[The long of it]
"Continuity" is the word writers and critics use to describe how well a TV series "remembers" past episodes. Shows with strong continuity, like "General Hospital" or "Babylon 5", have plot arcs that stretch across many episodes or even many years; events that happened last week influences what happens this week; and when writing a new episode, the writers try not to contradict something that happened in an earlier show. Shows with weak continuity, like "Looney Tunes" or sketch comedies, start afresh with each new episode. Plots are resolved in a single show, and then forgotten; the writers try to get things back to normal in time for the next episode; and the "rules" that applied last week don't necessarily hold this week. (That's why Daffy Duck can be a woodland critter in one show, a city dweller in another, and a space hero in yet another.)
"The Simpsons" tries for a little of both. The writers usually hit what's been called "the reset button" each week, so the house can burn down in "Homer the Heretic (9F01)," and be in like-new condition for the next episode. Yet, as a casual look through the episode capsules will prove, each show refers to the ones that have gone before; characters discuss what happened in past years, old characters pay new visits, and running gags can run across seasons. If you think the compromise approach quells debate, think again. There have been dozens of threads debating the strong-vs.-weak continuity approach on a.t.s. Most of the participants come down on the "weak" side, figuring that strong continuity would limit the writers and force them to toss out killer gags that conflict with Official Show History. "The Way We Weren't" makes a strong argument to the contrary. Rather than deny the show's past, tonight's episode creatively reinterprets it.
The revisionism begins when Homer reveals that his first kiss was not with Marge, as she had thought, but with a girl he met long ago at summer camp. Then Marge drops a bombshell of her own: She *was* the girl at summer camp. Now, if you've watched the show long enough -- or have the second-season DVD set -- then you know that Marge and Homer first met at Springfield High School. The two versions of the past seem at first seem impossible to reconcile, but the writers not only come up with an explanation but a believable one, as well. They even add to the technical difficulty by splitting the story into two parts, one told from Homer's point of view, and the other by Marge, for a nice "Rashomon"-like feel. Another highlight was the way the story explained kept Marge's distinctive hair from giving her identity away. On the night of the fateful kiss, she decides to iron it straight. She sets the heat too high, singeing it brown, so the girl Homer meets is a pretty brunette. Meanwhile, fellow camper Cookie Kwan snipes, "Ooh, one night with straight brown hair. However will you manage?"
Speaking of Ms. Kwan, "The Way We Weren't" features the childhood alter-ego of a lot of prominent Springfieldians, who provide a lot of the humor. A glance at a book she's reading shows that Ms. Kwan has fought a long-running battle with her heavy accent. Patty and Selma have already taken up smoking and developed their cynical attitude towards life in general, and men in particular. Young Comic Book Guy attends a weight-loss camp. The look to the past also provides a nice opportunity for meta-humor, such as the comment Moe makes to the camera after he receives his first prank call. If you like jokes revolving around the characters' pasts, as I do, there's a lot for you to watch.
If you don't, this episode still has a few things to recommend it. The psychedelic trip through Homer's and Marge's minds as they kiss is amazing. Marge's thoughts are rendered in the imagery of little girls' fantasies -- rainbows, clouds, and unicorns, while Homer's, suitably, show him raising havoc in a food-oriented universe. The first act drags a little, but it sets up the story well. Homer's escape from fat camp is amusing, and the story ends and a sweet note. Finally, I liked how this story showed a fight between Marge and Homer without metamorphosing into another "marriage on the rocks" tale. This episode even had the novelty of giving the moral high ground to Homer.
"The Simpsons" shouldn't become a soap opera, but I really don't see a problem with establishing stronger continuity. Indeed, an episode like "The Way We Weren't" is more interesting because it pays attention to the show's past, right down to the choice of title. Plot lines like marital fights, job changes, and getting a giant stone head for your basement just mean more when you know there's no guarantee that everything will be "reset" by next week, as if nothing had happened. The writers are playing for keeps, and episodes like this are part of the potential payoff.
[The short of it]
Far from being hamstrung by attention to continuity, tonight show creatively reinterprets the past to generally good effect. The writers did a fine job of reconciling this version of the Simpsons' romantic history with the one we knew from "The Way We Was (7F12)." The two versions of the story had a nice "Rashomon"-like feel, and I liked seeing other characters at different points in their lives. The trips through Homer's and Marge's minds were terrific eye-candy. Homer's escape from fat camp was amusing, and the story wrapped up on a pleasantly sweet note. "The Way We Weren't" is a strong argument for strong continuity. (A-)
[DYNs]
... judging by the expression on her face, Maggie likes Homer's "zombie cluster bomb analogy"?
[References]
"Mad About You" (TV series) - had an episode showing that Paul and Jamie meet briefly as children before meeting again many years later
Roe vs. Wade (landmark court decision) - Homer's "row versus wade" choice echoes the name of this case, which legalized abortion in the United States - Homer says it's "his right to choose," which is the slogan of pro-choice advocates
Elvis Presley (singer) Mick Jagger (singer) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (basketball player) - provide the first, middle, and last parts of Homer's nom de amour
the WB (TV network) - Marge's warning that the story is about to get "a little WB" refers to this network's reputation for airing steamy romances
Screaming Yellow Zonkers (snack food) - kernels of the popcorn-based snack literally scream as they flee Homer
Quisp (breakfast cereal) - the cereal's alien mascot picks up Homer in his spacecraft, and is eaten for his trouble
Kool-Aid (fruit-flavored drink) - Homer lands in the walking Kook-Aid jug, and drinks his innards
"Baretta" (TV series) - Homer's memory box is a lunchbox from this series (Baretta had a pet cockatiel, which explains the white bird on his shoulder)
[Previous Episode References]
[7F12] Title of tonight's episode refers to title of this one
[CABF21] Young Homer, Carl, Lenny, and Moe hang out together
[8F24] A Simpson attends a run-down camp
[8F24] Harsh "fat camp" seen
[5F01] Homer hides a gun in the house
[EABF06] Homer sues the church
[2F15] Homer says he ruins Lisa's future wedding (although that
was hardly Homer's fault)... sitting up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
[9F06] Bart and Laura kiss [2F06] So do Bart and Jessica [DABF06] Did Bart ever get around to kissing Greta? [FABF11] Bart and Gina kiss
You know, Bart claims to have kissed three girls but, arguably, it is the girls who kissed Bart.
[FFF]
Discredited child-care book:
101
SPANK-TERNATIVESHomer's camp:
CAMP SEE-A-TREE
FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED BOYSMarge's camp:
CAMP
LAND-A-MANBook Cookie reads:
LOSE
YOUR ACCENT
IN
THIRTY YEARSFat camp:
CAMP
FLAB-AWAYHomer's escape truck:
SAMMY'S SCALE
REPAIR
[broken]
[scale ][Oops!]
= Certain camera angles show that nobody could be hiding behind Sherri and Terri until just before they revealed their "boy crazy" cousin.
- We never see Marge pick up her half of the heart-shaped rock.
[Personal Comments & Observations]
When Homer remembers his trip to camp happening in the "50s, 60s, or 70s." The characters on the show never age, so as time advances, the dates of their childhood also have to drift forward, which is why Homer's childhood now spans three decades.
After receiving what he thinks is his first prank call, Moe turns to the camera and says, "That's the origin of that."
When he's dropping Homer off at the camp, Abe Simpson drives a wagon resembling a Ford Country Squire, ca. 1973-78.
Alas, I can't identify the car that picks up Marge from camp. The body and rear quarter panel look a bit like a 1957 Ford, but the grille is wrong.
They were on the screen too long to make this a true DYN, but I think it's worth mentioning that, aside from Homer and Marge, other well- known Springfieldians were at camp that summer.
At Camp See-A-Tree: Homer, Carl, Lenny, and Moe.
At Camp Land-A-Man: Marge, Helen (Lovejoy -- I have no idea of what her maiden name is), Luann (Van Houten), and Cookie Kwan.
At Camp Flab-Away: Joe Quimby, Clancy Wiggum, and Comic Book Guy.
Marge has won (or at least should have won) so many arguments with husband that it's shocking to say, "Homer's in the right on this one." But it's true. In the first act, Marge is upset that she wasn't the first girl to kiss Homer, but should she be? After all, she knows Homer's not the first boy to kiss her.
I suppose that's water under the bridge, since it turns out that Homer and Marge are each other's first kissing partner, after all. Which leads me to my second point: Homer didn't stand Marge up, as she assumed, and now Marge knows this, too. So why does she continue to resent him? I agree that thirty years of hurt feelings aren't going to go away "instantly," but I'd like to think that if I were in her position, I'd be a little more forgiving.