The Girl Who Slept Too Little

[Jase_to_the_Izzo]

Probably the most striking thing about this episode was the animation. My have we come a long way since 1989! While I think the plot was a little on the slow side and the humor came in spurts and stops, this was ultimately watchable thanks to a fantastic dream sequence and an bizarre tone.

I'll give it a B+.

[djwhitaker2004]

It was a good episode, I like it. Here some of my favorite parts:
-Opening couch when Simpsons are clay.
-When Marge (:marge:) flip a truck over and started a fire.
-When Homer (:homer:) knock some stuff in the bed.
Funny episode .

[Officer 1BDI]

This was a vast improvement over last week's travesty.

First off, the direction and animation were beautiful.  Hats off to whoever directed this episode.  There was an actual plot tonight (hurray! [/sarcasm]), and I could really sympathised with Lisa throughout the episode.

My biggest problems were with a handful of jokes.  I was a bit surprised to hear "bitch" on the show (not that they haven't said it before, it's just not a curse that often crops up in The Simpsons), but hearing Homer's "bullshit" line just left me confused.  I'm sure the writers knew it would be censored, and they didn't even try to work around the "bleep," which leaves me wondering why they even wrote the line in the first place.  Some of Slug!Milhouse's lines rubbed me the wrong way, too (the mating line in particular).



Some of the things I did like:

• The couch gag
• Gravedigger Billy
• Lenny and Carl's appearance ("I'm done dumbing myself down for you")
• Bart's racecar bed (a bit silly, but it made me laugh)
• Homer and Lisa playing I-Spy (cute father-daughter moment  )
• The callback to Lisa's Wedding in Lisa's baby video
• Homer trying to wake Lisa up ("Pony?")

I give this episode a 3/5.  I don't know how that would hold up on subsequent viewings, though (didn't bother to tape it).

Edit: Does anyone know who Jim O'Brien is?  There was supposedly an "In Memory of" card for him in the credits.  The name rings a bell, but I'm not sure why.

[arpulver]

I really agree with the comments about the animation in this episode. That first exterior house shot in the first act, with the rising sun shining on only half the house, was beautiful. Sent that message right away that this one could be pretty good. And I was not disappointed.

The inciting action (protesting the stamp museum) was fun, got the entire family involved, and the best part- didn't take the entire first act. With so many episodes lately where it takes a whole act to establish what the story's about, it's nice that they get to the heart of the episode right away. The second act was a little shaky, since the stamp museum wore out its welcome and the writers went a long way to establish the "Where the Wild Things Are" homage into the story. Such time could have been used to better establish what Eddie and Lou were doing in the graveyard. The third act really pulled it together though, highlighted by a rare Dr. Nick appearance (why don't they use him anymore? He is always funny!).

It wasn't perfect- as I said, the stamp museum dragged on a bit, the "Where the Wild Things Are" moments didn't really add anything to the story, and I've given up hope of Milhouse ever being an interesting character again ("Date With Density" seems so far away for this former Milhouse fan). And yes, Homer's censored swear without a joke at the censor's expense was just bizarre. But calling it an improvement over last week would be selling it short- this was a genuinely good episode. I was especially impressed with the way Lisa was written, striking that balance between her childish side and her intellectual side. And for once, the entire family got involved in a Lisa episode, without the need for a stupid Homer subplot, or a forced Homer-Lisa bonding escapade. That's perhaps the best part.

[papa smurf]

This episode was great i really liked it, but "Bitch" and "Bullshit" starteld me, i don't mind cusing but coming from the simpsons is like hearing your grand-mother droping an F-Bomb, i think there trying to piggy-back on Family Guys in your face full on swearing comedy, and i fear this may mean the end of the show in the near future ( hopefully not.)

[Seshennu]

I'm not sure that anything else I could say would be new to this thread, the episode was already covered pretty well here.

Like everyone else that's posted so far, I really like this episode. Not a work of pure genious, but pretty good. A drastic improvement over last week's episode.

My only real qualms with the episode were Homer's "BS" line and Milhouse's mating line... That just crossed a few too many lines. Hmm... Oh, and I guess the fact that the entire opening credits were replaced with a local car dealership commercial was pretty upsetting. ><

Could someone fill me in on the couch gag, and chalkboard gag (if there was one?) please?

[Officer 1BDI]

I don't recall a chalkboard gag (I was temporarily distracted), but the couch gag was a Gumby parody:

Spoiler

The whole couch gag was done in claymation.  The family members all roll into the scene from different directions as little multi-colored balls... except there's an extra ball.  The 6 balls all jump into the air and transform into the characterss, and they all land on the couch.  The 6th ball becomes Gumby and lands to their right.  The family and Gumby exchange wary/confused glances.

I was addicted to Gumby when I was little, so the scene brought back fond memories. 

[Sheana_Molloy]

Just saw this ep.  Far from perfect, there was no closure for the whole Gravedigger Billy thing really and it had a few dud lines, but overall this was definitely a pleasantly surprising episode.  Certainly one of the best episodes OFF has had in quite a while.

Lisa was how I remember her being, smart but still an innocent child with innocent qualities.  That made me happy.   Some very funny lines here and there and some funny sight gags, and hey, almost no Jerkass Homer!  Bonus points for the Doc Ock joke, too. 

And of course, the very best thing about the episode was the absolutely excellent animation, some of the very best I've seen on the show, I think.  You can tell a lot of care went into the artwork and there was probably little roundtable rewriting in this one.  Also:  That's gotta be one of the Best Couchgags Ever.

[Officer 1BDI]

I have a minor request/question.  Would someone please kindly point me in the direction of a screengrab of the couch gag, preferrebly when they're all sitting on the couch and looking at each other?  Google is not my friend in this instance.

[c_nordlander]

How about this one? http://www.simpworks.com/forums/http:// ... 163#p83163 They're not looking at each other, though...

[Officer 1BDI]

*face-palm* Of course it would be on the forums....

It's perfect.  Thank you, Chris. 

[Dagdamor]

Liked the episode a lot. Yeah, the plot was weak, and Bart's behavior was just brainless in certain moments. Also the idea to move the graveyard sounded... strange for me. But heck, it was true Lisa-centered episode with great characterization, fully dedicated to her inner world, her fears and feelings. I was waiting for an episode like this for a long time, and it didn't disappoint me. Of course if you're not Lisa fan, you probably won't like the episode much, 'cause its plot was a bit too simple. But I did. My favorite moment is Lisa's dream, and my fav joke is when Homer cleaned up the bed.

[fellranger]

Dammit!  A new OFF episode that I actually want to see and I haven't got Sky or a fast net connection....
Seriously though, by what you guys have said this is a definite improvement.  Perhaps the future is looking brighter?