(S19E11) "This is Kurt Loder, reporting from the 90's" -- Kurt Loder as Kurt Loder
Ladies and gentleman, as a change of pace I will be debating myself during this week's review of The Simpsons.
Rich: Hello, everyone and welcome to this week's review of The Simpsons. I would have to say that, overall, this episode was entertaining and really grabbed the essence of what the 1990's was all about.
Rich: HA!
Rich: Excuse me?
Rich: You heard me. I said HA! This wasn't entertaining at all. In fact, this week's installment was downright infuriating!
Rich: Why, pray tell, would you say that, Rich? I mean, it's only a cartoon for Pete's sake. Why so emotional?
Rich: One word: continuity
Rich: Huh?
Rich: Oh, come on! Like you don't know what I'm talking about. I mean, you are me.
Rich: Explain it to me.
Rich: Oh, all right. You see, with this week's episode, in which we flashback to the 1990's and a dating Homer and Marge, the whole continuity of the series was totally blown. Well, at least whatever continuity there was.
Rich: Ah, you're talking about all of the other flashback episodes that established how Marge and Homer came to be and how the family emerged.
Rich: Right! I'm a purist in many ways, and for me the season two episode "The Way We Was" established the time frame of when Marge and Homer got together.
Rich: You mean, 1974.
Rich: Correct. From there the timeline was followed pretty well, with Bart and Lisa being born in the 1980's, and Maggie somewhere in the early 1990's. Now, it looks like the whole history has been retconned.
Rich: Retconned? What the hell does that mean?
Rich: Retroactive continuity. It's in Wikipedia, dummy. Why don't you read sometime!
Rich: Oh, you mean like the way DC Comics re-established the origins of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman back in the 1980's.
Rich: Yep. Although I don't know how many of your readers out there peruse comics. So, I would say it was more like the reworking of the new version of Battlestar Galactica or Bionic Woman.
Rich: Got it. Continue.
Rich: Well, with this week's episode the whole Homer-Marge relationship was retconned nearly 20 years, putting their first meeting somewhere in the mid- to late-1980's. That pretty much voids any other flashback episodes they ever did!
Rich: Who cares? Like I said, it's a friggin' cartoon!
Rich: I care, and so do plenty of fans out there who have watched the old episodes dozens of times and consider them rote. There is very little continuity when it comes to The Simpsons that we try to hold on to whatever there is at the moment.
Rich: All right, I can almost see your point here. But, do you really think the writers had any choice in this?
Rich: Explain.
Rich: They were going for a feel of the 90's, of young singles, of the Grunge, um, revolution. By putting Homer and Marge in this scenario as their later selves that would have ruined the imagery.
Rich: Well, sure, but...
Rich: Add to that the fact that Homer is perpetually near 40 and Bart is always a youthful 10. In order to put them in this time something had to be done. If not, then they would have had to say that the Simpson family were actually older than they were.
Rich: Okay, well you have a point there. Still...
Rich: Plus, you have a bunch of new fans out there as a result of the success of The Simpsons Movie that may have never seen "The Way We Was" or any of those other ones. Or, they may have forgotten about them. So, this is all brand new to them.
Rich: Okay, okay, you've made your point! I don't agree with it, but I understand.
Rich: Well, I'm glad. So, you're saying that there wasn't anything you enjoyed about this week's episode?
Rich: Well, I have to admit I did enjoy how Homer went from being a white, R&B, smooth jazz signer to a grunge rocker. It was also fun to see and hear all of the 90's references. The one that was my favorite was Kirk telling Luann that a picture of her cheating on him would download to his computer in six hours as long as no one picked up the phone.
Rich: I was glad to see Weird Al making another appearance on the show and doing a parody of Homer's grunge classic. That harkens back to the actual parody he made of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". There were also some nice references to Zima, Seinfeld (sponge-worthy), Melrose Place and the fact that Comic Book Guy said that The Lord of the Rings could never be made into a movie. And, we did get one additional piece of information about Marge: she was a college graduate from Springfield University.
Rich: I particularly like Bart's mention that he never even heard of the 90's. Then, there was Homer's mention that Matt Groening was working hard on launching a show called Futurama. Although, that show began in March of 1999, so I don't know if that would really be part of the 90's or not.
Rich: Well, do you do have a point on that one. See, we're not as different as you think.
Rich: I know. Can you forgive me?
Rich: Of course I can.
Rich: You are the man.
Rich: No, you are the man.
Rich: Let's just agree that we are both the man.
Rich: So true.
Fin
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
1-27-2008 @ 11:22PM
Dan S said...
I loved this episode. When Simpsons started I was the same age as Bart, even in the same grade. Now I'm nearing the point where I not far off from homer's age. (I think he's actually supposed to be more like 30 something, since they had bart, who is 10, sometime shortly out of high school... as is comically un-noted in this episode). The show desperately needed to have it's origins rebuilt to have the time line work, and the way they did it was freaking hilarious.
So yeah, instead of no longer identifying with Bart, as I'm not no longer a kid, I can I identify with homer an Marge, who now did college/highschool in the 90s, like me.
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1-28-2008 @ 12:02AM
Joe Coughlin said...
So, the fake Futurama is real...and the fake Simpsons is fake. And the fake Simpsons were wrong for mentioning the real Futurama because fake things never mention real things as fake.
Right?
I need to take an Tylenol....
1-27-2008 @ 11:27PM
Zachary said...
This episode was a mistake. How can they justify overwriting the sentimental story of The Way We Was that is crucial for understanding Homer and Marge's relationship?
And you may have liked the Futurama reference, but as a Futurama fan I was annoyed. The Futurama creators are on record as saying the Simpsons are in a fictional universe and Futurama is in the real universe. That allowed them to mention the Simpsons as entertainment icons in some episodes. Homer talking about the Futurama series in this episode contradicted that.
The button sculpture from the University of Pennsylvania appeared in the background of the concert scene at the university.
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1-28-2008 @ 1:16AM
mrbooze said...
The Simpsons have already mentioned Futurama many times on the show before. Bender has even appeared more than once.
Specific instances I can remember: The pimply-faced teen jumps off Geezer Rock screaming "Why did they cancel Futurama?" And it was also mentioned in the episode where Matt Groening appears at a convention. ("Tug on my beard! They say it's good luck!")
1-27-2008 @ 11:34PM
khamel said...
worst...episode...ever
really, maybe the worst simpsons episode i've ever seen. i stopped watching between 2002-2006 so it might not be the worst episode ever but very close. i cant say anything positive.
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1-27-2008 @ 11:39PM
Oreo said...
Best. REVIEW. Evar!!!!
Let's bitch about how they redid the time line, and not bother bitching about the fact that a baby is 20 years old and has never talked?!
And let's bitch about Futurama and The Simpsons, who cares besides the anal people. On The Simpsons "Futurama" was a show and on Futurama "The Simpson" was / is a show. Live with it and move on.
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1-28-2008 @ 12:09AM
JW said...
I thought the show was great! I can actually relate to it because I grew up in the 90's. I don't really see how it was bad, but then again I don't keep up with the show every time there is a new one. I definitely thought it was funny when Bart said he never heard of the 90's; it's something I would say about the 80's since I was born in 87.
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1-28-2008 @ 12:24AM
Basketcase456 said...
As someone who has watched the series from the beginning as an incredibly young child, I was annoyed that they retooled the time line in order to try to update the show. However, this is not the first time it was done. It is just the first time it was done so drastically. Retooling of the show was done frequently with characters especially early in the show. Remember how Smithers was originally black and straight? This retooling is just aggravating because it takes what everyone has come to know and love as the history of the Simpson family and completely ignored it. Then again, the majority of the later seasons have ignored the history as well, especially the humorous roots of the show, and many of the writers know it.
As for the episode itself, it actually was not half bad, once you ignore the fact it forgets the continuity. The majority of the episode was witty with its references to what was popular in the early 90s and the song parodies were quite funny too. The Futurama line was quite stupid though, and probably just placed in as a reminder that the show exists.
So lets just ignore the fact it goes against the last 18 years of the series, and accept that this is one of the more creative episodes of the last 10 years.
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1-28-2008 @ 12:39AM
Seattle Yonkers said...
As a casual fan of the show, I really enjoyed it. The continuity doesn't really bother me, because I'm no expert on the history of the Simpson family. I did love at the beginning when Luann picked up the phone. That was great.
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1-28-2008 @ 1:06AM
Jay Dee said...
It's '90s, not 90's for Pete's sake; the apostrophe rules are not optional. You could've at least cheated by reading the name of the episode "That '90s Show".
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 1:14AM
Zachary said...
Dude, your making a scene.
1-28-2008 @ 9:08AM
Karen said...
Lord, thank you. Apostrophe abuse makes me CRAZY.
1-28-2008 @ 4:52PM
tcc3 said...
Yeah well use of apostrophes annoys me. Its the appendix of punctuation.
In the new Utopia, there will be no apostrophe.
1-28-2008 @ 1:07AM
Cyantre said...
I liked the Back to the Future reference which occured while Homer was playing at Springfield University.
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1-28-2008 @ 2:42AM
junebugman said...
Matt Selman should be fired and his d__k cut off and shoved up his __! To completely screw up the continuity of the show might just have put the nail in the coffin for The Simpson's. It's one thing for the stories to lag, but tie in is what makes the show great, we know they've strayed from the path before, but this was like watching a whole new show, and guess what IT BLEW!!! With that I just pray that the man responsible gets shown the door and the executive producers get their s__t together quick.... or just end it now!!!!
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1-28-2008 @ 9:40AM
Paul said...
Wow... um... I'm thinking that you may take television too seriously. I love TV, too, and I wasn't all that overjoyed with the way the history wasn't just temporarily ignored, but completely rewritten. However, I won't lose any sleep over it. Whereas it sounds like your life has been seriously hampered by this episode. Unfortunate.
1-28-2008 @ 3:18AM
max said...
yeah the baby is twenty years old now.
the simpsons were always sliding through time, reflecting on the real society with a given set of characters and their relations to each other.
given the simpsons family constellation the time frame for all! episodes could only be about 2 years. with the original backstory hower would be due for retirement soon.
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1-28-2008 @ 6:57AM
ccc said...
Although this episode was moderately amusing (7/10). I just couldn't get over the whole remolding of the timeline.
I know they've changed so much in the past, but nothing compares to this. This episode flatout disregards classic episodes that older fans grew up watching. Are they that stretched for ideas? Did they not realize this would bother A LOT of fans? I've always been one to stick up for the newer Simpsons episodes, they are still funny (mostly)...but I have a hard time swallowing this episode.
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1-28-2008 @ 8:08AM
Jeff said...
Hello...yes I'd like a large pepporoni with mushrooms and my second pizza I would like sausage; Italian sausage. And we want the bread stix and not the wings. Two cokes and I'll be paying with a visa. Hello? Hello? Is this not Tony's Pizza online ordering?
dang
Reply
1-28-2008 @ 9:06AM
Chris said...
I like some of the continuity of the Simpsons, but they seem to make fun of themselves a lot because they know there isn't any reliable continuity. It all stems from the fact that the characters don't get older, but time continues to move forward, as references to public figures change, and Flanders still grieves over his wife, etc.
Simpsons has always been good for a chuckle. I was a little annoyed by the episode tonight, but then I remembered its a freaking cartoon.
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