It Ain't Me Babe

I don't watch new Simpsons episodes any more. Actually, there was only a brief period of time when I watched the Simpsons in anything resembling real time; now I just watch DVDs. When I first started watching the Simpsons it was long after they had already passed into the realm where some people think they've completely sold out and others think they've jumped the shark and all of that good crap. So I can't claim to be a long-time Simpsons fan. I didn't see them "live."

But that said, I don't like the new ones. And I think there's a reason why. I don't really know what the reason is. It's not that the new episodes are more slap-dash; the Simpsons has always been a little slap-dash with certain aspects, like continuity. It's part of the reason I don't like the show as much as some others I could mention, but won't because I don't really care. I don't even think that there's a lack of material; sure, they've used up a lot of the traditional avenues, but they've started doing commentary on current events more frequently, and doing parodies and musical episodes and all that jazz.

Maybe that's why I don't like the new episodes as much. They don't remind me of the old episodes. But I'm also not a purist; I like shows from later on in the run too. And some of the earliest episodes were pretty bad, let's face it.

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that it's been on for long enough that the evolution is noticeable. If a show is only on for a few years, unless there are radical changes made (and then those changes become shark-jumpings) the subtle differences which come with time are less noticeable than if a show is on for two decades. There are Simpsons fans who weren't alive when they first began broadcasting episodes, and many of those fans came to the show in later seasons rather than beginning at the beginning. When I started watching the Simpsons I didn't have a clue what episodes were in which seasons, so I still find myself enjoying newer episodes which a purist would write off as post-shark-jump.

Things change, and I don't really have a problem with that. This isn't really about the Simpsons; rock music has changed since I started listening to it, and popular music continues to change. And I like some of the new stuff, and some of it doesn't do anything for me, even though it's perfectly good music. And some changes are for the worse, regardless of how objective you want to be. So the fact that there are kids today who watch new episodes of the Simpsons every Sunday and think that the old episodes are fuddy-duddy is just life in microcosm.

But thinking about it rationally does make me feel old, and that's yet another reason why I prefer television shows that were canceled after four seasons or so. Sometimes things need to end, no matter how much we wish they wouldn't. And sometimes things are better off ending, even if they don't really need to. And deep philosophical meanings really ought to be kept out of discussions about the quality of recent Simpsons episodes.