# The Simpsons 4/18 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892 "2004-04-19T21:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jane\_D\_oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/1 "2004-04-19T21:18:50Z")
No thread yet? I didn’t think it was a repeat. C’mon now, I’m hoping I would have remembered the wedding of the decade. And Barney, off the wagon? And the rabbit from Donnie Darko has been getting a lot of work these days. Comments? Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/2 "2004-04-19T21:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > And the rabbit from Donnie Darko has been getting a lot of work these days. That wasn’t Frank. That was [_Harvey_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042546/). Skinner as Catwoman was priceless. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/3 "2004-04-19T21:25:21Z")
Rabbit from Donnie Darko? Jane, you ignorant slut\*, that was Harvey from the movie of the same name. - Sorry, couldn’t resist given your username! I thought it was OK, but I was a bit pissed off that they put Barney back on the juice, broke up the engagement of Skinner and Krabapple, and seem to have forgotten that Comic Book Guy already had a fling with Skinner’s ma. That stuff seems lazy, they are throwing out long running story lines for single gags. That tells me the show has definitely jumped the shark. Last night’s episode was actually OK, but they’ve stopped developing the characters and even go out of their way to un-develop some, while forgetting what they did just last season. I also think they’ve also played out comic book/sci-fi conventions… must be the fourth or fifth one we’ve seen. I did think the scene with Matt Groening was pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_D\_oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/839c29/32.png) [@Jane\_D\_oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_D_oh)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/4 "2004-04-19T22:16:08Z")
I should have qualified the Donnie Darko comment. I got that it was Harvey, but since DD, I just can’t see a rabbit without thinking of that damn movie. And **skuti** , FTR, I am not ignorant!!! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kevin242](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b77776/32.png) [@kevin242](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevin242)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/5 "2004-04-19T22:32:03Z")
This season has been sad for me. I pretty much gave up on the show, but tuned in to see Groening’s appearance figuring “would he actually guess star on an unfunny episode?” and there were some laughs. The show may have lost all it’s steem but at least last night’s episode was worth watching. kvn ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/6 "2004-04-19T22:42:57Z")
I’m getting tired of the “Homer and Marge’s marriage being on the rocks but resolved at the end by some stupid gesture” riff. Marge has had plenty of chances to decide whether or not she loves the big lug. I wish they’d let Skinner’s character grow – no one has _that_ big a stick up their butt. ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/7 "2004-04-19T22:59:08Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > I’m getting tired of the “Homer and Marge’s marriage being on the rocks but resolved at the end by some stupid gesture” riff. The worst part is that they already did an episode that ended with Homer re-marrying Marge. The last episode I watched before this one also reused an old joke (Homer responds to a question by saying “I’m not going to lie to you Marge” and then doesn’t say anything). The Simpsons have definitely run out of material. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/8 "2004-04-19T23:07:07Z")
Did anyone else have a “Buffy” moment (Seymour = Xander, Edna = Anya)? ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/9 "2004-04-19T23:10:51Z")
> [@joshmaker](#): > > The worst part is that they already did an episode that ended with Homer re-marrying Marge. Yes! Why did they repeat that? Sheesh. I actually enjoyed the episode quite a bit, except for the really _stupid_, tacked-on, underdeveloped Homer/Marge marriage subplot. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/10 "2004-04-20T00:12:53Z")
I found it odd that the writers kept the name of the BiMonSciFiCon, but forgot about the fling between Skinner’s mom and Comic Book Guy. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/11 "2004-04-21T02:28:26Z")
> [@joshmaker](#): > > The worst part is that they already did an episode that ended with Homer re-marrying Marge. The last episode I watched before this one also reused an old joke (Homer responds to a question by saying “I’m not going to lie to you Marge” and then doesn’t say anything). The Simpsons have definitely run out of material. They did the jilted-beau-disrupts-rival’s-wedding-with-grand-gesture-but-woman-decides-not-to-marry-either-of-them story years ago with Grampa and Mrs. Bouvier. So maybe the idea now is to combine an A-plot from an old episode with a B-plot from a different episode. > [@skutir](#): > > I thought it was OK, but I was a bit pissed off that they put Barney back on the juice, broke up the engagement of Skinner and Krabapple, and seem to have forgotten that Comic Book Guy already had a fling with Skinner’s ma. That stuff seems lazy, they are throwing out long running story lines for single gags. The writers could use character development as a spur to find new veins of humor to tap into. Instead, they seemed determine to force everyone back to square one so they can write more predictable drunk Barney, frustrated Edna and Mamma’s boy Skinner gags. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/12 "2004-04-21T02:58:38Z")
> [@skutir](#): > > I was a bit pissed off that they put Barney back on the juice, broke up the engagement of Skinner and Krabapple, and seem to have forgotten that Comic Book Guy already had a fling with Skinner’s ma. That stuff seems lazy, they are throwing out long running story lines for single gags. As for Barney off the wagon, I don’t think it’s throwing out a story line, it’s developing it. He’s an alcoholic. Alcoholics have relapses. I wouldn’t mind another episode with (or just a passing reference to) him pulling himself together again at all. I don’t think they forgot about Comic Book Guy and Skinner’s mother, either-- it’s a development. Skinner seemed surprised and horrified. “What are _you_ doing here?” Just because they didn’t add a bunch of needless exposition doesn’t negate the added humiliation of Comic Book Guy as the usurper. First his mother, then his fiance. Ouch. And you know it ain’t over between Skinner and Krebapple. I love their stuff, and don’t mind it being dragged out longer at all! So they’ve had a bump. Maybe they’re saving their marriage for further character development. Can Skinner really devote himself to another woman while his mother is still above-ground? The creepy quasi-incestuous relationship they have is so well-established. Hell, maybe that’s _really_ what Krebapple is waiting for. (The vision of life with the cyborg Mrs. Skinner was great – no fair complaining it was too similar to Mr. Burns with Smithers in the future. :D) > [@TWDuke](#): > > The writers could use character development as a spur to find new veins of humor to tap into. Instead, they seemed determine to force everyone back to square one so they can write more predictable drunk Barney, frustrated Edna and Mamma’s boy Skinner gags. I don’t think they’re necessarily at square one. Or maybe they are. Bart _is_ still eight years old, after all. Maybe progression is against some sort of natural law in the Simpsons universe. Hell, maybe there’s some kind of _civic_ law. Like the “on pain of torture” decree for referring to Armon Tanzarian by his right name… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/13 "2004-04-21T06:02:46Z")
Come on, folks. This was a horrible episode. Did I laugh at the “Malaysian transexual” line? Maybe. But it’s still hardly a classic. The plots have been done before, we saw almost nothing of the children, Matt Groening’s appearance was a bust, and Comic Book Guy jokes are getting to be painfully unfunny. More proof that this show needs to end. Now. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/14 "2004-04-21T08:12:18Z")
> [@](#): > > That stuff seems lazy, they are throwing out long running story lines for single gags. That tells me the show has definitely jumped the shark. > [@](#): > > The Simpsons have definitely run out of material. > [@](#): > > More proof that this show needs to end. Now. Someone call the cops! Someone has snuck into the homes of **ITR** , **Skutir** , and **josh** , put guns to their heads, duct-taped their eyes open, and forced them to watch another episode of The Simpsons! This seems to be happening a lot these days. Perhaps Al Qaeda is involved. Someone call the President! In case this is a false alarm, allow me to point out that there are many other television stations and they showcase a wide variety of non-Simpsons programming. At that hour on Sundays, Alias is on ABC, there’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC, and Cold Case on CBS. And there are many options that don’t involve television at all. I suggest trying any of them. For my part, I’ll do my best not to cry if I’m denied yet another deluge of posts about how The Simpsons sucks and should be cancelled. Maybe it’s because I’m so stupid and tasteless that I still wring some enjoyment out of the show, but I’m really excited about next week’s episode. Maude Flanders, Bleeding Gums Murphy and Frank Grimes come back to life, Lisa becomes a Hindu, Bart learns he may flunk the fourth grade, and - here’s the big shocker - Mr. Burns gets shot! ---
**Author:** ![mbacko1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@mbacko1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbacko1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/15 "2004-04-21T14:16:03Z")
I have to give the writers some support for using The Incredible Hulk Melon Baller. I couldn’t help but laugh at that gag. I thought Homer was really weak in Sunday’s episode and only did the same tired things he usually does. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/16 "2004-04-21T15:19:23Z")
“You only get one chance with Edna Krabappel.” Guess so. I did dislike everyone being forced back into their boxes by the end of the ep. Skinner especially seemed to have surrendered any balls he had shown (not literally, thank God) and that was a shame. Edna–CBG?? Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/17 "2004-04-21T15:27:55Z")
While I agree the “Marge and Homer’s Relationship is on the Rocks” bit was extraneous, I still enjoyed the episode. The Hulk Melon-baller, the Catwoman outfit, final fight…it was pretty funny to me. And I didn’t think it was a mistake having the Comic Book Guy steal her away from Skinner, I thought it was just another wonderful dig. I mean, Christ, to lose one woman you love to a fat, lazy, low self-esteme jerk-off like him is one thing, but TWO? I thought it was a nice touch. And Matt’s cameo wasn’t so bad either. “How bout some of my hair? Sure!” I’m still entertained by the show. Maybe it’s not as great as it used to be, but I watch the reruns, I watch the new episodes, and I get the same enjoyment. If you really don’t like it, stop watching it and quit yer bitchin’. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/18 "2004-04-21T15:37:33Z")
> [@El Elvis Rojo](#): > > If you really don’t like it, stop watching it and quit yer bitchin’. Indeed. Makes you wonder what some people did on Sunday evenings before The Simpsons were on. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/19 "2004-04-21T19:59:38Z")
There have been more good episodes this season so far than in the last several years combnied. This wasn’t one of them. (But coupling with the recent wino / anti-George Lucas episode certainly looks bad.) It is an almost revived show and worthy of continuing. Also, I would like to note, that so far no one has mentioned that the episode repeatedly confused Romulans and Klingons. Worst “Star Trek” related episode ever. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892/20 "2004-04-21T22:08:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Also, I would like to note, that so far no one has mentioned that the episode repeatedly confused Romulans and Klingons. Worst “Star Trek” related episode ever. Maybe it’s too meta-dramatic (meta-comedic?), but I think in that case the joke is on the people geeky enough to complain. Sorry, Nerdlinger. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-4-18/240892.md?page=2)