If you’re a Simpsons fan, you know – the show had a golden era and we are not in it. The recent “Which character will die?” episode is fairly great evidence of how much the show has diverged. But is the golden era something reclaimable? Can the show ever “go back,” or is it impossible with our expectations where they are? What changed over time? Kim Horcher ponders The Simpsons fate and the pitfalls of being a successful franchise in this Nerd Rage.
Comments
Eh. I’m a lifelong fan and I still find the show funny and always have. There are some episodes that I don’t consider particularly inspired (and definitely some jokes that don’t work for me), but I find myself laughing several times in every episode, even today. I don’t really look at it as a “constant need to re-invent itself in order to stay on the cutting edge of comedy.” Kim speaks about the bias of fans liking today’s shows because they remind them of past greatness and thus are overvaluing the present quality, but I think there might be some of the opposite bias happening among a lot of fans also, i.e., looking back at Season 4 and viewing it as untouchably amazing, in part because the jokes have become part of their psyche and lasted there for decades, whereas a lot of the same types of jokes are still used in today’s episodes and dismissed because of the cynicism surrounding the show’s later years.
Someone above me on this thread compared the Simpsons to a long-running band, and I think there is validity to this. When I hear a new Paul McCartney song, I don’t think “this is so sad, he can’t write Penny Lane anymore, so I’m not even dignifying this new piece of tripe.” If the song is at least decent, I think “This just adds to the legacy of (arguably) the world’s greatest living songwriter, and I’m glad I got to hear a new song.”
Why doesn’t Futurama get to have 26 seasons?
Yeah. The Futurama situation makes me sad. Groening himself has said he has much more in store for Futurama and the characters and that they can do way more with that show than with the Simpsons. But no network seems to be interested due to Futuramas less than stellar ratings. I hope Groening & Co somehow manages to revive that show because it is fucking awesome. I’m a huge fan of The Simpsons, but man, Futurama is better.
Seems impossible that no network would pick them up. A show with 7 seasons worth of name recognition and a built-in audience? There are like 400 networks, and they don’t all produce particularly high-quality or highly rated shows. And there are also places like Netflix. I am surprised that there is no market.
F’ The Simpsons!
Futurama FTW!
People need to honestly back off their expectations. Is the show in it’s “Golden Era”? Of course not, it’s in it’s 26th season. But maybe we should stop to let that sink in. Do i watch the show religiously like i did the first 12 or 13 seasons? No. When I do catch an episode now I am able to go in pretty fresh and still find some enjoyment out of it. There is something to be said that the show has stayed good ENOUGH to still be on the air for a 26th season. Don’t forget how quickly FOX in particular has been willing to ditch shows or even practically sabotage them. The Simpsons is pretty much the equivalent of a rock band like Pearl Jam, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones, Soundgarden. Are any of them viewed as genre bending above the herd at this point? No. But they have all survived and continue to make records and put on entertaining and dependable shows. For a show to last 26 seasons and still be even halfway entertaining really needs to be applauded.
Worst simpson episode? i think this was the worst youtube episode because of the teleprompting.
Constructive Criticism:
You are reading at us. Stop it. Have a conversation with us. We are not there, but pretend like we are and we are responding. Cenk does a very good job of it almost every day. You absolutely need to watch him and study how he presents stories in a conversational style.
I hope you keep trying to become a better orator but some people just don’t have what it takes. I’m not suggesting that you quit trying, but I’m just suggesting that you really and deeply think about if this is the right path for you or if you can shine in a different field.
Cenk is an amazing presenter if you want to learn what to do. Ana (I’m sorry to say) is an example of how you don’t want to end up. She, with just a tiny bit more emotion, also robotically reads at us. So you have great examples of what is good and what is very bad. Please, if you choose to continue this work, learn from both.
YOU are so 100% right, i understood nothing because i was distracted by her teleprompter tone.