Fuck it. I watched both the 32nd and 33rd seasons. I did not watch that video saying it was a renaissance, but I was intrigued by how the show is now and I must admit, I have enjoyed them for the most part. The issue I have had with the seasons right after Spotless Mind (the last episode that looked right) was the animation. Perhaps it is my television but there was always something off about the whole show where it was too bright and the characters were not speaking correctly. It looked less fluid. The last two seasons have been consistent and occasionally creative. There is an almost "Disney-like" quality, but that might be my mind putting two and two together. There was one episode about Comic Book Guy and his family which had a storybook tale that must have been a parody of something it was that well done. I was satisfied, though not laughing. It was impressive and the story's angle played into it. I even watched it twice.
Speaking of, the characters have care taken to them. I mean, Comic Book Guy is one-note but they grew on him, as they did with Flanders in the glory days, without losing what makes him funny. I cared about his character in a way I never did in the past. Another episode about Bart's infatuation with his teacher featured one of the best exchanges from Bart and Homer, a character who is also back to being likeable:
Bart: You said you had great advice on crushes. What is it?
Homer: Here's what you need to know. You're a kid, she's a grown-up. Get over it.
Bart: That's your amazing advice? That's not advice, that's just... the truth.
I don't know, I found that nearly profound. The writers must actually be fans and aware of how far it had all fallen. They experiment more, purely because they are able and it is all they have left, and usually it works. There was an episode solely Chalmers and Skinner which I presume was a love letter to Steamed Hams memes.
There is a number of token liberal jokes which fall flat, but they are balanced enough with some self-awareness and occasionally they are funny. They had a very lengthy musical number (the episode structures now have changed completely. Very rarely do you have A & B stories) about the death of the middle class which made a really bad joke about Tucker Carlson and Russia but its angle about the grey vote worked well enough. Maybe I am desensitised.
I imagine the Simpsons have so much clout now that they could do whatever they want at Disney. It is kept alive because of its glory days and its merchandise. The new episodes are secondary in a way other shows would have been long since cancelled.
Yes, Marge sounds like she smokes 40 a day, and this show will
never reach the quality of the classic era, but compared to the new South Park or Family Guy, I really do prefer this Simpsons. To quote The Wild Bunch, "it ain't like it used to be, but it'll do."
