The Golden Age Of The Simpsons: The Pet Sounds Era
I did a series of posts on the first nine years of The Simpsons on the show's fansite, NoHomers.net, under my username C.MontgomeryBurns. I reposted my deconstructions here in a series of posts below. They provide a general overview of each period of the show. All of the posts together are 8,000 plus words. When I saw the first episode produced by Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein it was a bit jarring at first, but I mean that in funny way about myself and not for the episode itself. As someone who loved the first four seasons on the show I had by this point come to accept and appreciate by then new hilariously zany tone set up by the great David Mirkin, who had first opened the door for new showrunners to come in with a different interpretation for the series. Then here comes Oakley & Weinstein and I find myself saying “My God this is just as great as Mirkin’s work…only very different and I love it. But I just got used to his hilarious work already. I feel bad now”. All kidding aside, that was the creative intention of Oakley and Weinstein’s goal for their two seasons as showrunners. It was meant to be a departure from the more satirical Mirkin years and more of a return to the family vibe of the early years, particularly the third and fourth seasons of the show. But as I continued to watch their seasons I soon realized there was a lot more to their ambitions than just simply emulating the feel of the previous years. Their episodes were produced through the lens of longtime fans that were well versed on the mythos and history of the show. And like the effective showrunners that came before them the duo had a very strong vision of how the show should be under their supervision. They wanted to push the boundaries of the series as far as they could take it through their tinkering of the tone, animation, and character development during the seventh and eight seasons. Their style had subtle sense of comedy that required more thought and insight into them. It all fell under the kind of observational humor that was popularized by Seinfeld which I believe had a great influence on the writers of those two seasons. The animation itself took a phenomenal leap forward with more attention given to the fluidity, the subtle emotions, and mannerisms which went hand in hand with the drier sense of writing. The way the stories were boarded, staged, and directed gave the series a more cinematic feel than there was previously. This is why the animation produced for those two years remains the high mark for the show’s animation, including both the cell days and digital era. One of the ways I tend to look at certain periods of the show is through music. For example, the previous six years give or take can be thought of as The Beatles work through Revolver, Rubber Soul, andSrgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. When I think back to the Oakley & Weinstein era specifically I compare it to where the Beach Boys were with their albums Today, Pet Sounds, and Smile back in the 1960’s. Anyone who knows those albums will know that songs like “Please Let Me Wonder”, “God Only Knows”, and “Good Vibrations” elevated to the group to a totally new level of awesomeness and sophistication that was for its time shocking not just to the critics but also to the fans who had embraced their previous works. I put the seventh and eighth seasons in that same context where the writers and animators were trying redefine what the show was to its fans and critics. Both of those seasons revolved around recurring themed or ideas that formed the main concept for the entire season.That underneath the typical plot-lines we expect of the show there was a deepness, spirituality, and self-awareness of their place in animation history. So if you thought as a fan you already knew everything about the world of the Simpsons then think again, because even though the show had been on the air for seven to eight years there was still so much more to learn and experience from it. That was the same feeling I experienced when I watched through their episodes. The history of Springfield was explored more in detail to the point that the town itself became a character on the show. With that came an increased emphasis on the secondary characters like Millhouse’s parents who could carry their own stories. Even the minor characters such as Jasper that were often seen in the background got their own moment in the spot light as well. Of course the family remained the dominant force in the show by being fleshed out in ways that had not yet been done before. You got to see a more nuanced side to their personalities that was both surprising and refreshing to see. It really gave the family more of a richness and depth which was only beneficial to their development as characters. It’s funny in hindsight how Oakley & Weinstein’s initial intent was to mimic the early years, because as their run continued the series became much more emotional and experimental with its stories and characters. They were not afraid of taking the show to territory that would prove to be challenging, sad, or even dark to the fan. The emotional stories produced really delved into the psyche and soul of the character. At times it would make you cringe or put you at the edge of your seat over the realism of that given situation, like let’s say “Marge Be Not Proud” or “My Sister My Sitter”. But when I say cringe I mean that in the good sense of the word, for the show made you care about what was happening because you could understand or relate to it. The experimental stories often played around with the series' format like in the action-mystery themed "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish" or in the brake the fourth story “Homer’s Enemy” which effectively showed what the show was and wasn't. Those type of stories were also used as a platform for the writers to defend their views of the show, and when they did it was always done in a clear and articulate manner as was seen in “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”. As a fan it made me want to understand and appreciate what they were trying to say through their stories. The fans of the day were harshly critical of all those aspects because Oakley & Weinstein broke with what they saw as the established formula. Sure, there were a few episodes that could have been better. Their tenure was not all perfect by any means…but honestly those were the only weak links I could think of. The show crosses paths again with The Beach Boys since both parties alienated their fan bases with their non-formulaic and "way-out-there" approach. But like all great works ahead of their time it took years before the public realized…not simply out of nostalgia or romanticism…what they were really missing out in the first place. I guess that’s why to me of all the great periods in the Golden Age their tenure is my personal favorite. It doesn’t mean it was the end of the Golden Age, for the following season continued the trend set up by the early seasons. And the show from time to time continues to do great episodes. But somehow that period of time remains to me the most ambitious and ultimately the creative zenith of the entire series.
