Tag: sexism

Originally published on the Leftist Critic blog on Apr 22, 2017.

This post was analyzed for mistakes and other content in January 2019, as part of an effort to engage in self-criticism. Some changes have been made.

As reader may know, I’m an avid fan of animated sitcom, the Simpsons. I’ve cited it on this blog when mentioning that strange “human rights watcher” guy and how the show has mocked Apple (and addiction to online games) by calling it “Mapple,” the character of “Steve Mobbs” (Steve Jobs) declaring to Homer that he must “submit” to Apple’s control, and Bart dispelling the idea that Mobbs is a “genius,” saying he is self-absorbed while stirring up people’s homophobic urges. I’ve also cited the Simpsons as an example of better politics than Star Wars, Simpsons episodes about Cuba, the episode called “Simpsons Tide” as a comparison for recent Russophobic attacks on the Trump Administration, and mentioned it at the end of an article about the immigrant proletariat in the United States. This is only scratching the surface as my twitter account shows. By the time this is published, there will soon be another episode in the works, which isn’t worth watching. As it stands now, The Simpsons is going into the latter half of its 28th season, with plans of it continuing until Season 30, as announced last fall. I’m not trying to advocate on behalf of the Simpsons here, but look into this topic with a clear mind, since this show can be relevant culturally and politically, so this analysis is justified. This post aims to answer the question, is show dead and/or does it constitute the “Zombie Simpsons” as those over at Dead Homer Society argue?

Definitions and establishing terms

Before proceeding it is best to set forward a number of definitions. For the word dead, the Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines it as “no longer living; having died…naturally without life; inanimate…lacking positive qualities…without feeling…barren…time of greatest darkness, most intense cold…was alive but is no loner so.” As for zombie, the same dictionary defines it as “…a corpse…brought to a state of tracelike animation and made to obey the commands of the person exercising the power…a person considered to like a zombie in listlessness, mechanical behavior…a weird, eccentric, or unattractive person.”

The general agreement is that there was a “Golden Age” of the Simpsons. [1] Some say it lasted from Seasons 1 to 8, others say Seasons 3 to 8, some say Seasons 4 to 10, and then there are those that say it lasted from Seasons 1 to 10, or maybe 11. So, the term is very loose. This is why some media critics say it is a “fool’s errand to pinpoint when and how modern-day Simpsons diverged from its golden age,” while others say that the term is misleading because while it was “an extraordinary, even masterful thing,” over those years, it could be an overstatement even if the show would be, arguably, by seasons 10 and 11, in a “gaping valley [and]…never get anywhere near those heights again.” Then there are those who say that the show has not “overstayed its relevance” and that the show still holds up, with a “New Renaissance…and then a Postmodern period where they got self-reflexive about their own legacy.” While you could argue this has a bit of validity, it almost implies that the show was never off, its character didn’t change, whether it because of episodes like “The Principal and the Pauper,” or otherwise. [2]

You know the show has changed when it has averaged at approximately 5.53 million viewers per show since Season 21, until Season 28 (as of Feb. 25), but before then, during the “Golden Age” (Seasons 1 to 7 for this computation) the show averaged at 19.88 million viewers per show, much more. [3] This below chart shows the decline in viewership over the years, of the show. Despite the slight increase in viewership from seasons Seasons 12 to Season 14, it dropped again by the end of Season 15.

The Simpsons has been written about critically in The Psychology of the Simpsons, The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! of Homer, and Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, to name a few. I may look at those books more in the future, but for now, I’ll propose my own analysis.

The Simpsons is a show that shows that cartoons aren’t just “a bunch of hilarious stuff” without messages, as Bart quipped in one episode. The information available at The Simpsons Archives shows, that there can be many interpretation of the episodes. Some say that fat, incompetent Homer is seen by some as a “homophobic hero” while others point to the show’s criticisms of consumerism (also see here) environmental destruction, and religious belief (also see here and here). Beyond this, some talk about allusions in the animated sitcom, masculinity, mocking the advertising of beer companies with “Duff Beer,” poking at the “ideal” nuclear family which the Simpsons family stereotypically represents, its satirical qualities, and ethics, among other subjects.

For the purpose of my analysis, the show is divided into three eras: the Golden Age (Seasons 1-8), the Silver Age (Seasons 9 to 12), and the Bronze Age (Seasons 13 to 28, possibly 30). For the Golden Age, there were varying showrunners, or head writers, ranging from season to season:

• Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, & Sam Simon (Seasons 1 and 2)
• Al Jean & Mike Reiss (Seasons 3 and 4)
• David Mirkin (Seasons 5 and 6)
• Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein (Seasons 7 and 8)
• Mike Scully (Seasons 9 to 12)
• Al Jean (Seasons 13 to present)

Hence, you could call the “Silver Age” the Mike Scully era and the “Bronze Age” the Al Jean era.

Originally, when I thought of writing up this analysis, I was going to go through each Season and pick some of my favorite episodes, apart from its politics, however that is not sufficient for the task at hand. Instead, it is best to highlight the changing nature of the show from each era to the next. Let me make clear that I’m not trying or attempting to be nostalgic here either, it is just that the show has changed over time.

The Golden Age of the Simpsons

In Season 1, the show began with a bang, after 49 animated shorts on The Tracy Ulman Show. The pilot episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, introduced the Simpsons family to American audiences, showing Homer, his wife Marge, and their child Maggie. Without going into a summary, the episode not only pokes at uptight Americans through the developing anti-authority nature of their son, Bart, but illustrates the class dynamics in society. Homer wants to “keep up the Joneses” and prove his worthiness “as a man” by getting a job as a mall Santa, as his ruthless boss, Mr. C. Montgomery Burns of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, refuses to give his workers a Christmas bonus. The latter shows that workers (who are shown as supposedly middle-class even though they could be seen as proletariat), are under the thumb of the big capitalists, that want to cut costs so they can profit off the back of wealth created by laborers. Finally, the losing dog, Santa’s Little Helper, for which he bets $13 dollars, Marge and Lisa, Homer and Marge’s daughter, say is the  “best gift of all,” and brings the family together, reasserting his role as “man of the house.”

While it worth recounting the first episode, it is best to categorize the episodes into categories to show the social, personal and political themes among the seasons. Even though the first season was still the show in development, it began touching on many  themes, along with being insightful and often funny.

The first of these themes is Bart opposing the constraints of the schoolyard while also trying to maintain his “rebellious” social standing:

• In Bart the Genius, he sprays graffiti mocking Principal Seymour Skinner of Springfield Elementary, utters the phrase “eat my shorts” which will later become his catchphrase, cheats on a test giving him a ticket into “higher” schooling and learning in which he cannot thrive since he isn’t really a genius at all and was “faking it.” By the end of the episode, everything is “back to normal” in the Simpson home.
• In one episode, Bart leads kids to fighting back against those who bully him (Bart the General), with the episode even touching on the seriousness of war
• Bart’s attempts to assert his “rebellious” social standing, the beginning of criticism of TV comedians/showbusiness with the introduction of Krusty the Clown, and the town defending its own insular identity after Bart decapitates the Jebeddiah Springfield statue in the center of town are manifested in The Telltale Head.
• The next three episodes focus on Bart’s rebellious nature (The Crepes of Wrath), the Cold War tensions between Albania and the U$ which results in this argument between Lisa and Adil
• Bart shows that he wants to succeed enough to get a passing grade by working with the stereotypical nerd Martin Prince (Bart Gets an “F”)
• Bart’s cruel nature toward his sister which he eventually apologizes for (Bart vs. Thanksgiving)
• Bart trying to be a daredevil with the infamous (and hilarious) scene by Homer trying (and failing) to jump the Springfield gorge (Bart the Daredevil)
• Bart’s mischievous antics and Homer trying to relieve himself of the pressure of Marge’s “hideous” sisters Patty and Selma (Principal Charming)
• Bart recognizing emotional pain he can cause people (Bart the Lover)
• In Radio Bart, he manipulates the town with his microphone, but the worthlessness of a funding campaign by celebrities which mimics “We are the World,” and that you should be careful what you wish for, with Bart saved after a massive digging effort with the wishing well as dangerous as ever.
• Bart having a taste of authority with Lisa becoming rebellious but coming back to her usual self with the help of Bart (Separate Vocation)
• Bart learns the ins and outs of love as he ruins Milhouse’s budding relationship with Samantha Stankey (Bart’s Friend Falls in Love)
• Bart recognizing the importance of love with his admiration of Laura Powers which doesn’t go as he planned (New Kid on the Block)
• another about Bart becoming famous for catchphrase (“I Didn’t Do It”) which shows the roughness of show business (Bart Gets Famous)
• one about Bart becoming Burns’ heir until he refuses to fire his father from his job
• Bart helps his nemesis, Skinner, get his job back (Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song)
• Bart “acting bad” attracts the daughter of Rev. Lovejoy, Allison, but it doesn’t go as he planned (Bart’s Girlfriend)
• Bart pranks an Australian boy, sparking an international controversy (Bart vs. Australia)
• Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for five dollars which he comes to regret and tries to get it back
• Bart fails in his shoplifting, leading to his punishment by Marge for his behavior (Marge Be Not Proud), which the Dead Homer Society did not like
• Bart travels the open road with Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin, with them stranded out there (Bart on the Road)

The next category focuses mocks corporate propaganda, control, and/or focuses on struggles of those working in the nuclear plant, especially Homer:

• In Homer’s Odyssey, shows that Bart continues to be disobedient, pokes at propaganda for nuclear power, and establishes Homer’s story, as he goes from being an incompetent buffoon to becoming safety inspector at the Nuclear Plant after his wide-ranging campaign for safety across the town of Springfield, cementing his job for the rest of the show. You could say that Mr. Burns made a concession to the protesters campaigning for safety by hiring Homer, which not gave Homer a job and saved Mr. Burns from scrutiny of the plant’s safety.
• In There’s No Disgrace Like Home, which focus on family problems, introduce the Itchy and Scratchy show which mocks “Tom and Jerry” (or so I thought) the corrupt (and incompetent) police force in the town.
• Homer rising up the executive ladder in the nuclear power plant by deceit and deception with hair growth product which he falsely paid for on the company health plan (Simpson and the Deliliah), showing that what Frank Grimes says many episodes later rings true while also showing that Marge will stand by him even as Homer is demoted to old job by the end of the episode, and that people discriminate against those who are bald, not taking them seriously.
• The first episode of the season, Stark Raving Dad, shows the regimented, corporate control of the workplace for which Homer is targeted for wearing a pink shirt and put in a mental institution where he meets a man who claims to be Michael Jackson (this character is the guest appearance of Michael Jackson), who cheers up Lisa.
• Krusty the Clown’s Jewish roots, perhaps poking at the number of Jewish comedians within Hollywood (Like Father, Like Clown)
• corporate consolidation and the unforgettable daydream of Homer about the “Land of Chocolate,” with the power dynamics returning to “normal” when Mr. Burns buys his plant back from the Germans by the end (Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk)
• Kamp Krusty is one of the best episodes to date, not only highlighting Krusty the Clown’s cost-cutting measures to “save” money and his fraudulence in that regard, but the naivety of Marge and Homer about the camp, along with the infotainment aspect of the news media represented by Kent Brockman’s report about the situation
• Homer starting his own snowplowing business, Mr. Plow, moving up to the status as part of the petty bourgeoisie which doesn’t last very long at all.
• the sleaziness of corporate spokespeople (Marge vs. the Monorail),
• shifty lawyers like buffoon Lionel Hutz and the power of the capitalist class in the courtroom (Bart Gets Hit by a Car)
• a strike of the workers at the Springfield nuclear plant with Homer elected as head of the union (Last Exit to Springfield)
• the sometimes redeeming aspects of showbusiness, at least for Krusty (Krusty Gets Kancelled)
• While Homer’s Barbershop Quartet basically parodies the Beatles
• wonderful episode that makes fun of “feel good” therapists (Bart’s Inner Child)
• the allure of gambling for Mr. Burns and the town as a whole, with the title parodying the full title of Dr. Strangelove ($pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
• Bart realizes he needs to testify, showing that Quimby didn’t beat up a waiter, going against everyone’s conceptions about the Quimby family, and that it was the waiter’s fault (The Boy Who Knew Too Much)
• Springfield hosts a film festival with Hans Moleman’s funny short, “Man Hit By Football,” an insightful movie by Barney, and a propaganda film by Mr. Burns which everyone hates (A Star is Burns)
• The Radioactive Man movie is filmed in Springfield, and the project quickly goes into disarray
• In Scenes from Class Struggle in Springfield, Marge and Lisa try to enter the high life of Springfield but it is short-lived
• Bart gets Krusty the Clown fined by the IRS and tries to make it up to him (Bart the Fink)
• Bart unwittingly bankrupts the studio that produces Itchy and Scratchy (The Day the Violence Died)

Another major theme in the show is the intelligence of Lisa (the heart of the show and representative of liberalism) being undermined while she also tries to impress people:

• the importance of jazz as an art to express one’s emotions is manifested in Lisa’s saxophone playing (Moaning Lisa)
• One of my favorite episodes, other than Bart the Daredevil, Itchy & Scratchy & Marge, Bart Gets Hit By a Car, Three Men and a Comic Book, and Blood Feud, to name a few, is Lisa’s Substitute, which I just rewatched. This episode shows Lisa’s fragile nature but also how she wants to be valued for her intelligence, admonishing her father for his aloofness and seeming “uncaring” nature, while she makes up with him by the end. Also, in a sub-story, Bart doesn’t get all he wants either as he thinks his popularity will push him forward to be class president, when everyone but him treats it like a joke, showing that his “popularity” is only constructed, not real, almost a facade, in a sense.
• Episodes such as Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington show Lisa as a person who stands up for what’s right
• Lisa trying to impress people with her “beauty” before she realizes it is a scam to promote Laramie Cigarettes, yet another poke at corporate advertising like “Duff Beer” (Lisa the Beauty Queen)
• There’s also Ralph Wiggum’s short-lived relationship with Lisa (I Love Lisa)
• One great episode about gender roles in society (Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy)
• Lisa faces a rival in class, Allison Taylor, which angers her so much he compromises her values, but this doesn’t matter because Ralph wins for his Star Wars action figures (Lisa’s Rival)
• Lisa’s cruel tricks on her brother and Homer swearing off beer for a month (Duffless)
• Lisa is thrown into a tizzy when the teachers go on strike (The PTA Disbands)
• Lisa becomes sad about the death of Bleeding Gums Murphy, but plays with his ghost in the clouds (‘Round Springfield)
• After a trip to see a cute lamb, Lisa decides she cannot eat meat anymore and becomes a vegetarian, working to stick to her view (Lisa the Vegetarian)
• Lisa discovers the real truth behind the founder of Springfield and works to try to reveal it (Lisa the Iconoclast)
• Lisa leaving behind her “nerdy” self to fit in with those on the beach (Summer of 4 Ft. 2)

In a sort of related theme, there’s family togetherness as manifested in these episodes:

• family togetherness (The Call of the Simpsons)
• Homer’s ineptness in letting the “Babysitter Bandit” get away who the Simpson children had bound up to protect themselves in a “Home Alone” style (Some Enchanted Evening)
• Santa’s Little Helper becoming more part of the family than before while mirroring Bart’s school troubles at the beginning of the season (Bart’s Dog Gets and F)
• love of family and togetherness (Lisa’s Pony and Saturdays of Thunder)
• family is more important than gambling by far (Lisa the Greek)
• Herb forgiving Homer for ruining his auto business in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” while showing that people can be forgiving even after people have been cruel to them in the past (Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?)
• Selma trying to test her maternal instincts as Lisa gets drunk for the first time in the show, which is pretty hilarious to say the least, after Homer eats a spoiled sandwich which he treats like a person (Selma’s Choice)
• tensions between Bart and Homer getting a boiling point (Brother from the Same Planet)
• Homer tries to connect with Bart by getting him an elephant (Bart Gets an Elephant)
• Abe Simpson falls in love with Marge’s Mother (Lady Bouvier’s Lover)
• The Simpsons family is brought together by the vacation at Itchy & Scratchy Land
• Lisa and Bart face each other on the ice, but it ends with an unexpected twist (Lisa on Ice)
• Abe and Homer Simpson worth together to produce a tonic (Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy)
• The story about Maggie’s birth, which brings the family together (And Maggie Makes Three)
• Homer has to ask Patty and Selma for a loan, which he tries to keep secret from Marge (Homer vs. Patty and Selma)
• The Simpson kids are put in the custody of the Flanders Family, with Homer and Marge having to save them from being baptized (Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily)
• Mona Simpson, Homer’s Mother, makes her debut in the series, with the backstory her her escape as a hippie in 1969 explained (Mother Simpson)
• Selma marries Troy McClure, a reality show personality, but it doesn’t go as she thought it would (A Fish Called Selma)

One related theme is Marge being devalued, just like Lisa:

• Homer seems to fall into the role of Marge as a mother (Homer Alone)
• Others focus on how Marge is not being valued at home, threatening Homer’s social standing in the family, and mocking Ayn Rand’s ideas directly, represented by the daycare provider (A Streetcar Named Marge)
• Marge getting her first job of the series other than homemaker as a worker at the nuclear plant (Marge Gets a Job)
• the importance of Marge in the town’s social life (Marge in Chains)
• Marge as an outlaw with Ruth Powers (Marge on the Lam)
• Secrets of a Successful Marriage focuses on marital tensions between Homer and Marge, with the latter forgiving him
• Marge has to come to grips with her secret fear of flying
• Marge gets a job as a police officer, which seems to “threaten” Homer’s manhood (The Springfield Connection)

A related theme is Homer trying to maintain his “middle-class” standing and status as a male rolemodel, “man of the house” for his children:

• seductions of another man pulling Marge in but she still comes back to Homer, showing their lifelong bond, while Homer’s role as an effective “male role model” is clearly shown as a facade (Life on the Fast Lane)
• This bond is challenged in Homer’s Night Out, which some people as I know from watching some YouTube video which claimed to tell the “worst Simpsons episode,” did not like, in which Marge doesn’t like the picture of Homer with Princess Kashmir because it says that Homer doesn’t respect women, which he makes up by the end of the episode.
• an episode about Homer dancing for attention (Dancin’ Homer)
• a golf competition to maintain his “middle-class” status (Dead Putting Society), poking at how many see the “American Dream” as something that should continually strive to
• Homer’s drunkenness, selfishness, and working to maintain his marital ties (The War of the Simpsons)
• When Flanders Failed shows that Homer has a redeeming quality despite the fact that he is still envious of the Flanders Family for seemingly being “better off” than the Simpsons.
• Homer’s ineptness “saving” the day showing him an imbecile, “gaining” him a phrase and “entry” in the visualized dictionary, with this episode showing more about who Homer is as a person (Homer Defined)
• Homer being tempted by pretty woman, Lureen Lumpkin, while also parodying country music (Colonel Homer)
• the cruelties of Homer’s treatment of Bart by not letting him see the new Itchy and Scratchy movie (Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie)
• The one about Homer going to college (Homer Goes to College) is one of my favorites. I say that not only because it includes the great scenes about the mystery box but it shows how Homer doesn’t care about school at all, basically treating it like an utter joke. While I personally wasn’t that type of student, I did watch this one again after graduating last year, so it still has holding power.
• Homer proves himself as a father figure (Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood) after Bart becomes a junior camper, saving the day by bringing a Krusty map with him, eating at a restaurant on an offshore oil rig
• Homer resisting his exact doppleganger, Mindy Simmons, and staying with Marge (The Last Temptation of Homer)
• There’s the episode which seems to be the Simpsons version of Clockwork Orange, with Homer and others becoming a vigilante (Homer the Vigilante)
• Homer helping Apu out after getting him fired, showing the former to be an utter jerk (Homer and Apu)
• Homer going into space as an astronaut “by default” after Barney drank non-alcoholic champagne, along with the infamous line by Kent Brockman “welcoming our new insect overlords” showing him to be too hasty and sensationalized nature of the news media (Deep Space Homer)
• Homer breaking from his usual routine of disliking Flanders to treating him as a friend, which Ned eventually detests so much to separate himself (Homer Loves Flanders)
• When Homer is falsely accused of molesting a woman, he tries to defend himself, but the sensationalized media treats him like a perpetrator until someone unexpected comes to try to prove his innocence (Homer Badman)
• Homer becomes the leader of the Stonecutters, but not everything goes the way that he would have expected it (Homer the Great). Also a parody of secret societies.
• Homer becomes a clown but runs into trouble with the mob (Homie the Clown)
• Homer becomes fat to avoid getting on the plants exercise program and barely saves the town from catastrophic meltdown (King-Size Homer)
• Homer brings together a baseball team as school rules clampdown (Team Homer)
• Homer takes the role of Smithers, leading Mr. Burns to become self-reliant (Homer the Smithers)
• Homer traveling with a music festival (Homerpalooza)

Then there’s the running villain throughout the series, Sideshow Bob, along with other related themes like the evilness of Mr. Burns and funny “horror” episodes:

• The introduction of the devious but foolhardy Sideshow Bob is coupled with continued incompetent police and planned revenge against Bart in the future (Krusty Gets Busted)
• The Season is unique in beginning the Treehouse of Horror, their Halloween hilarious “horror show” which continues to this day
• Other episodes focus on capitalists trying to get their way in politics to protect their bottom line (Two Eyes in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish) with Mr. Burns of the Republican Party trying to run for governor against a presumed Democrat or independent, Mary Bailey, along with focusing on environmental pollution from the nuclear power plant
• The deviousness of Mr. Burns which basically backfires from using his all-star team to using his “lousy” employees instead (Homer at the Bat)
• Sideshow Bob comes back on the scene, trying to kill Selma (Black Widower)
• in Cape Feare the bumbling villain of Sideshow Bob comes back to kill Bart but fails because he sings the entire score of the H.M.S. Pinafore.
• Mr. Burns and his gross teddy bear (Rosebud)
• Bart thinks he sees Flanders murdering someone but it’s not what he thinks (Bart of Darkness)
• Thanks to a right-wing radio show host that sort of resembles Rush Limbaugh, Sideshow Bob is released from prison and runs for mayor, “winning” or so they think (Sideshow Bob Roberts)
• Mr. Burns steals the 25 puppies of the Simpsons greyhound (Two Dozen and One Greyhounds)
• The two-part series about the shooting of Mr. Burns after he blocks the sun out (Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One) and Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two))
• Sideshow Bob tries to blow up an atomic bomb, but it fails to detonate (Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming)
• George H.W. Bush is Homer’s neighbor, fights with him (Two Bad Neighbors)
• Abe Simpson and Mr. Burns fight over collection of a prize (Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in “The Curse of the Flying Hellfish”)

There are others that poke at social conservatives, shifty lawyers, morals, and much more. These include poking at a socially conservative response to cartoon violence (Itchy & Scratchy & Marge), about living life to the fullest (One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish), and stealing from the cable companies contrasting with morals Lisa professes, showing the limits of liberalism perhaps (Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th commandment). Others focus on how wealth can come and go in flash and provides commentary on the failing “big three” automakers in Detroit (Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?), inheritance of money and discrimination of the elderly (Old Money), importance of artistry and artistic impressions even if they aren’t popular, showing that everyone is a human being regardless of class (Brush with Greatness), and helping out those in need even if they have a higher status than you (Blood Feud). More beyond this focus on the importance of sharing rather than infighting over material goods (Three Men and a Comic Book), the power of the mob in society (Bart the Murderer), Moe’s shifty, selfish nature (Flaming Moe’s), the relation of dogs to humans who can brainwash them for their own interests (Dog of Death), and how people are false religious figures, heretics, like Homer in once case (Homer the Heretic). Some episodes are heartwarming, talking about Lisa’s First Word, while others Homer’s horrible eating habits causing him to have a heart attack and necessary surgery (Homer’s Triple Bypass). Then there are others about Otto’s shifty behavior is noted, while highlighting his important role in the community as a bus driver for the schoolchildren (The Otto Show), a creative, well-written show about cartoon writers (The Front), and the town coming together as “Bart’s Comet” threatens the town, the Springfield community working to get their beloved lemon tree back (Lemon of Troy). 22 Short Films About Springfield is be one of my favorite episodes because it connects the stories of other Springfieldians, telling the story of many minor characters who don’t get much airtime. Another great episode is one against animal cruelty episode which shows that whacking snakes should be condemned, with Lisa morally on the right side with Bart helping her (Whacking Day). There’s also one which shows the faultiness of anti-immigration measures (Much Apu About Nothing), and the Simpsons moving to Cypress Creek with the James Bond villain Hank Scorpio (You Only Move Twice). Tacked on are the flashbacks about Homer and Marge (I Married Marge and The Way We Was), three which are “clip shows” (So It’s Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show, Another Simpsons Clip Show, and The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular), one which is a flash forward about Lisa’s Wedding (this is not canon).

When we get to season 8, there are episodes about Homer boxing and failing (The Homer They Fall), Mr. Burn’s half-witted brother Larry (why?) (Burns, Baby Burns), Bart working at a local burlesque house angering the uptight people in Springfield (Bart After Dark), division in the Milhouse family (A Milhouse Divided), Lisa dating Nelson (Lisa’s Date with Density), Flanders showing that he has been repressing uncontrollable rage since childhood (Hurricane Neddy), and Homer realizing after a long journey that Marge is his soulmate (El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)). If that isn’t enough, there are episodes parodying the X-Files (The Springfield Files), Marge getting in the business of selling pretzels, becoming petty bourgeois (The Twisted World of Marge Simpson), Mr. Burns and Homer facing off when trapped in a cabin the woods (Mountain of Madness), parodying Mary Poppins (Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious), and showing the desperate nature of some cartoon shows to create a new, unnecessary character to raise viewer interest (The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show). Then there’s the classic one that counters Homer’s homophobic tendencies (Homer’s Phobia), Sideshow Bob returning on the scene (Brother from Another Series), Lisa’s babysitting reputation ruined by Bart which isn’t the best episode (My Sister, My Sitter), commentary on prohibition of alcohol (Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment), the relationship between Skinner and Edna (Grade School Confidential), and the Simpsons abandoning Santa’s Little Helper (The Canine Mutiny). Apart from the non-canon Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase, Lisa’s stint in military school (The Secret War of Lisa Simpson), showing that Mr. Burns is evil even if he tries to do “good” (The Old Man and the Lisa), and possibly In Marge We Trust are reputable episodes. While some may disagree, I think that Homer’s Enemy is one of the more brilliant episodes because it shows how hard-working people would feel if they met Homer, who is lazy, takes breaks whenever, and doesn’t respect his boss in a sense even though he is a good family man. It could also be said that Frank Grimes, a hard-working individual, also represents those who don’t like the Simpsons show, facing up with the fans, but it is also true that what Grimes says in criticism of Homer is basically correct. Saying all of this, I don’t think it is right for those at the Dead Homer Society to put Season 8 within the “Mayday, Mayday, we’re going down!” category, meaning that it is part of the Simpsons decline.

Beyond the Golden Age

With Mike Scully coming to the fore in Season 9, the beginning of the Silver Age which lasted to Season 12, the Simpsons began its decline. Some, like the Dead Homer Society which was mentioned earlier, say that by Season 12, the Simpsons became the “Zombie Simpsons,” without a pulse. Instead of going into detail about this in the main text, I think it is best to put what I wrote into a footnote. [4]

With the end of the Silver Age or Mike Scully era, there was the inauguration of the  Bronze Age or Al Jean era, lasting from Seasons 13 to Season 28 (present). Since the Simpsons went downhill for so many episodes, it isn’t worth mentioning all the bad episodes. Instead, I’ll just put some of them in a footnote. [5] Even if there are some that are redeemable like She of Little Faith, Moe Baby Blues, My Mother the Carjacker, and  Mona Leaves-a. There are a number of episodes I listed in footnote 5 which are “passable” but not redeemable. Hence, these episodes should not be taken as an indication that the Bronze Age episodes were “good” or “brilliant” but that there are some better than others. Then we get to The Simpsons Movie which is redeemable because many of the writers from the Golden Age came back to work on the movie, making it much better than the seasons up to that point.

A defense of the Simpson “Golden era” and why the current show stinks

The Dead Homer Society is completely right. The show has become inanimate, barren, cold, listless, mechanical, and weird. It has become a “Zombie Simpsons.” Even the Consequence of Sound site, in listing the “top 30” episodes of the series, chooses episodes that ALL fall within the Golden Age of the Simpsons (Season 1-8), calling the other seasons “bad” by comparison. Roughly the same goes for the “10 Most Heartfelt Moments” although they choose one from Season 12. Many YouTubers I’ve watched put it perfectly: the show has become hollow and run out of ideas, what you could call stale.

Recently, I watched a list of YouTube videos listing the movie references across the Simpsons history. There is no doubt that the Treehouse of Horror, even into the Silver and Bronze eras, continues to pay homage to cinema, but beyond that, there is much more. [6] Even the Simpsons Movie has its share of movie references. The tribute to cinema is rich in the early seasons. In the Treehouse of Horror episodes from Season 1 to 6, they hit many of the classics. [7] Looking at these movie tributes, there is an average of over seven per episode, which may even be low since many more likely exist:

These references continue throughout the Simpsons’ Golden Era [8], cinema references blossoming from Seasons 1 to 8:

I could go on and mention the interviews with the voice actors from the Simpsons which I watched recently or a host of other videos here, but it should be clear to any reader with some sense that the Golden Era of the Simpsons was the best they have offered, much better than episodes in the Silver or Bronze eras.

A Conclusion

I could go on with this, but I think you get the point. While I still think that The Simpsons can be cited, I personally refuse to watch any episode made after Season 13 ever again, and encourage those fans of the Simpsons to do the same. There is no reason to watch something which is dead and has no pulse. Why not take heed from what Bart says in Itchy & Scratchy and Marge when asked about watching the rest of the “cute cartoons” by Marge: “Nah…Maybe there’s something else to do on this planet.” Other than that, with the Simpsons going to Season 30 and beyond, it is worth watching episodes in the Golden Age or Silver Age (cumulatively up to Season 12), but anything beyond that is not worth anyone’s time. That’s the reality. I know that some may have found this post unnecessary but I think it needs to be discussed. I look forward to your comments as always.

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Notes

[1] Dead Homer Society Manifesto; Rob Hunter, “The Golden Age of The Simpsons“; Rob Hunter, “The Goldener Age of The Simpsons“; Rob Hunter, “Golden Age Of The Simpsons: The Greatest Show of All Time“; Pop Matters, “The Complete Tenth Season“; Empire Online “The Simpsons Movie Review,” BBC, “The Simpsons: 10 classic episodes“; “What Do White Supremacists Think Of The Simpsons?“; “Best. Episodes. Ever. ‘The Simpsons’: Seasons 1-10“; “What is your ‘golden age’ of Simpsons, season-wise?,” The Simpsons subreddit; “Why Season 8 Is A Part of the Golden Age of The Simpsons“; “TruthMedia Review: The Simpsons: Golden Age“; “The Golden Age of The Simpsons“; “Simpsons: The Golden Age“; “The 40 Best Songs in The Simpsons History“, Paste Magazine; “‘The Simpsons’ Take on Climate Change,” Yale Climate Connections.

[2] The link to “never off” is a forum where one user says that “to me its not so much one episode that ends the Golden Age really, its more like the flow and feel of the season that determine it. The tenth season overall just felt off compared to past years. On my list I like to separate the show into three simple Ages: The Golden Age (1-9), The Bronze Age (10-12), and The Silver Age (13-26).”

[3] The exact numbers are 5.533676767676767225 for the average of millions of viewers for seasons 21 to season 28, 19.889416215144713675 for the average of millions of viewers for seasons 1 to 7. The most recent episode to surpass 20 million viewers was “Homer and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass” in 2004, THIRTEEN YEARS ago.

[4] Season 9 began badly. It began with the worthless and horrible “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” which was not only unfunny but it has no point, it is just about Homer being mad at New York despite the fact that the whole situation (his car ending up in New York) was caused originally by his drunkenness. The Principal and the Pauper was even worse, declaring that Principal Skinner is a fraud which not only guts previous storylines in the Golden Age about his time in Vietnam but it says that the audience dedication to this character is worthless. As I remember from one YouTube video, some say that it is with this episode that the Simpsons “died” in their view. I would venture to say that due to this, the episode is not canon in my view. Other episodes revolve around the destruction of Lisa’s Sax (why?), Homer getting a gun (The Cartridge Family), Homer’s favoritism to Bart on a neighborhood football team (Bart Star), Apu getting married (The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons), Lisa the Skeptic about a marketing company conning the town’s residents, and Realty Bites about Marge becoming an honest realty broker. While some of those are passable, the Miracle on Evergreen Terrace involves the Simpsons conning the town out of money, there’s yet another clip show (All Singing, All Dancing), the Simpsons get their house back from carnies (Bart Carny), well-intentioned criticism of cultish religions like Scientology (The Joy of Sect), parody of the Lord of the Flies (Das Bus), The Last Temptation of Krust about Krusty changing his comedic style, and one about Moe burning down his bar for insurance money (Dumbbell Indemnity) (not as strong as it could be). The season partially redeems itself with Lisa the Simpson which shows that only men have the defective “Simpsons Gene,” Homer making a fool of himself in Simpsons Tide with the wonderful gif of the marching Lenin and the return of the Soviet Union, Mr. Burns screwed over, ultimately, by the Cuban government (The Trouble with Trillions), one about kid’s news shows (Girly Edition), Homer becoming an over-enthusiastic commissioner of waste management (Trash of Titans), and climbing a mountain as a commercial promotion (King of the Hill). Then there’s four other episodes which I can’t recall their specifics too well, so I have a feeling they bring the season down (This Little Wiggy, Lost Our Lisa, and Natural Born Kissers). Season 10 is also a bit lackluster. There’s one about Lisa trying to become popular but strangely (Lard of the Dance), Homer’s strange, in-practical inventions (The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace), raising destructive lizards (Bart the Mother), Homer living with celebrities (When You Dish Upon a Star) (why?), Homer figuring out his middle name and trying to “live like a hippy” (D’Oh In the Wind), and Lisa cheating on a test with Skinner and Chalmers deceiving her (Lisa Gets an “A”). Even worse, there are ones where Homer is cruel to his father, causing his kidneys to burst (Homer Simpson in: “Kidney Trouble”) which is considered non-canon, Homer serving as a body-guard for Mayor Quimby (Mayored to the Mob), an unnecessary trip to Las Vegas which adds nothing to the storyline (Viva Ned Flanders), Bart telling the town about secrets of its citizens (Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken), a worthless episode about the Superbowl (Sunday, Cruddy Sunday), and Homer weirdly changing his name to “Max Power” (Homer to the Max). If that isn’t enough, there are episodes about weird Valentine’s Day gifts (I’m With Cupid), Marge becoming an aggressive driver (Marge Simpson in: “Screaming Yellow Honkers”), Homer showing he doesn’t care about Lisa by building a cell phone tower in her room (Make Room for Lisa), Homer becoming a lazy truck driver (Maximum Homerdrive), the Simpsons version of Bible stories (Simpsons Bible Stories), Homer’s junk which people think is art (Mom and Pop Art). Other episodes this season focus on Bart working in the Springfield Retirement Home (The Old Man and the “C” Student), Mr. Burns trying to gain the town’s admiration (Monty Can’t Buy Me Love), the smartest people running the town in a temporary and short-lived “utopia” (They Saved Lisa’s Brain), and the Simpsons traveling to Tokyo in a strange vacation (Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo). We then come to Season 11. There’s a mediocre episode about films (Beyond Blunderdome), another about Bart becoming smart, even a “conspiracy theorist” (Brother’s Little Helper), Homer becoming a food critic (Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?), Homer and the Simpsons growing “Tomacco” a cross-between Tomatoes and Tobacco, a sort of GMO in a sense (E-I-E-I-D’Oh), Homer becoming a local celebrity (Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder), showing that lots of children are bad apparently, an episode which is pretty weak (Eight Misbehavin’), Homer’s gang fighting with another gang of the same name (Take My Wife, Sleaze), and Homer trying to “save” the town from destructive toys (Grift of the Magi). Other episodes result in Lisa becoming the head of the family (Little Big Mom), Bart becoming a faith healer (Faith Off), the Simpsons in charge of Mr. Burns’s mansion (The Mansion Family), Homer and Bart involved in horse racing (Saddlesore Galactica), Maude dying because of Homer (Alone Again, Natura-Diddily), Homer as an incompetent missionary (Missionary: Impossible), Moe changing his appearance (Pygmoelian), and the often cited (because of Trump) non-canon Bart to the Future. Other episodes, such as Days of Wine and D’oh’ses, Kill the Alligator and Run, Last Tap Dance in Springfield, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge, and non-canon Behind the Laughter are as lackluster as the others in this. The last season within the Silver Era, Season 12, isn’t any better. There are episodes about Homer becoming a rocker in a divided Springfield (A Tale of Two Springfields), Krusty the Clown meeting his daughter Sophie (Insane Clown Poppy), Lisa trying to join “Dirt First” by camping in a redwood scheduled to be cut down (Lisa the Tree Hugger), Homer becoming Mr. Burns’s personal jester (Homer vs. Dignity), the bizarre The Computer Wore Menace Shoes which I would consider non-canon, the Simpsons conning people (The Great Money Caper), and children snowed into the elementary school (Skinner’s Sense of Snow). Beyond this, Homer is supposedly “dumb” because a crayon is lodged in his brain, which again seems to cut at the story of Homer established in previous episodes and is a bit cheap (Homr), Marge vouches for a prisoner (Pokey Mom), Bart and Milhouse taking over the comic book store in the “Worst Episode Ever,” and Homer becomes a tennis star (Tennis the Menace). In another bad plot, Sideshow Bob works to hypnotize Bart to kill Krusty on air (Day of the Jackanapes), the partially satirical pro-military songs by the boy band of Bart, Ralph, Nelson, and Milhouse (New Kinds on the Blecch), Homer’s worthless hunger strike (Hungry, Hungry Homer), bullying of Lisa (Bye Bye Nerdie), an unexpected safari for the Simpsons (Simpsons Safari), and Lisa getting into a relationship (Trilogy of Error). Then there’s Ned’s plan to open an amusement park (I’m Goin’ to Praiseland), Homer trying to recover from an injury (Children of a Lesser Clod), and other Simpsons version of certain “tall tales” (Simpson Tall Tales).

[5] See “The Parent Rap“, “Homer the Moe“, “Brawl in the Family“, “Sweet and Sour Marge“, “Jaws Wired Shut“, “Half Decent Proposal“, “The Bart Wants What It Wants“, “Blame It One Lisa” (the one that Brazil hated), “Weekend at Burnsie’s“, “I Am Furious (Yellow)“, “Little Girl in the Big Ten“, “The Frying Game” (about that dumb “Screamapillar”), and “Poppa’s Got a Brand New Badge” in Season 13, “How I Spent My Stummer Vacation“, “Large Marge“, “Helter Shelter“, “The Dad Who Knew Too Little“, “The Great Louse Detective” (cheapens Frank Grimes’s story), “Pray Anything“, “Barting Over“, “A Star Is Born-Again“, “Mr Spritz Goes to Washington“, “The Strong Arms of the Ma” (Marge has moved so far from her original self this isn’t even funny), “Three Gays of the Condo“,  “Dude, Where’s My Ranch?“, “Old Yeller Belly“, “Bart of War” in Season 14. “The President Wore Pearls“, “The Regina Monologues“, “The Fat and the Furriest“, “‘Tis the Fifteenth Season“, “Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays“, “I (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot“, “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife“, “Milhouse Doesn’t Live Here Anymore“, “Smart and Smarter“, “Co-Dependents Day“, “The Wandering Juvie“, “My Big Fat Geek Wedding“, “Catch ‘Em if You Can“, “The Way We Weren’t” (seems to mess with the previous flashback episodes in the Golden Age of the Simpsons and is a bit hard to believe) in Season 15. “All’s Fair in Oven War“, “She Used to Be My Girl“, “Fat Man and Little Boy“, “Midnight Rx“, “Homer and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass“, “Pranksta Rap“, “On  A Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister“, “Goo Goo Gai Pan” (pathetic jokes about revisionist China within), “Mobile Homer“, “The Heartbroke Kid“, “A Star Is Torn“, “Home Away from Homer“, “There’s Something About Marrying” in Season 16. “The Bonfire of the Manatees“, “The Girl Who Slept Too Little“, “Milhouse of Sand and Fog“, “The Last of the Red Hat Mamas“, “The Italian Bob“, “Homer’s Paternity Coot“, “We’re on the Road to D’ohwhere“, “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story“, “Bart Has Two Mommies“, “Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife“, “Girls Just Want to Have Sums“, “Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play” in Season 17. “The Mook, The Chef, The Wife and Her Homer“, “G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)“, “Moe’N’a Lisa“, “Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)“, “Kil Gil, Volumes I & II“, “The Wife Aquatic“, “Springfield Up“, “Yokel Chords“, “Rome-Old and Julie-Eh“, “Homerazzi“, “The Boys of Bummer“, “Crook and Ladder“, “24 Minutes” (self-promotion of 24 on FOX, a bit cheap) in Season 18. “He Loves to Fly and He D’ohs“, “The Homer of Seville“, “Midnight Towboy“, “I Don’t Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (almost seems like a parody of Scorpio but isn’t), “Little Orphan Millie“, “Husbands and Knives“, “Funeral for a Fiend“, “That ’90s Show” (messes again with the timeline in the Golden Age years of Marge & Homer’s relationship), “The Debarted“, “Dial “N” for Nerder“, “Smoke on the Daughter“, “Papa Don’t Leech“, “Any Given Sundance“, “All About Lisa“, “Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes” in Season 19. “Double, Double, Boy in Trouble“, “Dangerous Curves” (again messing with the timeline of Marge & Homer’s relationship in weird ways), “Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words“, “The Burns and Bees“, “Lisa the Drama Queen“, “How the Test Was Won“, “Gone Maggie Gone“, “In the Name of the Grandfather“, “Wedding for Disaster“, “Father Knows Worst“, “Four Great Women and a Manicure“, “Coming to Homerica” (does not measure up with the episode in the Golden Ages, “Much Apu About Nothing” which is strongly against restrictions on immigration) in Season 20. “Homer the Whopper“, “The Great Wife Hope“, “The Devil Wears Nada“, “Rednecks and Broomsticks“, “O Brother, Where Bart Thou?“, “Thursdays with Abie“, “Million Dollar Maybe“, “Boy Meets Curl“, “Postcards from the Wedge“, “Stealing First Base“, “The Greatest Story Ever D’ohed“, “American History X-cellent“, “Chief of Hearts“, “Moe Letter Blues“, “The Bob Next Door“, “Judge Me Tender” in Season 21. “Elementary School Musical“, “Loan-a Lisa“, “Lisa Simpson, This Isn’t Your Life“, “The Fool Monty“, “The Fight Before Christmas“, “Donnie Fatso“, “Mom’s I’d Like to Forget“, “Flaming Moe” (very different from the much better Flaming Moe’s in Season 3), “Angry Dad: The Movie” (cheapens the show in a major way), “The Scorpion’s Tale“, “A Midsummer’s Nice Dream“, “Love is a Many Strangled Thing” (this episode is horrible in so many ways, especially how Bart tortures his father…how is this supposed to be funny?), “The Great Simpsina“, “The Real Housewives of Fat Tony“, “Homer Scissorhands“, “500 Keys“, and “The Ned-liest Catch” in Season 22. “The Falcon and the D’ohman” (this episode is a bit 24-ish and more ridiculous in its plot than funny), “Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts” (basically a Teddy Roosevelt promotion), “Replaceable You“, “The Food Wife“, “The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants“, “The Ten-Per-Cent Solution” (features Joan Rivers which you know is a bad sign), “Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson“, “Moe Goes from Rags to Riches“, “At Long Last Leave” (seems strange since they could have kicked out the Simpsons earlier, but why now? Are the townspeople that rash?), “Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart“, “How I Wet Your Mother” (parody of Inception but almost a promotion of it too), “Them, Robot“, “Beware of My Cheating Bart“, “Lisa Goes Gaga” (one of the worst episodes yet, basically is a promotion for Gaga’s total bullshit, buys into the whole fad then, shows the town’s people to be very weak. This episode should have never been made) in Season 23. “Moonshine River” (to like this, you have to like Season 19 and onward), “Adventures in Baby-Getting“,  “Gone Abie Gone“, “Penny Wiseguys“, “The Day the Earth Stood Cool“, “To Cur, with Love” (reportedly this was one of the least watched episodes of the series), “Homer Goes to Prep School“, “Changing of the Guardian“, “Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing” (only seems good if you like Moonshine River), “Hardly Kirk-ing“, “Gorgeous Grampa“, “Dark Knight Court“, “What Animated Women Want“, “Whiskey Business” (too many stories intersecting in one episode, too busy), “Fabulous Faker Boy“,  “The Saga of Carl” (an unnecessary episode with a mediocre storyline) in Season 24. “Homerland“, “Four Regrettings and a Funeral“, “Yolo“, “Labor Pains“, “The Kid is All Right“, “Yellow Subterfuge“, “White Christmas Blues“,  “Steal This Episode“, “Married to the Blob“, “Specs and the City” (supposed to parody Google Glass but it isn’t funny), “Diggs“, “The Man Who Grew Too Much“, “The Winter of His Content“, “Luca$“, “Pay Pal“, “The Yellow Badge of Cowardge” in Season 25. “The Clown in the Dumps“,”The Wreck of the Relationship” (this episode is a total joke which is not portraying it positively), “Super Franchise Me“, “Opposes A-Frack” (good criticism of fracking but not really funny at all, basically a polemic), “Blazed and Confused” (a bit strange and weird, how is this funny?), “Bart’s New Friend“, “The Musk Who Fell To Earth” (basically an unmitigated promotion of Musk like the episode about Gaga), “Walking Big & Tall“, “The Princess Guide“, “Sky Police” (while the Sky Police tune is ok, the rest of this episode is horrid), “Waiting for Duffman“, “The Kids Are All Fight” (another worthless flashback episode), “Bull-E” in Season 26. “Cue Detective“, “Puffless“, “Halloween of Horror“, “Friend With Benefit“, “Lisa with an “S”” (supposed to say show business is bad, but really is a lackluster episode like Friend With Benefit, or any of the other mentioned her), “Paths of Glory” (why would Homer and Marge think Bart is a sociopath and then trust a test saying he is one?), “The Girl Code” (thinking back to this one, it is a strange one with a bizarre plot), “Teenage Mutant Milk-caused Hurdles” (it’s almost like they want to force older Lisa and Bart on us), “Much Apu About Something” (this is kinda of cheap), “Love Is in the N2-02-AR-CO2-Ne-He-CH4” (its good Frink has more of a role, but this is really stretching it), “Gal of Constant Sorrow“, “The Marge-ian Chronicles“, “The Burns Cage” (this episode in trying to “reveal” that Smithers is gay (which we all know) not only doesn’t do that but it has a weak plot), “How Lisa Got Her Marge Back“,  “Fland Canyon” (this one makes me very mad because it makes it seem that Lisa has only been a vegetarian for two years or less which cheapens Lisa the Vegetarian), “To Courier With Love“, “Simprovised“, “Orange is the New Yellow” (this episode has to be one of the worst EVER. It not only is not funny but its “parody” element is weak and tasteless) in Season 27. “Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus” (this episode is not funny at all and is a weak story), “Friends and Family“, “The Town” (a very pathetic “criticism” of Boston which actually turns into a promotion), “Trust But Clarify“, “There Will Be Buds“, “Havana Wild Weekend” (thinking about it, this episode is pretty horrid and makes Cuba look even worse than in “Trouble for Trillions”), “Dad Behavior“, “The Last Traction Hero” (a strange story which makes the connection between Marge and Homer seem non-existent when it isn’t), “The Nightmare After Krustmas“, “Pork and Burns” (Spider Big returns and a they adopt a minimalistic style of living but not really), “The Great Phatsby” (one of the most horrible as it not only is unfunny but there is really no reason we should sympathize with Mr. Burns), “Fatzcarraldo” (this episode seemed passable, in reality it really isn’t, it’s the same as the others), “The Cad and the Hat” (this episode was cheap and pathetic about “guilt”), “Kamp Krustier” (this is no squeal to Kamp Krusty, it is horribly written, not funny, and shows how the show is not worth watching), “22 for 30” (The Simpsons tries to make an episode like a basketball show but it fails miserably), “A Father’s Watch” (A plot which makes little sense and is not funny), The Caper Chase (an episode which is supposed to poke at Trump University I guess but it isn’t even worth watching at this point), and many more. As for ‘Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky, Bart-Mangled Banner, Margical History Tour, Fraudcast News, Thanks God It’s Doomsday, See Homer Run, My Fair Laddy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore, The Monkey Suit, Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em, The Haw-Hawed Couple, Little Big Girl, Marge Gamer, Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind, E. Pluribus Wiggum, Apocalypse Cow, Lost Verizon, Mypods and Broomsticks, Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe, The Color Yellow, To Surveil with Love, A Tree Grows in Springfield, Barthood, they are passable but not redeemable.

[6] See “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 4“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 5“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 6“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 7“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 8“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 9“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 10“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 11“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 12“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 13“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 14“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 15“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 16“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 17“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 18“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 19“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 20“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 21“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 22“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 23“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 24“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 25“; “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Movie References Part 26.”

[7] See “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema – Treehouse of Horror” for information used in the chart.

[8] See “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 1“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 2“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 3“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 4“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 5“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 6“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 7“; “The Simpsons Tribute to Cinema: Part 8.”