Episode 3 - Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
29 March 2012
Synopsis: Bart’s behaviour is getting out of control. After costing Homer a winning lottery ticket and ruining Lenny’s party he is facing a big punishment. He runs into a boy who looks exactly like him and they decide to swap places. Simon is from a wealthy family but his siblings want to kill him in order to get the full family inheritance. Lisa figures out that Simon isn’t Bart and eventually they swap back.
The Good: I have often complained that Simpsons plots don’t have enough focus and instead the writers have two equally undeveloped plots shoved together. So credit the writers for focussing the entire episode on Bart.
The plot does throw up some intrigue about how Bart and Simon will get on in each other’s worlds. Some simple jokes may amuse, such as the robot vacuum’s running wild or Grandpa fabricating stupid stories.
The Bad: However despite the focus on Bart, the plot is far from focussed. The main problem is that we have seen a hundred of these Bart stories. He always misbehaves and runs away and then comes to regret it and realise that the warm embrace of his family is preferable. In fact the previous episode had a variation on this story!
This week’s version doesn’t even try to make that point in a new or touching way. Instead Bart’s story focuses on him trying to avoid being killed by his new siblings. Even that story doesn’t do a lot other than provide Homer with an excuse to fall down yet another mountain. Bart doesn’t seem to learn anything from his life as a rich kid. The scheming siblings avoid us seeing any more practical moral such as the loneliness he suffered when he was Mr Burns heir or something about the shallowness of material wealth. Similarly Simon doesn’t learn anything either. His plot feels like a complete waste of time. He gets annoyed by Homer but likes Marge’s affection. That’s it; he doesn’t get any character moments and simply returns to his family.
While the empty plot rolls along the show also manages to make jokes which undermine the credibility of the show. An older version of Bart showing up at the same time he meets his twin is ridiculous. He is only there to make a lame joke about Milhouse so it serves no real purpose. Phil Montana actually being in the poster in Simon’s room is equally stupid and is a repeat of a joke about Kevin Costner from long ago (1021).
Best Joke: Having met Simon’s brother and sister Milhouse tells Bart:
M: “Bart, I have a crush on your new sister.”
B: “You had a crush on my old sister!”
M: “Yeah, but that was never gonna happen.”
A really nice character based joke from delusional loser Milhouse.
The Bottom Line: Another rehash of a rehash with wasted jokes and a plot with no purpose.
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