Jerkass Homer
Assassinated Monarch
Okay we had a thread like this for the past two seasons so i ask. How would you rate and what did you think of season 24? This could be as a whole, episode by episode, compared to other seasons etc.
Final Analys/Rate And Review:Season 24
- Thread starter Jerkass Homer
- Start date
Judge Fudge
that guy you forgot existed
Haven't seen all the episodes, but from what I've seen it's the blandest, most boring season. Just disposable trash really.
Brad Lascelle
The Fallen
It was more uniformly consistent on the good end of things since the start of the HD era... with only the Tim Long/Zooey Deschanel episodes being notoriously awful.
At the same time it was more bland and inoffensive and there wasn't anything on the level of a Holidays of Future Passed or The Book Job... although last night's finale episodes were especially solid (especially Dangers on a Train). There was more of a focus on characterizations which I appreciated but in a lot of cases these characterizations came off as forced, rehashed and artificial (tendencies which resurfaced in The Saga of Carl Carlson).
I like the inventiveness with farming out the couch gags and would like to see more of a concerted interest in bringing other creative voices into the series to keep those who have remained from getting burnt out or lazy.
There was still too much of Bitch Marge this season. Too much Abe has a mysterious back story this season. The 4-act structure remains an obstacle and far too many episodes come to contrived resolutions instead of flowing organically as a result. I don't see why we can't have a 3-act structure with the same amount of commercial time.
The animation direction was a strength of this season (starting with the black hole THOH XXIII segment) while the voice direction took a step or two backwards.
Certain supporting characters have been reduced to veritable non-entities. Barney is now a sight gag. We've seen less of Edna K since she married Flanders when we should be seeing more of her outside of the school. By and large, the show should be going to the well with the characters they've already spent years developing than bringing in a host of Tress MacNeille soundalikes and celebrity bit parts that don't benefit from being voiced by celebrities. I do like seeing callbacks to previous guest roles like what we got in Homer Goes to Prep School.
Also, Dangers on a Train should be the template model of every modern era episode. Episodes were built like this back in the classic era and somehow the show has gotten away from a logical narrative progression in recent years.
In addition to the lack of power plant scenes, we're also getting an absence of Springfield Elementary scenes. They were practically non-existent outside of A Test Before Trying and Black Eyed, Please. Bart and Lisa spent more time lamenting their love lives than they did going to school in Season 24. So many classic episodes have had either the plant or the school as their backdrop so I'm not sure why they've gotten away from it.
At the same time it was more bland and inoffensive and there wasn't anything on the level of a Holidays of Future Passed or The Book Job... although last night's finale episodes were especially solid (especially Dangers on a Train). There was more of a focus on characterizations which I appreciated but in a lot of cases these characterizations came off as forced, rehashed and artificial (tendencies which resurfaced in The Saga of Carl Carlson).
I like the inventiveness with farming out the couch gags and would like to see more of a concerted interest in bringing other creative voices into the series to keep those who have remained from getting burnt out or lazy.
There was still too much of Bitch Marge this season. Too much Abe has a mysterious back story this season. The 4-act structure remains an obstacle and far too many episodes come to contrived resolutions instead of flowing organically as a result. I don't see why we can't have a 3-act structure with the same amount of commercial time.
The animation direction was a strength of this season (starting with the black hole THOH XXIII segment) while the voice direction took a step or two backwards.
Certain supporting characters have been reduced to veritable non-entities. Barney is now a sight gag. We've seen less of Edna K since she married Flanders when we should be seeing more of her outside of the school. By and large, the show should be going to the well with the characters they've already spent years developing than bringing in a host of Tress MacNeille soundalikes and celebrity bit parts that don't benefit from being voiced by celebrities. I do like seeing callbacks to previous guest roles like what we got in Homer Goes to Prep School.
Also, Dangers on a Train should be the template model of every modern era episode. Episodes were built like this back in the classic era and somehow the show has gotten away from a logical narrative progression in recent years.
In addition to the lack of power plant scenes, we're also getting an absence of Springfield Elementary scenes. They were practically non-existent outside of A Test Before Trying and Black Eyed, Please. Bart and Lisa spent more time lamenting their love lives than they did going to school in Season 24. So many classic episodes have had either the plant or the school as their backdrop so I'm not sure why they've gotten away from it.
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Terrible. Not a single good episode.
Cartoonnetwork
I'm not your friend-o
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 3,550
I couldn't possibly make a better analysis than the one Brad Lascelle provided. That's the kind of constructive criticism that make me wish the staff would take some time to read these forums.
I'll just say the season started ok-ish , seemingly better than the previous season, but after that it entered in a rut of episodes that didn't say nothing notoriously new and were weak on characterizations and gags. The Bart-Mary episodes were lackluster and " What animated women want", "Pulpit Fiction", "Whiskey Bussiness" and "The Fabulous Faker Boy" were so middle of the road that I almost felt in the mood of stopping watching the show entirely. Luckily they put effort in the last two episodes.
I'd also want to remark that "Dangers On A Train" should be the template for new episodes. Just tell the story properly and keep the characters...in character. If that makes a story that has been told so many times in the show kind of nice, enjoyable and entertaining imagine what that could do with a fresher premise. The plot was even more focused than some of the Selman produced episodes and they are usually the most focused ones nowadays. But even To Curl, With Love or The Saga Of Carl had more distractions in the first act.
I'll just say the season started ok-ish , seemingly better than the previous season, but after that it entered in a rut of episodes that didn't say nothing notoriously new and were weak on characterizations and gags. The Bart-Mary episodes were lackluster and " What animated women want", "Pulpit Fiction", "Whiskey Bussiness" and "The Fabulous Faker Boy" were so middle of the road that I almost felt in the mood of stopping watching the show entirely. Luckily they put effort in the last two episodes.
I'd also want to remark that "Dangers On A Train" should be the template for new episodes. Just tell the story properly and keep the characters...in character. If that makes a story that has been told so many times in the show kind of nice, enjoyable and entertaining imagine what that could do with a fresher premise. The plot was even more focused than some of the Selman produced episodes and they are usually the most focused ones nowadays. But even To Curl, With Love or The Saga Of Carl had more distractions in the first act.
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Santa Shoz
Let's to go!
My opinion on Season 24... It ranges from okay to bland. Episodes considered worst in the season by other Simpson Fans are often rated 3/5 for being boring than absolutely horrible. The Season has some of the best episodes not seen in a while, the best Tree house of Horror for a long while, a number of episodes, both good and bad, actually makes use of Guest Stars whether it attempts at it or is successful at it. Not all episodes are completely horrible, I found a number of episode enjoyable, even those that definitely deserve a 3/5 or is considered boring by others. My favorite is To Cur, With Love, and it is a great episode. However, even though I acknowledge the pros of the season, their are the cons
On the con side surprisingly, we only got a few number of episodes that are considered absolutely horrible, notably most belong to Tim Long as writer. Ironically, one of the episodes I thought was absolutely bad, The Dark Night Court, is actually praised by most Simpson Fans, perhaps I should look back to that. Most of the other episodes are bland, often earning a 3/5 or 3.5/5. Compare to the other Simpson Fans Opinions as of now, I can't really find much to hate about this season unless you count the fact that half of its episodes are boring, even though their not even close to bad or good episodes.
So far, I have to say this is a decent Season compared to the four previous Seasons before it. Despite a lack of acknowledgement to the pro's of the season, most Simpson Fans have actually rated 3/4th of the episodes of the season that ranges from bland/boring or mixed feelings to okay than absolutely horrible.
Season 24 - 3/5 (Meh)
Moonshine River... 2/5 (Horrible)
Treehouse of Horror XXIII... 4/5 (Great)
Adventures In Baby-getting... 4.5/5 (Great)
Gone Abie Gone... 4/5 (Great)
Penny Wiseguys... 2.5/5 (Horrible)
A Tree Grows in Springfield... 3.5/5 (Good)
The Day the Earth Stood Cool... 4.5/5 (Great)
To Cur, With Love... 5/5 (So far my favorite) (PUT THIS IN THE CLASSICS)
Homer Goes To Prep School... 3/5 (Average)
A Test Before Trying... 3/5 (Average)
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing... 2.5/5 (Horrible)
Hardly Kirk-ing"... 4/5 (Great)
Gorgeous Grampa... 3.5/5 (Good)
Black-Eyed, Please... 3.5/5 (Good)
Dark Knight Court... 2.5/5 (Horrible)
What Animated Women Want... 3/5 (Average)
Pulpit Friction... 3.5/5 (Good)
Whiskey Buisness... 2/5 (Horrible)
The Fabulous Faker Boy... 3.5/5 (Good)
The Saga of Carl Carlson... 4/5 (Great)
Dangers on a Train... 3.5/5 (Good)
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Cartoonnetwork
I'm not your friend-o
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 3,550
I am very insecure about grades these days, mostly cause after so many years and terrible episodes in the Scully and Jean eras now I give 3/5 to an episode just because it's not offensive, but I would say it was something like this, more or less.
Most of the 2,5 episodes I won't consider them terrible, but mostly a little boring and not very strong in characterizations and gags. What Animated Women Want is possibly the weakest one, especially in the way they portrayed Lisa.
I didn't think Love Is A Many Splintered-Thing was so horrible as others said, and I even didn't dislike the Woody Allen touch all that much, but yeah, it was pretty weak in terms of jokes and character and considering it's a love story it should be strong on that last department. Kind of the same problem of What Animated Women Want, really. And the entire Mary-Bart saga was a whole lot of nothing at the end.
Moonshine River... 3/5
Treehouse of Horror XXIII... 4/5 (Loved the hole segment, that would get a 4,5/5)
Adventures In Baby-getting... 4.5/5
Gone Abie Gone... 3,5/5
Penny Wiseguys... 3/5
A Tree Grows in Springfield... 3/5
The Day the Earth Stood Cool... 4.5/5
To Cur, With Love... 4/5
Homer Goes To Prep School... 3,5/5 )
A Test Before Trying... 3/5
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing... 2.5/5
Hardly Kirk-ing"... 3.8/5
Gorgeous Grampa... 4.5/5
Black-Eyed, Please... 3.5/5
Dark Knight Court... 3/5
What Animated Women Want... 2,5/5
Pulpit Friction... 2,8/5
Whiskey Business... 2,8/5
The Fabulous Faker Boy... 2.8/5
The Saga of Carl Carlson... 3,5/5
Dangers on a Train... 4,3 /5
Most of the 2,5 episodes I won't consider them terrible, but mostly a little boring and not very strong in characterizations and gags. What Animated Women Want is possibly the weakest one, especially in the way they portrayed Lisa.
I didn't think Love Is A Many Splintered-Thing was so horrible as others said, and I even didn't dislike the Woody Allen touch all that much, but yeah, it was pretty weak in terms of jokes and character and considering it's a love story it should be strong on that last department. Kind of the same problem of What Animated Women Want, really. And the entire Mary-Bart saga was a whole lot of nothing at the end.
Moonshine River... 3/5
Treehouse of Horror XXIII... 4/5 (Loved the hole segment, that would get a 4,5/5)
Adventures In Baby-getting... 4.5/5
Gone Abie Gone... 3,5/5
Penny Wiseguys... 3/5
A Tree Grows in Springfield... 3/5
The Day the Earth Stood Cool... 4.5/5
To Cur, With Love... 4/5
Homer Goes To Prep School... 3,5/5 )
A Test Before Trying... 3/5
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing... 2.5/5
Hardly Kirk-ing"... 3.8/5
Gorgeous Grampa... 4.5/5
Black-Eyed, Please... 3.5/5
Dark Knight Court... 3/5
What Animated Women Want... 2,5/5
Pulpit Friction... 2,8/5
Whiskey Business... 2,8/5
The Fabulous Faker Boy... 2.8/5
The Saga of Carl Carlson... 3,5/5
Dangers on a Train... 4,3 /5
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Another season, and I wonder why I’m continuing to regularly watch this show – and I say that as someone who’s liked a fair bit of it. There’s definitely been some good stuff here, and when The Simpsons is good it’s still worthwhile viewing. (I made this remark before viewing "Dangers on a Train", which was a perfect example of the show surprising me with something that was all-round high quality and proving just why I do continue to regularly watch it - see below.)
Highlights of season 24 included “Treehouse of Horror XXIII”, which was marred by an over-long, laboured opening but otherwise had three good concepts for stories, all pretty well-executed and, amazingly, actually having something to do with Halloween; the well-scripted, focused and fresh “The Day the Earth Stood Cool”; “To Cur with Love”, which despite featuring a plot wholesale stitched together from other episodes managed some genuinely touching moments; “Hardly Kirk-ing” was one of the most consistently funny episodes in a while (more scripts by Gammill & Pross next season please); "Dangers on a Train" was a very pleasant surprise, boasting a cohesive, well-told story with great characterisation and solid humour; and whilst not in the same league as those two, “Dark Knight Court” was also nicely humour-driven with more jokes that stick in the memory than usual and some surprisingly good use of Mr Burns making up for the premise. Whilst not standouts by any means, I also enjoyed “Adventures in Baby-Getting”, “A Tree Grows in Springfield” and “A Test Before Trying”.
Unfortunately, the rest of the season hasn’t fared so well. “Gone Abie Gone”, “Penny-Wiseguys”, “Black Eyed Please”, (which scuppered two plots with real potential by putting them in an extremely sketchy, underdeveloped episode) “What Animated Women Want”, “Pulpit Friction”, “Whiskey Business”, “The Fabulous Faker Boy” and "The Saga of Carl" are all standard fare for the recent Jean seasons; they weren’t terrible enough to really get angry about, but were just extremely bland and very forgettable. The only real saving grace of these episodes is that they weren’t of such poor quality as to be offensive, a nadir which the show has repeatedly proven it can reach; they’re still not even close to things like “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed” or “Treehouse of Horror XXII”, and I would still easily take this batch of episodes over any of the Scully seasons. But that’s damning them with faint praise. (Before we move on, a mention to “Homer Goes to Prep School”, which I’m still not sure how to categorise; there was some decent humour that stops it from going into the next paragraph, but it was so odd and all over the place that it can’t be considered with the standouts of the season or the half-dozen episodes I’ve mentioned above, as it’s sure not bland… it’s just that the jury is still out on whether or not that’s a good thing.)
And, yes, this season has had its fair share of episodes that were just bad. “Moonshine River” and its follow-up “Love is a Many-Strangled Thing” were dull on a whole different level to normal, surpassing bland to become painful; “The Changing of the Guardian” was a typical Rob LaZebnik disaster area, throwing away an actually interesting premise with some wacky plot points that weren't even funny enough to justify themselves, bad pacing and jokes dying all over the place; and “Gorgeous Grampa” was a worrying interruption to the decent run of Selman-showrun episodes that began in season 23, being so utterly predictable, dragging and laugh-free I was left wondering what hope there was for the programme if even the episodes Al Jean wasn’t showrunning were like this. There were enough decent episodes this season, and enough improvement over season 23 (which was pretty much only saved by the NABF holdovers), to keep me watching, but with an increasing feeling that it would be nice if this show ended soon and the writers were given enough advance warning to plan ahead for a proper finish.
“Hardly Kirk-ing” B+
"Dangers on a Train" B+
“The Day the Earth Stood Cool” B+
“To Cur with Love” B
“Treehouse of Horror XXIII” B
“A Test Before Trying” B
“Adventures in Baby-Getting” B
“Dark Knight Court” B-
“A Tree Grows in Springfield” B-
“Homer Goes to Prep School” C
"The Saga of Carl" C
"What Animated Women Want" C
"Pulpit Friction" C
“Penny-Wiseguys” C
“Black-Eyed, Please” C-
"The Fabulous Faker Boy" C-
"Whiskey Business" C-
“Gone Abie Gone” C-
“Love is a Many-Splintered Thing” D+
“Gorgeous Grampa” D+
“Moonshine River” D+
“The Changing of the Guardian” D
Average: C
Highlights of season 24 included “Treehouse of Horror XXIII”, which was marred by an over-long, laboured opening but otherwise had three good concepts for stories, all pretty well-executed and, amazingly, actually having something to do with Halloween; the well-scripted, focused and fresh “The Day the Earth Stood Cool”; “To Cur with Love”, which despite featuring a plot wholesale stitched together from other episodes managed some genuinely touching moments; “Hardly Kirk-ing” was one of the most consistently funny episodes in a while (more scripts by Gammill & Pross next season please); "Dangers on a Train" was a very pleasant surprise, boasting a cohesive, well-told story with great characterisation and solid humour; and whilst not in the same league as those two, “Dark Knight Court” was also nicely humour-driven with more jokes that stick in the memory than usual and some surprisingly good use of Mr Burns making up for the premise. Whilst not standouts by any means, I also enjoyed “Adventures in Baby-Getting”, “A Tree Grows in Springfield” and “A Test Before Trying”.
Unfortunately, the rest of the season hasn’t fared so well. “Gone Abie Gone”, “Penny-Wiseguys”, “Black Eyed Please”, (which scuppered two plots with real potential by putting them in an extremely sketchy, underdeveloped episode) “What Animated Women Want”, “Pulpit Friction”, “Whiskey Business”, “The Fabulous Faker Boy” and "The Saga of Carl" are all standard fare for the recent Jean seasons; they weren’t terrible enough to really get angry about, but were just extremely bland and very forgettable. The only real saving grace of these episodes is that they weren’t of such poor quality as to be offensive, a nadir which the show has repeatedly proven it can reach; they’re still not even close to things like “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed” or “Treehouse of Horror XXII”, and I would still easily take this batch of episodes over any of the Scully seasons. But that’s damning them with faint praise. (Before we move on, a mention to “Homer Goes to Prep School”, which I’m still not sure how to categorise; there was some decent humour that stops it from going into the next paragraph, but it was so odd and all over the place that it can’t be considered with the standouts of the season or the half-dozen episodes I’ve mentioned above, as it’s sure not bland… it’s just that the jury is still out on whether or not that’s a good thing.)
And, yes, this season has had its fair share of episodes that were just bad. “Moonshine River” and its follow-up “Love is a Many-Strangled Thing” were dull on a whole different level to normal, surpassing bland to become painful; “The Changing of the Guardian” was a typical Rob LaZebnik disaster area, throwing away an actually interesting premise with some wacky plot points that weren't even funny enough to justify themselves, bad pacing and jokes dying all over the place; and “Gorgeous Grampa” was a worrying interruption to the decent run of Selman-showrun episodes that began in season 23, being so utterly predictable, dragging and laugh-free I was left wondering what hope there was for the programme if even the episodes Al Jean wasn’t showrunning were like this. There were enough decent episodes this season, and enough improvement over season 23 (which was pretty much only saved by the NABF holdovers), to keep me watching, but with an increasing feeling that it would be nice if this show ended soon and the writers were given enough advance warning to plan ahead for a proper finish.
“Hardly Kirk-ing” B+
"Dangers on a Train" B+
“The Day the Earth Stood Cool” B+
“To Cur with Love” B
“Treehouse of Horror XXIII” B
“A Test Before Trying” B
“Adventures in Baby-Getting” B
“Dark Knight Court” B-
“A Tree Grows in Springfield” B-
“Homer Goes to Prep School” C
"The Saga of Carl" C
"What Animated Women Want" C
"Pulpit Friction" C
“Penny-Wiseguys” C
“Black-Eyed, Please” C-
"The Fabulous Faker Boy" C-
"Whiskey Business" C-
“Gone Abie Gone” C-
“Love is a Many-Splintered Thing” D+
“Gorgeous Grampa” D+
“Moonshine River” D+
“The Changing of the Guardian” D
Average: C
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Kaine
SuperFriend
My overall scores are about the same as shoz999's list. I'm not sure if I can tell this season was better than 23, its more or less the same. Both seasons had its fair share of hit & miss episodes. In the classic 1-8 era, it was quite rare to see miss episodes.
I hope season 25 will see a sign of improvement. As always I'll be looking forward to the Treehouse of Horror episodes, I wish I could write my own ones
I hope season 25 will see a sign of improvement. As always I'll be looking forward to the Treehouse of Horror episodes, I wish I could write my own ones
Irvine
Hired Goon
Better than 23, which isn't really saying much because it was still awful.
Johnny Deformed
Executive Vice President
It was... Uh, what's the word? Oh yeah... shit. I managed to crawl my way through most of the season, but once we got to the last few episodes I just couldn't watch it anymore.
Simpsons_Sweden
SuperFriend
All the episode in a 10-grade scale.
Moonshine river 5.5/10 ( average)
Treehouse of horror: 23 2/10(bad)
Adventures in baby getting 5/10(decent)
Gone Abie gone 5/10 ( decent)
Penny-Wiseguys 6/10 ( good)
A Tree Grows in Springfield 4.5/10 ( decent)
The Day the Earth Stood Cool 5/10 (decent)
To cure whit love 9/10 (amazing)
Homer Goes toPreep School 4/10( decent)
A Test Before Trying 4.5/10 ( decent)
Changing of the Guardian 5.5/10 ( average)
Love is a Many Splintered Thing 3/10( decent)
Hardly Kirk-ing ( average) 5/10
Gorgeous Grampa 3/10 ( decent)
Black-Eyed, Please 7.5 10 ( good)
Dark Knight Court 6/10 (good)
What Animated Women Want 4/10 ( decent)
Pulpit Friction 6/10 (average)
Whiskey Business 6.5/10 ( average)
The Fabulous Faker Boy 7/10 ( good)
The Saga Off Carl Carlson 9/10( amazing)
Dangers on a Train 8/10 ( very good)
This season had 3 episode was very good or amazing episode. So this season is the best HD-season.
Season 23 had 1 ( holidays of future past)
season 22 had 2
season 21 had 2
Moonshine river 5.5/10 ( average)
Treehouse of horror: 23 2/10(bad)
Adventures in baby getting 5/10(decent)
Gone Abie gone 5/10 ( decent)
Penny-Wiseguys 6/10 ( good)
A Tree Grows in Springfield 4.5/10 ( decent)
The Day the Earth Stood Cool 5/10 (decent)
To cure whit love 9/10 (amazing)
Homer Goes toPreep School 4/10( decent)
A Test Before Trying 4.5/10 ( decent)
Changing of the Guardian 5.5/10 ( average)
Love is a Many Splintered Thing 3/10( decent)
Hardly Kirk-ing ( average) 5/10
Gorgeous Grampa 3/10 ( decent)
Black-Eyed, Please 7.5 10 ( good)
Dark Knight Court 6/10 (good)
What Animated Women Want 4/10 ( decent)
Pulpit Friction 6/10 (average)
Whiskey Business 6.5/10 ( average)
The Fabulous Faker Boy 7/10 ( good)
The Saga Off Carl Carlson 9/10( amazing)
Dangers on a Train 8/10 ( very good)
This season had 3 episode was very good or amazing episode. So this season is the best HD-season.
Season 23 had 1 ( holidays of future past)
season 22 had 2
season 21 had 2
Jerkass Homer
Assassinated Monarch
My ratings for the season 24 episodes.
Moonshine River: F
Treehouse Of Horror XXIII: C-
Adventures In Baby-Getting: C-
Gone Abie Gone: D+
Penny Wiseguys: F
A Tree Grows In Springfield: F
The Day The Earth Stood Cool: C-
To Cur With Love: D+
Homer Goes To Prep School: D-
A Test Before Trying: D+
The Changing Of The Guardian: F
Love Is A Many Splintered Thing: F
Hardly Kirk-ing: C-
Gorgeus Grandpa: D+
Black-Eyed Please: D-
The Dark Knight Court: D+
What Animated Woman Want: F
Pulprit Fiction: F
Whiskey Business: D-
The Fabulous Faker Boy: D+
The Saga Of Carl Carlson: D
Dangers On A Train: B
Moonshine River: F
Treehouse Of Horror XXIII: C-
Adventures In Baby-Getting: C-
Gone Abie Gone: D+
Penny Wiseguys: F
A Tree Grows In Springfield: F
The Day The Earth Stood Cool: C-
To Cur With Love: D+
Homer Goes To Prep School: D-
A Test Before Trying: D+
The Changing Of The Guardian: F
Love Is A Many Splintered Thing: F
Hardly Kirk-ing: C-
Gorgeus Grandpa: D+
Black-Eyed Please: D-
The Dark Knight Court: D+
What Animated Woman Want: F
Pulprit Fiction: F
Whiskey Business: D-
The Fabulous Faker Boy: D+
The Saga Of Carl Carlson: D
Dangers On A Train: B
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Captain Squid
vs. Radioactive Man
Before last night's double feature finale, I would have said that Season 23 beat out Season 24. But now, I'm not so sure. While season 23 had some great episodes (The Food Wife, The Book Job, Holidays of Future Passed) as well as some really fun, if flawed, episodes (At Long Last Leave, How I Wet Your Mother) - Season 23 also had some of my least favorite episodes of the series (Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson, The D'oh-cial Network, Moe Goes from Rags to Riches).
Season 24 had, in my opinion, just as many great episodes as season 23, but far fewer bad episodes and nothing as awful as the three I mentioned above. Season 24's best offerings were "Treehouse of Horror XXIII", "Adventures in Baby-Getting", "The Day the Earth Stood Cool", "To Cur with Love", "Hardly Kirk-ing", "Gorgeous Grampa", "The Saga of Carl" and "Dangers on a Train". And of those, I'd say "The Day the Earth Stood Cool", "To Cur with Love" and "Dangers on a Train" could go toe-to-toe with the three best episodes of Season 23.
The biggest sin that season 24 committed was that it offered up so many bland, middle of the road episodes. Nothing as offensive as "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches", though "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing" came close. Mostly, there were a lot of watchable episodes whose real problems were rushed plots, boring stories, and unfocused direction.
---
My ratings, when comparing each episode to all the other episodes of the season, would be:
5/5 - "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" , "Dangers on a Train"
4/5 - "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" (best THOH since XX), "Adventures in Baby-Getting", "To Cur with Love", "A Test Before Trying", "Hardly Kirk-ing", "Gorgeous Grampa", "The Saga of Carl"
3/5 - "Gone Abie Gone", "A Tree Grows in Springfield", "Homer Goes to Prep School", "Black Eyed, Please", "Dark Knight Court", "Pulpit Friction", "Whiskey Business", "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
2/5 - "Moonshine River", "Penny-Wiseguys", "The Changing of the Guardian", "What Animated Women Want"
1/5 - "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing"
9 episodes go in my "good to great" pile
8 episodes go in my "decent, but flawed" pile
5 episodes go in my "poor to bad" pile
Season 24 had, in my opinion, just as many great episodes as season 23, but far fewer bad episodes and nothing as awful as the three I mentioned above. Season 24's best offerings were "Treehouse of Horror XXIII", "Adventures in Baby-Getting", "The Day the Earth Stood Cool", "To Cur with Love", "Hardly Kirk-ing", "Gorgeous Grampa", "The Saga of Carl" and "Dangers on a Train". And of those, I'd say "The Day the Earth Stood Cool", "To Cur with Love" and "Dangers on a Train" could go toe-to-toe with the three best episodes of Season 23.
The biggest sin that season 24 committed was that it offered up so many bland, middle of the road episodes. Nothing as offensive as "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches", though "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing" came close. Mostly, there were a lot of watchable episodes whose real problems were rushed plots, boring stories, and unfocused direction.
---
My ratings, when comparing each episode to all the other episodes of the season, would be:
5/5 - "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" , "Dangers on a Train"
4/5 - "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" (best THOH since XX), "Adventures in Baby-Getting", "To Cur with Love", "A Test Before Trying", "Hardly Kirk-ing", "Gorgeous Grampa", "The Saga of Carl"
3/5 - "Gone Abie Gone", "A Tree Grows in Springfield", "Homer Goes to Prep School", "Black Eyed, Please", "Dark Knight Court", "Pulpit Friction", "Whiskey Business", "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
2/5 - "Moonshine River", "Penny-Wiseguys", "The Changing of the Guardian", "What Animated Women Want"
1/5 - "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing"
9 episodes go in my "good to great" pile
8 episodes go in my "decent, but flawed" pile
5 episodes go in my "poor to bad" pile
Brad Lascelle
The Fallen
These are the IMDB consensus rankings by episode from this season. Clearly the ranks from last night's eps are going to be fluid for a bit.
Typically premieres and finales get inflated scores and anything 6.9 or lower is effectively garbage. But here's what the folks "outside of the NoHomers" bubble think about Season 24.
Dangers on a Train - 7.7
The Day the Earth Stood Cool - 7.5
To Cur with Love - 7.5
Dark Knight Court - 7.4
Hardly Kirk-ing - 7.4
Treehouse of Horror XXIII - 7.4
Adventures in Baby-Getting - 7.3
Black-Eyed, Please - 7.3
Homer Goes to Prep School - 7.3
Changing of the Guardian - 7.2 (seems to be a lot more liked elsewhere than here)
A Test Before Trying - 7.2
Love Is a Many Splintered Thing - 7.0 (film buffs would appreciate all of the Woody Allen nods)
Pulpit Friction - 7.0
What Animated Women Want - 6.9
Whiskey Business - 6.9
Moonshine River - 6.8 (actually quite low for a season premiere)
The Saga of Carl Carlson - 6.8
A Tree Grows in Springfield - 6.8
The Fabulous Faker Boy - 6.7
Gone Abie Gone - 6.7
Gorgeous Grampa - 6.5 (yikes, Matt Selman... what the hell?)
Penny-Wiseguys - 6.5
Other recent episode scores for reference...
Holidays of Future Passed - 8.6 (crazy high score for the modern HD era)
The Book Job - 8.1
A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again - 7.9 (people outside of NoHomers.net LOVE this episode... and I sort of agree with them)
Elementary School Musical - 6.6 (lowest-rated premiere)
Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson - 6.3
Lisa the Drama Queen - 6.2
Moe Goes from Rags to Riches - 6.1
The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed - 6.0
Lisa Goes Gaga - 5.2 (lowest-rated finale... I wonder why)
Typically premieres and finales get inflated scores and anything 6.9 or lower is effectively garbage. But here's what the folks "outside of the NoHomers" bubble think about Season 24.
Dangers on a Train - 7.7
The Day the Earth Stood Cool - 7.5
To Cur with Love - 7.5
Dark Knight Court - 7.4
Hardly Kirk-ing - 7.4
Treehouse of Horror XXIII - 7.4
Adventures in Baby-Getting - 7.3
Black-Eyed, Please - 7.3
Homer Goes to Prep School - 7.3
Changing of the Guardian - 7.2 (seems to be a lot more liked elsewhere than here)
A Test Before Trying - 7.2
Love Is a Many Splintered Thing - 7.0 (film buffs would appreciate all of the Woody Allen nods)
Pulpit Friction - 7.0
What Animated Women Want - 6.9
Whiskey Business - 6.9
Moonshine River - 6.8 (actually quite low for a season premiere)
The Saga of Carl Carlson - 6.8
A Tree Grows in Springfield - 6.8
The Fabulous Faker Boy - 6.7
Gone Abie Gone - 6.7
Gorgeous Grampa - 6.5 (yikes, Matt Selman... what the hell?)
Penny-Wiseguys - 6.5
Other recent episode scores for reference...
Holidays of Future Passed - 8.6 (crazy high score for the modern HD era)
The Book Job - 8.1
A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again - 7.9 (people outside of NoHomers.net LOVE this episode... and I sort of agree with them)
Elementary School Musical - 6.6 (lowest-rated premiere)
Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson - 6.3
Lisa the Drama Queen - 6.2
Moe Goes from Rags to Riches - 6.1
The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed - 6.0
Lisa Goes Gaga - 5.2 (lowest-rated finale... I wonder why)
Robotics
魔女旅人
I hastily wrote full season analysis with a briefing for each episode.
This season had a more consistent quality; however, the quality is low. Most episodes are very dull and uninspiring. They haven't taken any well selected approaches to the corresponding episode. Here’s a general overview about improvements or different preferable paths to take on a broader scale, and why some aren’t executed appropriately.
Season 24 plot and general overview:
•In “Moonshine River”, repetition of plot ideas becomes problematic. Let’s be real; Bart is a ten year-old that is too concerned over cooties infection or popularity to be involved in a pursuit to claim Mary Spuckler. Mary Spuckler was such an insignificant and uninspiring character to start with; her role in “Apocalypse Cow” was highly uninformative about characterizations, while Bart barely knew or cared for her.
C
•In “Treehouse of Horror XXIII”, we have problems in the second story and the third story. “Unnormal Activity” is a terrible spoof over “Paranormal Activity”. And the reason? The ending was so cringy and so sexually-referenced that it’s not acceptable unless playing devil is a fetish. As for the parody of “Back to the Future” (The TV version), the problem lies in the ending, while I enjoyed everything up until that point. The ending had few subtleties with stiff transitions. The ending became much more naturally fluent in the internet broadcasting of the segment; good transition as the ending.
B+
•In “Adventures in Baby-Getting”, the main plot was average, but the subplot is pointless and unambitious. Bart and his friends spend so much effort in discovering Lisa’s secret—writing cursive. Writing cursive is probably something that Lisa finds beauty in, but seems like such a dull subject that she may have learned much earlier in the show. If she had been found doing something more beneficial to Springfield as a whole, or perhaps something contrasted to her behavior (such some kind of sport); that may have been more attached to her intuitive character.
B-
•”Gone Abie Gone” was a terribly boring episode. On one hand, it revolved around Grampa. The problem with having an Abe-centric episode would be the troubling changes in his history. Generally, it explores slow-progressing relationships of Abe and some other vintage female character. This main plot dragged on for too long in order to reach its conclusion. The subplot on the other hand, was a derogatory standout in Lisa’s character. I understand addictions are common, but she is losing her conscience in a gamble on her future. It’s out of character, it’s funny, but it’s uneasy to watch at the same time. I can’t really continue to commentate over this because it’s purely from feelings. I only know for certain that the subplot would work if Bart’s delivery of sibling love and relations was a bit less conspicuous.
C
•”Penny Wise-guys” is a distinctly similar episode to “Gone Abie Gone”; here we have a unique character as the plot’s point of interest. I enjoy Dan’s naiveté as a character, being unstable about his emotions. The problem here is, again, the subplot. Lisa eats bugs in this episode and it is sickening. She raises a bunch of grasshoppers in hopes that they will grow up plump and juicy, and then she will eat them. That’s the only correct word—sickening. As for the ending? It’s random, but minimally acceptable because she at least returned to just being a vegetable-eating character.
C+
•”A Tree Grows in Springfield” is another episode with excessive references to Mapple. It has failed to make social commentary over mobiles taking over people’s lives on one account—the attention was to the app, and not the product itself. The plot got even worse when Homer finds “hope” as an epiphany when his Mypad breaks. It’s a ridiculously powerful word to be integrated with an overused and insignificant product.
D+
•”The Day the Earth Stood Cool” is an episode with a solid plot and premise. The ambivalence between Homer and Terrence was well done, and its developing double-conflict leads in to four characters learning from each other. Cultural parodies were very blatantly stated as the Simpson kids soon become emerged in a modern world—this might be the few instances of legitimate parody in season 24. The cheesy conclusion hard to evade, but pulls off a decent episode.
A-
•”To Cur with Love” is boring. To be more precise, the emotional values in this episode were sucked dry. This is a failed flashback episode where the outset was completely random and messy. Pointlessly, Homer “falls in love” with another MyPad game, and gets addicted to it. When it breaks, he cries like a five year-old. The set-up leading into Homer Bongo story was jumbled up, while the Bongo story was actually just okay. The family crying over Homer’s dog is very fake-sounding and nonsensical, destroying all emotional poignancy. This episode sits near the bottom of season 24.
D-
•The post-apocalypse Springfield in "Homer goes to Prep school" wasn't sentimental enough to deliver a powerful message as the premise. The episode’s approach was a more gag-driven episode, which is a far riskier route to take when you want to include satire or social commentary. The ideal way to end the episode could be to identify relief and miracle, thus leading to appreciation for the entire ordeal triggered through Homer’s conscience. The zombie on the meteor was far too outlandish and non-canon to be included in the episode.
C-
•”A Test before Trying” happens to be another average episode with senseless motivation. Bart detests school with a passion, and he strangely accepts to take the test after having a random dream about Edna being a prostitute, the bullies unable to share a pizza, and a spinach farm. It’s not correlated to the plot much, and the episode takes a dive with an uninspiring pass of approval from the state test authorities. I’d rather the school got shut down and Bart tries to redeem himself after realizing that he misses certain aspects of being in school. Stale motivation usually results in a poor grading, yes?
C+
•”The Changing of the Guardian” was a legitimately good idea to begin a plot with. However, the execution was terrible. Too much time was consumed by introducing the tornado, while the time the kids spent with Mav and Portia was so low that Lisa’s final quote “nothing beats your biological family” seems highly insignificant. It’s like pulling out a moral from reading the classifieds from a newspaper. So Lisa and Bart’s admiration for Mav and Portia was false the whole time? Here’s to another nonsensical derivative for a story’s lesson. Then we also have Herb’s “appearance”—his first in two decades. That’s an automatic disappointment from me, as he only spit a one-liner instead of showing up and making contribution to the plot. This episode is a definition of completely wrong focus.
C-
•”Love is a Many-Splintered thing”—as we expected, Bart breaks up with Mary. But who cares? This has happened so many times that Bart should’ve learned not to pursue a girl’s love at such a young age. Maybe Bart should take advice from her sister instead. The parody of “Annie Hall” was no better; Woody Allen makes a piss-poor delivery of dialogue to Bart, completely disrupting the smoothness. Its execution unnaturalness compiled with Marge overly critical views about the boys was disgusting to see.
C-
•”Hardly Kirking” is probably the only episode where humor-based style would be completely suitable. Let’s face the facts—children trying to be adults are funny. The episode was very visual-based, and gives off a very comedic vibe. The premise was written alright, and manages to tie subplot and main plot into one. Milhouse using his voice to his advantage is quite refreshing to see. As the episode revolves around gags, it gives a good break from having a powerful and insightful conclusion.
B+
•”Gorgeous Grampa” is a decent episode. It revolves around Grampa reviving his nostalgia reminiscence and inspiring Bart to be just like him. For starters, auction and bidding gags in this episode was good, meanwhile the boxing style that grampa and Bart were using were also comical. Moving on, this episode turns out to be a more insightful episode of the season; Grampa recognizes his faults in allowing Bart to play this cruel, and so he fights his own mind and makes a conscientious decision to stop Bart from being someone like what he was. It’s inspiring to see that Grampa is still emotionally connected with Bart, and they both want each other to turn out for the best. His final acts were to fight against Burns—in other words, a fight against the world’s benighted individuals.
B+
•”Black-eyed Please”—this episode had a considerably good lead-in to the conclusion, but was unfortunately spoiled by Ms. Cantwell announcing that Lisa was “pretty”. Sometimes hatred comes without a reason, and I doubt Ms. Cantwell sees Lisa as a “pretty girl” when she first sees her and treats her without equity. Hatred without real reasoning should be the moral here; we’ve all been there, hence the importance of relatability in an episode. The Homer-Flanders plot was slightly cruel on one hand, but Homer was indeed more obnoxious than normal, and deserved a form of negativity towards him. Average humor, decent plot.
B
•”Dark Knight Court”—another episode centered mainly on gags. This one fails to establish Mr. Burns’ sinister character with one of a superhero. At least Smithers paying these characters to act was kind of funny. As for Lisa and Bart’s plot, it was fairly average with a fairly interesting deduction that Willie was responsible for committing the crime. Nothing really insightful here, while the plot about Mr. Burns is very outlandish.
C+
•”What Animated Women Want”—this is the most uneasy episode to watch in this season. Main plot; not the first time they've done it, but the extreme attitude made it annoying to watch. Homer's done far worse, we all know this, but the only difference this time is that Homer does something this little, and gets a full-on rage. The moods are contrived; there's too little semblance to what may happen in real life. Rather, I find it to be Marge's fault for talking to him while he was chewing. The subplot follows a different line; I hate seeing these "romance" between kids. That alone interferes with my ratings. Then Lisa decides that these "bad boys" are better for her-- I'm pretty darned sure that Lisa does not like being treated this way according to previous episodes, but that's not the real issue here. Her behavior here is so hard to follow, and that's the real issue. She starts from hating Milhouse, then liking Milhouse, then treating Milhouse like he's a king (while being ignored), then still liking him again? That's hard to watch. It just feels like character is sucked dry on any charisma, insight, or awareness. I haven't really seen any resemblance early-season Lisa characterization in this season. Poorly justified actions really seems to be a big issue here.
D+
•”Pulpit Friction”—well, this is another bland and boring episode, and I will be quoting from my reviews. The points of conflicts in this episode was supposedly solid in the synopsis, but I aforementioned that it was boring. This is primarily due to the lack of conflict between the two reverends. What'd be great is that both characters could show their egos in front of the church audience, but that didn't happen. There was two little physical or verbal interactions between either characters. The resolution of the episode was also junk; Lisa derives a statement that she’s only eight years-old and will have time to decide to get married or not. If the wedding dress plot took a turn into Marge and Homer concerning Lisa’s future marriage issue, it may have explored reasons of how her opinion changes (The change of her adamant statement needs to be justified somehow)
C
•”Whiskey Business”— this episode worked out better for me. For a fact, Moe is pessimistic and wants to commit suicide, but he is unable to make that decision for the people that care about him. Moe’s resolution was good, as it questions his character qualities a little better. He doesn’t really find enjoyment in being highly-ranked in business, and rather prefers living casually as a bartender with his good old customers. The main plot is weighted on being more implicit, which is a major plus for recent publications. The subplot wasn’t bad either, and constructs a second episode this season in which Bart actually cares about grampa’s health and safety. Double decent with occasional gags—
B
•”The Fabulous Faker Boy”—the second most uneasy episode of season 24. This time, it’s Bart that falls in love, BUT with a sixteen year-old girl! That’s a terrible idea—Bart should be afraid of cooties, and should be annoying the hell out of Zhenya instead. After all, Marge forced Bart into exploring his musical talents without proper consent. Off-characterization takes its toll on easiness on viewers. Meanwhile, the other subplots are absolutely filler-tastic. Lisa’s subplot was cut-off mid way as an unresolved conflict, while its significance doesn’t prove itself to be high either. All premises reached in this episode was dry-shallow or incomplete. There’s no real insight in Bart’s plot—he lives a life of lies and Marge respects his son to make his own decisions. Maybe Marge should be keener as a parent. Oh yes, and Justin Bieber’s cameo appearance was not damaging but not necessary either—at least they took advantage of writing a warning script to poke fun at fan-judgment as well as their own judgment.
C-
•”Saga of Carl Carlson”-- It's quite solid in plot structure and was fluent in execution for the most part-- the introduction leads into the conflict nicely. I'm glad they tried to reference a lot from Icelandic culture or just took opportunity to poke a little fun and their people; it didn't go overboard. I also think that this is a good opportunity to expand on Carl's former minor role on the show. Unfortunately, the premise and the story's "lesson" attempted too many gags, making it less powerful than it would've been. The scenery in animation of Iceland’s terrain is fantastic and possibly inspiring. This is a rare occasion where visuals are quite ambitious and radical in animation.
B
•Season finale--The relevance and connection that each character made to their goal was done in a good manner; there's a good clash of conflict between Homer and Marge's good intentions. Homer was slightly silly but conscientious (the way he should be), while Marge played well in developing the conflict. There's finally a legitimate marriage crisis that develops on the line that both characters were hiding something, instead of having excessive stupidity, or "bitchiness" of a character. Other good addition to the episode would be character integration of Ben as well as the jokes. Using the train as an object to propagate the plot opens opportunity for jokes.
B+
Based on a general comparison to season 23, we experience a more consistent but lower quality, as opposed to season 23’s oscillating qualities. However, because of constantly viewing bland episodes in season 24, I found almost no satisfaction to leave this season behind with. There are different levels of emotions in both seasons.
Season 23 left good impressions in its peak episodes, “Holidays of Future Passed”—the execution was extremely well done, beginning with a photo album of the kids growing up, and then finally ending the episode with a snap shot of the “kids” finding appreciation in the process of growing up. The episode was centric around the crippling reality of growing up and its experiences, which was why it was so powerful and relatable as a reminiscence to what we might value our lives.
Season 24 leaves us with “The Day the Earth Stood Cool”, which is far less powerful in delivering its message to the audience. I don’t think the insight in this episode came close to the level of HOFP but the plusses from social commentary and its culture adds up to a fairly good score.
Season 23’s peak quality—A+
Season 24’s peak quality—A-
This season had a more consistent quality; however, the quality is low. Most episodes are very dull and uninspiring. They haven't taken any well selected approaches to the corresponding episode. Here’s a general overview about improvements or different preferable paths to take on a broader scale, and why some aren’t executed appropriately.
Season 24 plot and general overview:
•In “Moonshine River”, repetition of plot ideas becomes problematic. Let’s be real; Bart is a ten year-old that is too concerned over cooties infection or popularity to be involved in a pursuit to claim Mary Spuckler. Mary Spuckler was such an insignificant and uninspiring character to start with; her role in “Apocalypse Cow” was highly uninformative about characterizations, while Bart barely knew or cared for her.
C
•In “Treehouse of Horror XXIII”, we have problems in the second story and the third story. “Unnormal Activity” is a terrible spoof over “Paranormal Activity”. And the reason? The ending was so cringy and so sexually-referenced that it’s not acceptable unless playing devil is a fetish. As for the parody of “Back to the Future” (The TV version), the problem lies in the ending, while I enjoyed everything up until that point. The ending had few subtleties with stiff transitions. The ending became much more naturally fluent in the internet broadcasting of the segment; good transition as the ending.
B+
•In “Adventures in Baby-Getting”, the main plot was average, but the subplot is pointless and unambitious. Bart and his friends spend so much effort in discovering Lisa’s secret—writing cursive. Writing cursive is probably something that Lisa finds beauty in, but seems like such a dull subject that she may have learned much earlier in the show. If she had been found doing something more beneficial to Springfield as a whole, or perhaps something contrasted to her behavior (such some kind of sport); that may have been more attached to her intuitive character.
B-
•”Gone Abie Gone” was a terribly boring episode. On one hand, it revolved around Grampa. The problem with having an Abe-centric episode would be the troubling changes in his history. Generally, it explores slow-progressing relationships of Abe and some other vintage female character. This main plot dragged on for too long in order to reach its conclusion. The subplot on the other hand, was a derogatory standout in Lisa’s character. I understand addictions are common, but she is losing her conscience in a gamble on her future. It’s out of character, it’s funny, but it’s uneasy to watch at the same time. I can’t really continue to commentate over this because it’s purely from feelings. I only know for certain that the subplot would work if Bart’s delivery of sibling love and relations was a bit less conspicuous.
C
•”Penny Wise-guys” is a distinctly similar episode to “Gone Abie Gone”; here we have a unique character as the plot’s point of interest. I enjoy Dan’s naiveté as a character, being unstable about his emotions. The problem here is, again, the subplot. Lisa eats bugs in this episode and it is sickening. She raises a bunch of grasshoppers in hopes that they will grow up plump and juicy, and then she will eat them. That’s the only correct word—sickening. As for the ending? It’s random, but minimally acceptable because she at least returned to just being a vegetable-eating character.
C+
•”A Tree Grows in Springfield” is another episode with excessive references to Mapple. It has failed to make social commentary over mobiles taking over people’s lives on one account—the attention was to the app, and not the product itself. The plot got even worse when Homer finds “hope” as an epiphany when his Mypad breaks. It’s a ridiculously powerful word to be integrated with an overused and insignificant product.
D+
•”The Day the Earth Stood Cool” is an episode with a solid plot and premise. The ambivalence between Homer and Terrence was well done, and its developing double-conflict leads in to four characters learning from each other. Cultural parodies were very blatantly stated as the Simpson kids soon become emerged in a modern world—this might be the few instances of legitimate parody in season 24. The cheesy conclusion hard to evade, but pulls off a decent episode.
A-
•”To Cur with Love” is boring. To be more precise, the emotional values in this episode were sucked dry. This is a failed flashback episode where the outset was completely random and messy. Pointlessly, Homer “falls in love” with another MyPad game, and gets addicted to it. When it breaks, he cries like a five year-old. The set-up leading into Homer Bongo story was jumbled up, while the Bongo story was actually just okay. The family crying over Homer’s dog is very fake-sounding and nonsensical, destroying all emotional poignancy. This episode sits near the bottom of season 24.
D-
•The post-apocalypse Springfield in "Homer goes to Prep school" wasn't sentimental enough to deliver a powerful message as the premise. The episode’s approach was a more gag-driven episode, which is a far riskier route to take when you want to include satire or social commentary. The ideal way to end the episode could be to identify relief and miracle, thus leading to appreciation for the entire ordeal triggered through Homer’s conscience. The zombie on the meteor was far too outlandish and non-canon to be included in the episode.
C-
•”A Test before Trying” happens to be another average episode with senseless motivation. Bart detests school with a passion, and he strangely accepts to take the test after having a random dream about Edna being a prostitute, the bullies unable to share a pizza, and a spinach farm. It’s not correlated to the plot much, and the episode takes a dive with an uninspiring pass of approval from the state test authorities. I’d rather the school got shut down and Bart tries to redeem himself after realizing that he misses certain aspects of being in school. Stale motivation usually results in a poor grading, yes?
C+
•”The Changing of the Guardian” was a legitimately good idea to begin a plot with. However, the execution was terrible. Too much time was consumed by introducing the tornado, while the time the kids spent with Mav and Portia was so low that Lisa’s final quote “nothing beats your biological family” seems highly insignificant. It’s like pulling out a moral from reading the classifieds from a newspaper. So Lisa and Bart’s admiration for Mav and Portia was false the whole time? Here’s to another nonsensical derivative for a story’s lesson. Then we also have Herb’s “appearance”—his first in two decades. That’s an automatic disappointment from me, as he only spit a one-liner instead of showing up and making contribution to the plot. This episode is a definition of completely wrong focus.
C-
•”Love is a Many-Splintered thing”—as we expected, Bart breaks up with Mary. But who cares? This has happened so many times that Bart should’ve learned not to pursue a girl’s love at such a young age. Maybe Bart should take advice from her sister instead. The parody of “Annie Hall” was no better; Woody Allen makes a piss-poor delivery of dialogue to Bart, completely disrupting the smoothness. Its execution unnaturalness compiled with Marge overly critical views about the boys was disgusting to see.
C-
•”Hardly Kirking” is probably the only episode where humor-based style would be completely suitable. Let’s face the facts—children trying to be adults are funny. The episode was very visual-based, and gives off a very comedic vibe. The premise was written alright, and manages to tie subplot and main plot into one. Milhouse using his voice to his advantage is quite refreshing to see. As the episode revolves around gags, it gives a good break from having a powerful and insightful conclusion.
B+
•”Gorgeous Grampa” is a decent episode. It revolves around Grampa reviving his nostalgia reminiscence and inspiring Bart to be just like him. For starters, auction and bidding gags in this episode was good, meanwhile the boxing style that grampa and Bart were using were also comical. Moving on, this episode turns out to be a more insightful episode of the season; Grampa recognizes his faults in allowing Bart to play this cruel, and so he fights his own mind and makes a conscientious decision to stop Bart from being someone like what he was. It’s inspiring to see that Grampa is still emotionally connected with Bart, and they both want each other to turn out for the best. His final acts were to fight against Burns—in other words, a fight against the world’s benighted individuals.
B+
•”Black-eyed Please”—this episode had a considerably good lead-in to the conclusion, but was unfortunately spoiled by Ms. Cantwell announcing that Lisa was “pretty”. Sometimes hatred comes without a reason, and I doubt Ms. Cantwell sees Lisa as a “pretty girl” when she first sees her and treats her without equity. Hatred without real reasoning should be the moral here; we’ve all been there, hence the importance of relatability in an episode. The Homer-Flanders plot was slightly cruel on one hand, but Homer was indeed more obnoxious than normal, and deserved a form of negativity towards him. Average humor, decent plot.
B
•”Dark Knight Court”—another episode centered mainly on gags. This one fails to establish Mr. Burns’ sinister character with one of a superhero. At least Smithers paying these characters to act was kind of funny. As for Lisa and Bart’s plot, it was fairly average with a fairly interesting deduction that Willie was responsible for committing the crime. Nothing really insightful here, while the plot about Mr. Burns is very outlandish.
C+
•”What Animated Women Want”—this is the most uneasy episode to watch in this season. Main plot; not the first time they've done it, but the extreme attitude made it annoying to watch. Homer's done far worse, we all know this, but the only difference this time is that Homer does something this little, and gets a full-on rage. The moods are contrived; there's too little semblance to what may happen in real life. Rather, I find it to be Marge's fault for talking to him while he was chewing. The subplot follows a different line; I hate seeing these "romance" between kids. That alone interferes with my ratings. Then Lisa decides that these "bad boys" are better for her-- I'm pretty darned sure that Lisa does not like being treated this way according to previous episodes, but that's not the real issue here. Her behavior here is so hard to follow, and that's the real issue. She starts from hating Milhouse, then liking Milhouse, then treating Milhouse like he's a king (while being ignored), then still liking him again? That's hard to watch. It just feels like character is sucked dry on any charisma, insight, or awareness. I haven't really seen any resemblance early-season Lisa characterization in this season. Poorly justified actions really seems to be a big issue here.
D+
•”Pulpit Friction”—well, this is another bland and boring episode, and I will be quoting from my reviews. The points of conflicts in this episode was supposedly solid in the synopsis, but I aforementioned that it was boring. This is primarily due to the lack of conflict between the two reverends. What'd be great is that both characters could show their egos in front of the church audience, but that didn't happen. There was two little physical or verbal interactions between either characters. The resolution of the episode was also junk; Lisa derives a statement that she’s only eight years-old and will have time to decide to get married or not. If the wedding dress plot took a turn into Marge and Homer concerning Lisa’s future marriage issue, it may have explored reasons of how her opinion changes (The change of her adamant statement needs to be justified somehow)
C
•”Whiskey Business”— this episode worked out better for me. For a fact, Moe is pessimistic and wants to commit suicide, but he is unable to make that decision for the people that care about him. Moe’s resolution was good, as it questions his character qualities a little better. He doesn’t really find enjoyment in being highly-ranked in business, and rather prefers living casually as a bartender with his good old customers. The main plot is weighted on being more implicit, which is a major plus for recent publications. The subplot wasn’t bad either, and constructs a second episode this season in which Bart actually cares about grampa’s health and safety. Double decent with occasional gags—
B
•”The Fabulous Faker Boy”—the second most uneasy episode of season 24. This time, it’s Bart that falls in love, BUT with a sixteen year-old girl! That’s a terrible idea—Bart should be afraid of cooties, and should be annoying the hell out of Zhenya instead. After all, Marge forced Bart into exploring his musical talents without proper consent. Off-characterization takes its toll on easiness on viewers. Meanwhile, the other subplots are absolutely filler-tastic. Lisa’s subplot was cut-off mid way as an unresolved conflict, while its significance doesn’t prove itself to be high either. All premises reached in this episode was dry-shallow or incomplete. There’s no real insight in Bart’s plot—he lives a life of lies and Marge respects his son to make his own decisions. Maybe Marge should be keener as a parent. Oh yes, and Justin Bieber’s cameo appearance was not damaging but not necessary either—at least they took advantage of writing a warning script to poke fun at fan-judgment as well as their own judgment.
C-
•”Saga of Carl Carlson”-- It's quite solid in plot structure and was fluent in execution for the most part-- the introduction leads into the conflict nicely. I'm glad they tried to reference a lot from Icelandic culture or just took opportunity to poke a little fun and their people; it didn't go overboard. I also think that this is a good opportunity to expand on Carl's former minor role on the show. Unfortunately, the premise and the story's "lesson" attempted too many gags, making it less powerful than it would've been. The scenery in animation of Iceland’s terrain is fantastic and possibly inspiring. This is a rare occasion where visuals are quite ambitious and radical in animation.
B
•Season finale--The relevance and connection that each character made to their goal was done in a good manner; there's a good clash of conflict between Homer and Marge's good intentions. Homer was slightly silly but conscientious (the way he should be), while Marge played well in developing the conflict. There's finally a legitimate marriage crisis that develops on the line that both characters were hiding something, instead of having excessive stupidity, or "bitchiness" of a character. Other good addition to the episode would be character integration of Ben as well as the jokes. Using the train as an object to propagate the plot opens opportunity for jokes.
B+
Based on a general comparison to season 23, we experience a more consistent but lower quality, as opposed to season 23’s oscillating qualities. However, because of constantly viewing bland episodes in season 24, I found almost no satisfaction to leave this season behind with. There are different levels of emotions in both seasons.
Season 23 left good impressions in its peak episodes, “Holidays of Future Passed”—the execution was extremely well done, beginning with a photo album of the kids growing up, and then finally ending the episode with a snap shot of the “kids” finding appreciation in the process of growing up. The episode was centric around the crippling reality of growing up and its experiences, which was why it was so powerful and relatable as a reminiscence to what we might value our lives.
Season 24 leaves us with “The Day the Earth Stood Cool”, which is far less powerful in delivering its message to the audience. I don’t think the insight in this episode came close to the level of HOFP but the plusses from social commentary and its culture adds up to a fairly good score.
Season 23’s peak quality—A+
Season 24’s peak quality—A-
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Oh that's raspberry!
Food-Crazed Maniac
I think this was the weakest season of the show for me, and I hope Season 25 manages to improve. Honestly that doesn't seem like it would be that difficult though. This was the first season that had no episodes I felt were worthy of a 5/5, and there weren't more than a handful worth 4 either. I really liked Homer Goes to Prep School, but I know everyone hated it here. I have only watched it once so maybe a re-watch would allow me to see why it's so bad. If I had to give a favorite episode of the season from memory it would probably be that one or the Halloween show or Dark Knight Court. Worst were obviously the Tim Long nightmares. Looking over the episode list again I remember I liked Adventures in Baby Getting and Gorgeous Grampa, but I remember nearly nothing about the former and the latter was pretty good after the awful first act. I think The Day the Earth Stood Cool was rated highly here but I just remember finding it dull. I know To Cur With Love was liked by several members, and I thought it was okay. The only other one that stands out as even mentioning is Hardly Kirk-ing but I don't have anything to say about it.
Yeah, I never got the hate for that one either. It gets a bit zany near the end but there's some really funny quickfire jokes, a genuinely sweet ending and some lovely characterisation for Bart.
Cromulent182
Junior Camper
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2012
- Messages
- 162
Not one stand out episode. Lost some confidence in Matt Selman. That's about it.
Overall, definitely a less extreme season quality-wise than season 23. Nothing absolutely great, but nothing that made me want to tear my hair out in frustration. Brad really covered everything, so I'll just give my ratings and leave quietly.
Moonshine River: 3/10
Treehouse of Horror XXIII: 7.5/10
Adventures in Baby-Getting: 7/10
Gone Abie Gone: 5.5/10
Penny-Wiseguys: 6.5/10
A Tree Grows in Springfield: 7/10
The Day the Earth Stood Cool: 4/10
To Cur, With Love: 8/10
Homer Goes to Prep School: 4/10
A Test Before Trying: 7.5/10
The Changing of the Guardian: 5/10
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing: 4/10
Hardly Kirk-ing: 9/10
Gorgeous Grampa: 7/10
Black-Eyed, Please: 5/10
Dark Knight Court: 5.5/10
What Animated Women Want: 2/10
Pulpit Friction: 6/10
Whiskey Business: 4.5/10
The Fabulous Faker Boy: 8.5/10
The Saga of Carl Carlson: 5/10
Dangers on a Train: 8/10
Moonshine River: 3/10
Treehouse of Horror XXIII: 7.5/10
Adventures in Baby-Getting: 7/10
Gone Abie Gone: 5.5/10
Penny-Wiseguys: 6.5/10
A Tree Grows in Springfield: 7/10
The Day the Earth Stood Cool: 4/10
To Cur, With Love: 8/10
Homer Goes to Prep School: 4/10
A Test Before Trying: 7.5/10
The Changing of the Guardian: 5/10
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing: 4/10
Hardly Kirk-ing: 9/10
Gorgeous Grampa: 7/10
Black-Eyed, Please: 5/10
Dark Knight Court: 5.5/10
What Animated Women Want: 2/10
Pulpit Friction: 6/10
Whiskey Business: 4.5/10
The Fabulous Faker Boy: 8.5/10
The Saga of Carl Carlson: 5/10
Dangers on a Train: 8/10
Brad Lascelle
The Fallen
I'm with you on an island on Homer Goes to Prep School. And it does hold up on repeat viewings. You had to go into that episode with the mindset of just not taking anything seriously. When you appreciate it on an absurd level with how silly they went with the premise, it gets really good.
Essentially Brian Kelley and the rest of the writers took the final act of The Computer Wore Menace Shoes and ran with that approach for an entire episode.
Cartoonnetwork
I'm not your friend-o
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
- 3,550
>>”The Fabulous Faker Boy”—the second most uneasy episode of season 24. This time, it’s Bart that falls in love, BUT with a sixteen year-old girl! That’s a terrible idea—Bart should be afraid of cooties, and should be annoying the hell out of Zhenya instead. After all, Marge forced Bart into exploring his musical talents without proper consent. Off-characterization takes its toll on easiness on viewers<<
Personally I think Bart acts a little boring and cliched these days and I really am bored of his romances but I don't think him falling in love with a sixteen year old girl is a completely awful idea. I don't remember the age of Laura Powers, but I think boys even at the age of Bart---well, or with two or three years more- can like an older girl, and Zhenya here was actually pretty cute for Simpsons standards. I just think there is not much build up to the relationship as usual. Bart just sees her and he's already having a fantasy about her. What I liked about this episode was that Zhenya realistically wasn't interested in Bart, which made it a lot more believable than him dating and kissing Shauna, for example. I know somebody gives the criticism that Zhenya looked like she was in love with Bart too, but I think it never felt that way. She was just happy when Bart started to learn how to play the piano.
Other than that and Zhenya's dad being kind of a funny character the episode and the conclusion weren't very good and I agree it was mediocre overall. Though I believe I'd have been a little more generous with this one if they hadn't done the Bart love story so many times recently.
I also disagree with the critics of the Adventures In Baby-Getting subplot. I agree it wasn't a very deep subplot or anything and I'd even say it's 'dispensable' but I found it entertaining, and not all of the subplots have always been extremely deep, not even in classic era. To me that there was no real mistery and it was just Lisa learning how to write on cursives was part of the joke. The fact that they find what looked like clues written in a cool fashion and it was just exercises. And the bits with the kids investigating as if it were taken from an old tv show (the Little Rascals, maybe?) were enjoyable. It kinda reminded me of the classic adventures with the kids in episodes like Lemon of Troy.
Personally I think Bart acts a little boring and cliched these days and I really am bored of his romances but I don't think him falling in love with a sixteen year old girl is a completely awful idea. I don't remember the age of Laura Powers, but I think boys even at the age of Bart---well, or with two or three years more- can like an older girl, and Zhenya here was actually pretty cute for Simpsons standards. I just think there is not much build up to the relationship as usual. Bart just sees her and he's already having a fantasy about her. What I liked about this episode was that Zhenya realistically wasn't interested in Bart, which made it a lot more believable than him dating and kissing Shauna, for example. I know somebody gives the criticism that Zhenya looked like she was in love with Bart too, but I think it never felt that way. She was just happy when Bart started to learn how to play the piano.
Other than that and Zhenya's dad being kind of a funny character the episode and the conclusion weren't very good and I agree it was mediocre overall. Though I believe I'd have been a little more generous with this one if they hadn't done the Bart love story so many times recently.
I also disagree with the critics of the Adventures In Baby-Getting subplot. I agree it wasn't a very deep subplot or anything and I'd even say it's 'dispensable' but I found it entertaining, and not all of the subplots have always been extremely deep, not even in classic era. To me that there was no real mistery and it was just Lisa learning how to write on cursives was part of the joke. The fact that they find what looked like clues written in a cool fashion and it was just exercises. And the bits with the kids investigating as if it were taken from an old tv show (the Little Rascals, maybe?) were enjoyable. It kinda reminded me of the classic adventures with the kids in episodes like Lemon of Troy.
Oh that's raspberry!
Food-Crazed Maniac
Well I hated the final act of Menace Shoes, but I just remember finding Prep School rather funny/entertaining/nicely paced. Thinking about it I guess some of the absurd moments, like the ending, would fit in Season 12.
EDIT: [MENTION=24053]Brad Lascelle[/MENTION]
EDIT: [MENTION=24053]Brad Lascelle[/MENTION]
Judge Fudge
that guy you forgot existed
Wouldn't go that far, but it was mostly bad. Dark Knight Court was a nice surprise though, excellent episode IMO.
Ernie said:
Very good analyses! I don't agree with all of them, particularly The Day the Earth Stood Cool, which I find to be the most overrated episode of the season, but you put a lot of thought into those! Good work!
Moonshine River: 2/10
Treehouse of Horror XXIII: 5/10
Adventures in Baby-Getting: 4/10
Gone Abie Gone: 4/10
Penny-Wiseguys: 2/10
A Tree Grows in Springfield: 1/10
The Day the Earth Stood Cool: 4.5/10
To Cur, With Love: 5/10
Homer Goes to Prep School: 4/10
A Test Before Trying: 5/10
The Changing of the Guardian: 4/10
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing: -0/10
Hardly Kirk-ing: 6/10
Gorgeous Grampa: 3/10
Black-Eyed, Please: 4/10
Dark Knight Court: 3/10
What Animated Women Want: 3/10
Pulpit Friction: 4/10
Whiskey Business: 4/10
The Fabulous Faker Boy: 4.5/10
The Saga of Carl Carlson: 5.5/10
Dangers on a Train: 5/10
Treehouse of Horror XXIII: 5/10
Adventures in Baby-Getting: 4/10
Gone Abie Gone: 4/10
Penny-Wiseguys: 2/10
A Tree Grows in Springfield: 1/10
The Day the Earth Stood Cool: 4.5/10
To Cur, With Love: 5/10
Homer Goes to Prep School: 4/10
A Test Before Trying: 5/10
The Changing of the Guardian: 4/10
Love is a Many-Splintered Thing: -0/10
Hardly Kirk-ing: 6/10
Gorgeous Grampa: 3/10
Black-Eyed, Please: 4/10
Dark Knight Court: 3/10
What Animated Women Want: 3/10
Pulpit Friction: 4/10
Whiskey Business: 4/10
The Fabulous Faker Boy: 4.5/10
The Saga of Carl Carlson: 5.5/10
Dangers on a Train: 5/10
Frightenin’ Mate No. 2
a whiz with cold drinks
I took a break from watching after the horrible Black-Eyed Please, and I tried watching Dark Knight Court today, and it was really hard to sit through, so I'm gonna finish it later.
I thought the beginning of the season was the best in years, but it got pretty bad around A Test Before Trying, and it didn't pick up very much.
The high point was To Cur, with Love, and the low point so far was Penny-Wiseguys.
This was the first season that had consistent runs of entire episodes with nothing but cringeworthy, "wtf" moments. I honestly don't understand how professional writers ever found some of those gags funny. They would look for jokes where no jokes were.
I thought the beginning of the season was the best in years, but it got pretty bad around A Test Before Trying, and it didn't pick up very much.
The high point was To Cur, with Love, and the low point so far was Penny-Wiseguys.
This was the first season that had consistent runs of entire episodes with nothing but cringeworthy, "wtf" moments. I honestly don't understand how professional writers ever found some of those gags funny. They would look for jokes where no jokes were.
Let's see what ratings I've given to the episodes of season 24:
Moonshine River - 2/5
Treehouse Of Horror XXIII - 4/5
Adventures In Baby-Getting - 4/5
Gone Abie Gone - 3/5
Penny Wiseguys - 3/5
A Tree Grows In Springfield - 3/5
The Day The Earth Stood Cool - 4/5
To Cur, With Love - 4/5
Homer Goes To Prep School - 4/5
A Test Before Trying - 4/5
Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing - 1/5
Hardly Kirk-ing - 4/5
Gorgeous Grampa - 3/5
Black-Eyed, Please - 3/5
Dark Knight Court - 3/5
What Animated Women Want - 3/5
Pulpit Friction - 3/5
Whiskey Business - 2/5
The Fabulous Faker Boy - 3/5
The Saga Of Carl Carlson - 3/5
Dangers On A Train - 4/5
Overall, it was pretty much an mediocre season: It had some really entertaining ones that worked quite well, such as 'Adventures In Baby-Getting', 'Hardly Kirking' & 'Dangers On A Train', but also had too many just okay, mediocre & weak ones as well as some real stinkers in the form of 'Moonshine River', 'Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing' & 'Whiskey Business' (the fact that the one in the middle is one of the show's worst episodes does the season no real favors either). It's definitely been an uneven season but I'm glad that I've been positively surprised by some of them; unfortunately no 5/5s were to be found in it
Moonshine River - 2/5
Treehouse Of Horror XXIII - 4/5
Adventures In Baby-Getting - 4/5
Gone Abie Gone - 3/5
Penny Wiseguys - 3/5
A Tree Grows In Springfield - 3/5
The Day The Earth Stood Cool - 4/5
To Cur, With Love - 4/5
Homer Goes To Prep School - 4/5
A Test Before Trying - 4/5
Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing - 1/5
Hardly Kirk-ing - 4/5
Gorgeous Grampa - 3/5
Black-Eyed, Please - 3/5
Dark Knight Court - 3/5
What Animated Women Want - 3/5
Pulpit Friction - 3/5
Whiskey Business - 2/5
The Fabulous Faker Boy - 3/5
The Saga Of Carl Carlson - 3/5
Dangers On A Train - 4/5
Overall, it was pretty much an mediocre season: It had some really entertaining ones that worked quite well, such as 'Adventures In Baby-Getting', 'Hardly Kirking' & 'Dangers On A Train', but also had too many just okay, mediocre & weak ones as well as some real stinkers in the form of 'Moonshine River', 'Love Is A Many-Splintered Thing' & 'Whiskey Business' (the fact that the one in the middle is one of the show's worst episodes does the season no real favors either). It's definitely been an uneven season but I'm glad that I've been positively surprised by some of them; unfortunately no 5/5s were to be found in it
Bart's treehouse
withered gas station rose
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2010
- Messages
- 6,037
that one episode I watched was pretty good
