9b73545f   
   From: mxg77@po.cwru.edu   
   Copy: mxg77@cwru.edu   
      
   Good episode, I liked it. Except for a few odd bits that fell flat   
   (and an unusual amount of violence, like locking a guy in a pizza oven   
   and Homer slamming Flanders in the door enough to knock him out),   
   anyway. The overall plot/mockery of the "preppers" was fun and the   
   writing felt sharp with good lines and little bits of insight.   
      
      
   DYN:   
   ...the opening setpiece didn't give way to the plot till act 2?   
   ...after rarely seeing him for many years, we get Herman two episodes   
   in a row?   
      
   Previous episode stuff   
   7F18: Homer's adventures in a slide (didn't get stuck this time) and -   
   as we can see when he raids the cupboards - aversion to rice cakes   
   EABF04: Homer's fearful tension after his traumatic experience is a   
   bit like Marge's after getting mugged   
   MG20, BABF12: Homer's apparently forgotten his WWIII drills, but does   
   tend to wake his family up super early anyway   
   CABF01: Snake's execution fails because of low/no electricity   
   2F11: Several doomsday themes but also the list of gay celebrities and   
   the comet approaching Earth (there are several other doomsday   
   episodes, such as GABF14, and so on, but they're kind of general in   
   relation)   
   2F01: Driving through the cornfield reminiscent of Homer's "shortcut"   
      
   Meta   
   -Carl calls attention to the oddness of saying "when the stuff hits   
   the fan"   
   -Moe, Lenny, and Carl apparently sit around motionless when Homer's   
   not at the bar   
   -Marge finds it reassuring to see that Homer is aware of the future   
   (the context seems to imply that she means only the concept OF the   
   future, which I'd take as a remark about his intelligence drift over   
   the years)   
      
   For Don   
   Football sorta ran late, I think? (Eastern time/Cleveland.) The game   
   was over in plenty of time, I thought, but I noticed that the TV   
   listings were for "NFL Postgame" and not "The OT"; maybe they wanted   
   to have a certain amount of time to discuss. At about 7:59 they   
   wrapped up and began a long preview for a new show, which then led to   
   the NFL signoff and a few ads. The Simpsons didn't start till 8:03.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)