9.0/10 on a classic Simpsons scale. I don't know how much they were actually involved, but this episode feels like showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's sensibilities in a nutshell. It was an out there adventure story with Bart, a more sweet, down-to-earth character story about Lisa and Homer, and even a mild bit of deconstruction with Marge hanging around at home by herself while everyone else is having adventures. It's all the kinds of stories they like and the sorts of things like to do.
What's especially nice is how it all fits together. A lot of the time, A-stories and B-stories feel like they're on separate tracks, with minimal to do with one another, even on The Simpsons. But here, the inciting incident of Go To Work With Your Parents Day kicks off all of the stories nicely, and little details like Lisa's concerns about secrecy with Homer eventually tying into the Bart story, or Homer and Lisa glaring at Bart when he lets out another fib while Marge beams with joy, make a diverse and varied episode feel like a unified whole.
The humor is on point, with the boys' travels providing the most consistent wacky laughs, Homer and Lisa providing the quieter but cute chuckles, and Marge offering the somewhat dark but undeniably amusing glumness. Overall, it's a stellar episode that does several things very well and even manages to make those things intersect in creative, enjoyable ways.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-01-23T16:08:40Z
9.0/10 on a classic Simpsons scale. I don't know how much they were actually involved, but this episode feels like showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's sensibilities in a nutshell. It was an out there adventure story with Bart, a more sweet, down-to-earth character story about Lisa and Homer, and even a mild bit of deconstruction with Marge hanging around at home by herself while everyone else is having adventures. It's all the kinds of stories they like and the sorts of things like to do.
What's especially nice is how it all fits together. A lot of the time, A-stories and B-stories feel like they're on separate tracks, with minimal to do with one another, even on The Simpsons. But here, the inciting incident of Go To Work With Your Parents Day kicks off all of the stories nicely, and little details like Lisa's concerns about secrecy with Homer eventually tying into the Bart story, or Homer and Lisa glaring at Bart when he lets out another fib while Marge beams with joy, make a diverse and varied episode feel like a unified whole.
The humor is on point, with the boys' travels providing the most consistent wacky laughs, Homer and Lisa providing the quieter but cute chuckles, and Marge offering the somewhat dark but undeniably amusing glumness. Overall, it's a stellar episode that does several things very well and even manages to make those things intersect in creative, enjoyable ways.