10 Times The Simpsons Jumped The Shark
2. The Live Episode
Season 27’s “Simprovised” contains something rare for the latter days of the show: a genuine risk. For three minutes at the end of the episode, using live animation technology, Dan Castellaneta improvises as Homer, taking calls from viewers (he actually does this twice, for the east and west coast broadcasts).
As a feat of performance and animation, it’s impressive. The visuals are a little clunky - it’s basically just a moving mouth with the rest of Homer remaining stock still - but it’s a feat all the same, and Castellaneta keeps things moving nicely with his off the cuff responses to callers.
On the other hand - what was the point? Sure, it’s cool that they’re able to do a live segment of The Simpsons, but was anyone really entertained by it? However cutting edge the process is, surely any fan of The Simpsons would rather see an episode of the standard they once reached, rather than this.
That’s no sleight on Castellaneta, who does everything he can to keep this entertaining, but this was little more than an attempt at relevance for a show increasingly lacking in it. As a risk, it paid off, but as an enjoyable bit of TV, it was found lacking.