Review: The Simpsons ‘Peeping Mom’

 

Spoilers Below:

First off: Happy 420, everybody. I hope you all have a fun & safe holiday.

So anyway, after a short hiatus, The Simpsons was back on FOX with a new episode. Although sometimes new episodes can remind us older ones. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Good if the quality and style recall the prime years of The Simpsons, and create a new story with some old nostalgia. But it can also turn out badly if the episode seems to be a rip-off. This episode had some of both.

After someone stole a bulldozer and ran amok on a joyride, Marge assumed it was Bart, and began following him around to watch him closer. Her constant presence chased him away, causing her to give up the cause. Free from his mother’s watch, Bart organized a big prank, but changed his bad ways into good to please his mother. The bulldozer thing was totally him though.

In Case You Missed It:

1) Couch gag: Five kernels of corn sat atop a sizzling couch. They eventually popped into members of the Simpson Family, with Homer being the only charred one.

2) Why would Marge have Nelson’s phone number?

3) Todd’s balloon said, “Church Fair.” Are we to assume the puppy was won there? Last time someone claimed to do that, it was Bart and Laddie in season eight’s “The Canine Mutiny.”

4) When Marge said somebody at the table wasn’t being truthful, Maggie hid an Aw Fudge! chocolate bar, Abe hid a can of People Food, and Homer hid a copy of the Koran.

5) The can Marge used to spray the schoolbus seat was called: KILL ALL! Disinfectant – Fresh Scent.

6) Moe’s before bros.

7) Flanders: “We’re giving her to Ho- Ho- Ho-. / Rod: “We’re giving her to Santa?” / Flanders: “No, someone fatter!”

8) In Bart’s prank model, among the townspeople you can see Comic Book Guy with a word bubble reading, “Worst diorama ever!”

In any classic show, series need to be careful when they delve into their own past. It’s the delicate line that is usually walked by films that are sequels or prequels to a very successful movie. As a filmmaker, you’d want to be mindful of all the types of things that worked the first time around, without copying them blatantly. Not everyone follows this though. Sometimes a new joke seems too much like self-plagiarism, or worse, it could actually tarnish the original.

“Peeping Mom” had a few close calls, with Lenny revealing he wears suspenders for the firemen, back-to-back Bart-strangling gags with Homer & Marge, and breaking the fourth wall by spoofing the intro sequence mid-episode, but they all passed through. Also, Homer’s admission to Lisa that she’s the favorite child was a bit odd since it seemed to effect a life-altering change in the middle child, but the magic of TV is that everything can still go back to normal the next week.

On the flipside, making any kind of demeaning joke toward Milhouse is always appreciated (“It’s gonna be sooooome treehouse,”) and the aforementioned Comic Book Guy sight gag is in the same boat. I should also give credit for The Simpsons using smartphones several times in this episode and not making it weird. This is obviously a recent addition to the show, and something lacking for most of its 26-year run, but because we as fans are used to the show being relevant, it isn’t an overly noticeable update. Kudos there.

However, in the end the story seemed a bit worn out, as Marge occasionally spends an episode here or there trying to fix Bart once and for all and/or giving up on him (“Marge Be Not Proud,” “The Secret War of Lisa Simpson,” “Bart the Mother,” “Brother’s Little Helper,” etc.) but at least this one had some commentary on helicopter parents. (“Following an adult is creepy; following your kid is parenting.”) Still, the whole thing was a bit uninspired considering how many times it has been attempted. As for the side story about the Flanders’ new dog liking Homer better, it was a bit lame and sappy. It almost seemed like it was going to be like the aforementioned “The Canine Mutiny,” except Homer didn’t actually get the new dog, and the neglect of Santa’s Little Helper was only used in a passing joke before the end sequence.

Still, in true latter-day Simpsons fashion, there was a solid amount of laughs. But also in that same fashion, they became less frequent as the story progressed. This season has had its fair share of hits, with some for extra bases, and even a home run or two (How are these baseball metaphors working for you?) but The Simpsons will have to send their big bats to the plate in these next few weeks if they want to end the season with a winning record.