He reminded me more of Marge’s bowling instructor.
…well… both being voiced by Albert Brooks… I’d say ‘yes’.
To tel the truth, I thought the Romano episode was a nod to Fight Club
I thought both episodes were decent, and I’ve only said that about one other episode this season. The first one was probably the weaker of the the two, but was saved by some great Dr. Hibbert moments at the end. “Check and mate” indeed.
In the second episode, my favorite line was the one with Wolfcastle scooping ice cream, though oddly enough I can’t remember what that line was any more.
Both episodes were much like the Simpsons in their prime. They were both on track.
Did anyone else notice Bart’s Krusty poster in the second episode (covering the stash of goodies in his room) was a parody of the famous Rita Hayworth pin-up photo from WWII? That’s the type of thing that made the Simpsons great, and I was delighted to see it.
I think that was a nod to The Shawshank Redemption.
Good point, since that was the poster in Shawshank.
Which, in turn, was lifted from the classic Bob & Ray “Komodo Dragon” sketch.
Or the boudoir photography dictionary scene from “They Saved Lisa’s Brain.” It’s a staple, really.
I thought it was a parody of A Beautiful Mind because they gave Homer electroshock; it had a lot in common with Harvey too, or really, any movie about an imaginary character. I really go in for those plots. And of course, Stephen Hawking was in it, which was just icing on the barstool-shaped cake. (Incidentally, he does make fun of his disability a lot; in “They Saved Lisa’s Brain” Homer called him a robot and Larry Flynt, and imitated his “voice.” I think someone as smart as him has no problem letting this kind of stuff roll down his back.)
I was less taken with the second episode, but I’m not a big fan of Bart episodes. Though I did get a laugh out of Ralph saying “yes, let’s obey the machine.”
If that really was Stephen Hawking, then he would’ve known that if there really was a black hole a few feet from the surface of the Earth, a gravitational lens would be the least of our problems.
You’re all wrong. I just couldn’t get the image of the RV salesman out of my head.
It’s blasphemy, I know, but if there’s anyone who could replace Phil Hartman as the permanent “guest voice”, it’d be Albert Brooks. I mean, there’s a better than average chance a ton of his dialogue last night was improvised.
Brad Goodman, people! Another self-help guru type.
WE LIKE ROY!
In the promo for the fat farm ep, there was different dialog than what aired in the show. In both instances Homer is yammering about how little kids aren’t supposed to have heart attacks, they’re supposed to get different things wrong with them. Anyone remember the promo version and the show version?
I know I’ve noticed this before, specifically in the Simpsons Go To England ep (the dialog changes in the scene where Homer is being taken to the Tower) but at the time everyone pooh-poohed me.
In the promo he said “eaten by witches” i forget what he said in the ep.
And in Futurama, they made fun of the fact that he has physical effects (Hawking Radiation. Are there others?) named after him:
“I call it a Hawking Hole.”
“I call it a Hawking Tube.”
It seems he’s okay with a little humor at his expense.
But in the movie, they gave him insulin shock therapy. I didn’t remember ECT.
I’m not sure Don’t Fear the Roofer was a spoof of any one movie. They did kinda spoof the rampant twist endings in movies these days. I liked that, plus Stephen Hawking and Hibbert’s line about Robin Hood.
Parts of the second episode (The Heartbroke Kid) were absolutely inspired. Tab Spangler was the best guest character since… I don’t know when. Rex Banner? I like it much better when guest stars don’t play themselves, and he had a number of incredibly funny lines. “Tough Luck? That never made any sense. The sign maker lied!” And at the end, “You have P.S.I. Poor Self Esteem. That’s not P.S.I. All signs are wrong!”
Best of all was “Let’s find your dad. And if we have time, maybe we’ll find mine.” !