TV-Reviewed

I don’t watch The Simpsons nearly as much as I used to. It’s mostly because the show doesn’t make me laugh very often. Besides, I’m usually busy Sunday night on something or another, so I guess it wouldn’t matter if the show did get better.

I happened to catch last night’s new episode, “Papa Don’t Leech”. Centered around a financial crisis in the city of Springfield, the episode was very dull. I only recall laughing out loud once and that was during a five or ten second bit of Homer, Lisa, and Bart in a photo booth. Homer had the two sit on his lap, but they claimed they couldn’t find his lap; they just saw a “gut with knees.” This prompted Homer to chase the two under the chair and the camera ended up getting a picture of Homer’s rear end.

When Mayor Quimby realizes the city treasury is out of money, Lisa looks over the books and notices dozens of people haven’t paid their taxes. After collecting tens of thousands of back taxes, there is just one outstanding debter, Lurleen Lumpkin, the country music star.

The Lurleen Lumpkin character really doesn’t do anything for me. I don’t recall how many other episodes she was in, but what I saw in “Papa Don’t Leech” doesn’t make me eager to look for those previous episodes. There wasn’t a single thing funny that revolved around her. Let’s face it, not all of the recurring characters on The Simpsons are particularly good. I think she could he cut from the roster at this point.

The Simpsons - Papa Don’t Leech
Original Air Date: April 13, 2008

Rating: 5.5