TV Verdict

That’s right, folks. There’s a 20 in that post title — as in two decades of The Simpsons. I know for a lot of people the series ended somewhere around the 11th or 12th season, but as someone who’s been with the show since the beginning, I can’t imagine giving up on it now. No, it’s not what it was in the early ’90s—and if you compare its current incarnation to those halcyon days you’ll be disappointed—but it’s still worth watching, if only for the occasional flashes of what made it matter in the first place.

The Simpsons hasn’t been about character development or plot for a long time. After 19 years, is there really more to tell about Bart and Lisa at school, Homer at the power plant, or Marge and Maggie at home? Even the most peripheral characters have, by now, gotten at least one episode devoted to them. Since the writers can’t actually, you know, age the characters, what options do they have left? None, it seems, except to put the family in ridiculous situations that last for 22 minutes and are never referenced again. “Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes” follows that formula.

Fans hoping that The Simpsons‘ 20th season would start off with a bang might be disappointed by this episode. First off, it starts on St. Patrick’s Day, a calendar shift designed to both give the writers an excuse to riff on Irish stereotypes—from the offensive (drunken brawling) to the obvious (the Straight Catholic Priest float with its two lonely riders) to the sublime (Mayor Joseph Fitzgerald O’Malley Fitzpatrick O’Donnell “The Edge” Quimby)—and also to provide the thinnest of excuses for Homer and Marge to do what they’ve done so many times before: get new jobs.

For Marge, a basket of cupcakes and a gang of street urchins leads to a handsome stranger’s offer to work at his erotic bakery (though it takes Marge a few days to realize what those “extra long twinkies” are for). Homer, meanwhile, spins his St. Paddy’s arrest into a new career as Bounty Hunter, joined before too long by (who else?) Ned Flanders. The story of their partnership, falling out, and cement-encased reconciliation makes up the bulk of the episode, and provides for some of the best gags—including an AC/DC Christian cover band sing-along of “Kindly Deeds Done For Free,” and an escalating Casino Royale-inspired parkour chase that at one point involves riding horses off the sides of buildings.

Like it or hate it, “Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes” dips freely into the well of geek and pop culture references that have become a latter-season Simpsons staple. Some of them, like the Simpson-family-encased-in-carbonite opening couch gag, are hilarious. Others, like the random appearance of The Thing and The Hulk (sorry, “Mulk”) in the middle of an Irish street brawl, are less so.

Still, last season was… well, if not a return to form, than at least a return to consistency for the show. On the whole, I laughed more than I didn’t, and that’s a good enough reason to keep me watching this year. “Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes” isn’t the best season premiere so far (not by a long shot), but it’s a solid entry into The Simpsons‘ late-season canon. Is the show still relevant? Maybe not, but who cares as long as it’s funny?