Review: The Simpsons “The Fat Blue Line”

 

 

Overview:

A new pickpocket is terrorizing Springfield. The new cop in town thinks that she nabbed her criminal when she catches Fat Tony red-handed. A humiliated Chief Wiggum has another idea and tries to help Fat Tony prove his innocence. When the real villain shows his colours, the local mob is divided, and Wiggum regains the respect of his peers.

 

Our Take:

This episode opened in style with a parody of Queen’s famous Live Aid performance. Homer, playing the part of Freddy Mercury, tries to emulate the late artist’s performance but fails in typical Homer fashion. The whole thing was an epic way to start the show, and as far away from a couch gag as you can get. There is also absolutely no relevance to the plot within the episode. But, the big opening was worth it and will most likely be the most talked about thing from the third episode of the thirty-first season.

If there were a theme to “The Fat Blue Line” it would have to be heroes. There are many heroes throughout the episode. Aqua Man himself plays a part as Jason Momoa comes to commemorate Italian heritage. It was a funny part of the show, but was made better when Mayor Quimby referred to the actor as such things as ‘Wet Panther’.

Obviously, Chief Wiggum is the star hero of the episode. Defeated, insulted, and diminished as a police officer, Wiggum sticks to his guns and proves himself a competent law enforcer. Forever Wiggum has been portrayed as nothing but a slovenly, pig-like screw-up, so moments like this are pretty big for him. Overall it was a well-written story about a failing cop proving his worth and freeing an innocent man. The fact that the innocent man in this situation was one of Springfield’s most nefarious villains helped to make it all that more prominent.

But, and a huge but it is, the biggest hero of the episode is Homer’s ass. Homer’s oversized behind takes centre stage throughout the show. First, it is showcased in his dance number as he enjoys street food in the opening act. Then, when the police are attempting to capture the pickpocket, the use of the biggest butt in Springfield is called for. Which leads to some clever word choices and hilarious imagery. That would be quite enough of one ass for an episode, yet even in the end, Homer takes a bullet in the behind to help save Fat Tony’s life. Albeit completely by accident.

Though, if we are going to talk about heroes, we might as well bring up the villains. This episode is mostly about the mob of Springfield and Fat Tony’s men. One of his longest-running gunmen actually turns on him. And, if we learned anything from old gangster flicks it’s that the bad guy that turns on all the other bad guys is the worst of them all. But, arguably one of the scariest most dangerous Simpsons villains also makes an appearance. Sideshow Bob is seen outside the Springfield Penitentiary before hastily being struck by a truck full of rakes.

This was a fun little episode with a well thought out plot. There was a lack of Simpson’s family representation, though sometimes that is okay too. Wiggum is a beloved character, especially when he gets to share scenes with his favourite little boy, Ralph. And, that does pay off more than once throughout this show. So, while this may not be one of the most memorable episodes, “The Fat Blue Line” does hold up to modern-day Simpsons standards. It adds just a subtle bit to the backstory of a side character and has a couple great moments to keep it interesting.