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First time I was just completely baffled by an episode was "Mr. X", but obviously things had been not great leading up to that episode. I remember being confused enough that it was the first time I went to school and said to my friends, "Did anyone see The Simpsons last night? What the hell was that?" I did have one friend who was super into that episode because his dad had The Prisoner on VHS and so he knew what the gently caress the episode was referencing.
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Sep 13, 2021 04:28
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Lisa's babysitting was the first episode I thought "this was bad?" to myself and I'm always surprised it was a season 8. That said it still had some good bits The lowest point of the simpsons for me was the recent episode I decided to watch on a whim for the first time in a decade, where it is revealed that Todd Flanders middle name is "Homer" because Homer delivered him by watching a youtube on baby delivery. This was rated 5 our of 5 stars on den of geek
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Sep 13, 2021 04:39
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Thbworst episode is the one where ross is like “were on a break!!!”
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Sep 13, 2021 05:53
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Das Boo posted:This was the first one where I felt something off. Which isn't great, considering I was 7 and a 7 year-old shouldn't be able to detect that. Yeah, powerhouse ep (independent thought alarm, shark eating gorilla, mother goose announcing which cars have been broken into) but dang that Paul & Linda cameo was a low point. The creators love of the Beatles overrode their storytelling judgment. Ringo was great as he was a bit self-deprecating, didn’t leave England, and was crucial to the plot. George was at the Grammys and didn’t get too wacky, a little weird he’s driving through Springfield at the end but hey it’s a quick gag. Paul getting to insist Lisa stay a vegetarian shouldn’t have been allowed.
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Sep 13, 2021 06:18
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Atlas Hugged posted:First time I was just completely baffled by an episode was "Mr. X", but obviously things had been not great leading up to that episode. I remember being confused enough that it was the first time I went to school and said to my friends, "Did anyone see The Simpsons last night? What the hell was that?" The Mr. X episode is where I recall a noticeable shift in the little bits of music the show is sprinkled with. I don't know when it started but good episodes literally sound different. Also Homer becoming an outsider artist is way too drat hacky for me, but I don't know what order the episodes air in.
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Sep 13, 2021 08:14
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Hyrax Attack! posted:Yeah, powerhouse ep (independent thought alarm, shark eating gorilla, mother goose announcing which cars have been broken into) but dang that Paul & Linda cameo was a low point. The creators love of the Beatles overrode their storytelling judgment. The writers had a history of that though. Homer at the Bat was in some book and someone said essentially it was Swartz's passion project because he's really into MLB. That kind of thing happened fairly often in early episodes. The Streetcar Named Marge being entirely about stage play was another one.
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Sep 13, 2021 08:22
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LIVE AMMO COSPLAY posted:The Mr. X episode is where I recall a noticeable shift in the little bits of music the show is sprinkled with. I don't know when it started but good episodes literally sound different. I dunno, I like how Homer casually escalates his art to the level of a Batman villain. AHH F/UGH posted:The writers had a history of that though. Homer at the Bat was in some book and someone said essentially it was Swartz's passion project because he's really into MLB. That kind of thing happened fairly often in early episodes. The Streetcar Named Marge being entirely about stage play was another one. Those episodes work mind since you don't really need to know a lot about the topics to enjoy them. Though I thought A Streetcar Named Desire was actually a stage show for ages. (and technically it kinda is?) Then again, see the Simpsons running gag of the best worst possible subjects for musical adaptations, Planet of the Apes and all.
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Sep 13, 2021 08:45
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Streetcar was a play before it was a film, yeah. It wasn't a musical though.
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Sep 13, 2021 09:06
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LIVE AMMO COSPLAY posted:The Mr. X episode is where I recall a noticeable shift in the little bits of music the show is sprinkled with. I don't know when it started but good episodes literally sound different. I recall it happening earlier than that episode, like closer to season 9 or 10, but I know what you mean. They started abundantly using very goofy, circus-y jingles for establishing shots, and also increased their frequency of said establishing shots.
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Sep 13, 2021 10:02
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YeahTubaMike posted:I remember seeing Lisa the Skeptic and not really understanding the point. It was just a lazy rewrite of Lisa the Iconoclast from 2 seasons earlier. The Chad Jihad posted:Lisa's babysitting was the first episode I thought "this was bad?" to myself and I'm always surprised it was a season 8. That said it still had some good bits "Severe butt-rot" is still one of my favorite jokes. Atlas Hugged posted:Lisa the Vegetarian has "it's just a little air born, it's still good, it's still good" and Mr. Burns laughing about writing a check for charity WHEN PIGS FLY. "No, I'd still prefer not," still loving kills. Yeah, twas an interesting crossover of great jokes/terrible story, still one of the most quotable episodes.
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Sep 13, 2021 12:42
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AHH F/UGH posted:The writers had a history of that though. Homer at the Bat was in some book and someone said essentially it was Swartz's passion project because he's really into MLB. That kind of thing happened fairly often in early episodes. The Streetcar Named Marge being entirely about stage play was another one. It's pretty funny to me how baseball has been gradually but steadily becoming less important in our culture. When I was a kid it was the obvious physical thing everybody did or took interest in in their spare time, but to my dad it was literally all anybody talked about at school and life without baseball was unthinkable.
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Sep 13, 2021 12:50
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Data Graham posted:It's pretty funny to me how baseball has been gradually but steadily becoming less important in our culture. When I was a kid it was the obvious physical thing everybody did or took interest in in their spare time, but to my dad it was literally all anybody talked about at school and life without baseball was unthinkable. I think it hits a breaking point when you get too many kids having their baseball experience be that the adults consider it so ubiquitous they never actually explain it to their kids or teach the rules, and so their first experience with it is being dumped onto a field with no warning and yelled at constantly for not doing tasks or following rules they don't know and everyone refuses to explain; or else the little league death march with all the screaming drunken parents and being bossed around by failed athlete gym teachers. It becomes an obligation, not a game you play for fun.
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Sep 13, 2021 12:57
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Another big thing is that baseball is just so boring to watch. Pitcher throws the ball. Strike one. Catcher throws it back. Pitcher adjusts his hat. He throws the ball to first. First throws it back to the pitcher. The pitcher stretches. He looks about. The batter steps out of the box. Gets back into the box. The pitcher pulls out the NYT Sunday crossword and starts filling it out. Throws the ball. Foul. The pitcher begins a dialog with the third baseman about the book Ulysses.
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Sep 13, 2021 13:26
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That's true but it can certainly take over your mind. I haven't played since I was a teenager but I had an actual long detailed dream last night about getting my pitch control and technique back.
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Sep 13, 2021 13:30
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I think the main difference with the McCartney cameo and a lot of the other ones mentioned is that they could deliver their lines with some semblance of comic timing and he was terrible.
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Sep 13, 2021 13:39
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Cemetry Gator posted:Another big thing is that baseball is just so boring to watch. Pitcher throws the ball. Strike one. Catcher throws it back. Pitcher adjusts his hat. He throws the ball to first. First throws it back to the pitcher. The pitcher stretches. He looks about. The batter steps out of the box. Gets back into the box. The pitcher pulls out the NYT Sunday crossword and starts filling it out. Throws the ball. Foul. The pitcher begins a dialog with the third baseman about the book Ulysses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlORWhsJjNM
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Sep 13, 2021 14:07
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I do like Apu claiming that he was known as the fifth Beatle back in "the Maharishi days". Definitely the worst Beatle cameo on the show though. Lennon would've loved early Simpsons and should have been on it to get all four. 
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Sep 13, 2021 14:44
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It was pretty good when McCartney was on SNL in like ~1992 and in the big finale when Adam Sandler sang "Red Hooded Sweatshirt" it cut to Paul for one of the "dip dip dip"s
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Sep 13, 2021 15:21
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I loved the Ringo cameo so much, I hung it on me wall.
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Sep 13, 2021 15:26
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Detective No. 27 posted:I loved the Ringo cameo so much, I hung it on me wall. I think of this all the time despite rarely having a fitting way to reference it. It's so cheery! I also think of Thom Yorke's line from South Park a lot: "This poor kid has cancer! In his rear end!"
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Sep 13, 2021 15:32
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half-remembered DVD commentary: one of the writers or producers told Paul that now that they had recordings of the voices all three (then-) surviving Beatles, they were going to release a new song. Paul apparently fell for it hard.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:04
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I hadn't really thought about it, but we played baseball constantly when I was a little kid, even though none of us were sports dudes. family gatherings, friends over, whatever.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:06
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AHH F/UGH posted:The writers had a history of that though. Homer at the Bat was in some book and someone said essentially it was Swartz's passion project because he's really into MLB. That kind of thing happened fairly often in early episodes. The Streetcar Named Marge being entirely about stage play was another one. Oh for sure, agreed that many episodes came about because of what the writers were into. And when tempered with editorial oversight and not coasting off earlier success it led to great stuff. Young mostly male writers who bet on football? Lisa the Greek. And Homer at the Bat is an all timer, if for Steve Sax being brought to account for every unsolved NYC murder alone. These work as the writers took the time to frame stuff they liked in with the show's universe, and it worked as Homer watching football or Mr. Burns trying to cheat fit fine. But when they decided to force their love of specific stuff without consideration for storytelling or characters it went downhill fast. In season 14 we learn Ned Flanders is so obsessed with the Beatles he has a whole memorabilia room. And did you know simpsons production staff kinda likes musicians? quote:the family takes Homer to a Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp, run by the Rolling Stones. At the camp, Homer and a bunch of other Springfield citizens learn about rock music, from instructors Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty and Brian Setzer.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:19
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AHH F/UGH posted:The writers had a history of that though. Homer at the Bat was in some book and someone said essentially it was Swartz's passion project because he's really into MLB. That kind of thing happened fairly often in early episodes. The Streetcar Named Marge being entirely about stage play was another one. Really the main reason new Simpsons is bad is because it's not funny. I see so many posts about why new Simpsons is bad, but most of them can be applied to the golden age too. Golden age had blatant celebrity cameos, travel episodes, writers hyper focusing on their obvious hobbies / interests, Homer getting weird jobs, etc. The main difference is those episodes were all really funny so who gives a poo poo. Really the only other major differences are the lovely animation and the weird right-wing angle the show has leaned into.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:43
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They already did the peak Beatles episode with the Be Sharps.
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Sep 13, 2021 16:52
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CodfishCartographer posted:
Th... the weird "Burns owns Millennials" thing wasn't an uncomfortable one off?
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Sep 13, 2021 16:54
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Empty Sandwich posted:I hadn't really thought about it, but we played baseball constantly when I was a little kid, even though none of us were sports dudes. family gatherings, friends over, whatever. I was not a sports kid at all but I always found baseball to be the most exciting one to play. It's fairly lazy compared to other sports and you get a bat. It's one of the few sports where you get to be fat!
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Sep 13, 2021 17:58
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I forgot there was an episode where Homer was raped by a panda That's probably the lowest point
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Sep 13, 2021 18:15
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Empty Sandwich posted:I hadn't really thought about it, but we played baseball constantly when I was a little kid, even though none of us were sports dudes. family gatherings, friends over, whatever. It probably depends on the region and the family. Any activity becomes a miserable death march when the grown-ups make it one, which is practically a hobby for boomers.
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Sep 13, 2021 18:27
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I remember that one with Mick Jagger and everyone being bad. Not noticeably bad by the standards that had been set by that point but bad nonetheless.
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Sep 13, 2021 18:44
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Cemetry Gator posted:Another big thing is that baseball is just so boring to watch. Pitcher throws the ball. Strike one. Catcher throws it back. Pitcher adjusts his hat. He throws the ball to first. First throws it back to the pitcher. The pitcher stretches. He looks about. The batter steps out of the box. Gets back into the box. Holds it... holds it! HOLDS IT!
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Sep 13, 2021 19:01
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CodfishCartographer posted:Really the main reason new Simpsons is bad is because it's not funny. I see so many posts about why new Simpsons is bad, but most of them can be applied to the golden age too. Golden age had blatant celebrity cameos, travel episodes, writers hyper focusing on their obvious hobbies / interests, Homer getting weird jobs, etc. The main difference is those episodes were all really funny so who gives a poo poo. Yep A scene like this is insanely hilarious because of editing, direction and concept of it is so good, but this might as well have been any scene in any episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-QUGuB76-A
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Sep 13, 2021 19:02
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The Chad Jihad posted:Lisa's babysitting was the first episode I thought "this was bad?" to myself and I'm always surprised it was a season 8. That said it still had some good bits Here's your giant party sub, swimmin' in vinegar, just like you like it. also lol "sisterectomy" Data Graham posted:It's pretty funny to me how baseball has been gradually but steadily becoming less important in our culture. When I was a kid it was the obvious physical thing everybody did or took interest in in their spare time, but to my dad it was literally all anybody talked about at school and life without baseball was unthinkable. It never recovered from the 1994-95 strike. It was still a huge deal before then, but everyone thought the players were the assholes of the situation and didn't really come back. As for the rock and roll fantasy camp episode, as dogshit as it is I will never not laugh at Keith Richards' delivery of "I have to put in me storm windows; winter's coming" overmind2000 posted:I forgot there was an episode where Homer was raped by a panda As bad as it was, it contains "throw pudding at Lenny? but he's a war hero!" which is exactly one more laugh than many episodes had.
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Sep 13, 2021 19:09
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:It never recovered from the 1994-95 strike. It was still a huge deal before then, but everyone thought the players were the assholes of the situation and didn't really come back. Oh yeah I'm still a baseball fan but it's wild how popular it used to be. When Ripken got his streak: quote:Many baseball fans within and outside of the United States tuned into ESPN to watch Ripken surpass Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record for consecutive games played (2,130 games). The game, between the Orioles and the California Angels, still ranks as one of the network's most-watched baseball games (baseball's most-watched game was Game 7 of the 1986 World Series). Cal's children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first balls. Both President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were at the game; Clinton was with the commentators on ESPN for the Orioles' half of the fourth inning and called Ripken's fourth-inning home run. When the game became official after the Angels' half of the fifth inning, the numerical banners that displayed Ripken's streak on the wall of the B&O Warehouse outside the stadium's right-field wall changed from 2130 to 2131. If he'd torn his ACL in the shower that morning I imagine it would have been that high school kid breaking Bill Dauterive's TD record situation where they prop him up on 3rd base for an inning while the other team politely bunts themselves out to the pitcher.
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Sep 13, 2021 19:29
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Politics are the new sports these days It makes sense that after things like the steroid scandal, the general racist boomer fans, a desire for faster paced action, and a growing resentment of American-isms like “America’s game” that people would stop playing and watching it.
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Sep 13, 2021 19:57
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The existence of baseball makes American complaints about soccer being boring less convincing. I mean yeah it is duller than dishwater and a lot of time nothing happens but the main purpose (like with baseball) is sitting around drinking beer and (unlike with baseball) doing a bit of rioting when you win and/or lose. Anything is fun with enough alcohol and violence. If chess had hooligans it would be a lot more interesting.
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Sep 13, 2021 20:19
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AHH F/UGH posted:Yep Really reminds me of this scene for some reason https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqhuvb0YR9k
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Sep 13, 2021 20:26
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FreudianSlippers posted:The existence of baseball makes American complaints about soccer being boring less convincing. Baseball is not boring in the same way as soccer is boring. When Americans complain about soccer, it's because they don't understand and are too lazy to learn what they're looking at, without constant pop-up graphics and stats taking up half the screen, or breaks every 15 seconds for red-faced old men to explain what just happened. Also Points Number Small so Game Boring. Baseball is just boring as hell, but yes a good backdrop to daydrinking
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Sep 13, 2021 20:50
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Baseball is charming in that it's very 19th-century. You have to remember it was invented in a time before recorded music, much less radio or television, before cars much less flight. Life was slower and people had a lot fewer options for entertainment. If your other options are to sit around and talk, or go home and read a book or play music on your own instruments, spending a whole day watching or playing baseball sounds a lot more appealing.
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Sep 13, 2021 21:01
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Imagined posted:Baseball is charming in that it's very 19th-century. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjcjcttDRn8
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Sep 13, 2021 21:45
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