This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.
The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 15
The Simpsons Season 32, episode 15, “Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?,” is a reaffirmation of all things Simpson. It is off the rails as far as timelines go, but captures the classic subversion of all things sacred. The episode is about rekindling the sparks of youth which have burned out and the destruction of memory, specifically childhood memories. The first thing the episode tackles is what we know about the Simpson family.
Non-canonical episodes of The Simpsons are very often series highlights. The “Treehouse of Horror” episodes consistently rank at the top of every season. The writers don’t have to deal with everyday terrors like character continuity, or fit into any timeline. Springfield residents can be dispensed at whim, and not just Hans Moleman, who can be killed in any manner of ways during a regular episode, occasionally more than once.
Bart and Lisa can tell because Moe and Marge agree on something. Also, because it makes sense. Rapping pizza robots “is a very dad kind of trauma.”
Putting the band back together makes for some classic comic sequences. The kids track Gil to Skid Row in Hollywood, where he remembers the incident in a completely subverted way. Back then, the whole world was his nostril, the drugs sold themselves, and he’s just waiting for a chance to pull himself together and sell more drugs. Disco Stu, who is a collector of disco memorabilia, owns the Jive Turkeys from the display. His mother, Public Domain Debbie, mocks her son for obsessing over the worst music craze ever inflicted on America, and frets over what his father, Doo-Wop Steve, would think.
Professor Frink owns the mechanical beaver. His segment comes second but it is the comic high point of the episode. Of course he understands the connection with mechanical friends. His own mechanical friends only want, well, the punch line, which almost makes you miss the opening of Moe’s wonderful Colombo spoof. He’s even wearing a raincoat, and spins back with one more thing, some WD-40 and an Enrique Iglesias record could only mean the last member of the mechanical band has been turned into a sex robot. Upon being outsmarted, Sideshow Mel provides a perfect Colombo villain denouement. He applauds the effort, very slowly. It is clever and funny, but lands perfectly after the Frink highpoint.
J.J. Abrams is the guest star and his quest to provide ageless marvels ultimately delivers the episode’s deepest cynicism. His sycophants have to keep him in a childlike state of wonder and constant whimsy, tracking down 1982 quarters and providing other emotional comforts. Lisa and Bart get into his offices with the kinds of “super vague” promises the Abrams enterprise considers its prime directive. But when they steal the last pizza bot, on little Star Wars robot wheels no less, they have taken too big a bite on the kitsch.
Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!
The Simpsons revert to their irreverent roots. Movie protesters hold signs reminding people “Some of us are women” and “unrelease the Snyder cut.” Abe admits being a terrible father is a generational thing. Men his age could only love sports stars and cars, and his dream child would have been a 1963 impala SS Sport Coupe.
“Do PizzaBots Dream of Electric Guitars?” is the best episode of the season so far, and a classic installment to The Simpsons repertoire. Clearly up to par with the best of the classics. It is so satisfying, it feels as if it was individually made to suit me, just like J.J. Abrams would’ve done.
