Season Review: The Simpsons Season 29

The Simpsons may not be what it used to be. But, is that a bad thing?

After receiving a renewal for two more seasons after season 28, The Simpsons continues its domination as the longest-running American sitcom and animated program. Finishing season 29 with 639 episodes of all-time, The Simpsons officially surpassed Gunsmoke this year for the most amount of scripted episodes of any sitcom ever. These milestones and records are well-deserved for a show that has touched generations. With expectations that there might not be much juice left to the animated sitcom, season 29 was on a mission to prove The Simpsons relevance. Or, did the show earn its contract out of respect, leaving us to countdown to a final season 30?

For the most part, The Simpsons stayed right on course this season. We were rewarded with long-standing traditions from The Simpsons like the family traveling to new locations, making it to JazzFest in New Orleans in “Lisa Gets the Blues” and Denmark in “Throw Grampa From the Dane”. There were parodies of popular movies like “Fears of a Clown” that imitated the film It, or “Haw-Haw Land” a La La Land themed episode that featured guest star Ed Sheeran. Of course, a season would not be complete without “Treehouse of Horrors” and the 28th annual Halloween special did not disappoint.

Besides the aforementioned Ed Sheeran, this season featured a slew of celebrity guest stars. Kelsey Grammer reprised his role as Side Show Bob in “Gone Boy” that also featured Basketball legend, Shaquille O’Neal. Hollywood icons like Jon Lovitz, Martin Short, and Ray Liotta added their talents this year. While an appearance from Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe, gave us a memorable cameo in “No Good Read Goes Unpunished,” Bill Hader stole the show with his voice of Manacek in the episode “Homer is Where the Art Isn’t”.

It wasn’t all tradition for this season though. There were some great stand-alone episodes that showed us The Simpsons still have plenty of original stories to play with. Marge’s run for mayor in “The Old Blue Mayor She Ain’t What She Used to Be” comes to mind. But, it was the episode “Frink Gets Testy” that really showed off what The Simpsons could be in 2018 and beyond. Inspired by an Orson Welles show, Mr. Burns invests in a ship that could take members of Springfield to space in the end times. But, only the best of the best would be allowed to go. This take on a failing planet was as relevant as it comes and more stories like this could redefine the aging show.

It was the season opener and finale that gave us plenty to contemplate though. Both featured stories centered around death, which could be taken as analogies for the series inevitable demise. The opener, “The Serfsons” showcased Homer trying to save Marge’s mother’s life. A metaphor for the showrunners doing what they can to keep the show alive. The season finale, “Flanders Ladder” had Bart helping those passed away out of limbo and into the afterlife. The episode showed us that there is much to do after death, and should The Simpsons end, it would all be okay.

There is no argument that The Simpsons is a monumental program that will go down in history for its place in pop culture. The only question is, how long does it last. Well, despite some issues through the 2000’s the show continues year in and year out to produce quality content. Season 29 delivered some great moments that may not produce numbers the way they used to, but the same could be said for television programming in general. Matt Groening’s next adventure comes in the way of Disenchantment on Netflix. This master of adult comedy has noticed the trends and turns to streaming for another series. Which begs the question, if we didn’t have shows like The Simpsons still entertaining us, what good would cable networks be to us anymore? The shows fate may inevitably be intertwined with its own media outlet at this point.