Simpsons by the Season: 8

"We should thank our lucky stars they're still putting out a program of this caliber after so many years."

This blog will be a little more doom and gloom than it ought to be. After all, I don't think a season of The Simpsons could possibly start off better; an always funny "Treehouse of Horror", followed by the appearance of Hank Scorpio, followed by "The Homer They Fall" in which Homer becomes a boxer. The lattermost two episodes I would imagine would fall into many Simpsons fan's top ten lists, and with good cause. So what is it that bothers me this season?

At this point it's eight seasons in and I don't believe they've had an episode you can honestly call "bad". It's not that this season breaks that record - it's that it's showing some signs of wear. First, there are some significant signs of desperation in the search for their plots. There's a spinoff episode that's not all that bad but definitely offbeat; "El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer" has Homer going on a mystical journey after eating a number of far-too-hot chilli peppers - red hot ones if you will; "The Springfield" files, while not necessarily part of the Simpsons canon due to an introduction from Leonard Nimoy stating it's not true, has Mr. Burns as a radioactive alien for a time; and finally, you have Mr. Sparkle's "In Marge We Trust" episode which is 50% funny and 50% painful (I know that this episode can be a fan favourite, but that's because most will forget the terrible Marge plot with her as the "listen lady"). These episodes still hold up, don't get me wrong - but the plot-lines are more of a stretch than they have been. This isn't a problem, however, as long as it stays funny, and they don't go too far. For now, it hasn't.

Overall the odd plot-lines are more of a warning sign of things to come rather than anything. The same issue comes into play with how they portray some of their characters as they lose some of what they are. I've long said this is a sign of a shows deterioration. We've seen this in Malcolm in the Middle, this one is in part due to Dewey growing older and no longer being cute, but they changed a number of their characters as the seasons passed as well. King of the Hill had the same problem by stretching too far what their characters already were; one example is Bill becoming too sad and thus no longer funny. The Office did this by systematically destroying Jim and Pam by making them boring and happy, and then forcing them into unhappiness through Jim's creation of the comically ridiculous business 'Athlead'. The Simpsons doesn't have this problem yet, but it's starting to seep through. For example, in "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" Maud (part of the rival team against Marge's pretzel business) hires the Yakuza to come after her. First, this falls into the ridiculous plot-line category, but it also is wildly out of character for her. She would never hire mobsters - she is married to Ned Flanders. Ned. Flanders. It makes no sense. She banned sugar from her kids...

Add that to the fact that in the last two seasons Mr. Burns has tried to kill two people (Bart, by kicking a safe with him inside into a lake, and Homer when they were beginning to go crazy in the snow-locked cabin in "Mountain of Madness), and Reverend Lovejoy fighting apes in the Mr. Sparkle episode, it's not so much a major deal but just a sign that maybe things are coming off the rails. My final negative here is that, as you'll see in future episodes, when The Simpsons adds animals things go horribly awry. Remember that - a reverend kicking an orangutan in just the beginning.

In spite of all of this, the season still has some of the greatest episodes you'll find. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, it also has "Homer's Enemy", the appearance of Frank Grimes. This is top notch stuff. Seasons three to eight are the golden years - but is this the last season at the peak?

Best Episode:

As much as I love Frank Grimes, Poochie, and Homer the boxer,  "You Only Move Twice" with Hank Scorpio is the top of the line. It's an easy candidate for a top ten episode. 

Best Quotes:

"He's a good man, I like him, but I'm definitely going to make orphans of his children."

-Drederick Tatum on fighting Homer

"Cheating is the gift man gives himself!"

-Mr. Burns justifying cheating on his way to the cabin at the end of his Power Plant getaway competition

"To alcohol; the cause of and solution to all of life's problems."

-Homer toasting alcohol post prohibition

"If life has taught me one lesson repeatedly, it's to know when I'm beaten."

-Principal Skinner