[6.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Ah for the days when I was glad to see Al Jean’s name on an episode rather than dreading it. The fact that Jean penned this script (one of the last few he wrote before becoming showrunner again), means that the jokes are a little less zany, a little more traditionally Simpson-y than usual. That goes a long way for the first two acts. Both acts are light on story, more a bunch of aimless jokes, but the jokes aren’t bad, so the whole thing holds together by the thinnest of margins.
Then, the third act hits, where we waste tons of time on lame awards show bits, and then things devolve into a series of Jerkass Homer bits, a crazy car chase, and a completed slapped-together ending that really drive things down.
The first act is basically just people screwing around in the Springfield YMCA. The gags are hit or miss, but generally chuckle-worthy (if not quite guffaw-worthy) all around. At the same time, even the lamer gags, like Rainier Wolfcastle’s plan to demolition the Y to hunt man, at least have layers and callbacks when he goes after Lenny a scene or two later. The bits with the morphine after Homer injures his knee are pretty weak, and “Dr. Screwlittle” is a joke a fifth grader would write, but even the shtick where Homer tries to pull the “hey look over there!” routine, only for the presumably fictional bear he was pointing to actually show up a second later, feels like a classic Simpsons swerve.
The middle act is mild, but amusing enough. Homer stumbling into a daycare business provides good fodder for comedy, whether it’s Homer’s amusing interactions with Flanders (another series of gags with layers), or being excited to have kids around who actually like and admire him rather than tolerate or disdain him like Bart and Lisa do. Again, some of the jealousy angle is a little trite, but it’s good enough to motivate a story that’s already pretty thin, and mostly an excuses to pack in gags.
But then the third act arrives, and the jealousy/neglect angle goes into overdrive, and the jokes go into freefall. It’s unclear who or what we’re supposed to root for in Homer vs. Bart and Lisa, and the degree of Homer’s terribleness put on screen (anteing with Maggie, trying to mace Bart, etc.) are too much. The police chase is dull, and in the end, there’s not really a conclusion, just an “I guess I learned my lesson” bit of duct tape put on it.
Overall, this one could probably have been one of those pleasant but not overwhelmingly funny or memorable episodes that would come to largely populate Al Jean’s second tenure as showrunner. But whether it was Mike Scully’s influence or just Jean running out of gas, the episode really falls apart in its last third.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-06-16T18:52:50Z
[6.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Ah for the days when I was glad to see Al Jean’s name on an episode rather than dreading it. The fact that Jean penned this script (one of the last few he wrote before becoming showrunner again), means that the jokes are a little less zany, a little more traditionally Simpson-y than usual. That goes a long way for the first two acts. Both acts are light on story, more a bunch of aimless jokes, but the jokes aren’t bad, so the whole thing holds together by the thinnest of margins.
Then, the third act hits, where we waste tons of time on lame awards show bits, and then things devolve into a series of Jerkass Homer bits, a crazy car chase, and a completed slapped-together ending that really drive things down.
The first act is basically just people screwing around in the Springfield YMCA. The gags are hit or miss, but generally chuckle-worthy (if not quite guffaw-worthy) all around. At the same time, even the lamer gags, like Rainier Wolfcastle’s plan to demolition the Y to hunt man, at least have layers and callbacks when he goes after Lenny a scene or two later. The bits with the morphine after Homer injures his knee are pretty weak, and “Dr. Screwlittle” is a joke a fifth grader would write, but even the shtick where Homer tries to pull the “hey look over there!” routine, only for the presumably fictional bear he was pointing to actually show up a second later, feels like a classic Simpsons swerve.
The middle act is mild, but amusing enough. Homer stumbling into a daycare business provides good fodder for comedy, whether it’s Homer’s amusing interactions with Flanders (another series of gags with layers), or being excited to have kids around who actually like and admire him rather than tolerate or disdain him like Bart and Lisa do. Again, some of the jealousy angle is a little trite, but it’s good enough to motivate a story that’s already pretty thin, and mostly an excuses to pack in gags.
But then the third act arrives, and the jealousy/neglect angle goes into overdrive, and the jokes go into freefall. It’s unclear who or what we’re supposed to root for in Homer vs. Bart and Lisa, and the degree of Homer’s terribleness put on screen (anteing with Maggie, trying to mace Bart, etc.) are too much. The police chase is dull, and in the end, there’s not really a conclusion, just an “I guess I learned my lesson” bit of duct tape put on it.
Overall, this one could probably have been one of those pleasant but not overwhelmingly funny or memorable episodes that would come to largely populate Al Jean’s second tenure as showrunner. But whether it was Mike Scully’s influence or just Jean running out of gas, the episode really falls apart in its last third.