8.3/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale. As the son of a Bostonian mother, whose Patriots fandom I disdain, this one hit close to home. But what I liked about the episode apart from its riffs on Beantown culture is that it's a well-written, well-structured story. Bart wants to go be a part of Boston; Homer wants his son to hate it, and when they actually get there, each finds that the reality is very different from the place they imagined in their heads.
Homer's derision for Boston stemming from sports is very much in character (and the riffs on the Patriots were amusing and exaggerated, if likely to date the episode a bit), and bowling being the thing that changes his mind is similarly inspired. (To that end, I appreciated the theme of "life giving us a third ball.") At the same time, Bart being inspired by Boston bad boys on TV in various forms is also very true to what we know of the character, and his realization that Boston is a metropolitan progressive city and not a the rough and tumble place he imagines from thinly-veiled parodies of The Departed and the like is a nice twist. It's some Dan Harmon-esque story circle narrative-crafting that I appreciated.
It's another check mark in the win column for substitute showrunner Matt Selman. I don't love every episode produced when he's subbing for main showrunner Al Jean, but his episodes tend to be a cut above for that very thing -- his ability to center stories on who the characters are and structure them around those characters getting things they want but finding that the results aren't quite what they expected. The various gags about Boston and its culture are fun, and as has become typical in these "The Simpsons are going to _____" episodes, the designs and backgrounds for the new locale are beautiful, but what really makes this episode a cut above is its attention to character and story.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-10-11T17:55:02Z
8.3/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale. As the son of a Bostonian mother, whose Patriots fandom I disdain, this one hit close to home. But what I liked about the episode apart from its riffs on Beantown culture is that it's a well-written, well-structured story. Bart wants to go be a part of Boston; Homer wants his son to hate it, and when they actually get there, each finds that the reality is very different from the place they imagined in their heads.
Homer's derision for Boston stemming from sports is very much in character (and the riffs on the Patriots were amusing and exaggerated, if likely to date the episode a bit), and bowling being the thing that changes his mind is similarly inspired. (To that end, I appreciated the theme of "life giving us a third ball.") At the same time, Bart being inspired by Boston bad boys on TV in various forms is also very true to what we know of the character, and his realization that Boston is a metropolitan progressive city and not a the rough and tumble place he imagines from thinly-veiled parodies of The Departed and the like is a nice twist. It's some Dan Harmon-esque story circle narrative-crafting that I appreciated.
It's another check mark in the win column for substitute showrunner Matt Selman. I don't love every episode produced when he's subbing for main showrunner Al Jean, but his episodes tend to be a cut above for that very thing -- his ability to center stories on who the characters are and structure them around those characters getting things they want but finding that the results aren't quite what they expected. The various gags about Boston and its culture are fun, and as has become typical in these "The Simpsons are going to _____" episodes, the designs and backgrounds for the new locale are beautiful, but what really makes this episode a cut above is its attention to character and story.