Rate and Review "To Surveil with Love" MABF12

How do you rate this episode?


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Patches O'houlihan

I'm baaaack!
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May 2nd, 2010.

When a bomb squad mistakenly blows up Homer's gym bag, civil liberties are suspended in Springfield when radiation leaks in. Chief Wiggum and his officers put up CCTV cameras to round up suspected terrorists, including Groundskeeper Willie. But when moitoring the cameras Wiggum says that it is too much, he asks the townspeople to help keep the city safe. Meanwhile, Lisa dyes her hair a darker color, as she is getting bored with being blonde.
 
The opening was god awful, I've never seen anything that pathetic on the show before. If they had to along with Fox's stupid Glee week, why couldn't the writers have come up with their own song, rather than using some shitty pop song? The animation in it was nice, and there were a few gags in there with merit, but otherwise it was very poorly conceived. It didn't help that half of the audience probably had no idea what was going on.

It could have been worse though, they could have had the characters singing the lyrics (rather than lip syncing).
 
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The opening was god awful, I've never seen anything that pathetic on the show before. Why couldn't the writers have come up with their own song, rather than using some shitty pop song? I really hope someone (preferably Al Jean) is fired for that one.

What the hell was it? I mean, I saw it, but that doesn't help me understand what it was at all...
 
Indeed the opening was almost as bad as I thought it'd be. Kind of like if you made a music video of The Simpsons with 'TikTok', and it turned out very extremely bland.

A guy named Michael Nobori is wiritng this one, and it seems Lance Kramer is back.
 
What the hell was it? I mean, I saw it, but that doesn't help me understand what it was at all...
It's some stupid promotion Fox is doing for Glee, and they are making mnany of their shows do musical numbers. Here's more:

Don’t miss a note of “FOX Rocks,” a week of music-themed episodes kicking off Thursday, April 29 and airing through Wednesday, May 5. Throughout the rockin’ week, FOX’s primetime series – including BONES, FRINGE, HOUSE, GLEE, THE SIMPSONS, THE CLEVELAND SHOW, FAMILY GUY, THE WANDA SYKES SHOW and AMERICAN IDOL – will feature a variety of musical elements. The week will be highlighted by music-themed night opens including a special music video open to the NASCAR ’10: RICHMOND 500 on Saturday, May 1 (7:00-11:00 PM ET live/4:00-8:00 PM PT live), guest appearances by Kanye West and Olivia Newton-John, as well as all-new musical performances by your favorite FOX characters.


http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/04/0...ursday-april-29-through-wednesday-may-5/47668
 
I was about to ask how Shary Bobbins could be alive. Then the show answered my question.

Also. A musical number in American Idol? Alert the presses! Though I'm curious and fearful of how it will work in House...
 
Anybody think its weird they show that episode on the same day they found a bomb in New York?
 
Anybody think its weird they show that episode on the same day they found a bomb in New York?

They found a bomb in New York?

In that case, it is a little odd, since they usually pull things like this after things like that.
 
I thought the Lisa subplot seemed to work better than the main plot, though it still had its moments. I liked the touch of having the camera company called "Orwell's Security". Also, the Sesame Street gay bar was good for a laugh. It picked up in the final act though, and I enjoyed some of the gags happening in the blind spots (ie. Superintendent Chalmers in a dress with nunchuks). I didn't really like the ending of Lisa's subplot, her speech seemed rather forced. The ending was also pretty good, with the montage music from Treehouse of Horror II, and Charles using a classic Ralph Wiggum quote.

Otherwise, there seemed to be a lot of time-wasting filler, such as the tradition of having a character list things (in this case, Flanders using different words for ass). There wasn't anything horrible about it (well, except the opening), but there wasn't much great about it either.
 
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I didn't see the opening. Thats probably a good thing. The episode itself however was fairly entertaining. Nothing too special but it definately wasn't that bad. I'd give it about a 3.5/5. I loved seeing Chalmers in the dress with the nunchucks. Random as hell.
 
Wow. AWFUL episode. Everything was reused, from The cat food quote to Shary Bobbins. The one thing I did like was that Lisa's hair wasn't brown for the whole episode like I thought it would be. My stepfather says that if the next episode doesn't feature Bart heavily, he's going to stop watching. He hates Lisa.
 
Despite having the worst opening in the history of animated yellow people, this actually had some LOL moments, namely the gerbils (hamsters?) forced down Rod's throat

This episode actually flowed along pretty well and thankfully the Queen watching the "American Oafs" was only a minute gag.

4/5
 
I thought it was a pretty fun episode, but the Lisa subplot was pretty weak

I must say is that me or they were a lot gross out gag in this episode, but they all worked

4/5
 
Oh my, that was LAME. It wasn't STUPID, or WACKY, and they kept that Queen Elizabeth business to a minimum, but that really didn't trigger anything at all. I too like the Sesame Street gay bar, though. That was kinda' funny.
C-
 
I think that I'm fairly lucky I missed the couch gag....in fact I missed the first seven minutes. I'll have to watch the first seven minutes somewhere on the internet. Anyway, here is my review, courtesy of my site, Everything Simpsons.
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I think this episode turned out well enough. I really didn't like the premise of Ned Flanders running a security system, which is a reality series watched by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. I also didn't like the subplot with Lisa dying her hair a different color due to hair prejudice. A hilarious moment in the episode is when Homer bets with Moe, Lenny, and Carl what the weather would be like for the day, correctly guessing thunderstorms with golf ball sized hail. Ned, a citizen running the security system, tells him that it is illegal wagering and that he will say “uh-uh” until he gives it back. Homer, annoyed, gives the money back and leaves, to be hit by the golf-ball sized hail. I also laughed my ass off while watching Lisa dying her hair, saying “Dye! Dye! Dye!” Oh, before I forget, I liked the appearance of the (supposedly) dead Sharry Bobbins. As I expected, I hated the couch gag with the Simpson family singing “TiK ToK.” I also loved the appearance by Brandine, smoking and drinking…then we cut to her pregnant stomach, saying “that made the kicking stop.” My crude humor made me laugh my ass off at that moment. The most hilarious moment of the episode is when we see Homer with a clown mask covering his penis, and as I will say again, my crude humor made my ass come off with laughter. Something I didn’t like was the subplot of Lisa dying her hair wasn’t used until fifteen minutes in, and I wasn’t surprised when the plot fell flat, ending after only seven minutes of showing her dye her hair. I loved the ending homage to “Lisa’s Rival,” with Prince Charles saying to his mummy his cat’s breath smells like cat food. Anyways, I somewhat hope you all watched this episode tonight, because I did.

Overall Rating: 3/5.
 
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:gatorwoot: This episode Rocked!
This will probably be my blondest review ever, but I don't care! I found this whole episode entertaining.. mit many goodt luffs und giggles, Ja?
The opening was sweet as sour gumdrops! a nice surprise
I did nothing to deserve an episode this good, yet I got one anyways... How lucky am I? 5/5
 
All I have to say is thank goodness the writers don't take advice directly from a forum of jaded over-critical Simpsons "enthusiasts" as I adored tonight's opening and the past two episodes have been exceptional for both drama ('The Squirt and the Whale') and comedy ('To Surveil With Love').

Believe it or not, the reception to these episodes over at Toon Zone and other venues that aren't show-specific has been quite positive.
 
Oh, THAT'S what the Tik-Tok song is. Yeah. I fucking hate that song. Cheap mindless dreck, so you'd think it'd match with the show just fine, but amazingly enough the episode that followed wasn't too bad. Still. Shouldn't have done that opening. Remember the days when The Simpsons would say "fuck you" to Fox's requests? I do, and it hurts.

Hmm. I'm surprised the Lisa dyeing her hair plot had as much build up as it did, but it seriously worked. Though the ending left something to be desired, especially since this wasn't just a flimsy choice on Lisa's part but there was something of substance behind it. Ending it on a half-assed speech (and it really did look like they were going the other way, with Lisa's speech oozing sarcasm to make her point... and then they just dropped that completely for some reason beyond my comprehension to have her outright tell it like it is, as if her sarcasm wasn't obvious enough already and making a decent point on how easy it is to manipulate someone with your appearance) and predictable - though not entirely terrible - gag didn't sit right with me considering all of the attention it had before; then again, how do you end something like that?

The main plot played out nicely as well. Really the only godawful part of this episode was the opening. Again, great build up, solid gags throughout (though more examples of people other than Marge upset and questioning the practicality and morality of this sort of surveillance would have been nice and could've made for a series of great gags), a nice, logical progression - Bart finding the blind spot was excellent, and the town gathering together for debauchery allowed for some fun moments as well - and a satisfying ending. Homer and Ned running around destroying things together, and the little reality show nod. Snappily timed and actually rather funny.

Really I don't think there was a whole lot left to be desired in this one (except for Lunch Lady Doris' speaking voice. No. Don't fucking do that. Either have her in the background, silent, or just design a new lunch lady character. Keep her fucking retired). It wasn't really looking to be all that deep, just gag-heavy and some painful, painful selling out in the beginning.
 
It seemed like there could have been more, though. I liked the episode, but there could have been more stuff than what was shown. I was somewhat disappointed.
 
Great episode, I even liked the opening, I thought it was fun, and all the gags with tons of characters were pretty fun. Beyond the opening, jokes were flowing fast. Good times. 5 out of 5.
 
Are Gatorgod, Brad Lascelle and me the only ones who found the TiK ToK opening catchy and even somewhat enjoyable? (I mean, I don't much care for the song but I felt it was done well enough and watchable way more compared to many of the couch gags with Homer getting the raw end of the deal such as the Bumper Cars, Metal Detector, Jump the Shark or Laser Guard system gags, to name a few of the Anti-Homer ones) To the plot, though, I enjoyed it quite a bit despite small bits like the Flanders bit where he made that annoying noise until Homer gave Moe back the money.

4/5
 
It seemed like there could have been more, though. I liked the episode, but there could have been more stuff than what was shown. I was somewhat disappointed.

Yeah, I was going to say that, until I realized just how meaningless the statement was.

Can you give some actual examples? Suggestions? Something a little more prescriptive?
 
Isn't the whole "homeland security" thing 8 years out of date?
This almost feels like an episode idea they had lying around and just kept holding it off until now. Glad I live in Canada where we don't have someone watching our every move. also, Tik Tok is one of the worst songs ever and having to hear that crap again didn't help.

D
 
I thought it was a pretty solid episode. Agree that the Lisa subplot wasn't great, but there were plenty of good gags in the A story. Stuff at the town meeting, the cops, and weather gambling -> Homer being pelted were all funny. I'd say 3.5 but I gave a 4.
 
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