FOX Sunday Night

[DR. BELCH]

SEASON FINALE • Simpsons Tall Tales (CABF17)
Well, in the first ten minutes we were treated to a giant baby Homer drinking a cow's udder dry, a glimpse of the inside of his digestive tract, Homer getting a meteor up his butt, and Homer's weird homoerotic spongebathing of a naked bum. What a way to end a season.
When the family inexplicably takes a trip to Delaware, Homer refuses to pay a five-dollar airline tax (recalling his "It's the largest tax increase in history!" line over bear removal in another episode), and the family is forced to ride by rail. On the boxcar they discover a transient who assures them he's "not a stabbin' hobo, I'm a singin' hobo!" However, his choice of song unnerves Marge, so he tells them some Fractured Fairy Tales even Edward Everett Horton wouldn't have touched.
One good thing about the Paul Bunyan story: this is the first time we see the effects of birthing such a large baby on Mrs. Bunyan ("Whiskey...please.")
DYN that in the Connie Appleseed story Homer prefers the taste of buffalo cojones to apples? Recall in "Missionary: Impossible" he happily drinks the "milk" out of a bull gonad, even refusing a coconut when it's offered...which makes the yaoi inherent in Homer's willingness to wash the guy even more unnerving.
DYN, also in this segment, Sideshow Mel's usual hair bone is a buffalo horn?
I would think Lisa would have pressed the issue of the hobo's butchering of Twain's Tom Sawyer a bit more, as she considers herself a defender of knowledge and literature. Not to mention the guy's mixed up the Johnny Appleseed story with those of Buffalo Bill and the Donner Party. Then again, maybe it's wise not to argue with a possibly mentally unstable singin' hobo.
Interesting how all the hobo's favorite apple "dishes" are alcoholic. Lisa suggests applesauce, and the bum considers the possibility of spiking it for palatability.
There was a scene in Twain where Tom and Huck watched their own funeral from the rafters of the church...but I'm hard-pressed to recall a shotgun wedding. Note also that the character of Jim is conveniently nixed...either due to the hobo's bad memory for fairy tales or through censor protest.
DYN that Bart's geography is lacking? Wilmington is in West Virginia, not Delaware...so if he wants to see it, he'll be sorely let down.
I'm surprised Lisa didn't mention the famous White Cliffs of Dover after Marge mentioned a screen door factory (Springfield doesn't have one of its own? Maybe it was bought out by the box-making plant?).
Basically "STT" is Treehouse of Horror minus the horror, and Brain did the fairy tale thing much better as Big Johnny Brain Jones Peachpit Bill Boone Crockett. As a season finale this was dissapointing; I would've preferred that "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" cap off this mixed bag of a twelfth season, since it at least had some intriguing teasers (the whole thing between Ned and his new lover bears some follow-up). Or perhaps they could have thought ahead and showed "Hunka Hunka Burns in Love", the episode that got bumped over because of next week's NASCAR race, and buried this one at the beginning of season 13.

[Nftnat]

I can be a bit slow @ times. I just now figured out where Brainatra gets his predilection for take-offs on the Cap & Gown-y Lunch @ Noon-y Ship 'em Out & Be Back Soon-y Show; from Little Pinky Flea Pie Waffle Shoe Clam Head Chris

[Craig Marinaro]

Similar concept to "Simpsons Bible Stories," but not nearly as funny or creative. And "Simpsons Bible Stories" wasn't all *THAT* funny or creative anyhow.

Several "guilty laugh" moments for me - I couldn't help giggling at the absurdity of how easy it was to kill the buffalo after awhile ("Connie" throwing the apple put me over the edge); and Marge's "yoga classes" line nearly had me on the floor.

I don't think the censors would have been too concerned about using Jim, if the writers had felt like it. The show regularly mocks stereotypes of all shapes and sorts. Heck, even in this episode, we had a gag involving Dr. Hibbert singing "Old Man River" (a song from the musical Showboat, about black slaves working along the Mississippi).

Altogether, an episode that really tries to be funny, and does pack some good bits, but just doesn't quite make the grade. Still slightly above-average for a Scully episode, though.

Dyn: The "We're going to Delaware!" dialogue at the beginning was lifted directly from last year's "sneak peek" from "Behind the Laughter" (although I think they put it to different animation, if memory serves). Also, in the the end credits, they threw in a frozen shot of Kodos & Kang talking on the phone. This shot was lifted from the end of this year's Halloween special (which reran at 7 PM that night). What effect they were trying to achieve by slipping that in among the shots from this episode is beyond me. It just struck me as rather odd.

-C
Official ToonZone Nobo.

[Nftnat]

In what subject is Bart not lacking? And I find anything Homer-erotic unnerving; I still have nightmares about the time the house next door was being shown to prospective buyers, until they got a look @ (almost?) naked Homer in a wading pool. I'd've burned rubber for the hills. *shudder*

[Steve]

You know I think people don't give new episodes a fair shake anymore. I believe it comes from the fact that most of the times you see the simpsons it's the syndicated episodes, theres no pressure for new jokes, they are all familiar 'cause you've seen them before, jokes you forgot about become the funniest ones. I garuntee that any new episode thrown into regular rotation in the early evening syndication slot would be just as funny as a "classic" episode.

[Calhoun07]

I gave more than half this season a fair shake. Really! I love the Simpsons, and I want to see this show succeed as much as anything. I have no axes to grind with this series, but to be brutally honest, this show isn't as good as anymore. This season has been the weakest link in the entire series and I can now only say, "GOODBYE!"

I will check it out next year. I still have faith in this show, believe it or not, that they will pull out some great stuff for the last two seasons. I am really hoping so, because I don't want this show to go out with a bad taste in people's mouths. It deserves a better ending.

[RockItShipper]

Originally posted by DR. BELCH
Recall in "Missionary: Impossible" he happily drinks the "milk" out of a bull gonad, even refusing a coconut when it's offered...which makes the yaoi inherent in Homer's willingness to wash the guy even more unnerving.

You thought so too? I'm slowly regaining my appetite for writing sickfics, but I think "Legend of Dratini" game warden/the restaurant owner in "Beauty and the Beast" (NOT the crone) would be more interesting and disgusting to write. :) Also, after seeing Mummy Returns a 2nd time (Imax screen on this occassion), I'm even more convinced something went on between the brother-in-law and that nomad guy with face tattoos.

[Anthonynotes]

One note:

Wilmington *is* in Delaware---IIRC, it's a suburb of/city close to Philadelphia. Found it out while doing research on prospective cities to move to (including travel guides on the "City that loves you back" [according to the slogan for Philly's travel board website]...)

-B.
Probably be more concerned about it being the "city that *mugs* me back", after looking at Philly's crime statistics.... ;-)

[DR. BELCH]

Brainatra corrects:
:Wilmington *is* in Delaware---IIRC, it's a suburb of/city close to Philadelphia...[I'd] be more concerned about it being the "city that *mugs* me back", after looking at Philly's crime statistics.... )
Perhaps it's my geography that needs a quick brush-up.
Unless there's more than one Wilmington. I mean, there's several Springfields in the U.S., so it stands to reason.
Speaking of crime stats, I just heard on the radio several days ago that Springfield MO is the safest place in America to raise a family. Obviously they don't have Clancy Wiggum heading their police force... ;)

Craig mentioned a "guilty laugh" moment or two...I'll admit I thought the buffalo skeletons in the Connie Appleseed segment were well-animated, and Homer Buffalkill's buffalo-skin sleeping bag was cool (I kind of want one myself). But a script doctor should have been called in before that one was aired to give it a merciless overhaul.

[Anthonynotes]

>>
Perhaps it's my geography that needs a quick brush-up.
Unless there's more than one Wilmington. I mean, there's several Springfields in the U.S., so it stands to reason.
Speaking of crime stats, I just heard on the radio several days ago that Springfield MO is the safest place in America to raise a family. Obviously they don't have Clancy Wiggum heading their police force... ;)

Maybe there's more than one Wilmington, but it doesn't seem as likely as multiple Springfields (Springfield seems to be a very common name; hence one reason the Simpsons' nonexistent-state-located hometown is named as such [along with the cartoonist growing up in Portland Oregon, which is located near a town called Springfield; a lot of the Simpsons' hometown's aspects seem to resemble that of Portland/Oregon from what I can tell...which seems to be a big cliche of writing comics/cartoons/etc. [base the characters and their environment off of people you know/where you live :-) ])

-B.

[Nftnat]

This Wilmington business has done a dangerous thing: it got me curious. So I went to the Rand McNally Zip Code Finder & found a flock of Wilmingtons. There's a Wilmington & a Wilmington Park in California (LA, around the Long Beach-Redondo Beach-Palos Verdes area), 1 in Delaware, a Wilmington Island & Wilmington Park in Georgia, 1 & a Wilmington Township in Illinois, 2 in Indiana, 1 & a town in Massachusetts, 1 in Minnesota, 1 & a town in New York, 1 & a Beach in North Carolina, 1 in Ohio, 2 including a township in Pennsylvania, 1 & a town in Vermont, & 1 in Virginia. That's a total of 22 Wilmingtons & Wilmington something-or-others, hardly a unique name. Now my hometown, Texarkana, that's a oner. I challenge you to find that name anywhere else.