The Simpsons (TV Series) Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes (2008) User Reviews

Very good season premiere.

[TOMNEL · 7/10 · 28 September 2008]

Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders become bounty hunters...can't get much better than that. Too bad there were so many missed opportunities, but even with that this was a funny episode. The Marge plot sounded as stupid as can be, and even that was an above average story. This episode was very worthy of being the Simpsons season 20 premiere.

The Simpsons show up to an Irish festival in Springfield, where a fight between two types of Irish get into a huge fight. Homer ends up getting arrested, and all he needs to do is show up in court to get it cleared. Homer is influenced by a bounty hunter he meets, and he tries to make a citizen's arrest on Snake, and is saved by Ned Flanders, ending in a bounty hunter partnership between the two. Meanwhile, Marge begins working at an erotic bakery with a man she met at the Irish festival, and she has to hide the truth from the family.

I really disliked the first act of this episode. It was too over the top to be funny, and just a really random way to lead to the A and B stories of Simpson/Flanders bounty hunting and Marge and the bakery. The Homer and Ned storyline was quite good, with Ned Flanders in his best role in seasons. A chase scene between Ned and Homer was also impressive and amusing. Marge's plot was random, and it seemed unfinished, but it was also good. Both plots merged together to form a sweet ending.

Overall, this isn't a great episode, but it is a good way to start the season.

My rating: *** out of ****. 30 mins. TV14DLSV

Hit and miss

[crotisjivefunk · 6/10 · 27 December 2008]

The Simpsons Movie was the best thing to come from the show in over ten years, and season 19 had a few good episodes. This episode was hit and miss. Some good moments include a brief (but underused) Dog the Bounty Hunter parody, another Batman montage, some genuine Homer and Flanders moments, and the fight between the Irish and Northern Irish. Am I the only person who still watches the show that is sick and tired of the leprachaun character? He made good use here, but doesn't seem like he should be a regular character. Homer just comes across as too unlikeable at times, and how many times has he been to jail/prison? I give it a 3/5, but the rest of the season has been better than this.

Bounty

[safenoe · 6/10 · 11 January 2023]

For me it's the first 10 years of The Simpsons that represents the golden era, but beyond that you get a few gems. Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes could have been a contender, with Homer and Flanders teaming up to be bounty hunters and claim the financial rewards. Amidst that is the St. Patrick's Day, and I loved Marge's line, This was such a pleasant St. Patrick's Day until Irish people showed up. The reference to the IRA was very sharp for sure.

There are some quick jokes in this one, but someone the episode was kind of trying to replicate the golden years and all, but with varying degrees of success.

Sex, Pies and Idiot Scraps !

[elshikh4 · 3 November 2011]

The Simpsons is guaranteed wild ride of comedy. Its writing is always a force of nature. However, as every great show, there are so limited bad episodes. And in The Simpsons, bad means being less saturated with wacky stuff. Accordingly, this one isn't only bad; it's Ay, caramba bad!

While watching the episode, I was saying "Com'on, this is the leftover!". This one doesn't have enough energy to stand on its own feet. The storyline of Homer seems like unfinished sarcastic segment intended for one of The Simpsons' 3-segments episodes, with parody out of the buddy-cop shows and movies. In another Simpsons galaxy, this could have been inventive and hilarious, especially with Humor and, out of all people, Ned as low-enforcer partners. At first, I thought: "Hey, here's a Starsky & Hutch's spoof". But, at last, I was admitting in grief: "Starsky & Hutch is better!" For me, this is an ugly remark by the way!

And let's face it, the second storyline.. What second storyline?! Aside from being highly disgusting, the lone of Marge as an erotic baker was made hastily, with no freshness or creativity.

The Casino Royale's spoof, with parkour-inspired stunts, wasn't done right; it was closer to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Sideshow Bob could have been fine as a main goal for the 2 leads to capture, see how this script throws an idea like that away, despite 2, strangely silent, appearances for his character along the way?! The French Connection's spoof was the best moment. However, it doesn't make the episode, rather its being as the sole good moment assures the real weakness of it.

Making an episode from scraps is one thing that I would forgive in a show like this, but making it as the twentieth season's premiere?? That's another thing that I can't believe at all. It's a vanity, a dumbness, or a warning message that the writers began to hate their job!

Thought It Was Going To Be Better

[e_daneva · 6/10 · 27 December 2023]

Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes is an okay episode. I have watched 2 other Season 20 episodes, and there is 1 okay, and 2 good episodes. This episode is the okay episode. This episode has some humor but it just isn't that funny. I think around when this episode was made Simpsons premieres aren't as good anymore. Before this in the Golden Age ( S1-S10 ) and Early Middle Age ( S11-S20 ) the premiere gave a good glimpse in the series. But at this point, Late Middle Age, the premieres give a worser glimpse in the series. Even though this is better than the last premiere, it only feels okay. This episode got a 7.2 and it has pretty good reviews, so I thought that this episode would be better. Instead it was worse than I imagined. This episode isn't great, but it's got enough good action for an okay. In all, I give this episode a 6.4 out of 10.

You really need to appreciate this modern episode more!

[adampkalb · 10/10 · 19 August 2016]

If you've been watching The Simpsons since the beginning on December 17, 1989, then just wait 980 weeks to see this episode on September 28, 2008. If you didn't stop watching before May 9, 1999, then you're already halfway there. It's a really great episode where Homer Simpson and Ned Flanders get to become bounty hunters until they start arguing about how to do things, which leads to a really clever twist in the final act that I won't spoil for you here if you want to check it out. It's something really new and great that they never tried before in the last 19 seasons and Phantomstrider8 even said it was the coolest concept for The Simpsons ever. There's no holds barred on pieces like this! I've read those other reviews and it seems like most of them only think more negatively of this episode because it's in a later season. If it was in an earlier season, and the animation was different but everything else remained the same, more people might appreciate this more, so this episode really deserves a rating over 8, or you're not giving Kevin Curran enough credit.

Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes

[studioAT · 7/10 · 10 August 2020]

This is a decent start to S20, in which Homer and Ned become bounty hunters.

The Marge storyline doesn't amount to much, and I bet the Irish didn't care for the representation of them, but other than that there are enough strong moments in this episode that I enjoyed.

Very fun

[jamalsistas · 9/10 · 16 February 2021]

The Simpsons' new episodes are not so bad but this episode is so funny and has of the coolest concepts ever

Extremely Lazy, unfunny and to some downright offensive

[micdevlin · 3/10 · 8 January 2016]

As with modern simpsons episodes "the writing just isn't in it". The once sharp and witty dialogue has been replaced with lazy parody of other shows and meandering stories which don't seem to have any kind of structure. This episode jumps between two particularly unfunny "capers" which don't really leave any lasting impression.

It's fairly tired and predictable from one end to another. In addition, It's even harder for me to give this episode a fair review, as an Irish person I am particularly annoyed from the offset by the downright insulting depiction of my nationality, I expect this kind of low- brow stereotype driven crap from the likes of Family Guy and American Dad (going for the cheap laugh). I don't know how/why it's acceptable to be so derogatory towards the Irish vs any other nationality.

The opening sequence in this episode plays on racist stereotypes which wouldn't look out of place in the 1800s. There would be mass hysteria and complaints if such a negative stereotype laden stab was taken at black people or Asians. I imagine because Irish people are predominantly white they are seen as fair game ; Potatoes, leprechauns, ginger hair, big families and even a mockery of a really unpleasant (and not entirely resolved) conflict in the north are not good comedy fodder when presented without in such a straight (and humour free way) - Irish people can be particularly tolerant of people having a gag at their expense, it's part of why we are renowned for being so friendly/hospitable - but when it's done in such a lazy fashion it really shows how the writing standards of the Simpsons has gone down the drain - It's like they browse 9gag for their "gags".

The Simpsons is finished

[morgenstjernen · 3/10 · 30 September 2008]

I don't know what happened to the Simpsons. There was a time I used to split my sides over almost every episode. The last years however, the show has gotten gradually less funny. This episode nearly made me laugh twice, I admit that. Well not really laugh, more of a faint smile actually. Nearly. Doesn't matter, what matters is: This show just isn't funny anymore. Tired and predictable jokes is not what this show used to be about. A "crazy" storyline, OK, does not matter as long as the jokes are as lame as they are. Some of the jokes are set up really clumsy. Almost as they feel they have to explain even simple jokes. Well here's a clue: if you have to explain it, it just isn't funny. As Bart would have said, this sucks.