Can Season 18 Save the Simpsons?

Originally written on September 18, 2006.

Let’s get this straight, I am a die-hard Simpsons fan. I’ve been watching since Tracey Ullman and I will continue to watch until it is canceled (editor’s note: I stopped watching The Simpsons more than a decade ago, but how was to know it would still be running?). I mean I own all of the Simpsons Forever books that detail each episode for crying out loud.

But even I have to admit that the last several seasons have gone steadily downhill.

Around Season Six a bad episode or two slipped in. Then it got to where bad episode would appear after about 3 or 4 good ones. Then it was about every other episode and finally by last season I only found myself laughing heartily on only a handful of episodes all season long.

To me, a lot of the problem lies in what the critics call plot drift, and the all too dependent upon deus ex machina. When the Simpsons first began they relied upon simple morality tales to tell each episode’s story. Bart was picked on by a bully, or there was a financial crisis that had to be overcome. The plots were simple but the satire was heavy and the humor hilarious.

Eventually, it seems the writers ran out of simple plot lines and began allowing plot drift to take over. This device allowed the first act plot to completely uproot and change within the second or final act of the show. A hurricane plot in act one would suddenly change to Ned being institutionalized in the next. The storylines became useless cardboard setups for the jokes, and the heart of the show went down a peg.

Still, it was quite funny. For a while at least.

The changing plots also led to deus ex machina or out-of-nowhere devices to resolve the plot in a timely and clean manner. When Principal Skinner is found out to be a fraud, the episode quickly ends with the real Principal Skinner being literally railed out of town, and a judge proclaiming the “fake” Skinner to be renamed Seymore Skinner.

It must be said that the writers often used such devices with a knowing wink to the audience. In that episode, the judge also mandates that no one will ever mention the name change under penalty of law. Both using the device and satirizing its use on other shows.

Over the last few years, I must admit my love for the show has waned slightly. So many seasons I have sat through blah episodes hoping each week that the new show would rekindle the old magic. So many seasons I have again been disappointed.

So it was this anticipation of disappointment that I have turned into the first two episodes of season 18. To my complete surprise, both episodes were pretty stinking good. The Simpsons, damn them, have once again made me believe.

In the season opener, List befriends the son of Fat Tony. When Fat Tony becomes ill he allows Homer to take over the business.

And you know what? It didn’t suck.

I’ve always enjoyed the Fat Tony character. He gives the writers multiple ways to satirize real gangsters and gangster movies. They did a nice job with this one skewering the Sopranos with Fat Tony’s son wanting to be a chef instead of a gangster, and Homer screwing everything up as usual.

It wasn’t season five quality, but still pretty danged good.

Episode two also was much better than my expectations. For the first time in I don’t know how long they have managed to put two back-to-back good episodes on.

A child psychiatrist recommends that Bart play the drums to get rid of his hyperactive energy. Turns out he is a bit of a prodigy and gets asked to join the band along with some jazz greats. This sets Lisa on fire for she’s wanted to play in a jazz band for nearly as long as the show has been on.

There is some nice rivalry between Bart and Lisa, some decent jazz stereotypes (including the obligatory marijuana gag), and one sure-to-be-a-classic bit with the White Stripes.

In homage to the video for “The Hardest Button to Button” Bart moves around town banging away at his drum kit eventually bumping into and being chased by the White Stripes. It was a beautiful, perfect piece of comedy and brought the show out of mere decent status.

Both episodes this season have carried on traditional linear plot lines hit their satiric targets, and contained several laugh-out-loud moments.

They still aren’t on par with the glory years, but they have managed to spark new hope in a fan who had begun praying for cancellation.

Let’s hope it lasts. (editor’s note: it didn’t).