2014 Emmys Deny Simpsons Animaton Nomination… For the First Time Ever!

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As we previously reported, the nominations for the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced, and there were a few surprise inclusions. However, the bigger surprise was the fact that The Simpsons, nominated for an Outstanding Animated Program award for 22 of its past 24 seasons (only failing to land a nod in 1993 & 1994 when the producers vied for a comedy nomination instead), failed to appear in the category this year. Madness!

Obviously the show is no longer in its prime years, but that’s been true for a while, and this past season definitely wasn’t the worst yet. So what gives? Let’s take a look at the current state and recent history of The Simpsons for some answers.

When it comes to rating and reviewing a show like The Simpsons, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. We’ve all no doubt heard (and perhaps hold ourselves) the aforementioned opinion that the show is way past its peak, isn’t the show it used to be, or has jumped the shark – and those comments are from the nicer folks, comparably speaking. To some extent this is absolutely true. From a couple seasons in, to around season 12 or so, The Simpsons simply killed. If you refer to our ranking of the 25 best Simpsons episodes of all time, they were easily all 10-out-of-10s. Episodes in the best seasons rarely dropped below a 9, and the show could be counted on week after week to keep this standard up. I doubt there was anything less than an 8-rating in that whole timespan.

But just because something has changed, even in a way that makes it worse than it was, doesn’t mean it lacks any sort of quality or redeeming value. Far from it, in some cases. Still, there has been an obvious dip since the heyday, and that can’t be ignored.

If someone was a straight A student their whole life, and suddenly started getting nothing but Bs (going from the nickname “Ace” to the nickname “Buzz” – thanks, The Office) people would say they’ve slacked off, have become dumber, or have simply stopped trying. Yet many students would give up a kidney to achieve that B-level success.

To use a sports analogy – in this case, baseball – we can look at a player like Mark Teixeira, the Yankees first baseman for the last five-and-a-half years (and next two-and-a-half.) When Tex was having his best years, he had a scary-high batting average around .300 every season, in addition to clubbing an obscene amount of home runs. As he aged (he’s still only 34, but baseball years are like dog years) he saw a drastic drop in the amount of hits he earned, and the amount of times he got on base. Nevertheless, the man was (and is) still a force when it comes to power, capable of knocking 30 dingers and driving in upwards of 100 runs each season. People have made the Hall of Fame with much less. Most Major Leaguers would sell their soul for his current numbers, yet some fans routinely call him washed-up, or a has-been, simply because they’re expecting him to perform at the same level he did when he was younger. Balderdash!

Anyway, this isn’t about baseball, or grades, but the point stands regardless: just because someone or something isn’t living up to its former glory, doesn’t mean it’s shitty. Capiche?

The Simpsons is no exception, and generally speaking, we all know it probably won’t ever live up to the legacy of the life it once had, cranking out hit after hit almost every opportunity it got. But in this day and age, with all the horrible programming polluting the airwaves, if I was picking a lineup of great shows currently on TV, I wouldn’t mind choosing one that is reliable, dependable, and pretty damn consisted each and every year.

And for the same reason I’d welcome Mark Teixeira to play first base on any sort of hypothetical baseball team I was putting together (or my nuclear power plant softball team) I still love The Simpsons because it’s always comforting to have someone to rely on – someone that has always been a giant among mere mortals, and is still capable of knocking their fair share of hits out of the park every season.