The Simpsons: Smoke on the Daughter Review
Lisa Starts (Second-Hand) Smoking, and Homer Befriends a Raccoon Family
Photo courtesy of Fox
March 31st, 2008 - Smoke on the Daughter began for me as many Simpsons episodes of late have, with me wondering aloud, “Hey, haven’t they done this before?” Marge pining for the things she never got a chance to do and Lisa discovering a new talent have each come into play before, not to mention the fact that a Simpson (Bart) already had a turn as a ballerina.
The anti-smoking stance of the show felt a little misguided - all ballet dancers smoke? Even children? Is that a really good zinger that I just don’t get? And considering how much of a goody-two-shoes Lisa is, the fact that she would even consider picking up a cigarette seemed totally out of character. Why would the always rational Lisa think that inhaling second-hand smoke makes you a better dancer anyway? This whole concept seemed a little too out there for me.
The subplot involving the raccoon family stealing Homer’s beef jerky didn’t really go anywhere, and it also violated Matt Groening’s rule that animals on The Simpsons should act like real animals, not cartoon animals who act like people. (He’s mentioned it in the DVD commentaries a few times.) I guess this is one of those rules that just got lost in the shuffle somewhere between the pilot and Season 19. The fact that the two stories tied together in the end does count for something, as I tend to find the completely unrelated side-stories somewhat tedious.
And I’m going to get all “Comic Book Guy” here for a second, but why did the floozy call Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby “Kent?” Last I checked, the only Kent in Springfield was Kent Brockman. I sure hope someone got fired for that one.
But despite these issues, I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times during this episode. Marge’s dashed dreams of being a doctor, safe-cracker, or a stethoscope sales-woman made for a great sight gag, as did Homer putting a mask on his raccoon to protect his identity. Then there was the giant statue that Homer had to build to the worms after losing his battle with them. Though I sometimes miss the “old days” of the Simpsons being incredibly quotable, I’ll take a funny visual joke any day, even if they are totally random.
These types of episodes seem to be more and more common as The Simpsons goes on - full of plot points that don’t make sense or have already been mined for stories, but yet somehow make me laugh. As much as it bothered me to see Lisa giving in to peer pressure, watching Homer yell into the phone, “Meet me at the place we discussed,” only to then tell Marge it was a wrong number cracked me up. It almost seems that the show writers have (with exception) given up on stories and focused on making jokes, which has met with varying results. This episode had enough laughs to make up for the flaws, making for a decent half hour.
Alan’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
For more information visit TheSimpsons.com.