Why do people hate New Kids on the Blecch?

simpspin9283

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I honestly don't get the hatred of this episode. I hate N'Sync and all boy bands in general, but I thought this episode was funny. It is FAR from being one of the worst episodes of the show. The Homer turning out to Grandpa Abe gag was funny. I though that Ralph being the baritone singer was was hilarious. I also thought the "YVAN EHT NIOJ," thing was very clever. There was also tons of funny quotes in this episode like:

Lisa: Superliminal?
L.T. Smash: I'll show you. (Yelling at Carl and Lenny) HEY YOU! JOIN THE NAVY!
Lenny: Uh, yeah, all right.
Carl: I'm in!

I get that people find the N'Sync cameo unnecessary, but they only took up like 3 minutes of a 20 minute episode.
 
Like many episodes of the era, it has a wacky third act twist, trendy guest stars etc. So i can see why people dont like it, i suppose its like Maximum Homerdrive typical of the era but i still enjoy it. I dont think its amazing or anything, but i do like several of the jokes. Catchy music too.
 
Is it me, or does this episode seem to be fairly popular now?

It seems to me one of the most well-liked in Season 12 along with HOMR, Trilogy of Error, HHH, Skinner's Sense of Snow and Worst Episode Ever.
 
It seems so. 10 years ago, several people considered it one of the worst. But now its like most Scully-era episodes, some people dislike it, some people like it, and some are indifferent to the episode. I dont know if its as popular as the ones you listed though.
 
It's adequate. I wouldn't call it one of the best of the season; they can't touch those episodes. But it's...inoffensive, I guess.
 
Yeah, thats probably how most people view it now. Average, not as terrible as stuff like Tennis The Menace and Simpson Safari, but not as good as Worst Episode Ever and Trilogy Of Error either.
 
Well, thats your opinion i guess. I wont get into whats bad about that episode now as you can read several comments in the R&R thread that pretty much covers my thoughts, so i just say i disagree.
 
I actually find it one of the funniest post classic episodes. The third act is inane, and the plot itself is too thin to be considered great. But I'll watch it and enjoy it.
 
I don't find that a bad episode at all, trough its not that great either. I didn't mind the N'sync quest appearance..

I'd say its probably one of season 12's better episodes
 
Anyway, I would say that people hate New Kids on the Blecch because of the scene where Lt. Smash's eyelid falls off and then he bites it.
 
the N'Sync cameos never get funny, there's too many not quite funny enough musical numbers and it devolves into quite a silly final act but I wouldn't say it's bad just flawed.
 
I guess I'm one of the few people who loathes this episode. It has many problems:
-The plot is a mess. It is horribly wacky, and there isn't much of a conflict (LT Smash is going to New York to blow up the Mad Magazine building, but even after he does, it isn't even a big deal).
-The Navy using boy bands to recruit people doesn't make much sense, since they would presumably prefer men to enlist, but boy bands are mostly popular among young girls.
-Lisa doesn't really do anything after she leaves LT Smash's office. In fact, Lisa's discovery has absolutely no consequence.
-Why exactly are Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph in the band? And it is absurd how Bart gets into the band in the first place; LT Smash just picks him up off the street and decides he would be good for a band he is creating.
-N'Sync's appearances are awful.

This episode is just a huge mess with no redeeming factor (the superliminal line is good, but even that isn't that funny and it is hardly enough to make me forget about how awful this episode otherwise is), and it feautres horribly annoying music to boot.
 
Episodes which handle time-tested tropes tend to age the best. Episodes which tend to use then-current trends to examine time-tested tropes and uses the tech more or less as a framing device as opposed to a plot device, tend to age the best. Take "Homer vs. the 8th Commandment"; sure, the episode points out the advantages of cable television, but at the core it's about the ethical issue of stealing.

Then we have New Kids on the Blecch, which uses a then-current trend, boy bands, and uses it as its one and only gimmick, with a strange subtext. I think boy band jokes were pretty well done and over with by the time the episode aired (nor are they especially my cup of tea to begin with), so I suppose it's a victim of its own aging. Some of the jokes work, the animation is all right, the guest performances are funny but a little dated. The concept is all right; the use of corporations to instill hidden messages into their advertising and entertainment is an issue that could have some potential, but it just kind of came off as goofy here.
 
It's an okay episode.

I've said this before on this forum, but seasons 11-12 were the worst seasons ever at the time they originally aired, (whether they were outright "bad" or just "worse than the golden era" is debatable), so fans tend to still think of them as the worst seasons. Because they were the first seasons that pissed us off.

Looking at the show now though, the very very worst episode of season 12 is better than every single episode from seasons 18-24 in my opinion. So if someone were to argue that they're still the nadir of the entire series....no.

I'm not sure exactly when I started watching the show, but I know it was after Season 12, because the first episode I remember watching was Simpsons Tall Tales. So, I know this doesn't apply to me. But, as far as analysis of Simpsons episodes (or eras) goes, I consider it subjective (depending on what you value). I value realistic plots, appropriate characterization, genuine-seeming emotion and suspenese, a good balance between comedy and drama, and actual conflict (among other things). What the Scully era offers (in general) is wacky plots, terrible characterization, insincere emotion, little suspense, far too much reliance on attempted comedy, little drama, and sparse conflict. All categories improved in the Jean era, at least for a while. And New Kids on the Blecch, in particular, fails miserably at offering the things I value in a Simpsons episode.
 
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