5 Reasons "The Simpsons" Season 22 was not the Worst Season Ever (and then some)

For awhile now, I have lived in a society that has been very critical of their content. People complain about Lost's ending or the detriments of Marvel Studios movies. However, no field has been more of a hurdle for me than hearing everyone's opinion about the Simpsons: a show that has influenced me ever since I was single digits.

The opinions vary, most saying the best years were up to 7 seasons ago (though they consider that generous). They claim that the plots have become recycled, the gags moreso, and it just doesn't pack as much of a punch as it did. The characters are just too nice and inoffensive in a society that has grown to accept that a show featuring a maniacal baby named Stewie Griffin is more interesting (even then, that's questionable).

For some reason, the animation format has always been dear to me because of the likes of the Simpsons. Somehow, where others have jumped off, I have stayed true, watching every episode more than once and longing for the day when it will be in rerun syndication.

This is not to say I love every episode, but the criticism seems unfairly lauded. True, the characters don't have a consistent edge and don't challenge the system as much, but the Simpsons is more like a sports team. It has seen numerous writers, producers, and show runners who have brought their own tone to the show, creating each period to have a distinct feel.

However, for me, the change in tone has not bothered me that much. True, I don't think the seasons are as consistent, but I can find five episodes at least from each (though against the other 17, I get why you ran away) that I would be proud to add to rotation. The show's satirical value is still there, but it takes only the dedicated to waft through the bad seasons. I can honestly believe that there was enough in seasons 17-20 to turn you off.

But with a fantastic list of guest stars and clever takes on modern culture, it's hard for me to write off this show entirely.

I feel that if anything, it has held up better than South Park and Family Guy. In truth, this was the first season that I gave up on both entirely.

For South Park, a lot of the reason was I had finally reached my peak of the show's preachiness and desire to be vulgar over wise, a balance they used to strike perfectly. It has since felt like a caricature of their "Cartoon Wars" episodes. I can understand why I feel that way. Creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have stated themselves that they think of the show as a job and would rather keep working on "Book of Mormon." The show's writing in the last three seasons have been equally terrible and my denial helped me realize that more clearly.

As for Family Guy. I don't hate it as much as the world does, but it's a frustrating experience. The fact people rate it over the Simpsons would have seemed valid in 2005, when the quality was evenly handed, but since creator Seth MacFarlane created one failed show (the Winner) and two other cartoons (American Dad, the Cleveland Show), I feel that the focus the show needed has quickly diminished and more reliant on stupid prat falls and cutaways. Also, the insults have felt like they get less creative over time, and the repeat viewing quality is just not as strong as the earlier ones.

So, do I think that the Simpsons is the best show on TV right now? No. Bored to Death or Community wins that one (it's hard to decide).

Here are five episodes that I feel should keep you from writing off this season as the worst ever:

1. Elementary School Musical (Season 22, Episode 1)

The season starts off strong with a lampooning of pretentious art fads, including a full on Glee cast doing a parody on the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." The camp counsellors are none other than Flight of the Conchords, who add more of their brilliant folk rock comedy with some original pieces. While this may seem like a retread to the Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp episode with Homer, casting Lisa in Homer's place creates the chance to create an honest, passionate chance to make fun of art without seeming that awkward.

2. Angry Dad: The Movie (Season 22, Episode 14)

Released around Oscar season, this episode focuses on the creation of the Angry Dad cartoon from a few seasons back into a full length, Oscar nominated movie. In this piece, it not only parodies the process of getting critical acclaim, but takes jabs at Randy Newman, Pixar, and various other pretentious forms of animation from claymation to foreign. It's the best new episode of the season and features some of the most inspired bits in five years.

3. A Midsummer's Nice Dream (Season 22, Episode 16)

You can never account for the Simpsons and continuity. However, it's starts off in one of the most ridiculous scenarios and works from there. Apparently Cheech and Chong were born in Springfield and are playing a hometown reunion. From there, things go awry and the duo separate, causing Homer to play Chong for Cheech, and Principal Skinner for Chong. While the initial concept is endearing enough, it's the fact that Cheech and Chong are playing against their stage character that really helps this episode soar. And yes, the Dave bit is remastered with Homer over the closing credits.

4. The Great Simpsina (Season 22, Episode 18)

Lisa longs to be a magician and gets lessons from the Great Raymondo. As she discovers more and more, she falls into peril with the showy magician, a Criss Angel parody, who wants to steal his magic tricks. There are numerous great lines in this episode, including guest starring spots from Penn and Teller and other well known celebrity magicians. It has plenty of the charm of an earlier season with a lot of the wit that takes down the modern celebrity.

5. The Fight Before Christmas (Season 22, Episode 8)

Where this year's Treehouse of Horror was very lackluster, the show managed to recover with one of the more clever Christmas episodes that they've had in awhile. Cut up into segments, the show parodies the Polar Express, features Martha Stewart, and has the first use of the Simpsons puppetry (albeit very corny). It is a reminder that while the show may not hit all the right notes, it still has some charm in the smaller segments.

Top 5 Mediocre Episodes

1. Loan-A-Lisa (Season 22, Episode 2)

After Grandpa gives out his life savings to everyone, Lisa opens a bike shop with Nelson and things take off from there. The real highlight is a pre-Social Network Mark Zuckerberg making a cameo as his clumsy self, preaching the importance of investments.

2. Homer the Father (Season 22, Episode 12)

Homer falls in love with an 80's sitcom and tries to emulate the show by being a good father. The humor feels very 80's sitcom and continues the show's streak of meta humor in analyzing the show's structure. The real highlight is a parody of Behind the Actor's Studio where we discover how David Mamet creates Glengary Glenn Ross.

3. Love is a Many Strangled Thing (Season 22, Episode 17)

How Homer manages to jump from being a good dad to this episode is beyond me, but that's one of the numerous problems some people have with this show. However, after some child abuse, Homer is put into a class to get strangled by people like Kareem Abdul-Jabar in hopes that he learns how it feels. If anything, it was a good time to remember why we enjoyed the strangling gag from the early episodes.

4. MoneyBART (Season 22, Episode 3)

Lisa leads the Isotots to baseball championships using her math skills. Bart rebels and creates conflict. The episode has plenty of funny moments and gets to remind us why they enjoy writing baseball episodes. The real highlight is a cameo by someone who appeared over 15 years ago in the most famous of all baseball episodes, giving career advice on a roller coaster.

5. The Ned-liest Catch (Season 22, Episode 22)

Through some bizarre methods, Ned and Edna Crabapple end up dating as the perfectly odd couple. It feels contrived of the Ned dates an actress episode, or any of the secondary characters dating secondary characters episodes, but the one catch is that for the first time since season six, they are doing an overarching cliffhanger where they ask the audience to vote on whether or not the two should continue dating. It's a decent gimmick, though to an extent feels like a stretch.

5 Reasons You Probably Left the Show

1. Donnie Fatso (Season 22, Episode 9)

One of two Fat Tony episodes. However, this feels like the Armen Tanzarian episode in that it's a terrible ending. (Spoiler) Fat Tony dies and we meet his cousin Slim Tony. While the episode is not the worst, it automatically gets points marked against it for trying to kill off a character as entertaining as Fat Tony only to bring him back later as an important plot point.

2.Moms I'd Like to Forget (Season 22, Episode 10)

Hitting the midrun dry spell, this episode explores a dull look into why Bart and another kid have the same sword shaped scar. I feel this was done better in a particular Treehouse of Horror episode, and again, it feels to self-contained that the scar is never used again after this episode. It has a few moments of joy, but the overall story is kind of boring.

3. The Scorpion's Tale (Season 22, Episode 15)

I just remember this episode leaving a bad taste in my mouth. Lisa creates a drug from a flower for the elderly which causes all sorts of problems, including eyeballs popping out. The plot seems clever, but the execution is some of the worst of the season and being the most laugh free of any episode this season. I cannot remember there even being a strong plot line to this episode.

4. The Real Housewives of Fat Tony (Season 22, Episode 19)

As you see, Fat Tony clearly is not dead. He is a great character that is sadly getting misused to death this season. In this one, Tony marries Selma (it's been awhile since she got married) and moves her in to his mansion with a hoarde of Jersey Shore parodies. Feeling slow to the punch, this episode almost feels immediately dated and most of the spoiled, rich gimmicks were better handled in the days of Troy McClure. Here, it's obvious references to tanning, hot tubbing, and being self indulgent assholes. Fat Tony deserved better this season.

5. 500 Keys (Season 22, Episode 21)

It's the final act that ruins this episode for me. After the town comes into possession of a vast quantity of keys, they go around discovering what their keys open. It's a grander version of the episode with Wiggum's Master Key, and for the most part, it's full of clever moments. Oddly, it derails when it tries to add a plot about a hidden school room and Homer driving a blimp. The level of absurd with cleverness becomes uneven and you kind of wish for more than what feels like the greatest slap in the face this season (a bus drowned in a river full of plastic dummies? Really?).

So, there you have it, there's the good, bad, and mediocre episodes. It was a decent season and I feel that despite some very bad episodes, the show has been improving the past few years. I hope that next season will be as good, if not better.