Simpsons Season 26 Review: The Wreck of the Relationship

Lemons: extra sour

"The Wreck of the Relationship"

    Here we have the second episode of season 26 of The Simpsons, entitled "Wreck of the Relationship". I'm very happy to report that I think it's a MAJOR step up from the premiere. I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit. Now, let's not get carried away here. It was good, but it still just doesn't have what classic Simpsons used to have. This isn't a beautiful season 6 episode, let's say, but it's definitely better than at least a few season 14 episodes I can think of off the top of my head ("Barting Over" and "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" specifically come to mind). Hell, maybe more than a few. Perhaps a review of season 14 would be fun? Eh, another day, another day. We're here to talk 26. Back to this episode, its story is better than the Krusty-centric premiere (although not by much), but this episode has something the previous one didn't: honest-to-goodness laughs! Can you imagine? The main story here has Bart and Homer at their wits' end with each other, mainly due to Bart's continued disrespect of Homer. Marge, at her own wit's end with the both of them, signs them up for a week at sea, on a ship (called the Relation Ship. Har-dee-har-har) that is used to work out father/son relationship problems. Ned, Apu, and Cletus are there as well. Does Ned REALLY have problems with Rod and Todd? I didn't find myself caring (or even really believing) about the other fathers/sons on the ship. What about Milhouse and his dad? Hell, they should have let Krusty's dad live, and they could have thrown them on this boat!

Bart's on a boat motherfuckers, don't you ever forget (still relevant?)

    [note: please ignore all the damn clutter around my desk. I watched most of this episode on my lunch break, and I'm too damn lazy/busy to crop this picture correctly. One day, maybe, I'll go back and re-crop ALL my pictures. Ugh]    
    This episode is another seeming retread of old topics. Like I said in my previous post, it's probably incredibly difficult for them to come up with believable familial situations that the Simpsons as a family haven't already gone through. So while this Bart/Homer story is decent, the B-story I actually liked. The premiere's B-story was pretty shitty, but this one, about Marge controlling Homer's fantasy football team (and also being abhorred about all the trash-talking messages all the other teams send Homer), was good. I'm pretty biased towards fantasy football, so I'm not sure if this skewed my opinion at all. Still, it generated some good laughs. Overall, this episode had me chuckling throughout (still nothing laugh-out-loud funny, but we're getting a little closer I think). It's a HUGE step-up from the last episode. If the season carries on at this pace, I think I'd be pleasantly surprised, and pretty damn pleased. Not to shit on season 14, but if every episode for 26 is like this one, I'd definitely rank this newest season as better than 14. 14 rubs me the wrong way, I guess. I mean, "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is great, but you need to search high and low for more that are that good from that season.
    I'd like to briefly discuss the couch gag. I don't think I'm going to do this weekly (hopefully not, anyway), but this one is another long, obnoxious one. It's not as long as the bizarre premiere, but it sucks way more. It has Scratchy on the couch, about to be axed by Itchy. He's saved by the Simpsons, and then he lives at the house. He gets increasingly more aggravating to the normal residents of the household, until they just bring Itchy back, who murders Scratchy. It's long, really not that funny, and just dumb. Full disclosure: I have never really been a huge fan of the couch gags, but at least the bad ones from the "golden era" were a few seconds long. Now, the bad ones are 60+ seconds long. Ugh. 
    Anyway, in summary: slightly better story than previous episode; funny jokes that don't stretch too far (long couch gag notwithstanding); and in general, it's entertaining! I feel good giving this one a solid...

6/10

    There was more to like about this episode than the previous. Let's bullet point it:

• Perv Hunter Web Filter
• It's probably just me, but I find it so strange that Homer (and the whole family/town) uses current technology, like iPhones and Macs. We are a long way away from Homer not even knowing what the internet is. But, it makes sense really. When the Simpsons started, the internet, and home computers, basically weren't things. 
• Homer's fantasy football team name: Somewhere Over the Dwayne Bowe. Actually laughed good at this one.
• Martin beating up Nelson was sort of amusing
• The fantasy football trash-talk messages at the church was funny. Especially Lovejoy doing it too
• I really enjoyed the short montage of Bart and Homer on the boat doing various things
• Also, the over/under knot-tying conversation between Bart and the captain of the ship was great
• Great callback to the signed Tom Landry hat Homer bought waaaaay back in "You Only Move Twice". Marge wears it during her own fantasy football montage.
• There's a part towards the end when there is a big storm brewing. Homer is swabbing the deck, and a wave crashes onto the ship and he disappears with it. Another wave crashes onto the ship, and he re-appears. I really enjoyed this for some reason.
• "Disgraced Captain forced to sell accordion" - a dreamed-up newspaper headline
• Homer: "Pssh, milk! That's for babies and old guys who can't sleep at night because of what they did in the war." Great quote from Homer.
• Marge: "Homey! Homey, the fantasy draft just ended! I got you five kickers! It is called football, right?"

    Check back hopefully tomorrow or Friday for the next season 26 episode review.