26.10 - "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner"
Written by Al Jean and David Mirkin
Directed by David Silverman
Reviewed by Gavin Hetherington
The 562nd episode of the long-running FOX hit
The Simpsons will be airing January 4, 2015. As an irregular viewer of the show, it was nice to watch a random episode of the show and feel like I'd never left.
The episode summary is pretty strange and sounds like something from a Treehouse of Horror episode, so to have it as a regular episode is bizarre. Apparently it was supposed to be the season twenty-five finale until it was delayed. I would love to know why (maybe something to do with Dizzneeland?) but regardless, it was a great entry in
The Simpsons franchise.
Advance Preview
Begin at the very beginning. Couch gag. The Simpsons are in a museum and there's five paintings for each of them (Homer's is very... interesting) and as the family members sit on a bench looking at them, they look bored, so Homer whips out a remote and it turns out the paintings are TVs and the sigh in relief... because who in their right mind would sit and stare at a painting for 20 minutes when they could be watching FOX or something.
Kids, you're going to Dizzneeland!!
Mickey Mouse: "My cartoons weren't good, they were just first."
Following this, The Simpsons are on their way to Dizzneeland (Sound familiar? It shouldn't!) with Bart and Lisa doing the "are we there yet" annoyance that was last funny back in 2004. There is a hilarious part where even though they're at the parking lot, it takes a huge escalator, a train, a helicopter and a ferry to actually get to Dizzneeland. And who else here still finds Maggie so adorable? Because I sure do. They go on their first ride which was specifically for Maggie (much to Bart's and Lisa's annoyance) but Maggie is having the best time ever. I mean awwww even after twenty-six years she's still one of the cutest cartoon babies around. We get some pretty heavy Disney references, including them buying the rights to "Cosmic Wars" which I'm sure has nothing to do with Disney buying the rights to Star Wars.
Homer Simpson: "I want fun, the kind attractive families have in commercials!"
With a few more rides and sight-seeings (including a politically correct
Pirates of the Caribbean ride following massive complaints by two people), they have really made me want to actually visit this Dizzneeland. I've never been to Disneyland before but being 22 years old I most absolutely definitely must go sometime before I get too old that it would end up being creepy, so whether it was Disneyland or Dizzneeland that I go to, I don't really mind at this point. Just get me on some rides. The Let-Go Loop looks absolutely fun, I would most definitely go on that ride (when you guys see it, I'm pretty sure you will want to go on it too). Toonton Abbey looks cool too.
Homer Simpson: "I even want to sit down but the line for the bench is too long!"
Strangely, there's a ride nobody is queuing for and it's not on the park map, so naturally the characters go to it. If there's no queue, I would do the same. Homer gives a funny explanation as to why so they go inside. Pretty soon, they're blasted into space on a spaceship after being tricked. We have a meta-moment with the aliens when they appear (
Homer: What the... this isn't Halloween!!) and anything the characters want, all they have to do is say it and it will materialise. Homer wants... potato chips. This isn't Homer's first Space rodeo so potato chips + zero gravity + The Blue Danube Waltz = a great interpretation of that famous scene from the episode
Deep Space Homer (which first aired twenty years ago in 1994). This scene is a classic and the new variation with Bart eating the chips before Homer can get to them, which in turn forces Homer to say "D'oh" to the music, is pretty funny.
Homer Simpson: "Wait, are you telling me we're prisoners in this cage?!"
The Simpsons arrive at the aliens' home planet. We witness the birth method of the aliens and believe me, it's not pretty but it's pretty hilarious haha. The Simpsons end up getting put in a display with a half-replica of their living room from home. An alien comes in who is a "humanologist" who wants to see how much they've learned about their planet and also gives them a shocking twist - the aliens have to eat one of them! Marge puts it to a vote, which if they were good parents they would automatically rule out the children. But everyone votes for Homer. The alien comes back and says he gets a final meal, so Homer wants lots of Rabbit.
Alien: "Come on folks, let's put your eyelids together!"
We then go to a
Hunger Games-esque ceremony, complete with a Caeser Flickerman alien look-a-like. Before Homer can be eaten, he's zapped away by the resistance that don't agree with the barbaric ways of the rest of their species. He's taken to the secret rebel base and they agree to help Homer return to Earth. They give him access to a spaceship that's huge, but it was only built for one. Homer decides he can't go without his family so goes back to save them. His plan isn't great, in fact, I don't even think he had a plan, but it leads to some funny glazing. The Queen comes to take first bite but they find the humans have toxins in them, poisoned by their unhealthy fast-food diet. The aliens take them back home and tell them their memories will fade, with Kang going right up to the screen to break the fourth wall and say "as if none of this ever happened!". Maggie flies the spaceship, naturally.
Episode Verdict
The Simpsons tackles one of the biggest dilemmas in the history of mankind - the queuing we have to do when we go to theme parks. Man, those waits really kill the fun. Not only that, but this episode of
The Simpsons had a lot of messages, including doing what's right by your family and the fact that mankind wouldn't be tasty if aliens ate us. I mean that goes without saying, but we had a lot of deep stuff going on amidst the humour.
This was a really fun episode. It was actually pretty nice to have an episode that really goes all-out to provide some entertainment. It did something new outside the Treehouse of Horror episodes, even though it's completely unbelievable. The episode had some great meta-moments and man, that re-enactment of the famous Deep Space Homer scene with an added Bart and Maggie was very funny. Usually I just "like" episodes of
The Simpsons when I catch the odd one, but this one I pretty much loved. Now, who's up for going to Dizzneeland with me?
Be sure to watch 'The Man Who Came to Be Dinner' when it airs on FOX on January 4th.
About the Author - Gavin Hetherington
Award-winning author of 'Abyssal Sanctuary: Remnants of the Damned'. Gavin joined SpoilerTV on August 9, 2014 and will be reviewing 2 Broke Girls, Mistresses, Orange is the New Black, Pretty Little Liars and Salem in the 2014-15 season. Gavin's favourite shows include Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal and much more. You can contact him at gavin@spoilertv.com.
