What was the lowest point of the Simpsons

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What was the lowest point of the Simpson
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Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

IIRC Krusty's singing a parody of a commercial song that was a pre-internet meme at the time.

Funny thing is I feel like it'd work as a lead-in to an anecdote about some embarassing but amusing experience with herpes, but I guess that's probably a more modern kind of stand-up that's riffing on the lazy jokes from older stuff.

# ? Jun 4, 2023 04:21

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 07:32

Data Graham: Dec 28, 2009; 📈📊🍪😋

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez8fEJ86hGI

Data Graham fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Jun 4, 2023

# ? Jun 4, 2023 04:44

Mr Interweb: Aug 25, 2004

rainier wolfcastle did the unfunny comedian bit way better anyway

# ? Jun 4, 2023 06:06

The Awesomesaurus: Feb 15, 2006; I'm too cool to be extinct.

Tree Goat posted:

https://twitter.com/michal_kranz/status/1664982492233826304?s=46&t=KMMfueYvpy-W7VUWexdGpA

Webster�s dictionary defines Russia as�

# ? Jun 4, 2023 06:11

sweet geek swag: Mar 29, 2006; Adjust lasers to FUN!

Tree Goat posted:

https://twitter.com/michal_kranz/status/1664982492233826304?s=46&t=KMMfueYvpy-W7VUWexdGpA

The Simpsons uses a phrase to be a stand in for the most cliched and hackneyed way to begin a discussion of a foreign country, and this guy uses it like its the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities.

# ? Jun 4, 2023 06:19

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

hatty posted:

At this point I hope it never gets cancelled

the universe ends neither with a bang nor a whimper, but a "hey boy, let's go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes"

# ? Jun 5, 2023 03:14

emgeejay: Dec 8, 2007

https://twitter.com/vulture/status/1665696932130324484?s=46&t=m6fGiglUP1-mz5m0sRqpiw

quote:

In May, I visited the offices of The Simpsons deep inside the Fox Studio Lot in Century City. I was the first reporter in many years to document how the show comes together. More precisely, I was the first reporter in many years to care. After eight seasons, from 1989 to 1997 � what connoisseurs agree is the classic period, the years of �Marge vs. the Monorail� and �Cape Feare� and �Mr. Plow,� from which an endless fount of memes is drawn even today � The Simpsons entered what you might call its Dark Ages. Whereas the classic period was a joke-a-minute spectacle that veered between absurdist physical gags and heartfelt family squabbles, the Dark Ages tried to maintain the joke density but lost the show�s emotional core. The result was an overwhelming blahness and deepening cultural irrelevance just as many shows directly inspired by The Simpsons took off.

That�s all changing. Every person I spoke to for this story � from Broti Gupta, one of the first writers on The Simpsons to have been born after the show�s premiere, to James L. Brooks, one of the series� founders, to the former members of the No Homers Club fan community, infamous for complaining about the decline of the show � agrees that The Simpsons, in 2023, is undergoing a renaissance. The staff, working in the shadow of a looming writers strike when I visited, are putting out some of the most ambitious, poignant, and funny episodes in the show�s history � episodes that, after all these years, have managed to broaden our understanding of these familiar characters and why they remain so important to so many people. And thanks to the streaming era, a whole new generation is growing up bingeing The Simpsons, bolstering the sense that the show, once left for dead by critics, may really go on forever.

Aficionados know there were some great episodes even in the Dark Ages, the majority of which were helmed by Matt Selman, now The Simpsons�s 51-year-old primary showrunner. Starting in season 23 (2011), he was given two episodes to showrun, then in each season that followed, he was given a few more, so that by season 33 (2021) he was essentially in charge. Al Jean, one of the legendary original writers who returned as showrunner in season 13, is still a showrunner with Selman, but beyond overseeing around four episodes a season, his focus has been on managing the myriad Simpsons brand extensions, be they theme-park attractions or synergistic shorts for Disney+.

Selman, who looks a tiny bit like Krusty managing a Little League softball game on his day off, neurotically demurs anytime I try to give him credit for galvanizing the show. �Everything in showbiz is like, Pretend you do it all. gently caress that. We�re a team. I�m the coach,� he told me. But he made key hires, such as Gupta and Christine Nangle, that gave the staff a younger, more irreverent vibe and a wider array of perspectives. Most important, he gave all the writers license to experiment and not worry so much about what made the show successful in the past. Tim Bailey, a director on the series since 1995, said every episode feels like the �Treehouse of Horror� Halloween special now in terms of its ambition.

The changing of the guard was also important on a structural level. Partisans of the classic period often note that the showrunners in that era departed every two years, regularly infusing the show with new energy and sensibilities. With a little help from the pandemic (�It kind of shook things up,� said Brian Kelley, who has worked on the series for more than 20 years), Selman instituted a model intended in part to replicate turnover at the top: a co-showrunner system in which four of the more senior writers would produce episodes from beginning to end, taking on all the responsibilities that previously would have been left to Selman or Jean. �The pitch was simple: �Help me do what we�re already doing, but now you do more of it,�� Selman explained.

Loni Steele Sosthand, a veteran writer but a fairly recent Simpsons hire, said there is an immense sense of authorship over episodes. �Most of us get an episode a year, and we get an opportunity in that episode to really say something � we shouldn�t waste it,� Sosthand explained. Last season, Sosthand wrote an episode around the deaf son of Bleeding Gums Murphy that was based on her deaf brother�s experience. This year, inspired by her own struggles with the idea of racial authenticity as a person of mixed race, she wrote a script in which Carl, a Black character who only recently started being voiced by a Black actor, explored his origins as the adoptee of white parents, having him venture into the Black part of Springfield, which had never been seen before.

The staff have also found a way to look at its main characters with a fresh eye. Homer and Marge, perpetually in their late 30s, are now living in the year 2023, meaning they are millennial parents facing millennial issues. There was a touching episode in 2021 about the psychological ramifications of Marge offhandedly calling Lisa �chunky.� In an episode called �Bartless� from 2023, Homer and Marge fantasize about what their lives would be like if they weren�t Bart�s parents, which ends with them appreciating him for what makes him special, as opposed to wishing he�d meet some �good kid� standard. Beyond exhibiting a different perspective on parenting a �problem� child, the show was reexamining its own relationship to Bart, who was never treated with the same empathy as the other main characters. You feel less like you are watching season 34 than a reboot of season one.

Many of the writers I spoke to made me promise the headline of this article wouldn�t be a variation of �The Simpsons Gets Woke,� because the truth is that the main innovations have been narrative-driven. Over the past two decades, episode run time has been reduced from 24 minutes to 22 or less, a significant drop for a sitcom, demanding tough choices about what makes the cut. Jean crammed the episodes with jokes and bits, giving less airtime to stories. The writers say the show now has fewer gags to make room for character development. Take the season-34 premiere, �Habeas Tortoise,� in which Homer leads a group of conspiracy theorists in the search for a lost turtle. In the past, you�d expect the show to end with a bunch of jokes about how stupid and silly the characters were, but instead it offers a sensitive portrayal of people�s need for community and meaning in the digital age.

Selman sees the show as a �Groundhog Day�type reality, where at the beginning of every episode, they�ve forgotten everything that�s happened before.� That frees the writers from the burden of story continuity, allowing them to push the boundaries of what The Simpsons can do. No recent episode defines the current spirit like �Lisa the Boy Scout,� a mind-bending postmodern intervention into the series. In it, hackers interrupt the episode to play supposed deleted scenes that would �ruin� the audience�s conception of The Simpsons universe. There�s a clip in which Carl learns that his best friend, Lenny, was actually a figment of his imagination and another in which it is revealed that Martin, Bart�s nerdiest classmate, is actually a grizzled 36-year-old father of three with an aging disorder that leaves him looking 10.

It is one of the wildest, all-out funniest episodes in the history of the show, which Carolyn Omine, a seasoned writer, credited to a new process in which everyone pitches �bad� ideas.

The Simpsons is also finding a new audience that doesn�t know the difference between the classic period and the Dark Ages. When Disney first bought 21st Century Fox in 2019, it didn�t totally realize the potential of The Simpsons. When Disney+ launched later that year, it failed to upload episodes of The Simpsons in their original aspect ratio � and its executives were then surprised by how many people cared enough to complain (the error was quickly rectified). Now, Selman speculated to me, The Simpsons might be Mickey Mouse & Co.�s favorite part of that deal. �Even Bob Iger � I don�t know that he watches every episode, but I know that he holds The Simpsons in a special place in his heart,� Selman told me and an excited Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson since 1987. And why wouldn�t he? The Simpsons is once again an extremely popular show.

Parrot Analytics, a firm that uses a range of metrics to determine the popularity of shows in the streaming era, estimates that The Simpsons is the eighth-most in-demand show on television in the U.S., at its peak having seen a 24 percent increase in demand between seasons 32 and 34. Disney informed me that The Simpsons is the fourth-most-watched title on its streaming service in 2023, based on global hours streamed. It is a rare bit of comfort food, a high-episode-count IP that can work on the child-safe Disney+.

I don�t know if you�ve ever spoken to little kids about The Simpsons. I have, and I highly recommend it. Most of them recounted some version of finding the show during the pandemic. Ten-year-old Noemi told me over Zoom that she loved getting COVID because she and her father could watch The Simpsons all day. Noemi�s parents introduced her to the show, but others, like 8-year-old Zane, were led to it by Disney+, where the algorithm recommended this funny-looking yellow-faced family. (Matt Groening, the show�s creator, told me he has no idea how his own 10-year-old found the show.) Their knowledge is encyclopedic: Because every episode is exhaustively listed, all the kids casually threw around official episode titles for which I only had a shorthand when I was growing up. For them, the show is watched on demand in endless quantities. I asked how many episodes they think they�ve seen, and the responses were usually in the 150-to-300 range. And they all intend to watch all 750. Some boys in Noemi�s class already have, and, ugh, it�s so annoying.

The Simpsons also functions as an education in American culture. Noemi�s 8-year-old best friend, Nori, told me about learning of the movie Citizen Kane through the season-five episode �Rosebud.� Her first exposure to one of the most iconic films of all time came through the show�s satirical lens, just as mine did. Other shows make jokes and references at culture�s expense, but The Simpsons, at its best, retells that culture�s stories and weaves them into a common tapestry, a legacy that Selman is keen on maintaining. When Omine told me about a forthcoming �Lemonade parody,� I assumed it was just going to be angry Homer doing Beyonc� in a yellow dress, but instead Homer performed a sort of tone poem about how all he needs is �you three and Maggie� that is equal parts stupid and touching. This is not exactly like what the show would have done in its early seasons � it�s sillier and more emotionally raw � but it reflects the same cultural fluency and willingness to remix touchstone works of art.

At the end of my second day at the Simpsons offices, Selman brings me into the final edit for the season�s finale. The entirety of the episode follows Homer as he crashes his car and flies through the air in slow motion while trying to process why Marge kept a financial secret from him. This is the sort of avant-garde experimentation that Selman loves. The episode goes in reality- and canon-bending directions (spoiler alert: Homer possibly dies and goes to hell, where he has a conversation with Marge�s father) while still being held up by a relatable story about what is left unspoken between spouses. �Make sure that every episode is poster worthy,� Selman told me, describing the thinking behind the show�s new ambitions. �What is the big exciting visual idea that is unique to that episode that makes it special so you don�t just turn on The Simpsons and say, �They�re in the kitchen� or �They�re in the living room�?� Groening said, �Just the idea of Homer flailing through a windshield for several minutes is something that in the olden days, I don�t think we would�ve even dared try.�

To me, the movie The Simpsons is most like isn�t Groundhog Day but Everything Everywhere All at Once. There isn�t one Homer and Marge that resets; there are 750 and counting. Each episode, the core of the characters remains, but the world is slightly different � they have different jobs, different talents, different temperaments. What these past two seasons revealed is that there are still new dimensions of Homer and Marge and new visions of their world worth watching for 22 minutes.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 13:58

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

Someone's angling for a writer sinecure.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 14:32

Zeniel: Oct 18, 2013

Its impressive what straws a person is able to grasp at.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 23:47

porfiria: Dec 10, 2008; by Modern Video Games

a sensitive portrayal of people�s need for community and meaning in the digital age.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 00:25

Azza Bamboo: Apr 7, 2018; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2021

Is this still making money

# ? Jun 6, 2023 18:41

Shaman Tank Spec: Dec 26, 2003; *blep*

Azza Bamboo posted:

Is this still making money

No, this thread is a non-profit.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 19:18

nut: Jul 30, 2019

posting about it when i'm 56

# ? Jun 6, 2023 19:19

You Are A Werewolf: Apr 26, 2010; Black Gold!

What merchandise would even be profitable or relevant for the The Simpsons in 2023? Funko Pops? Do they still even make video games or clothing or anything like that anymore?

Like, the last major item I could see selling like hotcakes would be The Simpsons Movie on DVD around 15 years ago.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 19:26

hatty: Feb 28, 2011; Pork Pro

I think a lot of people play that terrible phone game

# ? Jun 6, 2023 19:59

Hyrax Attack!: Jan 13, 2009; We demand to be taken seriously

emgeejay posted:

https://twitter.com/vulture/status/1665696932130324484?s=46&t=m6fGiglUP1-mz5m0sRqpiw

quote:

No recent episode defines the current spirit like �Lisa the Boy Scout,� a mind-bending postmodern intervention into the series. In it, hackers interrupt the episode to play supposed deleted scenes that would �ruin� the audience�s conception of The Simpsons universe. There�s a clip in which Carl learns that his best friend, Lenny, was actually a figment of his imagination and another in which it is revealed that Martin, Bart�s nerdiest classmate, is actually a grizzled 36-year-old father of three with an aging disorder that leaves him looking 10.

Dammit I fell for the praise when this ep came out and gave it a watch, it�s horseshit. Hey everyone, Finland & the Canadian football league exist! Isn�t that funny? Dunno why people were losing their minds about the Martin gag, it�s just more nothing.

That whole article reminds me of how our own Bob Mackey would write hilarious front page articles roasting the movie to a crisp, and when Talking Simpsons launched he rightfully considered later seasons to be trash. Then I think his podcast began having guests still involved with the show, and he got a tour of the writer�s room, and wouldn�t you know it maybe the newer seasons still have the magic! Don�t blame him as if I had a chance to make a living discussing the show understandable compromises would be needed, but still a bummer as his criticism of the show�s decline made good observations.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 20:04

You Are A Werewolf: Apr 26, 2010; Black Gold!

Wasn�t there a razor sharp decline in DVD season sales after season 9? Like, it pretty much killed manufacturing them, and then for some reason FOX decided to release season 20 long out of order because it was a ~*milestone*~ or something and believed it was something people wanted before the rest?

I remember coming across an assload of those season 20 sets along with post-season 10 sets on deep deep discount at Big Lots for something like $4.99 and no one was buying them then :newlol:

# ? Jun 6, 2023 20:08

Mokelumne Trekka: Nov 22, 2015; Soon.

I'm here because of the Vulture article. it starts right off the bat with the premise the show is good and it's like, "wait what?" Some manufactured consent money going around or something

# ? Jun 6, 2023 23:34

PostNouveau: Sep 3, 2011; VY till I die; Grimey Drawer

Hyrax Attack! posted:

That whole article reminds me of how our own Bob Mackey would write hilarious front page articles roasting the movie to a crisp, and when Talking Simpsons launched he rightfully considered later seasons to be trash. Then I think his podcast began having guests still involved with the show, and he got a tour of the writer’s room, and wouldn’t you know it maybe the newer seasons still have the magic! Don’t blame him as if I had a chance to make a living discussing the show understandable compromises would be needed, but still a bummer as his criticism of the show’s decline made good observations.

Yeah I had to stop listening when they got to Season 12 or so. First off, it sucks to listen to clips from bad episodes. Then it sucks worse to hear Henry's fake rear end laughing at those clips.

# ? Jun 7, 2023 01:13

brugroffil: Nov 30, 2015

There's still plenty of episodes they are not at all kind to even if they try to find one or two nice things to say about it.

# ? Jun 7, 2023 01:30

Flinger: Oct 16, 2012

"it's a bunch of star wars baby poo poo and i hate it" - bob "simpson asskisser" mackey

# ? Jun 7, 2023 07:50

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

hatty posted:

I think a lot of people play that terrible phone game

You can say this about everything, unfortunately.

# ? Jun 7, 2023 14:50

Toxic Mental: Jun 1, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZHESOq-Gkw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbI8kJuSkkY

A sad approximation of

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn9ceTjb00Y

# ? Jun 7, 2023 19:41

Improbable Lobster: Jan 6, 2012; "From each according to his ability" said Ares. It sounded like a quotation.; Buglord

i enjoy talking simpsons

# ? Jun 8, 2023 01:47

PostNouveau: Sep 3, 2011; VY till I die; Grimey Drawer

brugroffil posted:

There's still plenty of episodes they are not at all kind to even if they try to find one or two nice things to say about it.

Oh if they've gone into hatewatching later seasons I might dip back in

# ? Jun 8, 2023 01:55

Mantis42: Jul 26, 2010

I'm more a fan of the spinoff show, What a Cartoon! where they get to talk about animated shows and movies that are not The Simpsons and are actually good. Recently they did an episode on the American Dad episode "Gold Top Nuts" which is a fantastic episode of TV. It's from AD's 19th season, the 332 episode. See how long into a show's run you can keep making good episodes when your showrunner isn't Al Jean?

# ? Jun 8, 2023 09:47

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

American Dad is one of the weirder cases of a show actually staying good. Maybe because the premise being already a bit out there actually lends itself to wacky concepts enough to give writers confidence in doing whatever, even if they're not actually doing off-the-wall stories swarming with magic robots.

Incidentally that episode perfectly describes Steven Universe.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 10:24

Sentient Data: Aug 31, 2011; My molecule scrambler ray will disintegrate your armor with one blow!

^^^: Think of how long ago that line was from, I guarantee that quote was either said verbatim or hanging up in the room when the show was being written

Improbable Lobster posted:

i enjoy talking simpsons

i enjoy skipping the first ~25 minutes of talking simpsons

Sentient Data fucked around with this message at 12:47 on Jun 8, 2023

# ? Jun 8, 2023 12:44

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

Absolutely, especially given Gems are basically magic robots, they're pretty much Transformers except their gimmick is bodies that are hard-light projections.

That and the Kidz News episode both have some decent jokes about how suits have no goddamn idea what kids like but also can't actually think to just pay a little attention to anything outside their bubble. Unfortunately all the writers with that insight moved on long ago.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 12:59

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

I feel like for most people, hating things is tiring, and liking things is fun, so if you dedicate a chunk of your life to something you hate, you'll probably mellow on it or find something to like inside all of that. It takes a lot of effort to maintain a passionate hate for long periods of time, often you have to use tricks to keep it up, and people who get really good at hating things often end up as pretty bad people.

So it's only natural that the guy who made a podcast about a show that he mostly liked is going to mellow out on what he thought was the worst bits as he stays in close contact with it.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 15:28

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

SlothfulCobra posted:

I feel like for most people, hating things is tiring, and liking things is fun, so if you dedicate a chunk of your life to something you hate, you'll probably mellow on it or find something to like inside all of that. It takes a lot of effort to maintain a passionate hate for long periods of time, often you have to use tricks to keep it up, and people who get really good at hating things often end up as pretty bad people.

There's a Venture Bros joke in there.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 15:53

FrumpleOrz: Feb 12, 2014; Perhaps you have not been to the *Playground*.
The *Playground* is for Taalo and for Orz, but *Campers* can go.
It more fun than several.
You can go there for too much fun.

I lost faith in the Talking Simpsons podcast when they tried to convince me Disenchantment was good after they got a special screening of the pilot. That show was a disaster.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 16:45

Ghost Leviathan: Mar 2, 2017; Can't post for 10 hours!

Access journalism is a blight.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 16:47

IBroughttheFunk: Sep 28, 2012

FrumpleOrz posted:

I lost faith in the Talking Simpsons podcast when they tried to convince me Disenchantment was good after they got a special screening of the pilot. That show was a disaster.

That was a turning point for me as well, they were clearly talking up the show since several former podcast guests were heavily involved in it, and I just couldn't reconcile the praise they were lavishing on it and the utter garbage that I had seen with my own two eyes. Then they did it again for the first episode of the second season, and that's when I really started to drop off.

Speaking of, is Disenchantment still even a thing, or did they finally lay that to rest? I was actually thinking about that show recently when my partner got me to watch Broad City for the first time, and one of the things that hit me was "Huh, Abbi Jacobson can be really funny." Then I remembered when I had similar revelations about Matt Berry and Eric Andre, because goddammit it the first time I was heavily introduced to either of them, it was through loving Disenchantment.

I don't think I am ever going to get over how badly that show so spectacularly wasted so much of its voice cast. Or just its potential overall, frankly.

IBroughttheFunk fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Jun 10, 2023

# ? Jun 10, 2023 11:53

IBroughttheFunk: Sep 28, 2012

gah, quote isn't edit

# ? Jun 10, 2023 12:20

Barry Bluejeans: Feb 2, 2017; ATTENTHUN THITIZENTH

IBroughttheFunk posted:

Speaking of, is Disenchantment still even a thing, or did they finally lay that to rest?

Season five coming later this summer baybee

# ? Jun 10, 2023 12:29

Vincent Van Goatse: Nov 8, 2006; Enjoy every sandwich.; Smellrose

Ghost Leviathan posted:

Access journalism is a blight.

# ? Jun 10, 2023 12:32

Hyrax Attack!: Jan 13, 2009; We demand to be taken seriously

Ghost Leviathan posted:

Access journalism is a blight.

Yeah I used to listen to Radiolab & Jad Abumrad was given a red carpet tour of Facebook focusing on their innovations with photo tagging and becoming more invasive with personal data, and he was thrilled to report on these exciting developments. Robert Krulwich hilariously called him out for parroting Facebook�s PR dept without doing real journalism so that was a fun listen.

# ? Jun 10, 2023 14:42

FrumpleOrz: Feb 12, 2014; Perhaps you have not been to the *Playground*.
The *Playground* is for Taalo and for Orz, but *Campers* can go.
It more fun than several.
You can go there for too much fun.

Barry Bluejeans posted:

Season five coming later this summer baybee

How?! I had ditch after three episode when it became clear that it wasn't going to get any better. Then again, I suppose we're in a Simpsons thread...

# ? Jun 10, 2023 18:25

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 07:32

SweetMercifulCrap!: Jan 28, 2012; Lipstick Apathy

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch a single episode of Disenchantment. It just looks dreadful. Futurama is a satire of sci-fi adventure made by people who clearly loved the genre, but every clip I've seen of Disenchantment comes off as out of touch or unfamiliar creators trying to do a satire of fantasy.

# ? Jun 10, 2023 18:54

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