I am not the biggest fan of The Simpsons—not by any means—but news of a live segment captivated my interest, doubly so after it was announced that the main plot would revolve around improvisational comedy. I don’t plan on this being a regular feature, but I just wanted to discuss my feelings on the episode.
Firstly, the live portion. The topic of comedy is near and dear to my heart, especially improv comedy. How do they do it? How do these comedians work up the courage to stand up in front of a crowd and tell jokes? It’s especially hard when you’re on live television, for millions of viewers to see. Seeing as it’s been four days since the episode aired, I have no qualms with spoiling it.
I enjoyed seeing Dan Castellaneta ad-lib in character as Homer Simpson. While the East Coast questions could have been more interesting, I found that the West Coast edition provided more laughs. It’s worth it to watch both of them. One major flaw would be the promised background jokes. I got a kick out of the “Bring Back Futurama (Again!)” sign from Futurama’s Bender, but the majority of them took attention away from the improvising. I would have liked it if they kept it down to at least three.
As for the main plot, I enjoyed the way that they showed Homer learning the art of improv comedy to deal with his stage fright. I could relate to his fear of public speaking. Some of the jokes, such as Mr. Burns’s “therapy hounds,” made me laugh. I just wish that they had more jokes about improv comedy itself. Now, what do you think? Was the episode funny or just boring? Did the live segment come off as a cheap gimmick or a unique stunt? Comment below with your reply!
The Simpsons airs on FOX, Sundays at eight pm. You can find the live clips from "Simprovised" on Hulu.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.
