Episode 12 - No Loan Again, Naturally
27 March 2012
Synopsis: Homer’s reckless spending leads to the bank foreclosing on their home. But Ned Flanders steps in, buys their house and rents it back to them. He is a model landlord and so the Simpsons take advantage of his help. He evicts them but ends up letting them return because he loves them.
The Good: There seems to be a conscious effort to write a lot of classic Simpsons jokes here. In this case by classic I mean Homer being believably stupid, the mocking of the mundane and playing with perceived logic.
So we get classic Homer misunderstandings (“It is me Jesus, I have come from my workshop in the North Pole…”) or slapstick jokes (his suicide attempt destroys his own car). We get him yelling at Lisa and Bart for playing badminton indoors because he is trying to watch badminton on television.
Elsewhere we have the auctioneer being overly concerned with how the paddles are handed back in. Marge calls Ned a genie (of a landlord) so naturally he walks in with his head bandaged having just found a lamp. In general the jokes come at a good clip and generally help build the plot. As Ned pulls hair out of the Simpson’s sink, Homer pops in to throw it all on his head and make a quick bald joke.
The Bad: Although the plot sticks to one idea and plays around with it, it never really makes an emotional point about the Flanders-Simpsons relationship. We have seen Homer stand up for Ned (303, 516) or win his respect by trying to help him (1114), so it is far from implausible that Ned would say he loves the Simpsons. But in each of those episodes those emotions were drawn out from the story told. Here that story isn’t really told, Homer begins to immediately take advantage of Ned’s kindness and Ned kicks them out and welcomes them back in swift order. As such the episode doesn’t feel memorable, though if Ned remains their new landlord that might add a different dynamic to the show.
The joke about the orderlies in the old people’s home was a little close to the bone. Putting makeup on the old folk while they slept and making fun of them sounds like a silly joke. But actual abuse of the elderly is a serious issue so I would tread carefully.
Best Joke: Take your pick, lots of gags, none too special. But as I haven’t mentioned it yet…Mayor Quimby declares Homer’s Mardi Gras party open. Then his wife calls. He tells the crowd to pretend they are in Zurich. “Can’t talk now dear, it’s four in the morning here in Zurich (his wife taps him on the arm, looking angry). Oh that’s right we came together.”
The Bottom Line: Lots of fun little jokes but the story doesn’t produce anything memorable.
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