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writer: what if we called it "Everybody HATES Raymond"? everyone: *cheers approvingly* other writer: well guys, it took us all night, but it was worth it
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Jan 4, 2019 09:49
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Btw, anyone else think the amount of likes on Jean's tweets is super depressing? I mean, sure he deserves it, but they're in the single digits! I figured he was a big enough celebrity (at least in nerd circles) that he would have at least a floor of pity likes at worst.
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Jan 4, 2019 22:44
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I can't say what the low point of the Simpsons has been, but I can tell you when I pretty much permanently wrote off the show. It was when they started using that new (well at the time) animation style that resembled that of the movie. There were a certain charm that was lost when they made that change. I honestly don't know why they did it. It's not like the animation up until that point was awful or anything. In fact, I'm almost positive the new animation was even more expensive, for completely unneeded reasons too.
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Jan 5, 2019 06:25
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Can I just say that I find the trajectory of the Simpsons absolutely fascinating? And no, I'm not talking about how it got worse over time. Yes, it's unfortunate, and even tragic, but also, not surprising at all. This is a problem that nearly every long running T.V. show in existence faced. It happened to Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, Suits, Weeds, Oz, Hercules/Xena, the list goes on and on. This phenomenon is not special or unique at all. However, looking at how the Simpsons started, and then seeing what it became, is a helluva lot more of an interesting story. Go back to season one, and tell me you're not stunned at what kind of a show The Simpsons used to be. This may piss off a lot of people, but I thought it was an ugly, unfunny mess. The animation was absolutely wretched in pretty much every way you can imagine. Even as a 5 year old who would eat up pretty much anything that resembled a cartoon, I remember thinking it looked like poo poo. And then there was the writing. There were "jokes" in there sure, but it can't even really be considered a comedy show. It was more like an animated version of something like Seventh Heaven, being overly mawkish and sentimental. I legitimately don't know who this was supposed to be targeted to. It was too boring for kids, but also too childish (looking) for adults. The second season was a noticeable improvement, but it was still very rough. I don't think the show found its voice until season 3. I find it staggering that we go from something Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire to Homer the Vigilante and Cape Feare. We go from some of the most wretched content ever put to paper, to some of the greatest, wittiest television to ever exist.
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Jan 9, 2019 04:21
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Last Chance posted:seasons 1 and 2 are really good you fuckin doofus Remember that 130th episode special that was hosted by Troy McClure? The one where he shows a clip of the very first episode, and then after it cuts back to him with a horrified look on his face and then he plays it off as "and they haven't changed a bit". Even they were making fun of how the show started off.  Speaking of Troy, was he even IN the first 2 seasons? emgeejay posted:This YouTube playlist is really the best illustration of the show’s overall trajectory. You know, I was wondering why there were so many couch gags from the first 10 seasons that I wasn't aware of, even though I'm sure I've seen every single one of those episodes multiple times, and then it hit me. For some weird reason, Fox did this thing where subsequent airings of the show used the same couch gag for multiple episodes (if I remember correctly, it was the one with duplicates of the Simpsons already being on the couch when they got there). I legit don't understand why they did this because it meant someone had to go through several of these episodes, remove the original couch gag, and replace it with the one i mentioned. So utterly bizarre.
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Jan 11, 2019 04:48
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Extra commercial times WOULD make sense, but many of the ones they removed (not all, but many) were about the same length as the one they replaced it with, which is why it's weird.
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Jan 11, 2019 05:06
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Sagebrush posted:i saw this guest animated couch gag for the first time today and it's pretty badass I guessed the couch gag before clicking the link.  Definitely my favorite one in a long time. I legitimately thought the song they used was totally original for this couch gag cause it seemed so wonderfully cheesy 80s, but then I found out it was from Scarface (which...considering that's what the couch gag was referencing...probably made sense).Cessna posted:
I'm glad someone brought this up. This episode had kind of an interesting trajectory for me cause when I initially saw it, I (like pretty much everyone else) was flabbergasted at why they came up with this plot. For the longest time I hated it cause it was just so stupid and nonsensical. But now looking back, I actually like the episode. Sure, the original complaints are still present. But that being said, although it had a dumb plot, the episode itself was pretty funny, with some good gags and jokes (particularly the one you referenced, which I didn't fully appreciate until years late). It's basically what I think of as the best worst episode of the Simpsons.
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Jan 11, 2019 22:44
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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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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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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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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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FilthyImp posted:According to the Wiki, ratings were on a downward trend after season 2 (when it was moved to primetime Thursday). Around season 8 you've gone past the Bartman Eat My shorts stuff and it becomes a staple instead of an innovator. Man, in my little bubble, I thought that Simpsons only kept getting more and more popular and only declined when the mediocre seasons started. Funny how different perception is from reality.  Btw, RE: season 12. I was going over the episode list, and I have to say, I'm legitimately impressed there were a good number of decent episodes in there. Sure, they're not gold, but they have golden moments. - Insane Clown Poppy - A Tale of Two Springfields - Lisa the Tree Hugger - The Computer Wore Menace Shoes - Skinner's Sense of Snow - HOMR -Pokey Mom - Worst Episode Ever - Day of the Jackanapes - New Kids on the Blecch - Hungry, Hungry Homer - Simpson Safari (guess the guy who came up with episode titles was on vacation for this one) - Trilogy of Error - I'm Goin' to Praiseland (I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of this one overall, but I have to put it on here for the previously mentioned Frank Sinatra scene) - Children of a Lesser Clod - Simpsons Tall Tales That's almost the entire season!
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Jan 22, 2019 10:30
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I knew the risks. I make no regrets.
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Jan 22, 2019 12:55
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MNIMWA posted:Dangerfield episodes That episode was amazing. 
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Jan 22, 2019 21:18
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I'm amazed that the Family Guy knockoff turned out better than Family Guy.
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Jan 23, 2019 09:24
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sweet geek swag posted:The joke there isn't that musicals are bad, it's that those movies aren't suited to being made into musicals. Musicals are in fact very good. It also helps that the song they were parodying in that Planet of The Apes thing was actually pretty bangin'. Mr Interweb fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Jan 24, 2019 |
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Jan 24, 2019 02:17
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TheMostFrench posted:I had never heard the song Rock Me Amadeus when I was younger Same actually. I heard it for the first time in in 2014 in that one movie with Jesse Eisenberg or whatever his name is. Milo and POTUS posted:Same but the movie That movie also had a pretty sweet theme song as well.
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Jan 24, 2019 07:37
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Atlas Hugged posted:Is everyone in this thread 15 or something? I'm 34 but I only owned a radio for 4 months in high school. 
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Jan 24, 2019 13:18
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Plan Z posted:
I'm like 99% sure that FG episode came out waaaay after.
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Jan 26, 2019 23:12
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emgeejay posted:Yeah, 1996 vs 2004, which is why he said the Simpsons bit influenced the creation of the Family Guy bit and not vice versa Argh, read your post as "inspired by" for some reason.
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Jan 27, 2019 05:59
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Okay, what is this "Homer Votes" option in this new poll (that seemed to show up out of nowhere  ) supposed to be referencing? The one where Sideshow Bob becomes mayor? The one about Prop 24? The one where Kang and Kodos impersonate Bill Clinton and Bob Dole? Cause all of these options are enraging me.PostNouveau posted:Haha that was 20 years ago she's gotten worse yup
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Jan 29, 2019 04:41
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fatal oopsie-daisy posted:literally google "Homer Votes" Google brings up Homer Votes 2012 and Homer Votes 2016
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Jan 29, 2019 04:55
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Stooge posted:When Hank Scorpio chucks his moccasins away and asks Homer "you ever see a guy say goodbye to a shoe before" and Homer says "haha, yeah once", do you think Homer is referring to 5 seconds ago when he saw Hank chucking his shoes away? Personally, I think it would have been funnier it wasn't referencing that.
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Feb 5, 2019 11:43
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There's that episode where Ned is at an AA meeting because he said some "mean" words to some old lady when he was "drunk", and he said this line: "I was more animal than man" For the longest time, I legitimately couldn't tell if he was trying to say he was more of an animal than he was a man, or if he was saying that man itself was already animal, and he was even worse than that. I'm doubtful anyone else read the joke that way, but I always did and I'm sticking by it
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Feb 5, 2019 23:22
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snack eater posted:I still don't get this it used to be called chuck's gently caress and suck honestly, everyone seems to love that joke, but i thought it was pretty low brow for something like the simpsons
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Feb 5, 2019 23:42
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Cookie Kwan posted:Why, because I didn't participate in your post season 8 hate circle jerk? Imagine getting your very first ever probation in TWELVE YEARS, as a result of defending the honor of Simpsons season 20. CodfishCartographer posted:I dunno about it being the lowest point, but I really hated the episode when Frank Grimes' son comes back for revenge. It's another one of those episodes that's not good, but tolerable enough to watch, imo. I got a good laugh out of Homer riding the flloat as a king and demanding the people sacrifice themselves to save him (which some actually do). One thing that always bugged me though, about that episode is the scene when Lisa shows up at the end to tell Homer she's figured out who was sending out the death threats, which she has written on a piece of paper. Now, the concept of this joke is pretty solid, I think (Lisa getting the culprit hilariously wrong and said culprit being an otherwise completely forgotten character by this point), but it never sat right with me that she had it written on a piece of paper. Why? Did she think she would forget who the perpetrator was if she didn't write his name down and constantly have to reference it? I dunno, this just always vexed me.
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Feb 17, 2019 09:50
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The_Rob posted:Who could actually ever care about that and see it as a plot hole? It wasn't a one off joke, though. The episode was dedicated to the origin of how they got their house. Of course, there was also the episode where Homer and Marge were living in an apartment until Lisa was born. ...and then also the episode where Homer and Marge were already living in their house before Bart was even born...
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Feb 19, 2019 04:26
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SirPablo posted:It turned into an immigration episode. immigration was what was blamed for the high taxes in the first place since we're on the subject, two things: - the tax message was a tad muddled because on the one hand, the show's mocking people who are anti-tax even though it was literally the lowest tax hike in history. on the other hand though, the bear patrol, which was supposed to be a reference to the pentagon, was also one of the cheapest (if not THE cheapest) agency ever created, as opposed to how ridiculously bloated the pentagon actually is. - like many episodes, i wound up appreciating it even more when i got older and realized that cities don't actually have the power to deport people
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Feb 21, 2019 09:51
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pretty soft girl posted:I didn't realize I was supposed to hate principal and the pauper until the internet told me it was the worst thing produced in the history of mankind, over and over and over again We covered P&tP a few pages ago, but the whole ordeal is a bit weird. I actually really like the episode now, especially in retrospect, but I don't think I ever really disliked it. I mean, I think I hated the concept, rather than the episode itself. Even when I saw it for the first time, my initial reaction was WTF?, and while it did leave a negative impression on me for a LONG time, I thought the episode itself, in terms of jokes/humor/etc. was actually quite fine. It's true that by the show always had outlandish moments, but this was something quite different than say, Homer walking out of an elevator and plunging from the top of the nuclear plant, and finding himself safe and sound in the next scene. This was a case that was actually pertinent to a entire episode's plot. It's one thing to be totally wacky and unpredictable. It's another thing to completely re-tool the entire origin of a well loved character. Of course, it could also be argued that by that point, the show was going into the more cynical, totally off the wall plot points and scenarios as well, so P&tP shouldn't have really been all that surprising.
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Mar 22, 2019 04:12
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Filthy Haiku posted:It's weird that people get down on Principal and the Pauper for being an episode where they got a little bit fast and loose with their established characters when Hurricane Ned did the exact same thing. Uh...I like both episodes but those two plots are not remotely similar at all, lol. One was providing a sensible backstory to why a character acts the way he does, while the other tried to tell the audience that a beloved character never truly existed and was actually a farce this entire time. No, the real problem with Hurricane Ned was that the spanking program explains his lack of anger, but it doesn't explain why that necessarily caused him to be a Bible thumper.
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Mar 23, 2019 11:44
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Okay, here's a question that I've been thinking of for a long time. Would memorable lines/scenes from the golden years be as funny if they were made today? For example, one of my favorites of all time is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvCQ80Brkw0 It's such a simple, yet effective and hilarious line. But I'm of the opinion that it wouldn't work today, with the current style The Simpsons has. Anyone else feel this way?
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Apr 5, 2019 09:09
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Zeniel posted:"Looks like its up to me..." Probably my favorite part in that episode. Also "Come on, Ron. Looks like we're not wanted" deserves a mention as well.
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Apr 6, 2019 10:20
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LIVE AMMO ROLEPLAY posted:Absolutely do not watch the Poochy episode with commentary turned on, the writers get a bit salty. What did they say exactly? I'm legitimately curious to see what exactly what THEY thought the takeaway from that episode was supposed to be. Bust Rodd posted:
The funny thing is that this was way more sexually over than anything in Animaniacs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnHNPMMvCCY Slightly Absurd posted:There were only two Minerva Mink shorts, and I wouldn't be surprised if they purposefully tried avoiding airing those episodes on repeat. Hot take: I didn't mind the MM episode that involved the werewolf. Hotter take: The Simpsons was still watcheable until at least season 15. I used to think the show took nose dive after season 9 in quality, but thinking about it, I may have to re-evaluate that. It is definitely true that the show is noticeably different starting around that time, but I used to think that it became less funny, which I don't think is the case. The main problems is that the characters changed to become more obnoxious and cynical, while the plots became more absurd and nonsensical. But the show still had plenty of good humor, imo. Even when I was complaining about the episodes back in the day, I would still watch them, and still laugh quite often throughout the episodes. Somebody in this thread metaphorically looked at me like I was wearing a vest of Armour hot dogs when I listed a bunch of episodes from season 12 that I thought were funny. Well, I still stand by it! I mean, look at the episode when Krusty finds out he has a daughter. *after Krusty bets his daughter's violin in a card game* accountant: monetarily this ain't worth much, but the sentimental value is off the charts! Krusty: Every mob family in the country's here: the Cuomos, the Travoltas, the Lasordas, the Boyardees.... Legs: Hey, I heard there's a lunar eclipse tonight. Maybe we should look up. Louie: Nah. For me, it's solar or nothing. Fat Tony: Now some unpleasant news. I have learned that someone in this room is a squealer. Legs: We've narrowed it down to either Johnny Tightlips or Frankie the Squealer. Frankie the Squealer: Okay, it's me! I can't help it! I just like squealing! It makes me feel big! Mr Interweb fucked around with this message at 12:40 on Apr 19, 2019 |
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Apr 19, 2019 12:33
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Plan Z posted:Alright gently caress it since Youtube recommends me this stuff, I'll just pull the pin and throw them at the thread from time to time: Not to defend this awful, awful show or anything. But the reason Marge said the floorboard line out loud was to set up the joke for the magazine. I mean, it's still a clumsy way to lead into a joke, but there was a point to it. But the worst thing about that clip is noticing that it's from season 18 and thinking to myself 'wow, the Simpsons was so young back then". 
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Apr 26, 2019 08:57
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The show has a lot of issues with joke set ups. I think I might have mentioned it in this thread earlier, but the floorboard thing sort of reminds me of the episode with Frank Grimes son. By the end, Lisa shows up to proclaim that she's figured out who was trying to kill homer, that being Bumblebee Man, written on a piece of paper. The idea of Lisa not only being so wildly wrong, but also pointing to a character that probably hadn't even been on the show in years, is a pretty good gag. The problem though, is why would she write it on a piece of paper? Would she have forgotten if she didn't write it down? Has she never been aware of BBM before?
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Apr 26, 2019 09:32
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Irony Be My Shield posted:I think showing the audience while Lisa tries to play it off is funnier than having her say it out loud would be. That's an example of good joke delivery. No, I got it, and I agree it's funny. At least conceptually. I'm just saying the way it was done makes no sense within the context of the show. COMPAGNIE TOMMY posted:Are you serious What?
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Apr 26, 2019 19:11
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Two things: 1) Lisa calls Homer....Homer? 2) You're telling me that the final resulting episode, is what they wind up with after going through hundreds, even thousands of jokes, and then picking the best of the best? THOSE are the jokes that make the final cut?
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Apr 27, 2019 08:47
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Bust Rodd posted:It’s also possible that the people coming out of Harvard’s literature program weren’t completely broken by the internet and were actually smart and clever. I genuinely don’t respect the intellect of anyone within 5 years of my age, because phones and the internet have made us substantially dumber, and I’m rarely surprised. But didn't most of the Harvard dudes study poo poo like biology and computer science? I recall there were very few who actually had any formal training in writing, which was pretty mind blowing. dracky posted:Mr Burns looking at comic book guy and saying "look at that man, calmly eating candy like a Spaniard" is stuck in my brain, I don't even know what it means Yeah, that's a good one. I think the joke is that Spaniards discovered chocolate when they invaded Central America. Another one of my favorite Burnisms is "drunk as a lemur".
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Apr 28, 2019 22:36
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Calaveron posted:Chocolate was well and truly discovered by the time the Spaniards reached Central America though I meant "discovered" in the same way Columbus "discovered" America.
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Apr 28, 2019 22:53
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Data Graham posted:No, I'm serious. And now it's driving me crazy that I can't think of or find any examples scrolling randomly through transcripts. But months ago when I was watching the Simpsons Randomizer while on the treadmill every day I kept noticing that Bart was getting all these wordplay lines that now I can't think of a single example of. I know it's not just that I have a raging cold and am recovering after a 10 hour flight, but I promise if I didn't I'd go run on the treadmill for however many hours it'll take in order to find some to quote through pure random walk Are you sure it was a Simpsons randomizer? Are you sure it wasn't, you know, NOTHING?
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Apr 28, 2019 23:12
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