The Review Nebula

“Cheer up, Homer. It’s only Rock and Roll Camp.” – Mick Jagger.

Airdate: November 10th, 2002

Written By: Mike Scully

Plot: Homer’s drunken rant expressing resentment about his lot in life is caught on camera for a reality TV show. While initially offended by his swipes at his loved ones, the family concludes that Homer needs to indulge his fantasies and sends him to a Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp run by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Review:

Well, uh, we’re in Season 14. Mike Scully actually got an episode credited to him as showrunner after the end of his “era”. And it’s not like an episode held over from his production run – this episode was the last stand for the DABF production run, whereas Scully ended in the CABF era.

Even better, Scully wrote this episode! So for our penultimate 22-minute review of The Simpsons, we have a two-for-one special. In a way, we’re going out with a bit of a bang.

“How I Spent My Strummer Vacation”. This episode has received a surprising amount of praise. At the very least, it’s been cited as one of the better “post-classic” episodes in some circles. Entertainment Weekly ranked it as the 22nd best Simpsons episode. New York magazine argued that it ranked alongside the early classics. A columnist for The Times – arguably the UK’s Newspaper of Record – called the guest performances here one of the show’s 33 greatest. So this episode does have at least some cultural recognition attached to it/

But it feels like there is a bit of a divide between the press and fandom when it comes to the path The Simpsons took after the single-digit seasons. Hell, there’s a divide in the fandom. The “Dead Homer Society” section of the fandom, which dismisses almost everything the franchise made after the 90s as mediocre at best (and which I am a part of, admittedly), is certainly vocal, but is it the dominant sector? Almost certainly not. There are tons of casual fans, tons of devotees who love episodes aired to this day, people in between… Simpsons fandom encompasses many ideas and takes.

Who knows? Maybe this episode will be a surprisingly good outing? Maybe the press got it right, and that the guest stars will be used to full comedic effect.

HA HA HA, NOPE.

This is not bad Simpsons. Oh, no. This is an astonishing disaster of a script. There is a difference. One could possibly work in a totally different show (sort of), the other would be used in a “what not to do” scenario for Screenwriting 101. This episode fits the latter category.

Oh, “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation”, where the hell did you fall apart? Because though this episode might have a ton of flaws, there’s one issue within that overshadows and causes every other problem within.

Homer Simpson.

Alright, let’s explain how the show’s protagonist utterly sinks this episode. Because such an argument looks bizarre to the untrained eye, but after chronicling the emergence of Jerkass Homer, this is merely the apex in many ways of said character derailment.

Homer decides to seek “alternative highs” out of spite after Moe won’t give him a free beer on a day where the guy is out of cash. In short, he licks toads, gets blood drawn, and goes to areas of thin air. I will throw a small bone here in that his lack of money is due to giving it to his family, but that’s about as sympathetic as Homer gets, and everything else in this episode all but negates the thing.

Naturally, he is so wasted by the ordeal that after a sip of one pity beer, he’s sent home in a taxicab. Unfortunately, said cab has been tapped for a reality TV show that just so happens to preempt Homer’s favorite show. The ensuing picture is far from pleasant, both in-universe and outside of it. While utterly trashed, he talks to the cab driver about his family. Initially appearing to admire them, his mood turns sour, noting that there are many days when he resents “some babe who got his claws into (him)”, “a bunch of kids that always need love“, and that he’s stuck in “some boring job where they don’t let you play guitar or take pictures of naked women, and all you can do is watch yourself get bald and fat and kiss your dreams goodbye!”

Scene, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways… “The Way We Was”, “I Married Marge”, “Lisa’s First Word”, and “And Maggie Makes Three”. This scene takes four of the best and most moving episodes this show ever put out and vomits straight on them. I get that there’s this desire to demonstrate Homer as having a midlife crisis, how he reminisces about aspects of his life that didn’t go the way he thought possible when he was 16. And yes, even in the golden seasons, Homer never really matured past the age of 14. The killer here is in tone.

Let me remind you that Marge caught Homer’s eye, the end of “The Way We Was” had Homer utterly enamored with Marge, and after a bit of a screw-up on his part, Marge starts to fall for the goofball.” I don’t think she had her “claws” in you. “I Married Marge” – yes, Bart was an accident, but Homer and Marge were en route to the chapel, so to speak. And while Homer fell under the eyes of a rather cruel boss, he ultimately strode in and demanded a job at the plant to provide for his family. He even briefly called off the wedding because he feared that he wouldn’t be able to do so. “Lisa’s First Word”, Homer was absolutely elated to have another child. “And Maggie Makes Three”, Homer quit one of his old dream jobs to provide for his third… and the ending to that episode puts a damn lump in my throat every time. It’s a reminder of his perseverance, of how despite his own shortcomings and self-centered moments, he still tries his damnedest for the family he loves.

This script tries to undercut that by having Homer all but admit that he resents his family in some of the most callous and brash dialogue and delivery to ever be associated with the aura of Jerkass Homer. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Dan Castellaneta got the script and was so livid that he made it as vicious as humanly possible to highlight how far gone this character is. They were going for “midlife crisis”, overshot, and landed straight into “petulant manchild who deserves to have his ass in divorce court”. Did you even watch any of the earlier episodes? Of course you guys did, the newer seasons always call back to earlier outings, because this show is running on its legacy.

Not helping matters, although it’s small potatoes compared to the rest, is the idea that Homer wanted to be a rock star? I dunno. I guess they were trying to build upon “Homerpalooza” and how Homer was once in tune with the rock and pop music scene in the 70s. But I always felt he was more of an “outside enthusiast” trying to be in with the in-crowd more than a wannabe rock star. And he was a pop star back in “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet” – ironically, an episode that sent up the rise and fall of The Beatles. But it was clear there that he burnt out of the rock and roll scene after a short period, that he deeply missed his family (whose experiences he took inspiration from to create The Be Sharp’s biggest hit), and as soon as the “barbershop” fad passed, the band broke up.

This feels like, yet again, a step too far – an attempt to make Homer feel like a possible cool man who was driven out of success by domesticity, rather than an Average Joe who just got a face full of life.

We’ve only ended the first act, and this episode is trashed beyond repair. I mean, at least there was a way out of the issues I had with the first act of “Alone Again, Natura-Diddily”, even if the next two acts bolted that episode to the bottom of my Simpsons rankings. This episode can’t recover from Homer drunkenly insulting his family. Alcohol removes your inhibitions, so what we have is a case of a man who deserves far less than what he has and explaining why… all on national television.

Oh, and did I mention that this episode manages to find a way to go from “bad” to “utterly inept”?

Grab a coffee, this is going to be fun. Naturally, the family is offended that their father dissed them and that said drunken ramblings got out on national television, and he digs himself deeper while trying to put up a defense. I mean it, they sound devastated, and to my eyes, rightfully so. They deserve better. A night passes, and the family picks Homer up at work, all of them looking livid as hell complete with a suitcase. Took them long enough, right?

Well, no. As punishment for making an ass of himself, Homer is sent… to rock and roll fantasy camp. Yup, the family actually interpreted the rambling above and took pity on the guy, and thus decided to sink the vacation fund so Homer could hang out with famous rockstars for a whole week.

Alright, let’s break this down. The patriarch of the family has confessed on camera that he all but resents his family because they derailed his childish fantasies of being a rock star, and he insults them. Piece by piece. It was bad enough he did so, he’s already cemented as a complete ass, but said insults were spilled out on national television. And no, being drunk isn’t an excuse – the fact that he got inebriated and combined other highs out of spite is problematic on its own terms. But they decide to eat what is surely thousands of dollars… so Homer can go hang out with rockstars for a week. No kidding, here is the dialogue from the relevant scene:

Marge: “We had a family meeting, and decided that even though what you said about us was incredibly thoughtless and hurtful, you had a point. You work a job you don’t like so I’m able to be home with the kids.”
Lisa: “And you take me places you hate like museums, plays, and the Olive Garden.”
Bart: “And even though you knew I ratted you out to the IRS, you never busted me on it.”
Marge: “So to say ‘thank you’ for all your sacrifices, we spent our family vacation fund on something that’s just for you.”

This has to be a joke. You watched this man degenerate you and himself on national television, and you took it as extreme self-sacrifice? I probably wouldn’t mind so much if the past few seasons demonstrated this, but no! Homer during the Mike Scully era was none of this! (It’s his episode, ergo, his era.)

Under Scully’s watch, the character was transformed into a completely selfish, obnoxious, odious moron who quits his job every other week to fill his newest fantasy, who has hung out with Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin, who served as Flanders’s wingman after Homer kicked off a chain reaction that killed Maude (which he showed no real remorse over)… and you’re rewarding him by clearing out your savings.

If this episode wasn’t already dead, this plot twist utterly buries any shot of redemption. At best, this demonstrates the sheer incompetence the show has at writing character dynamics. In execution, we have the family enabling an emotionally toxic jackass. This character is utterly unsympathetic, and yet the universe is bending towards him. And it’s not even meant to be a farce.

At worst? This is the coup de grace for his character as a character. This is when Homer descends from “caricatured” to “wish fulfillment”. There is a line between “escapism” (which, let’s be real, most narrative fiction is) and the latter, and Homer in this episode sails clear over it. The difference, in my eyes, is how indulgent the ensuring events are and how they collide with the Simpsons tone.

To best highlight this, we must turn the clock back a decade. “Kamp Krusty”, another episode that stars a character going to a celebrity-themed camp despite not deserving it. There, however, Bart manages to go to summer camp for the cynical reason that Homer didn’t want to see the kid hanging around all summer long, thus meaning that his fretting over subpar grades was for naught. Further, once he (and Lisa) get to the camp, it turns out to be an absolute hellhole, an effective slave labor camp where the kids are fed imitation gruel and sleep in absolute shacks, and there’s no real Krusty to boot. It’s a cynical take on an aspect of modern society in the marketability of summer camps, and demonstrates the Simpson family dynamic at a high-point – a slight touch of cynicism, yet still with that touch of warmth.

Now, this episode. I’ve already ripped on the family dynamic, so let’s get to the rock event. Homer and various other Springfielders (who somehow had an interest in rock music or could pay for whatever reason, I barely care anymore) go to the camp, starts to wonder where the rock and roll stars they were promised are… and sure enough, we get the opening riff to “Start Me Up”. Enter Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, whom everybody promptly fawns over.

Subversion? Deconstruction? Reconstruction? What is that? Those concepts are largely thrown out the window in this act. The closest we get is Tom Petty being booed into dumbing down his socially aware lyrics in favor of – arguably ironically – escapist rock that is stereotypically associated with the genre. It’s a near-certain riff on how people can ignore the societal critique in popular music if the musical composition is “poppy” or “rocky” enough. (Calling all of those who were inspired by “Opportunities” and “Born in the USA” here.) Also, Elvis Costello getting shoved over for encouraging the bass guitar, and considering his glasses his “image” got a smirk out of me. And I did like the concept of Jagger running the place like a business – I think it could’ve worked for a ruthless riff on the industry, given how none of the attendees actually improve on their guitar skills during the concert.

The rest, meanwhile? An embrace of rock and roll debauchery, all while Homer acts like a maniac. There’s no new insight, nothing subversive or witty or scathing. Again, this is merely a vehicle for Homer to act like a grade-A+ jerkass for many many minutes. Newsflash, this isn’t funny. It just makes me dislike the character further. He gains nothing from this second act – he’s still a lousy singer.

And the best part? It still manages to get worse! Oh, yeah, this episode was already going to fail beforehand, but the third act all but pushes the episode over the cliff into “this was sent out by a major network” territory.

Rock and roll camp eventually ends, as is the way of things, and it’s time to return to the real world. Naturally, Homer is displeased. And by displeased, I mean left utterly despondent and pathetic, having to be dragged away and believing that his dream of being a rockstar – which he was apparently so close to – is now in the dirt. I am left wondering… is this guy legitimately insane? This is pathetic at best and deluded at worst. It’s hard not to see this as a sign of a pathological narcissist. You expect me to root for him when even his infant daughter is more emotionally mature than he is? You expect me to root for this unlikable dumbass when his family have invested more into his happiness than is rational?

Apparently, so, since Mick Jagger and Keith Richards take pity on him and make him a roadie for a benefit gig (that they are suddenly holding for whatever reason, hello, Chekov’s Gun is a technique, writers. Although I will give credit that it’s a “concert for Planet Hollywood”.) Oh, but they frame it with the question “how would you like to join us on stage?” No mention of the concept of a “roadie”. Ergo, Homer thinks he going to play up to and including four solos.

Hell, they tell no one else, so Marge… MARGE believes that Homer is going to be rocking on stage with the Stones! (As well as 39 other people.) Great, for dramatic tension and to try and make Homer sympathetic, the entire town is transformed from “stupid” to “moronic”. And Marge is “so proud”… this marriage is as toxic as a stereotypical celebrity rock and roll relationship.

You know what, let’s just wrap this up before I stroke out. Homer realizes that he’s merely a “roadie”, and is despondent. He ad-libs a horrible solo, the stars are upset that this man-child maniac has hijacked their concert, and decide to chase him off with the devil’s head. It’s probably the most tolerable moment in the episode, insofar as it demonstrates something close to consequences for Homer’s actions. Even if it is moronic. Unfortunately, the head tips off the stage, causing many to run for their lives and starting a fire.

And they apologize to him after the fact and offer him a spot in a benefit concert for the victims of this disaster. Yeah, you read that right, they apologize to him. This has to be a self-parody because this is one of the worst instances of protagonist-centered morality ever. Anyway, we get some stupid line about Homer wanting to be close to his family because showing natural character development didn’t fit in this episode, the Stones give him a new Devil’s Head to drive around, episode over, and I owe my PS4 an apology for subjecting it to that!

I’m not even really angry at this episode, I’m shocked! “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation” is abysmal. The plot barely makes any hint of sense, the characterization is barely existent (and awful when it does show up), the comedy (and there are good bits from time to time) isn’t nearly enough to salvage this outing, and any attempts at satire are nullified by the aura of unrestrained wish fulfillment within the script. This episode is a sign of the show’s mockery of popular culture turning into an embrace – in many ways, this is “Lisa Goes Gaga” ten years beforehand. If this is considered a highlight of the later seasons, I’m pretty secure in my desire to not watch anything aired since the Clinton administration EVER again.

Sometimes, I wonder if I’ve been a bit hard on Mike Scully. After all, shows normally peter out after a decade, so he had a rather strenuous task to keep the series watchable. Further, to many fans, he’s a malign figure no matter what the truth about his role in the show is, and bad reputations rarely improve overnight.

Well, given that this episode was written by him and that he was credited as the executive producer for this outing… well, I still don’t know if he deserves full blame for the shifts the show took after Season 8. But it’s pretty hard not to point some fingers at him if this is what the end product of his final ever episode penned was like. It is every cliche about his era mixed in with classic rock guest stars.

My advice? Just watch “The Otto Show” and “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet” back to back instead. Double the time, and you get representatives from a different legendary British rock group, but my word, the quality difference is night and day.

Goodnight, Springton. There will be no encores.

Tidbits:

• It’s worth noting that with Season 14, The Simpsons converted completely to digital animation. Ergo, while not the last aired (“Helter Shelter” take the title there), this episode is the last cell-animated one produced. Kinda poetic that it revolves around a bunch of classic rockers (and Lenny Kravitz).
• The couch gag, meanwhile, features the family jumping over two sharks. Just a reminder that this is Scully’s last production episode.
• During the Taxicab Conversations episodes that kick-starts the plot, there’s a moment where Disco Stu admits that he’s burned out on disco music and that he feels like it’s cramping his personality. Is it weird that I think that was meant to be symbolic for something, a reference the anti-Disco backlash that occurred during the early 80s and was particularly endorsed by listeners of AOR-style rock? You know, like the Rolling Stones? I don’t know, maybe I’m looking too deeply into this. (And before you ask, I actually do like disco music.)

Wrap Up:

Things are going to be a bit different today.

This episode is so inept, so annoying, so fundamentally broken that I am left astonished. I can at least see where most of the other Mike Scully episodes came from in terms of theme, even if the end product was inept or downright odious. This one? I don’t have much.

The Simpsons once ridiculed the world the Baby Boomer generation inherited and set up. This is arguably 22 minutes of Wish Fulfillment for that generation. Congratulations, you got to meet the Rolling Stones, and all it cost was the protagonist’s likability, relatable character dynamics, the show’s ethos, and any sort of coherence. What a bargain!

To earn a 0 score on this blog, an episode must be so incompetent as to be a permanent black mark on the relevant franchise. Hence, “Alone Again, Natura-Diddily”, which took the concept of grief and spit on it for ratings, alongside a complete and utter character assassination that had permanent implications for the series. Ergo, that space is occupied. But really, I don’t want to give this script any credit. This episode feels like the anti-Simpsons in so many ways.

“Alone Again, Natura-Diddily” killed the soul of The Simpsons. “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation” marked the moment the franchise cozied up to the establishment it once scorned with vigor. Some would call this selling out. And not only do I agree, I think they failed at selling out, as well!

To grade this episode, ergo, would be akin to validating it as a Simpsons experience. Point blank, I refuse to do so. The line must be drawn, this far and no further. Ergo, no meters, no favorite or least favorite scene…

Score: Nothing. Not a 0… nothing.

This is normally where I would take relief in the fact that the New York Giants are back, but for two variables. First off, the Giants have no O-line, so a playoff run would be a miracle. I fully expect Big Blue to give me a stroke by November. (That is, assuming Corona doesn’t derail the season.)

And B… our journey is almost over. We have one episode left that was produced by Mike Scully. Yup… we’re at the finishing line.

Get ready for “The Parent Rap”.