The life and times of Homer J.(Vol. IV)
The best and worst of The Simpsons - from the Monorail to Michael Jackson
Chris Selley, Marco Ursi & Jaime J. Weinman | Jul 26, 2007 | 22:05:33
Favourite guest voice: Albert Brooks. Nobody comes close to him as Jacques, Hank Scorpio, or many others - his presence is one of the things that makes me hopeful for the movie.
Least favourite guest voice: I still don’t know how they live with themselves for having Britney Spears as herself.
Favourite couch gag: The family finds Fred Flintstone on the couch. A nice tip of the hat from one primetime cartoon family to another.
Least favourite couch gag: If I have to see that singing n’ dancing production number pad out one more show that ran short…
Continued Below
From: Marco Ursi
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2007 10:45 AM
To: Jaime J. Weinman; Chris Selley
It’s been a blast guys. Here are my picks.
Favourite episode: Just one, eh? I’d have a hard time picking only twenty. I guess I’ll make the case for “Cape Feare,” since I saw it last night. It’s got a brilliant performance from Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob, loads of quotable lines(“I’m cold and there are wolves after me,” “No, that's German for ‘The Bart, The’”), Homer’s stupidity reaching new levels with the “Hello, Mr. Thompson” gag(“I think he’s talking to you”)and of course, the epic, hilarious rake gag.
Least favourite episode: “Saddlesore Galactica.” This is the one where The Simpsons get a horse - again - and the plot devolves into something involving the secret land of the jockeys. Making meta-references to the fact you’ve just made your “worst episode ever” doesn’t make it any funnier. Interesting discussion of this episode here.
Favourite character: Mr. Burns ranks second only to Homer as the character who makes me laugh the most. His old-timey rhetoric(“Ahoy hoy” et al)has made for some of the funniest moments and his role as evil corporate villain served countless plots, especially in the Golden Age. Apparently, he was also Conan O’Brien’s favourite character to write for.
Least favourite character: I guess Snowball II is kind of useless.
Favourite line(s):Miss Crabapple: "Embiggens? I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield."("Lisa the Iconoclast")
Ms. Hoover: "I don't know why. It's a perfectly cromulent word.”("Lisa the Iconoclast")
Duffman: “Are you there God? It’s me… Duffman!”("Old Yeller Belly")
Barry White: “I love the sexy slither of a lady snake. Oh baby!”("Whacking Day")
Least favourite line(s):
Homer: "Got any messages for Jimi Hendrix?"
Doctor: "Yes. Pick up your puppy."
A ridiculous, unfunny leap in logic(how old is that dog supposed to be?)spoils an otherwise flawless episode.("Homerpalooza")
Favourite guest voice: Gotta give credit to Leonard Nimoy for willingly sending himself up in episodes like “Marge Vs. The Monorail”(“A solar eclipse - the cosmic ballet continues”)and especially, “The Springfield Files”(“The following tale of alien encounters is true. And by true, I mean false. It's all lies. But they're entertaining lies. And in the end, isn't that the real truth? The answer is: No.”)
