Fri, May 2, 2003

This past Sunday, The Simpsons once again featured special guest voices from a rock group (Blink 182). The season opened (or was it last season? I can't even remember any more) with Homer's trip to Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp, headlined by a large helping of musicians' voices, and the episode which inaugurated the series's recent downturn featured musical guest The Who.

The thing is, guest stars on The Simpsons are pretty much hit-or-miss anyway. Certain people, while talented, simply don't have voices which really fit into the Simpsons universe. Joe Mantegna, Danny De Vito, and Kelsey Grammer fit in, but Helen Hunt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Steve Martin simply don't. (I love Steve Martin, but his style just isn't the same as the show's.) And it's not like Will & Grace, where you actually see the guest stars at all. (Not that I'm suggesting you watch Will & Grace. I watch Good Morning Miami and even I won't stoop so low as to watch Debra Messing in anything after Ned & Stacey.) So you wouldn't think that superstar cameos would really be that much of an attention-grabber. But apparently the producers of The Simpsons think so.

Well, at least these guest stars are actors. None of the musical guests are actors or comedians (with the exception of Spinal Tap), so what do they have to offer to a comedy show? It's not a variety show like Letterman or Saturday Night Live, so who needs 'em? It's because the ever-valuable teen demographic likes rockers and TV networks like the ever-valuable teen demographic. Which is a shame because The Simpsons can't start the work of getting funny again until it stops thrashing desperately in an attempt to win viewers. What will work is a return to simple, relatable, and hilarious stories like they used to tell. Until then, TiVo and I are regarding The Simpsons with a suspicious eye.

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