REVIEW: The Italian Bob

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REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Stretch_Dude » Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:49 am

The first of the HABF series has arrived...and I look forward to the rest. This was good, good stuff. Seriously, I thought it was nearly pre-Scully good. (I would've liked a scene showing why Burns picked Homer to get the car.) But other than that...loved it. Bob and his family were just wonderful, the story was sound, Krusty was a riot, they wove in Lisa's newfound knowledge of Italian with no problem...and you just can't go wrong with slamming MacFarlane. ;D Just a great episode.

(And a forewarning to anyone complaining about Bob having a toddler-age son: This is a show where the main characters include a 10-year-old born in 1980 and his 8-year-old sister who was born in 1984. The show's timeline doesn't make sense and never will.)

Grade: A-. Looking forward to some family vengeance in the future.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Sheana_Molloy » Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:09 am

Damn, missed this episode.  I was actually going to make a point of catching it since I'm at home, but my mom decided to have me do something right around that time all of a sudden. :(

...Wait, Bob has a son now?  *head explodes*
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Officer 1BDI » Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:38 am

As of now, this is my favorite episode of the season.  This is the first Bob episode in a while that hasn't left me feeling dissatisfied, and his son... I thought I was going to hate him, but he's just too cute and vengeful.

Rather than list all the things I liked about the episode (because there's really just too many), I'll just point out a few nitpicks:

[*] I agree with Stretch Dude: I thought that Burns should have explained why he chose Homer, of all people, to get his car.  I was also put off by Burns' performance at the school: falling asleep mid-sentence is more of an Abe Simpson characteristic.

[*] Homer's groan upon hearing he should spend time with his family in Italy went on for too long.  For a moment I thought they were poking fun at Family Guy, but the punchline never came.  (And then they brought out that book....  ;D )

Actually, those were the only two things that really bugged me.  Everything else felt like it came from pre-season 10.

I'd almost forgotten how well Kelsey can sing.  4.5/5
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Sheana_Molloy » Mon Dec 12, 2005 6:17 pm

My curiousity is killing me.  It'll probably be a while before I see the ep, so...I demand screenshots!

S'funny.  Al Jean or whoever said 'no more kids', but they just keep comin'....I wonder when we'll see Ling Bouvier again, too.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Sheana_Molloy » Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:01 pm

Ha!  That kid is freaky, yet still sort of cute.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Seshennu » Tue Dec 13, 2005 12:03 am

Once again, I didn't make it to the TV until five minutes into the show...

I'm not sure what to say on this one, actually. On the one hand, it was a pretty good episode. On the other hand, I was hyped up on flavored water all through the episode, so I'm not too sure whether it was because of that, or the quality of the show itself that I liked it.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by arpulver » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:13 pm

This episode had a very strange combination of old-season high comedy, new-season low comedy, and some flat out bizarre moments. I felt the first act was fairly weak, but Bob naturally helped the episode along... and I'll give it bonus points for originality.

To be honest, after the first act I was set on giving this episode no better than a C. The educational video made me miss Fluffy Bunny, and with the exception of the lack of reaction to Martin's jab the whole exchange with Mr. Burns fell flat. The logic sending the family to Italy was weak and little entertained me once they got there (except for Lisa pretending to be Canadian, countered by Homer's "Don't mess with Texas" cry). Then they met Bob and both sides screamed. Then things turned around.

The story of how he became beloved in the villa was brilliant- from the frustrating globe, to Bob correcting the local's Italian, to his propencity for grape stomping- it just worked. And yeah, little Gino was adorable, especially with the little rake (more than a decade since Cape Feare and it's still funny!). While we all like to see Lisa inebriated once in awhile, it was pretty predictable that she would out Bob, and a little forced. The ensuing chaos was refreshingly surreal- from Bob wearing his prison uniform underneath (no credit for the episode number doubling as the prison number though- it's been done countless times before) to the Big Book of American Criminals (I rolled my eyes at the Peter Griffin pic, as that's been done before, but expanding it to Stan Smith made it absolutely worth it). And Marge looking up vendetta was a nice touch.

The third act fell somewhere in the middle, with the chase on the aquaduct a little too madcap for my taste and Krusty in an opera was just plain lazy. Krusty's entire appearance was offputting for that matter, including his rescue. But thankfully, Bob was there with his family to steal the show, sooth the savage beast with his pipes (I really liked Homer's reaction to Bob's singing for some reason), and attempt murder. The rushed resolution didn't help, but it's hard not to appreciate the original story involving Bob. Flawed or not, that's worth a B.

Season 17 Grades
Marge's Son Poisoning: A
Last of the Red Hat Mamas: A-
The Girl Who Slept Too Little: B+
The Italian Bob: B
See Homer Run: B-
Treehouse of Horror XVI: C+
Milhouse of Sand and Fog: C+
Bonfire of the Manatees: D
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by arpulver » Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:02 am

cuteswan wrote: BTW, What Bob's wife's name?  I'm terrible with names and it hasn't been mentioned in any of the threads (or I keep missing it).
I believe it was Franchesca, or some spelling thereof.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by c_nordlander » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:39 am

I think you spell it Francesca.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by arpulver » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:59 pm

Sorry. The only two Italian names I can spell with confidence are Mario and Luigi.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by Stretch_Dude » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:53 am

arpulver wrote: Sorry. The only two Italian names I can spell with confidence are Mario and Luigi.
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Re: REVIEW: The Italian Bob

Post by djwhitaker2004 » Thu Dec 15, 2005 2:00 am

I didn't enjoy this episode, because some jokes wasn't good, I didn't like ending when Bob & his family walk away evil. But I was surprise when Family Guy(again) & American Dad got make fun of in this episode. I give it a C+.
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So that's what a soul breaking sounds like.

Post by hadisia » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:26 am

Just.

Why.

Why did you make that episode, Kelsey Grammer? Why must you hurt my soul?
It was like badfic.

...I just watched The Italian Bob, and I swear I just felt it stabbing at my soul while shrieking "Vendetta! Vendetta!"

Maybe it's karma for all the badfic I used to write?
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Re: So that's what a soul breaking sounds like.

Post by Sheana_Molloy » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:34 am

I was wondering when you were going to react to that episode...

Huh, you seem to be the only one to hate it so much.  Is it because he finally found a bit of happiness, married a woman and had a kid?
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Re: So that's what a soul breaking sounds like.

Post by hadisia » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:40 am

No, it was because it was really, really bad. I'll admit to being surprised at Bob having a happy end and not being arrested, but the rest was pretty much predictable. On top of that, I considered it badly written, the entire idea of the episode stupid, and almost none of the jokes funny at all.
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