Kim has a lot on her plate, what with, among other things, heading committees to clean up Middleton Park and decorate the gym for the school dance. Convinced that she won't be able to handle the latter, Bonnie swoops in for control, but Kim insists that she has it covered. Meanwhile, various items - a conveyor belt, a central control unit - are disappearing in the blink of an eye. Surprisingly, it turns out to be the work of the Bebe robots (from "Attack of the Killer Bebes"), and they've been upgraded with shoes that allow them to travel so fast, they can't be seen.
This is a fairly entertaining episode, even with some strong elements working against it. For one thing, who rebuilt the Bebes? Where and how were they able to get those wonderful shoes? And how did they develop an immunity to a sonic disruption? While these are problematic, they are far from the most annoying plot holes introduced this season.
Another debit: Bonnie. I know you're not supposed to like her, but she really got under my skin here, with her constant put-downs and attempts at usurping. I've just never liked her character type (again, not to be liked, I know), and I wasn't too keen on the sort-of spotlight she received here. The Bebes select her as their Queen, which pretty much tells you how much value is placed on common sense in choosing their leaders. (Yeah, that was wrong.)
What saves the episode, for me, is this element: whether it's a "Simpsons" episode, this or the movie Clockstoppers, there's something irresistible about people moving at light speed while everything else appears to be standing still. I enjoyed the scenes of Kim battling the Bebes and the shifts between real time and super fast time.
The Smash Mouth cameo almost seemed to be one of those 'guest star for the sake of having a guest star' crocks so favored by "The Simpsons", but their song "Come On" underscores a cute ending involving Kim and Rufus at the Statue of Liberty.
"Queen Bebe" is good, but not even close to perfect.
**.5/4
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