Difference between revisions of "Brick Like Me"

"Homer wakes up in a world where his family and everyone in Springfield are made of Legos and must "put together" how he got there to get home." ^[1]^[2]

Production

On February 16 2014 it was revealed that the episode would air on May 4 2014 and serve as the show's 550th episode.^[1] The episode was frequently stated to be 2 years in the making by Matt Selman, who served as the showrunner for this episode.^[3]

When The Lego Movie came out, writer Brian Kelley watched the film and realized the plot was similar in some ways to "Brick Like Me"'s plot. As a result, cameo appearances by The Lego Movie characters Emmet Brickowski and Wyldstyle were added into the 2D world later during production at the end of the episode, as well as a joke about the plots being similar. Also, a few scenes were edited out. Homer was supposed to go between worlds via a magical tunnel and there was a similar tunnel in The Lego Movie. A short construction scene was also left out as Emmet from The Lego Movie was a construction worker and there was a large construction scene in the movie.^[4]

Matt Selman consulted with The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets writer Simon Singh for the final joke of the episode. He wanted to be totally sure on the age of the universe and number of pieces (the number of observable atoms in the universe) as he thought "The fans would never forgive us, if we did not have the accurate number of plastic molecules in our Philip K. Dick-ian meta-universe."^[4]

Script for the Episode
A "LEGO-styled" script cover for the episode

Reception

The episode was watched by a total of 4.39 million viewers, making it the second most watched show on FOX's Animation Domination segment that night, beating Bob's Burgers and American Dad! but losing to Family Guy.^[5]

"Brick Like Me" received critical acclaim. The A.V Club described it as, "a miracle of an episode, a heartfelt, inventive, exquisitely performed, and tightly written half-hour that reinforces what I’ve been saying all season—there’s no reason why The Simpsons can’t be good again." Praising writers Matt Salman and Brian Kelly, A.V Club ultimately awarded the episode an A- rating, the highest of the season.^[6] IGN offered similar opinion. Giving the episode a 8.2/10 "Great" rating, IGN summed up, "The similarities to The Lego Movie are unfortunate, but there's still a lot of fun to be had in this latest Simpsons milestone episode. [...] There's plenty of entertainment value in seeing a LEGO-ized Springfield and its blocky inhabitants. And the headier themes and story elements should connect with anyone who grew up playing with LEGOs. Now the only question is what the producers will cook up for a 600th episode celebration..."^[7] Time lauded the episode and wrote, "Brick Like Me" shows that The Simpsons can still be inspired, weird, and sincere, when all the pieces fall into place. [The episode] demonstrates that The Simpsons still has it, at least sometimes. Afterward, you and the kids can pop in the season 3 DVD and compare. Or put together the Lego Simpsons’ House–only $199.99, Brik-E-Mart not included."^[8] TV.com, while critical of the episode's plotting, ultimately described "Brick Like Me" as, "a stunner [...] rebuilding Springfield in bright, brick-by-brick 3D, and that's what the episode will forever be known for."^[9]

The episode was met with a similar reaction from fans. On No Homers, a fan forum dedicated to Simpsons discussion, the episode received a 5/5 majority poll rating. Many fans praised the episode, with some naming it, "the strongest episode of Season 25", "one of the 'HD era's best" and even "the best episode in the last 10 years." Several fans agreed that "Brick Like Me", combined with other recent efforts such as "Steal This Episode", is "conclusive proof that Matt Selman should be the next showrunner for The Simpsons." Despite this praise, not all fans shared mutual critiques. A frequent complaint was the episode's narrative being "semi-derivative of The LEGO Movie." The animation-style also divided opinion.^[10]

The episode currently has a 7.6/10 IMDb rating and a 8.6/10 rating on TV.com.^[11]^[12]

In the United Kingdom, official BARB figures show this episode was watched by 924,000 viewers from 7:30pm on Sky1, with an additional 50,000 on +1, the most-watched programmes of the week on both channels, and serving up the highest ratings for a new episode on the channel since "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" from April 2013.^[13]

International airdates

Country	Date	Channel	Note
Latin America	September 7, 2014;^[14]	Fox Latin America
United Kingdom	August 9, 2014	Sky1

Gallery

Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to Brick Like Me.

Brick Like Me promo 1.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 2.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 4.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 5.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 6.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 7.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 8.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 9.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 10.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 11.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 12.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 13.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 14.jpg
Brick Like Me promo 15.jpg

External links

References

← Season 24 Season 25 Episodes Season 26 →
Homerland • Treehouse of Horror XXIV • Four Regrettings and a Funeral • YOLO • Labor Pains • The Kid Is All Right • Yellow Subterfuge • White Christmas Blues • Steal This Episode • Married to the Blob • Specs and the City • Diggs • The Man Who Grew Too Much • The Winter of His Content • The War of Art • You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee • Luca$ • Days of Future Future • What to Expect When Bart's Expecting • Brick Like Me • Pay Pal • The Yellow Badge of Cowardge

[eonline-1] 1.0 ^1.1 http://uk.eonline.com/news/511135/the-simpsons-goes-lego-get-the-scoop-on-the-special-550th-episode-brick-like-me E! Online - "News/The Simpsons Goes Lego! Get the Scoop on the Special 550th Episode "Brick Like Me"

[FoxFlash-2] FoxFlash

[3] TV Guide - "Exclusive: Inside The Simpsons' Very Special LEGO Episode"

[InsideTVP3-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Inside TV Entertainment Weekly - "'Simpsons' Lego episode: Behind the writers' favorite inside jokes Page 3"

[5] TVbytheNumbers - "Sunday Final Ratings: 'Once Upon a Time', 'The Simpsons', 'Dateline' & 'Resurrection' Adjusted Up; 'The Good Wife' Adjusted Down"

[6] A.V Club - By Dennis Perkins, May 4, 2014 - "The Simpsons: "Brick Like Me" Season 25, Episode 20 - This should not work as well as it does"

[7] IGN.com - Jesse Schedeen - "The Simpsons: "Brick Like Me" Review: "It's not selling out. It's co-branding!"

[8] Time - Entertainment Television - James Poniewozik, May 2, 2014 - "REVIEW: The Simpsons‘ Lego Episode: Appetite for Deconstruction"

[9] TV.com - By Tim Surette/May 05, 2014 - "The Simpsons "Brick Like Me" Review: Different on the Outside, Same on the Inside"

[10] NoHomers.net Fan forum - "Episode discussion: R&R: Brick Like Me"

[11] IMDb "Brick Like Me" episode page

[12] TV.com The Simpsons - "Brick Like Me"

[13] BARB - Weekly - Top 10s

[14] Anexo:Vigesimoquinta temporada de Los Simpson

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

Difference between revisions of "Brick Like Me"

Revision as of 11:47, February 27, 2015

Contents

Synopsis