Why do so many fans hate the three part England episode (Season 6)

[TMC]

It seems to always be up there among the most disliked episodes in the series along with the backdoor pilots ("Top of the Heap", "Enemies", "Radio Free Trumaine"), any of the Seven episodes.

One observation that I stumbled upon online is that the "England Show" signified the point in which MWC became too goofy for its own good. And it was hit and miss by that point on, and more miss as it went on.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by TMC

It seems to always be up there among the most disliked episodes in the series along with the backdoor pilots ("Top of the Heap", "Enemies", "Radio Free Trumaine"), any of the Seven episodes.

One observation that I stumbled upon online is that the "England Show" signified the point in which MWC became too goofy for its own good. And it was hit and miss by that point on, and more miss as it went on.

Because it was outside of the MWC normal episode that usually took place inside the house

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Because it was outside of the MWC normal episode that usually took place inside the house

In another thread, the England episode you can say, was the turning point of MWC being a relatively realistic sitcom about a dysfunctional family to an out and out cartoon. I don't think that a show like MWC can work that well without a studio audience and if it's shot on location. I know that a lot of people don't like the increased audience participation in the latter years (I don't care that much for the audience either), but without anybody in the studio to feed off of the jokes, the cynical humor just come across awkward and like it's in a vacuum.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by TMC

In another thread, the England episode you can say, was the turning point of MWC being a relatively realistic sitcom about a dysfunctional family to an out and out cartoon. I don't think that a show like MWC can work that well without a studio audience and if it's shot on location. I know that a lot of people don't like the increased audience participation in the latter years (I don't care that much for the audience either), but without anybody in the studio to feed off of jokes, the cynical humor just come across awkward and like it's in a vacuum.

I was in 11th grade when that episode aired and was turned off completely

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by TMC

In another thread, the England episode you can say, was the turning point of MWC being a relatively realistic sitcom about a dysfunctional family to an out and out cartoon. I don't think that a show like MWC can work that well without a studio audience and if it's shot on location. I know that a lot of people don't like the increased audience participation in the latter years (I don't care that much for the audience either), but without anybody in the studio to feed off of jokes, the cynical humor just come across awkward and like it's in a vacuum.

I even skipped it on the DVD

[GentlemanJim]

Originally Posted by TMC

a relatively realistic sitcom about a dysfunctional family to an out and out cartoon..

I think that pretty well sums it up for me, the requirement to believe the main plot device that some town exists in perpetual night time...just gave the show a feeling of hoakeyness. And the actual duel was too full of pomp.

Basically those shows reminded me of "English night" on PBS, which I religiously avoid.

There were a few good moments such as the damage inflicted during the shopping spree (and a few others), but there was always the overshadowing "why is it they are doing all this?" that turned the normally brilliant humor into an exercise in buffoonery.