Elon Musk and Lady Gaga’s appearances on The Simpsons remain the show’s lowest-rated episodes, so what made these two outings such spectacular misfires for fans of the long-running series? Since it began way back in 1989 with a Christmas special, “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire,” The Simpsons has been one of the most popular satirical programs in US TV history.
Cynical, crude, but warm-hearted and surprisingly sharp, early seasons of The Simpsons were popular (and infamous) enough to attract the attention of then-President George HW Bush, who bemoaned the fact that the average American family resembled the Springfield clan more than the idealized Waltons during one speech. Never a show to back down from controversy, the pithy reply from The Simpsons came in Bart’s quick-witted rebuttal, “We’re just like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the depression too.”
Capable of snapping back at a then-sitting president, in its early years The Simpsons was as unafraid of criticism and controversy as sitcoms can get. However, in the years since the show’s so-called “Golden Age” (seasons 3-12, which remain Simpsons fan favorites to this day), most critics claim that the satirical edge of Springfield’s first family has been blunted. Some fans blame the popularity of edgier shows who owe their success to The Simpsons from South Park to Family Guy, while others say the writing of the series could never have hoped to hold onto the unheard-of critical acclaim enjoyed by its most-loved seasons. Whatever the cause, two Simpsons outings from recent years have ended up at the bottom of the show’s IMDB rankings, and both outings feature big-name guest stars in the form of Elon Musk and Lady Gaga. They’re both very famous guests, so what went so wrong that their respective Simpsons cameo episodes currently rank as two of the lowest-rated on IMDB out of the show’s over-700 outings?
The Simpsons Fawned Over Gaga and Musk
As evidenced by their satire of George HW Bush, even US presidents weren’t safe from The Simpsons’ early seasons and their sharp satirical wit. At the height of its critical acclaim, there were few stars who would turn down a role on The Simpsons, and consequently, there were few targets that the show was afraid to mock. However, in recent years as the critical and fan reception of The Simpsons has declined, so too has the show’s daring willingness to spoof the rich and famous as it relies more and more on guest stars to draw in viewers. From his inheritance of a precious metal mine to the scandals over Tesla working conditions, there are plenty of issues and questions surrounding controversial billionaire Elon Musk that The Simpsons could have satirized during his 2015 appearance on the show. Instead, however, the show opted to fawn over the figure in a manner that The Simpsons rarely lowers itself to. Lisa un-ironically calls Musk the “greatest living inventor,” and this fawning adulation sets the tone for the rest of the episode.
Some of The Simpsons’ least-liked episodes are outings that were criticized for being too mean-spirited, but holding the world’s richest man to account is not quite the same as depicting the town of Springfield ganging up to bully a child. Some subjects wield enough power to require a sharp satirical prod, something Musk's cameo didn't provide. Meanwhile, while Lady Gaga has fewer scandals to her name than Musk, her episode “Lisa Goes Gaga” could have seen the small town of Springfield balk at the singer’s aggressively weird stage persona. Instead, Gaga arrives specifically to bring joy to the depressed burg, leading to more fawning from the townspeople that not only bring about few laughs but also directly contradict the change-fearing, small-minded depiction they’ve received earlier in The Simpsons. As proven by Homer’s famous alien sighting, the town of Springfield typically responds to anything out of the ordinary with knee-jerk derision, making their instant adoration of Gaga all the harder to swallow.
The Simpsons Fit The Show To Their Cameos (Not Vice Versa)
From Danny DeVito, who is often cast as villainous and duplicitous characters, playing against type as Homer’s well-meaning, kind-hearted brother Herb Powell, to Michael Jackson’s surprisingly sad turn as asylum inmate Leon Kompowsky, the best Simpsons cameo cast actors against type and expect them to adapt to the show’s tone. Both Musk and Gaga’s appearances, however, were written around the cameos and it shows in the episodes, with the supporting characters having little to do but talk about how wonderful this week’s guest star is. The later "Treehouse of Horror" episodes have run into a similar issue, often focusing on whatever series or movie is popular rather than offering the classic horror parodies that made early Simpsons Halloween specials so popular at the time.
Building a Halloween outing around referencing Stranger Things and The Shape of Water dates the episode in a way that parodying The Shining and A Nightmare On Elm Street doesn’t. In the same way, casting Dustin Hoffman as Lisa’s supportive substitute results in a classic Simpsons episode, where casting Musk and Gaga as idealized versions of themselves results in little more than aimless adoration of the already-famous figures. Earlier Simpsons episodes such as the Rolling Stones' role on the show fell afoul of similar issues, but Musk and Gaga’s appearances represent the most hard-to-watch case of the series fawning over guest stars at the expense of the plot and humor.
The Simpsons Never Needed Celebrity Cameos
Although everyone from Sarah Michelle Gellar to Sarah Silverman to Anne Hathaway has played Bart’s love interests on The Simspons, few viewers even know these stars (and Meryl Streep, and Natalie Portman) appeared on the show. Bart’s many romances were self-contained stories that benefited from their great voice work but didn’t center on their star power or rely on their pre-existing fame. As proven by the fact the DeVito and Jackson didn’t play themselves, The Simpsons never needed celebrity cameos, with The Simpsons Movie even cutting an Edward Norton cameo when it proved distracting. Many of the show’s most highly-rated episodes generally either have no visiting mega-stars ("Last Exit To Springfield") or see character actors cameo in roles that are funny even to non-fans (as with Albert Brook’s Hank Scorpio of "You Only Move Twice" fame). The Simpsons appeared to forget this fact and put the cart ahead of the horse in both Musk and Gaga’s appearances, failing to parody the stars or mount an interesting story around their cameos and relying on their fame instead, thus creating some of the show’s most-hated episodes as a result.