Still Good

As we age our perceptions change, and time seems to go by faster and faster. On a large scale, years and seasons fly by, and if the snow here melted tomorrow and the sun shone brightly, it woudn't be too soon for me. On a smaller scale, weekends aren't what they used to be. Perhaps I'm greedy to want more than two days away from my responsibilities. It's enough for other people; why not me? I think the main reason I'm feeling this sense of “I can't believe I'm going back to work already tomorrow!” is because I've had several consecutive three-day weekends and gotten spoiled. That being said, I'm going to check my schedule tomorrow and see if I can take next Monday off.

Weekends have always gone by quickly, whether they were filled with activities and socializing or whether they were like this past one, where I can't for the life of me figure out what, if anything, I did the last two days. Even in my school years I was dreading going back to class the next day. Most of the time I didn't heed my parent's advice, and let my homework sit instead of tackling it immediately on Friday. I used to think, “I have plenty of time!” and suddenly find myself in a panicked state at 7PM on Sunday trying to get it all done. Times change, life changes, but there are the occasional constants to rely upon. The Simpsons is in its 16th season, and the majority of those seasons have seen it in the 8PM timeslot on Sunday nights. Through good seasons and through bad, it's always been there to make me laugh or just smile and forget that break time is over and real life beckons.

Sometimes a good show is cut down in its prime, like Angel, Tru Calling, or Firefly. Other times it can be painful to see a beloved show dip in quality but keep going. I loved Night Court, for example, but the last two seasons were real stretches. Cheers could have also ended sooner, although the finale was still an emotional farewell to behold. The Simpsons definitely isn't the groundbreaking show that had everyone talking about it Monday morning. I think most of my friends are glad I'm not reenacting lines in voices that to me sound like spot-on impressions but to them all sound like Chief Wiggum. The shock value has worn off with time, and even something fresh like Family Guy had to struggle with poor timeslots and even cancellation before being given another chance years later. The other factor in the decline of the Simpsons was a change in writers, and some of the more outlandish plots in the last few years had me wondering aloud if they were “on crack.

It's leveled off the last few seasons and the writing has gotten better, not quite to the apex of where it once was but still good. Tonight's episode was definitely one of the good ones. After a health code violation forces Moe to shut down his bar, Homer takes out a second mortgage to help pay to bring it back up to code. Upset with his decision, Marge decides to become involved, considering herself a part-owner. Homer is left to watch the children while Marge and Moe together turn the bar into a successful establishment. Homer is worried about how close the two are becoming but is relieved when Marge reassures him that there's nothing physical between her and Moe. But when his friends point out an important truth in relationships, that an emotional affair can be just as destructive to a marriage as a physical one, he realizes the jeopardy they're in.

The best comedy shows aren't afraid to tackle serious subject matter in a light but respectful way. It doesn't detract from the seriousness of the issue to portray it amid jokes, but rather puts the viewer in a receptive state to think about important things. The show still manages to go the extra mile while spoofing as well. On a date in a movie theater, Marge and Homer watch a trailer for a fictitious Dreamworks picture called “Cards”—a jab at the upcoming Cars, no doubt. The sequence is animated in CGI and has many clever jabs, including ”Eddie Murphy” voicing a card being arrested, pleading with officers that he “...didn't know she was a King; she told [him] she was a Queen!” Later at a poker game a jack that sounds suspiciously like Nicholson tells another card that he “can't handle the twos!”

As far as the resolution of the episode's central crisis, anyone who's ever watched the show now or in the past probably knows whether or not Homer learned to be there for his wife and listen as well as care about what she had to say, and whether Marge decided to honor her vows to the man she loved or leave him for a good listener with a thinly-veiled ulterior motive. If I enjoyed my last minutes of relaxation next weekend after the Super Bowl by settling down to watch an episode of “The Syzlaks”, I don't think it would be quite the same...