Having finished watching The Recruit, I needed something new to watch. Not wallpaper TV, but also nothing that needed too much concentration. Flicking through the various streaming services I’ve acquired, Disney Plus offered the answer with The Simpsons. Twenty-two minute bursts would be perfect. Also I hadn’t watched too many of the newer episodes.
Settling on Season 33 (2021/22), I’ve really enjoyed watching the show again. I especially enjoyed the Flanders-based double episode ‘A Serious Flanders’. A delightful send up of Fargo and blockbuster television, the use episode really showcased what The Simpsons is good at – humour, both high and low brow, endless textual references, visual gags. The following episode, ‘Portrait of a Lackey on Fire’, reminded me of the political points that the show is capable of making, this time a clever assault on the fast fashion industry.
While its great to have the entire back catalogue of The Simpsons on demand, I am still disappointed that the season box sets stopped at season 20 (or for continuity of packaging design, season 19 as the twentieth season was released out of sequence). As well as the DVDs for the rest of the show, it’d also be nice to see an episode guide for season 21 onwards. Maybe a niche product, but the episode guides are an amazing celebration of the show and help to highlight the richness of references in every single episode.
Recent news saw the show guaranteed to pass the 800-episode mark. This is a remarkable achievement and given that they’re still able to produce great episodes, albeit maybe not with the frequency and consistency they once did, is a testament to the creative powers behind the show.
Commonplace 