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Of
The

Its still good, its
still good!

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Editor

couple weeks back, I

wrote a piece leading
up to the latest season
of The Simpsons. While
the piece discussed a
number of things, my
main point was that the
show desperately needed
to be cancelled. No North
American series should
ever get to the point of
“season 24.” “Season 10”
is an achievement many
excellent shows should
consider a milestone,
have, and not too long
after either call it quits or
continue on for only so
much longer. “Season 24”
on the other hand should
be the name of a horror
movie, because by that
point the subject can only
be a grotesque monster.

Now, all of that said,
I stand by it that The
Simpsons is one of the
greatest television shows
ever made. Everything
from creative referencing
to inventing colloquial-
isms was achieved by
this series in almost no
time at all. Whether
it’s Homer’s infamous
“D’oh” or the under-
rated “meh” by Bart,

66

when a show can make
changes to a society’s
language—before the use
of the Internet—that’s
pretty damn impressive.
While the last 12
or so seasons haven’t
been the best (or even
good in many cases),
there still occasionally
manages to be the few
couple episodes that
stick out as being a
pleasant watch. More
importantly though, the
damage the last dozen
seasons have done can-

Simpsons
supreme of
simpletons?

less amounts of fun.
Part of what makes
the characters work
is that, call it brilliant
writing, the chemistry
between everyone in
the Simpsons family
and their close friends
is incredible to sit

baby from China. Just

that concept takes the
already well-established
chemistry between
Homer and Marge’s
sisters and manages to
make it endearing...
even if it is in the midst
of jumping the shark.

Its these jokes that created the colloquialisms, that

taught writers how to reference, and that years
later, people like me still use on a daily basis, to

prove no other point than that theyre still funny.

not undo all the awesome
that came before it.
Homer, Marge, Bart,
Lisa, even Maggie to
an extent—everyone
recognizes those names,
you don’t even have to
add Simpson. But save
for Lisa, those are pretty
uncommon names to
begin with; well how
about The Sea Captain,
Bumblebee Man, Doctor
Nick, and so many oth-
ers? All those names
stick out because every
one of these characters
is in some way just end-

back, watch, and then
think about. They’re a
dysfunctional family,
but when the time calls
for it, they’re also noble
and understanding. For
example, there’s an epi-
sode in one of the afore-
mentioned bad bunch
of seasons called “Goo
Goo Gai Pan,” in which
Homer goes out of his
way to pose as the hus-
band of Selma Bouvier,
one of Marge’s sisters
that Homer loathes,

all so she can adopt a

Then of course there
are the many, many
outstanding jokes, none
of which I'll ever be
able to pick out as an
ultimate favourite. It’s
these jokes that created
the colloquialisms, that
taught writers how to
reference, and that years
later, people like me still
use on a daily basis, to
prove no other point than
that they’re still funny.

Much of the humour
is the basis for how the
show became popular in

   
   

Photo courtesy of Fox Broadcasting

the first place. But while
its popularity was ulti-
mately the show’s undo-
ing, there will always be
the vast amounts of peo-
ple that understood what
the show was trying to
achieve, and weren’t
just laughing because—
unlike the modern
writers and audience
seem to think—‘Homer
say something funny.’

I’ll admit the same
reason I can watch
episodes over and over
again is due in part to the
same nostalgia I share
with some very piss-poor
video games from my
childhood and bands
from my teen years. But
even if one took away
the fact that The Simpsons
was something most
of us grew up with, it
would still manage to
creep back into our lives.
The Simpsons may no lon-
ger be the best, but like a
moist pig flying through
the air, it’s still great.

War of the Words: CONTINUED ,