The Simpsons: Suffering with Time?

It’s clear even to the casual viewer that The Simpsons is a shadow of its former self. But an oft-contested opinion is that Matt Groening’s sitcom-satire has seen a steady decline since the Millennium. Further dissenting views stem from notions concerning the pinpointing of the moment the two-and-a-half-decade-old yellow family jumped the shark, surpassing its own integral laws, logical narratives and believability.

The Simpsons’ longevity can ultimately be attributed to the success of its earlier episodes. The very first season, beginning in December 1989, was a major improvement and development on the Tracey Ullman shorts it succeeded. Though on occasions the family acted somewhat out of character (Homer’s pawning of the TV springs to mind), the original 13 episodes can hardly be criticised to any great extent. Sure, the animation is crude and the pacing is slow, but as the season progresses, it noticeably improves. Season 2 (1990-1991) immediately sees a substantial improvement on the previous batch of episodes, merely identifiable in the opening sequence, and by season 3 (1991-1992) the show was beginning to hit its stride. Season 4 through to season 8 is near flawless. With the exception of a handful of clip shows (which, parenthetically, are still masterfully constructed and worthwhile), almost every episode is pure yellow gold.

The Simpsons, 1990

The period that follows is one which divides many hard-core fans. Under Mike Scully’s tenure as showrunner, the ninth season saw a subtle change in direction for the show. Episodes were beginning to appear a little more far-fetched, downplaying the emotional aspects of episodes in exchange for wacky, outlandish comedy adventures. Many pinpoint the moment The Simpsons jumped the shark as being the episode The Principal and the Pauper, an episode which sees the character of Principal Skinner exposed as a fraud. This expectedly outraged fans, in that it completely reversed any previous development of the character. Despite the disgust at this pivotal moment, writer Ken Keeler stands by his own opinion that the episode in question in fact remains one of the best pieces of scripted television he has ever written (The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season, The Principal and the Pauper [Audio Commentary]). In his defence, the episode, while conceptually ‘bad’, is evenly paced and rather amusing. Not only does blaming Keeler for the episode alone indicate an ignorance of the writing process, but it also fails to differentiate between the writing of an episode and the formulation of its concept. Aside from this and a frankly dismal clip show, season 9 maintains The Simpsons’ winning streak, even if it appears they are losing steam by this point.

Seasons 10 and 11 present a much more noticeable drop in quality, not only in storylines but in the characterisation of the Springfield residents, and the changes are hardly subtle. In season 10’s Homer Simpson in: “Kidney Trouble”, Homer is depicted as rather malicious and selfish. Whereas before he had been portrayed as something of a likeable buffoon, “Kidney Trouble” sees him run from a hospital ward in fear of a kidney operation, leaving his father, Grampa, on his deathbed. Bart’s character, meanwhile, was pushed to extremes. Whereas before he had merely been presented as a troublemaker, episodes from this era depict him as a criminal. Perhaps the most unsettling of the characterisation issues can be attributed to Marge, whose personality drastically alters from a sensible, maternal figure to a ditzy, female Homer. Marge acts completely out of character, rolling on the kitchen floor in hysterics for no reason (Saddlesore Galactica, S.11, 2000), and falling for a man on the packaging of kitchen rolls (The Blunder Years, S.13, 2001). The only primary character to remain intact is Lisa, who sadly takes something of a back seat throughout this era – most likely due to the fact that Lisa’s episodes usually maintain some kind of emotional grounding.

The Simpsons, 2009

Sure, these issues have affected the show to an extent, but anyone who argues that the show has continued to plummet ever since clearly has no recollection of season 11, the show’s absolute nadir. Not only are the plots of this season zany and nonsensical, but they also make a few substantial changes that were subsequently difficult to rectify, the most notable being the killing of Maude Flanders. Although she merely represented a supporting character, she provided something of a reinforcement to the character of Ned. Her loss turned his character into a lonely widower, which, while it opened up the possibility for new storylines, betrayed his depiction as the ‘perfect neighbour’, his sole purpose since the programme’s inception. In addition, Apu becomes a father to eight children in a surreal plot twist, and Barney Gumble becomes sober – a bizarre choice considering the fact that there was little more to his character besides his alcoholism. Since, under the tenure of Al Jean, the show has seen peaks and troughs. Certain aspects of the show have been retconned (Skinner’s character), events have been reversed (Barney’s sobriety), and they have even attempted to bring Maude back in flashbacks and guest spots (Bart Has Two Mommies, S.17, 2006; Dangerous Curves, S.20, 2008). All the same, these changes nonetheless had a detrimental effect on the show overall.

However, while the show will likely never revert back to the standards of the 1990s glory years, The Simpsons has nonetheless maintained a certain quality over the last decade or so. The writing may not always be on point, but the characterisation is now fairly consistent, and the storylines are decent considering the show’s age. It might be suffering a little, but its popularity in this respect is justified. The Simpsons may no longer be the best thing on the box, but you could still do far worse.

 

Images obtained from:

The Simpsons: The Complete First Season. (2001) Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The Simpsons: The Complete Twentieth Season. (2010) Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.