All in all this was a decent episode. At least the writers are coming up with some new ideas. Was that actually Susan Sarandon’s voice? 
I found the ending scene with Maude Flanders very touching.
I’m assuming it was her; she’s credited at the end. Isn’t it nice of FOX to put The War at Home on now, so we have time to discuss The Simpsons without missing anything good?
I thought that it was a good ep. I liked the ref to the Warner Brothers cartoon with Homer being dragged through the old mill. I also liked Bart tricking Rod into shouting, “I’m gay daddy! Marge Simpson made me gay!”
“Nimrod and Nimtod.”
I thought it was okay. The A story in particular (Marge and the Flanders) was kinda interesting, but the B story about Bart getting snatched by the ape stunk. I think the Simpsons could benefit from following South Park’s lead and dropping B stories altogether (at least in some episodes) to really concentrate on developing one story.
Seeing Maude in heaven was kinda nice. I wonder if they brought back the original voice actress…?
It sure sounded like her.
Yeah, I think they brought her back a while ago (she did do other voices.) For instance, there was a Halloween episode where she did the voice of Maude again (as a ghost.)
Maggie Roswell was Maude’s original voice. She wasn’t credited, so her voice was presumably done here by one of the female regulars (either Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, or Russi Taylor). But they did get the real Huggy Bear.
Nice use of Powerhouse during the mill scene. Carl Stalling would be proud.
“The secular humanist did it in the schoolhouse with misinformation!”
“Let me finish watching my show.”
(TV screen shows “Insert DVD”)
“The Hamburglar was survived by his longtime friend, Mayor McCheese.”
That was cool. The soundtrack referenced Looney Tunes while they seemed to be making a visual reference to Modern Times.
I also liked Burns’s vision of himself in hell, and this one had a couple of nice throwaway lines. Like Carl’s quip about religion.
Oh yes. Randy Johnson’s cameo was pretty damn funny, and props to Susan Sarandon for sending herself up like that.
“Randy Johnson’s Southpawz- they’re little bears. This one’s dressed as a doctor.”
“Do you have any mailmen?”
“A bear can’t be a mailman!”
Raymond Scott would be prouder. He’s the one who actually wrote it.
I knew that, but Raymond Scott hated cartoons. He never watched them. I don’t even know if he even knew if his music was being used in the Warner Bros. cartoons (although he must have been getting checks from them).
Longtime companion.