34x12 My Life as a Vlog

[6.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I’m pretty conflicted about this one. On the one hand, I appreciate the ingenuity of this episode as a format-bender. Presenting all of these events through a series of YouTube videos deconstructing the rise and fall of OUr Favorite Family as viral celebrities is a creative spin on the usual storytelling. The show manages to replicate the feeling of falling into one of these wormholes, where you’re digging deep into some esoteric subject and maybe even watching the drama unfold in real time. I want to see more bold shots like this, with the creative team stretching and even breaking the usual form for an episode or two.

But I also don’t love the story. This never feels like the Simpsons in action. I take that to be somewhat the point. The idea is that they’ve been so transformed by the viral influencer lifestyle that they’ve lost themselves. But even then, these never feel like twisted extensions of Homer, Marge, Bart, or Lisa. Instead, they feel like entirely different characters who get scrunched into the Instragram-ready family mold because that’s what the story needs them to be this week.

You could do a good Simpsons episode about the family losing its way in the face of viral fame, but “My Life as a Vlog” never comes off rooted in the characters as we know them, or even an exaggeration thereof. Even “Behind the Laughter”, which at least had the good sense to take things non-canon, felt more attuned to who the characters are.

I do appreciate the thematic point of this one -- that despite an air of authenticity and the appeal that comes with the promise of candid moments, YouTube personalities and their adventures are as manufactured and phony as anything on scripted television. But there’s not much of a compelling tale to support it.

Though hey, maybe it’s because I only have half a foot in the world of vloggers and similar content. A lot of the humor didn’t land with particular force for me, because I'm half-familiar with the things the episode is parodying, but not well-versed in the material like when, say, co-showrunner Matt Selman is spoofing prestige television. I chuckled at Patty and Selma’s ASMR vid, and Frink’s crazy conspiracy videos. On the whole, though, this episode is a genre parody where I only have passing familiarity with the genre -- enough to get the joke but not enough to really tickle my funny bone.

The one part of this I did appreciate is the throughline of Homer’s relationship with Maggie. It’s very simple, and not enough of a focus for the episode. But I like that what got this all started in the first place was a traditional viral clip of Homer being a good dad. What demonstrated how far things had gone off the rails was him disregarding her wellbeing for a marketing tie-in. (And hey, Maggie’s right to be terrified of those Minion knock-offs.) And what sets things back together is Homer worrying that she’s lost and promising he won’t make her do any videos anymore, with the implicit promise of a return to the actual, legitimate cute interactions that ginned this whole thing up. It’s not much, but the sweetness of that makes their arc the most substantive thing in the episode.

Overall, I admire the creative swing of trying to tell a Simpsons story in this way, and the attempt to be timely with an episode centered on YouTube culture which is a growing part of how Gen Z and below consume media. But the substance, character, and comedy of this one was below par in a way that even a format-bending change of pace couldn't make up for.