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3ACV13: Bendin' In The Wind
First UK airing: Sky One, 7:30pm, 6-5-01
"Kudos, Bender! You got mangled,
and now you're a singer. Both our dreams came true!"
ERNK! ERNK! ERNK! Guest star episode alert! ERNK!
ERNK! ERNK! "Let's forget our jobs for the week and go do
something crazy!" storyline alert! ERNK! ERNK! ERNK! Warning,
Will Robinson!
Also, coincidence -- or conspiracy? The new episode
of The Simpsons that aired just before 3ACV13 was also a guest
star episode, where one of the main characters joined a band.
What gives? Admittedly, Beck does have a bit more credibility
than N'Sync, and 'Bendin' In The Wind' at least offered a story
that vaguely tied in with previously established characterisation.
What the hell's happened to The Simpsons, anyway? It's like every
new episode is a Halloween Special!
But back in the future, 'Bendin' In The Wind' (great,
now I have to go back and redo the episode banner in the 'Amy
Says' section of ANSTATMAW) was another step in the direction
of recent Simpsons, which has apparently forgotten the original
premise of "America's most dysfunctional family" and
turned into "The Super Happy Crazy Pop-Culture Surrealism
Half-Hour" (I just hope Amy doesn't end up as overlooked
as Maggie). Only a step, but that's how every journey starts...
Enough with the editorialising. All told, 3ACV13 was
watchable enough and had the requisite good gags, but evaporated
from my brain soon after I pressed Stop on my video. It was another
of those episodes where when I watched it again for this review
and to note all Amy's lines, it felt like I was seeing parts
of it for the first time. Just wish I could do that with other
episodes so I could enjoy 'Xmas Story', 'Put Your Head On My
Shoulders', 'Parasites Lost' and 'The Luck Of The Fryrish' all
over again. Or erase 'The Cryonic Woman' from my mind and put
a Post-It on the tape telling me not to watch it.
Bender's song was actually quite good -- Futurama's
got better at integrating musical numbers into the show since
'Hell Is Other Robots' -- and Beck wasn't plugging himself too
much (unlike N'Sync half an hour earlier), so the concert didn't
stop the story dead in its tracks as I worried it might. That
whole section also deserves credit for Cylon and Garfunkel as
well. (God, I recently reviewed the original Battlestar Galactica
on DVD for my work. Looked at today, it's so crap!) This
was followed by the seemingly obligatory CGI chase sequence,
which started nasty 'Cryonic' flashbacks, but thankfully jokes
were included in this one -- not least the repeated appearance
of a green Beetle on various streets of San Francisco. Don't
get it? Watch Bullitt and you'll understand...
Rating: 
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