MoneyBART a Solid Double for the Simpsons

Sunday night The Simpsons had an episode about the old stats-versus-scouts issue in baseball, entitled "MoneyBART," a play on the book "Moneyball," which was published in 2003.

Back in its heyday, The Simpsons might have tackled this issue when it was a little more relevant and it undoubtedly would have been funnier. But the episode (which you can watch on Hulu here) was pretty good and did have several laugh-out-loud moments, which is more than you can say for most network TV comedies.

The Simpsons is now in its 23rd season and it is difficult to come up with an idea or story that has not been done before in the show's history. The show has tackled baseball several times previously, most famously in Season Three back in 1992 in "Homer at the Bat."

The current episode even did an homage to that classic show, bringing back Angels manager Mike Scioscia for a cameo and referencing his misfortune from "Homer at the Bat."

Because this week's show was about baseball, I watched a full episode for the first time in about seven or eight years. And while I enjoyed the show, it only reinforced the problems that face The Simpsons.

It is hard to argue with the decision to keep the characters the same age when the show has been on for so long. But in the beginning of its run, The Simpsons featured multi-dimensional characters with dialogue that seemed real.

But now, perhaps through sheer repetition, the characters are much more one-dimensional and the show is unable to survive without compelling cameo appearances to drag the regulars above the mess they have become.

Homer's contribution to this episode was refusing to coach Bart's team while instead mixing and ingesting a combination of mayonnaise and vodka. Really, that's all he was good for in this episode? Sure, this was a Bart and Lisa show, but there should have been something for him to contribute.

But when episode after episode has stripped Homer of virtually every redeeming quality, what else was left?

Having Homer play a meaningful role in this story would have required some more dialogue. But The Simpsons no longer produce an episode that revolves around that type of story. Seemingly everything is done in sound bites, and the shorter and quicker, apparently the better.

The best lines in this show did not come from any family member of The Simpsons. Instead, the show was carried by the Vin Scully-like announcer, Professor Frink and pals and Scioscia.

It's important to note that the show did a very nice job of portraying the overall issue and it deserves credit for making the charts Lisa used look like real baseball spray charts, rather than generic spreadsheet designs. This may sound like a little thing, but it is this type of attention to detail that helps win over the geeks, and make them (us) more likely to laugh at the Professor Frink depiction.

The Simpsons is still capable of putting out strong shows, even with the franchise now in its third decade. And while I wish the creators allowed the characters to age, I saw enough from this episode to perhaps tune in again before the decade is over.