A Victory For Mary Sues Everywhere
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_Springfield
http://www.emmys.com/nominations?tid=1170
Really, Emmy® voters? Really?
I’ve come to accept that the Academy will continue to nominate this show despite years of declining quality (and overwhelming arrogance in the face of same) because that’s just what they do: continue to deify past-their-prime series out of habit long after the general populace has moved on to fresher fare. The last season of The Venture Bros., for example, was far more entertaining, hilarious and even touching (in its own ribald way) than any episode of The Simpsons or the rest of The Usual Gang Of Idiots this past year. But the odds of that show ever snagging a nom are slim and none, and slim just left town.
But to nominate THIS episode, out of all the other choices? Not “The Devil Wears Nada”, which was far from the best episode in series history but certainly a step up from recent efforts? Or “Oh Brother, Where Bart Thou?”, which harkened back to the glory days and actually managed to be funny, character-driven and touching without resorting to the same old tired “edgy” humor that has a very short shelf life? Even “Million-Dollar Maybe”, with all its flaws, was better than the barely-disguised Mary Sue snoozefest known as “Once Upon A Time In Springfield”. It would take far too long to list all the major and minor issues with the episode, but here are a few:
- The inherent awkwardness and questionable taste of the Eartha Kitt (R.I.P) cameo.
- The heavy-handed attempts to transform Krusty the Clown (the Jerry Lewis/Bozo The Clown amalgam) into a romantic lead. Seriously, people? Have we learned nothing from eight-plus decades of show business history?
- The songs. Dear God, the songs. Remember when this show used to savagely mock sappy, overly-sentimental claptrap and not actively showcase it?
- And that ending…wow. It was almost enough to make me give up on The Simpsons for good (as in, never watch any episode ever again and possibly sell my DVDs), and that’s saying something when you consider that not even “The Principal and The Pauper”, the jockey song or panda rape could accomplish that feat.
Words can’t describe just how insipid this episode truly was, especially with that cloying, Vegasesque “thanks for the memories” message tacked on the final scene (which, thankfully, has been altered to something more “Simpsons-like” in subsequent airings). And for this tripe to receive Emmy® recognition while a true gem like Community is left out in the cold without a single nomination…well, that speaks volumes about the state of the television industry today, doesn’t it?
TV’s Tim
