The Simpsons Shorts: Maggie in Peril, TV Simpsons Reviews

Shorts #46 and 47: Maggie in Peril (Two parts)

I don't get the angle of wanting to do a two part set of shorts. Whatever the case, it's executed very well. Maggie plays with a ball and her siblings are annoyed by it. Bart kicks it very far away and she goes on a skateboarding ride to get it back. It's like a cartoon in a way. There is a bit of stuff that is funny. The animation is really good for these two shorts. It's these little things that make it stand out among the Tracey Ullman era of Simpson related stuff. If you can find it online, especially with part two, give it a watch.

Scores: Both get 8 out of 10.

Short #48: TV Simpsons

If you've seen me keep commenting on these last few shorts regarding their animation, it's that good for the time. TV Simpsons saves the best for last in that category. It's excellent and has that kind of quality that some of the first season episodes had. Getting to the short, the kids lose the TV due to Homer wanting to watch a bowling tournament. He suggests flying a kite and Bart manages to get one into the antenna on the roof. Really, it shouldn't be funny, but it is. It has an Itchy and Scratchy bit. Homer is being an ass and an oaf. They nailed it down for this last short. A solid conclusion to its run on Tracey Ullman.

Score: 7 out of 10

Once again, these shorts have never seen a DVD release. Some of them have appeared on the show. Fox should try to put them out at some point. It's an important part of their early days as a network and one of the reasons they exploded on the scene in 1990. Other than that, I am taking a break from doing reviews of The Simpsons until December. I might start doing some Seinfeld reviews and maybe some game related reviews. I do hope some of you enjoyed the content. Read on with all 48 shorts.

The Simpsons Shorts: Bart of the Jungle, Family Therapy Reviews

Short #44: Bart of the Jungle

A creative way to piss off Homer can be through various means. In this short, the kids go through his closet to play with all his ties and act like they are in a jungle. It works pretty well. There is enough to be consistently funny. Animations are really good for this very late short. A great one to watch.

Score: 8 out of 10

Short #45: Family Therapy

This is one of those shorts that definitely has a Season 1 quality to it. The way the animation and backgrounds look, it has that look that was seen in the very first episodes they produced. (Some Enchanted Evening caused the show to be delayed from September 1989 to January 1990 with the episode airing in May) Getting into this one, the whole family is in for therapy, courtesy of Homer. Strange to think he would do that, but then again, there would be an episode in the first season with therapy.

As far as the writing goes for this one, it's consistent. It's funny. The characters all have good moments individually, and the last 30 seconds is hilarious that it feels like the show. I got nothing but good praise for this one. Very funny.

Score: 9 out of 10

It's come down to this. Next week, the final three shorts. Maggie is in danger, and the TV has signal issues.

The Simpsons Shorts: Bathtime, Bart's Nightmare Reviews

Short #42: Bathtime

It's hard to come up with anything to say regarding this short. Bart attempts to hide from Homer so he can avoid taking a bath. Unfortunately for him, he gets caught and is forced to bathe. That's about it without spoiling too much of it. It pulls the punches and pays off with the beginning and ending of the short. You'll get the chuckles from this one.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #43: Bart's Nightmare

With this one, Bart has eaten a lot of cookies and has a nightmare. It features a nice little call back to The Shell Game and plays off that with a funny nightmare that the eldest Simpson child has. That's really all I can say with it. The ending is really hilarious. I haven't said much as far as the animation goes since it feels like most of the improvements came in the second season of shorts. This is about as close, if not, identical to what would be seen in the first season of the half hour show. It's a must watch short.

Score: 8 out of 10

Five more shorts to go. Next week, the kids play jungle in a unique way, and the family goes to therapy.

The Simpsons Shorts: Shoplifting, Echo Canyon Reviews

Short #40: Shoplifting

This short has a good idea, but isn't executed well until the end. We get to see Bart be a little mischievous as he attempts to steal candy bars and gets caught by security. It's just not enough to get a minute of material out of it. That being said, the ending for it is pretty hilarious. Not one of its strongest, but not bad either.

Score: 6 out of 10

Short #41: Echo Canyon

When you take kids on a road trip or vacation, it's not always going to be exciting. Especially when parents want to see other parts of the country or world. In this short, the kids are bored at Echo Canyon. I wonder if this is a parody of the Grand Canyon. Anyway, Homer and Marge enjoy it. As far as humor goes, it's more mischief that works and the ending is funny. A good short to watch.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week, Bart takes a bath and has a bad nightmare

The Simpsons Shorts: Scary Movie, Home Hypnotism Reviews

Short #38: Scary Movie

Two introductions in this short include the Happy Little Elves (I want to say it's a parody of The Smurfs) and Space Mutants (B-movie horror). Bart wants to see aliens and the girls want to see elves. Guess who wins? It's one of the more forgettable shorts despite the two parodies that would appear early on in the show's run. The payoff is definitely the ending, which is karma for Bart. Other than that, it's not anything too special.

Score: 6 out of 10

Short #39: Home Hypnotism

I really don't know if hypnotism actually works compared to what's seen in movies and television. That being said, it's interesting to see Homer not only try to be a parent, but also try an idea that would have translated very well into a 22 minute episode. He and Marge decide to hypnotize the kids to make them be good and nice. The idea works well and is surprisingly funny. Groening definitely delivered on the concept and is worth a watching.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week's reviews include Bart stealing and the family going to Echo Canyon

The Simpsons Shorts: Bart the Hero, Bart's Little Fantasy Reviews

Short #36: Bart the Hero

This is one of those shorts that feels like what The Simpsons would do once it became a 30 minute show. Bart is forced by Homer to exercise. He enjoys it and stops for some candy, only to confront a thief robbing the candy store. It's one of those shorts that doesn't exactly translate well to a minute long short, but it certainly is practice for bigger episodes once they wrote 30 minute scripts. You'll get a few chuckles out of it

Score: 6 out of 10

Short #37: Bart's Little Fantasy

You wouldn't think rehashing the first 20 seconds of a short would work, but it does here in Bart's Little Fantasy. The kids are forced to clean up a mess of toys. Bart tells a story which has Homer and Marge in the kids role of cleaning. It is pretty funny, since you could see Homer acting the same way as his son if he were a child. There isn't much to say. It's one of the shortest shorts of the season and run on Tracey Ullman. That being said, it's executed well and a good one to see.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week, the kids go see a movie, and Homer tries out hypnotism.

The Simpsons Shorts: Simpson Christmas, The Krusty the Clown Show Reviews

Short #34: Simpson Christmas

I know it's four months until Christmas at the time of this blog, but it still needs to be given a thought. The one word I would describe this is sweet. Even with Bart telling his version of "The Night Before Christmas", he tells it in a good manner while it stays funny. Groening captured that feeling of what a kid might think during the holidays. A solid way to end 1988.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #35: The Krusty the Clown Show

If the title didn't give you a clue, this is the very first time we see Krusty the Clown. For a first appearance, they got it down well, though the voice would take some time to get perfected. As far as the short goes, it's funny. I'm not sure if most kids would react like Bart when being in the audience, but it could happen. Although this predates the movie Elf by over a decade, some can be disappointed by what they see if they have their own version of someone. Either way, it's the start of many moments where someone gets embarrassed by something that happens on TV.  Solid to begin 1989.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week, Bart becomes a local hero, and has a fantasy of his own.

The Simpsons Shorts: The Bart Simpson Show, Punching Bag Reviews

Short #32: The Bart Simpson Show

This is the very first appearance of the Tom and Jerry inspired duo of Itchy and Scratchy, except with deadlier violence. It is kind of a weird short. I find it more so on the sense of Homer not wanting his kids to watch violent stuff. Then again, he is a victim of injury in Itchy and Scratchy and Marge two years later. Anyway, this is a funny short. Bart tries to make up his own TV show and pleases his sisters. A way to end it is both him and Homer strangling each other because of the boy taking out the TV parts. This is a solid one in humor and the animation looks identical to what the show would have as far as characters go.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #33 Punching Bag

I'm not sure how much "play friendly" was used in the show, but another first here is Homer going "D'oh" in the short. It's a basic one. The kids want to play rough and goes with the stereotypes of how guys and girls should be. Bart and Lisa hit a punching bag with Homer's face drawn on it and it annoys their father. Props to Matt Groening for getting Marge involved, and its hilarious, especially with those last 20 seconds of the short. The Simpsons look a little more fleshed out and developed better, and shorts like these show the momentum of why it got a show.

Score: 8 out of 10

Next week, Bart tells a Christmas tale, and the kids get to see a familiar clown as audience members.

The Simpsons Shorts: Shut Up Simpsons, Shell Game Reviews

Two seasons of shorts reviewed since mid-April. Let's continue on with the season 3 set of shorts, 19 in total.

#30: Shut Up Simpsons

What other way to begin this set than having a bickering family? Homer, the kids, and Grampa are all on each other's nerves. It's so easy to consider this a cliche, but it's done well. There's a certain level of animosity shown in each character. Not to mention seeing Grampa hit Homer with a newspaper and strangle him. That will seem out of touch for anyone that watches the show's take on him. A little improvement on the character modeling and they all seem almost identical to their show counterparts. A nice way to begin this final set of shorts. Funny and worth watching

Score: 7 out of 10

#31 Shell Game

Lay off the cookies. Bart wants to have one, but the family is set on him not having one. Tattler Lisa catches him with a bunch, and he puts all but one back in the jar. Cue the title. It's not so much the game that's amusing. The payoff in the beginning and end is what makes it a funny short. Having Bart fooled by Maggie (another cookie antic like The Perfect Crime) is icing on the cake. That's what makes it another solid short

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week's reviews include Bart doing his own TV show, and the family doing a little stress relieving.

The Simpsons Shorts: The Art Museum, Zoo Story Reviews

Short #28: The Art Museum

There isn't much to this short. It's the family going to the art museum and the kids messing around in it. Bart likes a nude painting and Lisa almost breaks a vase. There might be one or two chuckles you will get out of this, but otherwise, not one of the best shorts of the season.

Score: 6 out of 10

Short #29: Zoo Story

This was a great way to end the second season of shorts. Homer is a jackass to the monkeys who look like the family and Bart feels bad for his counterpart. Everyone knows that one person that teases an animal until something bad happens. It's the kind of thing that could have been expected on the show. That's how good this minute long short is. Definitely watch this.

Score: 8 out of 10

Two seasons of shorts down, one to go. Next week kicks off the last season of shorts. The family annoys each other in Shut Up Simpsons and Bart toys with Homer and Marge in Shell Game.

The Simpsons Shorts: Bart's Hiccups, The Money Jar Reviews

Short #26: Bart's Hiccups

Hiccups are probably one of the worst things you can have. Everyone has certain methods hat can cure them. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don't. For the girls, they try a few ineffective but funny methods to rid Bart of his hiccups. I'm not sure if the drink concoction would be edible or spinning helps, but it's a few chuckles. On it's own not a bad short, and check out a little bit of continuity when Bart is spun in the chair.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #27: The Money Jar

I'm not sure how common it is now these days, but there's that idea of the angel and devil that comes at specific scenes in movies and shows. The kids want bigger allowances but Marge stands her ground. She also doesn't want them getting into the money jar.  Each child goes into that thought of whether they should or not and it's really hilarious. You wouldn't think so, but it captures the idea of what kids think in certain situations.

With both shorts, the animation is impressive getting the house to look like a house and not just a few rooms put together in five minutes. As far as The Money Jar, this is another must watch.

Score: 8 out of 10

We finish up July by finishing up the second season set of shorts. Family adventures are on the way as they visit The Art Museum and get to see gorillas in Zoo Story.

The Simpsons Shorts: The Aquarium, Family Portrait Reviews

Short #24: The Aquarium

Homer is wearing the pants again in this short. He tries to show the kids some of the fishes that occupy the ocean at the aquarium. (check out second fish before it cuts to Lisa being disgusted) It goes awry when Bart decides to swim in aquarium. You wouldn't think of it as being funny, but there are a few chuckles you get out of it. It's far from a forgettable short, but your mileage may vary. Otherwise, it's Bart being mischievous.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #25: Family Portrait

Ten years ago, the episode, You Kent Always Say What You Want, aired this short before the actual episode began, a very rare appearance of any Tracey Ullman era stuff. It is one of the most cliched ideas, the family portrait. Homer really wants a good photo, and he manages to screw that up in most of the short. It's a funny short with how the family handles taking the photo and Homer's attempts. Along with that is better looking character models and the legend of "Why, you little!", Homer's signature phrase when dealing with Bart. A solid short that has some good laughs.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week, it's the kids leading the way. The girls try to cure Bart's Hiccups, and all three feel persuaded to take money from The Money Jar.

The Simpsons Shorts: The Pagans, Closeted Reviews

Short #22: The Pagans

There's not much I can say about this one. I wonder how much Matt Groening hated church in his childhood. That's the thought a lot of kids have with various different reasons. You're going to get a couple chuckles out of it as the kids goof off and anger Homer as he tries to fix a flat tire. Not to mention the first of ways to hide nudity, and one of Homer's recurring catchphrases, though the true phrase will show up a few shorts from now. Not great, but not bad either.

Score 6 out of 10

Short #23 Closeted

I would say kids still have chores today, but back in 1988, it seemed to be a bigger deal. Both Bart and Lisa hide from Homer, only for Bart to lock himself in his closet. It feels like a short that seemed to be a last minute idea. Like The Pagans, you're going to get some chuckles out of it. That's not to say these are bad by any means. It just seemed like, much like most TV shows in their first seasons, they were trying stuff that hopefully would stick and you would continue on with that concept. There will be another one of these in the season 3 set of shorts that actually was shown on an episode in the mid 90s. Once again, not great, but not bad.

Score: 6 out of 10

Next week, Bart swims in The Aquarium, and the family tries to get a good picture in Family Portrait.

The Simpsons Shorts; Gone Fishin, Skateboarding Reviews

Short #20: Gone Fishin

It's another basic concept for this short. Bart and Homer go fishing and an adventure ensues. I see it as more of a technical achievement, though this is a funny short. Klasky-Csupo was able to show bigger improvements as far as small things like a waterfall and the boat moving in the same shot. There's not much to complain. A little strange Homer being serious about catching fish, but other than that, a hell of a way to end the first month of 1988.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #21: Skateboarding

Another great showcasing by Klasky-Csupo and a great funny short to boot. It shows what makes Bart one of the best characters of the franchise. He is an ass to his sisters and tries to be a show off with his skateboarding. It's cartoon like, but watching Lisa and Maggie best him is worth watching. As far animation goes, the modeling is getting closer, and the neighborhood is a big improvement over some of the earlier shorts like Football. This is a must watch.

Score: 8 out of 10

More kid antics next week. The kids anger Homer in The Pagans, and Bart hides in Closeted.

The Simpsons Shorts: Scary Stories, Grandpa and the Kids Reviews

Short #18: Scary Stories

This kind of story is so cliched, this shouldn't be funny. However, it is. It plays on that idea of fear that kids have when they hear about certain things. The writing plays it off very well and gets some good laughs as Bart scares himself and his sisters by telling them scary stories. Groening worked on the idea of what a kid's mind goes through. Overall, a solid short that you wouldn't have thought would be good.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #19: Grandpa and the Kids

This is the first short to feature a recurring character that didn't debut on the show. Hence the title, it's Grampa Abe Simpson. As far as character modeling goes, they got him down right the first time. Not to mention improvements in how the other characters looked as well as the backgrounds. For this one, Abe does sound a little frail compared to his show counterpart and is like a normal grandfather, though with a mischievous side at the end. It'll definitely feel strange the first time you watch it, but you'll appreciate how good of a debut he had.

It is a short that starts slow, but picks up and gets better as it goes on. They hit it on the right cylinders and it shows. A good way to start 1988.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week is more Bart adventures. He is on a boat with Homer in Gone Fishin, and he shows his sisters lessons in Skateboarding.

The Simpsons Shorts: World War III, The Perfect Crime Reviews

Short #16: World War III

There was still a fear of the Soviets when this short of The Simpsons debuted in November 1987. It's not one that is funny until the very end as the family reluctantly does Homer's drills. Another thing I would say is that it's weird seeing Homer in charge. If today's version did this, he would injure himself. It's more of a short to look at in a retrospective sense. Back then, countries were fearing the worst when everybody had nuclear weapons. The only other bright spots include better looking and improved parts of the house, as well as small improvements in the character modeling on a few of the Simpson clan.

Score: 6 out of 10

Short #17 The Perfect Crime

Who doesn't want a cookie? Marge bakes up some chocolate chip ones and Bart finds the opportunity to eat them with no one noticing other than Maggie. It's such a mundane concept, but it works so well. This is a great short that showcases the kind of troublemaking Bart does and the attempts at eating the cookies. Lots of laughs all around, there's not a silent moment for this one. A really great short with improvements on the kitchen compared to its first season efforts.

Score: 8 out of 10

Next week's reviews include scary stories and the first appearance of Grampa Abe Simpson.

The Simpsons Shorts: Space Patrol, Bart's Haircut Reviews

Short #14: Space Patrol

I'm finding it amazing how much abuse Bart takes in these shorts. He really was the mascot for the Simpson family way before he became huge (or infamous if you are the Bush family). Space Patrol is slapstick with the girls taking advantage of Bart with a vase on top of his head. It works effectively and isn't overly done. Even Maggie gets a few licks at her alien brother. This is a pretty good short that will have you chuckling throughout the entire thing.

Score: 7 out of 10

Short #15: Bart's Haircut

Cursing back in 1987 was not a new thing, but to see that in animation would feel strange. Check out The Transformers: The Movie on YouTube for the few curse words they had. For The Simpsons, even with the show, they're not one to push many buttons in that category. Unlike Family Guy and South Park, they don't abuse the concept, even with Bart saying hell in this short and having "Who the hell are you?" as a catchphrase in the show's early days.

Speaking of which, Bart's hair is too long. It's actually been a while since seeing a new location with the barber shop. You can see the improvements on how to make different locations and they did a good job with that and providing humor at Bart's expense. The character modeling on Homer and Marge seems like a small improvement, but it's another step closer to what they would look like on the actual show. Another solid short. Not many chuckles, but they hit them at the right time.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week's short reviews include Homer readying for nuclear war and Bart's attempts to steal cookies. Read on next Tuesday.

The Simpsons Shorts: House of Cards, Bart and Dad Eat Dinner Reviews

Short #12: House of Cards

Like some of the other shorts, Matt Groening went with something mundane. To be honest, there's not enough comedy out of this one where Bart builds a house of cards. Not much else can be said. I like seeing failure and getting some laughs out of it, but it wasn't funny. Even Lisa's dialogue didn't come off as something to get a chuckle of. A pretty forgettable short.

Score: 5 out of 10

Short #13: Bart and Dad Eat Dinner

Homer's not always the best choice to cook food. Check out the show's Season 7's Homer the Smithers where he makes Mr. Burns breakfast and burns everything. For this short, he's tasked of making food for himself and Bart. It's one of those that starts off pretty slow and gets better. This takes off when Bart is forced to eat the mix of fish nuggets and pork a roni. All I'll say for the ending is that it's a very sweet one with you getting a laugh. Not it's strongest short, but one of the better ones.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

More kid goodness next week. The kids play Space Patrol in one short, and Bart gets a haircut in the other one.

Reviewing: Quantity, Quality, or Both?

There will be no blog tomorrow. I will be back with some reviews of more shorts of The Simpsons on Tuesday. Now let's get to today's blog.

On a game website, a user was looking into doing reviews of various games and wanted people to look at them and give him feedback. Some have given him some stuff that could be improved and work better on it. A few others, on the other hand, have been vocal and think it's not worth doing. I've taken a look myself and it looks like quantity for now. As the title suggests, is it quantity, quality, or both that helps with reviews?

I really think you can do both. However, the effort has to be put into doing the reviews. That's the biggest issue. Looking at the guy's reviews, they look to be done with even below the minimal effort. This is the kind of stuff that might make a game magazine if it isn't one of the big games on the corner of a page. Now, minimal reviews aren't always a bad thing. The issue is how much depth do you go into a minimal one. I personally think you have to put a little depth into a game to explain a few basic things about it.

With games, it's a matter of the system, game library, and relevance to its time period. You can't just review a game from 1982 and compare it to a modern game today. You have to look at it from the time period it was in and games that were there with it in a previous generation. Movies is a tough one. Taste is subjective unless you're working for the New York Post. It's hard for some who may not like a few genres. Same thing with television. Negativity sells, but not everybody wants to see bad reviews of anything, especially TV and film. That's why some will have a choice or no choice to review the films or shows they want to see.

I think you do have to be careful, though.You're putting yourself in the lion's den when you talk something that is the opposite of its reception. Take the game Shaq Fu. It wasn't panned when it released in 1994, but time has not been kind and is labeled today one of the worst games ever. I think it's a bandwagon thing to say and I really believe people who say these games are the worst, I doubt they played most of them. It's not a bad game per se, but not something I would put on the top of 16-bit game releases.

It's possible to do both. You have to be committed to delivering on that. Otherwise, it may overwhelm you.

The Simpsons Shorts: Maggie's Brain, Football Reviews

Short #10: Maggie's Brain

It's kind of a forgettable short, but you'll get a couple laughs out of it. Some of the potential feels wasted in the first half when Bart plays This Little Piggy with Maggie's toes. The last half gets the idea of what Maggie is thinking somewhat. In the end, this is a hit or miss short where your mileage may vary.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

Short #11: Football

The concept seems very simple, but it plays out like a cartoon. That's not a bad thing, though. Homer throws a football and wants Bart to catch it. It is the first we hear the phrase, frosty chocolate milkshakes. Amazing how Bart takes a good amount of abuse as well in the shorts. Just to catch a ball and it is the type of short that starts off slow and gets better.

Klasky-Csupo did a great job with the animation as the backgrounds outside and inside are a big improvement. Homer is a step up closer to what to what he looks like on the actual show and the cartoon approach is not over the top. A pretty good short that you can get some chuckles out of.

Score: 7 out of 10

Next week, it's some Bart led shorts with House of Cards and Bart and Dad Eat Dinner.