But the reason I put it in is because the quality
is there, at least in my eyes. I don't really like comparing Season 1 to something like Season 4 head-to-head because the general styles of the show are so dramatically different. I mean, if I'm just going to make a list of the funniest jokes in something like LETS and compare it to Bart the General, then obviously the Season 4 episodes are superior. But the Season 1 episodes do things stylistically that a lot of the later seasons can't even touch. The word that I like to throw around is "charm."
...Which is kind of a tiresome and nebulous word, but that's the way I characterize it.
Like, I was re-watching Life on the Fast lane for
no apparent reason that has nothing to do with future projects, and was really entranced by how deliberately and thoughtfully they put together each scene. There are a lot of little odd, observational touches that aren't necessarily jokes, but give the world more personality. Even stupid things that don't even matter.
I love how, when Marge goes bowling for the first time and talks to the guy behind the counter, he literally points to these signs saying, "You can't bowl without a lane" or "No street shoes allowed" while saying the exact same dialogue.
Is this necessary? No. Does it add something to the scene. Yes.
It makes an unimportant character like a bowling alley employee slightly more visually interesting to listen to as he explains the world of bowling to a confused Marge. And then you have Marge walking up to the line, looking around puzzledly, chucking a bowling ball down the lane. There aren't really any jokes. It's not accompanied with a big bowling parody or some witty pun about her skills; it's just showing someone trying something they have absolutely no idea about. Marge doesn't feel like a vehicle for delivering jokes; she feels more like an actual person who is interacting with actual situations.
I guess what I'm very confusedly saying is that Season 1 is really authentic.
