The original purpose of this entire blog was to explore each one of those dreams, every single one of the 120. That will happen, but as they do, a wider examination of this wasteland in which Chef Gonzo finds himself will be taking place.
I've lived previously in Brooklyn, a separate entity while simultaneously a member of the City of New York. In New York you finally realize that true loneliness can only really happen when you're surrounded by people. Now that Los Angeles--the idea of LA, not literally the city itself--is where I find myself, I think it's fitting that a place where so many people are employed in the creation of artistic endeavors can truly house the cultural wasteland that also exists in the shadows...well, "fitting" may not be the correct word. Think about a coin. In New York one side is being constantly surrounded by people, while the other side is the capacity for deep loneliness. In Los Angeles there's a different coin: artists of all kinds are making a living, probably more artists than at any other time or any other place in the history of the world, but the flipside is that there is a vast cultural wasteland being produced at the same time, and pop is a driving force.
Well, we'll see. It's a working hypothesis. Like a journey to find the American dream in a white Caddie going to Vegas. New York isn't all mid-town high-rises, there's also Broad Channel. While Los Angeles-the-idea has beaches, there's also a ton of blight.
Right. So, back to Exhibit A.
9/24/1992 saw the Season 4 premier of The Simpsons, America's hottest new show, and 9/21/1997 saw the Season 9 premier. In between we were given 22 episodes from Seasons 4 and 5, 25 episodes from Seasons 6, 7, and 8, and the 1 episode from Season 9. 22 + 22 + 25 + 25 + 25 + 1 = 120.
The reasons for these specific episodes need further explanation.
The third season marked the end of the production at the Klasky-Csupo animation studio, and the fourth season began their in-house operation at Film Roman, where production is still carried out today. Klasky-Csupo don't really get the recognition that they probably deserve, seeing as how it was their design decisions that gave the Simpsons their trademark skin color (yellow) and Marge's hair (blue). They went on to produce classics like Rugrats and Duckman, but the reasons for Fox changing companies is the meat of a different sandwich.
While the first two episodes of the fourth season of the Simpsons were holdovers from the previous season, they have a flair that fits in well with my agenda, so that worked out well. America in September of 1992 and America in September of 1997 were different and similar in ways that were explained through the interspersed 120 episodes. It's my contention that those 120 episodes are the ones that constitute the heart of what makes people love The Simpsons today, and they are the ones that made the show grow from wonderful heart-felt show with true emotion to transcendental cultural icon.
The first three season established that a show with biting wit and satire could also be full of heart, that animation could be smarter and better and more true than anything else on television. From the fourth season on, we see how they can build on that solid foundation.
The fourth season started, on that late September day, with "Kamp Krusty". A classic considered by many to be among the show's greatest episodes, it delved into parenting, being a kid, the nature of recreation, and mindless shillery.
The ninth season began with one of my favorite episodes, "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". When it first aired I was in the dorms, watching it with my new pals the day before college started (classes anyway) and I remember being transfixed by a thing, a piece of art that was lots of yellow and moved, and made me laugh until tears ran from my bloodshot eyes. After having lived in Brooklyn for three and a half years I gained a whole new level of love for the episode (and, for that matter, Futurama, a show with more of a New York sensibility than the producers would want to admit).
Each season has its moments that fans can identify with and remember as warmly as anything short of their own children. Season 4 has the purported "Greatest Simpsons Episode Ever"; season 5 has Bobo and Stampy; season 6 has the Stonecutters and the threat of invading koalas; season 7 has the Hellfish and a big fat dynamo; season 8 has the Beer Baron and Grimey...I could go on and on.
I've read that some people cut-off the greatness of the show at the ninth season. After that, they say, the show relied too heavily on wacky shit, guest star cameos, and various pop-culture references and got away from the character driven story. I don't totally agree with them, but I see their point. I didn't just pick the New York episode because I like the round 120 number (but I do)(that number was kind of a surprise for me).
I love the episode, certainly. The very next week the episode that aired was called "The Principal and the Pauper". In the episode we learn that Skinner, or at least the guy who runs the school under the name Skinner, is actually a former ne'er do well named Armin Tamzarian. This angered many fans and voice talent alike. The show's writers have said that they felt like the show was their creative play-pen, and wanted to shake it up a little. I don't fault them for it, but I do think that episode marks a specific end of an era. Because I don't include more episodes in the 120, I lose "Lisa the Skeptic", one of my favorites, but we still get "Lisa the Iconoclast".
So that's it. LA and The Simpsons...a vast collective fever dream we're all having...
Right. So, back to Exhibit A.
9/24/1992 saw the Season 4 premier of The Simpsons, America's hottest new show, and 9/21/1997 saw the Season 9 premier. In between we were given 22 episodes from Seasons 4 and 5, 25 episodes from Seasons 6, 7, and 8, and the 1 episode from Season 9. 22 + 22 + 25 + 25 + 25 + 1 = 120.
The reasons for these specific episodes need further explanation.
The third season marked the end of the production at the Klasky-Csupo animation studio, and the fourth season began their in-house operation at Film Roman, where production is still carried out today. Klasky-Csupo don't really get the recognition that they probably deserve, seeing as how it was their design decisions that gave the Simpsons their trademark skin color (yellow) and Marge's hair (blue). They went on to produce classics like Rugrats and Duckman, but the reasons for Fox changing companies is the meat of a different sandwich.
While the first two episodes of the fourth season of the Simpsons were holdovers from the previous season, they have a flair that fits in well with my agenda, so that worked out well. America in September of 1992 and America in September of 1997 were different and similar in ways that were explained through the interspersed 120 episodes. It's my contention that those 120 episodes are the ones that constitute the heart of what makes people love The Simpsons today, and they are the ones that made the show grow from wonderful heart-felt show with true emotion to transcendental cultural icon.
The first three season established that a show with biting wit and satire could also be full of heart, that animation could be smarter and better and more true than anything else on television. From the fourth season on, we see how they can build on that solid foundation.
The fourth season started, on that late September day, with "Kamp Krusty". A classic considered by many to be among the show's greatest episodes, it delved into parenting, being a kid, the nature of recreation, and mindless shillery.
The ninth season began with one of my favorite episodes, "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". When it first aired I was in the dorms, watching it with my new pals the day before college started (classes anyway) and I remember being transfixed by a thing, a piece of art that was lots of yellow and moved, and made me laugh until tears ran from my bloodshot eyes. After having lived in Brooklyn for three and a half years I gained a whole new level of love for the episode (and, for that matter, Futurama, a show with more of a New York sensibility than the producers would want to admit).
Each season has its moments that fans can identify with and remember as warmly as anything short of their own children. Season 4 has the purported "Greatest Simpsons Episode Ever"; season 5 has Bobo and Stampy; season 6 has the Stonecutters and the threat of invading koalas; season 7 has the Hellfish and a big fat dynamo; season 8 has the Beer Baron and Grimey...I could go on and on.
I've read that some people cut-off the greatness of the show at the ninth season. After that, they say, the show relied too heavily on wacky shit, guest star cameos, and various pop-culture references and got away from the character driven story. I don't totally agree with them, but I see their point. I didn't just pick the New York episode because I like the round 120 number (but I do)(that number was kind of a surprise for me).
I love the episode, certainly. The very next week the episode that aired was called "The Principal and the Pauper". In the episode we learn that Skinner, or at least the guy who runs the school under the name Skinner, is actually a former ne'er do well named Armin Tamzarian. This angered many fans and voice talent alike. The show's writers have said that they felt like the show was their creative play-pen, and wanted to shake it up a little. I don't fault them for it, but I do think that episode marks a specific end of an era. Because I don't include more episodes in the 120, I lose "Lisa the Skeptic", one of my favorites, but we still get "Lisa the Iconoclast".
So that's it. LA and The Simpsons...a vast collective fever dream we're all having...
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