To pay hom(er)age to The Simpsons. We all grew up watching The Simpsons. I remember running home after school to catch reruns and waiting for the new episodes on the weekend. Whether it was Homer’s brother coming to Springfield or Micheal Jackson and Bart writing a song for Lisa, I was there to see it.

Honestly, I love The Simpsons, and it is by far the greatest animated show in history. Most importantly, it has heart and makes you care for all of the characters no matter their failings.

You know you are deep in when you are rooting for Nelson Muntz to end up with Lisa.

So has The Simpsons lost its mojo?

For me, The Simpsons is neither boring nor stale. The Season 27 episode “Barthood” was one of my favourite episodes of any animated series and it would be a satisfying and realistic future for the Simpsons siblings, and Homer and Bart’s relationship. It is underrated and often wrongly criticised.

Which begs the question, what happened to the Simpsons? Why am I unable to watch the show that taught me about American culture. The show where I heard the Convoy song and the “a little ditty ’bout Jack and Diane.”

Technology has turned us into a generation of fast talkers, and The Simpsons cannot survive at their current pace.

Credit Jon Fingas

The Simpsons is too slow. Altogether, the jokes do not hit as hard as they used to, kids do not carry pencil cases of Bart Simpson like they used to, and Lisa has not caught up with the SJWs – “Vegetarianism is so yesterday.”

The truth about why you do not watch The Simpsons anymore.

Do not be distracted – the issue is speed; The Simpsons talk too slowly, and it is like watching a children’s tv show.

Furthermore, take Rick and Morty for example. Rick and Morty is arguably the most popular animated show in the world so let us compare the speed of the dialogue with The Simpsons.

I compared the scripts from recent episodes of both shows.

  • The Simpsons s30e12 – The Girl on the Bus – word count: 2622
  • Rick and Morty s03e10 – The Rickchurian Mortydate – word count: 3888

The Simpsons have an average of 119 words per minute compared to Rick and Morty’s 176 words per minute average.

Why do words per minute matter?

Oh, you do not think that it matters? Here is Virtual Speech‘s speaker rate for the most popular TedTalks speeches:

  • Tony Robbins: 201
  • Susan Cain: 176
  • Simon Sinek: 170
  • Ken Robinson: 165
  • Brene Brown: 154

Truthfully, we like fast talk, and The Simpsons are talking at a snail’s pace. It is easy to blame the writers and the network but be honest and blame yourself. You have lost your attention span. Most people reading this article have skimmed through it. Ultimately, patience is a virtue long forgotten.

The king is dead, long live the king. Who else but Bob’s Burgers? Hey I strongly doubt that The Simpsons will change their format any time soon, so the question is who will take over as the new animated family unit for the next generation?

The case for Bob’s Burgers.

It cannot be Family Guy; they have had ten years to take The Simpson’s place but they could not. First of all, Family Guy can be funny, but it does not have a heart.

As a result, it turns any chance to make you care about the family members into a Meg joke, and I get the feeling that Lois and Peter do not love their children.

To make a controversial but inevitable prediction, Bob’s Burgers will take The Simpsons’ place as the king among animated families. Bob’s Burgers is written exceptionally well, and every main character is lovable.

Meet the Belchers.

  • Linda Belcher is reminiscent of Marge Simpson, but she is more outspoken and overtly strange. She is your best friends’ crazy mum.
  • Gene is a hilarious, happy go lucky kid that wants to make music and has some of the best random one-liners in the show.
  • Louise is a maniac, and her crazy antics will have you belly-laughing throughout the series. I love episodes where she develops an obsession with something (usually getting revenge on someone older than her).
  • Bob holds the family together; he loves his children and wife. He is quietly hilarious, and he is the quintessential dad.
  • Last but not least is Tina Blecher, she is one of the best characters I have ever seen in a TV show. I can not give a comparison, but she is the perfect embodiment of teenage angst. She will often panic about a situation and have to be slapped back into reality by Louise. Tina is a fan favourite.

Fox will crown Bob’s Burgers.

The show is already filled with so much history and dozens of interesting side characters that will be fleshed out over the years.

At least 3 of the family members have rivals that you will hate to love, and they even have a rival town – oh, Shelbyville.

The Belchers are America’s family, and you best get used to it. Mark my words, there will be an episode where The Simpsons pass the torch to Bob’s Burgers and that day will be glorious.

Categorized in:

Animated, Funny, TV,

Last Update: March 4, 2024