"Homer; This Is Your Wife"I've never reviewed an episode of The Simpsons. Ever. In the old days there was really no need, as pretty much every instalment was a genius combination of comedy and drama. In recent years, the show has inevitably slipped into the doldrums of self-consciousness and lack of fresh ideas.
I don't think The Simpsons will ever recapture its brilliance of yesteryear, but an episode written by the UK's own Ricky Gervais could potentially do the impossible. After all, Gervais is a comedian who saw his first ever sitcom, The Office, dominate the world and win countless awards (including two Emmy's). Gervais is a deservedly revered talent, but in the US he's still only a familiar face to comedy insiders -- including The Simpsons' creators, it would seem...
Gervais self-penned episode sees the Simpsons win a tour of the FOX TV studios, whereupon Homer agrees to star in "Wife Flippers" -- a show where the spouses of two families exchange lives for a week. The swap sees Homer facing some home truths from a stern British lady, while Marge finds herself the object of affection for British office manager Charles (voiced by Ricky Gervais).
The episode is crammed with gags, though most of them only really provoke chuckles. It doesn't help that The Simpsons has put similar strains on Homer and Marge's marriage dozens of times in the past, so there's really no fresh dynamic to the story.
Interestingly, the episode is quite indistinguishable from "normal" Simpsons episodes of recent times. Gervais' involvement doesn't seem to have added anything new to the mix. In fact, the sheer amount of Americanism in the show just goes to show how strongly influenced by American popular culture Gervais actually is. Two And A Half Men, Donald Trump, the FOX network, American Idol, all are name-checked like it's going out of fashion...
The character of Charles is perhaps the episode's greatest asset. Charles is nearly identical to The Offices' David Brent (he's an office manager, has a goatee, plays the guitar, etc.) As such it's entertaining to see a cartoon Gervais do his cringe-making shtick in attempts to woo Marge -- culminating in a terrible love guitar-based love song -- though hardly original stuff.
Charles doesn't make his appearance until half-way through the episode, so his involvement in things is also somewhat rushed. Until his introduction, the show is content to paddle water with Homer's love of Lenny's HD TV set, which certainly produces plenty of witty one-liners and sight gags from the Simpsons characters gathered at a party.
Overall, I thought the episode was of reasonable quality. There were some funny moments sprinkled about, quite a few chucklesome sight gags, and a good vocal performance from Ricky Gervais himself. But that's about it. The storyline was pedestrian, the mass-media targets easy picking for Gervais, and it did nothing to remind me of the glory days of the show ten years ago.
I would be interested to see Gervais return to the show (he's apparently been invited to by creator Matt Groening) but next time I hope he's more willing to stretch out and write a plot that moves beyond his own obsessions...
RATING: 3 / 5