The Simpsons: Season 4

Some of you may be wondering about the strangely misspelled title of my blog, though I'm betting that more than a few may catch it as an early Simpsons reference. Homer, listening to the radio one Sunday morning, enters a contest to name the right-wing Johnny Calhoun spoken-word album that killed said singer's career; for whatever reason, the Simpsons happen to own it. The actual title is "These Things I Believe". The partially-illiterate Homer misspeaks the first word, but wins the contest anyway.

Homer the Heretic: third episode, fourth season. I wonder, in fact, how long it will be before TV shows begin taking on a type of biblical (or at least classical-musical) numerology.

But Season 4 of the Simpsons is by far my favourite. Not only is it the series' finest, it is one of the best seasons of television ever to be released. Out of twenty-two episodes there is not one single weak link. The show had hit its stride by this point; the animation was cleaner and more visual gags were possible, while the writing team (including soon-to-be talk show host Conan O'Brian) was cranking out one classic after another.

Season 4 includes Bart's takeover of the sadistic Kamp Krusty and adoption by a Big Brother, Marge performing in the musical version of Streetcar Named Desire and going to prison, Homer heading the union and having a heart attack, Lisa running for beauty queen and misleading poor little Ralph Wiggum, Mr. Plow, Whacking Day, the Itchy & Scratchy Movie (over 63% new footage!) and of course the Monorail. This last contains one my all-time favourite exchanges:

"Homer, there's a man who thinks he can help you."
"Batman?"
"No, he's a scientist."
"Batman's a scientist."
"IT'S NOT BATMAN!"

The season closes with Krusty's famous Comeback Special, along with a host of guest stars. Another classic moment is the entrance of Red Hot Chili Peppers (in their underwear) into the bar, where Flea lets loose with a microphone-shattering "HEY, MOE!" The episode also includes the Eastern European cartoon "Worker and Parasite", one of the few times I have actually laughed until I made myself sick.

Seasons 5 and 6 are almost equally strong, making this period the real heyday of the show. I don't watch new episodes anymore (though to be fair I've also given up on Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and pretty much all TV in general) but I frequently pop my Season 4 DVDs into the player whenever I need a good laugh.

I started watching the show regularly when this Season was first aired, though I had to watch in secret as my father would not allow me (then aged 10) to see the show due to its violence and adult content. It's almost funny to see the show now aired on network channels in the early afternoon, and even funnier to see how much MORE inappropriate television in general has become. The Simpsons' early seasons seem almost conservative by today's standards.