The Simpsons

I just want to say that I love the relationships that appear in the older versions of the 90’s TV show “The Simpsons”.

If you’re confused, let me, of course, explain.

I’ll be mostly focusing on the family itself rather than the entire cast. There’s so many characters there already so it’s better if I just stick with the original five and maybe branch off a couple of times with the more major of the minor if I have time.

The first I want to point out is probably one of my favourites: Bart and Lisa.

It is shown multiple times that Bart likes to pick on his sister and even, at times, bully her, as shown in the episode Bart vs. Thanksgiving  (S2,E7) when he destroys her centerpiece with no remorse.

And while that’s one example of many that involve Bart being the bane to Lisa’s existence, he’s also the one that makes her who she is in the first place.

In the episode Lisa’s First Word (S4, E10), the kids wonder what their first word was while trying to get Maggie to speak. A short story shows the audience that Bart’s was “Homer” and then they get a longer much more in depth version of Lisa’s, which is one of the most heart melting episodes ever (especially if people also had little siblings or even older ones. I for one don’t but I still thought it was sweet). The episode continues and tells how Bart didn’t really want a little sister after she was born because she also got all the attention. It also didn’t help that he got stuck with a creepy clown bed that was going to murder him and Lisa got his old crib (which made him hate her more). After many attempts to getting rid of her (even going as far as sticking mail stickers and putting her in the mail box), they hear Lisa utter her first word: Bart. Her second being Homer of course.

That entire episode showed how much Lisa looked up to her older brother. There are many more, including the episode Milhouse Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (S15E12) where they’re best of friends while Milhouse is living elsewhere and they have a small moment after Milhouse comes back where they’re still friends. Of course there’s also Bart vs Lisa vs the Third Grade (S14E3), Boy Meets Curl (S21E12) and Summer of 4 Ft. 2 (S7E25) that also showcase their sibling rivalry is much more of a sweeter relationship that they don’t portray as well now as they did back then.

Homer and Lisa’s relationship is also a favourite. The father-daughter bond that is rarely ever properly shown in TV nowadays is still somewhat prominent now in the newer episodes of the this TV series but it was much more present in the earlier episodes.

The most prominent is anything involving Lisa’s saxophone. In the episode Lisa’s Sax (S9E3) Lisa’s most treasured item is thrown from the open window of her room (thanks to her brother) and crushed under multiple cars running over it and Nelson Muntz stomping on it. Saddened, she tearfully listens to how she received and that saxophone. It turns out, Homer had given it to her when she was around three or four, as it was the only thing he could give her that didn’t cost $6,000 like the special school she would have needed to go to if they truly wanted her to succeed with her very intelligent mind. There was even an inscription on the sax that read “Never forget that your daddy– DO’H!”. As the story plays out it shows how Homer would do anything he could possibly achieve to make sure his daughter could live a happy life. The episode ends with Homer buying Lisa a new sax with a different inscription that sounds almost similar to the first: “Dear Lisa, may your new sax bring you many years of DO’H!”

This was one of the first episodes that ever came to mind that shows how much Homer loves his daughter. Other’s include Make Room For Lisa (S10E16) where both go through sensory deprivation and Lisa realizes that she also hasn’t been very nice to her father as well as Homer realizing that he might have been a little ignorant to his oldest daughter’s feelings. A Star is Torn (S16E18) is a recent episode I have watched and it tells of Homer writing songs for Lisa as she enters a singing competition and even after he’s fired, he butchers the other finalist’s chances of being the winner by making him seem like a douche rather than the sweet voice he is. There are many many many more that show this sweet father-daughter relationship that I wish happened more these days.

Moving on to another: Marge and Homer.

Marge and Homer have been married as long as the series has been on air — and even longer considering they never age. They’re depicted as a perfect housewife and a large husband. I’m aware that the first few episodes that were shown in the episode The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (S8E24) where it was rough sketches from Groening but they were also drawn and made after Groening’s own parents Margaret and Homer Groening, two out of three of his sisters being Bart’s own sisters (who Bart himself is completely original).

There are many episodes in which they show their relationship, even going as far as the episode Life on the Fast Lane (S1E9) where Marge almost has an affair with the suave Jacques, who teaches her bowling and she even enters a fantasy while they have brunch together. She later decides she would be happier with Homer, even if he doesn’t treat her 100% the way she wants him to, but she knows he truly loves her, even if he also is a little selfish.

Recently they’ve been focusing on the more modern married relationships between Homer and Marge. There was even an episode where Marge and Homer separate for a while and I believe that’s also the episode where Homer tries to get Marge to love him again by sitting in the back of her car and using a megaphone to make her think she’s thinking what he’s saying.

Then there’s the soulmate episode that has the famous “Who loves short shorts? I love short shorts” ending scene from El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) in season 8 (E9). That one was incredibly weird and even had a little Batman cameo with homer being in the beam of the light house and having his shadow in the sky, like Batman’s signal.

There are so many more relationships that I want to focus on, like Homer and Bart, Marge and Bart, Maggie and Homer, and even some of the side characters (Nelson with both Bart and Lisa, Milhouse and Bart, Lisa and Ralph, Maggie and Gerald Samson (think unibrow) and Ned and Homer.) But it’s getting real late over here and I’m sure there are some hardcore fans that are really wanting to watch some episodes of the older generation of “The Simpsons” that even I (an 18 year old who wasn’t even born when the series first started) grew up with.

BTW, did you know that this show was the first thing I ever watched? Yeah, apparently I was born and either 2 hours or 2 days after I was born the first thing that was on TV while I was awake happened to be “The Simpsons” and I’ve been watching it ever since (or trying to at least. I haven’t been up to date with the latest season but it’s the older ones that count).

Oh! And I’m also including a link to a YouTube video that involves FilmTheory on where the Simpson family lives. Just click on their name and it should open in a new tab! Good luck~!

 

PEACE!