Review: The Simpsons “The Winter of Our Monetized Content”

 

 

Overview:

Homer has embarrassed himself by showcasing his lack of knowledge when it comes to sports. Before anybody can make fun of him, he starts his own internet sports talk show. Unfortunately, Bart is there to sabotage the whole thing, resulting in the Simpson boys trying to kill each other once again. However, with everything caught on camera, they become an internet sensation overnight. With the help of a true hipster, they learn to monetize their new fame. As the boys bond, fans dislike their new affection. In a last-ditch effort, they are put on stage to fight one another to death.

Meanwhile, Lisa incidentally caused the latest food fight at Springfield Elementary. Thanks to the cafeteria food, she finds herself in a prison-like detention hall. In place of passively serving her time, Lisa brings her fellow prisoners to revolt, and go on strike.

 

Our Take:

Season 31 premiere! We are in a new age of The Simpsons. Not really. There hasn’t been a significant change of guard for the creative team. There’s just a lot going on for what The Simpsons means to fans these days. The series has failed to reach anywhere near the popularity that it once held in the ’90s, yet has remained a valuable part of pop culture for more than three decades. Breaking past the milestone 30th season, there is a lot of questions about how far this franchise can go. Ownership has also changed hands, with Disney’s recent acquisition of Fox. Matt Groening’s yellow animated family has long been the face of Fox entertainment, and now they join franchises like Star Wars, Muppets, and Marvel under the house of mouse. Creators and writers have said that not much has changed under the new leadership as far as production goes, but it will still be interesting to see how the media goliath handles the longest-running adult animated series of all time.

So, season 31 feels like all new ground. The big question is, will the creators and showrunners react to change and adapt, or will it be business as usual for The Simpsons? And, with all due respect to the last few seasons, this was one of the best premieres in a long time. There was something fresh in the air of the episode. It was back in touch with what makes the show great, to begin with. It wasn’t adding more complicated backstory to another random citizen of Springfield. Instead, we receive a fun plot that doesn’t mess with the characters we love, they just utilized them in a plot that is fun and enjoyable.

The story was humorous and entertaining enough for the whole family and relevant and intelligent enough for adults. There are nods to pop culture like the Making a Murderer spoof offered by Lisa’s story that later leads to a Breakfast Club acknowledgement. But, also fun side thoughts like Homer’s quote “I was going to change the NHL with my idea of morbidly obese goalies”. And the whole episode was packed full of witty lines like that. But, what really separates things is they have started referencing themselves when a chant of “monetization” became “monorail”. Maybe, we have just been missing The Simpsons over the summer, but this felt like one of the most entertaining episodes in some time.

I also wanted to document something, just in case, it needs to be brought up later. The Simpsons have been known to predict the future in the past. However, now they may be doing it blatantly and on-purpose. At one point, Homer talks about buying a boat. To go further, an image pops up on the screen saying that Homer will, in fact, buy a boat on November 3rd. Considering that November 3rd is a Sunday with a new Simpsons episode scheduled, this may be a promo for a future plot. Come that fateful Sunday it would be interesting to look back at this as another time The Simpsons told us the future. It counts.

It’s hard not to get excited. Just like the third act of this episode escalates The Simpsons may be hitting a whole new stride. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get too excited just yet. There are always great episodes to a season. But, if this is the pace and tone that we can expect from 31, then we are in for a treat of a year. I have always been on board for 30 more seasons of The Simpsons, but it’s episodes like this one that may just get them there.