Rate & Review: "From Beer to Paternity" (OABF01)

How would you rate this episode?


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Brad Lascelle

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Season 34, Episode 7
Original Airdate
: November 13, 2022

Writer: Christine Nangle
Showrunner: Tim Long
Director: Rob Oliver
Supervising Showrunner: Matt Selman


Synopsis: When Homer becomes Duffman's girl-dad hero, they go on a road trip with Lisa that threatens to expose Homer's terrible parenting.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 2.77 / 5 (as of September 25, 2023 / 39 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.4 / 10
 
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Well this episode was okay tonight. Plus, it was good to know that Duffman does actually have a daughter. And, you know, it was also good to meet Duffman's daughter for the first time. So this time, I'm gonna give this episode 3/5
 
I’d call this middle of the road. The election plot was kind of shoved to the side when Duffman saw Homer’s supposed relationship with Lisa and wanted to see his daughter again. I was glad that all the other characters were only there for one scene; I didn’t need Hibbert, Chalmers, Krusty, and Kent Brockman throughout the whole episode. The part where Lisa said she wanted to listen to k-pop instead of jazz was very strange, but it paid off well at the end when her video led to a bunch of votes for Duffman.

The eventual conflict between Lisa and Homer was thankfully pretty short, although that scene in the car where they were acting as they were referring to other people was a bit irritating (possibly because my parents used to do that to me). The conclusion where he saved Amber by using his chick magnet was OK, but it feels kind of cliche by now to have won someone over by saving their life. I think it could’ve been better. The end with Duffman as Puffman advertising Amber’s marijuana store was quite clever.

This episode felt like Selman trying to inject more jokes into the episode than he usually does, and a lot of them didn’t really hit for me. The one at the beginning with all the misleading signs was good at first, but we didn’t need two more. I also thought it would have been better if Duffman had broken his persona a bit more and been more genuine throughout.

3/5
 
I thought the episode started off well, I liked the groundwork they laid down for Duffman, I still don't know how old he is supposed to be. I liked the misdirection with the signs in the beginning was funny, I think 3 was just enough. I expected a bit more out of the Lisa and Homer conflict, it seems like it resolved itself in the next act, all within a minute. I expected more from the synopsis.

We absolutely didn't need that daughter-dad scene at PF. Thongs, I did enjoy the joke of them being at such a restaurant. Is it just me or does Hibbert sound worse every time he's in a scene?

I agree with @Financial Panther I would have enjoyed a bit more out-of-character moments with duffman, the episode needed something genuine and a bit more emotional weight.

This is a very middle of the road episode but ultimately I think I have to round down my 2.5 score to 2 for the poll.
 
THIS was a Selman episode?!

Then again..... this was the first of the OABF production line.

Maybe they just lost some steam from taking a break after the end of the UABF production run and need some time to get their groove back. Right? ........Right?
 
This was a dull episode. Funny thing was later in the evening a couple of Scully episodes from season 11 were on and actually seemed funny by comparison (definitely more lively..."The Mansion Family" and "Saddlesore Galactica.") It felt like they were polar opposites of what we saw tonight in terms of energy level.
 
Fairly watchable, but extremely hackneyed and tired. Uncut Femmes this ain't. They could have done something much more interesting with Duffman than this. To quote Mike Amato:

Duffman is not a real character, even in this episode ostensibly about him. His house is filled with Duffman paraphernalia, and he continues to refer to himself as “Duffman” in the third person, even in plainclothes. All of this just makes me think this guy has a serious mental problem, like he literally thinks he is Duffman. Hell, exploring that would be a more interesting story, a man brainwashed by a heartless corporation to be an empty, walking shill for their product, and Homer and Lisa have to help him actually regain his humanity.

That sounds like a far more interesting episode than the one we got today.

Selman is worrying me now. Only 2 of the 6 episodes he's ran this season have been genuinely successful in my opinion. This and The King Of Nice are especially concerning in their uncharacteristic blandness and laziness (even Rob Oliver seemed to be phoning it in). I dunno, maybe this will improve on a re-watch. 2.5/5
 
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Fairly watchable, but extremely hackneyed and tired. Uncut Femmes this ain't. They could have done something much more interesting with Duffman than this.
To quote Mike Amato:



That sounds like a far more interesting episode than the one we got today.

You're worrying me, Selman. This and The King Of Nice are concerning in their uncharacteristic blandness and laziness (even Rob Oliver seemed to be phoning it in). I dunno, maybe it'll improve on a re-watch. I hope next week delivers with Omine in the co-running chair again.

2.5/5

Uncut Femmes was shit.

In fairness, so was this episode, but not down to the level of Uncut Femmes, or much of anything from seasons 31 or 32 really. 😬
 
Nah, this was far worse than Uncut Femmes, but to each their own.

IMO, even the worst episodes of season 33 (and 34 so far) were still better than most of 31 and 32's best offerings.

But indeed, to each his/her own.
 
Just watched this episode and I'm not a fan of it, its gets a 3/10 from me (a 2/5 on this poll).

The plot kind of felt rushed and honestly, the Homer & Lisa conflict felt forced. Overall, it felt weird. Amber was an okay character, but Duffman came off as really unlikeable to me, by the time they met Amber, I zoned out of the episode

Marge & Bart barely even appear in the episode, hell, Bart only has one line and I think its meant to be a joke, but I didn't get it or find it funny at all, so he could very easily not appear in this episode.

Also, the girl dad meeting was weird overall, and not just because of where they were, but Duffman's daughter is 30, and while Chalmers & Quimby been there is okay (We know what Shauna is like, and we haven't really seen any of Quimby's kids), the other dads kids are between the ages of 8-10 (although, Hibbert does have an older daughter that is only seen in "Bart's Dog Gets an F" when Marge calls Hibbert).

Out of the 735 Episodes that have aired, I rank this at #663 place between "To Surveil with Love" at #664 & "My Fare Lady" at #662.
 
"Duffman would love to be taught how to speak in the first-person !"

I second what Mike Amato (and so what B-Boy) said about how Duffman and this plot could have been written. In fact, that's what I THOUGHT this episode was gonna be about, Duffman losing contact with his daughter because he's the brainwashed icon of the Duff corporation. Duffman has always been a joke of a character, so even if I appreciate when the show wants to give the spotlight to characters like him now, you gotta humanize him to make it work. Which this episode tries, but in my opinion fails to do correctly. And therefore, most of the thing, including what's happening between Homer and Lisa, comes accross as terribly insincere, so it was hard for me to give a damn.

I don't mind cliché situations as long as they're done right, but even if Duffman saves his daughter, it doesn't feel enough for me, the build-up is too clunky. One scene Duffman feels distraught about not having seen his daughter in a while (the drawing is rather sweet), and the next scene, he supposedly does it with the Agatha Christie museum owner... I guess that's the joke, but the happy ending doesn't feel earned and there could've been much more to it... instead of phoning in a Homer/Lisa argument that doesn't get a proper resolution and too much focus on the election. Just remember that sometimes, less is more. Selman seems to go for the "more" most of the time, but sometimes it just doesn't work, such as what this episode has to offer. Some great character animation and voice acting though, I legitimely believe that they carry the entire thing to be honest.

2/5
 
Once again, couch gags aren't typical for a Selman episode, but are welcomed if they're as creative as the one shown here.

Well, I never imagined I would be one of the contrarians when it came to a Selman episode in the opposite sense compared to how I normally come out of them, but I guess I enjoyed this more than most. But then again, it might help that I don't raise my expectations too high or I was expecting worse.

It's like they knew the Homer & Lisa conflict was gonna be the weakest part of the episode (besides the usual lack of jokes or the aforementioned shallowness with Duffman's characterization), so it was thankfully kept short without having the episode suddenly devolve into a lame ABC After School Special. And I dunno why, but I was half expecting it to be revealed that Amber wasn't even real, and the whole thing was just some eleborate ploy for publicity or something so I was actually surprised to see her at the end.

Do I agree with the flaws in the episode that have already been pointed out (like the scene at PF Thongs)? Yes, but... I dunno. When compared to the rest of the season so far this wasn't lame like The King of Nice or completely full of itself like 22 Shitposts About Springfield which had me nearly falling asleep by the end unlike this episode where I was able to stay awake through it all.

3/5
 
I think they should've gone in a different direction with story, akin to what Mike Amato suggested as quoted by B-Boy: I really like the idea of Duffman having to deal with the fact of having become a corporate puppet and having to get help to drag the man beneath the outfit out of there & patch together his life, but I assume that'd have been too complex for this episode...

So after the last episode ('Treehouse of horror XXXIII', which was an refreshing success) the show hits back with a story centered around Duffman (wanting to reconnect with his estranged daughter) and Homer & Lisa as his companions. Barry Duffman is best served as an gag character but to having him be the center of attention for an episode isn't a bad idea but opens up for good possibilities to explore the man behind the Duff Beer mascot persona & the possibility of finding out about if he has an family was interesting, but what we got felt a little underwhelming & lacked in depth. It had some really good & interesting moments throughout, but it felt pretty surface level with a missed opportunity at showing more of him as a real person (I think that to really make an episode about Duffman work, you'll need to look behind the spandex suit & see him as a person. There were such moments, but it often bounced back to him assuming the persona again) plus the Homer & Lisa conflict was nothing really super new so in the end, it didn't really do a whole lot for me. Still fine though.

The opening with Duffman being in danger of being replaced as the Duff Beer mascot during the new mascot election campaign (as his popularity is going down the drain) was nice & felt a bit topical (as the character can be interpreted as misogynisitc, I guess), but other than the very opening with the sequence of "Duffman through the years" (as I'd call that series of commercials showing the character in the 1950's, 1970's & 1990's) nothing was especially funny (well, that moment of him tricked by a a misleading sign and angering a bunch of women was a fine joke, but then they did two more directly afterwards and it got too much. Felt like a very Jean kinda joke as opposed to one by Selman). Homer leading a private campaign for Duffman with his friends was all right but a little pointless (as we never saw them afterwards) and Marge & Lisa sitting by the TV, scowling & being angry at Duffman was a little exaggerated (I get why they would be irked by his campaign, but they never cared about him to this extent before, but it was still a nice way to introduce the main conflict).

I did like how both Homer & Lisa got involved with Duffman when the latter pulled out an old photo from some Duff event (on which he sits with a younger Lisa on his lap) to lie himself out of a corner by saying she is his daughter. The two confronting him about the lie led to a nice little scene where his real self (Barry) gradually starts to break out from behind the persona: Duffman being impressed by Homer's bond with Lisa & then saddened because it reminds him of his estranged daughter Amber who wants nothing to do with him was interesting (I enjoyed that they started doing something with the character, showing a bit of a regular, flawed guy) & the following scene with Homer's girl-dad group helping Duffman to prepare him for contacting his daughter was OK but felt a little extraneous (felt superfluous with all the characters for a relatively short scene & the dads banging on the glass as Duffman's calling Amber came off as a pretty lame joke, but the Chinese restaurant gag (PF. Thongs) was actually pretty funny; the stone lion statues having thongs was an amusing visual joke).

So the following road trip (which Homer makes with Lisa & Duffman) so the latter can reconcile with Amber, was nice, but like most of the prior parts of the episode, it only had smaller moments & sequences that really stood out. Homer taking Lisa with him under false pretenses (that she could go to an Agatha Christie Museum) felt like an obvious setup for a conflict (as something inevitably would go wrong), Lisa suddenly stating she likes K-Pop and then it goin to them doing a random sing-along in the car was pretty charming (A highlight of the episode; loved that spontaneous energ), the restaurant scene was a nice expositional bit & them stopping at a convention so that Duffman could futilely try get supporters was alright at best (but the joke with Homer having been looking at a fake clock of a mascot was a little funny, but wasn't a big fan of regression of Homer to a dumb careless bad fathe, especially after episodes as of late having shown him in a more positive light where he does a decent job as a dad and even give good advice. Still, a plus was it was an honest mistake).

Then we have the inevitable conflict with Lisa being (understandably) upset and angry at her father for having gotten the time wrong and leading to Lisa missing out on visiting the Agatha Christie museum and refusing to talk to him: I understand Lisa's disappintment and sympathize with her (and her outburst was well acted by Yeardley), but the thing is we've seen this conflict play out a lot before (Homer gruesomely disappoints Lisa in some fashion, Lisa is angry and Homer us regretful & they end up reconciling soon afterwards) and it felt like it took focus away from Duffman (who randomly goes on a date with the museum curator). Fortunately, their conflict got resolved quickly when Lisa, in the car with Homer, found the drawing Duffman's daughter had made for him when she was little; we've seen the following scene before, with two people (Homer & Lisa) talk about another couple of people (Duffman & Amber) but really are talking about themselves and their conflict, but I liked how they solved their issue by talking with each other; that was good writing).

While he remainder of the episode wasn't anything unique, it had its moments: there was an interesting twist bit, with Duffman going to his daughter's condo and being tempted by joining a pool party & when Amber answers the door, it's Homer & Lisa instead; I at first thought it was due to Duffman having gone to the wrong place, but then it turns out it actuallly was the right place after all with the party going on in the backsground. I do think the double twist/faktout was unintentional and it's just the staging of the scene (as it is silent in the background when Lisa and Homer talks with Amber & they undoubtedly would've noticed Duffman), but still kinda liked that fakeout (despite how, as said, it doesn't make any sense they'd didn't hear or see him). The rest was pretty standard, but not bad: Duffman having disappointed his daughter again and she runs off, but he saves her from being hit by a rolling beer keg with his giant magnet (the "Chick-Magnet") which he seem to pull out of hammerspace & he is pretty much all forgiven (it felt a bit quick and cheap, but it wasn't too bad).

Duffman torn between his job and his daughter is the expected dilemma & Him quitting his job as the Duff mascot was a little surprising (but he'll no doubt be back to his usual game the next time we see him) & he dedicates his time to be with his daughter... and then they do the subversive twist that he's helping her promote her marijuana dispensary. It felt like a Scully-ish ending, but not in a bad way and the absurdity of him having quit the beer business to be in the drug-selling business instead was inventive. Yet in the end, it was still a bit of a shaky story, with Duffman opening up as a real person and sometimes reverting back to his persona (I think the restaurant scene with Homer & Lisa was a good example. Every time he felt like a real person it immediately got more interesting, but they often had him turn back to the "Oh yeah!" schtick. I wish they'd just have him consistently opening up instead of having him bounce back and forth) & his daughter Amber was just there, pretty much (a waste of guest star Aubrey Plaza. She got nothing to do). It wasn't bad, but far from great.

I'll give it a 3/5 (rounded up from 2.5/5). Not the most original plot (with a lot of reused aspects & storybeats), it felt a little uneven and somewhat surface level (as I feel they could have done more by exploring Duffman than "only" an estranged daughter plot), some scenes felt a little pointless (and so did the election plot, which they almost forgot about), a lot of incessant jokes (few of which really worked) when this should've focused more on the drama of the story & the guest star characters were so-so (and Homer reverted back to being a incompetent dad I just couldn't really let go). It had its good moments that I enjoyed & it was still coherent and decently paced, but as a whole it didn't fully deliver on its premise & ended up feeling too much like, well, another standard fare episode (I think more originality, creativity and energy would have done a lot for it). But still, I think it was fine enough and wasn't too bad.
 
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Not gonna lie, I was expecting a completely different plot from what the episode description said. Election stuff made me anxious and the only joke that really made me laugh was Bart trying to get beer.
2/5
 
Pretty straightforward episode. Duffman has always been a fun character to me for his quick appearances so I didn't mind an episode where he plays a major role. I do think they could have done more of him switching between his Duffman persona and being an emotional father at the right moments, something he should have been struggling more considering that him being Duffman is what got him away from his daughter. I like Homer and Lisa's role for most part and I'm glad they kept her being infuriated with Homer short enough to not hijack the rest of the episode. Also the whole election part of the story was underveloped and it might have been fun if we saw more of the others mascots.

The couch gag was quick and fun. The opening with old Duffman commercials is some funny stuff, along with Homer already working with the bar goons (apparently Gil too), and Duffman trying his commercial act on random women. Didn't mind the P.F. Thongs joke. I like that Homer had to ask Marge how to convince Lisa to come with her. Also liked most of the convention scenes and that how stupid Homer was to try to draw attention to Duffman. With how unpopular Duffman got I couldn't buy that the museum lady was instantly into him. Lisa gets angry but automatically gets resolved after deciding to help out Duffman. Duffmans daughter was alright and their reunion had a funny conclusion of him helping out with an advertisement as ''Puffman''.

An average episode that took the time to portray a secondary character which I often like. It had a good amount of jokes but for a Selman episode they missed more then I'm used to from him. Nothing special from the characterisations and I wanted to see more of Duffman struggling with his persona becoming an obstacle of getting close with her daughter. It gets an average score of:

3/5
 
In short: the problem of Duffman takes care about long-time his daughter problem was very blown out. And there could be worse with Homer pretends to be good dad… but wasn't [worse]. After the story did speed up all was right: Barry less behaves as D-man, "Homer disappointed Lisa" for another time, reunion of fathers-daughters. It was nice.

I don't like: the weak start of episode, and moments of those elections (were few laughs, though)

I like… surprisingly, much of the stuff. From funny "Duffman the sexist" thing to really emotional H&L conflict.🥲to end credits scene

My favourite moment was Homer and Lisa talk in the car - like transferring Barry's story to them, but in the same time there was space for sympathy. Another tearing moment was Barry and Amber reunion.

Final words: Good episode. If not usual for series exceeded moments and bad run-up it would be really great episode. 3.5/5, but to poll, I would up it to 4.

The first non-format-bender good episode this season. Oh-yeah!
 
A lot of people are calling this unsuccessful, so I guess I'll be alone in saying this was actually pretty good. Mainly because I thought it was just really funny. Stuff like Homer saying why not after Marge said she didnt sleep with Duffman, the beleive women line or just the little moments where he turns off the corporate speak and lets his normal voice through got laughs out of me.

I liked the Homer and Lisa stuff a lot, and even found them talking about Duffman's relationship as a means of indirectly talking about their own as really good, basically using them as a cautionary tale they want to avoid ending up as. I liked the daughter and thought the chick magnet being set up early was really clever, as well as using that to end up at the "every chick is someone's daughter" trope (its a tired line, but the way they got to it was at least unique). Plus it was good that he didnt immediately become the perfect dad. I also felt this had a lot of good "Lisa feels like an actual kid" moments which I always find a positive. This was ultimately satisfying Selman imo and I'm giving this a 4/5.

EDIT: I think what would have probably made this better is to remove the election stuff entirely since it mostly just took time away from the daughter stuff, and he could have quit in the end without that being the reason, even if I did also like how the kpop thing ended up paying off.
 
@Smear-Gel, I think that most who gave it a low grade were just expecting more from an episode like this, where there's an obvious opportunity to really explore Duffman and really delve into whom he is behind the costume and they went with a somewhat obvious one with him having an estranged daughter due to being so obsessed with his mascot occupation & the execution wasn't as good as most had hoped (which I think is due to the writing itself, not Selman as the episode was still coherent & had decent pacing).

As for me, it did feel underwhelming and more of an alright episode at best, but it wasn't bad & had some good stuff (the Homer & Lisa plot stands out in spite of being nothing original; I think that sing-along in the car really helped by adding some energy). Now after nearly a day has passed since I watched it, I've softened my opinion on it some and don't look at it as cynically (I even updated my review to reflect it). It still has a lot of problems (Duffman's up & down characteriation, much of the humor doesn't really work, etc) but yeah, it's not all that bad and does have a heart, definitely not feeling completely stale & uncreative like 'The King Of Nice'. I guess it's one of those episodes that need some time (and maybe a rewatch) to be appreciated more (but I don't expect an 'Mr. Lisa's Opus', to be honest).
 
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Meanwhile I'm the opposite where I was expecting this to be worse despite agreeing with a lot of the criticisms (Duffman's shallow characterization, mainly laugh-free despite there being more joke attempts than usual in a Selman episode, irrelevancy with the election stuff, etc.).
 
@CousinMerl yeah, though I understand wanting a different plot entirely I do think that's a somewhat seperate discussion from if it did the plot it chose instead successfully. I did feel while watching this that Homer ignoring Lisa's issues because of a new friend felt like a retread of Friend with Benefit, but the emotional beats in this felt stronger so its a more successful version of that. Plus, unlike in that were the girl being mean to Lisa wasnt really explored on screen enough because Homer's friendship, the stuff with Homer and Duffman here tied directly into the Homer/Lisa plot while also fueling the rift between them so on a whole the plot is very cohesive and every part of the episode feeds into it's message (except maybe the election stuff).
 
Uncut Femmes was shit.

In fairness, so was this episode, but not down to the level of Uncut Femmes, or much of anything from seasons 31 or 32 really. 😬
Uncut Femmes was great LOL. Liked seeing a different side of a boring character.

I thought this episode was alright. 2.5/5 rounded up to 3.
 
Uncut Femmes was great LOL. Liked seeing a different side of a boring character.

I thought this episode was alright. 2.5/5 rounded up to 3.

To quite a certain wise man who has a blog where he reviews every Simpsons episode ever....

"Sarah Wiggum is one of the LAST characters I want to see get her own episode."

Same goes for Cletus, who was the star of the show in the eye-gougingly bad Yokel Hero and Pretty Whittle Liar (incidentally, both Jean episodes).

And also Duff Man who starred in this travesty we got here.
 
Uncut Femmes is one of those episodes that's mediocre at best because it leans a bit too far into Shallow Parody territory, but most tend to make it look/sound better than it really is.
 
Lots of people defend seasons 31 and 32 for some reason.... and I have no idea why, because those two seasons are genuinely some of the worst the show has ever had. Even the Selman episodes from those seasons don't do them any justice for the most part.

Hail to the Teeth, Frinkcoin, Bart the Bad Guy, Warrin' Priests, Way of the Dog, 7-Beer Itch, the aforementioned Yokel Hero, Burger Kings.... the absolute worst of the worst. Not just the worst of The Simpsons but some of the worst television I've seen period.
I'd be shocked if any of these episodes were topped or even rivaled.

And most of Selman's shows from 31 and 32 are barely any better than Jean's slop (Wad Goals, Panic on the Streets of Springfield, Last Barfighter).
In fact, many of them are just as terrible as the rest of seasons 31 and 32 (I Carumbus, Dad Feelings Limited, PizzaBots, the aforementioned Uncut Femmes).

Seasons 31 and 32 are definitely a big low-point in The Simpsons' history and also some of the worst seasons of any television show, ever.


It's weird because in season 33, there was a huge step up in quality with the Selman episodes almost right away.

(Star of Backstage and Bart's In Jail were pretty mediocre, Lisa's Belly is where it starts), while the Jean episodes from that season and this one are no different from the garbage we witnessed weekly in 32 and before (The Wayz We Were, A Made Maggie, the aforementioned Pretty Whittle Liar, One Angry Lisa).


It's like Selman took some lessons in show-running between seasons 32 and 33 (or between QABF and UABF), because his shows in season 33 and this one are an immense improvement from all his shows from 32 and earlier.

Thanks to him being in charge for most of last season and this one, the show has seen a noticeable improvement in quality, for the first time in like 25 years.


Mind you, Selman can still run a terrible episode from time to time (Boys N The Highlands, You Won't Believe..., My Octopus and a Teacher, and obviously From Beer to Paternity), but on the whole, yeah. It's crazy how much the show has improved over the past year, almost like a divine intervention.
 
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My friend was flying back home last night and he mentioned they had season 32 of the Simpsons on the streaming service. I thought I'd give him a few suggestions to watch during his flight.. I looked at the episode list and blanked out. 33 is so much better.
 
My friend was flying back home last night and he mentioned they had season 32 of the Simpsons on the streaming service. I thought I'd give him a few suggestions to watch during his flight.. I looked at the episode list and blanked out. 33 is so much better.

Agreed. It's like night and day.

I think Matt Selman replacing Al Jean as the main showrunner is the single best thing that's happened to this show in recent years.

Now I just wish Al Jean just left altogether and Matt Selman ran the show solo, or maybe he could recruit some more new and talented people to work on the show alongside him.
 
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