A Deeper Look At: A Midsummer's Nice Dream

Is there a kind way of saying; boring as all hell and makes paint drying look interesting? No? Well let's see how that and a few other problems keep this back.

Issue #1: Homer's character
The best question here is where to start. Okay, Homer was in high school in the 70's so it makes sense why he'd like Cheech and Chong, fair enough (Despite using Modern Simpsons continuity, I still refuse to use That 90's Show continuity, IT NEVER HAPPENED!) but when he gets to the show, he decides that as soon as they start up their first act he needs to interrupt it by shouting out the punchline. Okay a few things wrong with that alone, first off if you're a fan of someone, you respect them by letting them perform without interruption no matter how much attention you want. Second off, the crowd is very unrealistic as instead of throwing him out for being an asshole, they cheer him and want Cheech and Chong now to do the bit despite it being ruined.

Realistically, Homer would be taken away by security where they'd beat him to a bloody pulp

The writers can try to force it down my throat all they want, but Homer has not been a likable character for a while and this doesn't help us sympathize with him. Homer then proceeds to go on stage (As requested by the audience) and perfectly finishes the skits in place of Chong. I mean I know this show isn't supposed to be 100% realistic, but this is the stuff someone writes in Fanfiction; it's the equivalent of inserting yourself in the final Harry Potter book, defeating Lord Voldemort on your own, and becoming the best wizard in all the land. Not only is it near impossible to care about Homer, but even if we could, we don't WANT to care. He doesn't struggle; any conflicts he comes upon are solved instantly, just like that, or the conflicts aren't even real conflicts.

Yes, cheer for the guy who ruined your favorite comedy duo. Makes sense to me

Issue #2: A subplot revolving around a one-line character
This is one of the most annoying aspects to me. The Crazy Cat Lady is more or less a one or two line per episode character. To try to create a whole subplot around that just doesn't work *Cough* Kill Gil Volume 1 and 2 *Cough* The appeal of characters like her is show up, do her bit, and then leave. Her character got very tiring by the end of it and the writers couldn't even end the subplot (Seriously, the subplot ends with Homer saying "We'll deal with all that later". She could still be terrorizing their house)

Aww, I feel so bad for her because...

It also doesn't help about the timing of this subplot, coming just under 5 months after South Park's Insheeption. Considering it takes about 4-7 months for production of each episode and there would be re-writes, new recordings and computer animation doesn't take too long, it's easy to see the suspicion (Plus it doesn't help that 2 months later they did a Jersey Shore episode and South Park did one October 13, take that for what it's worth). The main point I'm trying to say is that there was little to no potential in making a story revolving around this character and this subplot proved this point by being boring, stupid and feeling like nothing but filler.

Don't worry, the writers will deal with this some other day

Issue #3: Very boring
Where were the jokes? Where was the incentive to watch? This just felt like a half-hour dose of Ambien. It's hard to describe how something is boring, so I'll try my best here. Tracking back to Homer's character, it's hard to get invested in a story where the main character we follow around just isn't likable. We can't invest in Homer's storyline because we know that nothing can go bad for Homer and in the end Homer will be back with Marge and his family. In fact the episode doesn't even bother with the idea that Marge or the kids would even be upset that Homer's leaving for a while, if they don't care, why should the audience? There's no tension or drama and there are no funny jokes to distract the audience from that.

Bye Homie, I'll be sure to have an affair while you're gone

It also doesn't help that this show has done this basic plot before (Although they were Classic Simpsons but they were done). Also, there are just certain jokes that either go on for way too long or are just very unfunny. For example, the bit after Cheech tells Homer that he's going to reward him went on WAY too long (In addition to the unfunny bit at the museum). I could list quite a bit more but two that stick out in my mind with punchlines that are beyond obvious. One is where Cheech and Homer are practicing and Cheech tells Homer about the high expectations of their act, followed immediately by Cheech telling Homer (Both of them dressed as dogs) to sniff his ass. Another is where Homer tells Chong "Don't make the same mistake that I make by thinking too much before I act", followed immediately by Homer pulling on a rope that causes a sandbag to hit him. Both of those jokes are terrible and the punchlines are about as unoriginal as one can get. I can't really describe it any better than this episode being very forgettable and will probably be lost in obscurity of the series when the show finally does end.

No wonder this episode put people to sleep, Bart is really Puck. It all makes sense