A couple weeks ago thetwocents.com had an interview with new Simpsons power broker Morgan Spurlock. The whole thing is worth reading, but there is one thing I wanted to flag.
Q: What will the special entail?
MS: Well, for me I think that the special will entail kind of us talking about the history of this show. I think the reason that they called me to begin with was to not have a show that would kind of be a glad-hand, pat everyone on the back special. We really want to dive in and find the interesting people, the interesting stories, the things that are a little more than just like a typical kind of “look how great we are” kind of special. And so for me, that’s why really trying to root it in the fans and the people who really kept this show on the air for the last 20 years I think is important and kind of hearing how people have been affected by this.
He’s saying the right things here, but I’ve got my doubts. Obviously he’s not going to produce the kind of Zombie Simpsons hit job that would cause me to stand up and applaud. I’m okay with that and certainly the show deserves to be celebrated; but if he’s really serious about “root it in the fans” he’s going to run into the fact that a lot of self described fans will say that the show isn’t even remotely as good as it used to be. Not everybody takes that opinion as far as we do here, but it’s common enough that I’d have no trouble calling it the majority opinion.
Obviously I have no idea what Spurlock’s special is going to be like, but when it comes to the treatment of the decline of the show he’s really only got three options:
- Ignore it – Just stick his hand down FOX’s trousers and jerk them off with how great the show has always been, how smart and relevant it still is after all these years.
- Acknowledge it but argue against it – This is the tack the show itself has usually taken over the years, starting with the Poochie episode. “Who are you to criticize us? We’re The Simpsons!” It’s rarely as funny as they think it is and it’s always arrogant.
- Acknowledge it and at least kinda embrace it – The show has taken this approach at times as well, most prominently in “Behind the Laughter” where they wink at the camera and acknowledge that, yeah, things have kinda sucked.
The closer he gets to #3 the more honest the special will be, though my money would be on some weak sauce version of #2 with #1 as a distinct possibility.
Ultimately this isn’t important in the least. This special is going to air on FOX once and then pretty much disappear down the memory hole. But if it’s going to be about the fans there’s no getting around the fact that many/most self described fans think the show has significantly declined in quality. Even the awesome and indefatigable Adam at Simpsons Channel thinks so. From the comments on this post:
If I hadn’t learned to TRY to enjoy every remaining episode this site would have been dead in the water long ago
C’mon Spurlock, don’t ignore us. We don’t want much, just a little recognition of our viewpoint.
MS: Well,
for me I think that the special will entail kind of us talking about the history of this show. I think the reason that they called me to begin with was to not have a show that would kind of be a glad-hand, pat everyone on the back special. We really want to dive in and find the interesting people, the interesting stories, the things that are a little more than just like a typical kind of “look how great we are” kind of special. And so for me, that’s why really trying to root it in the fans and the people who really kept this show on the air for the last 20 years I think is important and kind of hearing how people have been affected by this
Dead Homer Society 
2 responses to “Spurlock’s Choice”
I can’t even touch on my dislike for the show on my own ‘fan site’ because the visitors will jump on me and tell me I’m being harsh. But I can say it here and now, the day The Simpsons ends I’ll be happy for two reasons. It’ll mean the show I once loved can stop being trampled on ten years after it keeled over and died, and it means I can finally get some retirement without trying to justify reasons for keeping the site open.
You know you’ve lost interest when your city’s local newspaper rings you for comment on a story relating to a reduction of The Simpsons airtime and you tell him ‘good’ and ‘I don’t really care’, but then he all but forces you to fabricate a ‘nice’ answer for his article.
Here’s hoping Morgan Spurlock throws some of that fan comment my way.
I enjoy your commentaries, thanks for telling it how it is.
Well if there’s anything we can do to help send Spurlock your way just let us know. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to come back and vent whenever the urge strikes.