Should Marge and Homer break up?

Has anyone besides me noticed that too many episodes of The Simpsons lately have the same theme: Marge is hot for some guy other than Homer but somehow ends up back with him.

One of the things which I felt always made The Simpsons really work was that Marge and Homer had a good relationship. Lots of sitcoms have had similar themes and jokes, but they were mean-spirited and short-lived. The Simpsons boasts more than 400 episodes, so they had to have something right to start off. The animated family at Evergreen Terrace was perhaps a bit of a menace to the neighborhood, but they loved each other. Marge kept Homer grounded and Homer gave Marge excitement. Homer might mess up extravagantly from time to time, but he’s still a good provider. How many men, in 2008, can support a stay-at-home wife and three kids and own their home and two cars?

Lately, Marge seems to be finding Homer more and more of an oaf. Tonight’s episode, rewrote the history of the Simpsons family in order to mock Kurt Cobain’s legacy. As part of the stupidity, Marge miraculously gets a retroactive college degree and a radically different set of values. And a crush on her womanizing womynist professor. She does this while Homer is working at his father’s Laser Tag establishment (which we’ve never heard of before) in order to pay for her college. For the moment I will leave aside the part where FOX’s send-up of the 90’s makes the VH1 I-Love-the series look positively academic in its depth and accuracy.

Just now, let’s look at how much Marge has stopped appreciating Homer over the last few years. In January, she had an affair while Homer paid for her personal enrichment. In November, she tortured Homer for not knowing her eye color, when her eyes are freaking hazel. In November, Homer and Marge also go the Mr. and Mrs. Smith route of being contract killers on opposing sides. In September, Homer becomes a celebrity and Marge begrudges him his success. Back in March, Homer showed a documentarian that his life had meaning because of what a wonderful family he has. Last January, Marge was thinking she might be happier with another man, so Homer revitalizes an entire beach town to make her happy. Last November, Homer briefly became an ice cream man and Marge begrudged him that and decided to make popsicle stick sculptures and was sure the entire time that Homer was deliberately sabotaging her budding art career. Last September, Marge decided she wanted to be a carpenter and she had Homer act as a front for her and then got furious at him for getting credit for things she told him to take credit for. A prior carpentry-themed episode featured Marge abusing Homer for not fixing the roof and being sweet on Ray the roof guy. In January of 2005, Marge flirts with having an affair with Moe. In April of 2004, Marge checked out Krabapple and Skinner’s impending nuptials and decided she was trapped in a passionless marriage. In January of 2004, Marge wrote a book where the villain is obviously a thinly-disguised Homer and the lust object is (ew) Ned Flanders.

Looking at the most recent episodes, maybe Marge just has a 12 month itch she longs to scratch at the start of every year. Hmm, January 2000, Marge is all hot and bothered over a prison inmate with painting talent. In all fairness, in January of 2001, Homer got drunk and married a floozy in Vegas.

I know they are cartoon characters. But I used to really love the show. If Homer is really wrong for Marge, I want her to grow a spine, and do what she needs to do, in order to live the life she requires. It makes me crazy when real people keep complaining about the same problem, without taking steps to fix it. But I don’t think Homer is wrong for Marge. I think some upper level writer at FOX is having personal problems and should keep them out of The Simpsons. I feel the Marge of the first decade of the show was not all hot to have an affair with every single male character.

If the kids don’t age, then I don’t think Homer and Marge’s relationship should sour.

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Posted by Amelia G on January 28, 2008. Filed under Blue Blood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry