Season Seventeen - Episodes 1-22

Episode 1: Bonfire of the Manatees
I don't know.. I think any episode revolving around manatees is questionable at best. There's your old marriage on the rocks -plot. We get a few good jokes out of it before Homer's for some reason has to save manatees to "win Marge back". I don't know about you but feels very contrived to me. Add to the mix the cliché "I haven't ever seen mom so angry" that the kids seem to spout in every this type episode nowadays and you've got this episode. Of course they had to draw the obvious comparison between Homer and manatee. I don't hate this like I hated during the first viewing, it does have enough good jokes to keep it interesting, but still, you kind of hoped for better season premiere. 3/10.

Episode 2: The Girl Who Slept Too Little
This is an okay episode. There's some good animation and the plot is interesting enough. Jokes work for the most part, but there's some parts that leave questions into air, like what's up with Willie and that grave digger guy? Lisa's characterization is brilliant - she perceives herself as an intelligent girl, but can't escape the fact that she's eight years old and has (ir?)rational fear of that cemetery. There was no real flaws in this episode and since it was solid stuff for the most part, I'm going for 6/10.

Episode 3: Milhouse of Sand and Fog
Okay.. This episode was a bit unfocused, but it's still pretty good. First it concentrates on Milhouse's parents getting back together and the conflict there seems really forced. I guess the writers noticed that too so they decided to twist everything and have the ending to be another marriage on the rocks plot. Milhouse is in his top form on this one, providing us with many funny gags. I especially loved when Milhouse realized that he was "already running". Overall it's a good episode, probably worthy of another 6/10.

Episode 4: Treehouse of Horror XVI
Another year, another halloween special. This one was probably the worst to date of it's airing. All segments are average at best, there's some laughs bot not as much as we've used to. First segment was forgettable at best despite having probably the best premise. The second one was the most interesting, but even it isn't that special and I think it could've been done even better. Third segment had some good visual gags, but not much happened in it. Low end of THOH's, 5/10.

Episode 5: Marge's Son Poisoning
Kind of average episode, even if Bart and Marge bonding is kind of sweet to see. It still comes of as a bit heavy-handed. That said, plot is decent and there's nothing wrong with characterizations. There's also some good jokes, though it's not exactly a laughfest. Not that much in the way of flaws, but it's really nothing that special either. Homer-subplot was a bit pointless, but entertaining nonetheless. What really brings this episode up though is the emotional impact - even if we're nowhere near the levels of classic era - or even the best postclassics, it's still has some good emotion. "My Sharona" at the end was atrouchious though. Solid 5/10 for this one.

Episode 6: See Homer Run
This episode is a mess... Yet it somehow still works. It starts out with Lisa getting upset when Homer doesn't care for her present (which was sweet by the way). So how does Homer decide to win her back? By becoming safety salamander. Who comes up with this shit? I couldn't have come up with anything near as lame as that even if I tried. Then out of the blue the election-plot comes into play. I thought that they we're just artificially streching the episode and that might've been the case, but at least they managed to attach it to the main plot of the episode in the end. Still, there's some good jokes and great Lisa & Homer bonding in the end. Overall it's surprisingly good for all of it flaws, 6/10.

Episode 7: The Last Of The Red Hat Mamas
Fairly good episode once again. Main plot was relatively interesting despite being Marge-centered and it did provide us with some decent laughs. Subplot with Milhouse and Lisa was surreal and completely out-of-character, but damn it was funny as well. So I guess the retconning was acceptable there. B-plot could've done with more exposition and the A-plot was streched too much, meaning that it dragged at times. Small improvement would've made this very good, now it's just decent. 4/10.

Episode 8: The Italian Bob
A combination of holiday episode and Sideshow Bob episode. There's some good jokes and overall the plot is fine. Lisa as drunk is funny and and the finale was the highlight of the episode. That kid, Gino was annoying as hell though. Also the end song was great. So overall and in short this episode was a bit of a mixed bag. I rate it 4/10. It's memorable with a few good jokes and great ending, but other than that it's nothing special. Book of criminals was a great joke though.

Episode 9: Simpsons Christmas Stories
Solid if unspectacular christmas episode. First story was a safe bet, traditional and well made. Second segment.. I didn't care for that too much, it didn't feel very christmassy. Finally the third segment with the song was okay, but nothing too special. Still Marge's gift to Homer in the end was kind of sweet. It's not bad, but it's nothing especially memorable either. 4/10.

Episode 10: Homer's Paternity Coot
This episode's plot is some kind of sitcom staple, so it's not the most original story, but the twist ending makes it all worthwhile. Besides there's fun stuff and some decent emotion along the way as well. The part with Grampa & Family bar Homer and the fan was sheer brilliance in all of it's simplicity. Very solid episode overall, there's only couple of slower moments that drop it to 5/10.

Episode 11: We're on the Road to D'ohwhere
Very abtrupt ending... I like it. Overall it was a good episode. A basic working plot along with decent characterizations and fair amount of good humor is all that is needed. Murderous/Nice Homer at the edge of the cliff was classic stuff. Kind of a late classic, this episode. I'll give it 7/10.

Episode 12: My Fair Laddy
This was a very good episode. Premise is certainly interesting and I loved the bombardment-bit at the start, especially Bart's expression when he was about to go berserk with the frozen ball. Willie plot wasn't as interesting but that's not to say that it was boring. Homer's subplot was a bit pointless. Blue pants commercial however was hilarious and made it all worthwhile. Episode's premise had enough power to be a decent episode even with bad execution, but it was never going to be up there with the best. It's great though, so I'll rate it 7/10

Episode 13: The Seemingly Neverending Story
A very strong episode. Plot is great despite being mostly Macguffin-driven and the story inside a story concept taken to ridiculous proportions was great idea. For a 20-minute show it manages to build amazingly big web of conflicts which gets solved right at the climax. Finishing it off in a way that it turned out to be story that Bart was telling all along was a great way to finish an episode. Even that Rich Texan guy somehow managed not to annoy despite given plenty of screentime. Humor-wise it was at decent level A very good episode, 8/10.

Episode 14: Bart Has Two Mommies
The ape plot was a little silly, but overall it was a good episode filled with fun jokes and revolving around a worthy theme. It really had a good message about parenting to convey. Besides, "Mrs. Simpsons made me gay!" is among the best endings there is. It's kind of hard episode to rate, as there's the obvious flaws, much more of them than in your average good episode, but the high points are among the greats. Still I probably can't go higher than 6/10 for this.

Episode 15: Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife
Very solid episode. Gervais put in a great performance, Charlie was a great character - love him or hate him. Some good satire in it and good jokes were plentiful, though I think that Homer's side of the story could've been explored a little more. Still it's extremely solid outing, but it still isn't anything that special so I can't go higher than 6/10 for this.

Episode 16: Million Dollar Abie
A decent episode. One of the better Grampa-episodes. It could've done with a lot more laughs, but the plot in itself was fairly solid. The first half of the episode was certainly the funnier one, after that it became more about Abe. The moral dilemma with Lisa was introduced late but I don't think it could've sustained that much anyway, so I'm fine with that. Solid middle of the road episode, 5/10. I didn't like the ending though. "Old Man Beats Meat" was so nasty headline that I couldn't help but to laugh.

Episode 17: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore
Two great premises executed well, gotta love this. I can't believe they took this long to have a plotline involving MacGyver, Patty & Selma. It was obvious concept that would totally work regardless of the execution. Homer going to India was solid stuff, until he turned god. At the Apocalypse Now-reference it turned downright awesome. Very fun episode overall, I rate it 6/10.

Episode 18: Wettest Stories Ever Told
Quite average three-segment episode. Third segment was probably the best, followed tightly by first and second, but it's really hard to make any difference. They're al decentish, but nothing special. Wraparound story was kind of unneeded since it wasn't resolved and it only took time from the segments without really adding anything. I enjoyed the song in the last segment, otherwise there really weren't any standout moments. It gets 4/10.

Episode 19: Girls Just Want to Have Sums
Not only the best of the season, but best for a quite a while. Everything clicks here - great theme with good message to convey, good plot, great characterizations and plenty of good jokes. I & S musical was great, though it perhaps went on a little bit too long. Lisa trying to fit in as a boy was just a goldmine of good material and it was satisfying to see her succeed in the end. Nelson's gun drawings and Lisa-Milhouse interactions were top stuff and "Toilet" felt natural nickname for "Jake". Not to mention "27!" Also Homer trying to get himself out of trouble had some brilliant lines. Great stuff, 9/10. Very funny episode and one of the best set-ups in Simpsons history. Perhaps just personal favoritism, but whatever.

Episode 20: Regarding Margie
Another pretty damn good episode. They managed to find a new angle on the old marriage on the rocks plot which made it very interesting, even if it is idea that is used a lot.. Everyone was characterized spot on and there was enough funny stuff as usual. Also chalkboard gag deserves a mention, it was the first reference to movie that would premiere over a year later from this episode's airing. I liked this, very solid stuff and deserving of 7/10. Perhaps there was potential that were left untapped, but not too much anyway.

Episode 21: The Monkey Suit
This was a pretty good episode and decent take on the evolution issue. It had ton of good jokes. Nelson popping up disguised as Milhouse and Rod was great gag, as was Little Moe Szyslak. Plot was fine though at times predictable and characterizations worked for the most part. Some might have problem with Lisa, but I think this reasonable amount of skepticism is acceptable, especially since she's not trying to piss on anyone's beliefs. I also loved the shot were Bart runs in the street and tree's turn yellow and red just behind him. It's pretty easy to rate this highly, 7/10.

Episode 22: Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play
This is an okay episode, but nothing special. For once it's someone else's marriage on the rocks, but still, they could do with more diversity in the episode themes. There was some nice visuals at least if it was a little lower on laughs. It was entertaining though so I'm not complaining. Just nothing special and very ordinary. 3/10, a little weak for a season finale, but it wasn't horrible.

26 episodes today watched and still 4 hours to go. I'll easily pass the 30 episode mark today.

Season Seventeen was surprisingly solid. I recalibrated my ratings a moment just know, it got even higher average overall but I'm pretty sure I was generous so I dropped a couple of ratings. Still the average soared as high as 5,59. So that's among the classic seasons in quality. Six great episodes, which was a solid number. I liked this season overall, but what it really stood out for was consistency - there was practically none terrible episodes. It just grinded away those 5's and 6's while never dropping under 3 on any episode. Good shit.

Averages:
Season Three 6.21
Season Four 6.18
Season Six 6.12
Season Seven 5.88
Season Fifteen 5.82
Season Five 5.73
Season Two 5.59
Season Seventeen 5.59
Season Eight 5.40
Season Thirteen 5.36
Season Sixteen 4.90
Season Nine 4.88
Season One 4.69
Season Fourteen 4.55
Season Twelve 4.29
Season Eleven 4.14
Season Ten 4.00

Great episodes:
Season Seven 13 (52 %)
Season Six 12 (48 %)
Season Three 11 (46 %)
Season Four 10 (45 %)
Season Fifteen 9 (41 %)
Season Eight 9 (36 %)
Season Five 8 (36 %)
Season Two 7 (32 %)
Season Thirteen 6 (27 %)
Season Seventeen 6 (27 %)
Season Nine 6 (24 %)
Season Sixteen 5 (24 %)
Season One 3 (23 %)
Season Twelve 2 (10 %)
Season Fourteen 2 (9 %)
Season Eleven 2 (9 %)
Season Ten 1 (4 %)