Review: The Simpsons “Do Pizza Bots Dream of Electric Guitars”

 

 

Overview:

Homer hits a new level of depression after being reminded of his crushed teenage dreams of becoming a hip-hop DJ. After collaborating his own show of rapping animatronic animals at a pizza restaurant, the whole place was shut down.

Years later, Homer’s family attempts to cheer him up by getting the old band back together. Though, when J.J. Abrams sees the childhood wonder that Homer has for the characters, he decides it is time for a reboot. Before everything he loves is ruined with an overly produced movie franchise, Homer attempts to stop the movie with some good old internet trolling.  

 

Our Take:

The moment has finally come. The Simpsons is now playing with the heads of their own critics. This complex episode has so many layers we are going to have to fold them back one at a time.

This season 32 episode kicks off by messing with its own continuity more than ever before. A flashback of Homer’s childhood puts him in the early 90s. A time when The Simpsons was already on the air, with Homer represented as the same middle-aged man that he is today.

What’s more, is this adaptation of Homer has the same childhood dream of becoming a hip-hop sensation that Bart has been shown to have throughout the series. Making this episode one of the most devastating to the ongoing Simpsons continuity.

But before the internet trolls can dig their fingers into the keyboards and start ripping the show apart, the rest of this episode unravels.

If the special guest star of J.J. Abrams wasn’t a hint, this episode is about rebooting beloved childhood franchises. Or more specifically, the degree that such a thing seems to bother particular sub-groups of fans.

Prompted by Comic Book Guy, the second act features Homer becoming an internet troll in an attempt to stop his favourite franchise from being rebooted by the famed director. This grants the show the opportunity to take jabs at the Justice League Snyder-Cut, Sonic the Hedgehog, and others. But more cleverly, making fun of the very people that would have a problem with the way this episode began.

The complexity of this piece is some of the most intelligent writing we have seen on The Simpsons. And it manages to do so without making it obvious. A masterful manoeuvre from a franchise that has taken a lot of heat from the internet trolls throughout the years.

Even without the layered storytelling, this was a stand-out episode. If only for the abundant 90s references and a hip-hop loving Homer. But the creative names of the animatronic band members and Comic Book Guy’s elite fighting force of trolling are equally entertaining.

Truly this was one of the most well-written episodes of an already stellar season. This level of meta-mockery has never been achieved before. Even by shows that treat their fans like trash. But the best part is that you would have never expected it from The Simpsons.  Yet, it is all that more honest coming from televisions longest-running scripted sitcom.