As a huge fan of the Simpsons, when I saw the book Planet Simpson lying around in the Science section (whaa ?) of Landmark, I couldn't resist picking it up and having a browse through. Ended up with me going home with the book paid for and a resolution to read it through properly (for a 500 page book).

After reading the entire breadth and length of the book, I'm quite unimpressed. The book is really about Planet Earth and describing exactly where Simpsons interescts into this very down to earth place. The hypocritical clergy, the corrupt politicians, the town drunkard, the evil corporations, all picked out of the background and given their day in the sun. Even characters like Troy McLure (played by the late Phil Hartman) or Apu Nahasapemapettilon get their just analysis and are compared to the realworld celebrities and immigrants.

As thorough as the book is, it wastes quite a bit of time putting the episodes in their time & place, explaining the emergence of punk rock and grunge and how the social commentary carried into Simpsons came into being. The world of Simpsons suddenly isn't too different from ours, only carried a bit further into yellow skinned incredulity. After all it wasn't the planet of the apes and neither is it planet Simpson, it's merely home.

Now, I don't think I'd ever be satisifed by anything other than a hardbound snpp.com - but this book's pretty good at pointing out the show's golden age and when exactly it jumped the shark.

I'm happy that I read it, but I don't think I'll read it too often (unlike my Wodehouse, Douglas Adams or Pratchett collections). So I'd have rather borrowed this book than bought this eulogy to the simpsons. Next up for perusal are Nancy Cartwright's My Life As A 10-Year-Old Boy (aka Bart) and the Matt Groening guidebook to the Simpsons - One Step Beyond Forever. Maybe soon, maybe never.

posted at: 15:01 | path: /books | permalink |