Episode 15 - Stealing First Base
22 March 2010
Review
Synopsis: With Mrs Krabappel away the two fourth grade classes are merged and Bart falls for his new desk mate Nikki. When he kisses her, her parents threaten to sue. Bart is embarrassed by the resulting re-education of the whole school and suddenly Nikki seems to like him again. Meanwhile a low grade causes Lisa to become temporarily popular. When the grade turns out to be an error she goes back to being disliked. She feels very discouraged and posts her feelings on a gardening website. Michelle Obama soon appears to encourage her.
The Good: The Bart story featured an interesting twist on the typical school love story. Not that it was a particularly well told story but the "moral" being that some girls blow hot and cold was a nice change of pace. The commentary on an overly litigious and sensitive society was fine and did allow Homer to step in and provide some decent laughs (see Best Joke). The typically unsubtle (but well meaning) sketch which Willie and Skinner (dressed as Bart) put on to show Bart's inappropriate behaviour was a fun idea which of course went wrong. But in a classic bit of Homer's lack of awareness he thought he was watching a play involving Bart. After Marge pointed out the obvious Homer concluded "Yeah now that I look closer that guy couldn't fool anyone."
The C-plot involved Nelson taking an attachment to his new blind classmate and being overly helpful in getting him around school life. The jokes were average but the sentiment was sweet and fitted Nelson's bully with a conscience persona.
The Bad: The B-plot was yet another take on Lisa's intelligence v popularity dilemma. The story covered no new ground and was just an excuse to draw Michelle Obama. The plot just wasn't needed and could have given valuable room for Bart and Nikki's story to be fleshed out. The scene where Lisa's classmates went from liking to hating her was stupidly instant.
So much of this episode (and it has become a growing problem) seems like an excuse for the animators to indulge themselves rather than any attempt to further a story or tell a joke. Here we had an extended sequence with Bart and Nikki on their skateboards which just showcased them doing pseudo-possible stunts in order to bond. There were no jokes in it and really their shared interest didn't play a big part in their story. Then we had an extended Itchy and Scratchy movie clip. When was the last time these were remotely funny? They were created as a Tom and Jerry parody but now seem to be just another excuse to kill a couple of minutes of air time. Then there was the collection of famous movie kisses which flashes while Nikki gives Bart mouth to mouth. Although most viewers will have enjoyed name checking them it didn't fit this half baked story and again felt like the animators amusing themselves rather than good storytelling.
Finally the entire Michaelle Obama "cameo" was unnecessary. There were practically no jokes which might have made her visit enjoyable and she was essentially half of an underdeveloped B-plot which seems a waste of her celebrity, even without her voice being present.
Best Joke: After Bart kisses Nikki, Homer and Marge are called in to meet her parents. When the situation is explained Homer is delighted "That's all that happened and I got to miss work oh I could kiss you!" he amusingly tells Mrs McKenna. She sternly replies "Mr Simpson I'm an attorney. And my husband is a Federal Prosecutor and neither of us is happy." To which Homer helpfully replies "Well maybe you guys should look for easier jobs."
The Bottom Line: The Bart story could easily have carried this alone. With a little less time wasting and a little more Homer it could have been a really fun episode.
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