Early Simpsons Movie buzz

You know, this is kind of surprising! For as big a Simpsons fan as I am, I keep forgetting that there'll be a Simpsons movie coming out this summer. The show is now in its 18th season, and it was only in college that I started watching it—which was kind of unavoidable, for The Simpsons were almost a rite of passage at Penn State: every night at 6:00 sharp, every TV in every dorm was tuned into The Simpsons. Just like every Wednesday at 10:00, every TV in every dorm was tuned into South Park (back when it was in its first season, with novelty and originality written all over it).

Newsweek recently did an article on the upcoming Simpsons movie, and while I certainly hope that Al Jean's line of thought isn't valid, I've long since seen how The Simpsons poke fun at so many things in life. You might say nothing gets away clean with them—particularly the Fox network, on which The Simpsons are syndicated.

Though one interesting question was asked in the aforementioned article: did The Simpsons wait too long to move to the big screen? Newsweek doesn't seem to think so, and as for myself, the thought honestly never occurred to me! But I must confess, I can't quite wrap my mind around the notion of a Simpsons movie. I guess it's partly because I'm so used to seeing them on TV . . . but there's also a feeling (with me, at least) that the shows kind of changed over the years. I more or less stopped watching the new episodes during the 13th or 14th seasons, feeling that they were straying too far from their original patterns and storylines. That's not to say I'm against change, but in this case, it didn't seem like the material was quite as unique as it had been previously. And when I watch the show generally, I stick with season 3 to about season 12 . . . and given that we're now in season 18, I'm wondering if maybe the movie will signal the end of The Simpsons' era. They've been on the air for so many years now that maybe it's time for them to be laid to rest.

Now before you brand me blasphemous, think about this: all good things in life must come to an end, and The Simpsons have had one hell of a run! They've evolved from a back-room creation to become a staple of American culture (hell, I even own the book The Simpsons and Philosophy!), and even though it would pain me to see The Simpsons leave the air, I definitely want the show to go out on a high note—not when it's become tiresome and forgettable.

But as with all things in life, only time can show us the way. So with that, I eagerly await the release of The Simpsons Movie on July 27! Rumor has it that it'll be released in the Springfield of an undetermined state. Hopefully it'll be Springfield, Virginia!