The Simpsons Family History – Book Review
One of the most common complaints about The Simpsons is that it isn’t as good as it used to be. It is clear to see why – over time the show has adapted to serve different audiences as television has evolved. Couple that with the fact that there have been over 550 episodes broadcast and the show inevitably starts to spread itself a little thin. Where Homer used to have genuine concerns and feelings he is now an over saturated imitation of himself; Where prankster Bart used to face problems that kids (and some adults) could relate to, he’s now just going through the motions. The show that used to cut through the others with its razor remarks and cutting commentary now sits on the shelf alongside its former imitators. Alas, they’ll never be another episode as good as “Bart Gets an F” and we’ll all just have to try live with that. But The Simpsons never stopped being great on purpose – it just evolved into another show that you don’t like as much because it had no choice. One thing we can do though if we don’t like the new stuff is look back on the show and enjoy it for what it was on DVD.
In a way this is what The Simpsons Family History does. This book is the latest in a long line of books that accompany the TV series and unfortunately it would appear the books are following the trends of the episodes themselves, as the quality of this book shows a decline in the quality of what The Simpsons brand has been known to deliver. There have been many publications based around America’s number one family: Bongo comics have published many comics which continue the stories and honour creator Matt Groening’s comic heritage, whilst other publishers have created books which delve into the show in minute detail and show off its genius, such as Ray Richmond’s The Simpsons: A Complete Guide. There have also been various cash-in books such as the Library of Wisdom series and who can forget the Uncensored Family Album, adorned with a detailed family tree along with clippings, photos and handwritten notes from the characters themselves. A lot of effort went into this book and the writers clearly had an affection for the characters and the show’s mythology.
The Uncensored family tree is probably the closest thing there is to describing the book under review here – as the book is a look back at the show’s mythology, not a detailed look at the episode notes, nor an account from the characters themselves but 304 pages of screenshots from flashback episodes and segments pieced together to form the origins of the family. All the origin episodes are placed in precise order, which at times makes the tome a little unreadable as fans of the show will have a hard time imagining Homer graduating in flares the 1970s, then forming a grunge band in the 90s before marrying Marge in the early 80s. Piecing the show together in this way seems to have broken one of the shows unwritten rules by trying to solidify the shows elastic timeline which is often used to poke fun at its own longevity but this book shows acknowledgement that this is being done for comic effect like the episodes often do. I doubt there is even the hint of irony at play anywhere in this book as the book is written, or rather, heavily annotated – not with dedicated show notes or scripted words from the characters themselves but by an unsettling disembodied narrator in the form of unimaginative fonts that decorate this book of screenshots, with quotes from the episodes and tiresome headlines – “Interview with a Vampire” is the rather baffling title heading for our screenshot selection when Homer asks Mr. Burns for a job at the power plant. Besides the poorly selected screenshots, terrible narrative devices and wibbly wobbly timeline that would give Doctor Who fans a headache, the book fills its pages with quotes from the screenshots used and offers up one last uninspiring effort for its ending which confuses things even more with a head-scratching paradox.
Whilst well presented in a premium, coffee table book style it is clear this book is a cash-in made for Simpsons devotees a little less rabid than me. I am sure it has the potential to entertain and perhaps even draw the odd reminiscent chuckle from more forgiving fans of the show and, whilst it seems completely devoid of any wit or class that previous Simpsons books have had in many cases, the decline in quality of books based on the show replicates the decline of the show itself and, in that respect, it becomes the ultimate tribute to the show as it is today.
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