Arguably the best account on Twitter – certainly from the perspective of a Simpsons fan – celebrated its fifth birthday this week. Here’s an attempt at a perfectly cromulent tribute.
On a platform where the most powerful person in the world can say whatever he wants to an audience of millions without fear of reproach, you don’t have to look too hard to find Twitter’s nastier side.
On Twitter, where dangerous opinions quickly gain credence and pointless arguments can last for an inexplicable length of time, one sometimes needs reminding that, for all its faults, there will usually be a few instances in every day that a scroll through your timeline will prove a rewarding one.
For this writer, Simpsons QOTD (Quote of the Day), the Simpsons tribute account that celebrated its fifth birthday earlier this week, can always be relied upon to provide welcome relief from the noise.
Established in January 2013 by Charlie Southern, Simpsons QOTD immediately established that it would pay tribute to the many brilliant moments from Seasons 1-11 only.
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/936923215640883200
There have been numerous arguments in support of the theory that The Simpsons’ arresting decline began with the controversial Principal and the Pauper episode in Season 9 – the one where Principal Skinner is revealed as an impostor only for all of Springfield to conveniently forget about it by the end – but even if that didn’t start it, few would argue that it didn’t take long for the rot to kick in afterwards.
Southern was immediately decreasing his workload by cutting off way over half of the show’s output as reference points, but with 268 episodes making up the first 11 seasons of The Simpsons, there was still a lot of ground to cover.
And cover it he has with a diligence and a level of detail, care and affection that has deservedly earned the account a little short of half a million followers (469,000 at the time of writing).
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/946023704315793408
Despite the fact that The Simpsons started to decline well before the arrival of social media, such is its legacy that it’s probably the best-represented pop culture phenomenon when it comes to tribute accounts on Facebook and Twitter in particular.
The wonderful Ireland Simpsons Fans account on Facebook deserves a mention amongst some of the most popular accounts out there, while the likes of Four Finger Discount and Rock Bottom attract thousands of interactions on a daily basis.
The beauty of Simpsons QOTD, however, is that, even though The Simpsons has delivered more quotable moments than any other show in television history, it frequently manages to remind followers of less celebrated bits of brilliance that would otherwise be forgotten about if it wasn’t for the existence of the account in the first place.
Even fans with a passing interest in the show, for example, will remember quotes like “Homer Simpson, smiling politely” or “You’ll have to speak up, I’m wearing a towel”.
Yet it’s always nice for nerdier Simpsons fans to be reminded of more obscure moments, such as, to take some examples since the turn of the year, Homer eating a 10-pound bag of flour, ‘A Fridge Too Far’ or Ned Flanders remembering the need to get started on his taxes.
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/949673477522501632
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/949349522446184448
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/947710101653213184
Very occasionally, Southern will offer commentary on the account – such as his list of his 20 favourite episodes of The Simpsons (Homer Badman from Season 6 was number one) – but for the most part, it is a reflection of a labour of love that requires an extraordinary amount of dedication for one man to maintain.
A little more poignantly, like some of the characters at the time, it is a reminder of what made the show so great during its glory days and at the same time, a reminder that those glory days are sadly long gone.
Keep up the good work Charlie and in the meantime, enjoy that white wine spritzer.
You’ve earned it.
https://twitter.com/SimpsonsQOTD/status/953055439373131776
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
