T w e n t y S i d e d

Recently I started watching the Simpsons from Season 1 forward after I had the terrible realization that there were episodes from the “golden years” that I had never seen. I didn’t get into the Simpsons until my middle school years when it was syndicated and shown on TBS after school every day. It was my background show I watched when I did my homework. I got a couple of the box sets of DVDs back in the day but never actually got around to watching any except the very first episode back then.

Now, with the power of disgusting corporate conglomeration into a monopolistic monstrosity I can watch the whole series on Disney+. My goal is to catch all the way up. Thirty-seven seasons of wildly varying content. I want to see where things went wrong and where they start to pull back together, as I actually like some of the newer episodes I’ve seen here and there. So far I’m just up to Season 4 and I have to say, the term “flanderization” is off the mark.

Season 1 Ned Flanders was the All-American perfect neighbor with the beautiful house, yard, wife, and kids. He was everything Homer wanted to be, which is what made him so mad. Cut to Season 3 Ned Flanders. Same guy except now we know he’s religious and featured more frequently. That small change has been seen as so drastic and so wild as a shift that it birthed its own page on TV tropes and spawned many a video essay. But I think that reaction is unearned and misguided. With Flanders it really just feels like a natural evolution. We knew he was a goody-two-shoes, so it only makes sense that he would get his strict moral character from somewhere. Religion feels like a solid direction for it to have come from. The complaint people tend to have is that his character gets boiled down to nothing but a side character for religious jokes, but I don’t really see that at all. We regularly learn more about Ned and get spotlights showing more about his character over the seasons. There is an episode or two that feature Ned that have made me cry. He’s got depth.

If there’s any character that becomes flanderized, it’s Homer. Season 1 Homer is a bit shlubby and dopey, but you can see his love and appreciation for his family immediately. Season 3 Homer is a dangerous idiot. Season 3 Homer shouldn’t have a family because Season 3 Marge should have left and taken the kids away from him. I love watching him and his antics, but it’s an aggressive shift from a well-meaning teddy bear to selfish “jerkass” with no real reason or explanation other than the fact that The Simpsons is an animated sitcom.

I think that maybe people see the lowering quality of Simpsons writing and try to come up with explanations that are more complicated than reality. It really could be that writers found other jobs and people’s interest in the show fatigued. The product eventually got less appealing, but when does it really make that shift?

I’m going to find out. I’m committed. I know that at some point later on I’ll have to disassociate my way through the Simpsons writers’ room trying to be topical and edgy in a way that feels very “How do you do, fellow kids?” I will get through it. I am strong enough. If I need you to send help I’ll start writing in haikus.

I have started this
Journey whose end is far off
Mistake made? Likely

Ethan Rodgers