So far, not a bad episode
I knew as soon as we saw the volcanic piles that a Q*Bert reference was coming
Grandpa Simpson’s list;
Get Cheated by Irishman
Aggrivate my son
See NBC go under
LABF11 “In the Name of the Grandfather”
Writer and Lyricist: Matt Marshall
It’s been a while since “the Simpsons are going” somewhere, hasn’t it? At least, it seems so to me. Either way, the result is the same: both the Irish and American cultures get skewered. (As I assume this isn’t Northern or Kathy Ireland, what would an American soldier be doing there in WWII, seeing as Ireland was neutral?) A number of the gags seemed like they came out of Family Guy- the overly long fish gag, the QBert joke (which I liked- whichever voice actor was imitating QBert’s babbling made the joke even more hilarious), Mr. Potato Head as the judge- although as the writers have pointed out, The Simpsons came up with most of what are considered Family Guy’s hallmarks.
“America is the New York Yankees of countries- powerful and respected until the year 2000.”
Ah, you missed one:
See the
Chrysler Bui[covered up by Homer’s thumb]
Would’ve been a lot less trouble than going to Ireland. Then again we know how Homer feels about New York City.
I’m not a big fan of what I call the New Ethnic Humor. (I always feel like Mr. Buns when I say that.) I don’t object to it, I just like it better in small doses, and 15 minutes of Irish stereotypes was laying it on a little thick. There was some good stuff in there, though: I did like the yuprechauns and the “This is the Life” song. And Bart’s distaste for James Joyce, which I share. 
All things considered I guess I liked the hot tub jokes better, especially Lisa’s “I’m REALLY freakin’ stressed!” and Marge’s wheedling with herself - and the Hibberts as swingers. It fit in with the au pair joke from last week, too!
Two minor flaws: Homer wasn’t criticizing the cops’ syntax, he was criticizing their dialect. And I would’ve liked a joke from Krusty refercing how his father might feel about seeing him do humor in German.
Depends on how you look at it, but maybe China in season 16. It wasn’t strictly a vacation epsiode but most of it did happen over there. They’ve traveled in a few other episodes since then, including briefly Canada and India, but otherwise you might have to reach all the way back to Brazil in season 13.
Didn’t like that at all. As soon as they stopped flopping, I said to myself “two more rounds of flopping coming up” and by the time it happened I was asking the scene to end.
I laughed, then I cried. [Then Maggie laughed. She’s such a little trooper.]
What season did they go to London?
Grampa also dreams of pitching in the Negro Leagues (there are at least two problems with that).
Season 15.
Hey, i think all in all, it wasnt a bad episode. The “pitching in the negro league” was funny, but obviously, Grandpa had no business in Irerland during WWII. But remember folks, it is a cartoon, and they can do what they want!
They also went to Peru earlier this season (in search of Bart, who actually was left behind at home.)
To be fair, they asked Kathy Ireland, but she declined.
We wish her well.
I hope someone gets fired for that gaffe.
/Nerd
Hmm. Actually that was in Season 15 and I missed the listing.
Incidentally this was the second time we’ve heard about Grampa wanting to pitch in the Negro Leagues. Three seasons ago, he wrote a list of things to do that included “Be first white man to pitch in the Negro Leagues” and “Sleep with Esther Williams.” So it looks like Grampa remembered something for once.
This is probably the most Family Guyish episode of the Simpsons I’ve seen yet. The painfully unfunny fish flop, the Q-Bert reference, Mr. Potato Head, the text about Kathy Ireland*, etc.
And I really don’t mind some fair’s fair bashing every now and then but it seems like the Simpsons have really been hitting America hard in the last few seasons. It gives right-wingers a little bit of credibility with their “America hater” rhetoric. I didn’t like the New York Yankees line at all.
*I dunno if Family Guy has ever done this specifically but it reminded me of them for breaking the fourth wall.
Haven’t the Simpsons always poked fun at America? I’m thinking of stuff like the “made in USA” security gate at the American embassy in Australia failing to work (actually there was a similar joke last week, with an American-made car falling apart), or Homer commenting that “America’s health care system is second only to Japan, Canada, Sweden, Great Britain…well, all of Europe, but you can thank your lucky stars we don’t live in Paraguay!” or Bart responding to George H.W. Bush’s comment that “we need a nation more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons” by quipping “Hey, man, we’re just like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the depression too.”
Who cares? The idea that these people would try to bolster their argument with quotes from The Simpsons proves they don’t have any credibility.
Yes. The Simpsons is a satire on American life, American culture, values, and all that kind of stuff. Always has been. Maybe there are some more flat-out shots these days (meaning the last five years or so), but it reflects the times we’re living in.
I dunno, I don’t claim to be objective about it; it’s just the way I feel. It didn’t seem as bad in the '90s when we were doing great and everybody wanted to be American. Now we’re stuck in Viet Nam II and possibly III, everyone hates us, and our economy is boned. It feels like getting kicked when you’re down.
Well I liked it a lot
I thought it wasn’t bad. I like the yuprechauns or whatever they were called but it would have been a lot funnier a couple of years ago.
“Aw, my son’s first stroke!”
I am really enjoying the Simpsons in HD. The animators must be working four times harder to add all the additional detail the format requires. There is a quick pan from the hot tub to the retirement castle across town that lasts about a second. I stepped through this in slo mo and the pan covers streets, then a park, then commercial buildings, then the school, more buildings and the retirment centre. There are even signs on the commercial buildings that could only register at a subconcious level as they zoom by. Really cool.
There was a neat sight gag when they went to visit the blarney stone. There was a pile rocks mounded near the sight with the sign “Blarney Rubble.”
My favorite part was getting to see Jasper’s son at the father/son wheelbarrow race. He’s a true Beardly!