Benjamin Robinson
2007-01-29 06:31:04 UTC
[The long of it]
As the title suggests, "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" is
really three one-act shows. (Well, *four* if you count the framing
story.) Multi-story episodes click with me, because they're a change
of pace from the usual sitcom setup, and because the shorter format
lets the writers explore ideas that would get tiresome if they were
stretched over a three-act arc. There have been some exceptions to
this rule, but "Revenge" isn't one of them.
The framing story is so quick that it's almost impossible to expand a
description past a two-sentence summary. While out on a family drive,
Homer is cut off by the Rich Texan. As Homer speeds up to exact
revenge, his family tries to talk him out of it by sharing stories of
vengeance gone wrong. It's not a hilarious setup, but it serves the
story well, and it's quick enough that we get right to the first tale.
That would be Marge's "The Count of Monte Fatso," which casts the
Simpsons as an 18th-century Parisian family. Moe, jealous of Homer's
wife and kids, has Homer thrown in jail on trumped-up treason charges.
Homer escapes and vows revenge on Moe, who has since moved in with
Marge. The story drags a bit in the beginning with some French gags,
but picks up once Homer is imprisoned. Homer's belabored attempts to
escape -- he manages to screw up even when *given* a treasure map and
an escape tunnel -- were the highlight of the story. His "revenge
machine" that he constructs to entrap Moe is a good idea (for the
audience; it doesn't work out so well for Homer), although I wish it
were even more elaborate. The ending was a bit predictable, but this
might not have been avoidable since the characters announced from the
start that the stories were examples of how revenge always backfires.
Lisa's contribution is "Revenge of the Geeks." Later in the episode,
Bart mentions that Marge and Lisa's stories were "kind of" the same.
Indeed, they both have the same theme and plot structure: someone is
wronged, they plot revenge with an elaborate device, and his downfall
comes when they take it too far. Lisa's story is just different
enough to keep from being repetitive, though. The school nerds create
a backpack-glove duo that allows the wearer to dish out any schoolyard
torture he desires, from wet willies to purple nurples. (The list of
choices was one of the best things about this story, by the way.)
Milhouse volunteers to try the device on the school bullies, and this
works great. Of course, Milhouse being who he is, he manages to screw
things up by taking revenge on everyone else who slighted him, which
is pretty much everyone in Springfield Elementary. This story has the
thinnest plot, but the one-act structure works to its advantage, in
that the writers can get away with having a five-minute "show." Also,
the wrongheaded "lesson" homer learns from this story is almost as
good as the story itself.
The last story comes from Bart (what, you thought Maggie was going to
tell us something?), and his "Bartman Begins" is noticably different
from the other two. It's a point-for-point takeoff of the Batman
origin story, with Bart in the title role as is "Bartman" alter ego.
Anyone familiar with Batman can tell you where the revenge angle
factors in: Bart's parents are shot and killed by a mugger, and he
becomes a crimefighter as a way to avenge their deaths. There's a
nice comment on Bartman's over-the-top method of justice. He thwarts
a newspaper thief by throwing him on some high-voltage lines, and Apu
commends him by saying, "Your act of reckless homicide has saved me
eighty cents." Furthermore, the parodies of the various villians
Bartman faces are good -- I liked The Toker and The Diddler -- and the
final face-off between Bartman his nemesis The Serpent caps the story
well.
After that, it's back to the framing story wrap-up which features some
nice, if heavy-handed, self-referential humor and a funny peacemaking
conversation between Homer and the Texan. The show ends on an
incongruous list of "Star Wars" fatalities. I thought it was amusing,
although you can argue that it felt like the writers were covering up
the lack of an ending.
"Revenge" is a solid entry in the three-story library of shows. I
think the writers are doing a better job with these than they are with
the traditional "TOH," to be honest with you. If living well is the
best revenge, then surely writing well is in the top five somewhere.
[The short of it]
I usually enjoy these three-story episodes, and tonight's show is no
exception. "The Count of Monte Fatso" is a good start, with Homer's
escape from the French prison being the highlight. "Revenge of the
Geeks" has a good role for Milhouse and the bullies. I also liked the
Get Backinator, and the one-act limit keeps the story from running too
long. "Bartman Begins" is a fine parody of the "Batman" origin
legend, and features good villians in addition to the here. The
framing story sets up this episode nicely, although some might not
like the incongruous ending. A fine episode overall. (B+)
[DYNs]
... in the couch gag, Maggie looks around as if surprised she's the
only one that's still a baby?
... Jimbo was reading a Daily Racing Form when Martin interrupted
the bullies?
... Milhouse's hair gets mussed up as he uses the Get Backinator?
... *Ralph* is on Milhouse's revenge list? What could he have done?
... Abe's dozing as Bart works out with the bowling-pin things?
[References]
"The Count of Monte Cristo" (novel)
- Marge's story is called "The Count of Monte Fatso"
"The Man in the Iron Mask" (novel)
- guards mention famous prisoner as they escort Homer to his cell
"Revenge of the Nerds" (movie)
- Lisa's story is called "Revenge of the Geeks"
"Get Back" (song)
- nerds' revenge machine called the "Get Backinator"
"General Hospital" (TV series)
- one of the schoolyard tortures is the "Genital Hospital"
"Batman Begins" (movie)
- "Bartman Begins" borrows the movie's title and premise
"Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (movie)
- in Bart's story, the comedy duo meet polio
"Batman" (superhero)
- one of Bartman's adversaries is The Toker, a spoof of The Joker
- The Diddler (as in, The Riddler) is another Bartman foe
- Batman's Poison Ivy becomes Poison Lenny here
[Previous Episode References]
[4F15] Bart drunk
[HABF02] Lisa drunk
[2F20] Homer offers a revisionist explanation for Mr. Burns's
shooting
[7F21] Bartman appears
[FFF]
Satellite radio stations:
COOL NEON CHILL CHILL JAMAICAN
WAVES BREEZE THUNDER THUNDER BEATS
LITE
Prison newspaper:
Chateau d'if Times
-------------------------
PRISONER'S WIFE REMARRIES
Modified sign in front of Homer's house:
CHEZ
SIMPSON ["Simpson" crossed out, ]
MEAUX ["Meaux" hand-writtin in]
Hitler standee:
BEFORE I WAS
A NAZI LEADER
I WAS A NAZI
READER.
Settings on the "Get Backinator":
WEDGIE PURPLE NOOGIE PINK INDIAN
NURPLE BELLY BURN
WET DRY KIDNEY NASTY GENITAL
WILLIE WILLIE STONING JACKSON HOSPITAL
STOP FRESHMAN ULTIMATE
HITTING FACIAL NOOGIE
YOURSELF
Milhouse's enemies list:
SKINNER JIMBO
KEARNY NANA
------------------
WENDELL DOLPH
SHERRI COSINE
------------------
TERRI M[Milhouse's]
CHUCK DA[ thumb ]
------------------
BECKY MARTIN
RICHARD DATABASE
------------------
ROD NELSON
TODD WILLIE
------------------
UTER LOUIS
RALPH JANEY
Theater marquees:
ZORRO JOINS THE NAVY
ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET POLIO
Opera house marquee:
GOTHAM CITY
OPERA HOUSE
First Gotham headline:
Gotham Herald
----------------
CRIMSON COCKATOO
BEATEN SENSELESS
Second headline:
MUSCULAR CHILD
TERRORIZES UNDERWORLD
Museum marquee and banner:
GOTHAM NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
TONIGHT:
THE STEALABLE JEWELS
OF THE ORIENT
"Star Wars" death call:
THIS EPISODE IS DEDICATED
TO ALL WHO DIED IN THE
"STAR WARS" FILMS
DARTH VADER
DARTH MAUL
GREEDO
UNCLE OWEN
STORM TROOPER #5
JANGO FETT
GENERAL GRIEVOUS (DROID)
STORM TROOPER #22
DAK
OBI WAN (BEN) KENOBI
WHOEVER JIMMY SMITS PLAYED
HUTT, JABBA THE
SY SNOODLES
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT
JAR-JAR BINKS
EVERYONE ON BOTH DEATH
STARS WHEN THEY BLEW UP
[Personal Comments & Observations]
coincidentally, that's the same number of stories in this episode.
He goes on to say that two of the ways are kind of the same; Marge and
Lisa's stories both strike the same theme of revenge going awry.
Finally, Bart figures that one of the ways would make a better
Halloween story; "Bartman Begins" is the sort of movie parody story
that's normally done on "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. (It has the
high -- for a "Simpsons" episode, anyway -- body count we'd associate
with "TOH," too.)
As the title suggests, "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" is
really three one-act shows. (Well, *four* if you count the framing
story.) Multi-story episodes click with me, because they're a change
of pace from the usual sitcom setup, and because the shorter format
lets the writers explore ideas that would get tiresome if they were
stretched over a three-act arc. There have been some exceptions to
this rule, but "Revenge" isn't one of them.
The framing story is so quick that it's almost impossible to expand a
description past a two-sentence summary. While out on a family drive,
Homer is cut off by the Rich Texan. As Homer speeds up to exact
revenge, his family tries to talk him out of it by sharing stories of
vengeance gone wrong. It's not a hilarious setup, but it serves the
story well, and it's quick enough that we get right to the first tale.
That would be Marge's "The Count of Monte Fatso," which casts the
Simpsons as an 18th-century Parisian family. Moe, jealous of Homer's
wife and kids, has Homer thrown in jail on trumped-up treason charges.
Homer escapes and vows revenge on Moe, who has since moved in with
Marge. The story drags a bit in the beginning with some French gags,
but picks up once Homer is imprisoned. Homer's belabored attempts to
escape -- he manages to screw up even when *given* a treasure map and
an escape tunnel -- were the highlight of the story. His "revenge
machine" that he constructs to entrap Moe is a good idea (for the
audience; it doesn't work out so well for Homer), although I wish it
were even more elaborate. The ending was a bit predictable, but this
might not have been avoidable since the characters announced from the
start that the stories were examples of how revenge always backfires.
Lisa's contribution is "Revenge of the Geeks." Later in the episode,
Bart mentions that Marge and Lisa's stories were "kind of" the same.
Indeed, they both have the same theme and plot structure: someone is
wronged, they plot revenge with an elaborate device, and his downfall
comes when they take it too far. Lisa's story is just different
enough to keep from being repetitive, though. The school nerds create
a backpack-glove duo that allows the wearer to dish out any schoolyard
torture he desires, from wet willies to purple nurples. (The list of
choices was one of the best things about this story, by the way.)
Milhouse volunteers to try the device on the school bullies, and this
works great. Of course, Milhouse being who he is, he manages to screw
things up by taking revenge on everyone else who slighted him, which
is pretty much everyone in Springfield Elementary. This story has the
thinnest plot, but the one-act structure works to its advantage, in
that the writers can get away with having a five-minute "show." Also,
the wrongheaded "lesson" homer learns from this story is almost as
good as the story itself.
The last story comes from Bart (what, you thought Maggie was going to
tell us something?), and his "Bartman Begins" is noticably different
from the other two. It's a point-for-point takeoff of the Batman
origin story, with Bart in the title role as is "Bartman" alter ego.
Anyone familiar with Batman can tell you where the revenge angle
factors in: Bart's parents are shot and killed by a mugger, and he
becomes a crimefighter as a way to avenge their deaths. There's a
nice comment on Bartman's over-the-top method of justice. He thwarts
a newspaper thief by throwing him on some high-voltage lines, and Apu
commends him by saying, "Your act of reckless homicide has saved me
eighty cents." Furthermore, the parodies of the various villians
Bartman faces are good -- I liked The Toker and The Diddler -- and the
final face-off between Bartman his nemesis The Serpent caps the story
well.
After that, it's back to the framing story wrap-up which features some
nice, if heavy-handed, self-referential humor and a funny peacemaking
conversation between Homer and the Texan. The show ends on an
incongruous list of "Star Wars" fatalities. I thought it was amusing,
although you can argue that it felt like the writers were covering up
the lack of an ending.
"Revenge" is a solid entry in the three-story library of shows. I
think the writers are doing a better job with these than they are with
the traditional "TOH," to be honest with you. If living well is the
best revenge, then surely writing well is in the top five somewhere.
[The short of it]
I usually enjoy these three-story episodes, and tonight's show is no
exception. "The Count of Monte Fatso" is a good start, with Homer's
escape from the French prison being the highlight. "Revenge of the
Geeks" has a good role for Milhouse and the bullies. I also liked the
Get Backinator, and the one-act limit keeps the story from running too
long. "Bartman Begins" is a fine parody of the "Batman" origin
legend, and features good villians in addition to the here. The
framing story sets up this episode nicely, although some might not
like the incongruous ending. A fine episode overall. (B+)
[DYNs]
... in the couch gag, Maggie looks around as if surprised she's the
only one that's still a baby?
... Jimbo was reading a Daily Racing Form when Martin interrupted
the bullies?
... Milhouse's hair gets mussed up as he uses the Get Backinator?
... *Ralph* is on Milhouse's revenge list? What could he have done?
... Abe's dozing as Bart works out with the bowling-pin things?
[References]
"The Count of Monte Cristo" (novel)
- Marge's story is called "The Count of Monte Fatso"
"The Man in the Iron Mask" (novel)
- guards mention famous prisoner as they escort Homer to his cell
"Revenge of the Nerds" (movie)
- Lisa's story is called "Revenge of the Geeks"
"Get Back" (song)
- nerds' revenge machine called the "Get Backinator"
"General Hospital" (TV series)
- one of the schoolyard tortures is the "Genital Hospital"
"Batman Begins" (movie)
- "Bartman Begins" borrows the movie's title and premise
"Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (movie)
- in Bart's story, the comedy duo meet polio
"Batman" (superhero)
- one of Bartman's adversaries is The Toker, a spoof of The Joker
- The Diddler (as in, The Riddler) is another Bartman foe
- Batman's Poison Ivy becomes Poison Lenny here
[Previous Episode References]
[4F15] Bart drunk
[HABF02] Lisa drunk
[2F20] Homer offers a revisionist explanation for Mr. Burns's
shooting
[7F21] Bartman appears
[FFF]
Satellite radio stations:
COOL NEON CHILL CHILL JAMAICAN
WAVES BREEZE THUNDER THUNDER BEATS
LITE
Prison newspaper:
Chateau d'if Times
-------------------------
PRISONER'S WIFE REMARRIES
Modified sign in front of Homer's house:
CHEZ
SIMPSON ["Simpson" crossed out, ]
MEAUX ["Meaux" hand-writtin in]
Hitler standee:
BEFORE I WAS
A NAZI LEADER
I WAS A NAZI
READER.
Settings on the "Get Backinator":
WEDGIE PURPLE NOOGIE PINK INDIAN
NURPLE BELLY BURN
WET DRY KIDNEY NASTY GENITAL
WILLIE WILLIE STONING JACKSON HOSPITAL
STOP FRESHMAN ULTIMATE
HITTING FACIAL NOOGIE
YOURSELF
Milhouse's enemies list:
SKINNER JIMBO
KEARNY NANA
------------------
WENDELL DOLPH
SHERRI COSINE
------------------
TERRI M[Milhouse's]
CHUCK DA[ thumb ]
------------------
BECKY MARTIN
RICHARD DATABASE
------------------
ROD NELSON
TODD WILLIE
------------------
UTER LOUIS
RALPH JANEY
Theater marquees:
ZORRO JOINS THE NAVY
ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET POLIO
Opera house marquee:
GOTHAM CITY
OPERA HOUSE
First Gotham headline:
Gotham Herald
----------------
CRIMSON COCKATOO
BEATEN SENSELESS
Second headline:
MUSCULAR CHILD
TERRORIZES UNDERWORLD
Museum marquee and banner:
GOTHAM NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
TONIGHT:
THE STEALABLE JEWELS
OF THE ORIENT
"Star Wars" death call:
THIS EPISODE IS DEDICATED
TO ALL WHO DIED IN THE
"STAR WARS" FILMS
DARTH VADER
DARTH MAUL
GREEDO
UNCLE OWEN
STORM TROOPER #5
JANGO FETT
GENERAL GRIEVOUS (DROID)
STORM TROOPER #22
DAK
OBI WAN (BEN) KENOBI
WHOEVER JIMMY SMITS PLAYED
HUTT, JABBA THE
SY SNOODLES
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT
JAR-JAR BINKS
EVERYONE ON BOTH DEATH
STARS WHEN THEY BLEW UP
[Personal Comments & Observations]
Meta-reference corner
Bart mentions that there are three ways to talk about revenge --coincidentally, that's the same number of stories in this episode.
He goes on to say that two of the ways are kind of the same; Marge and
Lisa's stories both strike the same theme of revenge going awry.
Finally, Bart figures that one of the ways would make a better
Halloween story; "Bartman Begins" is the sort of movie parody story
that's normally done on "Treehouse of Horror" episodes. (It has the
high -- for a "Simpsons" episode, anyway -- body count we'd associate
with "TOH," too.)
--
Benjamin Robinson ***@freenet.tlh.fl.us
This message may or may not contain sarcastic content; your burden to decide
"I'm naked, clueless, and f-e-e-e-ling good!" -- Ratbert
Benjamin Robinson ***@freenet.tlh.fl.us
This message may or may not contain sarcastic content; your burden to decide
"I'm naked, clueless, and f-e-e-e-ling good!" -- Ratbert