Friday, July 26, 2013

South Family Simpheads

I've had a strange relationship with animated comedy shows in my life thus far...strange, in that it's largely been a non-relationship. That's strange, because i've always had an elevated ear for comedy, particularly the subversive kind. And my adulthood could fairly be called the golden age of subversive animated comedy, because of the big four - BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD, THE SIMPSONS, SOUTH PARK, and FAMILY GUY. Given my age and personality, i should have been well-primed to devour most of these, if not all. But no. This despite friends who have tried to convert me to one or more of the faiths. I've often said that the truest measure of intelligence is a person's capacity for, and appreciation of, humor. So let's see if we can figure out why the golden age has been passing me by.
THE SIMPSONS
1989-?
I've found the two handfuls or so of episodes i've seen to be enjoyable, and can understand why this show has filled a need for many. But as a youth, my benchmark for great comedy was the Marx Brothers and Monty Python. In that light, SIMPSONS has never seemed anything more than "good". Good is fine, even admirable, but it's clearly not great. That said, the Halloween "The Raven" episode ranks as one of the 100 best episodes in the history of television.
BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD
1993-1997, 2011-2012
I think i was simply way too earnest at the point in my young adulthood when B & B arrived. I was becoming a "serious" actor, gorging myself on Shaw, Stoppard, and O'Neill. I wasn't much of a TV watcher, and certainly not for the most overtly infantile of the big four. Plus, did one of them wear a marijuana shirt once, or did i only imagine it? I was too serious for that, too. I haven't seen any of the new episodes, but occasional glimpses of the classic have made me think it might be the most consistently funny of the four. I saw a small chunk of DO AMERICA, and was much more entertained than i expected.
SOUTH PARK
1997-?
I've seen occasional brilliance in the nibbles i've had. Their treatment of scientology? Brilliant. The CHEF AID album? Brilliant. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's other projects, particularly TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE? Beyond brilliant. The BIGGER, LONGER, AND UNCUT movie has been on my to-see list for years (and i only just now got the penis reference). The most nihilistic and scatalogical of the big four, and that can't be bad...but it's also far and away the most violent. When i watched a best-of dvd, i found that i simply can't take regular doses, because of the violence.
FAMILY GUY
1999-?
As i first saw scattered bits and pieces, i began to think that this was what SIMPSONS had wanted to be when it grew up. The most hysterically funny isolated moments of any of the big four...you can't go wrong watching clips. Stewie? Brilliant. Elderly pedophile neighbor? Freakin' brilliant. And their spoof of STAR WARS is probably the most brilliant thing any of the big four have done. In regular doses, the show does get just the tiniest bit boring, though.

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