R/R Wild Barts Can't Be Broken

Rate It

  • 5/5

    Votes: 72 42.1%

  • 4/5

    Votes: 71 41.5%

  • 3/5

    Votes: 19 11.1%

  • 2/5

    Votes: 9 5.3%

  • Give me a jerkass Homer adventure!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    171
C

Crotis Jivefunk

Guest
Prolly the best of season 10. IMO, it feels like a very average classic years episode. The only drawback was Homer in the first act. Other than that, it's a winner. 4.5/5
 
A bit overrated, something doesn't quite click when I see this episode - C+
 
Grade: B+

This episode, unlike much of season 10, is actually about something, instead of regurgitating the Homer-gets-a-job formula for yet another outing. The concept of "kids vs. adults" is merely a foundation for its commentary, the value of a curfew as a deterrent to juvenile delinquency and the scapegoating of kids as a source of society's ills. Not especially sharp, it doesn't mock enough of the consequences of such an extreme measure. For instance, in taking the "kids vs. adults" concept, it never even touches upon if such a measure would or wouldn't be a deterrent to juvenile crime, unless you count the kids rebellion as part of the point which I don't think is the case. However, the story's creative enough, with the kids of Springfield staging a rebellion against the restrictive curfew law, and the movie works as a sort of inspiration for their scheme. The song, even if less inspired than past musical numbers, still works, and the jokes, childish as some may be, still fit given the concept, even if I don't especially care for a few of them. And the ending is brilliant, hitting home the absurdity of the curfew by putting the adults under its restrictions, and is probably the best ending of the season. Very entertaining, mostly funny episode, even if it doesn't explore its topic enough to be a classic.
 
Can't really say anything Channel Surfer hasn't, except that the musical number was excellent.
 
In this episode, the school is vandalised, and with no real evidence, the children are to blame and Chief Wiggum enforces a curfew. The subject matter is much more "normal" than the last few episodes, but there's no hiding the matter that this episode is rather bland. Some saving moments including the ending, in which the over 70s place a curfew on anyone younger, Homer's silent-movie recounting of the previous night: "Homer's Night Out," and the musical extravaganza that is "Kids." Even then, the song pales in comparison to the likes of The Garbageman Can and We Put The Spring In Springfield, lacking the same sparkle and humor that made these two special. The dialog in the episode itself also lacks a certain something...let's call it wit, because there was barely a laugh in there. A good tale of rebellion against harsh authority, and some traces of satire on curfews and hopping on the bandwagon, in which I mean the premise was good, but the execution was not. Lifeless and ordinary.
 
I liked it a lot. The first act was a bit "meh", with Homer on the rampage, but it really picked up after this. Some great Wiggum lines/moments, including the funniest joke of the season (see below.) The kids exacting their revenge by radio was good and didn't go on too long. The musical number and ending was hilarious. Grade: A-

"Scully" rating: 1/5 (in relation to other Scully episodes)
Homer jerkass rating: 2/5

Favourite gag:
(when looking at The Bloodening, the kids are confronted by the cops. Wiggum puts them in the van. Eddie shines a bright light shines on the kids' eyes, turning them blue.)
Wiggum: Waaah! For crying out loud Eddie, you scared the hell out of me!
 
An average episode. The musical number seemed forced, was sung off key and didn't flow very well. I am not very fond of the Simpsons breaking out into song for no reason. The funniest part was at the drive-in movie. C/C+
 
All in all, an episode which is made up of some very good segments and some pretty bad ones. The good segments: Homer's drunken rampage through Springfield Elementary; the children's revenge against the parents. The bad segments: a lot of the business end of the episode, particularly the part where only seniors were allowed out at night (yet another continuity-killer). I also felt that the characterisation was mixed; while Homer showed some improvement and the duo of Bart and Lisa was up to scratch; the characterisation of Marge was probably not so much. Chief Wiggum is also portrayed as too much of a sadist. And don't get me started on the musical. I've said it before and I'll say it again, musicals don't (often) work on the Simpsons! They just don't. In the end, I am not quite sure what to give this episode. It was going to get a B+ until the ending. Now it gets a strong B-.
 
Actually, I think musicals almost always work on The Simpsons. I really enjoyed this episode, and it's by far my favorite of Season 10. Just a lot of good, fun humor, a well-paced story, and great execution of the characters (kids vs. adults is an entertaining battle to watch, when was the last time the kids of Springfield banded together?). A-/A

That's quite a large bump though.
 
I think since the R&R threads are being archived for easier access, it's ok to bump them, because this will be the only thread for this episode now.
 
DaRick said:
musicals don't (often) work on the Simpsons!
Click to expand...

Really? Apart from some of the quite poor songs in the Jean era, I think they do. The classic era songs were, without exception I think, excellent.
 
Veryjammy said:
Really? Apart from some of the quite poor songs in the Jean era, I think they do. The classic era songs were, without exception I think, excellent.
Click to expand...

Mate, note the usage of the word 'often'. The only good musical which comes to mind was the one that occured in Bart After Dark.
 
I like this episode a lot and I'll tell you why.

-This episode I think was an ingenius social commentary on how childish adults can be. Adults started the whole mess, adults pushed the whole thing into motion, and adults pushed things to the breaking point and all the while blamed something other than themselves...the kids. Now the kids did childish things too of course, but in the end...they were all kids compared to the old people. What I think is so ingenius about the commentary behind this episode is that the Adults constantly put themselves on a special level, always knowing what was best while the kids knew nothing. But the great irony is as I said, the adults really started and pushed everything themselves. The "responsible" adults get drunk and screw everything up, and the "responsible" adults eat out of the trash, wear panty-hoes, steal from the cafeteria etc.

All their boasting in the end made them no better than the kids themselves and in the end they were all the same. To me, it was a great way of getting the message across that all Adults are...are children who have lived longer. Nothing of our childhoods magically goes away, we just repress them or excercize them in different ways. And adults are just as capable of making moronic mistakes as the kids are, and that one of the most ignorant things one can do is think they're above that.

That combined with the fun little movie going sequence, some of the "secrets" of the adults given out, and the song number all went together to make what I thought was a pretty good episode.
 
Bart episodes were a rare commodity in seasons 10-12, so it saddens me that even fewer were any good. I've never been a fan of this one. Jerkass Homer and his drunken vandalism rubs me the wrong way, and the musical number might have been the first in the show's history that I found uninspired. Everything in between isn't terrible, but I don't recall it being particularly funny. C/C-
 
Man, bloody great episode. Definitely the best of Season 10, and a highlight of the Scully era. There were some great jokes, awesome scenes, and hilarious parodies throughout (I was surprised that I actually understood the Little Rascals thing! ;)). Luckily the writers didn't overdo the scene with Homer trashing the school, since we all know that this was basically the era in which it became "The Homer Show". Great episode from a pretty average season. A+.

A+ - 5/5
 
2/5 (The treatment of the kids in this episode is just so sad & unfair).
 
4/5 B

Good episode. I like it a lot. Plenty of decent jokes, good musical, fun story. Nothing amazing here, but the song at least makes the episode memorable
 
A+
I love this episode, it could easily fit into the classic era and would not stand out, and that's a positive thing.
One of my favourite jokes of the entire series is in this episode - Homer's recollection of the previous night. The old timey movie style was done so well, "perhaps i will wet my whistle", "scene missing", and it even says "an ethanol pictures production".
They make a good point about curfews, and I also think they made a comment about people jumping on the bandwagon when their hometown sports team becomes successful. The celebrations after the Isotopes win also makes reference to rioting by championship winning fans.
The musical bit was great, and I loved "The Bloodening". "now you're thinking, I hope that's shephard's pie in my underpants."
A very good episode, and even the couch gag is one of my favourites. (dr. strangelove riding the bomb parody)
 
It's been a long time since I've seen this episode. But I recall it being an enjoyable one, with a pretty ironic ending.

3.5/5
 
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