Review: The Simpsons “101 Mitigations”

Hope you kids like sight gags!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Homer gets tried in court for stealing Comic Book Guy’s car for a joy ride all the while ruining a vintage Radioactive Man #1 and is subsequently found guilty. Having been sentenced to prison, Marge wants to do everything she can to try and get Homer off without any repercussions. With Comic Book Guy unwilling to budge, the Simpsons turn to Academy Award-winning director Guillermo Del Toro for an idea. Lisa surmises that if Homer can produce a top-notch video for the judge, he might be able to get off scot-free. After producing and showing the video to the judge, it looks as though Homer will be able to walk free…until Comic Book Guy objects and convinces the judge to proceed with sentencing Homer.

The Hail Mary pass sees Homer purchasing a Radioactive Man #1 from a rival comic book store to try and win his freedom, but it’s Homer’s Welcome Back Kotter keychain that grabs the eye of Comic Book Guy. After destroying the keychain, Comic Book Guy lets Homer walk…with him to Comic-Con.

Our Take

The scheduling gods were kind to The Simpsons, an episode that teases comic books right before we kick off a 2019 year that will see a half a dozen or so inspired feature film efforts coming to a theater near you (and this doesn’t take into account the stuff that’s coming to television). This doesn’t feel like an episode where the producers are punching down at the comic book fan, instead they infuse enough comic book humor that should satiate the fans all the while giving us a premise that would be just fine for your casual non-comic book reading fan looking to want their favorite Sunday series. The sight gags are flooded and should appease both fans just fine, and one of the many things that The Simpsons does that I wish more adult animated series would do is dig in deeper into established character rosters. Comic Book Guy is not used often, but when he is, it’s a good time. It’s by far one of the underlying strengths of the show in a season that has also seen plots with Krusty, Moe, and other ancillary characters get more screen time. Probably why this thing’s been on for 30 seasons.