The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere: AI, Homer's Chokehold, and a Hilariously Messy Return!
The Simpsons Goes Full Meta: An AI-Generated "Series Finale" Gone Wrong!
The Simpsons season 36 premiere, "Bart's Birthday," wasn't your typical episode. It wasn't merely an episode. This thing broke all the rules – creating a wonderfully chaotic “series finale” generated by the AI, "Hack GPT." Think of that episode as an insane experiment to see how the AI does it. And as it happens, things did not really go as planned for our writers!
Conan O'Brien (a former Simpsons writer) sets the scene for that fictional finale where Bart turns 11 (or so it seems!). Things get seriously crazy. Moe sells his bar. Skinner moves away. Burns dies (leaving his fortune to the power plant workers!). It is an absolute catastrophe, and the very chaotic ending (the show explicitly refuses to continue aging normally!) hints toward this ending serving some unexpected plot twist that nobody saw coming! A truly amazing moment and a wild conclusion; completely exceeding audience’s expectations in unexpected, hilariously absurd ways. Those kinds of outrageousness, unpredictable turns which eventually are completely undone; creates something really unexpectedly awesome. The creative audacity is quite spectacular, which becomes all the more noteworthy given this season 36 installment’s intention to serve as an actual “series finale!”
The Return of the Controversial Gag: Homer Chokes Bart! (Again!)
Amidst the chaos, Bart tries to fight back against this hilariously surreal reality generated by Hack GPT, causing some interesting conflict between his father and his brother; especially since this "finale" presents everyone with surprisingly neat yet somehow unbelievable changes to those various character arcs and how their stories all seem to be conveniently "tied off." That leaves Bart feeling completely trapped. What would he possibly do?
He triggers Homer into strangling him – the infamous "Homer chokes Bart" gag. The return of that old, controversial gag, caused major uproar earlier in 2023 (leading to a public defense from producer James L. Brooks). The series had even jokingly “retired” this gag, showcasing this hilarious line in earlier season 35 episode with the line: “Times have changed.” Bringing this problematic gag back proved a masterful plot device that the AI would not likely come up with and is why the use of that classic, long-controversial gag proves so very important for illustrating how much human writers could bring something different to that AI storyline!
Why Homer Strangling Bart Makes Perfect (and Hilariously Ironic) Sense
That AI-generated finale had perfect, neat resolutions; leaving Bart in distress. The absurdly happy and easy resolution completely contrasts with this moment involving Bart; creating unexpected humour! Using a widely recognized plot element adds greater emotional impact!
That "Homer strangles Bart" gag couldn't have been better-timed. It showed how humans might produce less predictable work. The joke shows precisely those moments and elements of that messy, imperfect human reality that a purely AI approach could never create – showing some aspects which only humans truly possess. Thus it really emphasizes a core message–The Simpsons isn't machine-made! It's imperfect, crazy, human, totally and brilliantly messed up!
Conclusion: A Hilarious Meta-Comment on AI and Storytelling!
That “AI-generated finale” approach could be rather profound in unexpected ways. Those writers in the Simpson’s production team aren't simply making jokes – this showcases what exactly those AI writing systems do – producing extremely neat, often predictably dull outputs; perfectly showcasing a stark and striking contrast with the kinds of messiness, creativity, flaws and often deeply human reactions only real humans truly possess! And the very choice for reviving that deeply problematic “Homer strangles Bart” gag is that unexpected masterstroke! They used an intensely problematic yet totally recognizable comedic moment and it showcases their clever storytelling abilities and completely undermines the overall plot involving that “AI-generated series finale”, illustrating exactly why real, flawed, uniquely human creativity is ultimately needed. And why there would be many more Simpsons episodes!
