Episode 4 - Treehouse of Horror XIX
29 March 2012
Synopsis: A parody of Transformers and It’s the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown. And Homer killing celebrities on behalf of advertising men with a hint of parody toward Mad Men.
The Good: If you are a big Peanuts fan then you may enjoy the Simpsons take on it. One of the few traditional Simpsons satire jokes is when Homer is seen reading a newspaper which boldly asserts that “Christmas Occurs.”
The Bad: Do you remember when Halloween episodes weren’t just parodies? Neither do I, after nineteen seasons it’s not a big surprise that the writers are stealing from culture so brazenly. But this would have been more enjoyable if the parodies had more jokes, or made a real point. Instead it seems the effort went into drawing the Transformers rather than writing anything interesting for them to say.
Celebrities being killed by advertising men sounds like high satire but again the effort is in the silly deaths. The punch line is based around Lincoln being gay which is about as lazy as joke writing can get. I don’t see that Pumpkins and Turkeys turning on humans for their crimes is exactly very witty either. The pumpkin being racist just seems needlessly complicated as well.
Best Joke: The ad men hand Homer a wad of money which he waves like a fan in front of his face. “Well you know it is awfully hot today. ha ha ha” he says, so the ad man gives him some more money. He waves the new pile of notes and says “Oh, now I’m too cold” and hands some of them back.
The Bottom Line: Parodies generally work if you know the original material well but these could have used more bite. The jokes throughout are poor though.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
|
)