R.I.P.: Don Payne (1965-2013)

Very few shows have meant as much to me as the Simpsons has. While talk on this blog has been minimal compared to other cartoons, I still express my love when the opportunity rises. The show has provided limitless hours of entertainment, and I find time out of every day to sit down and laugh. With majority of the staff going on to successful careers, there is a net that makes it hard to ever stop appreciating modern pop culture. One of those very people was Don Payne, whose work on the show influenced it to take on more complex story lines and turn the broad humor into an intricate maze. While some would argue it damaged the funny side of the animated sitcom, I feel like Payne is one of those responsible for giving it a second life as it entered the 21st century.

On March 27, one of the prominent writer of the Simpsons, Mike Scully, took to Twitter to announce the tragic news: "Great Writer, Sweet Guy, Gone Way Too Soon RIP Don Payne." Along with a photo of his parking spot, the news spread across the web. At 48, Payne died. While causes are unknown at the moment, there are reports that cancer was somehow involved. 

For many, there is a bigger question: who is Don Payne? Even in the realm of the Simpsons, names like Brad Bird, Mike Scully, Conan O'Brien, Ian Maxtone Graham, Dana Gould, and Rich Moore are more likely to gain recognition. In some respects, each of them have found their voices outside of the show whereas Payne was just starting to. While he has written numerous screenplays, including My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, he has only started getting recognition for co-writing Thor and its sequel Thor: The Dark World. These two films are intricately placed in the larger Marvel Comics franchise that made up last year's highly successful the Avengers. His career was just taking off, as he planned to write Maximum Ride, which was based off of a James Patterson novel.

Of course, before he ever wrote a superhero film, he started off the same way many of today's big names did: on the Simpsons. His debut credit was as producer for the February 27, 2000 episode "Pygmoelian" in which beloved yet unattractive bartender Moe Syzlak gets plastic surgery. Since then, he has become quite successful with the show. His most recent credit is "Dark Knight Court" from March 17, 2013 as consulting producer. In between, he has worked on over 100 episodes in some form, including 16 writing credits, usually with partner John Frink. He has also won four Primetime Emmys for the show for the episodes "The Seemingly Neverending Story," the superb analysis of modern gay culture in "Three Gays Of the Condo," "Homr," and one of the show's most popular episodes "Behind the Laughter." 

Scene from: "Behind the Laughter"

While initial agreement is that the show has been suffering in terms of quality since 2000, which was around the time that Payne joined the show, I argue that the show was in transition. As someone who has watched the show obsessively, I am aware that there are cracks along the way, but the show had the trouble of competing with the new generation of obscene animated shows, including Family Guy. It needed to be edgy while staying true to its roots.

However, while the idea that they stuck to their roots is questionable, the show evolved to make a universe unlike anything you've ever seen. Hundreds of supporting characters who are easily recognizable. The one benefit of the post-2000 series is that I feel like the Marge Simpson character went from being the nagging wife to an actual character. The loving mother aspect may be a little unfunny at times, but I feel like Marge more represents the modern mother than her previous self. I am not saying one is better than the other, but it gave the show gravitas.

Another point of reference is that the show continued to be cutting edge. "Three Gays Of the Condo" was one of numerous episodes where the show tackled modern gay culture, which had only been established once in the 90's with "Homer's Phobia." Unlike other programs, it sympathized them without pandering, and that may have damaged the satire, especially as Family Guy became an equal opportunity offender, but it felt like a real show still.

Moving onto how Payne fits into all of this. Along with partner John Frink, he may be responsible for another aspect that the show has taken on. Episodes like "the Great Louse Detective" saw the show turning towards a more intricate plot that involved a mystery. While they aren't particularly deep, especially since it needs to be established and resolved in 30 minutes, this episode is one of those that showed them moving beyond the realm of comedy and into a more obscure story format. While this episode involving solving who wants to kill Homer Simpson isn't particularly great, it is one of the few that uses the twist very well. This would continue to be used in episodes like "500 Keys." Payne even tackled it again in "Take My Life, Please" in which Homer imagines what would happen if he did high school differently. This lead to alternative story lines throughout the rest of the show's continuing run.

At very least, I feel like it has made the show remain interesting. It has given it a brain, and while it makes it harder to accept Homer Simpson as a dimwit, it has helped to give the show legs. Mind you, not every episode is like this, but as someone who writes for a living, I admire this technique a lot. Even if the jokes are flat, the story is captivating. I can only hope that other animated sitcoms pick up on this idea and prove just how revolutionary of an idea it is. I feel like Bob's Burgers is very close to it.

Scene from: "The Wandering Juvie"

Of Payne's actual writing credits, my favorite remains "the Wandering Juvie" in which Bart lands in jail only to escape with Gina, a no good girl. It is one of many episodes in which Bart falls for a girl (including another Payne-penned episode "Little Big Girl"), but what makes this one a personal favorite is the dynamic. Bart has long been the show's hellion, but here he is just trying to make it out of juvie alive. Once Gina plans to escape, the two go on the lam.

The reason that it works so well is because it turns Bart into a vulnerable character who is just mistaken for being a hellion. Of course, when Gina begins using her girlish ways to kiss him and make him hypnotized by her control, it makes it more interesting to watch. The episode is also very funny. Of course, depending on who you ask, the ending in which everything turns into a bittersweet jail cell dinner may either be one of the show's most touching moments, or just a dumb ending. I felt it was a nice touch, especially as it felt like the show has become more accepting of misfit characters, which the central family was initially.

I could write about the Simpsons all day. Of course, Payne's other contribution is that he wrote a lot of the segmented episodes in which they tackle Valentine's Day ("Love, Springfieldian Style"), Christmas ("Simpsons Christmas Stories"), and tall tales ("Simpson Tall Tales"). While I personally am not a fan of these particular episodes, I actually enjoy the ones that he has written above others. The "Love, Springfieldian Style" one is especially interesting since Payne also wrote numerous songs that turned Bart and Nelson Muntz into Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. While they're only 20 seconds long, they were pretty awesome. 

Enough about the Simpsons. My final regards involves his work in movies. While I have not been a big fan of superhero franchise movies, I have gone on record as enjoying Thor a great deal. If you are nerdy enough, you can easily parallel character trademarks between Payne's episodes of the Simpsons and Thor. Notably in the Loki/Thor/Odin family dynamic. It is essentially one big family drama. Since Payne was also one who helped to show acceptance for misfits on the Simpsons, it is possible that this was pretty much supposed to be his vehicle. Also, I am pretty sure the comical touches are all him:

As of now, I know nothing about Thor: The Dark World, but I was curious to check it out because of how well I enjoyed the first. Even though I am burned out on superhero films in general, I feel like this one is more grounded in realism and therefore isn't entirely that hard to enjoy. True, you have to accept Asgard as a realistic place, but the family drama and turning Thor mortal are all decent concepts. I cannot really comment on how much Payne was involved, but it feels like his mix of humor and sincerity really benefited the piece.

I know its cliche to say that he died too soon, but with it just takes looking at other Simpsons writers to really see the trajectory. Brad Bird went on to direct two of Pixar's best films before doing Mission Impossible: IV:: Ghost Protocol. Rich Moore just got an Oscar nomination for Wreck-It Ralph. It was only a matter of time before Payne transitioned into the bigger arena, and I feel like his work on Thor was that gateway (no pun intended). 

Sadly, all we have now is an impressive amount of work that not only affected the way we look at superheroes, but also animated sitcoms. I feel like while his work isn't as recognized, it should be. He made ambitious entertainment. Even until the end, his credits proved to be a massive example of talent and potential. Unfortunate tides may keep him from ever becoming as big of a name, but for those that recognize his skill, he was definitely one who changed the game.