[4.8/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Look, maybe we should just put a moratorium on flashback episodes for this show. I’m not a timeline stickler, but they make increasingly less sense with each new one, and there’s just nothing left to explore at this point.
Here, the idea is to retrace Homer and Marge’s salad days at DINKs (dual income, no kids), and then the decline of their high-living once the kids come along. That’s pretty much it. There’s not much of a story or an arc or anything to it; it’s just a bunch of random sketches, loosely tied together, of a particular time in Homer and Marge’s life.
There’s the hint of a point, and it’s a cynical one. It’s basically that everyone hates having kids and only goes along with the charade that it’s worthwhile so as to perpetuate the species. That’s pretty black, even for this show. Don’t get me wrong, I like this show with a bit of a caustic edge, but it works best as a glancing blow or something baked into the series’ worldview rather than a blunt point made in a demoralising fashion at the end of the episode. I don’t agree with the episode’s perspective, but it’d go down smoother if the show had any of the grace remaining from when it hit similar beats in “And Maggie Makes Three” (though came up with a much more heartening ending.
In the final tally, the only really worthwhile part of this one is the great Bill Plympton returning to do another couch gag, this time doing a Homerrific riff on his classic “Your Face” animation. Otherwise, you can basically shut off this episode after the first 90 seconds.
Shout by RothSothyBlockedParent2018-03-26T00:40:11Z
Interesting and lovely Bill Plympton (Plymptoons) animation for the couch gag; reminds me of something I used to see on MTV
And Amazon owning CircuitCity, hehe, that'd would be something :-)