Head’s up tonight’s episode is the tie-in for Marge’s Playboy centerfold.
An interesting episode- not laugh-out-loud funny, but an interesting premise. I figured given Marge’s Playboy centerfold that the whole plot of the episode would be about Marge’s posing nude and the town’s reaction. I was surprised when they took it in the direction that they did- that the photo rekindled Marge’s libido, but Homer’s new job made it so that he didn’t feel the same. One bit that did make me laugh was Homer walking in to see Marge and Flanders in each others arms, and presumably about to get into a sitcom-style misunderstanding…but then just brushing it off as that it only looks that way. I love it when the show does jokes like that.
This felt fresh & original (yes I know they’ve done Marge/Homer marital problems umpteen times in the past). However everybody was acting really out of character. Okay I can buy Marge freaking out over some very tame photos she posed for while drunk, but not Ned almost kissing her like that. And Homer. Homer was actually very good and being a PA. :eek: I kept waiting for him to comically scew up, but he never did (aside from “Closed on Mondays”). His blackmailing Carl was sheer brillance for him.
“Fission Week.” 
I loved how Homer referred to Flanders as his worst friend. His reference to the “Lauve” (Louvre) was also funny.
The Italian Job race dream sequence where Lenny wins was pretty funny.
I’m kind of suprised they made Carl that much of a jerk in the episisode. I assume they’ll tone it down now for the next ones. It was funny that he said that he would be changing because of the promotion.
I kind of expected it to be more racy and/or to actually mention Playboy.
The Simpsons universe equivalent of Playboy is Playdude, which appears to have the same basic content (including Norman Mailer’s latest claptrap about his raging libido).
You know, this would have been the perfect episode for Hef and some of his “girls next door” to make voice cameos… hmm… a gold mine was lost, in my opinion.
This one definitely didn’t turn out like I expected, but I was happy about that. It came out as sort of a better version of Natural Born Kissers, with an adult theme that was handled very well. I’m always glad when the A and B plots work together, and I liked that Homer wasn’t too stupid. C. Carl Carlson amused me. This wasn’t Homer the Smithers, but it’s a nice alternative. I’m trying to think of something tactful to say about how Marge looked in this one, but I’m not doing very well.
And for those of you who were wondering which country the Simpsons was going to offend next, it looks like the answer is France. I wasn’t surprised Carl had a fling in Paris, but I was surprised it was with Carla Bruni!
First time my girlfriend’s ever gotten a Simpsons joke that I missed. I was proud.
Waning. Fortunately.
I… let’s say experienced The Devil Wears Prada last night and it turns out the whole Homer as Carl’s assistant subplot is a parody of that movie. The Paris part in particular, up through Homer ditching his phone. That makes more sense of the title, “The Devil Wears Nada”- it refers to that plot and to Marge’s photo spread.