[7.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This is one of the more out there premises for a Simpsons episode we’ve had in a while, particularly with lifelike masks and robot bodies and voice-changing chips. But it won me over because it’s actually rooted in a character journey despite all that craziness!
I like the idea of Burns wanting to see what his workers really think of him, accidentally “becoming the mask” when they treat “Fred Kranepool” as a friend and he develops a taste for it. There’s an interesting push and pull with Burns liking being liked for once and it spurring him to do good things for his employees, while Smithers misses the old Burns and worries about the company’s bottom line. They even dramatize the internal tug of war going on between Burns and the spark of decency within him that Fred represents in some creative ways.
It’s good character work for Mr. Burns, something that’s hard to come by. His hijinks with Homer, Lenny, and Carl in the Fred suit have plenty of smile-worthy gags, and there’s some silly references and meta-gags throughout here (including one more dig at FOX). It’s a good bit.
I only have two significant complaints. The first is that the ending is pretty lame. I get that this is The SImpsons and so everything has to be reverted to the status quo by the end of the episode. But the other side of the coin is that having a crazy acid-side fight between Burns and his suit is a little too zany. More to the point, I don’t like that the resolution to Burns’s internal struggle is just “bosses and employees have to dislike each other and try to screw one naother over; it’s the natural order of things.” It’s a cop out and superficial take, which sends things off on a sour note.
I also have to admit that I have really mixed feelings about the show replacing Hank Azaria as the voice of Carl Carlson. The show did it for noble reasons, but it’s really distracting to hear a character who’s been voiced by one guy for 30+ years speak with someone else’s voice. If it was just for a gag or two (a la Martin Prince), it might not have been so distracting, but Carl was a substantial part of this one. Hopefully it’s something I’ll just get used to over time, but The Simpsons has never really been a show to bring back characters with new voice actors, and it immediately sounds off here. Sadly, as the cast ages and the various corporate owners refuse to turn off the money-printing machine that is The Simpsons, it’s probably something fans are going to have to get used to more and more.
Overall though, this was a very good start to the new season, one built around a loopy but strong character story for Mr. Burns.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-09-28T21:47:13Z
[7.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This is one of the more out there premises for a Simpsons episode we’ve had in a while, particularly with lifelike masks and robot bodies and voice-changing chips. But it won me over because it’s actually rooted in a character journey despite all that craziness!
I like the idea of Burns wanting to see what his workers really think of him, accidentally “becoming the mask” when they treat “Fred Kranepool” as a friend and he develops a taste for it. There’s an interesting push and pull with Burns liking being liked for once and it spurring him to do good things for his employees, while Smithers misses the old Burns and worries about the company’s bottom line. They even dramatize the internal tug of war going on between Burns and the spark of decency within him that Fred represents in some creative ways.
It’s good character work for Mr. Burns, something that’s hard to come by. His hijinks with Homer, Lenny, and Carl in the Fred suit have plenty of smile-worthy gags, and there’s some silly references and meta-gags throughout here (including one more dig at FOX). It’s a good bit.
I only have two significant complaints. The first is that the ending is pretty lame. I get that this is The SImpsons and so everything has to be reverted to the status quo by the end of the episode. But the other side of the coin is that having a crazy acid-side fight between Burns and his suit is a little too zany. More to the point, I don’t like that the resolution to Burns’s internal struggle is just “bosses and employees have to dislike each other and try to screw one naother over; it’s the natural order of things.” It’s a cop out and superficial take, which sends things off on a sour note.
I also have to admit that I have really mixed feelings about the show replacing Hank Azaria as the voice of Carl Carlson. The show did it for noble reasons, but it’s really distracting to hear a character who’s been voiced by one guy for 30+ years speak with someone else’s voice. If it was just for a gag or two (a la Martin Prince), it might not have been so distracting, but Carl was a substantial part of this one. Hopefully it’s something I’ll just get used to over time, but The Simpsons has never really been a show to bring back characters with new voice actors, and it immediately sounds off here. Sadly, as the cast ages and the various corporate owners refuse to turn off the money-printing machine that is The Simpsons, it’s probably something fans are going to have to get used to more and more.
Overall though, this was a very good start to the new season, one built around a loopy but strong character story for Mr. Burns.