Review: The Simpsons “I Carumbus”

 

 

Overview:

As the Simpson family explores the ancient Rome exhibit at the museum, Homer admits to skipping management training at the power plant. With Marge disgruntled that Homer is not more ambitious at work, the family is treated to a story of the Roman empire.

Obeseus was a farmer who was sold into slavery by his own father. Taken to the city of Rome, Obeseus was forced to compete in a gladiator tournament, of which he was quite successful.

However, when Obeseus impregnates a noblewoman, he is freed and given a company and slaves of his own. 

Manipulated by his new wife, Majora, Obeseus builds a successful business and assassinates the Emperor to become a senator.  Unfortunately, Majora is not satisfied with the success and wants him to murder his way to the top. 

When Obeseus refuses, Majora takes it upon herself to poison the new emperor, and in his place, she puts her son, Bartigula, in power. It is up to Obeseus to resolve this crime and face his own family in restoring the republic.

 

Our Take:

The Simpsons is riding high going into the sophomore episode of the 32nd season. Last week’s premiere brought in viewership numbers higher than the series has seen in years. And coming out swinging in its old age, the show is following up the season premiere with a special episode based on the Roman Empire.

For a show that has been around for longer than anything else on primetime, The Simpsons is not afraid of taking some risks. Dropping a special episode this early in a season is all but unheard of from the franchise. And, for the second week in a row, the episode is written by a first-timer. Although the writer for “I Carumbus”, Cesar Mazariegos, is no rookie, having been a staff writer for several episodes, this is his first official credit as episode writer.

It is hard not to love a special episode that takes away for the typical format of The Simpsons.  Last year’s “Thanksgiving of Horror” was the highlight of the season, raking in an Emmy nomination. Hopefully, that means we can expect a few game-changers from the show this year.

 “I Carumbus” did more than just throw our favourite characters into gladiator times and make a bunch of puns. They gave us a three-part piece, that also told one cohesive story throughout. An original move for any animated sitcom. 

Rather than give us three isolated stories with a theme, the writers managed to tie the segments together and give us the complete tragic story of Obeseus’s rise from lowly farmer to the son of the emperor.

It is also integral for this long-running series to give us fans some pay off. And this episode did not fail to disappoint. There was a healthy offering of forgotten characters reimagined for the Roman theme including Frank Grimes, Sideshow Bob, and Rainer Wolfcastle. Additionally, some subtle jokes paid-off including Homer (or Obeseus) being referred to as Mr. Plow, and Bart scribbling “Il Bartus” on the side of a coliseum.

From start to finish this episode could be described with a few words, ambitious, impressive, and entertaining. The Simpsons did not just tell a little story based on the Roman Empire, they completely rebuilt Springfield under the theme. It would take multiple viewings to point out every background character and catch every subtle background joke involved in this episode.

“I Carumbus” is one of the biggest episodes that The Simpsons has ever attempted. They pulled it off with flying colours, and it paid off for the fans in a significant way. If this is what the series can accomplish under the Disney banner than we should be praising our cartoon mouse overlord now.