Previously on the Animated Critic.
Evan got a note from a secret admirer telling him to be on the blog at 8.
We now continue with your irregularly scheduled program.
Well it's 8 and she's not here yet. Man I'm kinda tense guys. I mean it has been awhile since I've talked to someone with a crush on me. And by awhile I mean never.
Well.....while we're waiting wanna watch a cartoon?
Show-The Simpsons
Episode Title-Every Man's Dream
Air Date-September 27th 2015
Season 27
Episode-575 (Dang)
Ah yes I believe the Simpsons needs no introduction. I mean it's the longest running animated sitcom on television. Heck it's one of the longest running shows in TV history both live action and animated. Needless to say it's quite popular and has had a huge influence on entertainment. With so many memorable quotes and it defined (as well as created) a lot of tropes present in sitcoms today. Weather its live action or animated a lot of sitcoms have taken some influence from this yellow dysfunctional family.
The mark the Simpsons has left on pop culture as a whole is undeniable.
However as I have stated many times before.....shows don't always retain the quality they used to have. This is called Seasonal Rot and The Simpsons has been a leading example of this. This is to be expected though I mean after 27 seasons, over 500 episodes and over a decade on Television you're bound to lose some steam at some point. This show is considered the prime example of a show that has overstayed it's welcome and should just end. To be fair though it did stay consistent with its quality a lot longer than other shows that have gone through seasonal rot has. Where exactly the rot began is debatable. I mean there are a multitude of heavy arguments about when the show went downhill. Season 5, Season 8, was it the Principal and The Pauper that started the rot. I mean unlike Spongebob or Family Guy I really can't pinpoint it myself. (For Spongebob it was Good Neighbors and for Family Guy it was Airport '07 atleast for me anyway.) But The Simpsons is an entirely different beast. But hey all we need to know is that at some point it went downhill. I don't think it has gotten as bad as Spongebob or Family Guy but it still has considerably dropped in quality.
This leads us to Season 27 which was hyped up beyond belief. It was going to be the season that changed everything as apparently Marge and Homer were going to get 'separated.' You'll see why I put separated in quotes later.
I was in disbelief they would do this so when the Season premiered I checked it out and........I was mixed. Like really mixed. I think it's been awhile since I've been so mixed on an episode. Usually I'm able to form a definitive opinion for myself but here. I was really unsure. There was so much to say.
So you know what let's stop wasting time and begin with the 27th season premiere of the Simpsons. Jeez that's a lot of seasons.
This is Every Man's Dream.
Like all the other Simpson epjsodes there's a couch gag. As it is a Simpsons tradition. So what couch gag did they use to start of their 27th season.
A bunch of Beatles references. Eh, I guess it works. Didn't really hit the comedic heights it wanted to but it works.
But haven't they done this before. I'm not going to bother looking through 500+ episodes (at least I'm honest with my laziness) just to find out. If they didn't I apologize I was wrong but I swore they have
Oh and they all get hit by a bus.
It's funny because......vehicular manslaughter.
By the way this is going be a common occurrence in this episode. Not vehicular manslaughter, no. But not quite reaching the heights it wants to reach despite some jokes that really aren't that bad. They just aren't that funny either. It's complicated. See why it took me so long to do this episode.
By the way this couch gag didn't even have a couch. What a ripoff.
Worst Couch Gag Ever.
Anyway the episode truly begins at the nuclear plant. Homer falls asleep
and then causes a fire.........somehow.
Seriously I have no idea how it happened. He just pushed a button and then boom.....fire. Anyway Homer being Homer is very oblivious to the whole situation.
He is later taken to the hospital where we find out that Homer has been having a little trouble staying awake.
Also we get a joke about how Marge took a picture of her car to remember where she parked.
Tip: Relatable does not always equal funny. You still gotta make a joke out of it. All that's said here is that Marge took a picture to remember where she parked. They don't make a joke out of it really.
So the doctor checks Homer's blood unfortunately he forgot to sedate him before he stuck the first needle in.
Ha ha it's funny cause a needle stabbed him. Actually this is how you cause pain to a character correctly. Have the reaction be cartooney and over the top, which Homer's reaction is. He's the master of over the top cartoon reactions. So in all honesty this joke does work well. But anyway.....
The doctor says he thinks Homer has narcolepsy. And for those of you who don't know what that is here's the Wikipedia article.
But since I know none of you well read that in simple terms it's a sleep disorder. Then we get a really disturbing joke where Bart asks if it's time to pull the plug on his dad. Then he starts unplugging a bunch of stuff.
Ha.........ha..........it's funny cause Bart's trying to kill his dad......wait a minute.
Seriously, I know Bart's always been kinda jerky towards his dad, but this is just so uncharacteristically douchey. Its not even funny like a lot of other times Bart's a bit of a jerk to his dad. It's just.....kinda sick actually. He seems so happy to be wanting to pull the plug on his father as well. It's actually kinda scary.
Oh, and he apparently unplugged someone else. Nice. Bart Simpson just killed a man.
The only thing that's actually pretty funny here is when Homer is yelling at Bart to stop, sounding like he's legitimately scared for his life only to say that Bart unplugged the TV.
The doctor just laughs offs Bart's attempted murder and explains that people with narcolepsy can live normal lives by avoiding stressful triggers. So he gives Homer a pass saying he should use it whenever he finds anything to taxing. Marge tells Homer not to abuse it and Homer says he won't.
Cut to later that day where Homer is abusing it.
How predictable.
Marge tells him he needs to pick up his prescriptions.
Oh and then we get to see Maggie in a......well just take a look for yourself.
Charming guys.............real charming.
Homer says he's not going to change her diaper because narcolepsy.
Marge complains about how it feels being married to him and this causes Homer to fantasize about it.
It's actually really funny. See the Simpsons can still be funny. It's just.....usually they aren't. And when they are they still really don't reach the heights they want to. Looking at the newer seasons it's really hard to see how this show has gone on all these years. If we look at the older seasons though the answer is made quite apparent.
But either way Homer goes and picks up his medicine. And.....oh my god an actual Caucasian.
Holy crap. Do you know how hard that is to find in this show.
Though on closer inspection he still does have a yellow tint in his skin. Crap.
I'm still counting it.
You know the MLP fanbase gives names to individual background characters. Let's do that here. This guy is now....hmmmm......Thomas because why not.
So anyway Homer starts getting really impatient and we get another really funny joke that I won't spoil. This joke, the Homer marrying himself joke, and the TV joke are the only three jokes here I can really say are successes. I can name plenty of other well made and funny jokes here but they don't really hit that comedy soft spot. They don't get the laughs they want outta you. They don't reach their intended heights. So in a way even though they work as jokes and are well made jokes can I really call them successes if they don't reach the point they were intending to reach. No, I can't but I should still give them a bit of credit.
Back to the episode. Homer comes home without his medicine around midnight. He's also been drinking.
This is the straw that breaks the camal's back for Marge. So after years and years of putting up with Homer she finally snaps and decides to take them to a marriage counselor.
You can tell Marge really wants to save this marriage, and then all Homer wants to do is sleep. Yeah if I were Marge I'd be annoyed as well.
The counselor basically says they need to separate for awhile. So they do just that.
When this season was announced this was the thing that they were hyping up beyond belief. I mean one of the most famous couples in the whole wide world of entertainment were separating. They never straight up said divorce but still it was a big deal. And a pretty ballsy move.
Major news outlets were talking about it. The buzz couldn't be stopped.
It was a big deal. And needless to say it peeked a ton of people's curiosity.
So let's see how the main attraction to this episode bares out.
So Homer leaves in a scene that is actually pretty somber. Bart even feels bad and ask his mom if it's his fault that Homer's leaving.
It's actually pretty emotional.
Wait a minute.......how are they going to ruin this.
Bart says he's just joking and is glad Homer is leaving. Wow.
This is so uncharacteristically douchey of Bart. Like Jesus man.
So we cut to Homer who is sleeping at the power plant.
We get a somber montage that shows how sad Homer is because of this situation.
It's a bit emotional to say the least.
Also we get a joke where Mr. Burns fall on a statue of himself and he ask Smithers to crawl through the statues rear end. Smithers obviously does it with no hesitation.
Get it. The joke is Smithers is gay for Mr. Burns.
Lawwwwwwwwwl.
Oh wait a minute it's a stupid and pointless joke.
But then we get a scene where Homer wraps some gloves around him and god.
It's just sad man.
The next day Homer is as happy as an animation critic who just finished reviewing a Steven Universe episode. (And that's really happy)
His friends ask how he could be so happy. Homer says that even though they fight sometimes they always Come together in the end and always make up.
He calls up Marge and the voicemail reveals that she's using her maiden name. Also her facebook status is now 'it's complicated' which is usually used as another way of saying 'I'm single but don't want to explicitly say I am.'
So Homer is now all depressed. So he goes to the place where he always goes no matter how he's feeling. The bar. Classic Homer Simpson.
We get to see the first Itchy and Scratchy segment of the season.
Conveniently it's about exactly what's going on in Homer's life.
Yeah its not that funny either. I know the point of itchy and scratchy is to be as brutally violent as possible and they do that here but.....that doesn't make it good.
I just don't find the extremely brutal violence here funny or entertaining.
He gets a call and thinks its from Marge but it's just the pharmacy telling him to pick his meds up.
So we then get properly introduced to the pharmacist who was seen earlier.
She seems to take a liking to Homer and then they decide to hang out. And then he starts acting like a dog when he passes someone else.
This is the second episode I've reviewed in a row where the characters start acting like animals for a joke. Weird. Didn't think this was something I would ever see a lot of when I started this blog.
So anyway where else would they hang out but a place with a bunch of alcohol.
The club. Or if you wanna be hip Da Club.
She then drugs Homer.
Not joking. She uses his prescriptions and drugs him.
This causes a really trippy scene.
It starts off pretty tame with them just walking on a really bright street.
Then her tattoos start moving.
OK weird but still not to bad.
Then they become Tattoos and......
Then they dance in front of a bunch of heads that include Flanders, the devil, and......The Grinch. What?
God, remind me never to do drugs.
Unless under extreme circumstances like say......if I were to review Not All Dogs Go To Heaven from Family Guy which is never going to happen.
So anyway the next day Homer wakes up and sees he slept with her while he was tripping out.
Homer is uncomfortable with this as I guess he's still dedicated to Marge.
Kinda sweet if you ask me.
But they still hang out anyway and we get to meet her friends.
Who are all just a bunch of Hipster wannabes. I mean they act like a stereotypical hipster. They talk like them, and even like things 'ironically.' And they're around the age of a stereotypical hipster.
Anyway she says that the only reason she hangs out with Homer is that he reminds her of a childhood snowman.
Uh........what?.......OK, no comment.
So at the bar the next day it is revealed that Homer and her got matching tattoos.
And I guess that means that things are getting serious.
It's also revealed that he's soon gonna meet her dad.
He says he's perfectly fine with the age difference as he is dating someone much younger.
It's Marge isn't it.
Called it.
So yeah things get awkward. Obviously.
Things get even worse for Homer as he proposes to Marge.
Jesus the world just really hates Homer today doesn't it.
But then the big plot twist is revealed.
It was all just a dream.
WHAT!!!!!!!
So wait you took all this time hyping up how things were going to change all for it to end in a dream because I guess 'The status Quo is god.' Nothing can change cause that would actually be interesting. And plus talk about cheap. The whole 'it's just a dream cliche' is one of the cheapest ways to end a story.
And you know what just to add insult to injury that means that all this was just an attempt at a ratings trap. All just a cheap way to get more views.
Telling us it was all going to change but psyching us out.
That's bullcrap.
Seriously Simpsons I know you have lost a lot of dignity but can you try to at least save a few shreads of it.
But whatever we still have a few more minutes left so let's get through this.
Just.....can't believe it.
So let's see. Marge says if Homer can be good for a month then he could possibly save the relationship. No drinking, nothing.
And......he actually pulls through.
Really shows how much he's willing to do for his family. See even when the show is going through seasonal rot at least Homer is still likeable and cares for his family.
Unlike another father from a show that also went through seasonal rot.
I'm looking at you Mr. I'm not going get a job for my family. I'm only going to get one so I can enjoy sex again.
Sorry I still have some pent up rage from that.
Homer is apparently such a good person that he taught Maggie to speak and made Lisa start eating meat.
Hmm.....something seems off here.
Wait a minute is this.......
Another dream.
So it was a dream inside a dream.
OK now I'm confused.
So Homer realizes this is all real and goes home to see Marge with her new date.
Wait a minute. But apparently the dream Homer was having happened in the bar after he drunk that drugged out beer. He only meet Marge's date in his dream. So how did his dreams predict that Marge was really dating this guy.
Oh my god. Homer's a psychic.
But everyone seems to really like this new guy and Homer sulks some more. He does that a lot this episode.
Lisa is there to cheer him up though saying she'll never abandon him.
Awww, how sweet.
This is actually a really nice scene. But Lisa Goes as she's promised a pony by Marge's new date.
Then guess what happens.
ITS REVEALED THAT THIS IS ANOTHER FRICKING DREAM. OH MY GOD JUST USING THE SAME TROPE MULTIPLE TIMES IS NOT SUBVERTING OR MAKING FUN OF IT. ITS JUST ANNOYING THE EVERLIVING CRAP OUT OF ME AND IS BECOMING QUITE REPETITIVE.
But this time it's revealed to be Marge's dream. So it's not Every MAN'S Dream. It's a Woman's dream.
So we go back to the therapist.
Oh boy. Yay.
The therapist says that the dream means that sometimes she's sick of her husband but at the same time afraid to lose him.
Then Homer says like all men he didn't hear the fist part and is overconfident in the second part. Ah screw you.
So the therapist says there's a solution but before the therapist tells them what it is we find our that this is actually all just a tattoo.
What? You think I'm joking. No this entire story was just a tattoo.
Seriously it was just a series of Tattoos on a woman's back.
Well......at least it wasn't a dream. But it might as well he as it has the exact same effects. Meaning none of this happened and that this was all just a ratings trap.
Also this was apparently a dream inside a dream inside of Marge's dream inside a tattoo story I guess.....this is a weird episode.
But how is it.
Well I think I made up my mind about it.
It's.........pretty OK.
I have a lot to complain about but overall this episode did a lot of things right. It has some bad jokes but some good well made ones as well. And it can be quite touching at times to. The ending is a big slap in the face though.
And to be honest a lot of the moments don't really reach the comedic or emotional heights it was aiming for. So while credit is still due I can't say I should give it all the credit.
Worst Part-Ending
Best Part-Some of the more emotional scenes on this episode. Especially the Lisa one though.
Overall-7/10
So yeah it has problems and a lot of good qualities as well. But sometimes the good qualities just don't hit that spot they intend to. So I feel a 7/10 is the score it deserves. I will admit the ending also contributed to a lower score.
So that's Every Man's Dream which is really a woman's dream which is really a tattoo.
Best episode. 10/10. 5 stars.
So if you enjoyed this episode I appreciate it if you shared it with friends or maybe some other people. And if you hit that +1 button.
Other than that hope you enjoyed the episode and I'd love your thoughts on today's topic. Also all constructive feedback about the review itself is appreciated.
Peace.
Well it's way past 8 and she's not here. I was stood up.
*sigh* should've known it was too good to be true.
Oh god I'm late. Sorry about that.
Oh, well no problem. You caught me in the middle of a review. So.....
So....yeah. How's it going.
I'm doing good......um.....sorry about this I'm not good with talking to people. Not exactly my strong point.
Well you seem pretty brave on your blog post.
Well in real life I'm a lot more meek and shy. Talking to people directly just makes me a nervous wreck.
Ha ha, well it's fine. I have the same problem. So......I heard you like cartoons.
Hmm.........wonder how you figured that out. I always kinda thought it was a low key interest of mine. :p
Oh, just a little birdie told me.
........ Oh crap she's coming. Gotta go bye.
Wait........what. Hey, you there?
She left. Dang, I still didn't get her name.
And why did she have to leave?
*Sigh* as I said before to good to be true.
You know what I gotta be positive here. I'll probably see her again. And when I do I'll have some questions for her.
Well until then...
Peace.
Next Animated Critic-Beauty and The Obese (Stripperella)
Next Anime Critic-Madoka Magica Episode 1-2
Next Evan Vs. Disney-Pinocchio
Created/Hosted/Written By-Evan Crose
Have you noticed how many yellow characters there are in animation. The Simpsons, Minions, Spongebob, Fluttershy, and Omi. Weird.
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