that couldn't share it properly) and that they didn't actually learn that lesson at all because they're eight and eight-year-olds are stupid.

Overall Thoughts: This is the third of my "Top Ten" episodes of the season. Season two has been pretty consistently good overall, but these three episodes (the other two being "Bart the Daredevil" and "Lisa's Substitute") are the ones that I consider GREAT. Like, shockingly great.

What Works: This episode marks the first appearance of Comic Book Guy who is immediately a lot of fun, even if his voice isn't quite "right" just yet. Hank Azaria quickly figures out how to tweak his performance and make it just a little bit funnier than it is here. Still, for a random new character, he makes a hell of a first impression.

On a nerdy personal note, this episode really captures what going to comic book conventions as a kid was like. I've been to a few in my day, though I was a bit older than the kids in this particular episode, and they're all more or less pretty much as represented.

I really like Marge's flashback with her stupid tiny oven. It's nice to see flashbacks to a Young Marge in a period of her life where hopes and dreams hadn't been beaten out of her yet. Maybe that's going a little too far, but Young Marge always seems a lot happier and care-free than Current Marge. It's an interesting dynamic.

This episode has so. Many. References. It's legitimately difficult to keep track of them all. From "The Wonder Years" to the 1960s "Batman" TV series to the Fantastic Four, a wide variety of different pop culture icons are all represented, and they're all spot on. I know that the conceit is that we begin the episode at a comic book convention, which is a bit different from the situations the Simpsons usually find themselves in, but the show has never been this reference-heavy before. Even still, it all manages to work and it doesn't feel like "references for references" sake. None of the jokes are "Hey, remember that thing? Wasn't that thing funny?!" Which is good.

All told, this episode is very, very funny from top to bottom. I can't really think of a joke that doesn't land just right. It may actually be the most joke-heavy episode of the season, now that I think of it. There's SO MUCH that happens in such a short amount of time, and all of it's funny. It's kind of like the comedy equivalent of "Lisa's Substitute" in that that particular episode packed a shocking amount of sentiment into such a short run time.

This episode also has its morality on display in ways that fit really comfortably in between all of those jokes. Bart (sort of) learns the value of a dollar though hard work and pain. It's also a "Learn to Share/Something Coming Between Friends" episode that is told in a really effective way, even though I'd hardly call Martin their "friend" but more of an "acquaintance" at this point. I don't know if he ever actually becomes a true "friend," to be honest.

Bart Simpson is a such sarcastic little bastard, but he's so genuine in certain aspects of his personality. We've previously seen just how much he loves Krusty the Clown. Here his love of Radioactive Man is on display. When Bart says that he needs to own that comic, I believe him. It's a great "little kid" aspect of his personality that helps to ground the character in reality, even if he does talk like the most sarcastic adult I've ever met for most of the series.

What Doesn't Work: The animation is still doing that weird thing where their faces twist in half sometimes. It's happening less and less as season two goes on, but it's still happening just enough to creep me out.

Closing Thoughts: I don't know why Bart doesn't just say that he's Batman to get in to the comic book convention. He's basically dressed exactly like Batman. "Bartman" isn't exactly the most original idea he's ever had. I think it totally would have worked.

It's interesting that Milhouse is depicted as just a tiny, tiny bit smarter than Bart. The scene I'm referencing is when Milhouse is the first to figure out that Martin is kind of screwing the other two out of getting to hang onto the "Radioactive Man" comic. I'd never really thought of him quite like that. In my mind, he's always just been the sycophantic Smithers to Bart's Mr. Burns (minus all of that gay stuff).

There's also a hilarious amount of smoking in this episode. Even a guy in the background at Krusty Burger is smoking at one point.

Final Grade (out of 10): 10

20. The War of the Simpsons

Episode Title: The War of the Simpsons
Episode Number: 33
Original Air Date:  May 2, 1991

Plot Synopsis: At Marge's insistence, the Simpsons invite just about everyone they know over for a nice party. Because Homer also lives there, the party quickly turns into a bit of a mess when Homer gets loaded and makes a giant fool of himself. He runs around being obnoxious, looks down Maude Flanders' dress and generally just really, really embarrasses Marge. It gets so bad that Marge makes them to go a weekend marriage counseling retreat hosted by Reverend Lovejoy.

When Homer and Marge get to the retreat, it's quickly very clear that theirs is the only marriage that is suffering from any real problems. Meanwhile, Grandpa is babysitting Bart and Lisa, who quickly figure out how to take advantage of the old timer. They manipulate him into letting them do whatever they want and even end up throwing a party that wrecks the house.

Back at the lake, Homer tries to go fishing secretly but Marge catches him. Marge is mad, and Homer fakes like he understands and tries to go for a walk, but really he just tries to sneak in some fishing. There's a local giant catfish called General Sherman that Homer really wants to catch. Homer ends up kind of sort of accidentally catching General Sherman, who drags him in a boat all around the lake. Marge ends up attending that day's counseling sessions alone.

Bart and Lisa see Grandpa crying over how messed up the house is after the party and feel really bad about it, so they do their best to clean the house before their parents come home. Marge confronts Homer over his desire to go fishing and he releases General Sherman back into the lake without hesitation. Homer is shocked by this, and realizes that he only did it because he loves Marge so much. The two go home to a clean house as happy as can be, where it is quickly revealed that Grandpa totally tricked Bart and Lisa into cleaning the house. The episode ends with a local bait store clerk recounting the legend of "that one time that guy caught that fish," and describing Homer as "seven feet tall" with "arms like tree trunks" and "red hair like the fires of Hell."

Overall Thoughts: This episode covers a lot of the same ground as season one's "Homer's Night Out," albeit in a completely fresh and interesting way. After I finished this episode I couldn't help but think how crazy it must have been to see animated characters treated with this level of importance and sincerity in 1991. Then, a second later, I realized how crazy that concept still is in 2012.

What Works: This episode has lots of really funny lines, especially at the opening party. Two of my favorite bits from this sequence include Patty (or Selma) macing Barney and Homer's flashback sequence to how he thinks he acted when in reality he just turned into a drunken mess.

This episode is another successful "Homer and Marge have a troubled marriage" episode. It's interesting to see what everyone in town thinks of Homer. Not only does Dr. Hibbert basically tell Marge how to kill Homer if she wants, Reverend Lovejoy also kind of hints that she should divorce him. It's a very sweet examination of their relationship, though: Homer and Marge desperately want to make their marriage work, but Homer's personality and general behavior keeps getting in the way time and again.

The image of Homer beating a fish to death with a oar will never not make me laugh.

Grandpa Simpson also gets a bunch of great moments in this episode. My favorite, though, is the reveal that he completely manipulated Bart and Lisa into cleaning the house after their wild party. Don't count Grandpa Simpson out. He's a feisty one.

I really like that the episode ends with Homer essentially becoming a local legend, and it's even better that the "legend" in no way matches up with the reality of the events we just watched.

What Doesn't Work: Nothing here really stands out as egregious, to be totally honest.

Closing Thoughts: This is just a super funny and somewhat touching John Swartzwelder episode from beginning to end. One thing that you need to keep in mind is that the show is still super, super young at this point. This is only the 33rd episode aired, and it's the third that dealt head on with Marge and Homer's marital problems. It's great to see these writers treating the Simpsons as if they're real people with real problems, even if (in my opinion) they only have a 66.6% success rate with this particular topic.

Flanders still likes alcohol, as evidenced by his insistence at being the bartender for the Simpsons party. Am I completely misremembering that at some point he becomes a staunch anti-drinker?

Also: a guy who looks exactly like Hitler goes to church with the Simpsons, which is super weird weird.

Final Grade (out of 10): 9

19. Lisa's Substitute

 

Episode Title: Lisa's Substitute
Episode Number: 32
Original Air Date:  April 25, 1991

Plot Synopsis: When Lisa's teacher Miss Hover comes down with Lyme disease, she is quickly replaced by a substitute in the form of Mr. Bergstrom. Bergstrom is quick to make an impression on the entire class and on Lisa in particular, who almost instantly develops a crush on him.

Right around the same time, Bart gets the wacky idea that he should run for class president. His opponent is Martin Prince, who would do a legitimately okay job. Bart, always needing to be the center of attention, doesn't care about any of that and decides to throw his hat into the ring. The two boys launch smear campaigns against run another in the days leading up to the election. Bart, it seems, is a lock for the popular vote.

Mr. Bergstrom asks Lisa if Homer helps her with her homework on the grounds that her homework is always so "neat" and "correct." Lisa immediately lets her disappointment in Homer be shown, which surprises him. Later on, Homer and Lisa run into Mr. Bergstrom at a museum. Bergstrom tells Homer that he needs to be a better role model for his daughter, which is advice he takes to heart but ultimately doesn't really know what to do with.

Soon Miss Hover returns, much to Lisa's shock. It seems that her Lyme disease fears were psychosomatic, and she's fine. This crushes Lisa, who heads to Bergstrom's apartment to try to talk to him. She finds out that he's already moved out, and catches up with him at the train station. He understands that she's disappointed but knows that she'll understand why he needs to leave. He gives her a note saying "You are Lisa Simpson," which is designed to encourage her whenever she's feeling down and alienated.

Oh, and because nobody actually bothered to vote except Martin and one other person, Martin wins the election much to Bart's shock and horror.

So anyway, when Lisa gets home that night she ends up taking out all her grief on Homer and calling him a baboon. At Marge's insistence and with what Bergstrom told him firmly in mind, he heads up to Lisa's room later on and fixes everything. He also manages to help Bart get over his election loss and he helps Maggie get to sleep, which leads him to proclaim that he's on "the biggest roll of his life."

Overall Thoughts: This is my favorite episode of the series as of right this second. I know that I haven't seen every last episode, but this one has always been my favorite and it remains so after getting the chance to watch it again. This is one for the books, for a wide variety of reasons that I will explain in painful detail starting right now:

What Works: This episode features a truly amazing guest appearance from the great Dustin Hoffman. He's perfectly cast as Mr. Bergstrom and manages to somehow elevate already well-written material. I mean, I know this shouldn't come as any surprise. He's Dustin Hoffman. But still, it's worth noting that yes, he's even good in animated form.

I believe I've said before that Lisa episodes are always among my favorite, and "Lisa's Substitute" is why. She goes through quite the little emotional shift in this episode and comes out the other side a much stronger character. There is so much packed into these twenty-odd minutes, and the episode isn't even entirely devoted to Lisa's story. It's a "Lisa's first crush" AND "Lisa doesn't see Homer as a role model" episode rolled into one. The result is that there isn't one moment that seems wasted. On paper, I can see this one being a tough sell because it's heavy on emotion, but in my mind that makes it all the more impressive that it was pulled off as flawlessly as it was.

Speaking of, Lisa's perception of Homer versus her perception Mr. Bergstrom is pretty fascinating. I like that Mr. Bergstrom almost immediately sees the issue at hand and even confronts Homer about it. The result is that Homer and Lisa's relationship examined quite perfectly. The episode gives Lisa something - Mr. Bergstrom - and then immediately takes it away. The result is that we get to see Lisa's true feelings about what is left - namely, her own father. Again - this isn't only a shocking amount of sentiment for an animated show, but it's also shockingly well done.

There isn't one moment in the episode that seems forced to me. The plot requires Mr. Bergstrom to be awesome so that we believe that Lisa could develop a crush on him, and it succeeds in accomplishing that goal immediately. Mr. Bergstrom is genuinely awesome and it's easy to see what Lisa sees in him.

This episode also features a really wonderful Lisa and Marge bonding moment. Lisa is talking about the way Mr. Bergstrom makes her feel and Marge keeps insisting that Homer makes her feel the same way. Lisa is annoyed by this, to which Marge replies "We can talk, but you're just going to have to accept the fact that I feel that way about your father." It's great.

If you don't at least fight the urge to tear up by the time you get to "You are Lisa Simpson," you are likely some sort of soulless robot who hates love. Like a Terminator.

Even the B-story from this episode is solid. It never overstays it's welcome, and it always comes along at just the right times. It's hardly my favorite part of the episode, but I definitely think it's necessary to help prevent the piece from getting too bogged down with anything overly touchy-feely. It's a really nice juxtaposition.

Also, I think it's important to note how great the entire cast is in this one, particularly Yeardly Smith and Dan Castellaneta. This is the kind of episode that proves that the cast isn't just filled with good voice over actors but good actors, period. Now, I'm not trying to take anything away from great voice over actors and I'm certainly not trying to separate that profession from actors in general.

My point is this: when "Lisa's Substitute" aired in 1991, the show was already hugely popular. It was a cultural phenomenon. Bart is everywhere. The show doesn't have to do an episode like this to be successful. Yet it did. And it wouldn't have been able to do such an episode without an amazing cast to back it up. So not only is the idea that this episode exists crazy, but the idea that it's so good is also pretty mind boggling.

This is such a good episode, you guys.

What Doesn't Work: Not a goddamn thing. Really, I mean it.

Closing Thoughts: I'll say it again: this episode is really touching, funny, and wonderful. If someone were to ask me for an example of how powerful the show can be, this is the episode that I'd show them. 

As a kid in 1991, I'm sure I wouldn't have liked this episode because it isn't laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. Watching it later on as an adult, however, this was the episode that made me go "Shit. I think I identify with Lisa more than anyone else."

Mr. Bergstrom also has a really great quote right before he gets on a train and rides out of Lisa's life forever: "That's the problem with being middle class - anybody who really cares will abandon you for those who need it more."

Final Grade (out of 10): 10

18. Brush with Greatness

Episode Title: Brush with Greatness
Episode Number: 31
Original Air Date:  April 11, 1991

Plot Synopsis: Bart and Lisa see a "Krusty the Clown Show" episode that was recorded at the fabled Mt. Splashmore water park and immediately beg Homer to go there. Reluctantly, and only to stop them from repeatedly asking, he agrees to take them. While there, Homer gets stuck in a water slide and realizes just how fat he is. He's "must be removed from a water slide via a large crane" fat. The bathroom scale confirms this and Homer pledges to lose weight.

Meanwhile, Bart finds a bunch of old paintings of Ringo Starr in the attic that Marge had made years earlier. Marge was quite the little artist, it seems, but was ultimately discouraged by a dick art teacher when she was younger. She also sent one of the paintings to Ringo asking for his opinion, and he never responded. These events together made her give up the paint brush for good. However, at Lisa's insistence she enrolls at an art class in the local community college. This goes well and she ends up winning an art show and local praise.

Mr. Burns finds out her name via the newspapers and commissions a portrait of himself for the Burns Wing of the Springfield Art Museum. Mr. Burns comes over so she can paint him (which makes less sense than if she were to go to his mansion, but whatever) and ends up making fun of Homer for being fat while just generally being a dick all day long. Marge boots him out of the house and tries to give up painting again, but Homer encourages her. At the same time, she finally gets a reply from Ringo saying that he loved the painting. He hadn't replied earlier because he replies to all fan mail himself and is only up to the early 1970s. Marge finishes the painting, but with a twist: she paints Mr. Burns nude to make a statement about his general state and personality. People end up liking this a great deal, including Mr. Burns himself.

Overall Thoughts: Okay, so this is happening so often that I'm just not going to mention it any more after today: I remembered this being the "Marge paints Mr. Burns naked" episode, but that's totally only like 30% of this episode, tops. The rest is a lovely story about Marge's artistic side, and a somewhat less lovely but still enjoyable B-story about Homer's desperate attempt to lose weight.

I have nothing to follow that up with. I continue to be surprised, day after day, as I watch these episodes. Which I suppose was the whole point.

What Works: In addition to me not remembering what this episode was actually about at all, this episode is also much, much funnier that I'd remembered it being. Even an extended "Will you take us to Mt. Splashmore?" sequence manages to be really funny, and it's just Bart and Lisa literally asking "Will you take us to Mt. Splashmore?" for easily a solid minute or more.

A quick side note: I love how genuinely Bart and Lisa love Krusty the Clown. He really is their idol, to the point where they hold hands while watching an episode. It's a great, great touch.

This episode features the return of Mr. Burns as a part of the story instead of just being bizarrely interjected somewhere in the mix like in the last few episodes. Mr. Burns is evil here, but it's on a really small and intimate scale. The most egregious thing he does in the whole episode is make fun of Homer for being fat, and it somehow manages to be one of the worst things he's ever done. We, the audience, are allowed to call Homer "fat." Mr. Burns had better watch his mouth if he knows what's good for him.

Ringo Starr appears as himself, which conceptually is kind of dumb, but in execution it's surprisingly perfect. I've never been a fan of most episodes where celebrities appear as themselves, especially from episodes much later in the run. It typically never makes much sense and is rarely ever worth the trouble. However, this is a celebrity appearing as themselves in a way that is both tied directly into the story and also that makes sense and is very, very touching. Ringo himself never says anything that isn't funny, but the act of responding to Marge and encouraging her to continue with her art is great.

Additionally, the idea that Ringo Starr never replied to Marge because he's been meticulously responding to every fan letter he's ever received for the last twenty years is goddamn hilarious.

What Doesn't Work: Jon Lovitz has a brief cameo (well, two, but only one is the issue) as an art teacher, and here he's unfortunately "Hey everyone look at me I'm Jon Lovitz!" Jon Lovitz. It's super brief, so ultimately it isn't a huge deal, but still. However, this does make his incredibly restrained performance as Artie Ziff from a few episodes ago all the more impressive.

Closing Thoughts: All in all, a totally solid episode from the show's second season. I don't know why I'm surprised by how consistently good these episodes are anymore. I really shouldn't be by this point. We're quickly settling into a "Golden Age" of the show, and it's totally amazing that it started so early in the run.

Also: Lenny's voice comes out of Carl's mouth at the nuclear power plant, which is something I didn't notice until I listened to the DVD commentary, which means I'm an unobservant ass.

Final Grade (out of 10): 8