This Ted series has been fabulous, start to finish. Where it could have risked getting stale was by not challenging the toxic 70's achetype the parents embody, but they do - and they do it surprisingly quickly into the series run. Blair may be a 90's kid, but she's as progressive as at least a 2010's one. In this episode we get to see Maddy really have to confront his preconceptions - and its also a heavy-handed metaphor for extremist points of view getting exacerbated by surrounding yourself with yes-men... aka, far right news media embodied in a anthropomorphic toy firetruck. My only wish was to have someone besides Seth voice the firetruck just to make the most of the opportunity, but besides that it was pitch perfect as the rest of the season. I would have considered it the weakest ep overall just by a hair if it wasn't for how heartwarming the ending is with the karaoke machine - now its probably my second favourite behind episode 5. Its great to see Maddy show real character growth - and accept family comes before defending Hitler. And for anyone who thinks this is propoganda - if accepting someone who for they are is propoganda to you, then you're never going to be able to accept yourself or figure yourself out either.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Really solid modern episode!
27 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Laughed harder at this than I have at a Simpsons episode in a while. They've had some really strong episodes the last few years since the showrunner shift, and more consistently so and people are starting to take notice. However, nostalgia blinds a lot of people, as well as self-loathing they project onto the Simpsons instead. I really think had South Park made a similar episode, it would get at least a 7.2 on IMDB. Never trust IMDB ratings when it comes to The Simpsons. Its a shame to see how polarized and delusional ratings have become over time - but everything moves towards entropy. Sooner you accept that, the sooner you can get more out of life again and enjoy when things *are* working - like this episode of The Simpsons. I'd say episodes 5-9 of this season had me concerned it was losing steam writing-wise again, but I was quite happy with this one.
Modern Simpsons has tended to shine the most doing very emotional plots, or very unconventional story formats or parodies to shake things up. However, to do a 'standard' plot this well is a nice change - a very lean & focused episode peppered full of strange, quick jokes and visuals that would've felt at home in the classic seasons. Millhouse's bad interrupted poem about the Oregon Trail or Cletus wondering if they'll all be friends after being a mob come to mind, as well as the electric car turned back to gas, the Tofu Tobacco sign and that they keep winning BBQ broilers at each contest. All quick, not belaboured jokes that got a big laugh out of me - allowed to stand on their own without adding too many jokes on a joke thats already stronger on its own, which Al Jean seasons can be guilty of.
I also like how 'cheating' is kept light by having the things Bart & Homer cheat at be pitiful sports, and be an excuse to bond. While the premise is a bit surreal, it itself is a fun jab at how sports networks will televise & try to legitimize anything, which itself is a bit of a scam - and helps us still root for Bart & Homer.
Whats especially great about this episode, is besides one visual gag of Bart running after a four wheeler, everything about this episode was justified; even Lisa's admission being obviously doctored was explained, as USC prefers blantant liars they can mould. At that point, it becomes a very clever criticism of lying as a whole, but also how America celebrates liars, as capitalism doesn't seem to care how you get ahead as long as you're stimulating the economy more than you're hurting it. Only once it can't be ignored anymore do you get your ass handed to you, and so it makes an odd sort of sense that USC can take explicit pride in Sam Bankman-Fried. Both converging plots deal brilliantly with the struggle to get ahead.
I can see how the third act maybe feels too talky for some as the action is largely contained in act 2, but it didn't bother me. I pretty much knew where it was headed, but they made the road to get there very fun - including great animation of Lisa struggling to leave the USC.
And the capper of Bart teaching the class at the end feels like a really classic ending. Marge was also closer to the Marge we know and love - sometimes Julie's voice falls more into a Selma territory these days.
Interestingly, there's no extra animation during the credits this time, first time in a long time that's been the case. I liked that, to be honest - again, trimming fat. Sometimes the credits animations add nothing, and might even take away impact from the final actual lines of the episode and make it feel its overstayed its welcome.
The 'Get Our Cheat On' song was clever & funny, and appropriately modern country-themed.
Best exchange: Marge: We need to talk.
Homer: Aw, I like when we talk, I don't like when we need to talk.
Modern Simpsons has tended to shine the most doing very emotional plots, or very unconventional story formats or parodies to shake things up. However, to do a 'standard' plot this well is a nice change - a very lean & focused episode peppered full of strange, quick jokes and visuals that would've felt at home in the classic seasons. Millhouse's bad interrupted poem about the Oregon Trail or Cletus wondering if they'll all be friends after being a mob come to mind, as well as the electric car turned back to gas, the Tofu Tobacco sign and that they keep winning BBQ broilers at each contest. All quick, not belaboured jokes that got a big laugh out of me - allowed to stand on their own without adding too many jokes on a joke thats already stronger on its own, which Al Jean seasons can be guilty of.
I also like how 'cheating' is kept light by having the things Bart & Homer cheat at be pitiful sports, and be an excuse to bond. While the premise is a bit surreal, it itself is a fun jab at how sports networks will televise & try to legitimize anything, which itself is a bit of a scam - and helps us still root for Bart & Homer.
Whats especially great about this episode, is besides one visual gag of Bart running after a four wheeler, everything about this episode was justified; even Lisa's admission being obviously doctored was explained, as USC prefers blantant liars they can mould. At that point, it becomes a very clever criticism of lying as a whole, but also how America celebrates liars, as capitalism doesn't seem to care how you get ahead as long as you're stimulating the economy more than you're hurting it. Only once it can't be ignored anymore do you get your ass handed to you, and so it makes an odd sort of sense that USC can take explicit pride in Sam Bankman-Fried. Both converging plots deal brilliantly with the struggle to get ahead.
I can see how the third act maybe feels too talky for some as the action is largely contained in act 2, but it didn't bother me. I pretty much knew where it was headed, but they made the road to get there very fun - including great animation of Lisa struggling to leave the USC.
And the capper of Bart teaching the class at the end feels like a really classic ending. Marge was also closer to the Marge we know and love - sometimes Julie's voice falls more into a Selma territory these days.
Interestingly, there's no extra animation during the credits this time, first time in a long time that's been the case. I liked that, to be honest - again, trimming fat. Sometimes the credits animations add nothing, and might even take away impact from the final actual lines of the episode and make it feel its overstayed its welcome.
The 'Get Our Cheat On' song was clever & funny, and appropriately modern country-themed.
Best exchange: Marge: We need to talk.
Homer: Aw, I like when we talk, I don't like when we need to talk.
Frasier
(2023– )
It works very well, don't let nostagia blind you
6 December 2023
The show is starting to feel as strong as the original, has been since about episode 4, maybe just with CBS meddling notching it down half a peg. Knowing that the writers strike is over now, and we got such strong writing and development even in the midst of those difficult conditions, I can only imagine season 2 will be even better. The slightly longer run-times don't make the episodes drag, which is a testament to the strength of the writing - and that might be something people are subconsciously responding to who view it with more disdain - in addition to projecting life disappointments onto a show they can't enjoy as much anymore because they don't enjoy life itself as much anymore. Thats my attempt at psycho-analysis when it comes to why almost every reboot is just a little bit reviled... even when they do it right - which I think Frasier is, by and large.
The new characters, especially Alan and Olivia, are really growing on me - Freddie too actually, I consider him new. I love how Nile's son is quickly finding himself as well, not just being a Nile's clone - so much to be mined there. But at only 10 episodes a season, even if episodes are a pinch longer, it just isn't enough for true evolution!
And of course the dynamic is a bit 'younger' in this show as we have larger age gaps we're playing with, whereas the original Frasier felt mostly like a show full of socialite fortysomethings. That might dampen the wit ever so slightly (and have some bits of witticism almost seem forced), but also makes room for more heart, and hillarious discomfort for Frasier as he finds fun new ways to humiliate himself to try and be a good father and reconcile with Freddie. Its the most honest way to tell the story.
The only thing that still gets on my nerves a bit is the somewhat sweetened and fake laugh track - it feels a bit forced and overbearing compared to the original, which also had the benefit of the laughter being a bit dulled by analog software. In the newest episode I saw, the 9th one, there was a witty line Olivia said that got no laughs at all - as if it did, it would have stomped over another laugh Freddie would get a second later. Moments like that make it feel fabricated rather than alive in-front of an audience, along with laughter that sometimes feels a bit too big for the moment.
Infuriating that level of artifice and over-editing is the new normal for sitcoms - still, I do think they're gradually pulling back on it overall. I can imagine a hair-brained CBS exec trying to make them sweeten the laughter more, and the mix engineer not touching a thing, and saying 'is this better?' and then the exec nodding in satisfaction. Its a common trick live sound mixers will do to test if its all in the musicians heads when they make a note about the sound!
Anyways, don't be jaded by nostalgia. I'm watching the original and the new one side by side, and I can say with utmost sincerity, they both have their benefits and drawbacks.
Seeing Frasier be old is fascinating in a new way, especially since he isn't being surrounded by clones of his former cast, which can bring out other sides in himself. Especially since he, in a way, is now a grieving son, having lost Martin - and constantly feels inferior to Martin in the position of living with Freddie.
I just think 10 episodes is far too short a season length for a new cast & crew to work on all cylinders. Also, don't forget - The OG Frasier had the benefit of having a lot of people in it who were either fresh from Cheers, or other sitcom projects since sitcoms were so abundant back then. This reboot had to bravely jump in with a lot of new actors, crew & writers with at times more limited sitcom experience, and attempt to revive a level of quality that had been off the air for nearly 2 decades. Regardless, I think everyone involved were all smartly chosen and the show was smart to still keep essential old blood behind the scenes at the core of it.
Cheers defied the odds by lasting more than half its run without Shelley Long (let alone Coach), but still had many of its strongest episodes despite their absence - which is no small feat. And then - Frasier even topped Cheers success. This series will be a fitting bookend that I think will also exceed people's expectations just like those prior projects did. But let it grow on you is all I ask. Give it the full season 1, and if you still dislike it, you may just be Ebeneezer Scrooge.
Don't let nostalgia fool you. Don't project pining for simpler or better times have you project your personal dissatisfaction onto a show.
The new characters, especially Alan and Olivia, are really growing on me - Freddie too actually, I consider him new. I love how Nile's son is quickly finding himself as well, not just being a Nile's clone - so much to be mined there. But at only 10 episodes a season, even if episodes are a pinch longer, it just isn't enough for true evolution!
And of course the dynamic is a bit 'younger' in this show as we have larger age gaps we're playing with, whereas the original Frasier felt mostly like a show full of socialite fortysomethings. That might dampen the wit ever so slightly (and have some bits of witticism almost seem forced), but also makes room for more heart, and hillarious discomfort for Frasier as he finds fun new ways to humiliate himself to try and be a good father and reconcile with Freddie. Its the most honest way to tell the story.
The only thing that still gets on my nerves a bit is the somewhat sweetened and fake laugh track - it feels a bit forced and overbearing compared to the original, which also had the benefit of the laughter being a bit dulled by analog software. In the newest episode I saw, the 9th one, there was a witty line Olivia said that got no laughs at all - as if it did, it would have stomped over another laugh Freddie would get a second later. Moments like that make it feel fabricated rather than alive in-front of an audience, along with laughter that sometimes feels a bit too big for the moment.
Infuriating that level of artifice and over-editing is the new normal for sitcoms - still, I do think they're gradually pulling back on it overall. I can imagine a hair-brained CBS exec trying to make them sweeten the laughter more, and the mix engineer not touching a thing, and saying 'is this better?' and then the exec nodding in satisfaction. Its a common trick live sound mixers will do to test if its all in the musicians heads when they make a note about the sound!
Anyways, don't be jaded by nostalgia. I'm watching the original and the new one side by side, and I can say with utmost sincerity, they both have their benefits and drawbacks.
Seeing Frasier be old is fascinating in a new way, especially since he isn't being surrounded by clones of his former cast, which can bring out other sides in himself. Especially since he, in a way, is now a grieving son, having lost Martin - and constantly feels inferior to Martin in the position of living with Freddie.
I just think 10 episodes is far too short a season length for a new cast & crew to work on all cylinders. Also, don't forget - The OG Frasier had the benefit of having a lot of people in it who were either fresh from Cheers, or other sitcom projects since sitcoms were so abundant back then. This reboot had to bravely jump in with a lot of new actors, crew & writers with at times more limited sitcom experience, and attempt to revive a level of quality that had been off the air for nearly 2 decades. Regardless, I think everyone involved were all smartly chosen and the show was smart to still keep essential old blood behind the scenes at the core of it.
Cheers defied the odds by lasting more than half its run without Shelley Long (let alone Coach), but still had many of its strongest episodes despite their absence - which is no small feat. And then - Frasier even topped Cheers success. This series will be a fitting bookend that I think will also exceed people's expectations just like those prior projects did. But let it grow on you is all I ask. Give it the full season 1, and if you still dislike it, you may just be Ebeneezer Scrooge.
Don't let nostalgia fool you. Don't project pining for simpler or better times have you project your personal dissatisfaction onto a show.
Strong episode!
6 December 2023
The show is starting to feel as great as the original, has been since about episode 4. Knowing that the writers strike is over now, and we got such strong writing and development even in the midst of those difficult conditions, I can only imagine season 2 will be even better.
I really appreciate them cutting Freddie's arrogance down to size a bit in this, and each character becoming their own, when they could have served the same purposes of the characters in the original. Instead, Nile's son is voluntarily resistant of a sedentary, coddled lifestyle, gleefully wanting to do grunt work for Alan.
Andy Daley was great as the plumber, see his show 'Review' if you can - absolutely one of the most slept-on hillarious comedies of the last decade, perhaps the most slept-on.
The only thing that still gets on my nerves a bit is the somewhat sweetened and fake laugh track - it feels a bit forced and overbearing compared to the original, which also had the benefit of being a bit dulled by analog recording. Infuriating if thats the new normal for sitcoms - still, I do think they're pulling back on it. I can imagine a hair-brained CBS exec trying to make them sweeten the laughter more, and the mix engineer not touching a thing, and saying 'is this better?' and them nodding in satisfaction. Its a common trick live sound mixers will do to test if its all in the musicians heads when they make a note about the sound!
Anyways, don't be jaded by nostalgia. I'm watching the original and the new one side by side, and I can say with utmost sincerity, they both have their benefits and drawbacks. Seeing Frasier be old is fascinating in a new way - I just think 10 episodes is far too short a season length for a new cast & crew to work on all cylinders. The OG Frasier had the benefit of having a lot of people in it who were either fresh from Cheers, or other sitcom projects since sitcoms were so adundant. This one had to bravely jump in with a lot of actors, crew & writers with limited sitcom experience - but regardless, I think they were all smartly chosen and the show was smart to still keep essential old blood behind the scenes too.
Don't let nostalgia fool you. Don't project pining for simpler or better times have you project your personal dissatisfactions onto a show.
I really appreciate them cutting Freddie's arrogance down to size a bit in this, and each character becoming their own, when they could have served the same purposes of the characters in the original. Instead, Nile's son is voluntarily resistant of a sedentary, coddled lifestyle, gleefully wanting to do grunt work for Alan.
Andy Daley was great as the plumber, see his show 'Review' if you can - absolutely one of the most slept-on hillarious comedies of the last decade, perhaps the most slept-on.
The only thing that still gets on my nerves a bit is the somewhat sweetened and fake laugh track - it feels a bit forced and overbearing compared to the original, which also had the benefit of being a bit dulled by analog recording. Infuriating if thats the new normal for sitcoms - still, I do think they're pulling back on it. I can imagine a hair-brained CBS exec trying to make them sweeten the laughter more, and the mix engineer not touching a thing, and saying 'is this better?' and them nodding in satisfaction. Its a common trick live sound mixers will do to test if its all in the musicians heads when they make a note about the sound!
Anyways, don't be jaded by nostalgia. I'm watching the original and the new one side by side, and I can say with utmost sincerity, they both have their benefits and drawbacks. Seeing Frasier be old is fascinating in a new way - I just think 10 episodes is far too short a season length for a new cast & crew to work on all cylinders. The OG Frasier had the benefit of having a lot of people in it who were either fresh from Cheers, or other sitcom projects since sitcoms were so adundant. This one had to bravely jump in with a lot of actors, crew & writers with limited sitcom experience - but regardless, I think they were all smartly chosen and the show was smart to still keep essential old blood behind the scenes too.
Don't let nostalgia fool you. Don't project pining for simpler or better times have you project your personal dissatisfactions onto a show.
Mr. D
(2012–2018)
Terrific Show - Misunderstood, simply because people assume CBC equals 'Must suck'...
18 February 2015
This is such a gem. This would kill on a national American network, but us Canadians are lucky enough to have it all for ourselves. The pace is quick, the dialogue is witty. The characters aren't very likable, but they're highly relate-able and performed with humanity, and that's all that's needed to create interesting, funny characters. Its a very fun twist to have teachers be such children - certainly not a role reversal I'm used to seeing in TV shows.
It also helps that Gerry Dee is the auteur behind it all - shows often fall apart when they have too many conflicting visions. No so with this puppy.
So naturally, I'm baffled that there's so many people that dislike it. As someone who is grossly disappointed and very good at sniffing out watered down rip-offs, the kind Canadian networks have a notorious streak of greenlighting... Well, this is NOT ONE OF THOSE. This is a show with a unique voice, a unique cast, and is genuinely funny and very well acted. It is totally deserving the healthy run it is having. Start watching from Season 4 like me, and you'll be delighted if you're a fan of good modern comedy. So there!
It also helps that Gerry Dee is the auteur behind it all - shows often fall apart when they have too many conflicting visions. No so with this puppy.
So naturally, I'm baffled that there's so many people that dislike it. As someone who is grossly disappointed and very good at sniffing out watered down rip-offs, the kind Canadian networks have a notorious streak of greenlighting... Well, this is NOT ONE OF THOSE. This is a show with a unique voice, a unique cast, and is genuinely funny and very well acted. It is totally deserving the healthy run it is having. Start watching from Season 4 like me, and you'll be delighted if you're a fan of good modern comedy. So there!
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