We all know The Simpsons hasn't been a lick of it's season 3 through 9 calibre, but the rare times that they've risen above the dreck have been great, seasons 15, 16 and 18 for example have some interesting plots, hysterical jokes, great character moments, but lest we forget the show still is a shell of it's former self, the self-referential, self-conscious jokes have been stolen by every other show, the cut away gags used and abused by Seth MacFarlane, and the characters are stuck in single dimensions, conventional, contrived and painful to watch, it's surprising that any of us still watch, but the poor few of us who still live in the past have been offered some appalling episodes the past few years.
And yet with Season 21, whilst we started slow, a second episode from an outside writer, in the form of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, of Superbad and Pineapple Express fame, proved once more that just because you like the show doesn't mean you can write the show, but shocking of late we've had two episodes in succession, post the Christmas break, that have been brilliant, funny, sure not inventive in plot, but willing to delve into character, and since the HD switch and the 4 act structure (more commercials) plots have kind of just disappeared, maybe coming back for a joke in between the tangents, but now they've mastered the show once more, for now.
The new episode, a second Bart in love ep of the season, has Sarah Silverman of all people as the female protagonist, in a second fourth grade class, and after some flirting, Bart kisses her, causing her parents to get up in arms, and forcing a no touching policy in the school.
Between shots at Twilight and a dated joke about how crap GPS systems are there are some moments of real brilliance, an overlong but very funny Itch and Scratchy taking the piss out of the Koyaanisqatsi trailer that really works, though goes on for a minute too long.
Unfortunately Ralph has lines, which means tired attempts at being funny for being stupid, the kind that's easy to write, hard to make funny, and he's not been funny for 12 years now, and an unfortunate ending where Lisa is called out for being smart by Michelle Obama, played by some woman that's not Michelle Obama, where every cast member seems to sing her praises for no reason what so ever in a painfully shameless act.
Thankfully if you ignore that 3 minute segment, you have a full on 5/5 episode, for the second time in the last 3 episodes.
Funny, well done, interesting if unoriginal, it's good Simpsons, but not classic of course.
4/5
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