The Simpsons has run longer than any sitcom in history. After fifteen seasons, it seems like there isn't anything the Simpsons haven't done (as pointed out in a South Park episode.) The past three seasons have, at times, seemed tired, longing for a merciful cancellation. Yet the show has soldiered on. It's been a cash cow for the FOX network, and the network bosses have no intentions of letting it go.
Several Simpsons episodes have made its fans leap from their seats and cry, "Jump the Shark!" Some of these cries have been premature. The appearance of "Jerkass Homer" in season nine was heralded by some entertainment critics as the series' death knell. However, these episodes still maintained their comic timing and punch, even as the plots became more implausible. Still, as a lifelong Simpsons fan, even I must say that some of the recent episodes have been downright awful and an affront to what was once a witty and sardonic show. Yet the past three seasons have also had quite a few gems that would seem to have "un-jumped the shark." Despite a few redeeming episodes, the Simpson writers should take note that the fins are circling in the water unless they come up with more original and more plausible episodes.
I submit, for your approval, a list of episodes that potentially represent the point where The Simpsons jumps the shark. Each episode is identified by season number and episode number within that season.
S10E13 Homer to the Max
Homer revels in the spotlight after watching the pilot episode of Police Cops, a TV drama. By the second episode, the show has retooled and the Homer character is now an ignorant oaf. The real Homer Simpson changes his name to "Max Power." The name brings him renewed attention, and he mingles with Springfield's power couples and glitterati. President Clinton confesses to having sex with pigs at a party. The glitterati decide to hug trees at the party, and Homer fouls up yet again, earning him the disdain of his new friends.
S12E06 The Computer Wore Menace Shoes
Homer gets a new computer, which he uses to create a website. Eventually Homer becomes "Mr. X," a Matt Drudge ripoff who reports rumor from his website. After Mr. X exposes a major scandal, he begins to report lies as fact. One of his lies happens to be true, and a mysterious man kidnaps him and drags him to a mysterious island for people who know too much. A lot of the timing on the jokes is off, and too few people would understand the parody of an obscure 1960's sci-fi show that occurs in the second half of the episode.
S12E07 The Great Money Caper
The Simpsons watch a magician, while a sturgeon falls from the Mir space station and flattens their car (stolen straight from South Park's first Halloween episode, Pink Eye.) Homer and Bart become grifters to pay the repair bill and make extra money. Eventually the dastardly duo are arrested and put on trial. A the end it is revealed that the trial was an elaborate setup known to everyone (except for Willy.) Otto suggests "surf's up" at the end of the episode for no known reason.
S12Exx Day of the Jackanapes
Sideshow Bob tries to hypnotize Bart into killing Krusty. Sideshow Bob's love of kettle chips is exposed. The Springfield Police put Bob in the guillotine. Aside from the hypnotized Bart bashing the crotch out of a Krusty statue, there's nothing funny about this episode. Fortunately, Bob redeems himself in the season fourteen episode The Great Louse Detective.
S13E08 Sweets and Sour Marge
The town of Springfield tries to set a world's record for the tallest human pyramid. Because the townspeople are so fat, the pyramid becomes a computer-animated ball that rolls down the street. Marge decides that sugar is the culprit and gets it banned. Ben Stiller guest stars, but his appearance is not funny. Homer begins smuggling sugar, ripping off the episode Homer versus the eighteenth amendment from season eight.
S13E19 The Sweetest Apu
Apu cheats on his wife with the Squishee Lady. Manjula considers divorce but instead comes up with a list of tasks that Apu must perform as his penance. The episode is not that bad, but many of the jokes don't work at all, like Homer jumping backwards on a ladder.
S13E21 Frying Game
The Simpsons discover an endangered "scream-a-pillar" after Homer builds Marge a Koi pond. An EPA man, taken straight from Ghostbusters, order the Simpsons to care for the annoying insect. When the scream-a-pillar dies, Homer and Marge take jobs as maids for an old, wealthy lady to pay the fines. The lady is murdered and Homer and Marge stand trial. As Homer is strapped into the electric chair, he finds that the entire frame up was part of a reality TV show. Homer stares at host Carmen Electra's boobs. Overall, this had to be the most disgustingly implausible episode ever created. Everybody associated with this travesty should do the honorable thin g and commit suicide.
S14E19 Old Yeller-Belly
Santa's Little Helper, the family dog, is exposed as a coward. After the Simpsons reject him, he is discovered by the Duff Beer Company as their new mascot, Suds McDuff. The family becomes jealous of him and tries to get Duffman, now volunteering at a halfway house, to come out of retirement. Eventually Suds McDuff is replaced by a new mascot, Duff McShark. This episode is not that bad, but it rips off The Canine Mutiny from season eight and it literally has a shark in it, so it needs to be on the jump the shark list.
S14E20 Brake My Wife, Please
Homer loses his driver's license after buying lots of gadgets for his car and giving the brothers the "black power" salute as he drives off a bridge. Marge has to drive him everywhere but becomes annoyed by acting as his keeper. Homer takes up walking instead, and has a musical number with Steve Buscemi and a pair of Turkomen. By the end of the musical, Marge runs Homer over. Homer and Marge go to marriage counseling. Homer decides to throw an elegant party for Marge and invites Jackson Browne, the musician / songwriter / hippie. This episode has no unity; it's just a series of events strung together that have little to do with the beginning of the episode. It has funny moments, but after watching this, you say to yourself that your three-year-old cousin could have come up with a better story.
S15E18 Catch 'Em If You Can
Homer and Marge are supposed to be in Dayton for a funeral, but instead go to Palm Springs for an amorous getaway. The kids get wind of this after a news report about the Simpsons' hotel in Dayton being demolished by a hurricane. Bart and Lisa decide to ruin Homer and Marge's fun, chasing them across the country and preventing them from having a good time. The animation changes to different styles, including Nintendo characters, during the big, pointless chase scene. The trite plot drags out way too long and the jokes aren't funny. The episode has a similar plot to the revitalizing tonic episode from season six and the "streaking" season finale to season nine.
The lesson from all this is that Simpsons episodes are best when they are fresh and original. As more episodes are made, it becomes more difficult to avoid mimicking older episodes. The show has also lost its satirical edge, delving increasingly into vulgarity and animation gags. The best episodes are the ones that depict Homer as a family man, earnestly trying to make things work. However, there are also times when a "Jerkass Homer" episode is appropriate and funny. "Bart" and "Lisa" episodes are also appreciated. Plots should also be linear and not beyond the limits of plausibility. If you have any more episodes to add to the list, please send them my way.
Last revised July 27, 2004