The Simpsons: Then and Now

It’s pretty well understood that The Simpsons isn’t nearly as good now as it was through the 90s. There are many reasons for this, most of which are well documented all over the interwebs. I’m a Simpsons apologist. I accept that it’s not as good, but I also find it immensely enjoyable. One thing I find is especially true is that the new episodes hold up to repeat viewings quite well. Sure, classic episodes are harder to come by, but I’m willing to give The Simpsons a pass since it already has more than enough great episodes.

So, acknowledging that I’m not covering any new ground, I’m going to discuss this in terms of comparing the new introduction to the old intro. The old opening definitely needed to be updated, featuring several cast members who have since died and ignoring many new prominent characters, but the manner in which it was done was far from elegant.

The change came with the shift to HD. The first of the new openings was very clever, moving through Springfield just after the destruction of the town from The Simpsons Movie. However, after this, The Simpsons permanently shifted to the new opening, which is really a microcosm of the difference between the heyday and the current era of The Simpsons.

The original opening relied on subtle site gags. The new one uses the same structure, but instead of leaving the gags to the chalkboard, Lisa’s saxophone solo, the quick pan across the city and the couch gag (of course), every scene of the intro now has an in-your-face gag to go along with it. Some of them are good, the Krusty billboard and Maggie’s encounter with Gerald, the baby with one eyebrow come to mind, but most just seem like overkill. It’s the opening credits of the show. It doesn’t have to be a joke factory.

It’s this hit-to-miss ratio that is the difference. Back in the day, The Simpsons jokes came organically. Sure, there were the odd non-sequitors (a man digging in the background of a ghost town for no reason), but largely the jokes served the story. Now the jokes come flying off the screen ad nauseum. Some land, but most drip off of the screen into a puddle of meh.

Sadly, this looks like The Family Guy effect, and who can blame them? Seth MacFarlane has three shows on Sunday night now. If The Simpsons would just scale back the impulse to pound the viewer with jokes, I think the show could very easily return to form. After all, Futurama churned out all sorts of great episodes as The Simpsons slid downhill.