The Clicker Goes To Springfield

When FOX aired the first season of ‘The Simpsons,’ I was about Bart’s age. In retrospect, I wonder why my parents allowed my sisters and me to tune into anything FOX was offering at the time. I assume that like so many other parents, they simply didn’t know that shows like ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Married With Children’ were polluting the minds of their offspring. An entire generation was turning away from typical family comedies and developing a new sense of humor full of sarcasm, rude catch phrases and the general mockery of the American family. For that, FOX, I say thank you.

Would I want to model my own family after the Simpsons? Hell no! But I still reserve the right to find humor in it. For years I watched as ‘The Simpsons’ evolve into the show it’s become today. It started out centering on an animated version of a typical (though satirical) middle class family in a regular suburban town. As time went by, the town of Springfield expanded. The side characters got their own story arcs, giving us new reasons to love the show. Everyone can have a favorite character. In the end though, the story always comes back to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

Time stands still in Springfield. No one ages and things almost always stay the same no matter what catastrophe occurs in the town. Once in a while, something will happen to change the show slightly. Maude Flanders died, leaving Flanders on his own to raise two boys that never grow. Milhouse’s parents got divorced which brought him to a new level of patheticness. Those are just a couple of examples of story arcs that have actually stuck on the show. On the whole though, life goes on as usual in ‘The Simpsons’, which is what makes the show so easy to revisit even if you haven’t watched it in a long time.

After nearly two decades of the series, we finally got a full-length movie! If you haven’t gone to see the ‘Simpsons’ movie yet, its pretty much like a bigger, longer version of an above-average episode. The jokes are bigger and the story is a bit more complex than a regular episode but not so much that it’s hard to follow. There are a few bits added in that you definitely wouldn’t see in a regular episode. But what I enjoyed most about it was the familiarity I felt at watching the town of Springfield undergo yet another crisis. It made me realize just how much I’ve come to take ‘The Simpsons’ for granted. It’s been around for more than half my lifetime and yet I barely watch it anymore. I thought maybe I’d outgrown the series but after seeing the movie and laughing all the way through it, I realize ‘The Simpsons’ will probably always have a place in my heart.


What to Watch (7/29 to 8/04)



The Simpsons (FOX) 8:00 pm
Stop or My Dog Will Shoot - (Rerun) It’s a rerun but maybe you’re like me and haven’t watch ‘The Simpsons’ in a long time. If that’s the case, this’ll be like a new episode, right? In this episode, Santa’s Little Helper becomes a police dog.

Big Brother (CBS) 8:00 pm
(New!) Dustin won Head of Household on last weeks live show. In this episode we’ll see who he nominated for eviction.

Dateline NBC (NBC) 8:00 pm
(New!) Meredith Veira interviews J.K. Rowling about the recent release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” If you’ve read the book already, check out our list of favorite moments from the book! (The article contains major spoilers!)

Entourage (HBO) 10:00 pm
The Day F***ers - (New!) Vince and Drama find amusement in the subject of Eric and Turtle’s love lives. Meanwhile, Ari deals with his son being in public school.



’Hell’s Kitchen’ (Fox) 9:00 pm
(New!) – Last week, two contestants were eliminated. While Josh got kicked out of the kitchen, Julia was sent packing with a hug from Ramsey as well as an scholarship to a culinary institute and an offer to come back in a future season. You really never know what you’re going to get from Gordon Ramsey. This week, the final three cook for their mothers.

’Greek’ (ABC Family) 9:00 pm
Picking Teams (New!) – Fraternity floor-hockey causes problems when Evan suspects Casey’s rooting for the wrong team.



’America’s Got Talent’ (NBC) 8:00 pm
Performance Episode (part 3) - (new!) – The top 10 finalists perform their acts.

’Big Brother 8’ (CBS) 9:00 pm
(new!) – The two nominees (feed-watchers know who they are!) have the chance to play for the Veto along with three other randomly selected houseguests. Will the Veto be used to save someone and if so, who will go up in their place?

’Damages’ (FX) 10:00 pm
Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker (New!) – If you missed the pilot episode of this fantastic new series, I suggest you download it on iTunes (it’s free!) or catch the first episode when it reairs on Monday, 7/30 at 11:00 p.m. on FX. In this episode, Ellen gets her friend Patty to testify and the pressure continues to increase on Frobisher.



So You Think You Can Dance(FOX) 8:00 pm
(New!) – The final 8 dancers perform. More repetitive solos. Yay.

Last Comic Standing(NBC) 9:00 pm
(New!) – The 10 finalists get their first challenge. Each of them must face off with a heckler.



’Big Brother 8’ (CBS) 8:00 pm
Live Episode (new!) – One of the houseguests is evicted and a new Head of Household is crowned.

’So You Think You Can Dance’ (FOX) 9:00 pm
Results (new!) – OneRepublic performs and two dancers are eliminated.




Monk(USA) 9:00 pm
Mr. Monk and the Bad Girlfriend (New!) – Monk thinks the captain’s girlfriend might be a murderer

Psych(USA) 10:00 pm
Zero to Murder in 60 Seconds (New!) – After recovering a stolen car, Shawn begins to suspect there’s more to the theft than meets the eye.



Independence Day (FX) 7:30 pm
Aliens show up and try to destroy the planet. Luckily, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith and Randy Quaid are there to save the day.




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