This episode seemed to pitch from good to mediocre, but it's still one of this season's better episodes.
The first act begins with a stamp museum being constructed behind the Simpson home. Their attempts to drive the unwanted construction away are successful - then they discover that the stamp museum will be built on the site of the cemetery and that, consequently, the cemetery will be literally built in the Simpsons' backyard. The entire setup for the main storyline is weak, and the family's visit to the stamp museum later on in the episode is fairly pointless as well.
Lisa's bedroom, somehow, is the only one that faces the cemetery. It could be merely my love of the macabre, but the scenes featuring the graveyard were exceptionally well done, with some good music to create ambiance. Lisa is afraid of the cemetery and begins sleeping in her parents' bed. After trying and failing to spend a night in Lisa's room themselves, Homer and Marge go to a child psychiatrist to try and help her. Meanwhile, Lisa goes to spend a night in the graveyard to face her fear, although she regrets it immediately. When trying to escape, she hits her head on a gravestone and falls unconscious, where she goes into a series of dreams, ending in one very similar to the book "Where The Wild Things Are" - parodied here as "The Land of the Wild Beasts". (Somehow a mention of the book was slipped in earlier in the episode.) Marge and Homer find Lisa the next morning; she has overcome her fear.
Basically, an up-and-down episode. The graveyard scenes, such as the ones with Gravedigger Billy, were well done, and there's a funny bit with Bart's poorly constructed racecar bed, but the psychiatrist visit was flimsy and there were a few awkward jokes. I wish I could vote 7.5/10.
The first act begins with a stamp museum being constructed behind the Simpson home. Their attempts to drive the unwanted construction away are successful - then they discover that the stamp museum will be built on the site of the cemetery and that, consequently, the cemetery will be literally built in the Simpsons' backyard. The entire setup for the main storyline is weak, and the family's visit to the stamp museum later on in the episode is fairly pointless as well.
Lisa's bedroom, somehow, is the only one that faces the cemetery. It could be merely my love of the macabre, but the scenes featuring the graveyard were exceptionally well done, with some good music to create ambiance. Lisa is afraid of the cemetery and begins sleeping in her parents' bed. After trying and failing to spend a night in Lisa's room themselves, Homer and Marge go to a child psychiatrist to try and help her. Meanwhile, Lisa goes to spend a night in the graveyard to face her fear, although she regrets it immediately. When trying to escape, she hits her head on a gravestone and falls unconscious, where she goes into a series of dreams, ending in one very similar to the book "Where The Wild Things Are" - parodied here as "The Land of the Wild Beasts". (Somehow a mention of the book was slipped in earlier in the episode.) Marge and Homer find Lisa the next morning; she has overcome her fear.
Basically, an up-and-down episode. The graveyard scenes, such as the ones with Gravedigger Billy, were well done, and there's a funny bit with Bart's poorly constructed racecar bed, but the psychiatrist visit was flimsy and there were a few awkward jokes. I wish I could vote 7.5/10.
