From: epwise@yahoo.com   
      
   Matt Garvey  wrote in   
   news:3ad6a335-b131-482b-9544-202726de7dcf@googlegroups.com:   
      
   > I found this pretty enjoyable and full of older-style satire and   
   > humor, though it kind of fell apart at the end, with Lisa's random   
   > quest for perfect gifts that came out of nowhere and went back there,   
   > and the ending was kind of abrupt/convenient and yet also too long   
   > somehow. (And at 21:00 with credits, it's not like they were running   
   > short on TIME.) That was saved a bit by Marge's carol issues and the   
   > license plates, at least.   
   >   
   >   
   > DYN:   
   > ...the way CBG hits Martin with the comic is not even close to   
   > forceful?   
   >   
   >   
   > Meta:   
   > -Marge mentions that there's a rec room off the kitchen, but sometimes   
   > it's there and sometimes it isn't, because the house is like that   
   > -Possible example when the out-of-towners don't like the bland church   
   > sign with a non-funny message (see for example the joke-headline bit   
   > in EABF12), unless the point is just that it's not a fancy piece of   
   > hardware -Bongo Comics mentioned explicitly, what looks like a Binky   
   > doll shows up later (and may also be related to what Lisa buys for   
   > Maggie)   
   >   
   >   
   > License plates   
   > I'm pretty surprised the episode's production code didn't appear as   
   > one of the license plates in the credits, especially since the show   
   > does that often enough. There was a "SAB I7F", which was vaguely   
   > close, but probably coincidental. As a fun way to go with that, I   
   > wonder if the lawyers would have let that count as part of the   
   > copyright page, if the other text was placed above and below a SABF01   
   > plate (think the writing credit in BABF10). Also, I am surprised that   
   > there were no serifs on "I"s in all those plates, and not a lot of   
   > monospacing, the way most states' plates are.   
   >   
      
   When Marge buys the Christmas clams her license plate is SABF01 so they   
   already did that joke.   
      
   > Also   
   > This was three acts with a commercial after the opening, which is   
   > pretty much unheard-of now except for Treehouse of Horror episodes and   
   > other 3-story episodes. I wonder if we're getting that format back   
   > after the 4-act style of the last 5 years has failed to work. Time   
   > will tell.   
      
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