|
I really like the Oakley/Weinstein seasons. 8 is noticeably weaker than 7 but still very good overall. I appreciated the slightly different direction they were going in, even if it not everything stuck.
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 02:44
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 23:40 |
|
|
AHH F/UGH posted:It's saying that Lisa Simpsons is person, and a person has a purpose and a meaning, and she is that person, so she doesn't need anyone else to justify her existence or personal worth. Seems a little deep for an 8-year old, but whatever. Also, I didn't really get the sense from the episode that Lisa was feeling purposeless or like her life didn't have meaning, but it's been a while since I've seen it, so maybe I was missing some nuances or something. quote:Unless this is a troll meant to make fun of socially braindead SA goons I guess Nah, I don't troll. It's not my style.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 02:47
|
|
|
YeahTubaMike posted:Seems a little deep for an 8-year old. So does Lisa, no?
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 02:54
|
|
|
AHH F/UGH posted:So does Lisa, no? You do have a point there. I can't figure out whether I'm overthinking or underthinking that part of the episode.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 03:21
|
|
|
I always thought Bart Gets an F was significantly more emotional and impactful than Lisa's Substitute but nobody else seems to agree with me so I just keep my mouth shut, except for when I don't (such as now)
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 20:26
|
|
|
edogawa rando posted:I've always maintained that 9~10 are where the decline is visible but the good episodes still outnumber the bad. Season 11 has a few OK episodes but season 12 is just ungodly bad. Is there some sort of science as to what happened between season 9 and say season 12? I remember as an angsty kid I blamed Ian Maxtone Graham but it looks like he was involved in a bunch of good episodes. Was there one single person to blame?
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 20:31
|
|
|
CodfishCartographer posted:I always thought Bart Gets an F was significantly more emotional and impactful than Lisa's Substitute but nobody else seems to agree with me so I just keep my mouth shut, except for when I don't (such as now) Nah, I agree. Bart does his best and fails. It's the only time I can think of a show not doing "learning to deal with not being the best" and going for "failing to not utterly fail." And a little boy breaking down and crying because he really, really tried is just so  .
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 20:40
|
|
|
CodfishCartographer posted:I always thought Bart Gets an F was significantly more emotional and impactful than Lisa's Substitute but nobody else seems to agree with me so I just keep my mouth shut, except for when I don't (such as now) I agree with you but I'm not 100% sure why that is the case. I think it might be easier to relate to Bart's situation at any stage of your life against a variety of life events so as an adult it hits harder
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2021 21:55
|
|
|
CodfishCartographer posted:I always thought Bart Gets an F was significantly more emotional and impactful than Lisa's Substitute but nobody else seems to agree with me so I just keep my mouth shut, except for when I don't (such as now) No as I recall from the last time pretty much everyone here agrees with you Not me though. I love Lisa's Substitute. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 00:43
|
|
|
pretty soft girl posted:I agree with you but I'm not 100% sure why that is the case. I think it might be easier to relate to Bart's situation at any stage of your life against a variety of life events so as an adult it hits harder It’s the best example of childhood failure I have ever seen in media. Nancy Cartwright really nailed the emotion in that scene. “This is as good as I can do, and I still failed!” gets me every time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 01:16
|
|
|
Plus the work put into the scene where Quimby declares it to be Snow Day, the funnest day in the history of Springfield, is so wonderfully over the top
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 01:34
|
|
|
womb with a view posted:No as I recall from the last time pretty much everyone here agrees with you Huh, I'm under the impression people tend to rank Lisa's Substitute above Bart Gets An F - both in terms of overall quality, memorability, and emotionability. When people talk about the best episodes, I often hear Lisa's Substitute but not Bart Gets An F. Heck, just upthread in an example of "good season 2 episodes" Bart Gets an F isn't even mentioned: Hyrax Attack! posted:I dunno where the idea came about that the core seasons were 3-8, season 2 is wonderful and needs no excuses. Simpsons & Delilah, War of the Simpsons, Lisa’s Substitute are all gold, and Blood Feud and Dancing Homer are probably top ten eps. Maybe people consider Bart Gets An F to be the more emotionally touching episode, but it definitely seems to be commonly overshadowed by Lisa's Substitute. Can I be so out of touch?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 01:49
|
|
|
i remember bart gets an f because i had a vhs of it and the first treehouse of horror when i was a kid and watched it over and over
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 01:51
|
|
|
CodfishCartographer posted:Can I be so out of touch? No, it’s the children who are
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:11
|
|
|
 I just found out it's canon that Ned Flanders has a huge cock and my mind is blown. Stupid sexy Flanders
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:12
|
|
|
He named his eldest son after his package.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:14
|
|
|
Another Bill posted:
That clip is from a video Homer edited to help Ned find a date so the joke is that it is faked.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:16
|
|
|
and thus births a new schism in the thread: those who know flander's dong to be hangin long n low and those who believe this to be faked.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:22
|
|
|
muscles like this! posted:That clip is from a video Homer edited to help Ned find a date so the joke is that it is faked. Aww is someone threatened by Ned's enormous canonical manhood?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 02:36
|
|
|
Another Bill posted:
I remember this being one of those moments as a kid where I thought, "This is pretty crass and un-Simpsons-like. Trading on genitalia humor in a pretty mindless way."
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 03:05
|
|
|
CodfishCartographer posted:I always thought Bart Gets an F was significantly more emotional and impactful than Lisa's Substitute but nobody else seems to agree with me so I just keep my mouth shut, except for when I don't (such as now) I 100% agree with you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 03:24
|
|
|
muscles like this! posted:That clip is from a video Homer edited to help Ned find a date so the joke is that it is faked. I never even thought of this angle! But the episode does make a big point about Homer being obsessed with his editing machine. Chumbawumba4ever97 posted:Season 11 has a few OK episodes but season 12 is just ungodly bad. Is there some sort of science as to what happened between season 9 and say season 12? I remember as an angsty kid I blamed Ian Maxtone Graham but it looks like he was involved in a bunch of good episodes. Was there one single person to blame? I thought the general consensus has always been that showrunner Mike Scully (showrunner from season 9 through half of 12) pushed for the show to be meaner and edgier. This was just one factor though, I believe a lot of the main writers started leaving around this time. Mean, edgy TV was also becoming the trend which would continue through the 00's. Then in 1999 they now had competition with Family Guy. I could be wrong but I also recall Mike Scully also assuming the show was ending soon and wanted to get real weird with it. I feel that Seasons 9-12, while more bad than good, are at least memorable and still have some semblance of plot. As soon as Al Jean took over you immediately started seeing all the lovely things that have persisted ever since like over explaining the jokes, endless quips from side characters as much as possible, no plot structure to speak of, etc.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 03:48
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I remember this being one of those moments as a kid where I thought, "This is pretty crass and un-Simpsons-like. Trading on genitalia humor in a pretty mindless way." yyyep
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:13
|
|
|
It's not that "the main writers" left. Writers had been leaving for the whole run of it. By seasons 9-12, the current writers were getting to be two or three generations removed from the original writers. It was effectively turning into a cargo cult. They understood the what of The Simpsons, but not the how or the why of The Simpsons. As you approach season 20, the writers were people who grew up on the show and are basically just turning their Simpsons fanfics into actual scripts and have no meaningful connection to the golden era writers. There were probably a range of opinions in the writers room over what The Simpsons should be and what styles of jokes were most appropriate for the show. Now, in season 30, you have people writing for the show who are actually younger than the show is and have more nostalgia for the bad episodes than the good, which are from an era of pop culture that they don't really remember or have context for. The Simpsons that they write is just what The Simpsons is and basically always has been. Another comparison might be to say Saturday Night Live as it's also an incredibly long running show with a high turnover in staff. The show's quality is a constant roller coaster with spikes and dips. Individual sketches can be hilarious while large stretches of episodes in a row are complete dreck and whole seasons might end up being unwatchable. When discussing the show, people usually talk about it in eras of casts and point out that there are in fact multiple golden eras depending who's behind the Weekend Update desk and who the key players are. A reason why SNL can rise and fall as many times as it has is because the incoming writers and cast are bound to the format, not to the characters and specific skits of past players. It doesn't matter that the original writers from the 70s aren't sitting there training the new writers. It doesn't matter that the original players aren't on set to take up and coming comedians under their wings. No one is going to step into Celebrity Jeopardy and take over as Alex Trebek from Will Ferrell and no writer will ever be tasked with making that work. On The Simpsons though, new writers are told by old writers to make Homer be Homer despite none of them having any idea how to make Homer be Homer and then the old writers leave and the new writers stumble around for a few years before handing it off to the next batch and wishing them all the luck in the world. And that process has repeated for about 20 years, with Dan Castellaneta voicing a character that is likely as alien to him as it is to fans of the first 10~ seasons.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:13
|
|
|
porfiria posted:I remember this being one of those moments as a kid where I thought, "This is pretty crass and un-Simpsons-like. Trading on genitalia humor in a pretty mindless way." Same, The Simpsons was never really a lewd show and never went as far as to actually show dicks or boobs in any regard. It was a weird choice
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:14
|
|
|
I think I know why Ned (and Maude) both had such strong faith in the Lord.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:20
|
|
|
If my dick was that big I'd go to church every Sunday too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:21
|
|
|
Atlas Hugged posted:A reason why SNL can rise and fall as many times as it has is because the incoming writers and cast are bound to the format, not to the characters and specific skits of past players. It doesn't matter that the original writers from the 70s aren't sitting there training the new writers. It doesn't matter that the original players aren't on set to take up and coming comedians under their wings. No one is going to step into Celebrity Jeopardy and take over as Alex Trebek from Will Ferrell and no writer will ever be tasked with making that work. This is the same reason why a contemporary of The Simpsons, Mystery Science Theater 3000, has survived a bunch of cancellations, more than a decade off the air, and a few complete cast changes (including the show's creator leaving because he couldn't get along with the producer). The focus of the show is a guy/gal and two robots making fun of a cheesy movie with a few sketches to break things up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:30
|
|
|
I'm not sure if it's a post-hoc explanation, but Joel actually claims that he intentionally made the show with the idea from the beginning that (with luck) it might run perpetually and the cast be replaced over time.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 04:45
|
|
|
Not exactly a new idea but the biggest part of The Simpsons decline is the fact that it has had the same showrunner since 2001. Before that there was someone new every couple of years which helped shake things up but for the last 20 years it has just been Al Jean.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 05:01
|
|
|
Imagined posted:I'm not sure if it's a post-hoc explanation, but Joel actually claims that he intentionally made the show with the idea from the beginning that (with luck) it might run perpetually and the cast be replaced over time. I mean, the show was inspired by local horror hosts and in a lot of cases they changed actors, so it isn't impossible.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 05:04
|
|
|
Another Bill posted:If my dick was that big I'd go to church every Sunday too. I mean, how do you think they select new Popes?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 06:36
|
|
|
You know what's kind of weird The animation of the Tracey Ullman short Bart's Bathtime seems like it's done better than basically all of the first season, and seems more in line with later seasons. I wonder if that was done by Film Roman instead of Klasky Csupo, even before Film Roman came on board
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 08:35
|
|
|
learned something interesting today! was watching the episode involving lisa's rival, and come to find out that homer, as a nuclear plant safety inspector, makes $40/day, meaning he makes $5/hr. guess money went a lot further in the 90s!
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 09:50
|
|
|
AHH F/UGH posted:You know what's kind of weird Agreed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_cjSbT-xPA It's also weird to see Homer looking like he does in later seasons paired with Dan Castellaneta's earlier, gruffer Homer voice.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 10:17
|
|
|
Season 10 is the last season I will watch. Like yeah, it's not particularly strong (The Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger episode is the first time I recall thinking celebrity appearances felt super forced), but the heart of the show is still there, and it's also the last season to feature Phil Hartman. Seems like a natural stopping point to me. They should not have continued after his death.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 11:33
|
|
|
AHH F/UGH posted:You know what's kind of weird With those, I don't think there was a studio! When they talk about at least the earliest ullmans it sounds like David Silverman and a very few other people doing the animation. These drawings look Silverman-y, it may just be that he was animating most of it and had more control than he would with a studio.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 17:17
|
|
|
SweetMercifulCrap! posted:I never even thought of this angle! But the episode does make a big point about Homer being obsessed with his editing machine. You're getting close to hitting the nail on the head here. I think people underestimate on a show like the Simpsons how much of the comedy is character driven, and if you can believe in the characters, if you can care, then you can laugh. It allows you to get great moments, like Homer firing a shotgun into the air screaming "bowling" to try and get more people to bowl. Why does this moment work? Sure, it's a funny image. But in the episode, Homer wants to keep working at the bowling alley, but he needs a raise. So the only way to get a raise is to get more people to bowl. Homer knows that marketing is the correct answer, it's just that he isn't great at the execution, and so goes with something that will get attention. I think more comedy writers would do well to boil the frog, as it were. Modern Simpsons doesn't really have character moments anymore. There's not much in the way of emotional arcs. Take the God-awful episode where Homer becomes a manager to a musician he encounters in the wild. No, not the season 3 one. That's good. The season 32 or whatever we're on. With Lorlene, we care because Homer feels a real emotional connection with her, but he won't cheat on Marge. The conflict between Homer being a real success and helping someone whose music spoke to him and Marge being concerned that Homer is having an affair gives an emotional weight to the episode. With Cletus, there's a plot, but it's hard to make a character who is designed to be a one-note joke carry a plot. And there's no real stakes at all in the episode. We don't care because the episode doesn't make us care. The other issue too is that who are you going to get to write the Simpsons. Great comedy writers are going to either create their own shows or write for something that's hot. The show doesn't hold any cultural cache. You don't see people making new memes from it, you don't see blogs writing about it. The final thing is that they don't need to earn it anymore. People will just tune in. I've mentioned this before, but in the later seasons of Cheers, it was harder to tell if you were earning the laughs because the audience just loved seeing Norm. There are people who will laugh because it's Homer. Why put in the work to produce great episodes when you can do a functional episode?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 18:35
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/aljean/status/1458486423875559425?s=21
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 18:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 23:40 |
|
|
Mr Interweb posted:learned something interesting today! was watching the episode involving lisa's rival, and come to find out that homer, as a nuclear plant safety inspector, makes $40/day, meaning he makes $5/hr. I just looked this up, so min wage in 1994 was $4.25, min now is $7.25. $5 an hour is equivalent to $9.33 an hour today, seems low but I don't remember if the joke was that?
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2021 18:46
|
|