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Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does all the things that a Spider-Pig does

Glad to see the opening sequence got the post-blockbuster-summer-movie treatment as Bart skateboards through the wreckage that is undomed Springfield. For a show that has the luxury of never having to worry about continuity (with a few exceptions: Ned’s wife, Selma (or is it Patty) as a lesbian, Milhouse’s dad being divorced) I’m glad they did something to aknowledge the fact that a pretty significant piece of Simpsons’ history has passed us by. More after the jump…

As for the nineteenth season’s premiere episode it was great in a way few recent Simpsons episode have been: it somehow managed to tell a cohesive story from act one through act three (and in the process managed a few jabs at Chicago “Canada’s Miami”). While I’m of the opinion that I’d rather live in a world with so-so new episodes of The Simpsons than having to live in a world with only four hundred episodes in syndication, I will concede that in recent years the storytelling has suffered. Homer joins the fire department so that he can rob houses? Really?

Here things seemed almost old-timey in Homer’s desire to impress his family. It was a good way to start the season (despite the fact that most of these pre-baseball episodes were made last year).

The Simpsons‘ tradition of disjointed act ones, has started to weigh on the storytelling. By the time we get to what the episode is actually about, after the first commercial break, there’s only ten minutes left of show time to tell the story. In terms of narrative fulfillment, this is problematic. The 399th episode, which aired right before (something that is more more obvious now that I’ve actually typed it), was a start-to-finish parody of 24 and worked exponentially better as an episode of television.

The problem is Family Guy has so destroyed what people expect out of animated television (maybe even television as a whole) it is no longer about telling a funny story, but instead using the idea of a story to cram in as many jokes as you possibly can manage. Some shows (Arrested Development) can handle this task. Others: not so much.

None of this really matters as the purpose of this post isn’t suppose to assess the quality of The Simpsons so much as chronicle the show reaching the milestone of 400 episodes (which is, in fact, as crazy as it sounds). I’ll do that right after the break…

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The other day I was passing time by watching a syndicated episode of The Simpsons, a series I find as being anywhere from mostly enjoyable to wholly extraordinary. It was the one that starts with Bart getting a new gym teacher who only allows the kids to play bombardment (BOMBARDMENT!) and ends with Lisa trying to make over Groundskeeper Willy. I trust that lessons were learned. It wasn’t a great episode, but a serviceable one that provided me with exactly what I was hoping to get: laughs.

Then a friend of mine notices what I’m watching and says, “Why are you watching crappy Simpsons episode?” To which I respond, “You don’t like The Simpsons? Are you some sort of communist?” TO which he responds, “I loved The Simpsons, back when it was funny. Now it sucks.” To which I responded, “Everybody says that, but its still funnier than most things on television.” To which he said, “Watching the show now only encourages them to make more. That show should be canceled.” To which I say to you, click below to continue reading…

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