[8.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I’m really impressed with this episode. It focuses on two secondary characters with minimal involvement from Our Favorite Family. It has a fun premise with lots of potential for good comic hijinks. And like another recent episode that interrogated the relationship between Smithers and Mr. Burns, it explores and develops one of the core comic pairings we’ve seen in the Simpsons’ orbit.
I’ve said it before, but leave it to substitute showrunner Matt Selman to find the juice here. With him on board, you can be fairly assured that there will be a solid character-based emotional throughline for the episode, and this is no exception. Skinner wanting to finally get into Chalmers’s good graces, finding himself frustrated when his years of toadying got him nowhere, and Chalmers realizing that despite being his “That Principal,” Skinner is a good guy whom he actually likes, is a good emotional trajectory for the whole thing.
I also like that Bart is the one who gives Skinner the kick in the keister he needs to try to earn Chalmers’s respect. The “black mold in the poke” bit is a little too far, but you can see Skinner seizing his opportunity in an otherwise positive way. There’s a solid escalation, with Skinner worsening the situation and earning more ire from Chalmers, only to save the day in a pinch and slowly but surely gain the Superintendent’s appreciation, only for things between them to totally blow up from there before the inevitable reconciliation.
There’s meat in Skinner’s angry recriminations over his lack of esteem after how hard he’s worked for so many years, and in Chalmers’s reciprocal “I just don’t like you” response. That gives the later bit, where Chalmers realizes Skinner’s value and Seymour saves the day once again, more force. Selman understands the importance of that sort of emotional cadence to the story, and it pays dividends here.
There’s also some nice setups and payoffs. Skinner’s high-fiving ability turns from a lame recurring gag into a cheering high point. The script sets up Chalmers’s speech on his index cards and the jacket mixup nicely. There’s even some solid running gags about cars being winterized and Principal Finch’s obsession with poke. It all falls together neatly without being showy about it.
The gags are mostly mild, but still roundly pleasing. The Cincinnati based gags aren’t that specific (multiple ways to have chili on spaghetti isn’t exactly incisive humor), but there’s chuckle-worthy at worst. The small town with a countrified version of Skinner and Agnes was weird, but kind of cute. And the presence of a “biker bar” that’s populated by cyclists instead was just absurd enough to work. I thought the fight between Chalmers and Skinner was too over the top, but otherwise, the gags here largely worked.
Overall, this is another standout post-classic episode from Selman that finds new depths to a relationship the show has largely played for pure gags up to this point.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-01T00:33:35Z
[8.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I’m really impressed with this episode. It focuses on two secondary characters with minimal involvement from Our Favorite Family. It has a fun premise with lots of potential for good comic hijinks. And like another recent episode that interrogated the relationship between Smithers and Mr. Burns, it explores and develops one of the core comic pairings we’ve seen in the Simpsons’ orbit.
I’ve said it before, but leave it to substitute showrunner Matt Selman to find the juice here. With him on board, you can be fairly assured that there will be a solid character-based emotional throughline for the episode, and this is no exception. Skinner wanting to finally get into Chalmers’s good graces, finding himself frustrated when his years of toadying got him nowhere, and Chalmers realizing that despite being his “That Principal,” Skinner is a good guy whom he actually likes, is a good emotional trajectory for the whole thing.
I also like that Bart is the one who gives Skinner the kick in the keister he needs to try to earn Chalmers’s respect. The “black mold in the poke” bit is a little too far, but you can see Skinner seizing his opportunity in an otherwise positive way. There’s a solid escalation, with Skinner worsening the situation and earning more ire from Chalmers, only to save the day in a pinch and slowly but surely gain the Superintendent’s appreciation, only for things between them to totally blow up from there before the inevitable reconciliation.
There’s meat in Skinner’s angry recriminations over his lack of esteem after how hard he’s worked for so many years, and in Chalmers’s reciprocal “I just don’t like you” response. That gives the later bit, where Chalmers realizes Skinner’s value and Seymour saves the day once again, more force. Selman understands the importance of that sort of emotional cadence to the story, and it pays dividends here.
There’s also some nice setups and payoffs. Skinner’s high-fiving ability turns from a lame recurring gag into a cheering high point. The script sets up Chalmers’s speech on his index cards and the jacket mixup nicely. There’s even some solid running gags about cars being winterized and Principal Finch’s obsession with poke. It all falls together neatly without being showy about it.
The gags are mostly mild, but still roundly pleasing. The Cincinnati based gags aren’t that specific (multiple ways to have chili on spaghetti isn’t exactly incisive humor), but there’s chuckle-worthy at worst. The small town with a countrified version of Skinner and Agnes was weird, but kind of cute. And the presence of a “biker bar” that’s populated by cyclists instead was just absurd enough to work. I thought the fight between Chalmers and Skinner was too over the top, but otherwise, the gags here largely worked.
Overall, this is another standout post-classic episode from Selman that finds new depths to a relationship the show has largely played for pure gags up to this point.