Crossoverarama!
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| Somehow, this should be better |
"Simpsorama"
And here we are, the sixth episode of season 26, and perhaps one of the strangest, almost-amazing, episodes of the incredibly long run of the show. In fact, this was the episode that I originally watched that gave rise to my idea to watch this entire season. I was browsing through our On-Demand service, and I saw that the most recent episode of The Simpsons was a crossover with Futurama. "Well, shucks," I might have said that night. "The Simpsons really sucks now, but Futurama never hit that really crappy low. And it would be great to see one more Futurama adventure." I imagine this was a very easy crossover for them to do anyway. Maybe that's why they did it.I very recently read something about how this was one of the worst things The Simpsons have ever done, continuity-wise. Like, how does this make ANY KIND OF SENSE AT ALL TO THE UNIVERSE OF EVERYONE'S FAVORITE FAMILY? Honestly, I don't know. I guess it really doesn't. I mean, we are in season 26. Does continuity really even matter anymore? I'd almost go so far to say as long as they deliver a watchable episode that is funny, has a decent story, and isn't loaded with pointless celebrities and/or secondary characters getting their own episodes, I'm fine with them pissing all over the continuity. I've been OBSESSED with a podcast that someone on Instagram turned me on to. It's called, "Worst Episode Ever" (here is their website. After you finish reading this fine blog post, immediately go there and listen!), and it's two guys that watch episodes of post "classic era" Simpsons (season eleven and beyond) to determine, once and for all, which is the worst episode ever. It's a great podcast, but I just listened to one where they talk about the episode, "The Principal and the Pauper". They generally don't like the continuity (or cannon) of the show being twisted here. I honestly feel that in the season five episode "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", they don't directly mess with the continuity that had been established the four seasons earlier, but seriously? Homer can just sing acapella and play piano? When basically the rest of the series he can't do either. That has always bugged me, and it's one of my least favorite episodes of the "classic era".
Wow, nice little tangent. My whole point is this: season 26 Simpsons main goal should be to make me laugh. They are probably too old to be nuanced. If destroying continuity is a way to do that, then I'm all for it!
[author's note: isn't that, their destroying of continuity (especially with ridiculous craziness) a big complaint I've had with later-season episodes? Ssshhhhh!]
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| Ever thought you'd see THIS image? Kinda cool |
Okay, let's talk about this episode. Firstly, the couch gag. It was a decent melding of both Futurama and The Simpsons, even though it was weak It starts with the above image (and the absolute AWESOME line ,"A show out of ideas teams up with a show out of episodes"), like the classic Futurama open, until it cuts to a couch gag involving Hedonism bot. In short, it sucks. But what else is new about season 26 couch gags? Let's move on.
The story was decent this week, if not utterly crazy. It starts with the children of Springfield Elementary making a time capsule. It ends with the future New New York being devastated by things (lizard-kind of things that resemble Bart. Yeah, it's a wild episode) that were spawned from a sneezed-in-by-Bart sandwich from the past. It's silly, and it has more of a Futurama feel, since it deals with time travel. Originally, Bender is sent back in time to kill Homer, since they originally think Homer is the cause of the future destruction (rabbits that look eerily like Matt Groening's Life in Hell rabbits). However, these rabbits transform into the lizard-Bart things. And eventually, everything is okay. Not the best summary, but that's not what you are here for anyway.
I guess this was a hyped-up episode before it aired. I had never heard of it until after it aired, so I must have missed the hype. Interesting that this aired not long after the Simpsons/Family Guy crossover. That one I had heard about, and wanted to watch. Never got around to it, but eventually I'll see it I'm sure. Even so, it was fun to see all these characters (Futurama and Simpsons) together, and I think they generally worked pretty well. The episode was decently funny and had TONS of visual references/callbacks to old Simpsons and Futurama stuff. That was enjoyable. This episode is not as good as the previous one, which was definitely the high-mark of the season so far. But, it wasn't bad. I'm gonna level with you guys, this one is a little tough for me to write. As I said, this was the first season 26 episode I watched, and I watched it quite a long time ago. I wrote decent notes for it, but I don't have the added benefit of just having watched it. I feel very rambly in this post, and for that I apologize. Well, I don't apologize that much. I do have a lot to write for my bullet point segment, but I feel my write up is a little lacking, or hollow.
How about this: if you like Futurama you will probably like this episode. If you have enjoyed season 26 of The Simpsons in the same way as I have so far (pleasantly surprised, but still realizing this show has fallen A LOT), you'll like this episode. For that, I'll give this one...
6/10
- I liked the artist's rendition of the future mayor Quimby (it's a cockroach)
- Homer reads, "How To Read A Book In Bed", in bed. Pretty silly
- Something I really, really, disliked was the trap Homer set, that strung up Bart. Bender and Homer repeatedly slapping Bart to spin his rope, was super dumb. The worst part of the episode
- "Electronic hyper-credits" bit was pretty funny
- I like the Pin Pals reference
- I really like the joke about Bender just being Homer with an antenna
- The funniest joke in the episode: Bender reveals he's there to kill Homer. He opens his chest, and many weapons pop out (including, but not limited to: a boxing glove, two flamethrowers, a gun, and various sharp instruments). Homer says, "Ah! A boxing glove!" This had me laughing out loud. Bravo!
- "Crossovers are hell" graffiti a nice touch
- A great reference to Fry's puppy (can't remember the name) from "Jurassic Bark"
- Moustache-less Scruffy looks very strange
- Also a Canyonero reference. "11 miles per gallon"
- Bart's birthday is February 23?
- There was a funny joke about Bart and Butterfingers
- Finally, at the very end, Kang and Kodos visit Omicron Persei 8. Seeing them interact with Lrrr and Ndnd was interesting. Not super funny, but still cool
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