As the longest-running primetime series on American television, The Simpsons continues to attract a loyal and cult following. But over the years, some disgruntled viewers have noticed a sea change in the show’s originality and comedy. One of the fans even made a documentary on the subject — called The Simpsons: How It Happened — in which he tries to recreate the moment in the franchise’s history when everything went wrong .
Premiering in 1989, The Simpsons introduced the world to a wonderfully dysfunctional family consisting of father Homer, mother Maggie and children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Every member of The Simpsons quickly became an enduring figure among pop culture icons. The show quickly exploded from cult status to international recognition. In doing so, it managed to change the tone of the family sitcom and redefine the barometer of modern primetime animated series success.
In order to analyze where the show may have lost its edge, critics need to know what it once excelled at. The film offers insight as it outlines the qualities that made The Simpsons a phenomenon from the start, including the series creators’ unconventional perspective, the complexity of their comic structures, and their keen observation countercultural tendencies.
The filmmaker has been equally accurate in criticizing the shortcomings of his recent seasons. In particular, he cites increasingly cheap gimmicks and pointless routines, a careless focus on characters, a lack of commitment to their wild satirical roots, and a constantly revolving door of quality writers. His argument was underscored by a series of carefully edited expository program clips and further supported by waning fan enthusiasm in more than 300,000 online user comments.
The Fall of The Simpsons: How It Happened is not an exercise in satire and shallowness in amateur criticism. Instead, it’s a well-informed and articulate plea from a devotee who knows the strengths and weaknesses of this once-important show inside and out. This is clearly a passion project, not a professional or brilliant production. But it’s definitely authoritative and persuasive.
