From: mxg77@po.cwru.edu   
      
   Eh. What's it building up to? Nothing. A cynical summation can work but   
   here it feels like a cheat of a rug-pull. And it doesn't even seem   
   self-consistent, let alone consistent with the series; Homer wasn't an   
   enervated zombie after work before (unless the idea is that he never   
   works hard enough anyway), and neither was Marge after a long day. How   
   much influencing do they even get done in the office with the stupid pie   
   tin hats on, and why don't they need the hats outside when they are   
   doing it? Not that I was too invested to begin with, being unfamiliar   
   with the target show, but it just seemed to fall flat as a spoof,   
   satire, commentary, anything. Would I have found this gutbustingly funny   
   if I did watch Severance?   
      
   And that's the other thing... yes, I'm about to pick on a single letter   
   in the title. SepErance, with an E? For just a title, it could work,   
   doing all it can to match Severance, and still being a reasonable   
   merging with the word separate. But they call it that in universe, and   
   although there was ample opportunity (especially in the tone of the   
   episode) to explain it just that way, for example in a winky line that   
   it's like SEParating and sevERing but legally distinct from that other   
   word, that didn't happen. (There was time for Lisa to bluntly mention   
   that among similar shows, though!) Instead, it looks like the common   
   misspelling of separate (and derived words), "seperate". Thus, unless   
   it's spelled separance in universe, calling the practice "seperance"   
   only seems to make sense if no one knows how to spell! (Or is THAT on   
   purpose? That lady at the desk certainly seems to pick weird word   
   endings, and does not know that the last syllable in tetrahedron is   
   UNstressed, so maybe it's a very subtle character quirk. I have a hunch   
   it's not.)   
      
   Previous episode thing   
   5F12: Homer's job is reminiscent of (among other things, I'm sure) that   
   of the Bacardi lady Moe tries to talk to   
      
   Hat trick   
   This is the third new episode in a row with a dedication. Yikes!   
   Tonight's is for John Albarian, not a very familiar name, a onetime   
   producer?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)