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: