R&R: “The Marge-ian Chronicles” (VABF09)

How would you rate this episode?

  • 5/5 – This episode is out of this world!

    Votes: 30 35.7%

  • 4/5 – This episode is no alien to being good!

    Votes: 29 34.5%

  • 3/5 – In space, no one really cares about this one.

    Votes: 13 15.5%

  • 2/5 – Astronomically bad

    Votes: 4 4.8%

  • 1/5 – ...Can I just watch Deep Space Homer instead?

    Votes: 8 9.5%
  • Total voters
    84
ataeaf

ataeaf

“Pretension” by Calvin Klein
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MARCH 13, 2016
SEASON 27 EPISODE 16
PREVIOUS R&R
NEXT R&R

Not feeling unique, Lisa signs up for the Mars One Space Colony – to Marge's dismay. Then, Marge hires Bart to go through the tryout process with Lisa to make her want to quit.

Rate and review after episode airs.

Special thanks to [MENTION=45538]handsome_devil[/MENTION] for the R&R template.
 
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Act 1: Liked the whole saga with the eggs. Whole thing managed to be better. Also like that they took the Family Guy plot structure of B then A, rather than two crossing over. B+
Act 2: I could see this going off the rails, but it managed to stay on track. Also, "Last time I almost killed everybody." The episode depends on what the conflict between Marge and Lisa leads to.
Dog-nappings have increased 30%? Gad Zukes!
Act 3: That was as close to a perfect ad as we've had this season. Complete with the future scene.
EDIT: 4th act: Why do they have an ad break halfway through the credits? Does Not affect the rating.
First time I've watched an episode live .Got a lot of U.S ads which aren't relevant to me. Overall, that episode was surprisingly good. I could see this striking out, but it somehow managed to do everything right.

A-
 
-- "Don't Let these feathery fellows ruffle your fellow feathers" is a pretty poor joke.
** Cutting open chickens.
Flanders is very OOC in this episode, attacking them.
So LIsa's going in 10 years? That's a waste of a perfectly good plot.
End of act 1, abysmal. 1/10.
And now we're getting sexist. Homer says women are more impulsive then men.
* Homer drinking the beer.
-- Dumb list gag.
-- Dumb scrubbing joke.
End of act 2, one of the worst episodes this whole year. 1/10.
Wait, they're actually GOING?
They're not!
* Blue Bronco Beetle
What a terrible episode.
The plot was kind of dumb, and didn't make sense. Why was Marge panicking about Lisa going to Mars in TEN YEARS? She could easily change her mind before then! It was just a waste. And the ending where the whole thing was fake was just a dumb cop-out. A much more clever way would be to have the energy drink cause the rocket to not launch. It would be a nice, funny twist.
And the humor was really poor. I only laughed three times, and so many jokes were dumb. The sponsorship list gag, Ned Flanders lines about the chicken, the scrubbing books joke, the ending scene... Wow.
Overall, 1/10. Only second to Teenage Mutant Milk Caused Hurdles for worst of the year. Bottom 50 all time, definitely.
 
WOW, that was excellent! Maybe the best episode of the season, once again showing that when focusing on one plot, the show can still shine. The opening scene with the eggs was hilarious, and I was afraid the show would run out of steam after that, but it didn't. The feud between Marge and Lisa, which we don't see too often, was fleshed out well and had some genuinely funny moments, and the Homer and Bart camaraderie worked well too. Another positive quality was that like in Deep Space Homer (yeah, I'm comparing a season 27 episode to Deep Space Homer. Deal with it.), they at least made it semi-plausible that Marge and Lisa would be the ones going to space, especially because it all turned out to be fake anyway. I need to see Halloween of Horror again, but this could supplant it as the best of the season. An easy 5/5.
 
Pretty interesting episode actually (I've always found space exploration interesting), better than last week's, but that may be due to Matt Selman being co-showrunner.

Marge's voice was rather weak again... it sounds more like Marge is 74 instead of 34 at times! The flashback to her mom, she sounded the same as usually, but that could be because of Julie Kavner's age actually being closer to Mrs. Bouvier now.
And of course, during the press conference scene, we get one incidental woman voiced by Pamela Hayden, and the other by Tress MacNeille, but at least they weren't using the same voices they always use for one-off females.
BTW, who did Brian Kaufman voice in this one? I can't really recognize his voice...

The credits still say Film Roman is a Starz company, but I believe that will change soon, now that ownership of Film Roman has changed.
 
Simpsons did it! Simpsons did it! THOH had Lisa and Marge going to a colony on Mars. (yay fxx reruns)
 
It was alright, I suppose. The first act seemed like it could've had a better grasp on what gags it wanted to tell. It seemed like there was a solid foundation in gags involving whether Ned's stolen food was truly better, but they couldn't juggle it between those slapsticky gags involving the theft as perfectly as I would've liked. I quite enjoyed Ned's line "I am going to enjoy finding it in my heart to forgive you for this". The rest of the act was reasonably well-done and the segue into act 2 was decent. The guest star's voices kinda shocked me at first; how are these guys both late 40s? They sound like 20-year-old HIPSTERS!!! (no but seriously it did shock me for a bit)

The Martian stuff was okay. I wasn't big on the Consoling Women bit, it seemed like kind of a lame observation that every hacky open mic dude has thought of, but I admit that robot callback near the end was rather clever. I think the ending was kind of stupid - they didn't build a rocket? Really? It seemed kind of a dumb jokey end to something that could've had a reasonable amount of tension if they wrote it a bit better, and the emotion didn't really ring true. For the most part the rest of the episode was pleasantly watchable, even if it didn't serve up a huge amount of great jokes. I am struggling to remember any obvious whiffed jokes, so I guess that's not as big a flaw as it seems. 3/5
 
Damn daylight savings. I assume that made me miss it. Still, this episode is massively polarising so far. Like, more than usual.
 
I'm too tired to write an actual review but let me just say that they handled the guest stars really well in this episode
they're not playing themselves (which isn't necessarily bad but it can feel like product placement), their characters actually play a part in the episode without dominating it, etc.

also I usually hate 4th wall stuff but Homer winking made me laugh really hard for some reason
 
Random observations:

-As someone who hates eggs, the beginning of the episode almost made me wanna puke. :ashamed:
-Is that the first time anyone has ever done anything with that famous living room rug (other than stand or lie on it)? Never seen it be used as a prop in an episode before.
-Homer has coherent parenting advice for once? (and breaks the fourth wall in the process? I'm sure some people won't like that, but I thought it was pretty funny).
-Nice to see Disco Stu again.
-I liked the telepathic conversation between Lisa and Homer (as well as Marge and Lisa's humming contest).
-"A series of near-fatal emotional stand-offs"--sadly that's often true.

This episode was pretty good. Not 5 material, but I'll give it a 4. Not sure why it's been polarizing so far--it isn't even close to being one of the worst. For one thing, I liked the dynamic between Lisa and Marge. They're both pretty stubborn and the conflict and emotion between them felt believable, partly because it was present throughout the whole episode and they were both acting in character. So many episodes try to force 2 seconds of emotion at the end and it falls completely flat. Why more episodes can't do it like this one is beyond me. I also just liked that this episode took place in a new location: sometimes I get a bit bored of the usual home and school settings and the "Mars station" stuff was entertaining. I agree with tormented on the lack of originality with the whole "nod and respond" approach to "active listening" to women's venting (it's been done a thousand times and seems fairly stupid at this point), but that was a minor irritation. Obviously we knew they weren't really going to go into space, so the way it turned out to be a sham was fine, even if it did end quickly. (I agree with Financial Panther than focusing on one plot often works better for modern Simpsons. That seems to be common with Selman-involved episodes).
 
2nd VABF episode I've noticed with Sam Simon listed as Executive Producer. Guess even the staff was too sad to see his name go (or the credit writers just accidently put wrote him in for a few eps).

Anyway, I liked this one. Both Lisa and Marge worked hell of a lot better than last week did, both acting in decent character and working off each other with the mind game aspect (all from Homer actually acting like an serious parent for once). The egg stealing in the first act was kinda eh, like tori said, Homer/Bart thinking stolen things tasted better might've been a good premise for jokes, but it just didn't work as well as it could've. Rest of the episode was solid though, the Mars station having some good jokes (the corporate sponsorships, "Where jazz belongs.", the rocket being fake), and the Lisa/Marge relationship being nice and believable.

Overall: 7.5/10, or 4/5 for the poll.
 
I think the most impressive part about tonight's episode was how it managed to stay so grounded even though they were literally blasting off into space. There certainly wasn't a shortage of opportunities for the ep to veer off track: Bart and Homer missing Marge and Lisa could have been developed past a few throwaway gags, Homer and Bart trying to support Marge and Lisa in the habitat could have taken up more time, the competition between the two space colonies could have gone further, etc. But there's an impressive focus on Lisa and Marge's conflict that Selman usually delivers when he's on his A-game.

The buildup between Marge and Lisa went pretty smoothly through the whole episode, although I thought both bailing out at the last minute was sort of abrupt (especially with the whole I LOVE YOU MOM/I LOVE YOU LISA bit). I suppose that was the point, though, to show that both were willing to wait each other out until the very last minute. The empty rocket was a nice way to tie up all the loose ends while keeping the stakes high for Marge and Lisa. Justifying both of their reasons to be qualified for a Mars trip was also a nice touch, especially given how they often get randomly assigned jobs nowadays (Marge becomes a sandwich shop owner?)

The chicken coop and the fake space habitat were both solid set pieces, the latter especially for actually setting up a space environment without having to resort to the wacky plot of Simpsons Go to Mars. The bantz between the two Space Exploration guys wasn't particularly funny, but at least it was kept to a minimum.

I'd say this was a redemption for The Girl Code for Selman. Nice Marge/Lisa story that manages to use current events and the topic of space without getting too over the top. Not prepared to give it a full 5/5 just yet but it's certainly one of the best of a mediocre season 27 so far, and at least a high 4/5.
 
There's something seriously off with Marge's voice this week.

Do brown chickens lay white eggs?

According to their badges, Barry and Paul's job titles are "Director" and "Lead Scientist."

If the mission's launch date is 10 years from now, then the colony won't be ready until 20.

There's a Frisbee on the Simpson roof.

Do you really want to keep Lisa from going to Mars? Tell her there won't be any universities there.

Either the disposal switch is upside-down, or it was off when Homer threw his bottles into it. Besides, if it was already on, we would have heard it.

SiriusXM's "Laugh USA" channel is G-rated, or at least "family friendly."

Maggie was with the others when they first arrived at the facility; where did she go?

Homer says, "Lisa's my only good kid!" - what about Maggie?

So, did Lisa go to Mars and then return to Earth to become President?

Associate producer Brian J. Kaufman did a voice.

TV Rating: TV-PG-DL
Overseas Animation: Rough Draft
 
A very fine episode. If this one had aired back in the 90's ..I saw nothing that would cause this to be considered a "Future episode".. It's a good feeling to know that we haven't progressed to much in the last 30 years. and for that I give it a 5/5
:gatorthumbsup:
 
The only problems I had were, the transition from Chicken Coop to Mars Space mission was very slightly bumpy, and the end was a smidgen anti climactic.

I'm torn between a 4 and a 5 out of 5.



Nitsy said:
Why more episodes can't do it like this one is beyond me.
Click to expand...

Because Matt Selman deserves more episodes a season

pkkao said:
I think the most impressive part about tonight's episode was how it managed to stay so grounded even though they were literally blasting off into space. There certainly wasn't a shortage of opportunities for the ep to veer off track.
Click to expand...

I remember an interview where Matt Selman said he wasnt a fan of Deep Space Homer because of how unrealistic it was for Homer to actually get into space. I couldn't help but think about that the whole time while watching this.
 
This was another great Selman episode and the second best season 27 episode after HOH. I was expecting the chicken thing to become a subplot but I'm glad it was just the setup or it would have taken time away from the main conflict. Though I liked how the episode explored the relationship between Marge and Lisa, there were a few issues I had with the episode. Like how it just so happened that they moved the launch of the rocket ten years earlier and of course Marge and Lisa are the only ones willing to go but they do a copout and make the rocket fake. I didn't actually want them to go to Mars but they still could've thought of a better ending. The rest of the episode was fine. 4/5
 
Last week episode was so dull that I actually stopped watching it (hasn't happened in years). But this one was really interesting! Wasn't bored or annoyed once.
The story was very coherent, imaginative, and well paced. The jokes were nice (especially all the stereotypical affiliates of independent science team). Great use of juxtaposed character relationships: Marge and Lisa being the stubborn and squabbling duo and Homer and Bart being the rational and friendly to each other.
5/5
 
Gatorgod said:
I saw nothing that would cause this to be considered a "Future episode".
Click to expand...
The whole thing isn't a "future episode" any more than "Rosebud" or "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (or any other episode with a closing scene that takes place in the future) are, but perhaps you missed the last minute or so before the final commercial, that takes place in 2051...on Mars...with a 43-year-old Lisa.
 
My knee jerk reaction was that this episode was excellent, loved all the running jokes in the episode as well. I guess the "heart" in the Simpsons will never be quite as solid as it used to be but it's nice to see that they are still giving it a shot now and then.
 
bomberswarm2 said:
EDIT: 4th act: Why do they have an ad break halfway through the credits? Does Not affect the rating.
Click to expand...

The break was after the Executive Producer credits. The syndicated episodes back in the 1990s would put a break here, eliminating the commercial break that used to exist after the opening credits.
 
3/5

Nothing memorable about this episode for me. But it started early (7:59 PM AGAIN) AND ended "late" (the time "rolled" from 8:29 to 8:30 during the end credits). Bob's Burgers, Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life, and Family Guy all started AND ended "on time". Seriously, the Fox network has some sort of grudge against The Simpsons.

Lastly, I noticed that this episode had no couch gag, and was only 3 acts (with an "epilogue" or "outtake" during the end credits). This is the third episode this season to have this trait; the previous two also had Matt Selman as the showrunner. Is this his usual style of running the show?
 
This episode managed to be a bit better than I expected. With the lack of a couch gag, a single plot and actually some solid writing... yeah this was a Selman episode alright.

The first act is probably the weakest part of the episode, which is actually a rare thing for me to say about modern Simpson episodes as most of the time this little side-act manages to pull off some decent jokes before moving to the main plot. It also felt like it didn't really lead into the main plot, so this was basically a sub-plot that only lasted in 1 act. Nonetheless, there were still some good jokes to be found. I like how Homer and Bart teamed up in this grounded act, and how finding good eggs is pretty relatable to me IRL. It did feel like Ned behaved differently than I imagined, he usually doesn't deny Homer when he ''borrows'' his stuff, yet with some eggs he's suddenly a lot more protective. I don't really buy that stealing food makes it more delicious, but I liked the joke with Homer wanting Flanders to go after him after giving up.

Then for the main plot, its time for Marge and Lisa to take over Homer and Bart's spotlight. The new scientists were pretty good characters, I'm not familiar with the people voicing them but they did bring some good lines. Marge's concern for Lisa is understandable and done quite well, though it seems unusual for her to buy into Homer's advice while he thinks that he knows what woman think. In some way his plan could've worked, but not in this case. Most of the scenes in the airbase were pretty fun, kinda hoped we would've seen more of the other Springfieldians. They did show a funny add atleast.

The episode got at its best with the family joining in, I especially liked the rivalry between Marge and Lisa. The scene with Homer and Lisa thinking the same subject to different directions was probably the funniest part of the episode. I like how much Marge shined in her training, and eventually going as far as wanting to go to Mars with Lisa. Loved that joke where Homer and Bart pretended to listen. The ending with the rocket not launching didn't really suprise me, but maybe they could've executed that part better. And I liked the future ending where the nod-bot took Bart's place, good continuation of a previous good joke.

So overall, its a very solid episode and a good way to end this streak of mediocre episodes from the previous airings. One of the best of its season, in the top 3 alongside Halloween of Horror and Barthood.

4.5/5, rounded to a 5/5 in the poll.
 
That Don Guy said:
The whole thing isn't a "future episode, but perhaps you missed the last minute or so before the final commercial, that takes place in 2051...on Mars...with a 43-year-old Lisa.
Click to expand...
Right you are, The average Simpson episode is so packed with animated goodness I need 3 or 4 rewatches to remember all my fav parts
:shygator:
 
I loved the egg stealing plot and even Homer’s advice about women but it wasn’t interesting after that. A promising first act that ultimately disappoints. 3/5
 
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