The Simpsons – Everything and a flamethrower

I’ve heard people say that The Simpsons isn’t funny anymore, but I’m in no hurry to move out of Springfield. Though there are good episodes and bad ones, I still giggle more often than not. The twenty-third season premiere had me laughing almost from start to finish.

Homer befriended the nuclear power plant’s new security guard, Wayne. Given that Wayne was voiced by Jack Bauer himself, Mr. Kiefer Sutherland, he had to be more than a reserved rent-a-cop — and it was soon revealed that he had been a top operator with the CIA. Shenanigans ruined Wayne’s hope of laying low in Springfield, and when the European baddie he’d been in hiding from kidnapped Homer, he ended up springing back into heroic action.

It wasn’t the most unique plot; Homer has the gift of unintentionally screwing up people’s lives (remember Frank Grimes?) but it was consistently funny throughout. There was Marge’s Top Chef fantasy, which saw judge Tom Colicchio turn, like a Transformer, into her brand-new kitchen (and then moan that he missed his soul patch).

After Wayne subdued a would-be robber at Moe’s Bar, the local news treated us to a re-enactment done in Korean animation, complete with snicker-inducing subtitles in two languages, a CGI Barney Gumble throwing up pickled eggs, and Homer scoring 5,000 points for hitting Hans Moleman with his car while driving home.

As the episode later flicked to Kiev, I laughed out loud as the caption misspelled “Ukraine,” only to come back with “C’mon, how many Kievs are there?”

Then, after Homer predictably landed in harm’s way (yelling, “Not the middle seat!” as he was abducted), we saw Wayne mount a rescue effort at a hockey rink, armed with a flamethrower. You can never really go wrong with a flamethrower.

As a parting shot, we learned that Nedna (Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel) are still together, over the protests of Principal Skinner, only to have Skinner’s cantankerous mom interrupt to tell her son that he’s never going to give her any grandkids. Touché, Mrs. Skinner.

The episode was decidedly made funnier thanks to Sutherland’s unique voice, which always sounds awesome no matter what he says. This marks his third appearance on The Simpsons (after “24 Minutes” and “GI (Annoyed Grunt)“), and he’s great at portraying exasperation with Homer’s stupidity and antics. Without his gravelly tones, Wayne might not have been quite so cool. But he is cool, and it wouldn’t be half bad to see him again sometime.

Let’s hope the rest of season 23 is this funny.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on Sep 26, 2011 @ 02:53 EST5EDT