Rate/Review Jazzy and the Pussycats (HABF18)

How would you rate HABF18?

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Oh, I really hate giving bad reviews, but this episode was just horrible. I can't think of one single good joke. First off, I would like to say that I am not one of those compulsive Lisa fans who says what is or isn't characteristic of her, but she was just plain annoying in this episode. For some reason, she, unsubtlely, acts like she's the most wonderful jazz player in the world. Then when those two jazz musicians ask Bart to play with them, she is overly angry.

As act two progresses, the story continues to go downhill. Marge gets Lisa a puppy, and then Lisa has a vision of the sickly dog telling her to buy him. I don't know if it's supposed to be a parody of something, but it just fell flat for me. And if that wasn't weird enough, she keeps animals she found on the street (including an elephant, for God's sake) in the attic. Later, Bart and those two other guys were apparantly smoking marijuana in the attic, and a tiger bites Bart's arm. To pay for his surgery, they hold a benefit concert. This scene was also terrible, especially with the endless names of the musicians. Then we learn that they raised enough money to pay for the surgery. Apparantly, an eight hour jazz concert can raise upwards of $78,000 (or maybe it was $7,800, I can't remember...). To top off this wonderfully bad episode, Bart decides to use the money to build a home for the animals to stay. Not too bad, but still a mediocre and abrupt ending.

I've actually been enjoying the recent episodes, and I even gave TMTCTWAHH a 4/5. But this was, I have to say, one of the worst episodes ever for me. 1/5.

EDIT: I just remembered something I like from the episode! :O The White Stripes parody was pretty good ("Hey, watch where you're drumming!") and made me...smile.
 
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"8-hour jazz concert; two songs will be played"

That was a great joke. I imagine that there were some other things that jazzheads could appreciate more than the average viewer in this one. I don't think you had to appreciate jazz to enjoy it, but it might heighten your enjoyment of the episode.
 
The plot was a mess, IMO. It started out reasonably well, but I even thought Bart's automatic drum prodigy skills was a bit sudden (I was expecting that music video drum chase scene to be considerably later in the episode). Once Lisa went to the animal shelter, the whole episode really lost a ton of focus, leaving the Bart plot (which I thought was supposed to be the main focus) in the dark until the end of the act (and that reefer thing? Ehhhhh... uneasy). Didn't like the bit about Homer's wrestling storyline either.

However, there were actually a number of very funny moments in the episode. The Blue Man turning yellow again, (the whole funeral in general), the dog ghost, the mysterious arm behind Bart, and more. Liked seeing the pyschologist from EABF15 back again too.

So I'm conflicted. Humor was definitely there. Story was poorly handled though.
 
...I don't understand how Bart manages to become some drum expert as soon as he taps the drum-set though.
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...For some reason, Bart just naturally took to the drumming.
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Suspension of disbelief refers primarily to the willingness of a reader or viewer to accept the premises of a work of fiction, even if they are fantastic or impossible. http://tinyurl.com/bb954

I've never liked the "how can they suddenly" arguments, especially in reference to animated comedy shows.
 
Much better than last week, very solid episode. The plot was a little disjointed, but there were a lot of great jokes and very few that failed. The ending was a nice Bart/Lisa moment, and a good way to conclude both plots. Probably an A- from me.

Full review later.
 
Philip Carey's Ghost said:
yeah, that must be it. ;-/
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I wasn't picking on people who hated it, I was just stating that the fans who are fans of jazz would happen to like it more. Sorry, I just stated it wrong.
 
i really liked this episode 5/5 the ending was nice i liked the part where bart is playing the drums like in the white stripes video there were a lot of parts i liked, and very few i didnt 5/5
 
The high point of this episode was the couch gag. I have to say, it was beautifully animated.
But the actual episode didn't know where the hell it was going. It starts off with a funeral, then Bart learning how to play the drums, then it was about Lisa being jealous. After that, it spun way out of control. Lisa takes a puppy from the pound, then another, then another. Then animals of all kinds work their way into the episode, and Bart is "mauled" by a tiger. Remember, this was just the first two acts!
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the sudden ending. Honestly, I sat there half-expecting a fourth act. I was disappointed, to say the least.

2/5
 
This episode didn't really do it for me. I'm not much of a jazz fan, and I've never seen the White Stripes video, so I think a lot of that was tedious for me. It seemed like the majority of the humor came from the jazz and the White Stripes parody, and there just wasn't enough other jokes to back that up, at least for me. I guess it can be appreciated more by people who enjoy that kind of stuff.
I did laugh at Wiggum on the ostrich...that was a really cute bit of animation.

3/5
 
This sounds like its going back into the "This is how Lisa should act like damnit!" territory we were getting into in a couple of threads a short time ago.

I haven't seen the episode yet so I can't comment too much, but just try to keep in mind that Lisa's had a bit of a stuck up edge to her since the first season. It just comes out only once in a while when provoked. Its subjective though in the end, how you see the character. I'll be able to better judge when I see this.
 
3.5/5.

Humor-wise, it was very solid. The few jokes that missed weren't annoyingly bad, and the vast majority of the jokes worked well. The White Stripes parody was great, except for Bart calling them by their name, which kind of hurt the overall joke. The joke with Wiggum and Snake in the background was really nicely done, and I'm glad they just had it in the background instead of calling attention to it, which made it that much funnier.

Plot-wise, however, the show was pretty weak. While it was a really fun episode, it's moving in two directions just didn't work. If they had the two plots going at the same time instead of giving one act to Bart and one to Lisa, it might have worked better, but the way they did it made it feel like 2 different episodes and the linking of the 2 plots wasn't really all that effective. The ending with Bart was really nice, but still, I felt it lacked.
 
Bobo said:
That's no reason to act stuck up. ...Well, I guess it is.
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no it's not. there's never a "reason" to act stuck up and arrogant. and that's really the only purpose lisa serves anymore; to be arrogant and self-aggrandizing. i really don't understand how people can watch this episode and sympathize with lisa in the least.

E-I-E-I-Moe said:
I wasn't picking on people who hated it, I was just stating that the fans who are fans of jazz would happen to like it more. Sorry, I just stated it wrong.
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the point is, unless someone just doesn't know anything about jazz, there was nothing that's going to go over anyone's head. "8 hours..two songs" yeah, i get it, but that doesn't make it funny.
 
Philip Carey's Ghost said:
well, that's the last simpsons episode i'll ever watch. i saw every joke coming from a mile away, and every one fell completely flat on its face (aside from the phil collins joke, which was still nothing special). but the thing that really angered me about it was lisa. her character is so annoying at this point i simply can't see any reason why i should watch anymore. just how in the hell were we supposed to feel sorry for her? she was an arrogant, jealous cunt the entire first half, then she collects a bunch of dangerous animals (that she had absolutely no means to take care of, by the way) in the family's attic and ends up ruining bart's talent because of it. and the end is some tribute to her "selflessness"? give me a fucking break. i don't know what the hell the writers are even thinking anymore. it's like they just assume that we're supposed to root for lisa, so they give it that ending despite her deplorable behavior throughout the entire episode. the white stripes appearance was gratuitous, went on for way too long, and really added nothing other than simply re-hashing the video. pointless garbage filler in a pointless garbage waste of a half hour of my life.
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Don't mince words, tell us how you really feel!

I thought Lisa's characterization is fine. Exactly what is wrong with her being jealous of Bart? Think about it--Lisa's the overlooked middle child in the family, and one of her few sanctuaries is jazz. In her eye, after introducing Bart to the local jazz players, that piece of her is stripped away. Plus, it isn't like she intentionally brought a tiger home to attack Bart. Don't be ridiculous.

And her rescuing the animals is very in-character of her. It's very much like an eight-year-old to feel compassion about the well-being of animals, but not considering the long-term costs of keeping and raising one (or many).

I didn't think the episode was a neo-classic or anything, but I thought Lisa was handled just fine. What exactly about her behavior is deplorable again?
 
3/5, solely because of The White Stripes and "The Hardest Button To Button" pardoy
 
Caribou Christ said:
Missed the cough gag; recap?
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Everybody but Homer sits down. You can see a large King Kong-like version of Homer through the window next to the couch. He smashes through the window with his fist and grabs Marge, then the camera zooms out to reveal that the living room is in the Empire State Building. Homer crawls to the top as the sun rises and starts getting shot at by some circling planes.
 
To answer some questions that I'm not going to find and quote, there was some jazz music in the end credits. The couch gag was a parody of King Kong: King Homer (same as in THOH 3) swipes Marge from the couch through a window and it reveals that the living room's in the Empire State Building and Homer's climbing it.

EDIT: Nevermind grissom beat me for the couch gag question, but I guess I still answered the other one.
 
I don't know about this one. The opening with everybody choking was pretty lame, but it got better once the drumming plot kicked in. Then came the second act, when they switched focus to Lisa. For some reason, they can't just do a Bart episode anymore, they have to switch focus to someone else by the middle of act 2. And since I was enjoying Bart's plot so much, Lisa felt like an unwanted guest when she barged in with that animal rescue plot. By the end of act 2, I knew Bart would end up sacrificing his drum career for Lisa, but it felt pretty hokey to me. Lisa barely seemed to care that it was her little jealous fit that ultimately led to Bart getting bit in the first place. Blah. 3/5

I would like to draw attention to the direction on this episode. There was a lot of great visual moments, the White Stripes bit and Wiggum on the ostrich among them.
 
3/5. Doesn't deseve a review. I got bored by the second act.

Oh yeah, the couch gag was perhaps the best I have seen.
 
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TriforceBun said:
Don't mince words, tell us how you really feel!

I thought Lisa's characterization is fine. Exactly what is wrong with her being jealous of Bart? Think about it--Lisa's the overlooked middle child in the family, and one of her few sanctuaries is jazz. In her eye, after introducing Bart to the local jazz players, that piece of her is stripped away. Plus, it isn't like she intentionally brought a tiger home to attack Bart. Don't be ridiculous.

And her rescuing the animals is very in-character of her. It's very much like an eight-year-old to feel compassion about the well-being of animals, but not considering the long-term costs of keeping and raising one (or many).

I didn't think the episode was a neo-classic or anything, but I thought Lisa was handled just fine. What exactly about her behavior is deplorable again?
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i didn't mean to imply that she intentionally had the tiger bite bart, but recklessly bringing a bunch of dangerous animals into the house did cause his injury, so it was her fault regardless of intention. also, her behavior was deplorable because she acted like such a jealous, whiney bitch throughout the entire episode. how exactly were her dreams shattered just because bart also had talent? why the hell can't she be happy for anyone else ever? why the hell should i root for a character that not only thinks she's better than everyone else, but also has to throw a hissy-fit whenever anyone else may actually be as good or better than her? gross egotism and petty jealousy are about the most deplorable traits a person can have, in my opinion, and that's about all lisa is good for anymore. even her little attempts at altruism are usually in the form of self-congratulatory joining of trendy causes. and i also never said this was out of character for her. unfortunately, this is exactly her character anymore.
 
I will admit that the first act was good. Not great or fantastic or superb. Just good, about what I expect from the show. The scene in the church was cartoony, but not overly so; the brief appearance of the White Stripes was actually amusing (as if they routinely travel around like that); the...gee, now that I think about it, that was pretty much it. Homer's noise machine was just alright, and the way they closed off the act was somewhat boring.

Nevertheless, I had fairly high hopes going into act two. And that's when it all went downhill.

The thing that really stood out in this episode was the horrible writing.

"You suck, you suck! *scratches at door* You suuuuuuuuuck."
"It hurts...where the Tiger is biting me!"
"It's like a potato chip going down my throat...sideways. *collapses on floor, writhing* How can you say that? You're my mother!" [seriously...what was up with that?]

And that's just the dialogue writing! Never mind the plot, which I think was lifted from a Full House episode and sprinkled liberally with wild animals. What the hell was going on in this show? Why does Bart feel empathy for Lisa? As others have noted, shouldn't he be angry with her for bringing those wild animals into the house?

This episode felt very tired. It shot its load in the first act, and that was it. It just went through the motions of a poorly-done cookie-cutter plotline. Others have already commented on this, but it really does seem like the writers think that pointing out the weaknesses of the show somehow makes it better. It doesn't. That whole long buildup to the Jazz players asking Bart to play with them was intentionally done in recognition of the fact that it's a very contrived storyline for the "less talented" sibling to be chosen for something great. As soon as the Jazz players are introduced, anyone familiar with sitcoms automatically knows where the plot is headed.

Instead of thinking up better directions for the plot to go -- or a funnier way to introduce that plot point -- we get a prolonged, yep-we're-gonna-do-it-yep-we-all-know-what's-gonna-happen-but-we'll-keep-you-waiting-for-it-yes-it's-so-cliche-but-that's-the-joke-oh-here-it-is-the-moment-you-knew-was-coming-- man we're clever!

And on top of it all, the plot doesn't even make any sense! There's no longer even a semblance of an attempt to make everything work.

2/5
 
This argument about Lisa I just came upon is interesting, so I'll jump in. I agree that Lisa was annoying. Bart didn't purposely do anything wrong to her. It was the jazz musicians that picked him to play with them; why should Lisa feel like Bart is trying to take her 'jazz' away from her? Unlike other Bart/Lisa episodes, Bart did nothing wrong for once, and so Lisa feels that just because he happens to be better than she is, it's her right to complain. If anyone owed anyone an apology, it was Lisa, for being a whiny overreactor.
 
Philip Carey's Ghost said:
i didn't mean to imply that she intentionally had the tiger bite bart, but recklessly bringing a bunch of dangerous animals into the house did cause his injury, so it was her fault regardless of intention. also, her behavior was deplorable because she acted like such a jealous, whiney bitch throughout the entire episode. how exactly were her dreams shattered just because bart also had talent? why the hell can't she be happy for anyone else ever? why the hell should i root for a character that not only thinks she's better than everyone else, but also has to throw a hissy-fit whenever anyone else may actually be as good or better than her? gross egotism and petty jealousy are about the most deplorable traits a person can have, in my opinion, and that's about all lisa is good for anymore. even her little attempts at altruism are usually in the form of self-congratulatory joining of trendy causes. and i also never said this was out of character for her. unfortunately, this is exactly her character anymore.
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Well, I know what you mean about Lisa volunteering simply for the self-satisfaction, but I didn't think that was the case at all, here. She clearly felt sorry for the animals, and even did her best to hide them from the family instead of going into "Look what I did" mode. I don't remember her acting too jealous of Bart, though--really, just for the half-minute after he played onstage, and it seemed like a very human thing for her to do. She isn't infallible, after all.
 
she bitched when they were on their way to his show, she started crying and pointed out how she was on the cover of "shattered dreams" (or whatever) magaizine (again, how did bart's recognition affect her dreams AT ALL?), and she only started "saving" the animals (again, how did she plan on helping them?) in, as i see it, a fit of self-pity.
 
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