Rate & Review: "Meat Is Murder" (UABF13)

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Brad Lascelle

Brad Lascelle

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Season 33, Episode 21
Original Airdate: May 15, 2022

Writer: Michael Price
Director: Bob Anderson
Showrunner: Matt Selman
Co-runner: Rob LaZebnik

Synopsis: Grampa finds himself in a pickle when his hidden hamburger past comes back to "ketchup" with him.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 2.95 / 5 (as of September 23, 2022 / 21 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 5.8 / 10
 
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Well... This episode wasn't really too bad tonight, and this time I'll have to go for 4/5
 
3.5/5 rounded to a 3.

The TikTok star who I know the name of but will not name should not have been in this and it was a mistake to put her in this
 
I think this was a solid one, especially the third act. I wasn’t really gripped at first; as I’ve said before, Krusty-heavy episodes tend to be weaker for me, but as the episode set up its story, it started becoming more interesting. The story really did have a lot of depth to it, and it wove some nice Lisa/Grampa relationship bits into it too. After establishing Gus’ rise to power aand his desire to have Grampa help him, the episode added even more meat (heh) to its plot by having the daughter manipulate Lisa into overthrowing Gus so she could take control of the dynasty. I admired the episode’s ability to stuff all of this into an episode, and it was definitely the strength.

The resolution was nice with Grampa appearing to look senile so his vote wouldn’t count, and I think I liked that it remained deadlocked instead of going one way or the other, just letting it rip the empire apart. I do wish Gus were a little less “pure evil” in the present, but I’ll still give the writers credit for showing his background.

There were a couple bits keeping this episode from getting top marks, namely the use of some of Gus’ family members and some people who voted. I didn’t think many were necessary, such as Angela Merkel and the guy who appeared to be Gus’ youngest son; they were more a source of some pretty poor joke attempts than having any plot contribution.

Still, I’m very impressed by how much this episode crammed in; it told a deep, detailed story that engaged me more as it went on. Not really a funny episode, but I’ve come to expect that from most Selman episode. 4/5
 
I think it was a solid episode but nothing particularly remarkable about it.

  • I laughed at "how is your comedy ending the war??"
  • I like that the origin of krusty burger is sort of a riff on the mcdonald's story except ray kroc is also ronald mcdonald. Also, KRUSTY INNOCENT, he decided to compete in the marketplace and the free market sided with him
  • I like that all the old krusty burger mascots are incredibly dated puns and homer remembers them fondly. very relatable
  • It was interesting to see grampa and lisa together, although the bond between them is too forced (I liked the joke where lisa cancels a cognitive test), it's unsatisfying how the conflict just peters out at the end because nothing really matters, and grampa's line about his choices led to having an amazing granddaughter was way too saccharine
  • Grampa is absolutely right about the simpsons curse. Cosmic forces beyond his control are working against him to maintain the status quo.
  • Homer and Bart smuggling krusty burgers reminded me of my dad buying a shitload of mcdonalds burgers when they had some cheap promo which we had to eat heated up in the microwave for like a week. Disgusting
  • I love Dan Castellaneta's reading of "I love caviar." 35 years and he can still surprise you.
  • Really did not like the music in this episode from Lithgow's performance of the imagination song from willy wonka (tv writers, please stop referencing that movie) to the abysmal attempt to mix the succession theme with the simpsons theme (please go back and listen to Alf Clausen's jfk or dragnet themes)
  • I think the guest voice cast did a good job, paul f. thompkins sorta nailing the patheticness of connor roy
  • The off-screen joke of grampa using a raisin box as a phone is solid, didn't need to be called back to (in what world does grampa simpson know the word "selfie?")
  • Surprisingly few "you have to have watched succession to get this joke" jokes, although it does enhance your viewing. I think the "look how absurdly rich these guys are!" jokes were pretty clunky
  • Some nice tight camera angles in the boardroom scene. I wish the surprise reveal of cousin greg hadn't been revealed weeks ago but I suppose that's the nature of marketing.
  • Points off for licking the boots of austerity ghoul angela merkel
 
Okay, there's some interesting parodies in there, The Founder, Succession. I just wish there was a little more "Simpsons" in the episode.

I'll have to come back once I've digested this meal.
 
Honestly even if you get what they're parodying (which I caught like half of them), they won't enchance the episode but instead make you roll your eyes and think "You're right, I'd much rather be watching a YouTube video discussing the history of McDonald's or how much of a disaster the notorious Mac and Me is instead!". Hard to get invested in the episode when it's mostly this combined with random guests of the week characters you don't give a shit about and are even more one-dimensional than usual because they too are just parodies!

Burger Kings from last year may have sucked too, but I'll gladly take that over this!

1/5
 
"Meat Is Murder" has a small Bart and Homer's subplot and those users who thought they were not going to have a subplot were wrong.
 
Wouldn't even really call the Bart & Homer stuff a subplot. Felt more like the show briefly remembering it was in fact The Simpsons and not a poor man's Succession.
 
I thought it was okay, I liked Lisa being a kid that could be easily played by a phony because in a lesser version of the show I feel that subplot would have been unironic. I found the Abe/Lisa connection really odd because the HD era really hammers in Abe and Bart as the ones that have a special connection. Also I feel its too soon to be doing another "billionare comes to town and turns out to be bad like all billionares" so soon after we did that already this season but with Smithers. 3/5
 
With the exception of Krusty's burger creation, i was some surprised by this episode, but i laughed at Abe's behavior.
 
One of the rare instances where they actually found a proper way to use Krusty as the setup for the main plot and even a good usage of him in general, who would've thought? Normally in Jean episodes (Yellow Subterfuge, Kamp Krustier) you find yourself devoid of interest or laughter, but with Selman, that is thankfully not going to be the case here. Being real, this was definitely a good episode plot-wise. It's not often you get an episode that focuses on Abe, but I think for the first time we see how only Abe & Lisa -- "Gramsa" -- interact and their dynamics and bonding feels close to real. Now If I understand correctly, this is meant to be a Succession parody (though I haven't seen a single episode of Succession yet) and it had a great plot twist once the final act kicked in (in fact, two plot twists!). When Gus became the "9th richest man in the world", his plan was only to use Abe to make him successful again much like how Shiela's plan was to manipulate Lisa and overthrow her father to become the CEO. Love the usage of the double plot twists. The deadlock was the perfect way to end so it becomes an endless loop of arguments which tears the entire family apart. Abe's rambling stories were a miracle this time around!

The gags here aren't as much to be found, but when it comes to a stronger plot, I'll gladly take what I want. The best gags were Sideshow Bob having a cameo was funny with the "Die Kirk Die", Homer's buffoonery and obsession with food once again (the "pillowcases full of pillowcases" cracked me up), the pigeons attacking Bart, Homer & the burgers, "All burgers are now 24 cents!" and Gus seeing Krusty everywhere due to his hatred of him. So sure, again, there may not be as much gags as Marge the Meanie, but it has just enough comedy and just enough entertainment for those who still like watching The Simpsons 33 years on.

I'll go 7/10 for this one, though it's closer to a 7.5. The plot was strong, there were enough gags, the past plot was properly tied in, and it was nice to see Abe and Lisa bond for once.

Also, how the hell can someone think that atrocity Burger Kings is better than this is beyond me. It just further destroyed Burns's character.
 
Homer Samson said:
The TikTok star who I know the name of but will not name should not have been in this and it was a mistake to put her in this
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Wait, is she a problematic person? Or do you just not like her. Asking so I know if she is problematic or not before I watch the episode myself
 
BlitzPhoenix98 said:
Also, how the hell can someone think that atrocity Burger Kings is better than this is beyond me. It just further destroyed Burns's character.
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Because that episode at least felt like The Simpsons whereas this was just a lame Succession parody (never watched an episode either) that just happens to feature a few characters of this show playing second filldle at best and getting glorified cameos at worst.
 
So? Why should it matter if they're straying away and trying something else? Hell, the heartfelt moment at the end between Lisa & Abe proves they're still The Simpsons and that is just one example I can point out that why still feel like The Simpsons in this episode. Episodes don't always have to be funny or comical, they can be dramatic and have interesting themes (The War of Art).
 
Another 6/10 episode for me...honestly, I stopped caring half way through and decided just to skip to the end. Strangly enough, as someone who doesn't mind when an episode is too referential, I find this episode to be too referential. It also felt predictable, especially with Grampa talking about "The Simpsons Curse" which honestly take as headcanon for the canon series, especially for Homer, Bart & Lisa. Didn't care for the guest characters/guest stars either. Also, not a fan of seen Sideshow Bob in this episode, honestly, I feel like "Gone Boy" & the Christmas episode he appeared in ruined his character. If there is a positive thing I will say, its that I like the "Grampsa" name, and the bond between Lisa & Abe felt genuine.
 
TheIrishJackomon said:
honestly, I stopped caring half way through and decided just to skip to the end.
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Yeah, this is one of those episodes where you're so bored that it feels like the full 22 minutes have gone by by the halfway point and you're disappointed to realize there's still another 11 minutes left. You didn't really miss anything except more of the show feeling like a Succession parody that just happens to feature Grampa and Lisa playing second filldle.

Also, not a fan of seen Sideshow Bob in this episode, honestly, I feel like "Gone Boy" & the Christmas episode he appeared in ruined his character.
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His appearance did feel pointless and I never really cared for Gone Boy either, but I thought the episode that was a sequel to it was fine.
 
His appearance is basically another "hey we used to write funny jokes, remember this?" moment that Selman loves to do. It's not really much of a joke in its own context either.

And yeah, like IrishJackomon I uh, mentally checked out partway through. The Krusty Stuff was probably the most engaging (I mean, Krusty actually being shown in a flashback to be entertaining? That's unusual. Love the guy but there's only so many "he's not funny" jokes to pull before it starts being, well, not funny. Though I guess the one at the end of this was okay?
 
TheIrishJackomon said:
I feel like "Gone Boy" & the Christmas episode he appeared in ruined his character.
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Now there's something that made me a little surprised. First time I hear someone saying 'Gone Boy' of all episodes ruined Bob. That episode is usually said to be the best Bob episode of the HD era so I'm curious on why you find it that awful? Also how is 'Bobby It's Cold Outside' really that bad? I thought that one was more okay than anything.
 
It was a mash up with weak Simpsons episode and Successions parody.

Guest stars' characters when they weren't images taken from Successions were ok (except for Phil Thompkin's mediocre character).

I really didn't understand the role of Lisa (not to mention, but Yeardly sounded bad here) - she did NOTHING, actually:nerd:. Or that minute-took talk with Grampa is that BIG role she has? And, regarding culmination, in episode entitled "Meat is Murder" I hoped for some more extreme "ketchup" - like in Double Double Boy in Trouble (what I'm saying!?) - "accident" with Gus.

I almost enjoyed the 1st half of episode: it was a funny time-long revenge with classic "ehh-ohh" Grampa.:cloud: I liked Krusty's falling and him himself here. It was funny, with real original jokes (not all worked though).🙂 Including that Sideshow Bob gag.

I liked the Simpsons/Successions melody mix and Angela Merkel character (just… just because:neat:)

Maybe, I had thought I knew enough about Successions without watching it to watch this episode, but, anyway, as I started: it was a mash up of Successions parody with weak Simpsons episode. 2/5 (2.3 for myself). Fear, new season low for me :-\
 
This episode was pretty funny to me. Gus seeing everyone as Krusty, Grandpa thinking raisins are phone berries, and that last jab at Krusty at the end. 5/5
 
4/10. A pretty uneventful episode, which definitely dragged for the most part. Although, it was good to see Krusty in somewhat of a major role again (despite not being the biggest fan of him). He's been one of the many secondary characters who has noticeably disappeared into the background in the more recent years. I think someone even posted in the episode review for 'Girls just Shauna Have Fun' the other week, how there definitely does feel like a lack of secondary characters being used this season, to make more room for unfunny guest stars and bland one-time characters who never amount to anything, other than a standalone appearance(as well as the odd appearance in the background).

A lot of the episodes nowadays rely on the characters that are central to the story/plot, whereas in the past we'd often see a couple of quick one-liners and jokes from characters that weren't central to the main story. The only ones they seem to be pushing are some of the more intolerable characters: Helen Lovejoy, Chalmers, Shauna, etc, whilst many of the classics seem to be left aside (Moe, Lenny, Carl, Barney, Flanders, Wiggum, Otto, Willie, Quimby, Krusty, etc).
Yeah, Flanders and Moe still get a spotlight episode once a season or so, but aside from 'A Serious Flanders Part 1 and 2' and 'The Wayz We Were', they've done little to nothing the whole season, which is disappointing because they're both such integral characters to the show.
The lack of the colourful cast being used makes a majority of these episodes feel a little more flat, but that's just my opinion.
 
So, I'm not the only one picking up on that? I mean I like Gary and Helen but otherwise yeah, it's been a very empty season. Hell, outside of his focus episodes even Bart seems to vanish a lot. Though there's plenty of Milhouse too.

I guess the thing that makes me at least see Helen and Gary differently is there is stuff to do with them. But most of their other pushes have been to characters that don't have much to do with anyone or anything. Most of the characters that have (or would have) been pushed before have either been characters with some sort of easy connection to a main character (like Mr Burns towards Homer, Helen Towards Marge, Nelson towards Bart and Lisa) or in cases like Chief Wiggum, there's no particular association but he can also easily show up anywhere as well as being loaded with funny possibilities.

So, I think one of the things really making things feel so hollow is that most of their big pushes are for characters who aren't flexible nor tied to anyone important. We're probably not getting another plot about Sarah's past as a jewel thief, probably not getting anything involving a secret kinship between Lisa and Brandine and the latter is just the satellite wife to another character that's also pretty isolated.

I think if anything, despite the shakey first impression, it's why I'm at least willing to give Ms Peyton a chance. One of the things that really helped Edna was having a connection to Bart, his entire class, the faculty and so on that she could easily play off. And even with some really big shoes to fill, Peyton's at least got several potential threads to work with... if she actually does appear more. And there's possible ideas there too. She's at least not the dead end a lot of their pushes are.
 
Also I found out: John Lithgow is the first guest star on the show, who first had voiced ownself (I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh, season 30), and after voiced other character. Right?
 
I found this episode okay. I liked the premise of Grampa's previously unknown past as a hamburger joint worker coming back as the co-founder of their 'Try It Out Burger' bar from 50 years ago comes back & reconnects with him, revealing to be the billionaire owner of a conglomerate, and it opened up for some interesting satire on corporate politics, but I never really got into it that much. It felt like it rehashed a lot of things we've seen before, the big corporation jokes felt very specific with the reference and parodying (of 'Succession' which I've never seen & barely heard about) & it just felt kinda bland despite some moments that were intriguing. I did like the Grampa & Lisa bonding and there were some nice moments here and there, the guest star performances were solid & the ending I liked, but as a whole it really didn't work as well for me as I had hoped (but I see how it was a success to some).

The opening flashback to 50 years ago (which would be 1972) with Krusty as a failed standup comedian was pretty good (and I liked the joke about someone criticising his lame joke with a question of how his humor is supposed to end the war) & it had a nice lead-in to the hamburger bar story, with Krusty stopping by Try It Out Burger and being met by this Gus character: It set up the backstory of the burger bar quickly and naturally with the dialogue (and John Lithgow did well in the role as Gus) & I enjoyed the plot point of Krusty stealing their idea and starting up his own burger bar and making it a chain (Krusty Burger, obviously), that was some nice "lore" (of course Krusty took the idea from someone else, especially when in a beat-down, bitter state). It was a promising beginning that made the following parts of the story actually really intriguing (especially after the terrible 'Burger Kings', a bad burger story).

I enjoyed the Simpsons going to the burger festival and there were not only some fun little gags (maybe especially Homer buying loads of 25 cent burgers before him and Bart are attacked by a swarm of pigeons) but I also liked the start of Grampa (angry about something in the past) and Lisa (who's skeptical of the veggie burgers) sitting down to bond a bit due to their collective sourpuss mindset (amusing). The comeback of Gus (real name Augustus Redfield) was an interesting turn, with him being a billionaire who's returned to ruin Krusty by buying his parent company which costs the clown everything (Krusty was such an asshole yet again that he deserved this) & the takeover with Gus buying everyone's acceptance by lowering the cost of the 25 cent burgers by one cent was a kinda funny moment (though Krusty getting destroyed has happened before so it felt pretty obvious it would not last all too long in the end).

Grampa's reunion with his old partner Gus also had a good start, with the latter wanting to make up for lost times and inviting him to sit among his board of directors (and Lisa get to come along as her and Grampa have already connected by now). Nice second flashback of the starting rivalry between Krusty and Gus & Grampa (I wish they'd have more with that) and nice joke of a jelaous pathethic Homer trying to convince Grampa he has a bond with him. I enjoyed the song by Lithgow (not the greatest song in the modern era, but I still liked it) but I didn't really care for Gus's three adult children whom despite being well voiced by the guest stars they didn't do anything for me, I actually thought they were kinda bland and annoying to be honest. This was also where the episode started to falter some for me and things got less interesting (maybe due to heavily leaning into the parody aspect a little too much)

It never really felt they did much with Grampa spending time reconnecting with Gus (speaking of which, it felt too soon to do another billionaire plot after 'Portrait of A Lackey On Fire') albeit I like the bit with them watching Krusty's non-copyright infringing attempt at a new show (which was an entertaining little gag scene) & Lisa developing a friendship with the daughter was intriguing, but it felt odd to see Lisa not being skeptical at all (these are billionaires and there are no good billionaires) and her being easily manipulated by the daughter and used as a pawn (in a plan to kick Gus from the company so that the daughter can take over and make it a green company) just felt a little off to me: Yeah, I know Lisa can be really naive, but I expected more skepticism and not accepting it (more or less) so fast, especially as the daughter pretty much openly revealed that she was a shifty and morally questionable person (wanting to go green or not). Despite being lured in with bribes I would think Lisa would have had more questions than she did.

I think it was the heavy parody aspect that made it feel way less interesting starting this second half, since there were a lot of jokes about how obscenely rich and spoiled this family is and none of them really stood out as all that good or great but most felt sorta lame, but none of them really that bad either but as I have never seen or am interested in seeing 'Succession' (petty conflicts and squabbles of billionaire families aren't my thing) I think a lot went over my head (and like I've said about full parodies before, they should be able to stand on their own even if you haven't seen the source material), but still, none of the jokes or supposed funny moments reall worked for me either way and more or less just felt like they were there and did their job, nothing more. I dunno, I think they could have made things more clever than just these incredibly straightforward, obvious jokes and gags about this absurdly rich family

Then we have the with the Redfield family, board of directors and Grampa & Lisa present about to decide the future of the company. I didn't care for the pointless cameos by Angela Merkel or the Literally Who? TikTok star (seriously, why?) but I actually did like the twist in that Grampa had always been used as a pawn by Gus to reveal the Redfield kids' plan for company takeover and oust them (as Grampa is on his side and give him his support, instead of voting him out). Grampa firing back by playing senile and mentally impaired to make his vote null and send the company into chaos before him and Lisa leaves was kinda clever, but I think the stuff in the background was almost a little too convoluted with the workings & going of the company (I don't even get what Grampa was supposed to get out of it all). Anyhow, Grampa & Lisa's conversation on the bus was a nice ending (Oh, and the credits scene of Krusty having found peace at a kibbutz but called back into action now with Gus' scheme revealed was fine. Felt like they forgot about him).

So all in all, the episode didn't capture my interests all that much and felt more or less just there. The first half had a lot of promise, I liked the premise and Grampa's friendship with Gus and there were some nice jokes and moments throughout, but I think it felt unoriginal (taking inspiration from past episodes (Billionaire with bad intentions, backstabbing siblings, etc.) and leaned too heavily into the parodic aspects (of a show that I, again, haven't seen or barely heard of before) and forget to tell an engrossing and intriguing story, almost making things a little too complex and nonsensical in the end. I still liked things like the Grampa & Lisa scenes and the vocal performances of the guest star (even if Lithgow's character was the only one who stood out), but I just couldn't get into it, especially when it entered its second half with the questionable moments, jokes, references and cameos). It was still an okay one, I guess.

3/5. The first half of the episode & the Grampa and Lisa scenes & some good guest performances and decent jokes were the highlights, but it still wasn't all that good to me. I get why some were really into it, but as a whole it just wasn't for me (had the second half relied way less on specific parodying and more on strenghtening the plot, it could've been really good, but as it stands, it's at least halfway decent so not a terrible episode at all, just falling short of its potential).
 
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