Mohammed Jafar said:
OK, your list is reasonably good. Actually your A+ list is mostly the episodes out of my A+ list that I would put into a A++ list if such a marvellous thing existed. You seem to be far more forgiving of the later seasons than me, and you seem to be very inconsistent in your grading (not suggesting rating the episodes is totally formulaic, but you get my drift). Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner is better than Bart Gets An F? Blame It On Lisa is on the same level as Lisa's Pony? If you say so.... BUT I would like a quick explanation of the following which are much lower than I would have put them -
Originally posted by Channel Surfer
B-
Secrets of a Successful Marriage
C
Blood Feud
Separate Vocations
Homer vs. Patty & Selma
C-
Stark Raving Dad
D+
Homer Loves Flanders
Well, "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" is easy. It was misplaced in my copy/paste. It deserves an A- rather then a B-
As for the others...
Blood Feud C - Funny at points with its mix of absurdity (OO blood) and the conflict caused by Homer's one little letter (from his adventure with the mailbox, to Burns reading the letter in his presence). But plenty of dull points, most notably the self-ironic moral, fall flat. And with nothing, IMO, particularly memorable to boot, this episode falls into mediocrity.
Separate Vocations C - I've never been a big fan of role reversals that take themselves seriously, and this one is no exception. It seems kind of odd to me (and Marge) that Lisa would be discouraged so quickly based off one test and a supposed expert. That's a minor nitpick though. The bigger thing is that most of her plot, save the point where the two plots merge, isn't really interesting to me. From the trip to the "bad girls" bathroom to the
not so shocking "shove it" scene, the plot is, IMO, more boring then interesting, though the ending is pretty sweet. The Bart plot is better, closer to B/B+ material, but not enough to lift the episode higher.
Homer Vs. Patty and Selma C - The definitive of mediocrity. Homer "selling himself" to Patty and Selma isn't any funnier here as it was in "Homer vs. Dignity". And, just like "Homer vs. Dignity", it takes up a good chunk of the episode. Still, there are isolated funny parts (Homer’s stock in pumpkins, "flavor country"), and the Bart subplot is, again, closer to B/B+ material, but not enough to lift the episode higher.
Stark Raving Dad C- - Michael Jackson humor just isn’t the same to me as it was when this episode first aired, and this episode’s reliance on it is the crippling blow. That’s not to say there aren’t things I still like about it. Homer being acquitted to the Mental Hospital because of Bart’s red hat, and later Bart doing his test poorly is all still funny to me. And the ending is nice, even if the emotional aspect of it is overly sappy for my tastes. Great the first time around, but loses a lot of its magic in repeats. Kind of like how I’m starting to feel for "Behind the Laughter".
Homer Loves Flanders D+ - I have an interesting story about this one. Back a while ago, I had a choice in syndication to watch this episode, or "Pokey Mom". While I had seen both recently, and found them both dull, I chose to watch this episode anyway, but during the commercials, switch to "Pokey Mom". By the end of the half-hour, I was watching Springfield Elementary burn down, and later Jack and Wiggum talking about HBO’s "Oz". The problem with this episode is that I just don’t care about what’s going on. I could care less about Ned’s growing hatred of Homer Simpson, who was, IMO, particularly annoying in this episode, along the lines of "I’m Goin’ to Praiseland" (which is even worse, IMO). A few self-referential jokes, Homer’s love of Ned’s football, Moe reading to the shelter kids, and Rod and Todd’s pixie sticks are the only jokes I remember being particularly funny in this episode. Just a very dull episode, IMO.
