Rate & Review: "The Fabulous Faker Boy" (RABF12)

How would you rate this episode?


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Original Airdate: May 12, 2013
Writer: Brian McConnachie
Director: Bob Anderson

Synopsis: Marge encourages Bart to explore his creative side, and his initial reticence quickly subsides when Marge hires Slava’s (guest voice Bill Hader) beautiful daughter, Zhenya (guest voice Jane Krakowski), as his new Russian piano instructor. Meanwhile, Homer is shocked when he loses the last two remaining hairs on his head, and must employ a variety of headgear to keep his newfound baldness a secret from Marge. Patrick Stewart and Justin Bieber guest-voice.

Discuss!
 
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Pretty average episode. The plots were both pretty boring and uneventful, and it wasn't overall very funny. 2/5
 
Very high 4/5 and I had unbelievably low expectations. It would've been 5/5 if the piano girl's voice wasn't so freaking annoying. -_-'

Funniest episode this season.
 
I wish they woulda remembered Jazzy and the Pussycats exists before oking this. That episode was much more enjoyable. With that outta the way this was okay. Certainly more enjoyable than last week. Things I laughed at include the random cut to Homer when food was mentioned, the Krusty act break, Grampa's plate reaction, the tight jeans stuff, Homer's comment on Bart's generation, and a few things I forget already. The Bieber cameo was quick and painless. I liked the warning for it. The couch gag was highly enjoyable, easily the best thing about the episode. I thought the music in the final Homer and Marge scene was really sweet and effective. Low 3/5.
 
I didn't think it was THAT bad...I chuckled a couple times. Patty & Selma wearing skinny jeans, The Robot Chicken Couch gag, Homer waking up at work shouting "Sausage fingers", Bart giving Grandpa the plate instead of the cookies, Homer's line about our generation not having a solid future or whatever. So I guess a high 3/5. So I guess C +
 
ACT ONE:

So far, so good. I laughed at the jokes in this act. The only cringeworthy shit was Skinner's flamenco demonstration and the Rich Texan "small penis" joke.

ACT TWO:

The jokes are still okay, but there's a bad one for every winner. The end of the act, however, started to get a bit sloppy. We have this sudden "twist" with Bart faking his playing... with a CD player built into the piano (what?). I'll have to see how this plays out.

ACT THREE:

Now it's starting to get bad. The jokes are starting to get more "cringey" than good and the plot just seems to be lingering there. I don't have hope for this one.

ACT FOUR:

So, Marge goes into Jerkass mode, then Russian Guy gives a good speech and everything's all right. Oh, an there was a subplot with Homer losing his hair which ended with him magically growing it back. Couldn't they have just had Homer feel the top of his head and feel some of the hair coming back in? Then we could assume it grew back by next week. But no, the show doesn't like to make sense these days.

OVERALL:

What a shame. It looked promising at first, then it quickly went downhill. I'll give it a 3/5 (C) to be nice.
 
Initial thoughts: "In today's hilarious episode written by a 70-year-old man, Bart becomes interested in piano lessons because he is a horny boy who likes his sexy new piano teacher. In a subplot, Homer loses his hair and tries to keep Marge from finding out."
Bet that's pretty close to the truth. We'll see. ;)

Couch Gag:
"...but first, sit back with a special couch gag sponsored by Subway?" What the Hell? They're selling sponsorship of the couch gag now?
That was honestly the first long couch gag I've enjoyed. I hope that's a good omen!

ACT ONE:
Skinner: "What if Bart took music classes?" Well, let's just forget Bart is already a proficient drummer! Why, that wouldn't work for the plot!
Okay... Skinner's Flamenco rage is funny.
A visit from Dad Flanders and a Side Show Mel scene... typical modern Simpsons, but I have to admit they were both well done.

ACT TWO:
Marge: "You'd better be asking for something "pc;" "pie or cake!"
Loved Jimbo's "Newton's cradle" of nerds!
Homer: "SAUSAGE FINGERS?" Out of nowhere... wonderful!
Didn't ever want to hear "Makin' Whoopee" in Russian... but there we go.
First time I've ever seen a reference to a Disklavier system in a cartoon....
The episode's not that bad so far. Two acts to go... plenty of time to screw it up!

ACT THREE:
That was probably the best act of the show I've seen in a long time... even with Bieber. Loved the warnings and Marge's flip off the oven door!

ACT FOUR:
Patty and Selma in their new "comfort fit" jeans was a great sight gag.
Bart: "Here's your new plate, Grandpa!" Great!

Marge: "Thank you God." My thoughts exactly. A decent episode for once.

Solid 4/5. Not even going to second guess it. A little bland, but good all the way through!
 
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^I was more annoyed by the announcement on screen.

I was struggling to find anything funny in this episode (like that random Homer sausage finger scene)

1.5/5
 
Yes, but that voice was still annoying. She also said "Every Good Bort Does Fine", from what I heard too. Still, that doesn't make up for that voice. :/

She said "Every Good Boris Deserves Farm." It harkens back to the farming culture in Communist Russia. "Work hard and you will have your own farm one day."

...and yes, the voice was grating. I wasn't denying that! :lol:
 
Wow, a half-hour after the episode's done and 12 reviews? That's low.

Oh well, this was 'cute' episode where no much of anything happened. About the only thing I laughed at was the Bieber warnings and Homer's "Your generation has no hope!", otherwise, bland-o-rama.

I'd also like to say "Congratulations!" because I didn't know 22 minutes could seem like 44...

3/5
 
First off, I was dreading the couch gag because I absolutely HATE long ones. But I liked this. It's hard to put into words exactly why, but I did.

Very good episode! The entire first act was some of the funniest I've seen all season, from the Tattooed Babies show to the scene with Moe. The plots were done very well, and it wasn't really a relationship plot as I feared. The piano plot progressed well and reached a good, suspenseful point at the end of the second act. The hair plot was pretty good as well, although i found it a little hard to believe that Homer would be that afraid of Marge's reaction that he would have to cover up the baldness. Speaking of Marge, she was in character all throughout this episode, and there were no traces of "Bitch Marge," which made me very happy. And I loved the Bieber warning on the bottom of the screen.

The only things I didn't like were the shock jokes. The "small penis" joke by the Rich Texan was awful, and I didn't like the gay joke with Martin either. Marge also seemed pretty abrupt in forgiving Bart. But other than that, this was truly a standout episode, and perhaps the best of the season. 5/5!
 
I'm going to give it the usual rewatch on the ride in to work tomorrow, but upon first viewing I found it to be a fun and funny episode. If I had to compare it to another from this season, I'd say it reminded me of "Hardly Kirking". A Bart-centric episode with a fun Homer B-plot. What got me nervous was the introduction of a C-plot with Marge, but unlike "Whiskey Business", Marge's story tied in really well with the main plot and felt like it had a clear beginning, middle and end. Bonus points for Marge's story resolving Bart's. lots of great sight gags, funny jokes ("something's fishy" and "something's funny" act break, cookie plate), good use of smaller characters (Mel and Flanders Sr.) and thank god it wasn't a Bart falls in love plot!

Oh yeah, couch gag was excellent. Really liked how the bit with Homer going through the garage door tied in with the gag.

Only complaint I can think of is that I wished Bart's phony piano playing was better executed. Maybe Bart hiding an iPod inside the piano rather than a CD player built into the piano? But I guess CD players in pianos are actually a thing (for accompaniment) so it's cool. I just didn't know it was a normal thing until seeing is episode. Then again, I stopped playing piano 15 years ago.

A strong 4/5 - no middle of the road nonsense this week.

edit: oh yeah, and look! Justin Bieber's cameo was so brief I forgot to even mention it. The cameo itself really wasn't that bad, but I did like the warning captions - a convention I typically don't like in Jean era episodes. Also, Patrick Stewart was good as random plant employee, though it was a little odd having a big name star appearing that briefly and not playing themself or even making a cameo as a character he played in the past on the show. Though, to be fair, it would have been weird to see either Patrick Stewart as a plant employee or Number One after so many years.
 
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Just watched it and dang, it was funny. The couch gag was hilarious, and me being a fan of Robot Chicken, the ending was even better.

"Turn back to the chicken one!"
 
So it's happened. Justin Bieber has appeared on The Simpsons. Will Kim Kardashian be next like I have kept believing will happen or worse, Honey Boo Boo Child herself Alana Thompson? I dread thinking this but how can I not?
 
The couch gag was about the most entertaining part of the whole thing for me.

This was a really nothing episode for me. I mean, we've had the 'Bart falls in love' story so many times before, and the B-plot was ultra-weak. Very few of the jokes were funny at all, and the supporting characters and 'guest stars' didn't stand out all that much for me.
2/5 (and that's a very low 2) :annoyedgator:
 
This episode made me realize how little Russian characters this show has had. Given how important Russia was and portrayed in late 80's and 90's cinema, you would think we would have had Russian regulars back then.
 
Not impressed at all, not even with the couch gag. I much preferred the blackboard gag over the couch gag. While I found that the setpieces were interesting and relatively creative, I found it poorly executed overall, and the lighting didn't really allow me the chance to see the whole thing very well. For a show that occasionally feels like it's grasping at straws, it's nice to see their attempts to make things fresh, like bringing in guest artists for couch gags, but this did not do it for me.

The dialogue in this episode just reeked of poor efforts from Tim Long: stilted, often awkward exchanges. Bart wasn't put to good use here, and the ending - do I even need to say it? - was entirely too rushed and made little to no sense. Homer's silly hats, like the beret and the Jughead hat, were kind of funny, but the whole thing, of course, was white-washed in the end with a silly sound effect and slapdash animation.

Best part? Maybe Marge's loving stroking of Homer's two hairs as they kiss in bed. The best part, for me, was the last couple of seconds. That, and the nice call-backs to previous episodes, like the picture of Frink's father from THOH XIV in Frink's lab or Grand Theft Walrus at the Kiwk-E-Mart.

Worst part? Just about everything else. The Russian father's characterization felt a little forced; no need to have brought in a guest voice for someone who ended up sounding like Harry Shearer anyway. His speech about "everyone cheats in Russia" would have felt right in S5 (which is usually a good thing), but I think comedy's changed a bit too much since then; I don't think the show can get away from such blatant Russia-bashing. Felt more like Family Guy, you know, just going straight for the jugular. Bart's relationship with his piano teacher felt like the flimsiest yet, the worst-explained; he sees an attractive young teenager playing piano. Well, sure, I suppose. At least Laura Powers shared a lot of Bart's personality traits; Zhenya was just all-out crass to Bart.

The jokes made no sense. The piano-playing was hardly touched upon, and Bart hardly gave it much of a try. I figured he would have been more motivated, if Zhenya meant that much to him. And that damn CD player; and that damn speech from Marge. You can't just go off and tell your children that they'll be unique and special, and that'll be enough. Homer had a point; the generation's doomed because each child is told he's special. Bart's special because he fessed up to his mistakes? Well, fine. It only cost Marge a lot of extra time and a semi-demolished station wagon. No one learned a lesson, Patrick Stewart shows that it's okay to be bald and, once again, Chief Wiggum is bribed with jeans. Great.
 
So it's happened. Justin Bieber has appeared on The Simpsons. Will Kim Kardashian be next like I have kept believing will happen or worse, Honey Boo Boo Child herself Alana Thompson? I dread thinking this but how can I not?

It could be much worse than any of those. I mean, they could stoop so low that Seth MacFarlane guests on the show.

Thank goodness that will never happen.
 
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Couch gag was awesome. I enjoyed how they gave the Bieber warning. Other than that, it was pretty average. 3/5
 
5/5, it wasnt funny, but it was way better than I expected, so yeah Im generous tonight.
 
His speech about "everyone cheats in Russia" would have felt right in S5 (which is usually a good thing), but I think comedy's changed a bit too much since then; I don't think the show can get away from such blatant Russia-bashing.

Could you elaborate on this a little bit? I'm not really sure what you're saying. In what way has comedy changed to make that joke not work as well at it may have in season 5?
 
Wow, I can't believe the early reviews for this episode are actually somewhat positive. Even though this episode starts off promising, it takes a nosedive by the second half. It opens with probably the only extended couch gag I've ever thoroughly enjoyed, but although I found myself pleasantly surprised by the direction early on, later scenes prove that the current staff lacks the skill to handle a two-subplot episode without running out of ideas.

Bart's story is really nothing of any substance - he falls in love with his piano teacher, lies in order to win her affection, and then gets scolded after his secret is unveiled. Now to be fair, I actually like the visual montages during his lessons. Similar to the ballroom fantasy sequence in New Kid on the Block, they frame the scene from Bart's diluted perspective, in contrast to reality. However, that's about the only aspect of merit that comes out of the story. For general purposes, I don't honestly mind that Bart falls in love with his piano teacher, but what really bothers me the most is that she is on the verge of being attracted to him. That does not make any sense, as Bart is a pre-pubescent 10-year old who even Laura Powers wouldn't date due to his age. Now, out of nowhere, he has the ability to woo any girl he wants, his age being a non-factor.

As flawed as all of that sounds, the main plot gets particularly lazy towards the end. Like I said before, the character arc is as trite and uninspired as can possibly be. Of course, with Bart trying to sneak out of his piano training by using a compact disc, you know he's going to be caught at some point in the end, and you know Marge is going to scorn him for it. Lisa's patent comment about frauds always being found out about certainly doesn't add any surprise to the situation. The same applies when Bart asks Marge about how she would react to his cheating. It's like the story is so drawn-out that the writers themselves are forced to make fun of its unoriginality. They don't have any time to add a speck of drama or humor to the situation, so they just point out the flaws of their creation as an excuse to appear intelligent. In that respect, it's like Saddlesore Galactica all over again. The resolution is so lazily impractical it's sort of insulting. All that it takes for Marge to forgive her lying son is for her driving trainee to explain that everybody cheats in Russia? The morality here is pretty much crammed at the last minute just so Marge can tie up all the loose ends by giving her son a mawkish speech (and punishment) after he screwed up.

I laughed when Homer popped up wearing a sombrero and later a yamaka, but his subplot isn't any more original than everything else here. All that we really get is a painfully melodramatic story squeezed out of a running gag that didn't make much sense in the first place. It's ridiculous enough that Homer treats the loss of his two skull hairs as "the last remaining part of his childhood," but the absurdity is taken to an even greater level both Moe, as well as Lenny and Carl react with the same level of surprise. The dumb, leading setups in both of those cases starts with them doubting the severity of Homer's baldness, only to gasp in shock once they see his clean head. The humor carved out of this story focuses on what's not realistic about the situation, rather than what is, making it just plain stupid rather than clever or interesting. To be fair, surreal character-based comedy like this can be done quite humorously. Homer's pink shirt in Stark Raving Dad is a great example of taking questionable logic and making it the focus of the story. But in that case, the overreaction to the shirt is actually funny because it's poked at from a creative and plausible angle (Mr. Burns taking a militant shirt check of all his employees). In the baldness case, there is no humorous context from which the reaction to Homer's hair loss makes any sense. What we're left with is a surreal joke without the surreal environment to justify it - a complete mismatch of tones.

4.5/10
 
I have a feeling this is the show's best chance for an Emmy...for one of the animators of the couch gag.

Apparent correction to the title: it's "Fabulous Faker Boy", not "The Fabulous Faker Boy" (both the Fox press release and the TV listings leave out the "The")
Written by Brian McConnachie
Directed by Bob Anderson
Billboard: If You Haven't Sent Your Mother Flowers, It's Too Darn Late! (Principal Skinner and his mother)
Blackboard: THIS SCHOOL IS NOT FALLING APART (the blackboard then falls apart)
Couch Gag: The Simpsons as done by Robot Chicken
Special Guest Voice: Justin Bieber, Bill Hader, Jane Krakowski, Patrick Stewart
Also Starring: Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Russi Taylor, Chris Edgerly, Maggie Roswell
Overseas Animation: Akom
TV Rating: TV-PG-DLV

Couch Gag credits (partial):
Couch Gag by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Executive Producers: Seth Green, John Harvatine IV, Tom Root, Mattt Senreich, Eric Towner
Written by Tom Root
Directed by John Harvatine IV and Eric Towner
Lead Builder: Roy Wood
Set Builder: Rick O'Brien
Model Builder: Logan Payne

Bart already knows how to play an instrument - the drums (as seen in "Jazzy and the Pussycats").

One of the pennants at Moe's was Capitol City (with an O this time).

Marge says to put your hands at 10 and 2. That used to be true, but ever since airbags became standard, 9 and 3 is the recommended placement now - otherwise you risk injury
if the airbag deploys.
 
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