R&R: "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back" (VABF11)

How would you rate this?

  • 5/5: I should feel lucky to have such a great episode!

    Votes: 9 11.7%
  • 4/5: A great performance.

    Votes: 9 11.7%
  • 3/5: OK, i guess.

    Votes: 36 46.8%
  • 2/5: Bad News Bears The Musical is looking pretty good right now

    Votes: 20 26.0%
  • 1/5: I'll never get these 22 minutes back

    Votes: 3 3.9%

  • Total voters
    77

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April 10, 2016
Season 27 Episode 18
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After getting into an argument, Marge takes Lisa on a touristy trip to Capital City, where, after attending a musical, they meet the show’s star, Andrew Rannells (guest-voicing as himself), who reminds Lisa how lucky she is to have such a great mom. Meanwhile, Bart is frustrated that everyone expects his pranks, so he teams up with Maggie to trick people.

Thanks to [MENTION=45538]handsome_devil[/MENTION] (RIP) for the thread format
 
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Those remote linked Wikia pics sure get tiny if you just directly link them instead of hosting them from somewhere else, don't they?
 
? Quite unusual couch gag.
That was kind of unusual
*** Homer's breakfeast.
** Hat on Snowball.
** Ralph eating wires.
* Santa's Little Helper playing sax
Decent start. 7/10.
** Maggie's pacifier
* Simpsons DVDs on sale!
End of act 2: Really bad. 3/10.
--- Terrible songs.
Oh great, now the guest star comes in to fix everything.
And the guest star just fixes everything in one line? Wow.
--- Another bland show-tune. Lisa's singing is off beat.
And another bland jazz song near the end.
Closing Thoughts:
What started out decently turned into a train wreck by the end.
The plot was a fine one at first, a nice Marge/LIsa conflict. Of course, modern Simpsons doesn't know how to resolve a conflict, so a guest star comes in and magically saves everything in just ONE LINE. One line! And then Lisa sings a stupid song and they're cool again. A terrible resolution.
The humor was REALLY bad. The first act had great jokes, some of the best of this season, but things fell apart. So many were bad. The stupid scene with Gil, the musical list gags, the joke with the bus driver, the list goes on and on and on. Terrible job.
And the songs were just suck. The songs in the musical were terrible, bland show tunes, and Lisa's song was just awful, especially her singing.
Overall, just a 4/10 episode. Shame, it started out quite decent.
 
This episode's pacing was extraordinarily poor. It featured, like, a ton of extended, overlong jokes but rushed through the supposedly important/emotional scenes. The plot with Marge and Lisa feels like something the show's already done hundreds of times and the emotional beats were really basic stuff. Don't remember laughing a lot either, and Andrew Rannells was a boring guest star (none of the He Isn't Famous gags were funny). Yeah, Jeff Martin lettin' me down. 2/5
 
also [MENTION=66458]The Egg Council Creep[/MENTION] this thread's poll isn't public TAKIN U TO TASK!!!!

(but seriously, make them public)
 
Well, this could've been a hell of a lot better if they had switched around the plots. There's never been a Bart/Maggie episode before, and it got what, all of five minutes? Most of the episode was just Lisa getting mad at Marge and Marge trying to make it up to her by putting in a forced guest appearance to make her change her ways, which was also forced. It also wasn't funny, especially in its humorless parody of The Bad News Bears. 2/5, but only because of the subplot that should've been the main plot.
 
I thought it was pretty enjoyable. For once the pop culture references made sense and we got to see some great character interactions. I loved the subplot with Bart and Maggie, that's something we haven't seen much of. We also had some nice references to past episodes like the return of Archie's gang and Capitol City being like NYC. I haven't enjoyed watching a new episode since Halloween of Horror or Barthood. My only complaint is that The Burns Cage wasn't a two parter like how it was advertised. 5/5
 
Eh, not that good. The main plot had a good conflict going on until the Bad News Bears thing (wasn't really that funny, but strangely makes me wanna listen to the Planet of the Apes musical from "A Fish Called Selma" again). Then the random guest star comes in a manages to make Lisa see the error of her ways in just one sentence (he just feels put in there for no reason at all, I prefer it when guest stars actually play characters, not themselves, who are actually relevant to the plot). The song at the end I didn't find too catchy and took up what little time they had to actually develop an emotional moment. The subplot was a little better, Bart shouldn't be surprised that no one is fooled by his pranks anymore (the ol' money-fishwire bait trick is an old trick, he's had more creative pranks in the past... and the ones he considers pranks like dismantling the school's structure), but it was nice seeing him bonding with Maggie and there were a lot of sweet moments (the hair gag was a highlight as well). Overall a meh episode, the subplot should've been the main plot (or at least given some more focus).
 
Ten-second FOX 25 News promo always comes first!

LOL at the chalkboard gag: "Never lose a bet to Bart Simpson," with Principal Skinner writing on the chalkboard.

Love Jughead's came with the rest of the Archie characters. I also liked seeing Shary Bobbins make a cameo, along with spoofs of Paddington Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh (as a gay couple!), and the "Downtown" song. It was also interesting seeing Harry Shearer voicing an on-screen announcer in a modern episode for a change (instead of just the usual off-screen ones.)
And when Ralph bites the electrical wires ("wall licorice"), they used that Hanna-Barbera "bite" sound effect again. Kind of odd hearing the Hanna-Barbera sounds used with the Simpsons...

Marge is still sounding like she's 74 years old instead of 34 (especially when she cries)...
It was funny seeing Bart do the "totem pole trench" trick with Maggie on top. That kangaroo bit was also funny.
That Season 17 DVD disclaimer was also rather amusing.
I also liked the stagehand accidentally pulling down the Avenue Q set and the Audrey II prop. I also enjoyed referencing the "Aaah! Sideshow Bob!" cliche, and seeing the "Itchy" costumed character getting arrested (another spoof of the fake characters in Manhattan?)
Lisa's performance of the "Don't Rain on My Parade" song was pretty good.

Actually, I found this episode rather entertaining. I'd probably give it a 3.5 out of 5, as it was good for some corny jokes.
 
Did anyone else feel the pace was super fast?

I wonder if that was due to being written by someone who wrote for the show when the pace was faster than it is now?
 
Wouldn’t a more appropriate title be “How Marge Got Her Lisa Back” since the episode is about Marge trying to win back Lisa’s love?
 
2/5, and that's with Yeardley belting out "Don't Rain on My Parade" (and no, it wasn't rated higher without it)

Wasn't the original version of "The Homer" a darker shade of green?

It's "Capital City" with an "A" this month.

Speaking of which, why did they fly there? In the past, it has always been within driving distance.

Maggie also had pacifiers in her ears to drown out Lisa's saxophone playing in "Lisa's Rival."

The Spay & Neuter truck played, "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"

I hope Jim Lang got residuals for his musical Rats (which first appeared on Hey Arnold! almost 20 years ago).
 
As neat as it was to see Jeff Martin write some more showstopping musical numbers, it came at the expense of the episode's development and left the plot as mediocre as any Lisa/Marge one we've seen lately. I suppose at the very least it was nice that they kept the main conflict just focused on the whole Marge hates jazz bit so as to not get overly ambitious with the limited time they had. Same goes with the subplot, which follows the relatively basic storyline of Bart befriends Maggie --> Bart and Maggie get pranking --> Bart stops for good of Maggie. The less convoluted plots are maybe one of the better developments I've seen in this season in general, although I suppose not everyone prefers these relatively unremarkable and undeveloped plots to wacky nonsensical adventures.

The ending of tonight's ep was maybe the weakest part - for the subplot, Homer suddenly changing Bart's mind about the pranks came out of nowhere, especially considering the scenes before it were showing Bart and Maggie enjoying pranking without any real effect on Maggie. And for the main plot, I guess the idea was to have Lisa appreciate how Marge has to fake enjoying jazz, but a tearful hug isn't really enough to get that across. Marge sort of getting into jazz at the very end (without Lisa realizing it) was a nice touch though. (sidenote: why is there a fourth act with a scene, then the EP credits, and another scene, then finally the rest of the credits now? kinda weird way to finish the ep)

Bart inexplicably becoming Maggie's friend with the help of a montage was pretty bad for development, as was Andrew Rannells coming out of nowhere to deliver that speech to Lisa. So were Bart's increasingly lame pranks. (like...porcelain Maggie wh) Also WHY does Capital City inexplicably become New York toward the end?

Overall a good try from Jeff Martin with some nice showtunes but he wasn't the miracle needed to save season 27. 3/5 on poll
 
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I'm pretty much with That Don Guy on this one. Yeardley musical numbers usually go a long way to propping up my scores but not so much tonight where it felt like filler. In fact, there was a metric ton of filler tonight (of the non-funny modern Simpson pun retread mold) to pad the episode and do the utmost possible not to develop the subplot in any fashion and to hastily rush through the emotional beats of the main plot with the subtlety of a Ralph joke.

This was really more of a 2.25/5 for me but I felt like bumping up the curve in my vote in the poll. Just all-around terrible execution and a waste of bringing Jeff Martin back.
 
I seem like the only one who enjoyed it. For one, I don't care if it was a guest star who reunited them. What he said was true. Honestly, I feel this was "Lisa Simpson, This isn't Your Life" done right (no face at the end!). Plus, it was nice to hear him do vocal work again. He hasn't done so since many flash-in-the-pan cartoons of years past.

The Bart/Maggie subplot was rather cute too. I don't think the two have ever really done much together since... since "Some Enchanted Evening" back in season one!

I knew something seemed very "classicy" about the songs. I loved all the Broadway signs too.

4 out of 5.
 
Act 1:
-Couch gag bleh, but short.
-Another China labor joke.
-Moleman and Kirk's reactions to Bart's lame prank kinda funny.
-Marge then bluntly announces she doesn't like jazz, kicking off the episodes plot.

Act 2:
-Another complaint that Lisa's the unloved middle child.
-Marge cool with elf boobs.
-Bart + Maggie a neat pairing to see, wish we could've seen more of this plot honestly.
-"Anything BUT Ordinary" hot dog vendor.
-Shit line of parody posters.
-Emotion still very generic and samey to the many previous Lisa/Marge eps.
-This is what, the 3rd time this year we've had the two crying together on screen?

Act 3:
-Never seen Bad News Bears, still a very underwhelming musical parody compared to the many other ones they've done.
-Forced smile just reminds me of Moaning Lisa.
-More phoned in references, cause they gotta put in as many as possible, whether sense or not.
-Hi guest star, you're neither funny nor memorable, yet solve the episodes plot somehow.
-Homer almost strangles a baby...hah?
-Bart with Lisa hair kinda funny. Sideshow Bob line ruined it.
-Guest star museum cameos kinda cool to still see, just noticing which past characters we can notice.
-Lisa song is okay I guess, references are shit, but it's short and sung fine.

Underwhelming, but not too offending of an episode. Neither of the plots were developed well, main plot's attempts at emotion feeling kinda phoned in and similar to many other Lisa/Marge moments, and just needing a guest star and weak hug between the two to end it, and the b-plot, while being a decent idea with a new character pairing, wasn't given enough screen time to be more than a few series of jokes. Nothing too aggravating (aside from a few awful references), but still an underwhelming episode.

6/10, or 3/5 for the poll. Good to see you write again Jeff, but not even classic writers like you could save this show now.
 
I'm pretty much with That Don Guy on this one. Yeardley musical numbers usually go a long way to propping up my scores but not so much tonight where it felt like filler. In fact, there was a metric ton of filler tonight (of the non-funny modern Simpson pun retread mold) to pad the episode and do the utmost possible not to develop the subplot in any fashion and to hastily rush through the emotional beats of the main plot with the subtlety of a Ralph joke.

This was really more of a 2.25/5 for me but I felt like bumping up the curve in my vote in the poll. Just all-around terrible execution and a waste of bringing Jeff Martin back.

At least there’s always Moaning Lisa.
 
It was okay. I liked how they tried to explore Lisa and Marge's relationship but most of the emotion fell flat and they could have thought of a better way to solve the conflict than have some random guest star of the week show up. The subplot was actually a lot more interesting. 3/5

Best Moment: The Sideshow Bob gag. It actually made me laugh based on how stupid it is

Worst Moment: I refuse to believe Homer would be unable to recognise his own daughter and find it more disturbing than funny that he was about to strangle and infant child.
 
Sadly. I didn't think this was a really good episode. To start, the chalkboard gag was pretty funny, but the couch gag was just ok.

The main plot itself felt pretty rushed- Marge revealing she's always hated jazz feels random and seems to come out of nowhere. Homer happily saying that he and Marge can bond better because they both hate jazz feels like a pretty rude thing for him to say. Lisa bending backwards to get out of a hug was pretty funny. The flashback with Marge and Lisa was cute, but Abe randomly showing up wasn't very funny. I'm not sure if Marge having white pearls in that scene was meant to be a coloring error or not. Then Marge randomly forces Lisa to go on a trip that also seems to come out of nowhere with no build-up. The sax scene was pretty pointless since Lisa is never seen with her sax again while on the trip. The various musicals with American Idol winners was a little bit funny, but went on too long. The "Buy Season 17 DVD's!" joke was really good though. The actually musical went on way too long and I didn't find any of it to be funny. Marge having white pearls again still confuses me. The special guest star going to dinner with the two was also random. Lisa saying that Bart is going to get executed when he grows up was a really cruel thing for her to say. I will admit that I did like that the guest star called out Lisa on being rude to Marge and for telling him, a random stranger, personal things about her family. Still, Marge and Lisa bonding again because of one line from the guest star was really lame- I would have preferred if it had been Marge instead calling out Lisa on being unappreciative of her. Then Lisa randomly sings a forgettable song just to kill two more minutes. Marge and Lisa back on the bus was also unnecessary.

The sub-plot was much better and more interesting, but needed more focus and a better ending. Moleman, Ralph, and Kirk not following for Bart's pranks was funny, but Cletus' line was pretty bad. The Archie gang showing up and talking about how sad it is that Archie died confuses me, because I'm not sure if it's an intentional reference or not to when they actually killed off Archie in Life With Archie- I mean, the story is almost two years old, but then again, this is the Simpsons, so an outdated reference wouldn't surprise me. Bart reminiscing about a prank where Skinner happily opens a jar of peanut brittle annoyed me because a previous episode said that Skinner had a deadly allergy to peanuts (and yes, I know that the Simpsons have always been inconsistent about this kind of thing, and I wouldn't have cared if it was a one-off gag, but come on, they did an entire episode about the peanut allergy). Bart hanging out with Maggie was a lot of fun to watch and it was cute to see the two actually enjoy hanging out. The montage was also pretty good. Bart and Maggie pranking people was fun, but they only did like three pranks together. Gil admitting he's dropped plenty of babies before was really horrifying. Unfortunately, the sub-plot also has a pretty lame ending with some pretty bad jokes- Homer almost strangling Maggie made me feel uncomfortable, even if Bart stopped him from doing so. Homer outright admitting he'll kill himself if any of his other kids start acting like Bart and then telling Bart that the best thing he can do is make sure Maggie never becomes like him were terrible lines and are some of the worst things he's said to his kids in a long time. Then Bart randomly agrees with him, even though Maggie seems to be just fine, and the sub-plot just ends. The hair gag was pretty funny. I was disappointed that there was no follow-up to the sub-plot in the final scene by having Maggie prank Lisa or Marge though.

The special guest star was very bland or forgettable. I don't know who he is, but he didn't do anything memorable or interesting, and having him resolve Marge and Lisa's conflict was a lame cop-out, even if he was right to call out Lisa. His voice work was also pretty bland. The final scene felt unnecessary and confusing- Lisa randomly goes to the treehouse with the nerds (and Milhouse) and they start playing jazz while Homer takes out the trash. Marge throwing away Maggie's toy sax because of her hated of jazz was terrible, not only because it was a complete jerk move for her to do that, but it also shows that she clearly learned nothing from the trip about supporting someone even if your not a fan of what they do.

Overall, this was a really disappointing episode. The main plot was too rushed and forced, some of the jokes went on too long and there was a lot of filler, the endings to both plots were rushed and disappointing, the special guest star was really bland this time, and the final scene was unnecessary. The sub-plot was really fun to watch outside of some really bad jokes and the lame ending, and about half of the jokes in this episode were really funny. It makes me wished they had switched it so that Bart and Maggie teaming-up had been the main focus instead, especially since we already had a focus episode about Marge and Lisa's bond falling apart only two episodes ago.

2/5
 
-This is what, the 3rd time this year we've had the two crying together on screen?
Not just this year... that actually makes it sound better than what it is.
Try the 3rd time over the past 4 episodes. Production order mirrors the broadcast order too so scheduling can't even be used as an excuse.
And not a single one of these instances comes close to replicating the genuine emotion and tension found in the similar scene in Pay Pal.

That's what really pisses me off about this run. It's like they recognized they had tapped into something great in that episode (which they did) but they didn't understand why it was effective or why it was such a let-down within that episode because they kicked off the build for that subplot at the 13-minute mark after two acts of unrelated nonsense. And instead of recognizing the missteps and executing something better, we instead get watered down versions of the same scene that only seem to do a disservice to the emotion that Pay Pal brought in the first place. So we wind up with two terrible episodes with poor pacing (Lisa the Veterinarian - which had a solid opening act - and How Lisa Got Her Marge Back - which at least had a solid premise prior to the writers electing to revel in padding and Broadway puns and filler at the expense of any sort of storyline beyond the original conflict) and one episode that turned out OK despite some logic gaps (The Marge-ian Chronicles).

Incidentally, it would have made a lot more sense for Lisa to give up playing her saxophone here out of spite than it did when she gave it up in Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life. I actually think there's a good episode to be found out there if you took the conflict of that episode (Lisa doesn't want to grow up to be her mother due to not respecting homemakers), the conflict of this episode (Marge retorts that she secretly hates jazz) and the blow-up conflict and charged emotion of Pay Pal - if they were all contained within a singular story that was allowed to breathe and develop organically instead of the poorly executed slapdash efforts we've been given instead.

6/10, or 3/5 for the poll. Good to see you write again Jeff, but not even classic writers like you could save this show now.
I think Vitti could. And I actually think almost all of the classic writers could if Selman was steering their ship instead of Jean encouraging the nostalgia trip cup of coffee with the writers' room filling in the gaps.

Also, I find it amusing that Lisa had more of a Broadway-style musical showcase as filler in this episode than she did in Lisa With an 'S' earlier this season where she supposedly had her breakout as a Broadway music star.

These writers should bar themselves from lampooning stage musicals going forward until this show gets the axe. Matt & Trey write circles around them when it comes to parodying musical theater.
 
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5/5

It was a bit bland at times, but I thought this was a coherent episode from start to finish! We had some rather rare Lisa/Marge and Bart/Maggie plots, with Bart returning to his old "let's pull of a prank" ways.

Near the end of Act 1, did anyone notice that Santa's Little Helper's color was a bit off?

Speaking of which, why did they fly there? In the past, it has always been within driving distance.

Bart flew to Capital City in "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore". However, in both "Homerpalooza" and "The Principal and the Pauper", Capital City and Springfield are 30 miles apart. Consistency, please!
 
I loved the sub-plot (less the main plot), bart and maggie were so cute and funny togheter. And they took 27 seasons for make an episode like this.
 
Not awful, but a reasonably good effort for the HD era. 3.5/5
The giant Walter Matthau head was the best gag of the show.
 
I'm kinda suprised to see so much negativity on this episode, I quite enjoyed it myself. And it doesn't happen often that my opinion on a modern episode differs that much from others. The thing that I like a lot in this episode is that Homer once again gets sidelined so all the other family members (even Maggie!) gets the most screentime. It seems that this has been a case in a lot of episodes this season. To start off, the couch gag started off fun with Skinner being the one doing the chalkboard gag, but I didn't get the joke with the scene in the spaceshuttle as I've no idea why Homer would be the one that died.

Continuing to the main plot, apparently Marge has never liked Jazz without Lisa knowing, yet we haven't seen her dislike towards it before. I don't think the plot was that rushed, but it could've been better at some places. Like why was she even really that mad, is it because Marge has pretended for so long to like jazz, or simply because of the fact that she doesn't like that musicstyle? It occured some funny and somewhat sweet scenes like Marge trying to hug Lisa, and how Marge gave Lisa new peals in a flashback. Having Marge wanting to spend a weekend with Lisa is relatable for that matter, having an angry Lisa around wasn't as bad as I expected. The scenes with the dream tour and Marge witnissing some broadway commercials took way to long and didn't do much to me, a common flaw in this episode is stretching out their joke scenes for to long while the emotional aspect is kept on a short leash. The hotel scene was good, but the emotion felt a bit forced at times. I like how they brought up the 17 seasons advertisement (while it is actually 18 seasons when you include season 20). The musical scene is meh and drags on a bit to long, I liked the jokes with Marge and Lisa in the audience more like leaning with their arms and Lisa pretending to mother herself. I didn't care much for the quest star and I just looked at him as some celebrity from their universe, and this plot just kinda ended when Lisa realised she was being annoying... and to finish it off yet another musical song. At that point I was pretty tired of all the songs.

The subplot is probably the more enjoyable one to me, its already unique that its the first time Bart and Maggie team up in the show. Only took them 27 seasons to do so. I thought the episode started out well with an outdated joke from Bart, Molemans joke was good, Cletus not so much, the Van Houtens were meh, but it was a nice suprise to see characters from another show step in and make fun at Barts outdated prank. The football commercial was pretty fun, apparently Shary Bobbins returns despite being killed off before. That one scene with Bart and Ralph at school happened and ended so sudden, it felt unnecesary as we already knew that everyone finds Barts jokes not that good at that point. But I guess they really wanted to show that not even Ralph can be fooled, oh and apparently Ralph is pretty strong to walk trough a wall. Then another sudden scene with Bart throwing some physical prankgear away, with a continuity error where Skinner likes peanuts. But once Bart gets to hold Maggie, thats when the jokes finally come. I can say I pretty much loved them all, using Maggie's pacifier as a swing, Maggie rpetending to be tall, the rollercoaster scene, the fighting scene with Gerald, Maggie pretending to be an angel, they were all good. But then the plot just ends with one last prank to make Maggie look like Bart, I thought it looked funny and how Homer almost strangled Maggie, and how he's not okay with it despite choking Bart so often. Its a very good subplot with some great jokes, but it felt way to short.

Overall I'm just suprised that this episode isn't well liked, when you look at all the flaws I'd call it average at worst. But I enjoyed it for what it was, 2 good plots where Homer atleast isn't involved in that much. I wish they asked Matt Selman to write this episode instead, feels like it would've been way better. What I liked the least about this episode is the ending for the main plot, as it felt rushed with to many musical scenes. And how short the subplot turned out to be, it feels like they spended way to long to make Barts prank fail to work, rather then giving some more screentime with the Bart/Maggie duo. For the rest some emotion missed, but for most of the part I liked Marge's and Lisa's chemistry.

4/5
 
I wish the episode was about Bart and Maggie instead of Lisa and Marge.

Is it me, or the ONLY good Lisa episode is 'Lisa's Substitute?'
 
I wish the episode was about Bart and Maggie instead of Lisa and Marge.

Is it me, or the ONLY good Lisa episode is 'Lisa's Substitute?'
There are plenty of good Lisa episodes. We even had one earlier this season called Halloween of Horror.
This just wasn't one of them. (That said, one could make an argument for Lisa's Substitute being the best of them.)
 
I'm kinda suprised to see so much negativity on this episode, I quite enjoyed it myself.

You're not the only one. I agree with the majority of what you said, but...

I like how they brought up the 17 seasons advertisement (while it is actually 18 seasons when you include season 20).

It said Season 17, not 17 seasons.

and to finish it off yet another musical song. At that point I was pretty tired of all the songs.

I kinda liked all the songs, but then again, I rather enjoy musical episodes of anything. The last song didn't have any satirical lyrics in it, but I enjoyed the performance anyway.

oh and apparently Ralph is pretty strong to walk trough a wall.

I thought the joke was that the school is so poor that the walls aren't reinforced.
 
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