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| I have pinpointed the moment where my heart breaks for this show. |
The Simpsons go on a nature walk when, to Lisa's horror, the preserve has been mostly converted into a racecar track. In time to see the time trials, the family then gets free tickets to see the big race. At said race, Homer is astonished to find Ned Flanders and his family there sitting right behind him near the top of the stadium, as they enjoying seeing other oddities that come with car races. At one point, a group of ladies are shooting out t-shirts with cannons. Homer practically taunts them to shoot some his way, but when they finally comply, Homer gets distracted and ducks. The t-shirts instead hit Maude Flanders, and she falls over the back of the stadium, and dies.
As Ned and his two sons try to cope with the tragedy, Marge urges Homer to open himself up to Ned (or at least stop acting like a jerk to him). Homer obliges, but soon realizes that the best way for Ned to move on from Maude's passing is to get him hooked up with another woman. In a process that takes two months, he secretly tapes Ned doing mundane tasks and combines the footage into a dating video. Though Ned initially turns down Homer's idea, the loneliness gets to him and he decides to mail it in. The subsequent dates, though, don't do much good for Ned.
Ned still has difficulty moving on from Maude, and still questions how she could've been taken from him. He even quarrels with God, refusing to go to church the next day. Ned eventually relents, and rushes to church anyway. There, he hears a Christian rock band led by a woman who reaffirms his devotion to God. Afterwards, Ned has a talk with the woman, Rachel Jordan, and it seems as though Ned may or may not be ready to move on.
Quick Review
Worst episode ever.
hyuck hyuck
No, really, though. It really is that bad.
Obviously, the offending moment of the episode is Maude's death, but there's a lot more about it that oozes offensiveness than the actual death of Maude Flanders.
First off, the manner of her death. Hit by t-shirts shot out of a cannon after Homer unwittingly ducks, tumbling over the back of a racetrack stadium, with no rails to stop her fall. Its so ridiculous it gives elf jockeys a run for its money. There is no emotional buildup whatsoever, it is by all intents and purposes a shock death.
Second, the real-life reasons behind her death. Her normal voice actress left the show, and despite the fact that Maude had been voiced by someone else during this season and despite the fact that actress had voiced other characters, they decided to kill Maude. Then it had been admitted that the move was made as a ratings grab. To think, the almighty Simpsons machine needs the senseless death of a character to grab ratings. Lastly, the move was made to open up new storylines for Ned, and we all know how smashing a success that "Nedna" campaign was (ironically, there was a bit in this episode where Ned dates Edna).
Maude's funeral was also not one of the series' high points. Did they really need to put the phrase "Grampa's girlfriend" in Beatrice Simmons' grave? Did they really need to have the t-shirt girls and the racecar advertising on Maude's casket as part of a settlement suit? Well, Reverend Lovejoy's summation of Maude's character was nice, but still the entire thing seemed completely unnecessary. To me, this was when the Simpsons jumped the shark, when it passed the point where it could no longer redeem itself even if it has a few more gems down the line. I remember this episode being completely unfunny when I first watched it 13 years ago, and my feelings toward it remain unchanged. It really is the worst episode of the Simpsons, ever (until Season 25, which is really, really sad).
Final Score: 3.0
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