Simpsons by the Season: 12

"This plot makes no sense! Tell the people!"

This season, while slightly better than eleven, suffers from two major faults: being unable to end an episode and forgetting what their characters are meant to be.

Several times this season and the last they wrote themselves into a corner from which they couldn't return. Either they didn't provide enough time to logically solve the plot, or they simply didn't know how, and the resulting solution was to make a joke on how it's not ending properly. That's fine - it's funny, and if done right, it's pretty clever - but here's the catch: you can only do it once. This ends up happening time and time again to the point where you've not only seen it before, but you're expecting it. Last season it happened with Moe's new face due to paying for plastic surgery; he looked great, but after a wall collapsed on him, he became re-uglied. He then began questioning why he didn't have a totally new face instead of having his old face returned, in which the show cuts off his speech. It was funny. It was clever.

Then in the episode where Homer becomes a missionary and subsequently gets into a wild adventure where he's about to be killed (sheesh, just in summary form that sounds stupid) they cut the episode off as a fake PBS pledge drive. OK, but that's only two - but then there's "The Great Money Caper", a terrible episode which we'll go back to, which ends with Lisa saying "I know it seems far fetched - even insulting to your intelligence - but there's a simple and highly satisfying explanation. You see-" before she's cut off by Otto saying something like "surf's up". The show then switches scenes to the characters surfing. The episode ends. Once again, they use that excuse to get out of a jam.

This hasn't yet touched on where they simply choose not to end the episodes, and don't even bother making a joke on it. In "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" Homer gets shipped onto an island full of people that know too much. They then send a Homer clone to the Simpson house, everyone is getting gassed all the time, Homer gets chased by some sort of defense orb when escaping the island, and it ends with the dog gassing the whole family who wakes up to find themselves on this inexplicable island. The final clip is a koala wearing a mask which shoots gas out of it, presumably trying to blank out the memory of a dreadful episode. The problem here is - again - the episode doesn't actually end. The conflict is still unresolved. It's skipping Writing 101. (Sidenote: this doesn't touch on how many times they make light of Homer no longer working, but that's just too easy.)

OK. That's half the rant.

The second major issue with this season falls on their characters no longer being like themselves. In "The Great Money Caper" in which I mentioned earlier, Homer and Bart become con artists, stealing from Springfielders. This should never happen. These are supposed to be identifiable, good people at heart. Now they're thieves. If you remember back to Bart stealing Bonestorm, his black sheep-ism caused him to go and do something sweet to cure both his guilt and the pain he caused for Marge. This time, they get caught by the town, but do nothing to learn their lesson. They lose, receive no repercussions, don't develop morally, and as I explained earlier, the episode doesn't even really end. Why would they make such beloved characters despicable?

The best example of this comes in "Homer vs. Dignity". But why talk about that here? Jump to the "worst episode" section that follows!

Best Episode:
Ah, the good ol' days where there were so many quality episodes that it was terribly difficult to choose the best. Now, I'm flipping through to find one that's good enough. Lets see... the Krusty and Sideshow Bob episodes ("Insane Clown Poppy" and "Day of the Jackanapes", respectively) were both mediocre. "Hungry Hungry Homer" is OK. Sheesh... I think I'll go with "New Kids on the Blecch" - in which Bart and his friends become the Party Posse, a boy band - in spite of the absolutely terrible ending, and purely because of how hilarious Ralph's voice is in that episode.

Best Quotes:

"Oh, the Luftwaffe - the Washington Generals of the History Channel."

"I'm a level five vegan - I don't eat anything that casts a shadow."
-Jesse Grass, a tree-hugger speaking to Lisa

"If you're watching this, you're the President of the United States. Hello sir or madame. Hopefully sir."
-One of the forbidden videos in Comic Book Guy's hidden section of the store

"Sulfur turkey? Cream of toast? Where did we get all this crap?"
-Homer searching through his cupboards for dinner

Worst Episode:
This might be the worst they've ever done. Somehow you have "Simpsons Safari" and "The Great Money Caper" and they're not even in contention. In "Homer vs. Dignity"... well, the title sums it up, doesn't it? Previously when Homer needed money he took an extra job. The reason he needed the money is he was trying to be a good father and buy the pony Lisa so desperately wanted. Now, he just wants money, and becomes Burns' "prank monkey". Throughout the episode, Burns frequently calls Homer "monkey", Homer reduces Comic Book Guy to tears (as well as most fans), gets defiled by a male panda while wearing a panda suit, and - in what may be the single lowest point in the series, and I say that while remembering Tommaco, Homer is found lying on the men's room floor in a diaper, saying "baby made a boom boom." Look what this show has done to their own characters.

Oh, and don't forget; Mr. Burns throws fish guts on a crowd as he's dressed as Santa Claus. This isn't Mr. Burns - he isn't supposed to be malicious for the sake of it. He's supposed to be greedy and ruthless, but not randomly terrible for the very sake of it. Why are they making me hate the characters I formerly loved?