“Past instances in which I professed to like you were fraudulent.” – Homer Simpson

In an attempt to fill the summer with love, hate and pointless Simpsons commentary we at the Dead Homer Society are going to spend some time overthinking Season 8.  Why Season 8?  Because Season 8 is when The Simpsons really began to deteriorate into Zombie Simpsons.  That’s why.  Because we’re cutting edge and ultra-modern we’re using a newfangled, information-superhighway fad called a “chatroom” to conduct our conversation.  This text has been edited for clarity and spelling (especially on “Skittle-brau”).

Today’s episode is 808, “Hurricane Neddy“.

Charlie Sweatpants: Okay, so Hurricane Neddy, then?

Dave: let’s do it

Charlie Sweatpants: Thoughts on the whole hurricane thing?

Mad Jon: Well, I think a mention of the couch gag is important

Dave: homer is crushed, you mean?

Charlie Sweatpants: Couch gag?

Mad Jon: It is definitely one of those signs where after your kid starts doing coke you say “If only we would have paid more attention.”

Charlie Sweatpants: Ahh, I see where you’re going with that.

Mad Jon: Yeah, Homer puts a quarter in the Vend a couch which then crushes him

But it only lasted 2 seconds, so I count that as a draw

Charlie Sweatpants: I don’t know about that, the couch gags have always been pretty loosey-goosey.

Mad Jon: Once again, maybe I am just prejudiced here

Charlie Sweatpants: Well, it’s the kind of hurting Homer I like, it’s fast and unexpected.

Dave: if we’re going to run with that couch gag metaphor, I think it’s better applied to the previous episode

Mad Jon: What was the previous one?

On the DVD it skips the gag

Dave: to Lisa’s Date with Density I mean

Charlie Sweatpants: The family comes in upside down.

Then falls out of the couch.

Mad Jon: Oh, nevermind, I am retarded

and not the funny ‘puttable on TV” retarded

Charlie Sweatpants: Don’t go full retard man.

Mad Jon: Never go full retard

Dave: what I mean is that the previous episode was more of trainwreck than Hurricane Neddy

Charlie Sweatpants: Yeah, the hurricane one is better, but it’s still near the bottom of Season 8.

Dave: agreed. back to the whole hurricane setup – as a plot device, it’s obviously not one of their better catalysts, but compared to the shit in later seasons it’s pretty innocuous. absurd, but innocuous

Mad Jon: Anyway, I am ok with this episode right up till the point Ned is in church asking God why he is being punished. Then it falls into the same lesson learning character growing crap that is keeping my neighborhood liquor store flush with my pocket cash

Charlie Sweatpants: The hurricane itself always felt really cheap to me, like Springfield was becoming less and less like a place you recognized and could relate to.

Ned’s little soliloquy in the church is pretty painful, but the shelter thing is generally funny.

Mad Jon: I can see that

I like the sign outside the church “God Welcomes His Victims”

Charlie Sweatpants: “God welcomes his victims”, “long answer Yes with an If, short answer No with a But”

Looks like we agree on that.

Dave: it’s solid, for sure

Mad Jon: “I believe Job was right-handed”

Charlie Sweatpants: What gets me about the hurricane is, they play it so damn serious. Like it’s this big danger, and then there’s the whole family sucked out of the basement for no reason thing.

Dave: the episode taken as bits and pieces is more successful than the whole

Charlie Sweatpants: Agreed.

“Topwise” and “Main finger” are some of the most usable quotes ever in this show.

But the reason they’re in the basement working on it is absurd.

Mad Jon: “I would make it my business to be a third wheel.” I use that one all the time

Dave: grampa’s line about being born and needing to die in the nursing home always makes me chuckle

Charlie Sweatpants: But all that stuff gets dragged down by this total bummer of a story.

There’s just so much sad string music that I almost feel bad having a good time watching it.

Mad Jon: yeah, I also am upset by the mindless happy go lucky shit attitude you see from Homer. It is the same Homer you see (a few episodes later?) in Homer’s enemy.

Charlie Sweatpants: And the whole weird “Flanders is mad at his parents” back story, shades of the Armin Tamzarian debacle next season.

Mad Jon: Too much info for sure

Dave: yeah – backstory is unimportant

Mad Jon: I don’t need to know where my sausage comes from, just fry the bitches up

Charlie Sweatpants: Although it does give us Homer’s great line about engaging in intercourse with your spouse or significant other.

Mad Jon: I like the preceding one

“previous instances in which I professed to like you were fraudulent.”

excuse me “past instances”

Charlie Sweatpants: Yeah, that one’s good too. Either way though it’s the same theme isn’t it? Good gags, shitty story dragging them down.

Dave: “look daddy, todd is stupid and i’m with him. and now mommy’s stupid, hahaha”

Mad Jon: Also the ending was shittier than the time you missed the toilet when you were super wasted

Charlie Sweatpants: The spankological protocol? If they were talking about masturbation it would be funny, but instead it’s the hinge the whole plot turns on.

Dave: was that just one time, Jon?

Charlie Sweatpants: It’s a lot like the other bad endings this season though, isn’t it? All of a sudden everyone in town is there and cheering.

For no reason.

Mad Jon: I don’t like that the focus of homer’s flaws is his annoyingness. Homer has always been kind of annoying but definitely more drunk and stupid than annoying.

And yes, I believe pants only hit the tile the one time.

Charlie Sweatpants: Oh yeah.

Dave: which part are you talking about, jon?

Charlie Sweatpants: The bubble gum thing, maybe?

Mad Jon: The ending ending. “Ned you so crazy!”

Dave: ah, now i’m on board.

Charlie Sweatpants: Blowing giant bubble gum bubbles is definitely NOT something a guy like Homer would do.

Dave: nope.

building a shoddy house… maybe.

Mad Jon: Using the backdoor to cover the windows

Charlie Sweatpants: But the house thing is another example of where they’re departing a little too far from reality.

Load-bearing poster

Dave: I qualified it with maybe

Mad Jon: Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan except for the room with too much electricity

So you might want to wear a hat

But I think most things said in an Indian accent are funny

Charlie Sweatpants: Sorry, that should’ve been “load bearing poster” is funny, but the house is so crappy that it takes you out of the story.

Dave: I guess even the house is indicative of the quality of the episode. parts are definitely hilarious, but then they go too far

Charlie Sweatpants: Pretty much, it’s a pattern that becomes much more pronounced with Zombie Simpsons as the stories become increasingly flimsy.

But at the same time they’re also played for high drama and the combination of wackiness and sad string music makes me sad in pants.

Dave: with season 8, we still have the jokes. by season 10, the jokes and the plot are both blindfolded and shot

Charlie Sweatpants: Pretty much.

Mad Jon: Well, that’s about all I have for this episode: You see the early stages of what Pants has referred to as “Super-Homer” in an attitudinal sense, even thought the physical/pain humor attempts haven’t shown up yet. There is another character learning more about ‘feelings’. The unnecessary backstory is almost intrusive. But there is enough random funny things to keep me in check until my hot pockets are finished cooking.

Charlie Sweatpants: That’s a low bar, but yes this one passes over it.

Any final thoughts, or particular gags or failures that stood out?

Dave: did anyone else see the “free john swartzwelder” sign?

Mad Jon: No…

Where was that?

Charlie Sweatpants: Yes, but I was stoned.

Mad Jon: ahh

Dave: in the crowd scene after ned is “cured”

Mad Jon: I would only like to state that I also found the Kent Brockman report on the how the crowd focused it’s rage on the Leftorium to be funny even if it was a hackneyed plot device.

But as you know I am partial to Kent

Charlie Sweatpants: You’ve come right back to our theme again, it’s a weak story with good gags.