Really liked this episode! Lots of clichés about french people but that was so funny, especially for a french watcher like me!
S01E11 - That's the episode these French people, Cesar and Ugolin, were from, when Bart was living under their roof.
I was surprised that they a) re-use those characters and b) let no-one of the Simpsons remember them at all or vice versa.
Kind of a let down, I liked this little gimmick of seeing those two again and I think they could have done more with those in this episode.
Shout by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-05-10T01:47:03Z
6.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale. "The Simpsons are going to ____" is a tried and true episode format, but like any recurring bit in a show 27 seasons in, it's also a little tired. Still, there was a solid emotion through line with Homer trying to do good for Marge after he gets to go on wild adventures while she's stuck with all the responsibility. Plus, the snake-hiding added a nice little plot engine as well.
That said, the humor itself was pretty hit or miss. Jay Leno being impressed by a toyota was kind of cute, and the usual cultural riffs on Paris were decent, and there was even some classic wordplay, but there was a lot of corny/mean-spirited stuff as well that dragged the comedic batting average down. What's more, the episode was pretty unfocused despite the good emotional/plot elements, with random detours like Bart's model prank that felt pretty shoehorned in.
Overall, it was this close to crossing the threshold into "good territory," but the humor quotient wasn't quite there, and there was a lot of flab in the episode as well.