Grilka

From The Simpsons Archive

How the Test Was Won
Episode #LABF02

Bart gets a perfect score on a practice test for a national achievement test, which not only rattles Lisa, but it means Bart gets to attend a special party instead of having to take the actual test; Homer has to avoid accidents at all costs when he's late with an insurance payment.

wanderer78

This sounds pretty funny. I'll have to catch on Hulu.

JustMe2000

Damn Nascar race!

smoothaise

Have to catch this on HuLu - Why did Nascar have to roll over to 8:40, I'll never understand

The couch gag was funny with them going through the different TV shows. And Sideshow Bob at the Cheers bar.

The montage of Homer getting hurt! Awesome!

Grilka

I know - I loved the montage! And then Homer mentioned how it was only in a week's time.

By the time NASCAR was over, I was falling asleep. I'll have to watch it on Hulu also because I only saw bits and pieces of the episode.

JustMe2000

Let's see......

*The couch gag with the old show, complete with Sideshow Bob at the bar in Cheers and Lisa getting hit in the nose with the football during The Brady Bunch part.
*The montage with Homer's injuries, all taking place during a week.
*No. 2.
*The origin of "suck shack."
*The "act stupid" moments with the "superstars."
*Homer's death fantasy turning into a sex fantasy with Marge and Lindsay Nagle making out.
*Everything involving Ralph (as always).
*The random Footloose dance sequence at the end.

I loved all that stuff. So many great moments, definitely one of my favorite episodes in recent years. Well worth the wait.

Oh and this episode also gets major points for showing how far too often schools teach for those standardized tests. That was an issue a million years ago when I went to school and by all reports, it's really no better now.

Grilka

I couldn't believe they were having the students memorize the order of answers. But then I seem to recall a few professors giving the same tests semester after semester. People would memorize answers from old tests and be finished with their exams in 15 mins or so.

wanderer78

I missed it again (stupid job!). Hulu doesn't have it up yet.

Firestar007

Loved the couch gag with them in all the different eras/shows Another long couch gag

I love the montage of Homer getting hurt Brought back a lot of memories.

wanderer78

I lolved Homer trying to prevent all those accidents at the book club meeting.

The rejected students thing reminds of the time that all the troublemakers were led down to the boiler room for mountain bikes.

I liked Skinner reclaiming his school at the end. A nice jab at "No Child Left Behind".

Firestar007

I liked that also when Homer was trying to prevent all the accidents. And what he was imagining was happening with Marge kissing the real estate lady

Loved that we got some Ralph in the episode

acornco

i just watched this on fox.com

yeah, ya dont need hulu. check the simpsons web site for the link.



the plot was the best part. well rounded enough to feel classic. the whole message about the standardized state tests was put forth decently too. the down side of the sode, for me any way, were the jokes.

sure there were a few goldies like the homer and the glove compartment gag. but most seemed reused "haha's" from the big box of old sodes while others were arbitrarily random to the point that they almost threatened the interior of the plot! then there were the root canal like puns that were hammered into the ground again and again... and again.



one thing that caused me to chagrin was how the episode seemed to drain the humanity from many of the characters, forcing me to view them less as people but more as sock puppets who don't need my "love". i was seriously hoping they were gonna at least mention that ralph might need rabies shots after being gnawed on, but alas.

in closing, i think if the writers had taken there joke cannon of full auto for the whole of the sode, the dance scene would have felt as epic as it should have. at least to me any way. but after all that came before the dance, it felt no more zany then the fact there was a dock behind the school all along and we just never noticed it.

i give it a c+ for barging into real world educational issues and beating them soundly with a tube sock of penny's.




"to be loved, you have to do nice things for people every day. to be hated, you don't havta do squat!"

wanderer78

OK, cool. I didn't realize eps were on fox.com.

Firestar007

I didn't even know that either...or at least I didn't remember

Grilka

The episode is re-airing this Sunday (6/7).