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Data Graham posted:I always thought the ineptness of the Mark McGwire scene was sort of intentional. You've got the bad acting and the actual bad animation, but what he's doing is lamely stuffing the printout under his cap and then reaches up to "fix" it falling out. It's like, it's supposed to look stupid, because what he's doing is stupid. It's commentary on his (and MLB in general) steroid abuse. Everyone sees it happening, ineptly and it plain sight, but nobody cares. At least when that episode aired, anyway.
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May 21, 2019 17:02
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The last episode of the Simpsons past the golden age (Season 8) I watched was the one about Moe's talking bar-rag. The loving rag narrates a criminally unfunny story about how it came to be in Moe's possession. What really pissed me off was that this episode somehow had an unrelated B-Plot where Bart and Milhouse get mad at each other. What the gently caress? That's not how B-plots work. You can't have a framing device alongside another unrelated story, that's loving sloppy storytelling.
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May 22, 2019 15:11
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Inspector Gesicht posted:The last episode of the Simpsons past the golden age (Season 8) I watched was the one about Moe's talking bar-rag. The loving rag narrates a criminally unfunny story about how it came to be in Moe's possession. What really pissed me off was that this episode somehow had an unrelated B-Plot where Bart and Milhouse get mad at each other. What the gently caress? That's not how B-plots work. You can't have a framing device alongside another unrelated story, that's loving sloppy storytelling. The lock-step pattern of absolutely needing to have a b-plot in the new episodes is infuriating. Take a look back and you will see lots of great episodes with one single plot. I was just watching “Marge Be Not Proud” and it’s such a simple, focused plot with a clear structure and it’s was great. Things that are set up in the beginning payoff and you remember them because it’s one grounded story with the same group of characters. The ending is effective because we never left the central plot and the voice actors had to act because their character had emotional arcs within one episode. It’s so loving simple!!
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May 22, 2019 20:48
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Inspector Gesicht posted:The last episode of the Simpsons past the golden age (Season 8) I watched was the one about Moe's talking bar-rag. The loving rag narrates a criminally unfunny story about how it came to be in Moe's possession. What really pissed me off was that this episode somehow had an unrelated B-Plot where Bart and Milhouse get mad at each other. What the gently caress? That's not how B-plots work. You can't have a framing device alongside another unrelated story, that's loving sloppy storytelling. Wait, that’s real? I thought that was a joke on how bad the show got. Holy poo poo. 
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May 22, 2019 23:33
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WeaponX posted:The lock-step pattern of absolutely needing to have a b-plot in the new episodes is infuriating. Take a look back and you will see lots of great episodes with one single plot. Does this mean they've done away with the formula of the completely unrelated 'A' story being the first act, followed by the 'B' that would take us through the next act and a half? Watching anything from Season 5 reminds you of what a great show it was no matter what e: when Homer throws down the baby gate- "heh heh heh, get 'im, Ma" is one of the funniest loving things and I have no idea why Harold Stassen fucked around with this message at 23:42 on May 22, 2019 |
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May 22, 2019 23:39
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COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:Does this mean they've done away with the formula of the completely unrelated 'A' story being the first act, followed by the 'B' that would take us through the next act and a half? Anytime Homer turns into a hillbilly is always comedic gold. NEVER EVER stop in the middle of a hoedown!
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May 23, 2019 00:43
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COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:Does this mean they've done away with the formula of the completely unrelated 'A' story being the first act, followed by the 'B' that would take us through the next act and a half? Plus the greatest end credits in the history of television You have selected POWER DRIVE!
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May 23, 2019 01:14
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In “The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show” when Marge says “It’s those lousy writers! They make me madder than a... yak in heat!” Is that the writers poking fun at laymen for criticizing writing when they themselves are even less creative, or was it self-depricating humor by the writers who weren’t able to come up with a better line for Marge?
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May 23, 2019 02:39
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The latter.
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May 23, 2019 02:46
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It’s the writers breaking the fourth wall by “punishing” marge for criticizing them.
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May 23, 2019 02:52
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The Simpsons was so good because it was all 3 of those things.
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May 23, 2019 04:49
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SeANMcBAY posted:Wait, that’s real? I thought that was a joke on how bad the show got. Holy poo poo. The bar rag is voiced by Jeremy Irons ........ Jeremy's ...... Iron
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May 23, 2019 04:55
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I actually always thought the joke was just that Marge is lame and said something lame.
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May 23, 2019 08:05
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SweetMercifulCrap! posted:I actually always thought the joke was just that Marge is lame and said something lame. 
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May 23, 2019 08:35
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When Marge said “I just think (potatoes are) neat!” was this the writers criticising the lack of imagination in American cooking, or was this a pointed critique at Washington & their use of taxpayers’ money to introduce farming subsidies for potato growers? 
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May 23, 2019 08:42
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New Moe episodes are always garbage. The one with the African princess he falls in love with is particularly gross and bad
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May 23, 2019 17:29
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Frog Act posted:New Moe episodes are always garbage. The one with the African princess he falls in love with is particularly gross and bad Also the Helen Hunt one where he's spending money like crazy to try and impress her because he's assuming she's a gold digger even though he's clearly broke.
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May 23, 2019 17:32
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Or the Moe one where he get plastic surgery to become handsome. I seem to remember catching that one and thinking “this is just an episode where Moe looks and acts like Not Moe, why didn’t they just make up a new character?”
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May 23, 2019 17:37
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Also the one where he makes bourbon and gets rich but his suit frays so he loses it all
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May 23, 2019 17:38
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WeaponX posted:The lock-step pattern of absolutely needing to have a b-plot in the new episodes is infuriating. Take a look back and you will see lots of great episodes with one single plot. don't worry, they also squeeze in C and D plots that don't have any actual time to be resolved or funny
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May 24, 2019 02:09
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There are some good recent Moe episodes. I enjoyed the mattress business one, and the one where he gets a job at the power plant.
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May 24, 2019 13:38
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Frog Act posted:New Moe episodes are always garbage. The one with the African princess he falls in love with is particularly gross and bad The one where he dates a woman with dwarfism is one of the most pointless episodes I’ve seen recently. Ugh and the one where he becomes a poet because of Lisa and the whole episode is just awful guest cameos from writers.
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May 24, 2019 20:59
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Moe episodes are usually bad because they ask you to sympathize with Moe. But Moe is a terrible person who doesn't really deserve sympathy! Pity maybe, but not sympathy.
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May 24, 2019 21:13
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SEX BURRITO posted:The one where he dates a woman with dwarfism is one of the most pointless episodes I’ve seen recently. Ugh and the one where he becomes a poet because of Lisa and the whole episode is just awful guest cameos from writers. The one with the dwarf is downright mean spirited most of the time. Even though the final scene is played as though Moe were the rear end in a top hat for making those jokes, the whole episode is a sustained series of the exact same jokes I watch a website that streams random episodes the Simpsons all day and it has two channels for it, season 1-13 and seasons 13+. I can switch to the latter channel anytime and find something offensively bad Surprisingly, the most recent season of Family Guy was significantly better and somehow more creative and less cruel than the concurrent simpsons season
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May 24, 2019 21:21
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Frog Act posted:Surprisingly, the most recent season of Family Guy was significantly better and somehow more creative and less cruel than the concurrent simpsons season This has been true for awhile. Family Guy's softened up in the last few years
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May 24, 2019 21:28
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PostNouveau posted:This has been true for awhile. Family Guy's softened up in the last few years Before recently I think I tapped out at the Qaugmires dad transitions episode which was just mean and gratuitous, but you’re right, as I’ve watched the last two seasons recently I’ve been struck by how much funnier and not unnecessarily cruel they’ve been. There are still some flubs but broadly the show has improved a lot Then of course there’s American Dad which keeps getting better every season, where season 15 has been all surreal as poo poo and absolutely incredible. The going bananas, nighthawks, and jeans were all impressively original and funny. Why can’t the Simpson’s writers even begin to match American Dad anymore, I wonder? They have similar repertoires of characters to work with and plenty of flexibility
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May 24, 2019 21:31
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Kind of makes me want to try Family Guy again, then. I still love the first 3 seasons (people think it's two, but the original run was 3), but everything after that just went from bad improv and references to all that with a layer of grotesque cruelty. I keep meaning to watch American Dad. Someone here posted the "Come back and kick me whistle" clip and it made me laugh pretty hard.
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May 24, 2019 21:50
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I’d say only 14 and 15 show that improvement, as 13 starts with the godawful simpsons cross over and probably has other garbage in it You should just go straight to American dad and start with season 2 or 3. It didn’t know what kind of show it was in season 1 and those episodes are way worse, then by season 3 it’s found it’s pattern. Once you get to season 8 or so it just becomes a steady improvement to where I’d say the current American dad is as good a use of the medium as any golden age simpsons episode. Season 15 has been nonstop gold, and season 14 didn’t have a single bad episode. I think out of the whole run there are two episodes I don’t like, maybe 3, and they’re all musicals American Dad is so good. It really sets a new bar for the fox style animated sitcom
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May 24, 2019 21:58
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This season of Family Guy was surprisingly good. Episodes were genuinely funny and creative and the mean spirited and shock humor was at a minimum.
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May 24, 2019 22:09
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the lowest point of the simpsons is now lower than the lowest point of family guy or america dad
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May 24, 2019 22:16
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Frog Act posted:Why can’t the Simpson’s writers even begin to match American Dad anymore, I wonder? They have similar repertoires of characters to work with and plenty of flexibility The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.
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May 24, 2019 22:22
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Frog Act posted:You should just go straight to American dad and start with season 2 or 3. Seasons 2 & 3 are fantastic (especially "Meter Made"), but they don't include the one where Steve gets PTSD from Vietnam War reenactments, the episode where Roger joins an egg cult, or the episode where Roger becomes a dirty cop.
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May 24, 2019 22:32
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I can't say for sure what intrinsic production problems with the Simpsons causes the badness, but it definitely seems like there's a dome around it where it's difficult for people to get in, but easy for people to fall out. What I mean is, an episode will come out, and media outlets that still give a poo poo will give it some number rating and they will never give it a "bad" number, like a six or below. If someone comes into check on if the Simpsons still sucks rear end, they see that yes, it does, and no, nobody's trying to call them on it with specific critiques of specific episodes. So it will just stay bad. Talking Simpsons is just starting to get to the downfall and I've even seen those guys go the "The Megan Amram episode is fantastic!" Really? The episode about gender swaps that says everything everyone's said, only two years too late and has characters uncharacteristically speaking strawman lines from internet comments is "fantastic?" What's a perfectly cromulent word you'd use for a given season 4 episode, then?
Plan Z fucked around with this message at 23:05 on May 24, 2019 |
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May 24, 2019 23:02
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YeahTubaMike posted:Seasons 2 & 3 are fantastic (especially "Meter Made"), but they don't include the one where Steve gets PTSD from Vietnam War reenactments, the episode where Roger joins an egg cult, or the episode where Roger becomes a dirty cop. I think even the first season is actually worth watching because it gives you a good perspective on the evolution of the show and its humor versus its original intention. it began as a shallow, pandering vehicle for lazy Bush administration era jokes about the color coded terrorist warning system and homophobia in the Republican Party. There were occasional tone breaking cutaways and some really bad lines before they found their footing, one that sticks with me is Klaus saying something like “In the Middle Ages, midgets were not allowed to have orgasms, which were called the little death. Read your bible people!” with no context at all, sort of exemplifies their confused tone in the early episodes. they also heavily borrowed from generic sitcom setups in general with a few episodes, but I generally like some of them (like the one where Roger joins a fraternity) and it was more creative than stuff like the Cleveland show from the beginning The characters really develop from their boring first season caricatures in a way that most ageless-character having animated sitcoms don’t achieve. Most simpsons characters are static and exist to deliver a single catchphrase and even the main characters have been rote for decades, whereas American Dad has been consistently and hilariously fleshing out both the family and secondary/tertiary characters and it plays well with continuity. My favorite ongoing joke finally got a B plot recently, with Klaus’s boys in Tampa, but every character has developed similarly distinctive traits Now that they’re doing a seemingly intentional turn into weirdness and sustained surreality I expect the shows improvement to continue in a relatively unique way unless it gets cancelled for being too good
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May 24, 2019 23:19
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Frog Act posted:The one with the dwarf is downright mean spirited most of the time. Even though the final scene is played as though Moe were the rear end in a top hat for making those jokes, the whole episode is a sustained series of the exact same jokes It was jarring because they were perfectly happy but obviously they needed to break them up somehow in the last five minutes, so they just had Moe make some lame jokes and that was enough to break off their engagement apparently. Such lazy writing. I like the Kodi channel with seasons 1-13. Most of the time you’ll end up on a great episode. About one in ten times you’ll get one of those awful early 00s episodes where the animation still looks like old Simpsons but it’s all dated pop culture jokes and jerk rear end homer.
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May 25, 2019 00:38
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I have seen the first season of the show and it seemed like it had potential, but it was really leaning hard into the political commentary of the day and I thought it would disappear like every other show that did once Bush left office.
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May 25, 2019 00:39
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Longshot: Does anyone know the podcast episode where John Mulaney "jokes" that Matt Groening's initial creative input sucked? And that it was only the talented showrunners (Sam Simon & JLB) that made something of the Simpsons despite getting 1% of the credit. He was pretty brutal in a charming "John Mulaney" way
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May 25, 2019 01:05
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sweet geek swag posted:Moe episodes are usually bad because they ask you to sympathize with Moe. But Moe is a terrible person who doesn't really deserve sympathy! Pity maybe, but not sympathy. Moe is better when he's a criminal slimeball rather than a lonely depressed guy.
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May 25, 2019 01:07
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Frog Act posted:I think even the first season is actually worth watching because it gives you a good perspective on the evolution of the show and its humor versus its original intention. it began as a shallow, pandering vehicle for lazy Bush administration era jokes about the color coded terrorist warning system and homophobia in the Republican Party. There were occasional tone breaking cutaways and some really bad lines before they found their footing, one that sticks with me is Klaus saying something like “In the Middle Ages, midgets were not allowed to have orgasms, which were called the little death. Read your bible people!” with no context at all, sort of exemplifies their confused tone in the early episodes. they also heavily borrowed from generic sitcom setups in general with a few episodes, but I generally like some of them (like the one where Roger joins a fraternity) and it was more creative than stuff like the Cleveland show from the beginning In all fairness, I wasn't the one who said to skip to season 2 -- I was only saying that seasons 2 & 3 excluded a few classic episodes. I 100% agree with you and think that the first season is relevant in context, if not necessarily their best work. edit: in the context of the rest of the show, I mean YeahTubaMike fucked around with this message at 01:15 on May 25, 2019 |
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May 25, 2019 01:11
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YeahTubaMike posted:In all fairness, I wasn't the one who said to skip to season 2 -- I was only saying that seasons 2 & 3 excluded a few classic episodes. I 100% agree with you and think that the first season is relevant in context, if not necessarily their best work. I was the one who said skip it if you only want quality television, post wasn’t exactly directed at you, it was just general follow up pointing out that it’s better in retrospect but for like the opposite reason as the simpsons, where the earlier seasons are better in hindsight because you know it’s all you get. The more I think about it the more I think American Dad is like a bizarro simpsons that never enjoyed enormous success and was thus able to settle into a nice niche that enables its writers to take risks
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May 25, 2019 01:20
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