An uncomfortable truth
Every single fan of The Simpsons has their own moment when they can identify the standard starting to slip. For me, it’s the entire episode that’s centred around Armin Tamzarian because it completely undercut and erased the backstory of a truly iconic character, Principal Skinner.
After all, what’s not to love about those epic Vietnam flashbacks – Johnny! JOHNNY! JOHNNNNNNNYYYYYY!
All this without mentioning the fact that he spent “the year of 1968. We were on recon in a steaming Mekong delta. An overheated private removed his flack jacket, revealing a T-shirt with an ironed-on sporting the MAD slogan “Up with Mini-skirts!”. Well, we all had a good laugh, even though I didn’t quite understand it.
“But our momentary lapse of concentration allowed “Charlie” to get the drop on us. I spent the next three years in a POW camp, forced to subsist on a thin stew made of fish, vegetables, prawns, coconut milk, and four kinds of rice. I came close to madness trying to find it here in the States, but they just can’t get the spices right!”
The dude has issues.
Anyway, while it’s an undisputed fact that no other show can touch The Simpsons during its halcyon golden era – it has been a long time since people cared about any new adventures featuring Springfield’s finest.
On this note, Yeardley Smith, better known as the voice of Lisa Simpson and host of the true crime podcast Small Town Dicks, conducted a Reddit AMA and she was very frank when asked about the declining standards in The Simpsons.
“When you’re churning out 22 shows per season it’s impossible for every show to be stellar. There will always be an ebb and flow. I think what sticks with me more is the fact that we still have such a huge enthusiastic fan base,” she said.
“We still make top 10 lists regularly, and I’m just enormously proud to be part of something that is an iconic part of pop-culture. That’s rare air and I never take it for granted.”
Much like her most famous character, you have to admire Yeardley Smith’s honesty.
Lisa would be proud.
