Well, it had to happen eventually. The Simpsons has been falling down for seasons the same way Homer fell down the Springfield Gorge hitting every rocky edge on the way down doing more damage with each hit. While most people can agree that the first 10 seasons were the best, you could still look toward the Treehouse of Horror episodes around Halloween to have some delight.
The fact that Fox aired this on Nov. 5, a good five days after Halloween because they cared more about the World Series, and have for probably the last 20 years, shows you that they really don’t care anymore about the Treehouse of Horror episodes. And why should the writers? I mean, it’s not like they can’t air the episodes a week or so before Halloween. It’s not like people don’t get all happy for Halloween the entire month of October or even in late September.
But Fox is also getting money from the NFL. Seeing how Fox has cut The Simpsons over the MLB and NFL is some Julius Caesar-style of betrayal. The Simpsons kept Fox alive during its rocky first few years back when everything looked cheap and like the junk you’d see on regional UHF channels. Considering how Fox screwed over Matt Groenig’s Futurama, it’s a wonder he still bothers with the network.
The latest Treehouse episode is the worst of the 34th specials. It’s worse than the one where Kang and Kudos make references to the Iraqi War. The first segment “Wild Bart Can’t Be Token” is meant to be a parody of Snowpiercer and NFTs but Snowpiercer came out a decade ago and it’s not like The Shining. Bart (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) bercomes a NFT and Marge (voiced by Julie Kavner) is sent into the blockchain where we see NFTs that Marge must killed to reach the front of the train that runs on FOMO (Fear of missing out). It’s dull and the jokes don’t land at all.
The second one “Ei8ht” involves a different scenario of the “Cape Feare” episode where Sideshow Bob (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) suceeds in killing Bart. Thirty years later. Lisa (voiced by Yeardley Smith) is now a true crime professor who is notified by Nelson Muntz, now a police chief, of other characters, Todd Flanders, Martin Prince, etc. being killed. So, she turns to Bob. It’s meant to be a parody of true-crime shows and movies with a nod to the awful twist in Hot Tension, but if they’re going back to referencing the better shows of the past, that’s a problem.
The third segment “Lout Break” has Homer (voiced by Dan Castellanata) eating a donut that rolled through some radiation fallout resulting in his belching turning others into Homer hybrids. Family Guy has been accused of ripping off The Simpsons, but this seems similar to the episode where Peter Griffin touches everyone and they turn into Robin Williams. And all the Homer hybrids belch and turn others into Homer hybrids.
And that’s it. There’s nothing much to the episode this year. This is the fourth or fifth time they’ve made references to the better shows in their earlier seasons. Maybe they’re hoping the fans will like it but it just shows how great their heydays were. And while they’re right in mocking the absurdity of the twist in Hot Tension, they’re about 15 years late. It feels more like these were rejected scripts that they had thrown in a desk drawer and just found because the writers and producers don’t care about anymore. I’m told “Lout Break” was supposed to be a reference to George A. Romero’s The Crazies but because the segments are so short, they feel rushed. And the obscure movie references in the olden days still had some cleverness to them.
The Simpsons is in its 35th season and one has to wonder how much longer they can stay on the air. You can hear the strain in Kavener’s voice. And Homer’s dumbness is getting worse. Ironically, he seems to be exactly what they didn’t want with the discarded “Some Enchanted Evening” episode. A lot of criticism is how Bart went from being one of the main characters to being regulated to the background and supporting roles.
Shows change a lot and it’s a testament the entire cast still remains from the first seasons, albeit, they probably can work around their schedules better than live-action comedy series. But I wonder if when they read the scripts, they question the content or are they just like Krusty bursting into the recording booth reading their lines off cards and just letting the producers, animators and directors do the rest. If that’s the case, then we know why the quality has gone down.
In January, Fox renewed the show through the 36th season. I suggest they let it go. Several of the episodes of the 34th season didn’t pull in a million viewers. Why is it still on the air?
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 