Rate & Review: "The King of Nice" (UABF20)

How would you rate this episode?

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Brad Lascelle

Brad Lascelle

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Season 34, Episode 4
Original Airdate: October 16, 2022

Writer: Jessica Conrad
Showrunner: Tim Long
Director: Debbie Mahan
Supervising Showrunner: Matt Selman

Synopsis: When Krusty gets an afternoon talk show, Marge becomes his segment producer — and learns that the "nice world" of daytime TV is more cutthroat than she ever imagined.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 2.56 / 5 (as of September 25, 2023 / 45 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.4 / 10
 
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but this episode was surprisingly good. I really enjoyed the part in where Marge works for Krusty which she hasn't done since The Clown Stays in the Picture, I believe, until now. So... Yeah, I'm gonna go for 4/5 this time
 
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Following one of the most experimental episodes the show’s ever done was an episode that was about as by-the-numbers as it gets. I really didn’t get much out this episode, nor do I have much to say about it. It just felt like it was going through the motions. If it weren’t for the lack of an intro, I probably would have guessed this was a Jean episode. A few jokes made me smirk, such as Maggie’s text. (Did Marge have Maggie as a contact in her phone solely for this occurrence?) I thought the meta reference with all the Krusty episodes was unnecessary and drawn out. The meeting with the family seemed to be a way to take up time as well; did it actually accomplish anything? And the cameo with Drew Barrymore at the end was quite pointless. At least there wasn’t a marriage crisis. 2/5
 
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I missed the first 10 minutes so I cant say much until I rewatch it but by the numbers really describes it. I dont think anything was bad but it felt kind of bland, might be better on the rewatch. I like Marge struggling with rationalizing her job by bringing up the feminism thing and Lisa calling it shallow. Marge's rant about daytime tv forming toxic environments felt clunkier than usual in terms of the current version of the show preaching it's message. Bart had some funny one liners, and I did laugh at the whole best friend joke. The part where Marge threw the salad in the intern's face got real and was well done.
 
The standout element of this episode was the direction. Maybe this will no longer remain the case when/if she takes on a larger share of a cycle's episode docket but Mahan's proven that A Serious Flanders was no fluke. The quality and polish on display was evident in just about every facet... almost like a blending of Oliver and Bailey's best qualities. Marge's nightmare sequence being a particular standout... although where that sequence stood out visually it didn't have much going for it beyond that. The writing being the primary culprit.

I really wish this episode had more to offer than just hammering home its advertised premise of "daytime talk show work environments are toxic". Like maybe if there was a shocking transition from an idyllic workplace paradise for Marge into a nightmarish hellscape it might've carried some shock value with it but the environment was so clearly toxic before she even got there. Instead of seeing the reality for what it was, I kind of wanted to see that world through Marge's eyes... and then have the rose-coloured glasses pulled off to reveal the toxicity lying beneath the surface. The storytelling was shockingly up front with everything and lacked the subtlety and nuance I've come to expect from Selman-run teardowns.

The other missed opportunity is that I'm not sure Lindsey Naegle was the right choice for the antagonist. She's about as played out as a character can get in terms of her non-existent development and to lean on her so heavily when she hasn't really worked in this capacity since Season 15's Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays and has otherwise been a misfire is well, a choice I wouldn't have made. I think we were supposed to feel shocked at her juxtaposition from nice producer to Marge to hate-filled tyrant to the many interns named Jordan... but we've seen nothing but her being nasty and superficial in the past and thus there was nothing to really take away apart from Marge's obliviousness. I almost feel like a celebrity guest star would've worked better in this capacity - someone for whom the transition from sickening sweet to workplace tyrant might have provoked more of a reaction as opposed to the ambivalence we got here instead.

I don't know... a subplot might've helped but there really wasn't time afforded to include one even if you gutted the padding. I think it may have helped to give more of the cast some sort of agency but there was none to speak of. Everyone was dialed out of this plot... from the kids to everyone at the intervention to Homer (at least he had Ladybug Lenny to amuse himself with ) to the production team on Twitter (no social media engagment tonight) to Krusty himself. We just had Marge... going through a rather predictable and mundane series of story beats. I hope the daytime talk show addicts that watch this episode find something to take away beyond that... because I sure didn't.
 
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I don't know, although it wouldn't have been bad if we saw Marge's new job through Marge's eyes, I feel like that would have taken more weight away from the moment of her throwing the salad in the intern's face, which is the climactic moment, but it also puts the perspective that Marge may be just as bad as Lindsey and was being sucked into her role as producer, almost as if the point was that the two of them were meant to be mirror images of each other.

About the episode... Eh I enjoyed it, this is one of those cases where the animation is what sells me the whole thing. Things like Marge's nightmare sold me on the whole thing about Marge being sucked into her new role while she's getting more desperate/angry/tired/irritated all the time. Things like the animation are highlights for me.
 
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Sandboy said:
I don't know, although it wouldn't have been bad if we saw Marge's new job through Marge's eyes, I feel like that would have taken more weight away from the moment of her throwing the salad in the intern's face, which is the climactic moment, but it also puts the perspective that Marge may be just as bad as Lindsey and was being sucked into her role as producer, almost as if the point was that the two of them were meant to be mirror images of each other.
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I think you still could've had that payoff moment. It likely would've required Marge to have been more actively engaged in producing the show apart from pitching "nice" ideas and pinning them to a dartboard.

Her perceived veneer of nicety could've been pierced periodically with her being increadingly more toxic towards guests / interns / Krusty / hell, even Lindsey herself that Marge would've casually handwaved away until something like the salad toss moment. If anything, I wanted to see Marge sink lower than that while deluding herself that everything was still fine... most of her outbursts and irritability was largely contained to her yelling at her phone and being dismissive of her family's concerns.

I get that this was probably a more realistic approach to this scenario... Marge taking her baggage home with her and using that as her outlet for venting while putting up a false front at work (not that any of her co-workers were doing that)... but it also felt like the safest approach. I would've preferred something more ambitious... like her going full Jekyll and Hyde until coming to her senses at the end.
 
I'm feeling generous so I'll round my rating 3.5 up to a 4/5.

I agree with @Sandboy that the animation really sold me on this episode. I thought they handled the nightmare really well. I liked that they kept the focus on marge but had a nice group of supporting characters. I don't mind Lindsey in this role. I'm not a daytime tv consumer but I'm aware of the source material they are parodying. There's an obvious Ellen parody here. The TMZ thing was a little lazy and stale, is that "show" still on? I remember a few years ago where a bunch of shows would have those types of scenes.

Also I didn't really care for Krusty's look, the hair is one thing but his body becoming slimmer just felt a little weird to me. They have played around with his look before, in "The Last Temptation of Krust" but that still fit his original character design.

Anyway, there's a lot of little things I can nitpick but I thought the direction and art in this episode coalesced into an enjoyable episode.
 
I feel like that was supposed to be the point. Marge's outbursts largely holding back from her family meant that her new job was affecting her that she began to be more abrasive with them, while at a certain point she was still kidding herself and trying to put up a front. Fake at your job. That is why the salad thing is a highlight, it is the moment where she realizes that she had had enough of her new job and decides to finish it before her toxicity begins to affect the third parties that were her co-workers and the fellows.
Brad Lascelle said:
I would've preferred something more ambitious... like her going full Jekyll and Hyde until coming to her senses at the end.
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Fair point. I'm not going to debate that either, but what we got was effective enough for me. :)
 
It does feel like it was wasted on the salad. Especially after she walked out of the intervention after basically calling Lisa out as being a fake feminist.
 
It's like they looked at the Ellen reference from Yokel Hero and decided that that was tepid enough so they decided to do a whole episode based around it. Oh, and let's have the very last "Joke" be a direct reference to Ellen just to prove how fucking unsubtle and on the nose we are!

Between this and one of the worst episodes of Family Guy I've seen in nearly a year, tonight has been... Exhausting... But unlike the aforementioned, this at least had something that can be called an ending (albeit one that's a complete waste of Drew Barrymore finally returning).

1.5/5 rounded down.
 
  • A lot of annoying showbiz-insider exclusive writing in this one. Wow, there's Krusty looking at a gigantic realistic Hollywood Hills mansion... I prefer broader down-to-earth stuff that isn't obviously the result of millionaire writers living in castles in Brentwood and Pacific Palisades
  • A direct spoof of really vapid daytime shows no one watches might be novel. Ellen stuff is played out and boring. We get it she's mean to staffers and it was toxic. Is this really such an untapped well it required a whole episode even after you (and Family Guy) have done 100 jokes about it
  • Why did they play a 15-year-old Flo Rida song so many times. When I think of inoffensive danceable daytime stuff, my mind does not exactly spring to Low, but maybe I'm wrong
  • Boy this episode had like 100 also starring credits thanks to the recasts yet we still get another generic Azaria voice as the segment producer. Come on man.
  • I laughed at the NFT joke
 
OK, while i'm writing this post, it's just the half and i get bored. A part from the special lunch and the restaurant scene, i did not like it, even if it's Marge who has a spotlight.
 
This was awful. Dated and not on the nose at all. It had nothing new to say which hasn't already been said, the humor was drab and it was totally uninteresting. 1/5 here.
 
You know I actually liked this at first then it went through the old stale routine, especially with Marge. I just don't know why but Marge episodes seem to suck. The way they write for her is just terrible, boring and repetitive. First happy and then ending in disappointment. If I think about it, I only can think of a handful of Marge episodes that are great to watch. "Marge vs the Monorail" and "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" being a couple.

Anyways, where was I; Marge first happy then sad. Well they had Lndsey Nagel, who is the female version of Raphael, working as the producer for Krusty show. Something she aready did with The Krusty the Clown Show. The writers always seem to like to write her as a ball buster. Though there were some funny parts and taking Ellen down a peg seems appropriate. I honesty don't think Ellen is that funny and she was easy replaceable. She's a perfect reason I don't watch daytime talk shows. They made fun of her right down to the hair, how she danced and basically made the show about her (kind of like Jimmy Fallon). But at the end of the day did this have to be writen? Why couldn't Marge be really successful and actually have a job? What was the comment about complaining to Lisa she needed to support her no matter what because she a feminist? I don't care whatever you are but if you can't tell a person you support or love that they are being an asshole when they are acting like an asshole then it not really supporting them.

I don't know who the show runner or writer was and I could really give a flying fuck who it was. I actually think some of you care way to much about it. Not going to name names. I know there is no cannon, but for God sake, please watch old episodes so you don't repeat plots.

1/5
 
Not a big fan here. To be fair, today's episode comes right after Lisa the Boy Scout so it definitely impacts the way I feel about its quality.
It feels like one of these episodes that seem to last 30 minutes and yet leave you with nothing to talk about: it's based around the same joke, repeated over and over again with different wording for twenty minutes. It sure has some interesting satire (NFT, Marge accusing Lisa of trying to attack a "successful woman" and the note app apologies). Still, it falls flat as the plot is repetitive, typical and predictable.

However, the animation was truly remarkable! The nightmare scene was really enjoyable and I loved the perspective they used to show how big the aisles were in the supermarket.

4.5/10
 
Well, I had a hunch and I was right. This kinda is the most pure "Simpsons renaissance" experience, when it doesn't have a wacky gimmick to fall back on, at least.

That said, the thing with Helen and hats ("What about hats, Helen!?"), Homer being overwhelmed by the food choices and Lindsey at the end were kinda funny and... though the plot also flows pretty naturally, just it's about something that's old news and wasn't that interesting but at the very least, it felt like it gave the right amount of time to the story beats.

Guess... 2? 3? maybe 3. It's technically more competent than usual, just not interesting.
 
Whoever the showrunner is, a Krusty episode usually has a hard time to keep me invested unless the supporting cast gives him a hand or his over the top personality is fully used for comedic results (Homie the Clown fills both of those criterias). But a Marge episode that doesn't involve pointless marriage crisis number 280 is a thing that becomes fairly rare these days so I genuinely wondered what they had in mind with this one. And as the users above already said, it's not really hard to tell what they had in mind, on the nose as it is.

First thing though, I want Debbie Mahan to become a more regular director because there's a lot of interesting things to notice in her work here. She does a great job to translate Marge's point of view, especially with the two surreal sequences, love how the perspectives are used (the curves all throughout the scene in the pet store), the transitions are great (Marge waking up after her nightmare), her gradual bitter and downright violent personality is well translated into animation. A prime example is when she hurts the guy bringing salad to her as you can feel the violence of her gesture, I believe. Even with the structure of the sequences, I think it's well done (the couple of quick jokes interrupting a scene with Marge at work, like the meeting between friends and family). She makes the most out of a pretty fragile script, to be honest.

As it was said earlier, I think it would've been better had the script not been this on the nose regarding toxic workplaces. To be fair, Marge finding her dream job here while it's already established as an unnerving environment if only because her ideas are used is a kinda funny idea, but I wish they went further with her point of view on the situation, maybe with even more surreal sequences ? Outside of the obvious "I see everyone as dollars" jokes that aren't even coming from her. I guess they thought the point was too obvious to allow themselves to be more ambiguous, but still. It's still a fact that even to this day, many people, especially at a fairly young age, aren't aware that their dream jobs can involve toxic conditions, in the art of entertainment in particular (animation, video games, etc.), and when they are, try to overlook that. So I don't think it would've been a bad idea to handle it with ambiguity. More emphasis on Marge trying her hardest to convince herself that she loves her work could have worked so well. Saying things out loud through your characters doesn't automatically make a good satire. I guess that at least it's saying... something ? There is competence in the script, despite the very, very obvious jabs. I wish it was less clumsy, however.

But, the point is clearer and better put out than Habeas Tortoise in my opinion. Obvious as it is, I like how it makes Marge more distant and the nice "book ends" with the salad thing, acting as both her feeling of being a complete part of the staff and her realization. Don't care much for Krusty's part in the script although the fact that he's not really involved in this mess makes me chuckle. I kinda like how Lindsey was unapologetically over the top as a villain (considering her involvement in Uncut Femmes, I guess it was obvious that they would use her this way if she was gonna be a part of such a story). The whole thing isn't laugh-out-loud funny, but I chuckled here and there and I actually had a big laugh at Lindsey's card ("This week"). Oral jokes involving acronyms are among my least favorite jokes ever and they put two cringeworthy ones in here (NFT for "Not Funny TV Shows"... c'mon, it doesn't even make sense, should be NFTS then).

Other than that, it's an episode that doesn't tell anything new and that chose the way too obvious way to tell it, but there is some kind of effort in terms of storytelling and it's always appreciated. 3/5
 
Another 8/10 (4/5 here) episode for me, I liked it. There are moments in the episode where I laughed, such as the NFT joke & the "Lennybug" story Homer was telling Marge. I also loved the animation of Marge's nightmare aswell, that was interesting to see. Not much else to say, it was interesting seeing Luann part of the intervention as "Marge's Best Friend" thou and Marge seemingly not wanting her as a best friend. Honestly, I can easily see Luann & Marge as good friends.

In my overall Simpsons Rankings of 732 aired episodes, its ranked at #360 between "Girls Just Shauna Have Fun" (8/10) at #361 & "Natural Born Kissers" (8/10) at #359
 
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5/5

The episode felt like the first one that tried to be an actual episode and focus on a typical sitcom plot instead of struggling to be relevant or relying on "dark timeline" jokes. I mean sure, it had some but unlike the previous episodes, this just felt more like a real episode trying to be funny instead of just depressing satire.

Marge shaking up the salad was weirdly adorable and I like how Lindsey Neagle got some sort of payback for being a witch with a B instead of a W.

So yeah, 5/5
 
Ladybug Lenny was actually a cute story (love how excited and happy Homer is to tell it.) I also liked Maggie learning to text and the salad moment. But that's like all I can remember from the episode. Would have preferred a guest star to Lindsay again. Not bad, but not real interesting. Good animation wasted on a boring been there plot. 2.5/5 rounded up I guess.
 
In short: Marge's lifting up and down processes were good. Nothing to focus more. All's clear. Even after your dream came true, you can not have joy. If go further from Marge more to nice talk-shows, they're a world of false - false atmosphere. In the episode it's well satire-able of lack of ideas and toxicity - with this, it had potential to be more. But instead, the episode will lost in memory.

I don't liked some limit in topic and its picture - lack of segments in form of notes, toxic atmosphere in form of salad (literally), sometimes repeated satire.

I liked Lindsey Nagel - she was well here. Love the satire over TV shows (I usually like that stuff), love the Marge's fantasy (again, good job, Debbie Mahan) how she's becoming mad and too dependent on her work. And love that Marge's understood moment (appeared from nothing, though).

Favorite moment is a side moment - Bart and Lisa talk about classic episodes and classic Kristy with 700+ episodes;) Also I laughed over credit scene - ad from madhouse for post talk-show people. That comedy felt a bit dark, though :)

Final words: the episode isn't too enjoyable - yeah it had nice story, nice funny moments (even some satire), but… for some reason all this didn't come into really nice good episode. 3/5 (3.2 for myself)
 
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A very tepid affair indeed. I wonder if this one being sandwiched between Not It, Treehouse of Horror XXXIII and Lisa the Boy Scout in the production schedule is partly to blame. There was little energy and enthusiasm in the writing for this one (which others have accurately described as very ‘by-the-numbers’). Perhaps that energy was applied to the episodes surrounding it? The lack of social media promotion is certainly quite telling about their lack of interest in this. I guess we’ll know for sure in a couple of weeks.

I don’t begrudge the show wanting to examine topics like this even if they aren’t exactly ‘timely’. In fairness, it does take up to a year for an episode to go from the initial idea stage to the day of airing. The table read for this one was almost 12 months ago which goes to show the lag that occurs. My biggest issue with the episode isn’t the subject matter, but with Marge. Her characterization and arc was quite weak – I rarely got the sense I was watching her think, feel and behave in ways that were authentic to who she is. Mike Amato argued that none of her suggestions were character-specific and I agree. Marge came across more like a cipher than an actual character with established traits so it was difficult to get invested. The Ellen parody was ridiculously on the nose even for this show and the Drew Barrymore scene at the end was frustrating in how it undercut the whole thing.

This is yet another example of the show fumbling its attempts at satire. The Longest Marge, You Won’t Believe What This Episode Is About, and Habeas Tortoise are exemplars of how deficient, cowardly and/or ineffectual their satirical writing really is. Poorhouse Rock was one exception, but probably only because the target of its satire was much broader and delivered in a relatively fresh way. Selman and co are typically at their best when they focus on format benders and character studies. Not to beat a dead horse, but I seriously wish they’d just avoid making episodes like this. That being said, I quite liked all the scenes featuring Homer and the kids. The tag was also good and I wasn't that bothered by the use of Lindsay Neagle. The plotting was fairly competent as well, but that doesn't compensate for the deficiencies in the writing for Marge and the satire.

A shaky start to the season for Selman and co. 2/5
 
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B-Boy said:
A very tepid affair indeed. I wonder if this one being sandwiched in between Not It, Treehouse of Horror XXXIII and Lisa the Boy Scout in the production schedule is partly to blame.
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Is there any of that? I mean, just like with Habeas Tortoise these episodes come at the end of the production run serving as the filler for a sandwich between three much higher concept efforts.
B-Boy said:
This is yet another example of the show fumbling its attempts at satire. The Longest Marge, You Won’t Believe What This Episode Is About, and Habeas Tortoise are exemplars of how deficient, cowardly and/or ineffectual their satirical writing really is. Poorhouse Rock was one exception, but probably only because the target of its satire was much broader and delivered in a relatively fresh way.
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I guess if I can name a few attempts at decent satire in the modern age they would be: the aforementioned Poorhouse Rock, Bart's in Jail! (yes despite seeming like a public service announcement), Wad Goals, Podcast News and Highway to Well.

But yeah, for the most part Selman's strong point isn't satire, although to be fair neither Jean is and that's why the show is better today when they experiment with different format changes and with the character studies.
B-Boy said:
Selman and co are typically at their best when they focus on format benders and character studies. Not to beat a dead horse, but I seriously wish they’d just avoid making episodes like this.
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I mean, looking back at last season some of the best episodes were format benders and character studies namely: Lisa's Belly, A Serious Flanders, Pixelated and Afraid, Boyz N the Highlands, My Octopus and a Teacher and Girls Just Shauna Have Fun. Clearly you are not the only one who thinks the same.

And a little off topic, but character studies is why I'm excited about Step Brother From The Same Planet and From Beer to Paternity, because they would prove this claim that I have.
 
Sandboy said:
I guess if I can name a few attempts at decent satire in the modern age they would be: the aforementioned Poorhouse Rock, Bart's in Jail! (yes despite seeming like a public service announcement), Wad Goals, Podcast News and Highway to Well.
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Yeah, these are decent examples and I think what elevates them is the care and quality of the characterizations/character arcs.
 
B-Boy said:
Yeah, these are decent examples and I think what elevates them is the care and quality of the characterizations/character arcs.
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Bingo!

I just think how it is like the other attempts you mentioned (The Longest Marge, You Won't Believe What This Episode, Habeas Tortoise) fail because the motivations of the characters are never developed (for example in the last one I don't fully understand why Homer was so worried about finding a tortoise at the zoo) and the others are a consequence of never knowing exactly what his point is in terms of satire for example in the first one (Was it a mockery of the irresponsible lifestyle that lead some athletes? Condemn the early recruitment of some athletes?) and as a result they fail. No wonder the satire is weak, if the character arcs are too.

While the other examples are supported by strong character arcs, for example in Bart's in Jail and Poorhouse Rock it is thanks to their public service nature and musical format that they allow them to overcome obstacles but there are also strong motivations and character arcs ( Grandpa gets scammed and Bart finds out his family's middle-class style isn't profitable anymore) are topics that pretty much all of us could relate to. While the others are more modern-internet themes and although they can work at times (the aforementioned Bart the Cool Kid with Homer fearing he's not cool anymore is a decent example to me) I feel like it's less "relatable" so to speak and therefore they lose more impact.
 
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TBF I think the satire worked better on paper. Behind the scenes of a show is a crunch-driven mess and all that. Problem is we live in a horrible nightmare timeline where that is extremely common knowledge and basically a given. The world is beyond satire at this point and all the worst cartoonishly evil bits are coming to life.

Hell, even Naegle's exaggerated antics can't hold a candle to the kind of real-life conditions that actually drive people to suicide or, well, consider the #metoo movement...

I mean unless you have a premise that basically measures up real life ceos as more evil than Burns or something then I'm not sure what'd be effective satire. Society is to blame. At least I wouldn't say this one's weakness is entirely the staff's fault.
 
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