Simpsons by the Season: 10

"I can't believe I'm saying this about a T.V. show, but this is kinda stupid."

Good glavin.

Season nine gave the series the first bad episode; ten gives the first bad season. The good episodes are few and far between, and I dare say they're outweighed by the poor. The writing is painfully sloppy, the plots increasingly outrageous, and the characters are slowly becoming sad mockeries of themselves. It all starts with perhaps the worst of the season: "Lard of the Dance", where Homer decides his next business venture is grease collection. I wish I could say that was the stupidest thing that happened this season in a show that was formerly grounded in reality.


Now, before I continue I want to clarify something; reality is not a prerequisite for a good show. My action packed beloved Banshee has many moments of impossibility (it happens on an episode by episode basis) but, oddly enough, I have no problem with it. Other cartoon comedies (Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman, Archer) have plots that would in comparison seem absolutely off the wall - but I have no problem with these shows. That's because it sticks to the reality it created for itself from an early stage; it wasn't taking itself too seriously off the beginning, and thus it allowed itself to take a few liberties. In Banshee, I can overlook the fact that an expert thief somehow found his way into becoming a sheriff of a small town as long as he isn't firing lasers out of his eyes or capturing the Loch Ness monster (one of these things happen in The Simpsons this season - keep reading to find out which!). The Simpsons has traditionally been a show that hasn't reached too far from the boundaries it created in the early seasons - what is near and far from the Simpsons' house is alterable (that's fine), Homer is a bumbling oaf who became a nuclear technician (that's fine too, as stumbling into fortunate circumstances is his jam) and other such small stretches. The issue is once it's established, it's no longer something you can fiddle with. You're stuck. This season bombards that rule.

If you're a die-hard Simpsons fan you likely don't need examples, and if you're not, you're likely not reading this blog. Either way, here's some examples from this season. Marge, driving a Canyonero (what an insult to a great previous episode to use it in this manner), herds a number of rampaging rhinos. Homer and Mr. Burns capture the Loch Ness monster and put it on display (no, I don't think any character has shot lasers... yet). Homer throws the Japanese Emperor into a bin labeled "Sumo Thongs". Somehow, these are not the most egregious examples; the worst comes in the episode "Mom and Pop Art", an episode so abhorrent it should be deleted from the Simpson records. Homer, in trying to create a great work of art, floods the entire town, making it into a second Venice - but don't worry, it's OK because he put snorkels on all the animals first!

Lets take a moment to address this. Homer just flooded Springfield. Not just a little - up to the roof. This is so, so far gone from Simpsons reality it would make Halloween specials squirm. Was this supposed to have actually occurred? Did this really happen in the Simpsons universe? To quote Frank Grimes' disgruntled tirade, "I mean... my God!". It's the same thing with the Loch Ness monster - I can't tell if this was actually supposed to have occurred, as the show has always been a realistic character driven story, something that's meant to be identifiable and witty. This is just lazy writing, but not the only example of it.


Homer doesn't even pretend to work anymore either, further driving home the point that the show is further moving off the train tracks. Half the season has seemingly been created through a Mad Libs-esque story writing technique: "Homer decides to _____________, which leads to wacky adventures". That blank has been filled with: collects grease, becomes an inventor, meets celebrities, becomes a hippie, becomes a bodyguard, goes to the Super Bowl, changes his name, becomes an artist, creates a spring business or something (I think I fell asleep during that one), and becomes a trucker. Not all of these are poor episodes, but it's slowly becoming a show of Homer becoming more and more stupid - but significantly less funny. After all, the start of "They Saved Lisa's Brain" began with a competition between Springfielders of who could do the stupidest thing.

Good glavin.

Best Quotes:
"Hi, Super Nintendo Chalmers!"
-Ralph greeting Superintendent Chalmers

"The road to the Super Bowl is long and pointless. I mean... when you think about it."
-from a Super Bowl commercial

"I just don't have the self-discipline to be a hippie."
-Homer after discovering his hippie roots and failing miserably.

"You don't snuggle with Max Power - you strap yourself in and feel the gs!"
-Homer after adopting his Max Power persona, to Marge

Best Episode:
It has its flaws, but all episodes in this season do. The best episode is "Mayored to the Mob", as it follows a consistent story and is pretty funny without going too off the rails - which is unfortunately more than I can ask for many of the rest. A nod goes to "Homer to the Max" - Max Power - which couldn't take the prize due to the profoundly stupid ending with Homer clearing a forest through a chain reaction of knocking over one tree.


Worst Episode:
Homer becomes a name in the "outsider art" community after trying to build a barbeque and having it come out as a mess. Unreasonably stupid, entirely unrealistic, and above all, hardly a funny joke in the bunch, all culminating in one of the worst endings of an episode in Simpsons history. It beats out Homer's grease collection episode, but just barely.