Review review

Lurleen Lumpkin returns to Australian screens in next Tuesday's episode of The Simpsons. Lurleen, country and western singer, briefly managed by Homer, stars in this episode which, according to the p/review in The Daily Telegraph "When it screened in the US, this episode was one of the lowest-rating in the show's 20-year history, something that might be explained by the presence of the outspoken Dixie Chicks". Odd that - given that the episode originally aired in April 2008, well after the American public had fallen out of love with the Dixie Chicks over their supposed non-support of the US invasion of Iraq. Other possible reasons for the low ratings for the episode, according to Wikipedia, which states it was the third-lowest rating ever received by a The Simpsons showing, was Lurleen's "starring" role (in what is usually a very ensemble offering) and the dream sequence near the top of the show where Homer suffocates his father. Also, and I'll judge this for myself on Tuesday night, there was the suggestion that the episode just wasn't that funny!