I Want Better Costumes!

Community, S04E02

Jeff and the others stopped by Pierce's house after he called saying that he was locked in his panic room.  Pierce told them that the reason he had holed up in there was because he thought he saw his father's ghost.  As the gang explored the house for the notebook with the access code to free Pierce, they we frightened by several freaky occurrences.

Seeing a Halloween story on Valentine's Day was refreshing in that it wasn't typical, but it did remind me that this show was supposed to have started back up in October.  Still, instead of seeing a bunch of hearts and candy, I was able to enjoy everyone in costumes.  Or I would have been able to if they were good ones.  I liked when they dressed up as celebrities for some kid's party more than what they decided to wear to Vicky's party.  I mean, I've seen Princess Leia a million times as a costume, even if it was adorable that her whole family was doing characters from that movie.  Britta was a ham--boring.  Jeff was a boxing--yawn.  Annie's wasn't too bad, especially since she mistook the girl from Ring for being a girl who announces the matches at a boxing ring.  I prefer what she ended up with than something like what Dean had did (who was sort of cute as a ring girl).  Abed's costume was cute too, but I had no idea who he was until I looked it up.  He and Troy were dressed up as Calvin and Hobbes!  Wow.  I would have never gotten that on my own.  That makes me like the stupid-looking tiger costume Troy was in a whole lot better and absolutely makes me adore Abed's (which was cute without knowing the reference).  I was initially a little concerned that they didn't go all out for a costume opportunity, but they exceeded my expectations.

Besides that most of the costumes weren't too impressive, I also didn't like too much that they ended up at Pierce's house.  I was prety much like Jeff the whole time, suspecting that he was up to something.  I liked that when everyone else was willing to give Pierce the benift of the doubt, Jeff was appalled at their sympathy:

What in the Scooby Doo is happening to you people?!

That was about the only line that stands out to me from the story.  There was more of a focus on the "horror" going on in the house than comedy, really.  That and Britta trying to show Jeff that he missed not having a father more than he let on.  The only thing interesting about that (it was mostly annoying that Britta was doing more of her "therapy") was that Jeff had found out his father's number, but hadn't gotten around to calling him.  I suspect that he was too scared to do so until the events of that night had passed.  Although, I'm not sure that I'm eager to see Jeff's dad or not.  After not knowing him for some many years, I can't imagine that their reunion will be a good one.

When it all turned out to be a Halloween prank just like Jeff had predicted, I wasn't as annoyed as I would have been if Gilbert hadn't appeared and had a sweet moment with Pierce.  Maybe with more brotherly love in his life, Pierce might be a little less insufferable.  At the moment, he's sort of like a fly that you swat at that just won't go away.  As he's an important part of the "study group," I would like to enjoy his character a little more.  At least for the time he'll be around (I've heard rumor that Chevy Chase won't be on the show for the entire season).

Finally, I just wish there was a little more Abed.  Like I said before, there was a focus on Jeff and his father problems, which I'm not too concerned with right now.  I did like that Abed was excited about finding a secret room and he was spying on his friends from the security room like it was reality TV or something, but that just wasn't enough for me.  I was a little happier when the extra segment showed Abed and Troy playing around with the secret door and Pierce came out and demanded to know who was in his house.  I like seeing them mess around with him like he's their crazy uncle or something.

This episode wasn't bad, but it could be better.  Somehow I'm wondering if the season is just off to a slow start or if my tastes have changed.  I don't know how I feel about Jeff bringing up his long-lost father.  That story could go either way.  Pierce's haunted house was a let down, as were most of the costumes.  However, Abed and Troy brought their A game, so I can't complain too much about that.  I just want there to be a little more Abed (and Troy) moments.  They're the kind of duo that I can't get enough of seeing.

Is Jane A Warlock?

Happy Endings, S03E02

Penny tried to buy a car without having Jane interfere too much.  Max showed Brad how to live Brad's old life in Max's no-money style.  Alex and Dave looked at apartments together.

This episode was okay.  I think what I liked best was that Jane got to be her normal aggressive self in this episode.  This time she was a no-prisoners negotiator for a car purchase.  More than that, I really loved how Jane kept magically moving from place to place and Penny wondering if she was a witch or warlock.  I can understand that Penny might have wanted to do something on her own (and she ultimately did),  but I would have just let Jane do her thing.  It's amazing how well she could predict all the moves of the dealership down to the meager cup of water offered to them.  She just couldn't predict that Penny's seemingly bumbling moves (like walking straight through a glass wall) were just a ploy to get a good price.

At the very end, I also like how coolly she interacted with the "Car Czar."  Who walks around with not just your salary offer, but your counteroffer to someone rejecting your salary offer?  Damn!  She still manages to surprise me with how insanely prepared she is.  She just can't be beat.  But I wonder if she really is going to go work for that guy, or was that just a gag at the end?

I thought that Max taking Brad around for the day was cute, but not entirely funny.  Them going to random meetings for free food was pretty good, but the best part of that story was when Max had a substitute for Brad's running trainer.  I loved seeing Max slap a pretzel out of a guy's hand and punch him in the face before running off.  That takes balls and insanity.  I respect that Max may be a bum, but at least he's not a coward.  Also, he did that for Brad, so he's not afraid to get the shit beat out of him for someone he loves.

Alex and Dave...   I feel like a broken record, but they just suck.  I was already bored by the idea of them moving in together, but I was just angry to see them wasting a real estate agent's time by coming up with the worst excuses ever to reject every good apartment that she had shown them.  They were being assholes.  Indecisive assholes.  Luckily, that lady tore them a new one when they tried one last time to make up a reason not to take the apartment.  I had hoped they would come clean with their feelings about being committed to each other, but they just took the place anyway.  Ugh.  Maybe if they had done the right thing and were honest, I could have hated them a little less.  Now I have to watch them pretend they are loving living together when they're already miserable.  Not excited to see all that.

I will mention a few lines that were pretty good in this episode.  The first was from Max when he was tasting the brunch food Jane made:

You go, girl! [tastes the food and spits it out] You go to hell, girl!

 The other that I thought was memorable was when Jane was for the second time trying to appeal to Penny's love of teen fantasy novels to motivate her:

[Jane] Must be strong. Like Hermione in the Harry Potter books.
[Penny] You read those?
[Jane] Dorks.

This one I'd actually like to use on someone because I'd enjoy teasing them (I'm not much of a Harry Potter fan).

Lastly, I sort of liked their group costume.  I mean, it was original, at least.  And sort of cute.  It was just sad that they couldn't get out the damn door.  But still, it's a lot better than some of the costumes I've seen for other Halloween stories lately.

Again, I wasn't too thrilled with this episode, but I do feel like there's some hope for me to get pumped about this show again.  Maybe if Dave and Alex get their act together, I'll be able to remember how I love the others again and just be enjoying the laughs.  I'm tired already of groaning at the two of them as things are now.

Boo! (Not In A Halloween Way)

The Mindy Project, S01E04

Mindy was invited to a party with Josh, but was reluctant to come when she couldn't find a good costume.  Danny and Jeremy went to the DMV to get their licenses, but Danny had a much harder time than his friend.

Well, there wasn't much that I liked about this episode.  I'm still on the fence about whether I like Josh or not, too.  I think the funniest thing about this episode was when Mindy was absently petting a cat until she realized that it wasn't hers and tossed it out the window.  I totally thought she had a cat for a second.  That was so random!

I also thought it was slightly funny that Danny got a second chance to take his road test because Jeremy told the administrator that he had been molested in a car.  He was especially nervous and terrible at driving.  But I felt his struggle to get the license because I'm past the teenage years and have yet to get my license.  I would probably punch a kid if he called me old when going to take the test.  I'm glad he didn't have to go through the pain of taking the test for another time.  It would be a nightmare to have the DMV know you personally because you've failed that many times.

I also will give Josh some points for dressing up as Inigo Montoya for Halloween.  He actually looked much cuter in that than he usually does (he has a weird face), and he paid 3000 dollars just to please Mindy with that costume.  Plus, he knew that she had dressed up as Diane from Cheers, which was nice because I had no idea who she was supposed to be.  Honestly, after she had talked to Riley about the Great Pumpkin and they were playing the Peanuts theme, I thought she was about to go as Lucy or something (I mean, not when she grabbed that wig, though).

What I didn't like the most about this episode was when Mindy was catching up with Tom.  Not only was he not apologetic enough, but Mindy was clearly still hung up on him.  I really wish she hadn't re-evaluated her life because Tom was having a baby.  I hated to see her mope around because of that.  What she had with him obviously wasn't real if he moved on so quickly with another woman.  I was a little disappointed to see her relapse like that.  Come on, Mindy!

This episode was fairly unimpressive.  For a Halloween story it was pretty boring and for any other kind of story, it was little frustrating (mostly because of Mindy and Tom).  I guess I like that Mindy's getting closer to Josh and on the path to a better relationship, but she's far from me applauding her just yet.  Right now I just feel like I want to shake her before I change the channel.

The Truth Packs A Punch

New Girl, S02E06

Jess learned more about Sam and wanted to have a real relationship with him once she developed feelings for him.  Winston hoped that dressing up sexy for Halloween would put the spark back between him and Shelby.  Schmidt tried to create a wedge between Robbie and Cece.  Nick's old flame Amelia came to town and he finally made the moves on her.

I don't remember if they did a Halloween story last year, but I didn't really love this one.  It was an important episode because everyone seemed to stop playing around and tell the truth about some of their current romances.  I'm glad that the air has been cleared so that the gang can move on.

I feel like Jess coming clean about liking Sam for real (though that was no shock because she wears her heart on her sleeve) was the saddest.  He seemed like a great guy who loves kids and would mesh well with Jess, but he just wasn't looking for the same thing she was.  I have no doubt that she can do better than him, but you felt like there was some potential there.  However, at least it frees her up for Nick who is still dragging his feet about his feelings for her.

This episode proved that Nick has always been this way about liking someone.  He had practically done everything under the sun to show that he was in love with Amelia in the past except come out and profess his love for her (or simply just ask her out on a date).  Luckily, with Amelia's subpar kissing techniques Nick probably dodged a bullet not immediately hooking up with her.  But at least he let her know about that, even if he paid the price with a slap.

Jess also seemed to pay the price for Nick's actions when he punched her in the face.  That wasn't as half funny as Nick getting beat up by Jess' fellow haunted house workers who made that experience Nick's "worst nightmare."  But I loved that Nick would overcome his fear of haunted houses to try to warn Jess not to ask Sam to be in a real relationship.  I was cracking up when he kept screaming when this scary clown kept getting in his face.  Somehow it doesn't surprise me that Nick has bad nerves like that.  I mean, he is a little simple-minded and probably believes that monsters exist (but is one of those people who pretends he doesn't).

Besides wanting to cheer for Nick getting kicked to the curb by Amelia, the best honesty was between Winston and Shelby.  Not because it was funny, but because it was necessary.  Maybe Winston's cop outfit wasn't the sexiest thing he could wear, but at least he didn't dress like a demented middle-aged woman who has a stuffed animal obsession and still thinks she's a princess.  I already hate puns, but Shelby's "reigning cats and dogs," just took the cake.  I wished that Winston had the authority to lock her up in his cop outfit.  Couldn't be happier that he finally had enough and ended it with her crazy ass.  I'm also glad they showed us just how nuts she was before Winston ended so I don't feel any regrets he's single again.  "Emancipation," indeed, Schmidt.

Schmidt was acting a-fool around Cece and Robbie, but at least he sort of decided to stop acting like a dick.  I'm glad that Robbie is smart and strong enough to stop Schmidt from headbutting him (what, is he a caveman??).  Also, he's just an all-around nice guy who offered Schmidt friendship instead of pointless rivalry.  However, I'm not convinced that Schmidt will completely back off.  I also didn't care too much for his Magic Mike costume.  Though, it was slightly better than him dressing as young Abraham Lincoln.  Of all things that he could dress up as and he picks that.  But I suppose it's better than Nick's (which I have no idea who the hell Arthur is, but what a lazy costume).

There weren't really any great lines from this episode, so that's a little disappointing, but it wasn't terrible.  I would have liked to see them in funnier costumes, perhaps.  They were just in outfits that made me want to shrug.  I loved that the truth came out and there was some punching involved (gotta love that Jess got to get Nick back in the end too).  Looking forward to seeing what everyone's next romantic journey will be.

Penny Less Raggedy, Sheldon More Raggedy

Big Bang Theory, S06E05

Howard was annoying everyone with his incessant talk about being an astronaut.  Sheldon and Amy tried to compromise on a theme for a couple's costume.  Raj helped Stuart with his Halloween party.  Penny finally made an effort to learn about Leonard's work.

I have to be honest that I, too, was just as fed up with Howard working the topic of space into every conversation as his friends were.  But I can sympathize with him because I feel like I sort of do that nowadays with a different subject.  Even so, I recognize that it's a horrible habit and should be suppressed as much as possible.  I was most annoyed with him when he was pouting about not speaking about his greatest achievement while dressed in an awesome costume of Papa Smurf.  He and Bernadette were rocking their couple's costume and all he could think about was how it sucked no one was giving him props about his astronaut days.  Geez.  So glad that Raj gave him that video of Buzz Aldrin to put things in to hilarious perspective for him.  I would sock Howard if he got as bad as that guy was with handing out candy.

The best story in this episode was Sheldon and Amy's for sure.  As soon as Sheldon suggested that they dress as R2D2 and CP30, I knew that there was little hope for Amy to get the kind of costume she'd want.  But I loved when they were making a Venn diagram of their ideas but getting nowhere.  Sheldon had ideas like Batman and Robin and Kirk and Spock, while Amy's were nothing alike.  She had ideas like Dharma and Greg (who would get that?) and the funnier couple of Blossom and Joey!  Oh, my God!  How I wished Sheldon would have liked that one.  My favorite part of all was when Sheldon explained why he didn't want anything to do with her Raggedy Ann idea:

Those dolls represent three things I do not care for:  clowns, children and raggediness.

"Raggediness" was the part that really had me rolling.  Only Sheldon.

I thought that "Raggedy CP30" was the best compromise that anyone could expect out of Sheldon (and Amy was thrilled), so I guess it was a win for her.  She did almost get a hickey from Sheldon until he figured out what it was.  Haha.  Watching him put one on Amy would have been pretty damn hilarious, though.

Another win that happened was for Leonard.  I mean, for once Penny decided to act like a decent girlfriend and step a little into his world.  It was really nice to see her impressed by the work he did and for Leonard to get some sex that wasn't out of pity, haha.  It did make me like Penny slightly more than I have before.  But I still think Leonard could do better.

Not much to say about Raj except that he is such a dork with his little puns for the food names.  But at least his party planning was a success.  It's just too bad that it was getting Stuart the girls and not Raj.  He could have used that victory.

Pretty good episode.  I'm just happy that from now on we don't have to listen to Howard go on about being an astronaut, and Amy is one step closer to living her dream as having a real boyfriend (as real as Sheldon can be in that capacity).  Penny seems like less of a "raggedy" girlfriend, but she still has some work to do.  Crossing my fingers that she won't backslide and will keep trying to make Leonard a little happier from here on.

Witches And Switches

Suburgatory, S02E02

Tessa was worried that a witch was following her so that she could make her a witch too.  Dallas failed to ask George on a date.  George decided to dress up like Noah for the Halloween party after Noah had dressed up like George.

This was a pretty cute Halloween episode.  First of all, we got to see everyone in different costumes.  The ones I enjoyed best were Malik as Fred and Tessa as Daphne from Scooby Doo.  I would have never expected Malik to pick that outfit (and it was only funnier when Ryan had mistakenly thought to wear the same one), but it suited him.  I also thought that Tessa was adorable in a red wig and her boots.  She totally pulled off that look.  What I didn't like too much was Noah being George and vice-versa.

Although I didn't like their costumes because Noah was being an ass, and George with a blonde wig and lack of mustache (I cried out in protest when he raised his razor to his face) was just so very, very wrong, this situation turned out to be funny.  At the party, George was getting the Noah treatment and Noah got George's.  That was hilarious.  I loved that girls were more into Noah as George and that they escorted his ass out when he seemed to be threatening George.  Love seeing someone like Noah get what they deserve.  But because George had dolled himself up like one of the Chatswins zombies, he learned that he had missed an opportunity to date Dallas.

I felt sorta bad that Dallas, although not completely forthcoming in her invitation, was shot down by George.  Oh, but I also have to say the second I saw her in this episode, I knew that her costume was Barbie.  I just never figured she would imagine that George would want to be her Ken.  But I liked that when Dalia let him know the opportunity he had missed (gotta love that girl for telling him how it is), George basically was Ken by then and he and Dallas had upgraded from "friends who flirt."  But we still can't be totally sure that they are going to make it to couple status anytime soon.

I also liked Tessa's story too because the witch following her turned out to be a feminist hippie of some sort and was played by Rachel Dratch. She's just an odd woman no matter what role she plays.  And it was nice for Tessa to meet someone local who wasn't all about dressing up slutty and getting plastic surgery.  If she remains on the show, she could be a good role model for her.  But I just wonder why it is that Paula can sneak into the school and plant her book in certain places without anyone ever noticing.  That's pretty creepy, no matter what message of feminism she's trying to spread to the clueless students of Chatswin.

And speaking of that book she had planted, I wondered how it was okay for Shelia to just burn it when it was a library book.  Well, I did until I learned that Paula was just putting the book in library on her own accord.  So I suppose it's okay.  But still, the principle of the thing.  That lady is nuts.   And so is Lisa for that matter, trying to convince Tessa to stay by her side and claiming spirits were speaking through her.  I was a little more freaked out by her than I was of the so-called witch.

I liked this episode and I'd want to see it again to take my time to admire the other costumes in the episode that I might have missed.  I liked that it wasn't too cheesy with the scary theme, and it didn't take away too much from the underlying stories of the show (like George and Dallas getting closer).  I would have liked to have more Dalia as usual, and I would have loved to see Malik and Ryan get into more over them both being Fred.  Hell, I just want to see more Ryan period.  Oh, and I hope they can work in some more scenes with George shirtless too (did not know he had it going on like that)!

Maybe My Favorite One Yet

Bob's Burgers, S03E02

 

 

Teddy threw a Halloween party and kept all of his guests there to find out which of them killed his pet guinea pig.  The kids went trick-or-treating for the first time by themselves and went out to King's Head island in search of better candy.  They got their wish, but were in danger of being pranked by the local high school kids.

I didn't care much for the story about Teddy and his "murder mystery" party.  It was basically just him being stupid and Bob trying to lie himself out of a bad situation, but eventually coming clean.  I guess if I had to say something that was slightly amusing, it would be that Teddy was really harsh on the mailman with uneven legs and called him "Wobbles" at one point.

I liked the experience that the kids had in King's Head.  Not only did they get to enjoy having full-sized candy bars over there, but unlike their parents, the kids over there could recognize what their costumes were.  Edward Scissorshands is a pretty cool costume, by the way, and Gene's Queen Latifah U.N.I.T.Y. days costums also gets some props.  Then I just liked that things took a turn for the worst (as I would assume because these kids can't stay away from trouble) when the teenagers came out for Hell Hunt.  It was funny that they were known for throwing balloons filled with pee at the younger kids, among other unpleasant things.  I'm a little surprised that Tina stopped Gene and Louise when they had an opportunity to make a clean getaway and was more surprised that they didn't end up getting drenched in pee balloons because of her conscience getting in the way.  Luckily, these kids were sort of smart enough to lure the dumb boys away with a phony text from a girl.  Actually, I should say that Louise was the smart one until she took it too far.  But I'm sort of glad she did because putting hot sauce in kids' underwear is great idea.  Too bad only one of the boys was wearing underwear.  They were also lucky that when their prank on the teenagers was discovered that the friends they had saved came to save them.  Full circle.  Nicely done.

This wasn't a bad episode, and I usually think the opposite when watching the show.  I'm nowhere near love or anything (I can't see that happening), but I guess even this show can surprise me sometimes.

For the 23th Special, Pretty Good

The Simpsons, S24E02

A black hole that Lisa had a hand in bringing about was sucking everything in Springfield into it.  Homer filmed some paranormal things going on in the house, revealing a demon that wanted to take Maggie.  Bart went back in time to buy a comic book for less and ended up changing the present to his benefit but to Homer's disadvantage.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed this Treehouse of Horror this year.  It wasn't one of my favorites of all time, but it was definitely good enough that I felt like I'd like to see it again to see what little things I missed in it.  My favorite of the three was probably the last where Bart went into the past and made it so that he was Artie Ziff's son.  However, I will say that the second story, where they spoofed Paranormal Activity was a close second.

The first story where a black hole was sucking everything had a lot of good parts.  In a way, I felt like it was kinda spoofing Gremlins because Lisa specifically told the family not to feed it and they all kept throwing things into it while knowing the danger.  My favorite thing thrown in was Bart's homework that kept getting spat out, and Bart finally gave up and threw Mrs. Krabapple (or should I call her Mrs. Flanders?) in there.  The best line of the story was when Homer said:

A black hole?! (whispers) I'm sorry, can we call it that?

Anytime someone says something like that, I pretty much enjoy it.

The second story was a pretty good spoof of the aforementioned movie.   In general, I just liked seeing Homer and Marge act like the couple in that movie, but putting their own funny spin on it.  Specifically, I liked when Homer tried to "comfort" Lisa when she asked why all these horrible things were happening in their house:

Oh, sweetie.  Sometimes a mysterious, invisible being from Hell waits for a family to go to sleep then kills them.  Now, go to bed.

I really like when Homer says things in a comforting way, but his actual words are doing the direct opposite.  I almost always laugh when he does that.

I also thought it was funny at the end that the demon wanted a threeway with Homer and another demon if he wanted to save Maggie from being taken.  That's not what I thought would happen at all!  Then Homer was sort of a little too into it to the point that the demon wanted him to stop whatever new sex thing he was trying out.  Gross, but damn funny.

The last story was probably my favorite because I like when they do stories in different timelines.  Also, this is the second time that Bart has met Homer in the past (another was in the episode that spoofed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and it was so easy for Bart to screw up his parents' first meeting.  I really liked how angry Homer got at Bart and how repulsed Marge was by his treatment of him.  Then it just got better when Bart easily accepted that Homer was out of his life when he returned to the present to find he was rich and a Ziff (plus he just looked so cute with that little afro).  It continued to be entertaining when teenage Homer traveled forward in time with Bart and met his older self and they worked together to beat Bart at his own game.  I guess I'm a sucker for happy endings because I liked that even though Artie and Bart beat the crap out of all the members of the United Federation of Homers Through History, Marge realized her mistake and took in all of those guys into her home (I don't know how she'd feed them and pay for all the destruction they would do, though).  I liked all the different Homers and how none of them could find the time to take out the trash in a whole day.  Marge has to love Homer because there is no way anyone could tolerate more than one Homer at one time.

The opening animation about the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar was a little interesting, but not that funny.  I just like how it could have been prevented if Marge didn't help Homer and hadn't had Moe sacrificed instead.

I'm pretty pleased with this episode, and I hope that they deliver more stories like this in the season.  After last week's disappointment of doing New York City again, I'm happy that there's a glimmer of hope for this season yet!  Maybe there will be a hilarious episode down the road if I'm lucky.

Not The Best Halloween Story

The Cleveland Show, S04E01

Donna and Cleveland forbid Junior and Roberta from dressing up for Halloween, so to teach their parents a lesson, they dressed as their parents and went out to cause trouble.  Cleveland took Federline to a football game so he could be the designated driver, but the boy ended up stealing a wooden doll from Stoolbend's rival town and causing a riot.

Compared to last year's Halloween story, I didn't like this one as much.  I suppose because it didn't really have too much to do with the holiday.  Cleveland's story was about football/town rivalry, Donna was getting arrested for prostitution, and Junior and Roberta did a prank (which is a little more in the spirit of the holiday) but it didn't really lead to anything significant.  I will say that it is nice that they didn't make a cheesy horror story instead, but it being mostly about football and riots was kind of lame.

Rather to continue to go on about what I didn't like, I'll point out my favorite parts.  One was when Cleveland was trying to get a hold of Toonces, the driving cat.  That was great!  Toonces was one of my favorite SNL skits ever!  And I liked that the cause of Toonces' death was not the more likely car accident, but feline leukemia.  It was just unexpected and good (in a dark kind of way).  Cleveland was also funny when he told Federline to go after he had ruined their night sufficiently:

[Cleveland] Let him go.

[Tim] No one's trying to stop him.

 Junior also had a pretty good line when Chet had a knife to his throat:

How did you find my throat?

 Lastly, I enjoyed the insanity that Rallo was left to himself while he was bleeding to death.  It became a running gag in the episode and at the very end Rallo was seen as a ghost saying:

Hi, I died--just kidding.  I'll see ya'll next week.

This kind of echoes that running gag in the show that Rallo is often left unsupervised by parents (and siblings) who really couldn't give a damn about what kind of danger he gets into.  But although I liked this, I was annoyed that they pretty much left Rallo out of the story.  Last year was good because we got to see him be scared to death along with Cleveland.  But anyway.

This was probably better than most episodes I saw last season, so I can't be too mad this was their premiere.  I'm actually just looking forward to the episode they're supposed to have with Bruno Mars in it (love him!).  So until that happens, I can be all right with a few stupid episodes until then.

The Simpsons Redo The Big Apple

The Simpsons, S024E01

To start off their 24th season, the Simpsons returned to New York City so that Bart could find Mary.  He was determined to find at least one of his ex-loves who still liked him after getting to know him.  Lisa and Marge also tried to see a play in the city, but eventually had to settle with doing a play themselves.

Well, I didn't like much about this episode, especially since it was sort of a repeat story in a way.  I mean, we already had a story with Mary not too long ago, while the Simpsons going to New York isn't that exciting (although, we have to give them a little slack with that because they've traveled a ton of places already).  They did have the opportunity to do the town a new justice, but it fell flat with few jokes that made it seem like they couldn't have just done the same thing anywhere else.  It was nice to see a story about Bart that wasn't about his mischief but him wanting to find acceptance instead, but that aspect wasn't enough to save the story for me.  And the side story where Marge and Lisa were searching to watch a play didn't do much for me either.

Despite my complaints, there were a few moments that I liked.  In particular, I enjoyed when Homer was explaining to Bart about how drunk dialing allows one to express feeling,s and he later drunk dialed him.  Later, when Bart is revisiting his past girlfriends and such, that wasn't entirely unfunny either.  I forget the girl's name, but I liked the part where he saw the black-haired girl who sends Bart mixed signals.  She might be one of my favorites even though she was quite bipolar in how she would treat Bart from second to second.  I also was a little tickled by Homer's recollection of what happened the last time he went to New York, and it showed him in some jazz bar or something playing a xylophone.  It was referencing something I didn't get, but I just like how it went totally against what I thought Homer would picture.

Besides these moments, my favorite was when Homer and some random people from the subway were in the cab and the driver told them:

Anything you leave in the cab, you'll never see again.

and Homer was trying to leave Bart in there was he was still sleeping.  I expected him to do this, but it was still funny that he was sneaking out of the cab before Bart woke up and saw him.  Wish there were more jokes like that.

Finally, I also think that Homer helped me enjoy the episode a little better when he talking to Bart after he arrived at Mary's apartment but she wasn't home:

You've learned a very valuable life lesson, boy.  Which is that love doesn't exist except briefly between a man and woman before marriage.  After that it's just hanging out with someone who kinda hates you but you can't get it together to leave .

As far as Bart's romance with Mary, I found it surprisingly very boring.  I'm not sure why, but it might have to do with the fact that Mary just so easily accepted Bart for who he was.  I dunno.  I guess I didn't feel their connection.  Nor was I thrilled or amused that Zoey Deschanel was a guest actress.  Her song, too, was terrible.  I long for the days where I loved the songs on this show.  But I gotta accept that it's a new era of this show.

I'd say this premiere was a little of a let down.  Since I watched it instead of Once Upon A Time (which I was thoroughly looking forward to), I feel like it was a mistake.  However, I'm just so used to spending Sunday nights watching the FOX cartoon lineup that it just seems wrong not to tune in.  However, if this is an indication of what season 24 is going to be like, I might have to catch up on this show the following day instead.  Next time they are showing Treehouse of Horrors already.  I'm thoroughly surprised, considering that sometimes we don't get to see it until November!  The previews don't look that promising, but I'll still hope they manage to have a decent Halloween special this year.