The Simpsons Is Weird Again 

"Bart's Birthday" made such a big impression on me that I wanted to cover it. It hit a lot of topics covered on this channel. But knew (due to production time) I would be late to the party in making a review. So I wanted to talk about Weird Simpsons more in general: Its history, and its prominence in the past few years. (Also I kinda wanted to do a followup on my feelings after the Season 33 video and the ensuing discourse, since I didn't cover the last two years that much)

Man… you are SOOO good at writing videos 😭😭

I’m gonna miss this channel. *turns off lights*

I'm honestly just thankful that they're still producing episodes that are interesting enough to where it gets people talking.

Julie Kavner's voice being "noticeably raspier" is the understatement of the century LOL

frosty chocolate milkshakes :3

22:25 Why a robot? Everyone knows the Simpsons finale is the reveal that Marge has long Bunny ears hidden within her hair

I'm pretty hesitant about current era Simpsons, I don't really see it as the grand return that others do from the few episodes I've seen (I didn't think it was bad tho) but this one actually seems pretty cool so I gotta check it out

"In the real series finale . . ." I think we've reached the point where what's going to kill this show is the mortality of its cast; nobody in the main cast is under 60 and Harry Shearer is 80. One day we are going to wake up to the news that a member of the main cast has died, and over the coming weeks there will be the slow realization that show is not going on and the last episode they recorded the voices for will be the end of the series.

I haven't watched the Simpsons in twenty years, but I do enjoy Simpsons commentary videos.

Not gonna lie I’m getting a parasocial crush on Selman. Like characters aren’t just sociopaths like they could be in Scully and pre-movie years, there’s weirdly more depth and reasons to why they’re like this, not just in the family but everyone else too. It’s this really cool blend of season seven and seven eight with modern ways of being creative. Also not that I need “nice characters” really, but Homer now and Homer in s10 is night and day. Plus how he’s playing with the choking joke too! It’ll always be around, but it can be a bait and switch hug, or a frankly nightmarish (how it’s set up! The glitching!) joke about setting the status quo back to normal. Love that.

At this points I Hope for Poochie comeback episode where New writer of the show , will try to bring Poochie back and say that he was wasted.

I was waiting for you to speak about Bart’s Birthday episode mocking Ai

A great Simpsons finale would be an episode that starts out as a “lost episode” from the golden age (Seasons 1-10) but slowly starts displaying several “blemishes” from later seasons (Maude’s absence, certain characters sounding different, and other oddities). Homer, Bart and Lisa notice some of these oddities and, with the aid of Flanders, Frink and Doctor Nick (Hi, everybody!), go back in time to correct them. Hilarity and chaos ensue, with the Simpsons bungling Flanders and Frink’s efforts to mend things that “went wrong”, culminating in Frink deciding to reset things and trap the Simpsons in a closed loop timeline that prevents the show from ever leaving the 90s/prevents them from causing any future damage to Springfield and its denizens.

Man they really took inspiration from that Don Hertzveldt couch "gag" huh

I really liked the episode! It got consistent laughs out of me and the concept was pretty fun. I noticed that the lining for the characters is thicker than previous seasons, which is an improvement. These last few seasons have, for the most part, been downright excellent.

I always thought of that one Treehouse of Horror segment with AI Marge as a reference to her “becoming a robot”. Maybe it would be cool to do a video on all the times stuff from that song has *sorta* happened in the show now like that, Grandpa dating one of Marge’s sisters, that time Moe referenced his cell phone etc.

Modern Simpsons are definitely taking notes from fans making surreal memes out of the early seasons of Simpsons. Dark Simpsons, Bartkira, etc. I suppose the show started as satirical, became main stream and then now turned subversive.

I was desperately waiting for you to cover this since it came out

Ya know im really gunna miss this channel

You tweeted about feeling a little unsure about the quality of this video, so I'm writing this comment to say it's brilliant and insightful (as always)

You now its a good day when TheRealJims uploads a new video!

When you’re on the air for 35 years, you can get away with changing the format up a lot

That "Series Finale" was so good! 😊

How about just the background Springfield elementary students as a whole for Simpsons histories? Like the kid with the weird glasses and the girl with the pigtails

I will always feel that getting weird with it is the best way to keep a show fresh. I learned that all the way back with The Simpsons seasons 7 and 8. Also Phineas and Ferb Seasons 3 and 4, but this channel isn't about that.

Your video essays and analysis are among the best quality content around the whole mainstream internet.

This is probably my favorite videos of yours! The episode is also one of the best ones in my opinion and it really makes you think about the show and its themes.

Was already having a good day and then saw a RealJims video! Lets go!!! 😎🔥

The way the video began felt like a Simpsons mystery for me, to the point that I was wondering where was the music he always uses

I'm really going to miss TheRealJims *Puts a blanket over the sleeping Yoshi.*

I've read that "Behind The Laughter" was written to be an unofficial series finale. At one point, Lisa even asks "Is the end of our series...of events?"

i've been watching season 35 over the past few days and having a really good time with it too! following your channel has reignited my love for this show, no exaggeration 🫡 i feel that for a lot of people it's hard to keep an open mind and engage with the more experimental episodes. some probably can't get rid of the nostalgia glasses. personally i'm glad the show's not trying to imitate the "golden years". society and media have changed so much over the last three decades, it would be a shame if the show didnt reflect that.

As a Jockey Elves Apologist, I appreciate this weird direction The Simpsons is going.

Hell Yeah new Jims!!!

You know, this could be another case of another show doing this before the Simpsons, because this is so close to the actual OKKO Let's Be Heroes finale.

21:53 Woah woah woah, back up. When did the Simpsons homage "Planet of the Bass?" 😂

2024 Homer would have been a baby at the time of the Tracey Ullman shorts

Despite its obvious decline, I watched the show religiously until about season 24. Since then, I only peeked in periodically. I’ve never expected it to return to form, but I’m enjoying these latest seasons; as hit and miss as they can be.

Bart’s Birthday is one of the best meta episodes. It's just a shame - all the clickbait around it The Simpsons doing meta gag about the final is perfect topic for the show

14:13 That transition from 4:3 to widescreen in the Cape Feare Treehouse continuation feels super unsettling, and I can’t figure out why. It’s like experiencing the Mandela effect in real time, like “this is how it really happened”

“I don’t know how many years on this Earth I got left. I’m gonna get real weird with it.”

Personally in some alternate universe where the Simpsons ended in 2001 (The general cut off date of Classic Simpsons in my opinion) 2007 with the movie or even with Holidays of Future Passed. I could totally see Fox or Disney reviving the series around the present day. Much like Futurama did & still being this more "Meta" show that plays with the format. It's just unfortunate we had to wade through a decade of relative irrelative to get their with the main highlights being the Lego episode, Lady Gaga and Apu being exiled as an anachronism.

The Simpsons is a show that can parody or write anything it's wants ie if it wants to do a Bear tv show parody, they did that Spy thriller done and everything else at this point

I would honestly rather The Simpsons end on this exact finale with all the irony taken out than them just ending on another random "Homer and Marge have marital problems" episode and then just not getting renewed for another season. Because the more time passes the more it's looking like that's going to be the case. I don't get why the show thinks it's too good for a traditional finale considering the the state it's been on for the past 2 decades.

And Bart celebrated his birthday with the help of....Oh lets say Moe

This Simpsons episode spoofed series finales while trying to stay recent with the times is genius satire. 😂

When it comes to these 'weird' episodes they're either hit or miss with me.

I really hate seeing the Simpsons do "look how smart we are" 4th wall breaks and this in particularly really rubs me the wrong way because now its "way to take the wind out of the sails of whenever this show actually ends" I get them parodying the expectations people will have......but it really rob's any earnest it could have just so the show can be self aware for a brief moment and thus taking the piss out of itself which seems extra cynical since Futurama crushes it every time their shows actually end (then get resurrected again). Honestly now I kinda imagine this show getting no fan fair for its last episode, like it just ends with a nothing special episode that is in no functional way a finale like Fairly Odd Parents did in its run. I'm glad the Simpsons are trying new things.....even if they land about as often as they did in the bad seasons, but when you start leaning onto self aware humor, your tacitly admitting your running out of original ideas and then leaning harder onto those tired ones which is why so many episodes in recent seasons have been soft rehashes of older ones and that really sucks, but if the Simpsons continue to somehow cheat TV death for as long as they have, they can still turn it around....they've shown their capable of it more than once. Btw I will admit this is a very biased take on my part because I fucking hate Matt Salmans guts and have always viewed him as the figurehead of the Simpsons biggest problem, thinking their better than everyone trying to help the show improve and getting actively verdictive in their clap back against constructive criticism and getting mad we dont treat them like gods. If you watch the audio commentaries, its abundantly clear most of the staff have a high ego of their creation and Salman is the worst of the bunch, with ironically Groening being one of the few who actually toys with the idea that the show has dipped in quality at some point.

You should do a comparison of all the season premieres. I would be watching.

Its really nice seeing a long lasting show like the simpsons to just embrace the fact that things are different from how they used to be and arent trying to just recapture what they did before. Its like bending the straw of how a show is concieved to make the "straw" look more wacky and different. A slight bend of the straw of a show can make it a lot more interesting imo.

It's actually interesting how many episodes intended as possible series finales there are and how well-received they are compared to the reaction to the average episode of their respective season : Eternal moonshine of the simpsons mind, Behind the laughter, Holidays of Future Passed and now Bart's Birthday. Still would like the vision of the original writers wanting the show to become about Springfield as a whole and not just the Simpsons to become a reality after an actual finale so that old writers can come back join the new writers into making episodes with the best of both visions.

The Simpsons nowadays is kinda like that one part of Groundhog Day, when there's no threat of consequences or cancellation, what's stopping you from doing anything you want?

Fantastic video as always. Gave me a new appreciation for the forms they've experimented with over the years .

I thought that "series finale" episode was so brilliant. Kinda like the Larry episode last season, it reminded me a lot of something Gumball would do. Really shows how the show can still be fresh and funny after all this time.

...It might be time. I think I'm going to have to catch up on the last 24 seasons of The Simpsons.

I just watched it after watching your video... ...and my favorite gag in the entire episode was Milhouse saying he takes meds that don't allow him to feel anything anymore. 😹

I'm gonna miss this channel... *Turns off subscription*

So early it didn't hit my bell notification yet

You know it’s a good day when Jims uploads

Also Kamp Krustier is so weird. Season 28 feels like such a childhood trauma season (father’s watch, cad in the hat, fatzcarroldo) which I personally love, and KK feels like a nod to that, but doesn’t talk about anything in the actual episode and decides “the kids were overreacting to tennis courts”? Also the Marge/Homer plot gave me icky Strong Arms of the Ma feelings with the whole “looked up no means no in the dictionary” thing.

Thanks for this Lovely video essay The Real Jims! You've made my Day.

The recent blue lotus episode was really good. They even got me to laugh at a rake joke. It's another kinda weird episode, but it works really well.

they are so good at imitating the hand made old look of the series. I lowkey wish they would just go back to that ^^'

Jim this video is beyond extraordinary, I'm truly blown away by its quality

A video about Bart's birthday released on my birthday. Wow cool!

Bart's Birthday is the first The Simpsons I rewatch many times in decades. I did recently watch Lisa the Boy Scout and enjoyed it as well. The fluid continuity is needed for Bart to still be 10 since 1987. I will like the true finale to be as much of as regular with few guest voices in character roles. Just give a great finale episode.

I just realised why the concept of Bart's Birthday felt so familiar: it's like an inverse version of "The Finale" from The Amazing World of Gumball.

15:58 Marge has turned into Pingu. Noot noot!

It's been weird I'd argue since at least season 30. Flanders Ladder is brutal, the ending legit made me tear up

longtime modern simpsonsheads are finally being vindicated

Watching Bart's Birthday left me wondering how exactly the Simpsons will tackle their true series finale, should it ever occur. They've consciously rejected and attacked the traditional sitcom finale: one that is celebratory, conclusive, validating, and feel-good. So what lies at the end now? Maybe a wacky "and the adventure continues"-style ending? Or perhaps, an even more bizarre, mass-deconstructive commentary, even greater than Bart's Birthday. The idea both worries and entices me I guess another way of putting it is... I'm interested in the show's future?

I've been waiting for your take since the episode dropped.

This channel almost makes me watch past season 12. Almost.

13:46 The Rise of Skywalker did NOT completely throw out what happened in the last movie. I firmly believe that Ben was lying to Rey about being a “nobody”. I don’t understand why people assume that it “undos everything”.

0:41 Having gotten that out of our system, do not expect the strangling to become a regular occurrence again. I would say it’ll be more likely to be used primarily on special occasions, Bart’s Birthday being a prime example of where to go with the gag from here

I think Star Trek: the Next Generation did it best by introducing Q in the first episode establishing that yes, anything is possible and at any moment, no matter what is going on, it could all be undone by an outside force larger then any previous "canonical" event.

You should do a video similar to "Ralph the Viking" but with "Ever see someone say goodbye to a shoe?" "Yes, once."

personally I didn't like the season 36 premier "Bart's' Birthday". It's like the writers heard people complaining how they want the characters to get their warm, fuzzy, happy endings, and decided to mock the very idea. It's 36 years now, how many times can we have the Simpsons in "Marriage Crisis mode", "Lisa is depressed", "Homer's a bad father", "Celebrate our guest star of the week", "lol, look at the sad and funny side characters", etc. I'd prefer that when the show does end, everyone gets their personal problems figured out, their hopes and dreams achieved, and get their happy ending (like the final future ending in South Park: Return of Covid).

6:40 yeah that ep with homer on the island never made sense

so are we to assume that the world is stuck like this cause the simpsons canonically keep killing each other?

thank you for this breakdown. i missed this episode and felt like i missed a piece of history.

You should do a video on Crazy Talk. We're all a little worried about him

Hope that the Simpsons don't become what Family guy is currently.

Crazy how the simpsons is good again while futurama is terrible

I really liked your final point about whether “The Simpsons is Good Again” was an apt headline for this era. From what I’ve seen, they can still make very good episodes, but people have been using that line ever since Al Jean returned to the showrunner position 23 years ago. It’s hard for outsiders to take seriously when it’s been spouted for well over half the show’s existence. I think the issue with this cycle is that The Simpsons has never become a truly awful show. There’s been bad seasons, but if it sunk too low, a more elaborate retooling would’ve been undertaken years ago. So some people who expect it to be awful will be stunned when it’s the same as ever, just not as fresh. I think these weird Selman episodes are useful in shaking things up, but like you said, they’re still only a fraction of the newest seasons. Many other episodes are getting the same reactions they always did in the Al Jean era: either “Wow, that was a new Simpsons episode that didn’t kill me” or “Humph, that was a new Simpsons episode that didn’t save my life”. Expectations vary wildly while the show keeps trucking along.

Hopefully, we are hitting a Simpson renaissance!

I think this just proves my idea that the characters exist in a time loop.

they remember that the Simpsons still a cartoon show, and when it's the only cartoon show out there that is relevant, id say keep experimenting

And I couldn't be happier to read it.

What is this The Rise Of Skywalker 😂

what a great video Im really gonna miss this place! *turns off PC*

Also we did that weird couch gag years ago, where else could we go

To be fair, you were not cited in the section of SuperEyepatchWolf's video talking how the show is good again. In the section you were cited in, he was talking about how many fans including himself have galvanized the 'golden age.'

It makes sense that the writers would go for more creative concepts and formats, as the show has basically tried every normal sitcom plot that exists.

The return of the GOAT Herb Powell

Springfield is the Maine Stephen King always wanted to have

Giving examples of these things is great, but man, I would love a definitive Real Jims list of each kind of weird episode. You should create a website or at least a substack for additional detailed information like that on these videos.

I actually liked the tipping song, and I'm still puzzled why so many people really took against it

Pointing out an issue isn't the same thing as addressing it. I think their heart was in the right place but by the nature of the Simpsons being the Simpsons, it never really was going to matter how much they wanted to satirize how long the series lasted for, at the end of the day it all just rings hollow if there's no real finality to it.