The Simpsons’ creative team has put together another fun, inventive spin on the show’s formula in this week’s new episode, “My Life as a Vlog” (the title of which is a play on the acclaimed 1985 Swedish Lasse Hallström drama My Life as a Dog).
One of the most clever thing about this episode becomes evident immediately, as from the opening scene it’s presented through the desktop computer screen of a user learning about Our Favorite Family’s recent meteoric rise to the top of the YouTube / social media influencer scene.
“My Life as a Vlog” starts in medias res, with the Simpson family already having found a shocking amount of success in their new pursuit as vloggers and giving a tour of their expansive new mansion– complete with a refrigerator that is camouflaged into the kitchen wall– in a video on YouTube. Then the “user” switches over to a recap video hosted by Comic Book Guy (voiced, as always, by Hank Azaria), who is of course seated in the Iron Throne from HBO’s Game of Thrones. CBG clues us in as to how the Simpsons got to that point: long story short, it involves a vertically shot smartphone video of Maggie being too nervous to perform in her school play, and a somewhat uncharacteristically helpful Homer (Dan Castellaneta) swooping in to the rescue. From that point on, it seems each member of the Simpson clan found fame in their own ways, from Bart (Nancy Cartwright) participating in a series of yogurt-related pranks to Marge hosting her own Hot Ones-inspired internet talk show called Deep Fried Thoughts. Lisa (Yeardley Smith) also gains notoriety via cleaning up a littered beach, though Milhouse (Pamela Hayden) soon breaks in as an Anonymous-style tipster to reveal that she was the one responsible for the littering in the first place. In fact, it turns out that many of the Simpsons’ clout-chasing stunts were in some way fabricated, as Bart’s prankster buddies were actually paid child actors from Cletus Spuckler’s endless brood, and Maggie was never really on board with her newfound internet fame in the first place.
From there we go to a funny parody of Joe Rogan Experience-style podcasts, entitled The Lenny and Carl situation, hosted by Homer’s two coworkers who are played by Harry Shearer and Alex Désert with guest Moe Szyslak (Azaria again). The trio dish on their knowledge of the Simpsons’ rise to stardom, and then the user changes over to a frantic conspiracy video featuring a rambling Professor Frink (also Azaria). Apparently the Simpsons have now disappeared, having failed to show up for their most recent scheduled livestream, and internet sleuths are on the case. Then there’s a perfectly cringe-worthy ASMR video from Patty and Selma (both Julie Kavner) and The Property Damage Brothers with the school bullies, all eventually converging on the Simpsons’ mansion, where Nelson Muntz (Cartwright as well) stumbles upon the family, who confess they became trapped in their own faulty panic room. Then we get a clip from the Simpsons’ guest spot on Opal– essentially the Springfieldian version of Oprah– in which they explain how they got into that unfortunate predicament, and how it eventually made them realize that “the only subscribers they need is each other.” It’s a trite message that all-too-conveniently resets things back to the status quo just in time for the episode’s end, but at least the writers are smart enough to call that out, and ultimately the real highlight of “My Life as a Vlog” is the installment’s innovative and playful format. And having worked in the theme park news business for the better part of a decade, I definitely appreciated the commentary on internet culture and the unending influx of vloggers into an already crowded space. With this episode airing on New Year’s Day 2023, I’ll call it a good start to another year of the longest-running scripted primetime series in television history, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else the powers that be behind the show have up their sleeves for the remainder of season 34.
New episodes of The Simpsons air Sunday evenings on FOX.