[7.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] As a Mad Men fan, a story about a Bryan Batt character getting fired for being gay in post-war America and then finding happiness “living his truth” is a-OK with me. This episode feels like a bit of a reaction to his character’s trajectory in that show, but I like the way it grapples with Grampa’s guilt over what he did to a friendly photographer, and him trying to push past his sclerotic ways to see how he feels about the guy. It’s more emotional depth than I really expect from modern day Simpsons, and while you can accuse the show of chickening out a little bit in the end, the fact that it genuinely and sincerely engaged with this stuff is impressive and unexpected.
Were it that the storytelling was as good for the whole episode. There was some of the usual jumping around, with Homer and Marge’s date being low on laughs, and Grampa’s toy army men-inspired PTSD episodes being a pretty odd story vehicle. Still, once things actually kicked into gear with Grampa retracing how he was the model for those army men, the episode picked up. Some of the gags were good, from the mercury-dosing secretary’s quip to the amusing gags about Texas. The New York City stuff was pretty played out (and the cameos here were meh), but on the whole, there were some solid chuckles in this one.
Overall, this episode is nothing to write home about from a nuts and bolts perspective, but once it hones in on Grampa’s story and his reaction to Batt’s character in the past and present, it seizes on something genuine and incisive, something that’s few and far between from The Simpsons these days.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-01-09T23:34:16Z
[7.5/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] As a Mad Men fan, a story about a Bryan Batt character getting fired for being gay in post-war America and then finding happiness “living his truth” is a-OK with me. This episode feels like a bit of a reaction to his character’s trajectory in that show, but I like the way it grapples with Grampa’s guilt over what he did to a friendly photographer, and him trying to push past his sclerotic ways to see how he feels about the guy. It’s more emotional depth than I really expect from modern day Simpsons, and while you can accuse the show of chickening out a little bit in the end, the fact that it genuinely and sincerely engaged with this stuff is impressive and unexpected.
Were it that the storytelling was as good for the whole episode. There was some of the usual jumping around, with Homer and Marge’s date being low on laughs, and Grampa’s toy army men-inspired PTSD episodes being a pretty odd story vehicle. Still, once things actually kicked into gear with Grampa retracing how he was the model for those army men, the episode picked up. Some of the gags were good, from the mercury-dosing secretary’s quip to the amusing gags about Texas. The New York City stuff was pretty played out (and the cameos here were meh), but on the whole, there were some solid chuckles in this one.
Overall, this episode is nothing to write home about from a nuts and bolts perspective, but once it hones in on Grampa’s story and his reaction to Batt’s character in the past and present, it seizes on something genuine and incisive, something that’s few and far between from The Simpsons these days.