Originally posted to the DMI Review on 7/10/13
Best. Show. Ever.
Having been running The Darke, McPhaul, and Isham Review for almost six months now, Tyler, Harry and I have decided to introduce a little variety into the mix. As you may have guessed, we'll be doing some writing about television from time to time. Unlike our film reviews, we're not currently planning to write about TV together each week, but rather whenever one of us feels like writing about a show. I can't speak for Harry and Tyler, but I myself have several complete series bouncing around in my head without an outlet for expressing my thoughts. If possible I'd like to bring attention to shows that most may not see these days, whether they were a hit during their original run, or if they went (or are going) unwatched. There will be plenty of time for the Arrested Developments and Parks and Recreations of the world down the line, but for now I thought I'd start with my favorite TV show of all time, The Simpsons.
Matt Groening's unbelievably long-running, animated comedic series is the show I grew up with. The show began its run with a Christmas special in December 1989, followed by a first season in January 1990, which is more than three years before I was born. I didn't start watching the show until the point when most would say it began to decline ever so slightly in quality, in the early 2000s. Running in heavy syndication on the local UPN channel, I saw three Simpsons episodes a day, five days a week (plus new episodes on Fox). 6:00pm, 7:30pm, and an 11:00pm episode that I would record and watch the next morning before school. The Simpsons became a window to popular culture for me, as I was inundated with everything from sharp political references (the Kennedy caricature that is Mayor Quimby) to guest appearances by people I otherwise may not have been aware of (Michael Jackson voicing a man Homer meets in an asylum who thinks he's Michael Jackson). The window in the culture that the show became was a crucial part of informing my interests and taste in humor and entertainment.
For the uninitiated, The Simpsons focuses on middle aged, bald, overweight, dimwitted and caring Homer Simpson and his dysfunctional nuclear family. Blue-haried bee-hive wearing wife Marge, a loving homemaker and often a moral center for the family; brainy eight year old Lisa, a lover of books and jazz; baby Maggie, the mute but wise member of the family who's far more capable than she seems; and last, but not least, Bart, the smart-ass 10 year old prankster with a heart of gold and an insatiable craving for Butterfingers (not really, but they're fun commercials). Then we have the cast of thousands that inhabits Springfield, USA, the hometown of Simpsons, which includes everyone from the pig-like police Chief Wiggum to the delightfully cynical and troubled children's television star Krusty the Clown. Check out this image for a wide array of Springfieldians even the most ardent fan couldn't possibly memorize (I'd be lucky to recognize half of them).
This cast of colorful characters is brimming with stereotypes, parodies, and caricatures that helps to inform the show's central theme as a comedic take on life as a middle class American family, but it also broadens the possibilities of what can be done with the stories from episode to episode. The first few seasons of The Simpsons, especially the first, are really a look at the humorous possibilities of a regular sitcom family in an animated world, such as when Homer buys a cheap RV, accidentally destroys it in the wild, and tries to survive with the family with his limited knowledge of nature. Maggie is practically adopted by a family of bears; try doing that on a soundstage, in front of an audience. As the show grew in popularity and creativity, it branched out into smart cultural parodies, such as the Beatles-style rise and fall of Homer's barbershop quartet, or Bart's dangerous encounters with the murderous Sideshow Bob in the Gilbert and Sullivan-laiden episode "Cape Feare" (a take off on both murder-driven Cape Fear films). The show could also be wonderfully self-aware, as in this potentially clairvoyant clip from 1992 that is hilarious in the face of the show's impending 25th season:
Despite the fact that The Simpsons did what few shows can do by staying relevant and funny for nearly a decade, it inevitably saw a dip in quality, though most fans (myself included) would likely agree that it was still pretty darn good. Entering its early teens, the show was more apparently lacking that which made it so successful early on: its heart. This is the curse of the shows sliding timeline, during which the world around the characters changes but they remain the same age. Bart has been 10 since 1987, when the Simpsons first appeared as characters in animated segments of The Tracey Ullman Show, and he's turned 10 many times since. The characters could only learn so many life lessons before they started to repeat themselves in different episodes down the line. The saving grace of the show ever since has been its continuing comedic quality, something that has certainly wavered but never completely died. Though never seemingly ready to wrap up the show for good, Groening (pronounced "graining") and his army of showrunners, producers and writers are well aware of the The Simpsons' sometimes strained run. Season 11 concluded with "Behind the Laughter," a tongue-in-cheek look at how Homer first decided to shoot a TV show based no his life, and how it took off and became a massive success, nearly destroying the personal lives of its stars. The episode pokes fun at the merchandising giant created in the show's wake, proclaiming that, "Simpsons gin was wetting whistles worldwide," while also noting that the fictitious "Simpsons Christmas Boogie" was a triple-platinum hit at the Grammys. What really stands out when I revisit this episode is the closing song, in which a narrator sings that, "Have no fears, we've got stories for years," before citing examples like Homer gets a cellphone and Marge becomes a robot. Although not quite that inane, some plots from the last 13 seasons have been shockingly similar, but I'm sure the irony isn't lost on the Simpsons team.
I would argue that the best Simpsons story since that time, and the one that affirms just how good the show can still be, is actually the long-rumored and wished for film that arrived in theaters July 27th, 2007. The Simpsons Movie was written by eleven of the show's best writers, and directed by one of its veteran directors, David Silverman. It took a well-worn plot device, Homer does something selfish and stupid, and turned it into a touching and hilarious big screen adventure for fans and newbies alike. Although there's no denying that having watched the nearly two-decade run of episodes that preceded the film would help inform jokes about characters and past events, the movie is funny enough to carry itself as an independent story, and it keeps the jokes flying and the plot moving, making for a nice brisk 87-minute tale that reminds us why The Simpsons has become an institution of entertainment.
I would be remiss not to mention the many talented folks who put their time and effort into the show. Beginning with Matt Groening, James L. Brooks (writer/director of Terms of Endearment, co-creator of The Mary Tyler Moore Show), and Sam Simon, the original development team, and evolving into a revolving door of comedic and cinematic talents that include Conan O'Brien, Pixar director Brad Bird, and people who have gone on to create and work on shows like The Office and The Larry Sanders Show. Like writing for Saturday Night Live, working on The Simpsons has become an unofficial of a requirement for comedy writers in Hollywood. The show would be nothing without its brilliant scripts, but of course it takes a talented team of vocal artists to bring to life such a varied group of characters, and Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer are just that. They have created characters that can be so authentic yet very much caricatures and thinly veiled copies of real-life figures. They know how to sell a joke for all its worth and bring the raw emotion when need be (a particular scene in the movie with Marge bearing her soul to Homer is absolutely heartbreaking, and Kavner nails every second of it). Joining the regular cast members (and semi-regulars like Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell, and Marcia Wallace) is a legendary list of guest stars who appear as themselves and as original characters, including everyone from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (the only sitting politician to appear) to Johnny Carson. SNL veteran Phil Hartman was, during his lifetime, perhaps the most valuable guest, appearing several times as a variety of characters, including washed up star Troy McClure and shady lawyer Lionel Hutz.
The Simpsons premiered on the Fox network as a gamble. It was the first animated show to air in primetime since The Flintstones in the 1960s, and it originally aired Thursday nights, against The Cosby Show. It would go on to become the longest running animated series, the longest running sitcom, and the longest running scripted primetime series of all time. Not too shabby. With 528 episodes and counting, The Simpsons continues to endure, having spawned not just a movie but also endless forms of merchandising (Do you own a talking Homer Simpson pizza cutter? I know I do.) and, true to form, a theme park ride that comments on the banalities of theme park rides. The über-nerd character known as Comic Book Guy is quite fond of pointing out when something is the, "Worst. _____. Ever." Somehow, I think he'd find room in his heart to admit that The Simpsons has become one of the greatest television shows of all time. It's an unabashed force of nature that can't be stopped, and every time I catch an episode—new or old, favorite or not—I'm reminded of exactly why it's my favorite show. Homer Simpson may be yellow and stupid, and he may unintentionally subvert your expectations, but you'll never forget that he's a real person (even if he's not).
I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me, Superman.
- Homer Simpson, "Lost Our Lisa" (Episode 24, Season 9)