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The
Simpsons' Greatest Hits |
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Dolan Cummings | |
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The thing about the Simpsons is they don't change. Not only does nobody age visibly, but nobody ever changes or learns in any way. Homer is rocklike in his stupidity, and the others are equally rocklike in their own ways. What is striking about The Simpsons' Greatest Hits is that in 15 years the programme itself hasn't changed any more than its characters. You cannot talk with any credibility about 'early Simpsons' or 'late Simpsons', much less identify particular phases in the programme's development. Presidents have come and gone, wars have been waged and history has rolled on, but for all its satirical bite, The Simpsons has never changed its own style to adapt to the times. Probably, the programme's unchanging character is part of its appeal. A generation has grown up to - if not with - The Simpsons, and is reassured by the unchanging theme music, catchphrases and Homeric blunders. Moreover, The Simpsons is the kind of show that you can watch more than once, so that thanks to repeats and collections like this one, the very plots and lines become part of the cultural furniture. You could argue forever about whether the four episodes collected here really are the greatest - in fact some are simply landmark episodes - but they seem representative enough to me. The episodes
are 'Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire', 'Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baddass
Song', 'Bart Gets An F', and 'Lisa's First Word'. Other
DVDs in the series are themed ('Bart Wars', 'Too Hot For TV' etc.),
and all are likely to do well as Christmas presents - if nobody is burning
with desire for them, they will at least warrant a grunt of gratitude
and the occasional spin on a rainy day.
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