Alan Siegel’s book grabbed my attention and fed on my nostalgia for one of the most classic and enduring shows in pop culture: The Simpsons. His book, Stupid TV, Be More Funny is purportedly about, if the subtitle is to be believed, How the Golden Era of the Simpsons Changed Television—And America—Forever. It’s an enjoyable read but, like later eras of the titular show, doesn’t quite live up to its promise.
Perhaps it’s because I’m approaching the text from an academic background, but the subtitle made me expect more direct and thorough commentary. Going in, I thought the book would offer close reading of the show’s structure or how particular episodes or even specific jokes reshaped the landscape of popular media. There are some traces of those ideas. One area of interest to me is the structure of episodes, and there is some reference to how in many episodes of The Simpsons, Act I is entirely different from Act II—the unpredictability of the story progression is pretty revolutionary, I’d say—and Siegel points out the originality of the mini-anthology approach of Treehouse of Horrors, now a staple for The Simpsons but also a format adopted by full television series. Relatedly, Siegel references the fact that most sitcoms at the time were live-action and stage-bound and how The Simpsons made use of animation to explore so many more narrative and filmic possibilities.
From the point of view of cultural criticism, I think the promise in Siegel’s title comes up a little bit short. There’s reference to the culture wars and censorship but it isn’t yet fully fleshed out how the show was able to create such an impact. There’s a confluence of factors that are interesting to hear about, but the analytical chops of the book aren’t quite there yet. It’s interesting in retrospect to hear about Fox as a fledgling company that was up against the big guys instead of being the evil monolith it has become—and enlightening to hear about how they changed the timeslot for The Simpsons to directly compete with the Cosby show. Siegel discusses the way The Simpsons was politicized by George Bush and how his message failed to resonate since Matt Groening’s creation was a more accurate and relatable reflection of American life that voters could see themselves in (rather than Bush’s idealized Republicans in The Waltons).
What is maybe of most interest is the way technology emerges alongside The Simpsons and how the two interact. For instance, The Simpsons are famous for visual gags and wordplay on signage that is seen only briefly on screen or in the background. Siegel mentions an episode where the writers were told to come up with 15 fake store names and went wild with it. The writers laboured over these jokes that people most likely would miss, but they could record episodes to VHS and rewatch. Making use of little details, I think, has been really influential on modern TV—or at least on the really good shows. It’s those Easter eggs and fun little gags that people rewatch shows for. At the same time, Internet culture was emerging and it was a fun read when Siegel was discussing the early message boards where fans would praise and decry the show, offering comments like “Worst. Episode. Ever.” The way The Simpsons was able to respond to the critiques and the industry pressures in episodes like “The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy Show” feels revolutionary in terms of how audiences engage with media and vice versa.
All this said, the book feels more like a critical history of the show. It’s an engaging discussion of the key players, distinct moments in the show’s development, and so on, but I kept waiting for the focus to shift. I was continually waiting for the deep academic analysis that would explain just why the show reshaped the television landscape, and I think Siegel didn’t quite make it there. I would appreciate, too, some discussion of why the Golden Era of the show works while the latter ones are described as “zombie Simpsons.” I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the book, but a lot of what I liked about it was the way it referenced classic jokes from The Simpsons that I have held in my brain for three decades. As a history, it’s effective. As social commentary, it was kinda, as coined by The Simpsons and adopted into common parlance, meh.
Happy reading!
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