We’ve (they’ve) made it! Before I start this review, I’d like to say that from what I’ve read about this episode, it seems a red reminiscent of The Simpsons Movie, but it doesn’t seem overly copied or terrible, just yet. Let’s roll the tape.
The most meaningless milestone of all – the 500th episode! The couch gag (which was said to make HitFix’s Alan Sepinwall ‘choke up’) was great, actually. Despite its length, the couch gag (going to the very beginning of the couch gags) was nice to see, later panning out to show the couch gags forming a photographic mosaic of the number “500.” Bart’s line, “Bunkerball is keeping us sane” was worthy of a chuckle, if only for a bit; “The Optimist Club” funding the float featuring the slogan “Simpsons, Go to Hell” was another notable line. Other notable quotables/moments: Homer’s crude disguises for him and Marge to sneak into Springfield, along with his amateurish Mr. Burns impression, “I’m sick of watching FOX!” (while watching an actual fox sleep), and Homer referencing Dan Castellaneta’s Walter Matthau-inspired voice (“Remember when we moved in and I talked like this?”) from season one and parts of season two. The guest appearance of Julian Assange was unneeded and unfunny, useful for an overused “WikiLeaks” reference.
I’m a person that doesn’t like open endings (unless you feel as if you are going to be assured later on) on television shows, so I was not a particular fan of the ending, but it wasn’t overly terrible and I’m sure to maintain the status quo, the relocation of all of the town’s residents to the Outlands will be retconned for the following episode. The ending slide, “Get some fresh air before going on the internet and saying how much this sucked,” is yet another self-aware joke from season 23, appropriate for what I (and many other watchers/fans of The Simpsons as of right now) am essentially doing with this review (although I’m not stating this episode sucked per se).
Overall, this was an appropriate 500th episode, at least in my opinion. It was semi-lackluster in jokes (it is season 23, after all), and, in my view, ended too soon (I would have liked to see more of what happened to the residents that kicked the Simpsons family out of Springfield and then moved with them to the Outlands) but it wasn’t overly terrible. Let’s see The Simpsons go for another 100, 200, or 500 more (let’s see).
I’m sick of watching FOX.
Thanks for reading,
Judy