I’ve never been one for binge television watching. I tend to get bored too easily to sit and watch hours and hours of the same program. I can’t re-watch many great films over 2 1/2 hours in length (note I said many not all – Jackie Brown will always have a place in my heart). All that aside, when the terribly named FXX channel announced their 522 episode plus a film, 12 day marathon of the Simpsons, I was all in. Little did I know it would cost me my sanity and even force me into unusual sleep patterns for the first few days.
Right off the bat, I took a mental note of when my favorite episodes would air. I quickly discovered it would be impossible to see all of my favorites the infamous Wacking Day episode, for example, aired in the wee hours of the morning. The celebrated annual Halloween Tree House of Horror episodes aired every 12 hours. For cubical zombies such as myself, it would be impossible to capture all of your favorite Simpsons episodes in order. Then again, isn’t that what DVDs and DVR are for? Regardless, I committed to watching nothing but FXX while I was home but not at the expense of my social life or professional obligations. This did mean falling asleep to and waking up Homer and Bart’s antics on more than a few occasions. (Just a side note, I can’t fall asleep in absolute silence, I usually have my leave my satellite radio on and listen to the Opie and Jim Norton Show {at least until OCT } ).
The first few days I smiled as some of my favorites, both familiar and forgotten, flashed across my TV screen. Nostalgia had me in her warm and fuzzy embrace. The first weekend of the marathon, I caught a mild flu bug and found myself in bed both days. Perhaps it was my fever but soon I began to dream in yellow. Apu, Moe, and Marge didn’t invade my dreams, rather everyone in my dreams looked like they had a case of jaundice. I had the channel on for so long that weekend, I could almost name the order the commercials would air in. Come Monday I started to feel better and yearned for some fresh air. I still tuned in whenever I was home but didn’t let the lure of the ole couch gag reel me in. I soon found myself paying less and less attention to the episodes, while they were on. Granted, many argue some of the later seasons are just not as enjoyable as the earlier ones, but I think I had myself a case of Simpsons burnout.
Labor day weekend I made it a point to enjoy the sunshine, talk to friends and family, and see my girlfriend. I still tuned in when I was home but most times, fell asleep. I also skipped the movie, didn’t feel like investing the time in it again. I caught the last three episodes and barely noticed when I heard “congrats you made it! Thanks for watching!” I did take notice when FXX announced all the episodes would be on their app soon – making me feel like a Millhouse for deciding to devote my time to this little experiment. Moral of the story: too much of a good thing can make you say Doh!
PS FXX – please change your name. It’s really terrible.
The Masterpiece Mindset 