I could spend my life talking only in quotes from The Simpsons
◆ The Simpsons is spectacular, but Homer, I now realise, is the worst
Idon’t think I’ve come across a single situation in life that I couldn’t find a Simpsons quote for. From the famous (“Attempted murder! Now honestly what is that? Do they give a Nobel prize for attempted chemistry?!”) to perhaps the more obscure (“it’s Kurns, stupid”), there are very few conversations that aren’t improved with a well placed Simpsons gag.
It’s almost impossible now to think of any gag or joke that hasn’t appeared in The Simpsons at some point. The cartoon is now in its 35th season, with 766 episodes out there in the wild.
When I was a young ‘un, The Simpsons used to be on at 6 o clock, on Channel 2, just before Malcolm in the Middle. When the famous Who Shot Mr Burns aired, kids in my primary school were gathering together, talking about who could have dunnit.
I can’t think of anything else that had such a profound impact on me as a child, and my developing sense of humour, than that silly yellow cartoon. And yes, I know a few episodes haven’t aged well. And I know some of the characters are incredibly problematic. We can still love things while acknowledging their flaws.
One of the things that strikes me the most as I watch it now, is how completely awful Homer is. and I mean awful. I can’t stand him. Even my love of the show can’t get me through a few of the episodes – like when Marge joins the police – and Homer is downright cruel to her. I know it’s meant to be part of the joke, that he’s the worst and Marge is the absolute best, but it’s become more and more brutally unbearable to me as time goes on.
When I was a child, I thought he was a lovable idiot, now I think that Marge should be packing her bags and calling the taxi pronto, taking the kids with her.
Barring a few of these egregious episodes, the rest is still pure gold.
There are few comedies that I know better than my own soul, but still makes me laugh out loud. Sometimes when I’m not even watching it, but just thinking about a joke (”My eyes! The goggles do nothing”). The episodes bring comfort, and giggles, and nourishment for the soul. It’s silly and satirical and sweet.
For anyone who hasn’t seen it in a while, I urge you to dip your toe back in and enjoy. It’s (almost) pure, yellow, sunshine.