Rate and Review: "Hardly Kirk-ing" (RABF05)

How would you rate this episode?


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    119
Watchable and not offensively bad. So decent by modern standards. Nice to see brooding, determined Skinner instead of the typical washed-up, push-over kind, too.
 
This episode was actually surprisingly good and pretty funny. The main plot about the top of Milhouse's hair being shaved off and him masquerading as his father Kirk with the help of Bart and a tie pulled up to change his voice was a pretty funny and rather goofy story which did work very well & the subplot about Homer getting really incredibly good at finding stuff like in the hidden object puzzle book he got his hands on was definitely quite amusing and got worked into the main story near the end rather nicely. There were some really funny moments, like Homer's line about "buying more rectangles", Milhouse's Duffman voice when the tie was pulled up too high, Homer's expression to Lisa after "Kirk" tells him to make her go to the prom with Milhouse & him being forced to eat a bucket of ice cream within 2 minutes (the ice cream running out of his nostrils was a fun addition).

The episode clearly wasn't meant to be taken so seriously so Milhouse being so easily mistaken for his father by everyone except Lisa despite his stilted walk and short arms didn't bother me and the episode ended with a rather sweet note which had Milhouse and Kirk bond a bit (and Homer strangling Bart like in the good old days). Overall, a fun and lighthearted episode which I didn't mind being so short (and a very nice breath of air after the previous episode which simply put was a disaster). I'd almost say there should be more episodes like this one in the current era of the show.

3.5/5 rounded up to a 4/5
 
Much like The Book Job, Lisa Simpson This Isn't Your Life, Moe Letter Blues and Gone Maggie Gone, this was the one episode that made shuffling through all the bland, OK but forgettable or just poor episodes of the season feel at least somewhat worth it. 4/5
 
There was some good jokes but as a whole it was just poor! I can actually see this episode premise being made into much more emotional plot about Milhouse discovering how hard his dad's life is but - nope. Heck! It would be way more interesting if he would have romance with the adult women but it was just a short scene... Heck! They could actually had intence climax about Milhouse not wanting to reviel himself but the girl trying to seduse him. but the way they went here was just lazy...

What a shame :(
 
Watched it again and it was really boring. Nothing happening, no surprises even if the plot is ok. It falls in with 80% of the episodes this season that are forgettable, while not terrible they're not in any way interesting.

2.5/5 F
 
The Simpsons Season 24, Episode 13: Hardly Kirk-ing

I have to admit, I enjoyed that more than I was expecting to. The main plot should have been ridiculous to the extent of being cringeworthy but it wasn't; I found it funny and actually laughed out loud, which for a modern episode is amazing. Although I don't understand why some people are praising the B-plot. I thought it was completely pointless, basically a watered down version of Family Guy where Peter does something retarded that is loosely based to the main plot of the episode. As with a good few episodes in Season 24, if the B-plot was also engaging then I'd really be praising the season as a whole. One of the best episodes so far, although it's still not close to classic standards and the writers should be delivering better quality.

A 6/10, 3/10 and C+ is fair.
 
Billboard: none
Blackboard: none
Couch: A knight decapitates Homer (and takes off most of Marge's hair) with his sword
When the episode was repeated, a longer opening was used:

Billboard: NICK'S VALENTINE HEARTS - Human, Cow, or Mystery (Dr. Nick)
Blackboard: I WILL NOT TWEET AS THE PRINCIPAL'S TOILET
Couch: it started with the "Game of Thrones" opening, followed by the one that appeared the first time
 
Hardly Kirk-ing

Zzzzzzzz.... Episode about Milhouse being an adult. Zzzzzz... Marge trying to avoid educational television. ZZzzzz... Huh, what happened. I'm up, I'm up! Quite honestly, the idea about Milhouse being an adult has not been done before; it seems like The Simpsons has finally found it's groove when it comes to original plots.

First off, they utilize the originality of the episode well. It helps to know that they seem to have a lot at their disposal when it comes to the things they can do; they don't go for unrealistic stuff such as sex, they go for reasonable things such as driving a car and voting or even buying some beer for some underage minors. Every one of these are done in a sensible and realistic way, sure there are times where it's used for the setup of a weak joke but these are all things they might do if they had the ability to act like an adult. This helps in the enjoyment factor of the episode, you can see how creative they were in coming up with these ideas and the best part is they manage to infuse just a tinge of that Simpsons humor whether it's something relating to the schools or Milhouse interacting with another character.

And the beginning of the episode, somewhat good what with it's nearly dead-on parody of Little Einstein and subsequent observance of book stores, it makes me feel like I'm being admired as a viewer and they're going through steps to retain me as a viewer such as actually putting on a good show for once. Sure, some of it may be blunt but at this point in time, you're willing to accept what you got and what you got here is pretty good, they utilize all sorts of humor from visual to observational to even random humor and it entertains you for however many minutes the scene might go on for. I have to say, I was expecting something pretty bad but then they go around and make something unexpectedly good, this may promise that the episode will actually be good.

However, the episode does not live to the rest of the expectations as it loses steam throughout. There was promise in the beginning with clever adult jokes but that promise is lost as they do downtown for an adventure that is frankly dull to say the least. Sights such as the Jazz Club are not seen even though it was mentioned heavily throughout the episode; without something to bring the scenes to excellence, the episode slowly goes down in it's pit of it's mediocrity, attempting jokes that fall flat (like the puppet show) to joking about something that has already been joked about (condo rentals), this original excursion into adulthood quickly turn into just another one of Bart and Milhouse's adventures except this time, Milhouse is bald and just so happens to be speaking in a deep voice just like his father.

There were some things I liked, Homer's ability to find things for one; it was kind of like classic Simpsons, it's parodying the educational value of books while at the same time providing a launching pad for a variety of jokes. In fact it could be said that without these jokes, the episode might of been unbearable; it justs goes to show the value of a neatly written subplot in an episode like this. I also liked Milhouse screaming at Homer to take better care of Bart, it showed the often abused but underutilized side of Bart who just wanted the appreciation of his Father, not to choke him but to love and care for him; of course Bart being Bart, he just had to go for the things he wanted and Milhouse being Milhouse, he just had to go for that often common Lisa bit.

So this was a better than expected episode, it has some entertainment value and much of the beginning was good. However the episode seemed to lose steam around the second act and seems to underdeliver on the promise that the episode set, it isn't unwatchable to say the least but this isn't the best episode of Season 24, it's one of the good ones but it's not one of the best.

6.0/10
 
One of the better season 24 episodes, but still has a lot of problems. Like many modern episodes, it doesn't seem to flow well, it is implausible, and some of the jokes were cringeworthy (Milhouse and the urine enhancer, Bart blowing up a condom...). Overall, though, it isn't terrible. 5/10
 
Actually a pretty fun, harmless episode. I was happy to run with the idea that Milhouse could be mistaken for Kirk, I've gone along with far dumber plots. The jokes were constant but not overwhelming, and the majority of them hit. I agree with others that said it was strange having the jazz club as a plot device but never showing it was weird, perhaps it was a victim of the short running time.And I have to say, I thought the characterisation was pretty good overall. Yeah, Lisa wasn't obnoxiously smart, but she doesn't have to be all the time. It's certainly in my top 5 for season 24. It'd be a strong 7/10 if there was such a poll on here, but as such, I'll give it a low 4/5.
 
what i liked:

-short couch gag

-maggie putting the DVD on her pacifier

-"How kids learned from 1910 to 2002!"

-"You're Tired" book

-"I didn't write this. No refunds!"

-Bart shaving Milhouse and realizing how similar he looks to Kirk

-Milhouse sounding like Duffman

-"Hello Lisa, this is my daddy."

-"And in 10 years, make Lisa go to prom with Milhouse!"
"Dad!"
"Grown ups have their reasons."

-"I wish my dad could've been here to see my parents kiss."

-Milhouse voting scene

-Moe's explanation as to where babies come from{well, where he came from}

-"Marge can I get a subscription for Highlights?"
"Homer that's a children's magazine!"
"What? Where does it say that?"
"Keep reading"
"Highlights. For... D'oh!"

-"His hairs growing back! Tell me your secret."
"He's ten years old!"
"Aw, there's always a catch."

-"Son promise you'll never look like me."
"I sure hope not."
"Why you little-!"

that was a pretty good episode. had a decent amount of laughs and the plot was entertaining. giving this a 5/5. it started off somewhat slow but i loved it later on.
 
Wow, that was pretty good! The idea was original, and it had quite a few laughs, and no really weird or offensive jokes! Definitely the best of the season!

8/10
Classic era grade: 6/10
 
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Just a random episode I decided to watch. Here we go!

Meh chalkboard gag.
Pretty stupid couch gag.
The heck was the "Baby Poindexter" thing? (Actually a couple good jokes here)
Ice-Road Hand Fishing was funny.
The bookstore jokes were pretty funny.
What was the Milhouse pee joke?
Dang, Milhouse is a jerk.

Kwik-E-Mart jokes were pretty funny.
Wait, what was with Skinner and Chalmers forcing Milhouse to vote yes?
How could Lisa tell he was Milhouse but nobody even suspected it was him?
Some okay jokes.

What was that homeless guy with the snake joke?
"Pretty shapes tell me to kill everybody"?
Why was that girl flirting with Milhouse?

Pretty stupid. A couple jokes that made me laugh, but that's really it. Stupid plot as well. 2/5.
 
It was kinda good. I mean, being the shortest episode of the series, it felt like it cut out clutter that was bad. It does however feel like it was a normal 21 minute episode, but jokes were quite good in this.

4/5
 
I thought this was alright. A fun little premise with a lot of good little gags. I like the cartoon logic that milhouse can sound like different hank azaria characters depending on how tight his tie is and the b-plot of homer being good at hidden pictures.

Still a number of things that fell flat, like the storytime reader being a random person, the bit with moe, and everything with baby poindexter. Seems like they ran out of steam in the last act. I dunno, I think they could've written a better climax than "an adult woman wants to fuck milhouse."

It's weird that the real kirk doesn't show up until the end and suddenly the message is about milhouse respecting his father, I guess? If he'd shown up earlier maybe there could've been a more satisfying emotional throughline and bart wouldn't have to awkwardly hold up a picture of him to remind the audience what he looks like.
 
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