The Simpsons: Life In Springfield

Before I actually say anything meaningful, I just want to say that, when I was a little kid, I thought that The Simpsons took place in Springfield, IL. Illinois is my home state, and I didn't realize there were any other Springfields out there. Now that I'm older and wiser, I am so happy that The Simpsons doesn't take place in Springfield, IL, what with it being our capital and all (then again, my Springfield is pretty corrupt, so maybe some Simpsons-esque corruption would make it funny in addition to sad).

Springfield, USA is a town devoid of logic. Anything can and will happen, and the only people in town who could do anything about it are usually shunned. This is a city that built an escalator to nowhere, enacted prohibition in the 20th century, and installed a state-of-the-art anti-truancy unit in a school bereft of funds. Springfield is also a geographical impossibility; it has moutains that have ski slopes, a giant gorge, and a coastline. That doesn't sound like any place in the US that I'm aware of. But the point of these bizarre situations and geographical anomolies is to allow pretty much any story to be told in the town. The writers have little regard for continuity so that the plot can be as outrageous as necessary.

Some of the best stories revolve around Homer getting into really bizarre situations involving family, work, or other American values. For example, in "Stark Raving Dad", conformity was examined when Homer showed up to work in a pink shirt (Bart tossed a red cap in with the white laundry), and Mr. Burns assumed he was crazy for not dressing like every other employee. In "Homer Goes To College", Homer expects the experience to be like Animal House, complete with great parties, easy co-eds, and a crusty old dean ripe for a good pranking. Instead, he gets saddled with a group of nerds, while the dean is a young and cool guy who only wants to help Homer succeed.

Of course, Homer isn't the only focus of the show, and, beyond that, the show doesn't specialize on lessons. The Simpsons probably didn't invent the pop culture metaphor, but they certainly made an art form out of it (when pitching Spaced, Simon Pegg listed this show as one of the influences). Sometimes the references are quick sight gags, while other times, they are entire scenes that are extremely faithful reproductions (I forget what episode this is from, but there is a two-minute reproduction of the temple scene at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark that was absolutely hilarious). The best references are the ones which tie in with the plot of the episode. One example is Maggie's escape from the Ayn Rand Daycare Center with a Great Escape-esque plan. "22 Short Films About Springfield" was basically a response to Pulp Fiction. The phenominal "Marge vs. The Monorail" riffed The Music Man, keeping true to the source material, while putting a hilarious Simpsons spin (Leonard Nimoy's random appearance and Homer's hopes that Marge had employed Batman to help save the day were certainly not a part of the play).

And then, there are the totally off-the-wall stories that seem to exist more for fun than to actually tell a meaningful story. Sometimes, there may be a pseudo-message, like "Mountain of Madness" teaching us the perils of cabin fever. However, the real purpose of that episode was to make us laugh by putting Homer and Burns together in a confined space. And to show us a rocket house. The rocket house was key. There is also "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", which made fun of police procedurals, silly high-concept sitcoms, and cheesy variety shows all in one episode. Narrated by Troy McClure, each act was a preview of an upcoming Simpsons spin-off, each more terrible than the last. In the first, Chief Wiggum, Ralph, and Principal Skinner moved to New Orleans to set up a PI business. Best line: "Look Big Daddy, it's regular daddy!" The second was about Grandpa Simpson's soul inhabiting Moe's love-tester machine, and the wacky adventures that ensued. Finally, in a parody of the Brady Bunch's variety show (which did not feature Eve Plum, who chose not to participate for reasons that were likely obvious), the Simpsons were given a lame variety show, in which Lisa chose not to participate.

Not every story is confined to Springfield, and fortunately, it appears that the rest of the world is just as messed up as the Simpsons' home town. The family has been on every continent except for Antarctica, and bizarre events follow them everywhere. In Japan, they were on a degrading Japanese game show and were attacked by Godzilla. In England, the family met J.K. Rowling, Ian McKellan, and Queen Elizabeth II (Homer rear-ended her carriage). And in Brazil, Bart got hooked on the hit kids' show "Teleboobies".

Huh. I guess this post was more about strolling down memory lane than actually analyzing anything, but hey, there's no problem with that. With memories this good, who wouldn't want to relive them?

Up next: Back to the future...