I was watching last week's episode of The Simpsons and I realised something. Enough! I've been watching the Simpsons since I came to Canada in 1993 and have been a loyal fan, but I have to say my loyalty is waning, and waning fast.
I was introduced to The Simpsons when they were peaking. I remember laughing out loud, I remember belly laughter. Last week, I barely cracked a smile.
It pains me to say it, but I just don't think the Simpsons' characters are cutting edge any more. It's very difficult to push the envelope and still remain true to the characters. Next to South Park, Family Guy and American Dad, The Simpsons just seem very dated, or dare I say it... tired.
I think NhiCAPS illustrated the point well with this post regarding the low calibre of guest voices.
On a related note, I'll more than likely be in the theatres this summer for The Simpsons Movie as it does, from the preview, look somewhat promising. In the same breath, I will say, in the back of my mind, I have a feeling that all the best parts of the film are highlighted in the trailer.
From my understanding, The Simpsons are signed on till the end of their nineteenth season, at which point I really do hope they call it a night.
7 comments:
Thanks for the shout out. I don't want to agree with you, but you're right about the newer shows being so much more modern and relevant.
Case in point, last week's Family Guy contained references to Michael Richards' n-word incident and Britney Spears going commando: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/nhila/vlcsnap-491578.jpg
The Simpsons still has Otto the school bus driver listening to a walkman. A cassette walkman... how archaic.
I hear ya Nhi, it's tough to admit that something you've come to enjoy and maybe even love over the years just isn't cutting it any more. I know, I hated to admit it too. But after so many less than stellar seasons I think it's safe to say, they have "Jumped the Shark"
I remember a time when The Simpsons used to address current pop culture and political events, but for some reason, they seem to have dropped it from their formula. (And when they do it's just not smart.) Family Guy and, even to some degree, American Dad have picked up the fumble and are running it in for a touchdown after touchdown.
If you caught the season premiere of South Park on Wednesday, their whole show was on the "N-Word" as you put it, where they made, what I thought was some very apt social commentary.
Re: The Walkman, I wouldn't change it for anything. It's inherent to the character. Otto isn't the kind of guy who listens to new music. His entire collection is probably audio cassette and vinyl. Otto's an eighties rocker and he's not going anywhere.
They have come a long way from the Tracy Ullman show. The show grew with our generation. As we got older, the focus shifted from Bart to Homer (where the real humour resided). I have always said that Family Guy blew all the others away. I have little time for South Par, although I did think the movie was brilliant.
This past Sunday's Simpsons... ugh.
Selma + Abe = worst episode ever
Al - You're right Al, But even a side from that, I just feel that, the characters and the writing have gotten dumber. They have come a long way and the show did grow in the right direction, but doesn't it just seem as though the show has been exhausted? That it needs to be put out of our misery?
Nhi - Oh tell me about it... some of the stabs at humour left me groaning or rolling my eyes.
There was a time when, if the Simpsons were airing a new episode, it brightened my Sunday, now I don't even care...
They over-saturated the market. With certain cable packages, you can almost certainly find a Simpsons episode on at any time. If you can watch it whenever you want, why wait for Sunday for a new one? Even if you do catch a new episode, unless you're a Simpsons freak, how do you know it's new, other than the fact that it's not as good? There isn't that whole "I can't wait for next week's episode" about it anymore. I'll admit to being only a periphreal fan of the show, but I think they lost steam more than awhile ago.
True, they did saturate the market. However I don't understand how market saturation would affect viewer-ship of the new shows.
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