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Does season 12 have any decent episodes? I remember the *NSYNC episode as the first one that really made me think “wow, this is bad”.
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Jan 17, 2019 19:16
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I don’t think it does, but in real time it was like “okay, maybe next week will be And then the season ended 
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Jan 17, 2019 19:20
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COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:Behind the Laughter is basically the series finale for the good part of the series- the drop off in quality from 8 to 11 is nowhere near the drop from 11 to 13.  Sadly I think I plodded along until season 15 before I gave up completely 
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Jan 17, 2019 19:21
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SeANMcBAY posted:Does season 12 have any decent episodes? I remember the *NSYNC episode as the first one that really made me think “wow, this is bad”. I like Trilogy of Error and Praiseland, but I also haven't seen them in years.
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Jan 17, 2019 19:25
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pooch516 posted:I like Trilogy of Error and Praiseland, but I also haven't seen them in years. The Praiseland episode is great solely for the exchange between Disco Stu and Frank Sinatra: Disco Stu: Frank Sinatra?! You're in disco heaven too? Sinatra: For me, this is hell. Ya dig, pally? *continues grudgingly doing a jig*
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Jan 18, 2019 04:35
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MNIMWA posted:Recently I listened to the Talking Simpsons for the episode where Lisa and Bart go to the military academy (end of season 8). Thinking back on it, it's not a great episode outside of Bart's megaphone prank. I think season 9 is really where things start to turn, but season 8 has some garbage too Are you kidding? Season 8 is the high point of the series. It's almost entirely perfect episodes. - The Clinton/Dole treehouse of horror (  "end communication")- You Only Move Twice (the best episode of the entire show) - Homer's Enemy - The burlesque house episode - Milhouse's parents get divorced - Lisa dates Nelson ("gotta nuke somethin") - The hurricane ("now, this is the room with electricity. But it has too much electricity. So you might want to wear a hat") - El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer - Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie - Homer's Phobia ("we work hard, we play hard") - Skinner and Krabappel start a relationship ("and the baby looked at me") - Burns/Lisa recycling episode ("it sweeps the sea clean...") It's like home run after home run. The "worst" episodes in that season are probably the one with Rodney Dangerfield as Burns' brother and the one where Bart gets Laddie to replace Santa's Little Helper, and the only reason those seem worse is because the rest is so drat good. Season 8 forever. (there is a precipitous drop in quality after 8, and 9 of course leads off with principal tamzarian) Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Jan 18, 2019 |
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Jan 18, 2019 07:28
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I just watched the Viva Ned episode and it's not nearly as bad as I remembered. The opening is great. I like how Lisa expressed surprise over moving the casino with the rest of the town and then Homer was about to explain why before being cutoff was a subtle nod to the continuity of the show not really mattering and people should just go with what the plot needs. The Homer and Ned relationship was really strong in the episode and the drunken marriage didn't go on for nearly as long as I thought it did and wasn't really cringeworthy at all. Turns out I was actually remembering the followup episode where the wives found their way to Springfield. Now that's a stinker.
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Jan 18, 2019 07:42
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See, while I'd save entire episodes from S11, the only things I'd save from S12 are: - Yvan Eht Nioj / the subliminal vs superliminal joke - "Linguo... dead?!" "Linguo IS dead." - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't But Then Was - Homer constantly calling the wrong area code and getting pissed off Not even the surrounding episodes just those gags.
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Jan 18, 2019 07:47
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I rewatched Trilogy of Error recently and it's not bad. It's not amazing or anything, but it's worth watching if you haven't seen it in a while. It's obviously Simpsons at its most cartoony, but it has some decent jokes and the premise is interesting. At least they were trying something new, even if it didn't pan out in the best way possible.
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Jan 18, 2019 10:21
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Atlas Hugged posted:I just watched the Viva Ned episode and it's not nearly as bad as I remembered. The opening is great. I like how Lisa expressed surprise over moving the casino with the rest of the town and then Homer was about to explain why before being cutoff was a subtle nod to the continuity of the show not really mattering and people should just go with what the plot needs. The Homer and Ned relationship was really strong in the episode and the drunken marriage didn't go on for nearly as long as I thought it did and wasn't really cringeworthy at all. Like The Principal and the Pauper it's not terrible but they hosed with a character.
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Jan 18, 2019 10:27
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I very specifically remember thinking How I Spent My Strummer Vacation being the first episode I watched that didn't contain anything I'd consider funny. Apparently that was the start of season 14. Looking at the episode lists there's a bunch of season 13 episodes I remember fondly, while there's not a single season 14 episode I'd ever rewatch. I guess that's where the Simpsons died for me.
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Jan 18, 2019 10:34
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I can still remember watching the Edison episode for the first time, and watching the credits roll, and thinking "that was okay." And then just feeling sort of sad. Anyway, a question for the Simpsonologists: Homer's voice early on is quite different to Homer's voice during the Golden Age. Can someone please explain when, and why, this change occurred?
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Jan 18, 2019 10:50
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His voice was originally based on Walter Matthau I believe.
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Jan 18, 2019 10:55
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Reading episode synopses, I'm shocked to learn that the first season I don't remember any episode from is loving S17. I'm surprised I watched that long, though after like 13 or 14 I started to not remember more and more. I think 16 I only recognized one or two episodes.
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Jan 18, 2019 10:58
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Bust Rodd posted:Duckman was my very first experience with an unlikeable character that I still liked. He was rude and selfish and a terrible father and I couldn’t believe someone was drawing him like that. Hope you didn't get that tattoo because it's "cornfed" as in grew up eating corn because he is a pig.
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Jan 18, 2019 11:41
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CodfishCartographer posted:I rewatched Trilogy of Error recently and it's not bad. It's not amazing or anything, but it's worth watching if you haven't seen it in a while. It's obviously Simpsons at its most cartoony, but it has some decent jokes and the premise is interesting. At least they were trying something new, even if it didn't pan out in the best way possible. I've always liked Trilogy of Error, but I would gladly sacrifice it if I never had to remember anything after season 11.
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Jan 18, 2019 13:39
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So looking over the first 15 seasons, I think I can confidently say the shift out of the golden era occurred during season 9. We all know the writing quality took a hit, but there was something else that characterizes these newer episodes. There's a definite change in tone. I won't go so far as to say it's drastic (well, at least this early on), but it's certainly noticeable. The show becomes, for lack of a better word, a lot meaner, imo. In previous seasons, sure not everybody were a bunch of angels, but I feel like most of the characters were well meaning people who may have acted like jerks occasionally. But going on from season 9, it's like the douche factor was raised a notch. This is most noticeable with Homer. He becomes more obnoxious, has way more disregard for his actions, and seems to go more out of his way to be a dick. In the gun episode, he actually thinks about robbing the Kwik-E-Mart. It's bad enough that he's entertaining the idea of committing a major felony, but also doing so to someone who he's (supposed to be) good friends with. Again, Homer may have been selfish in the past, but he wasn't malicious. You could also see this, albeit to a lesser degree with Marge. In the Homega Man episode, it ends with Marge (as well as Bart, Maggie, and Lisa) killing the mutants with Marge showing open contempt to the idea of living with them in peace. In Hell Toupee, she laughs at Wiggum's dumb hair pun at the end after reminding everyone that Apu and Moe were brutally murdered. She even mocks Mr. Burns after he loses his money in that one episode which I can't remember the name of. Marge would never have acted this way in older episodes. And finally, the older episodes were generally very heart warming and would end in a touching manner. But starting from season 9, the show got a lot more cynical. Episode conflicts very frequently ended badly, usually with no valuable lesson learned or anything. The garbage strike episode ends with Springfield remaining a polluted, toxic wasteland, Poochy gets killed off (and by extension, Homer's career as a voice actor), Homer fails to protect Mayor Quimby from getting beaten nearly to death by Fat Tony, The Simpsons get their entire house ransacked by the town as repayment during the Christmas episode (one of my most disliked episodes) the list goes on and on. And yes, I'm aware that there were cynical endings in previous seasons, but they were rare. Now they became a staple of the show. I mean, sure there's no rule that says that an episode should end in a neatly wrapped up package, and that subverting expectations can less boring and more funny, but regardless of where you stand on that, the point is that a noticeable shift did occur.
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Jan 18, 2019 14:08
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Mr Interweb posted:In the gun episode, he actually thinks about robbing the Kwik-E-Mart Who hasn't thought of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart, or bank, or whatever at some point?
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Jan 18, 2019 14:13
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Iron Crowned posted:Who hasn't thought of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart, or bank, or whatever at some point? Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? I doooooooooooooooo
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Jan 18, 2019 14:49
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The reason for that change in tone around season 9 is because at that point the writers and showrunners just assumed The Simpsons was ending soon. So why not get weird with it? And then it didn't end.
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Jan 18, 2019 15:00
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Detective No. 27 posted:The reason for that change in tone around season 9 is because at that point the writers and showrunners just assumed The Simpsons was ending soon. So why not get weird with it? And then it didn't end. Wait, so there was an actual REASON for this?
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Jan 18, 2019 23:58
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Mr Interweb posted:Wait, so there was an actual REASON for this? They talk about it on Talking Simpsons every once in a while. They basically ran out of ideas for the classic financial struggling Simpsons family story template. Here's the mindset: It's the end of the 90s, they've got over 7 seasons under their belt. Most regular sitcoms don't last this long, so certainly an animated one won't be. Viewership is down so they're probably gonna cancel this show. Alright, let's get experimental.
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Jan 19, 2019 00:25
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Mr Interweb posted:Wait, so there was an actual REASON for this? Pretty much, yeah. Oakley and Weinstein have said at different points in time that they assumed the show just couldn’t go past 8 seasons, so they did all sorts of wall-breaking and out of left field stuff. Season 8 is amazing but when you take a closer look it really has a TON of meta jokes and begins to get further away from the grounded premise. They focused on side characters more, did stuff like the spinoff showcase, did a crossover, had a magic nanny show up in parody, and really cranked up the “Homer gets a new job” factor. When they found out it was coming back for 9, they all did the “collar tug” move and left it in the hands of the next guys to figure out. The season 9 time realized there was no going back at that point, so they might as well just keep up the Captain Wacky stuff.....
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Jan 19, 2019 00:25
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Mantis42 posted:See, while I'd save entire episodes from S11, the only things I'd save from S12 are: Can we throw "That's right .. Liutenant LT Smash" in that pile of gags worth saving too
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Jan 19, 2019 01:29
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In the new one, Lisa meets a new friend and lies about her family because, well, for obvious reasons. I have very few complaints, it was easily the best episode of the season. It did have an annoying flourish of stupid title cards and french cafe music coming up at various story beats announcing the story beats. Also Lisa declares it her first happy ending, so someone there must have read that article about how Lisa stories always punish Lisa for no reason.
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Jan 19, 2019 01:39
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PostNouveau posted:In the new one, Lisa meets a new friend and lies about her family because, well, for obvious reasons. It was up against an appallingly bad family guy episode and even a subpar BB episode so for the first time since it ran concurrently with those shows, Simpsons was the best Fox cartoon of the night.
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Jan 19, 2019 01:57
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Looking at the wiki, I'm pretty sure Season 12 is when I stopped watching regularly. It still had some good individual episodes but also ones I legitimately have no idea existed. Season 13 had an awful Treehouse and then that episode with Jane Kaczmaryck...I tapped out after that.
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Jan 19, 2019 04:37
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spaceblancmange posted:His voice was originally based on Walter Matthau I believe. In the shorts and season 1 it's still very Walter Matthau-y By season 3 the voice seems to be the Homer we know and love. It just changed since over time as actors get older and tiny changes over time. You don't notice it as it's happening but it's noticeable when you compare clips 10, 20 years apart. Dan mentions this on some commentaries it's not a conscious choice
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Jan 19, 2019 04:41
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Phil Hartman: Died May 1998 Simpsons S10: Born Aug 1998
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Jan 19, 2019 05:30
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Tree Bucket posted:I can still remember watching the Edison episode for the first time, and watching the credits roll, and thinking "that was okay." And then just feeling sort of sad. It was inspired by Walter Matheau, but they've said over time he changed it because it was rough on his throat to do the more gravely voice.
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Jan 19, 2019 05:38
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SirPablo posted:Phil Hartman: Died May 1998 
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Jan 19, 2019 05:58
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Gil is a pretty good character, at least in his first appearance. A shame they didn’t come up with him earlier.
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Jan 19, 2019 06:09
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He's no Hans Moleman. He just exists to job to Cookie Wong.
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Jan 19, 2019 06:31
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Gil may have been funny once, but without Phil Hartman he and the various characters all voiced by Tress MacNeille got way too much prominence and they're just not that funny.
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Jan 19, 2019 06:36
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Gil essentially became a replacement Lionel Hutz
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Jan 19, 2019 07:06
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I've noticed Nu Simpsons uses Sideshow Mel whenever they need to have a random Springfielder. Sideshow Mel loving sucks.
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Jan 19, 2019 07:16
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Detective No. 27 posted:They talk about it on Talking Simpsons every once in a while. They basically ran out of ideas for the classic financial struggling Simpsons family story template. GPTribefan posted:Pretty much, yeah. Oakley and Weinstein have said at different points in time that they assumed the show just couldn’t go past 8 seasons, so they did all sorts of wall-breaking and out of left field stuff. Season 8 is amazing but when you take a closer look it really has a TON of meta jokes and begins to get further away from the grounded premise. They focused on side characters more, did stuff like the spinoff showcase, did a crossover, had a magic nanny show up in parody, and really cranked up the “Homer gets a new job” factor. Oh wow, that's super interesting. I had no idea the ratings were going down during that time. 
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Jan 19, 2019 07:41
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Doesn't season 9-11 also mark the time that not only had almost all the original writers left, but so had the people who had worked under them?
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Jan 19, 2019 08:00
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Mr Interweb posted:Oh wow, that's super interesting. I had no idea the ratings were going down during that time. Maybe they would have been pushed out if Fox had something else to anchor their Sunday night blocks.
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Jan 19, 2019 08:07
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Laterite posted:Looking at the wiki, I'm pretty sure Season 12 is when I stopped watching regularly. It still had some good individual episodes but also ones I legitimately have no idea existed. Season 13 had an awful Treehouse and then that episode with Jane Kaczmaryck...I tapped out after that. But wasn't that the episode with "The clown is down."?
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