Rate & Review: "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner" (FABF08)

How would you rate this episode?

  • 5/5: "... you have elected me, your intellectual superior, as your king. Good for you!"

    Votes: 51 20.6%
  • 4/5: "You can't spell party without Artie... if you misspell party or Artie."

    Votes: 81 32.7%
  • 3/5: "We're taking a trip through time … backwards, to the sexy 70's!"

    Votes: 80 32.3%
  • 2/5: "There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity."

    Votes: 25 10.1%
  • 1/5: "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about my busy hands."

    Votes: 11 4.4%

  • Total voters
    248

Cole

where is everyone
Joined
Nov 21, 2001
Messages
1,664
Location
huntsville, al
From SNPP
Jon Lovitz returns as Artie Ziff, who went bust along with his Internet company, so he moves in with Homer - who ends up as the company's major shareholder.


You can preview/speculate about the episode in this thread.

The thread and poll will open immediately following the broadcast of the episode.

My oh so clever voting quotes aren't so great this week since I really can't remember that many great Ziff quotes.
 
awesome episode, 5 stars

IT showed where the simpsons live (in the couch gag)

so many jokes to pick the best, but defenetly alot in this one, john lovitz was really good as a guest star, plus cool to see the critic, great ending, that wraped things up nicley
 
"Can I apply my time towards a future crime"

Domain name: LISATHEMOVIE.COM

Registered to:
The Simpsons
Matt Selman
10202 w. pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: 310-369-5141
email: mattselman@aol.com

Registrar name: register.com
Registrar whois: whois.register.com

Created on :wed, march 3 2004
expires on: thurs march 3 2005

http://www.register.com/whois-resul...c4b228425ecb5eadbb3dda9298c29f305eec5c21043c3


from www.snpp.com
Matt Selman-writer
[5F18] Natural Born Kissers
[AABF14] Simpsons Bible Stories (David & Goliath)
[AABF18] They Saved Lisa's Brain
[BABF03] Eight Misbehavin'
[BABF19] Behind the Laughter (with Tim Long, George Meyer and Mike Scully)
[CABF01] Lisa the Tree Hugger
[CABF14] Trilogy of Error
[CABF17] Simpsons Tall Tales (Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn)
[DABF05] Jaws Wired Shut
[EABF03] The Dad Who Knew Too Little


I assume from the long couch gag this episode was short?
 
Last edited:
Terrific ! Viva La Jay Sherman. Just give Lovitz another damn animated show already. 5/5
 
Last edited:
meh... 2/5

some laughs and still a step up from the past few seasons.
Loves the couch gag.

I will have to watch this episodes a few more times tonight after the Sopranos before I give my full review...

What I AM terrified with is next weeks episode. Duffless is my alltime favorite episode and I really hope it isn't a rehash of that truly wonderful episode...
 
One word to describe this ep:

ghg-Ackem!

Horrible. People gave this a 5? Poor deluded souls.


I forgot to TiVo this ep. I'm actually kind of grateful.
 
Expected a lot after a great couch gag and a pretty good movie marquee. Didn't quite live up to that.

Random thoughts

-I have mixed feelings about the Blair Witch reference. In a way it seems stale, but I think it works a little better now that you're not seeing allusions to it everywhere like four years ago.

-However, no complaints about the Corrections reference or the appearance of the four other Lovitz characters (Llewellyn Sinclair rules!)

-I thought the appearance of Selma at the end redeemed things a little, but I was surprised that she wasn't more disappointed about Homer getting out of jail.

I give it 3 out of 5 and place it in the lower tier of this year's episodes. I expected better, but hey, still better than anything else I've seen on TV this week.
 
Last edited:
awesome 5/5

- multiple jon lovitz characters in moe's
- "why daddy does hard time"
- matrix parodies
- "a mormon? but i'm from earth!"

i like artie ziff, so the idea of this episode intrigued me. well done
 
Last edited:
You can tell they are short on ideas when they needlessly bring back Artie Ziff a *third* time. what a forced episode. Why would anyone actually believe that Homer was guilty? The plot was disjointed and stupid and I don't even feel like writing a lot about this episode.

I felt that the majority of the jokes fell flat. I'm sick of all these stupid Blue Man Group references. Ooh, take THAT, Blue Man Group! ;-/ Artie having sex with Selma was gross and it single-handedly destroyed Selma's character - shes not a sex crazed slut, she just wants a husband that she can't find.

Theres probably more that I could complain about, but I don't even remember much from the episode. I give it a 2/5
 
Couch gag: What can I say…Homer called it

Act One:
Loved – every movie title, except well, look at hated…
- MC birthday
- -Achem!? Wrong lovitz character, but still funny
- 1986 newsweek

Hated – the wild dingleberries? Blech
- blair witch? Simpsons already slammed Blair Witch knockoffs in "Mad Mad Marge" Blech

Act Two

Loved – repo van fakeout
- all the Jons at moes
- can yodeling cure cancer?

Hated – poor explanation for getting homer arrested

Act Three

Loved – Everything but…

Hated – Artie “squirt squirt squirt” What the hell was that? I was hoping it was part of some crazy plan to get out by acting so weird… but no…

Nice very entertaining entertaining 22 minutes. Wasn’t memorable enough for a 5/5. and that ending was just bad, so 4/5
 
Oh my god, that (Hackem)...sorry..anyways, that was wondeful! So many uses of minor characters, some good subtle sight gags (Eating Nemo, You're In The Matrix Charlie Brown, etc.) and it didn't feel rushed. It felt like a half-hour. 4.5/5
 
Last edited:
Pretty Good episode! Another "where is Springfield" gag...anybody have a freeze frame shot? The Matrix Christmas, haha! I thought the Blair Witch thing was kind of stupid. What the hell was up with Selma's voice!!!! Julie Kavner is losing it :( Also, did anyone else notice that she looked fat in that jogging outfit, but then she looked thin at the prison? The pop-up book was great....but the Bart choking himself was unfunny. There were a lot of funny jokes that made up for the corny ones....3.5/5
P.s. "The Swan?????" What the fuck kind of show is that!!!? My husband and i both couldnt believe it when we saw the promo for that. FOX has stooped VERY low....:(
 
Last edited:
best. couch gag. ever.

and i dont think they really showed where they lived. someone said that. it gave an idea of the region. but i couldnt tell you where that was exactly.

if anyone has or can make a .gif of that, PLEASE do so. I want it as my avatar in other forums.


Overall, I thought it was pretty good. I give it a 5. I liked the Matrix Christmas poster in the begining.


Edit: is it me or did selma/patty (whoever!) loose weight by the end. shes a babe!
 
I liked it alot- A-/B+

I liked the first act the most, the movie title parodys were hilarious. I agree with others that the episode was quite disjointed, however. Felt like three different plots. I didn't mind that much, though, beacuse I felt the episode was quite funny. Great couch gag, although it was obviously filler. Second and third acts were kinda meh. Although I loved Lovitz's characters all being at Moe's. Great animation throughout the episode, also. The worst of the Ziff episodes. Overall it was good, not great. My ramblings will cease.
 
Last edited:
I shocked. Shocked, stunned, confused, perturbed, perplexed, dumbofunded, bewildered, puzzled, overwhelmed, and generally in awe of how the hell this ep got ANY 5's.

Seriously, not to break out an old Simpsons cliché, but...





THIS EP IS HIGHLY OVERRATED.



5? Bah. Bah, I say, BAH!
 
Jesus, this is the reason why I don't watch new episodes of The Simpsons anymore. Christ, things really have gone straight to hell. I'll take my reruns, thankyouverymuch.

2/5. I could have given worse, and probably should have.
 
I gave this episode a 3/5 just because I love Artie Ziff and I was a little disappointed the show wasnt funnier because of him. Still, one of the better episodes of the season.
 
copy of tonight's show

I used to work for the SEC and now give a lot of presentations about the agency's work. If anyone taped tonights show and can copy to vhs or dvd, i will send you a money order for all costs involved in mailing me a copy (including your time). I would not resell or use it for a profit, so no copyright issues.

Thanks,
Barry
 
Meh, very poor in comparison to Artie's other two episodes, which were both excellent. The great thing was that the two previous Ziff episodes had helped develop a character who simply didn't fit in with any groups, and therefore held to Marge, the one woman who had trusted him and enjoyed his company. At the same time, Marge and Homer, whose troubles seemed to be a main focus of the previous Ziff episodes, saw their relationship strengthened by the appearance of Artie. Well, neither of these were present tonight. Lovitz played a very flat and bland Ziff who was only there to appease old fans yet again. A new character would have fit in his place just as well. That said, such a thin and boring plot brought down an episode that was ok otherwise. The jokes were pretty funny (The Charlie Brown Matrix movie poster, Mormons) and there was a great Indiana Jones reference as well. Aside from Selma, whose appearance I'll try to forget, characterization was not a very big problem. Homer was a bit whiny but it never got to the point of annoying. The first act did nothing for the plot but was done pretty well, as it was possibly the funniest segment, and the movie was a pretty typical activity for the family, wen compared to, say, a sugar ball. The irresponsibility of Homer was commented on by Marge, but this problem was never brought up again, so what did those 7 or so minutes add? Nothing much. Artie's introduction was as perplexing as it was stupid, and his past was not thoroughly explored at all. It was a throwaway episode overall, and I'm hoping, this, Ziff's fourth appearance, was his last one, seeing as this was a wasted effort with scattered good jokes and decent characterization.
C+
 
GREAT episode. The best of the season. The couch gag was amazing and paved the way for truely amazing episode. It was hilarious AND had an interesting plot, which is how it should be. Homers characterization was right on, incredibly stupid, but not jerk-assy.The only rough spots were yet ANOTHER suicide joke and patty and Selma's "graphic" hacking. Still minor enough to forgive and give the episode an A+.
 
Ok, seriously, you're all joking right? Pretty soon, everyone's gonna break their straight face and yell "Just kidding! It sucked!" right? RIGHT?!?

Best of the season?!? Fuck, I'd group this with Season 11. Bad x 10⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹
 
Spooner said:
Ok, seriously, you're all joking right? Pretty soon, everyone's gonna break their straight face and yell "Just kidding! It sucked!" right? RIGHT?!?

Best of the season?!? Fuck, I'd group this with Season 11. Bad x 10⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹⁹


spooner? quiet, please. There's only been about 5 or 6 people who've said it's 5/5, and most of them say that every week.
 
Great episode! As far as "modern era" episodes go, The Ziff Who Came to Dinner was nearly perfect. Let's start with the couch gag: this is without a doubt the strangest couch gag ever, but it was quite a cool one! And it's nice to see a chalkboard gag after quite a long string without any.

On to the first act: there was one fundamental problem with this act. It had nothing to do with the rest of the episode, and was a waste of screen time. However, it was an absolutely hilarious waste of screen time! Nice to see a return of the parody movie titles ("A Matrix Christmas"), and good characterization of Bart and Lisa. Lisa trying to rationalize her fear ("It's just a movie, filmed in Vancouver") and failing struck me as great interpretation of Lisa's character: incredibly smart, but still an eight-year-old girl. With some similar Bart scenes, this was some of the best characterization we've seen of them in years.

The second act, while forgetting about every plot point of the first act, still worked very well. Artie's explanation of his downfall incorporated a very small but funny bit of social satire (Gingrich, Garofalo, and Pippin in the hot tub, claiming that the stock "will make a slight rebound in 2003"). Artie moving in with the Simpsons felt slightly forced, but not nearly as bad as earlier similar incidents (the convict in Pokey Mom immediately comes to mind). Artie framing Homer, on the other hand, felt completely within Artie's character. Even with the questionable concept of how Homer got the stocks, this part felt perfectly natural. A couple more notes about this act: I liked the meta-reference of John Lovitz's previous characters. A nice injoke for knowledgable fans. Also, Barney was drunk again? Woohoo! It's about damn time!

Act three opened with a very good thing and a very bad thing. The good: Krusty sitting on the Congress committee was a nice bit of continuity. The bad: in this scene, Homer acted much, much dumber than usual, which is a real accomplishment for him. Oh well... it was only one scene and didn't really hurt the flow of the episode. I loved Artie's daydream in the courtroom scene; it was kind of reminiscent of the classic "I am evil Homer" daydream from Whacking Day. The scene with Homer in jail was sufficiently touching, which still maintaining the feel of the episode. Patty and Selma's entrance into the episode was kind of strange, but worked well enough. Selma's attraction to the man who put Homer in jail made some sense. Artie's decision to come forward may have happened a little too easily, but the writers did a good enough job establishing the reasons for this. The ending, with Artie in prison, was funny, and did a good job of providing closure to the episode.

Overall, The Ziff Who Came to Dinner had a couple of minor problems, but were overshadowed by the good plot, great characterization, and fantastic humor.
An easy 4.5/5!

My score: 4.5/5
 
Last edited:
Well, the damn smoke alarm went off in the middle of this epsiode (when there's no smoke to be choked on) and I had to rewatch it. Anyway, the funniest sight gags: Charlie Brown in the Matrix?! :lol: and "The Unwatchable Hulk" were the two biggest laugh diggers of the night. Otherwise, the rest was okay and this is BY FAR the best episode to have Dan and Deb's writing credits, even they probably wrote about 7.42% of it.
 
Back
Top