"The Simpsons" facing cancellation?

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Oh gosh, how hurtful.

Frankly the Simpson's isn't funny any more, and its mainly due to the shift in the characters with Bart being the only one thats retained his consistancy over the year.

They took Homer from being a slightly stupid good hearted man who would find a way to win in the end or do the right thing in the end to a lout.

Marge has pretty much become the stereotype of the 50's house wife, its almost like she's a battered house wife because she just gives in now, she really used to be the strength behind that family.

Lisa is just annoying now, she's become the Brian Griffin of the Simpson's, where when they do a Lisa episode I pretty much turn the channel because she's annoying.

After nearly 2 decades on the air, its pretty clear that the Simpsons has run out of ideas and edge. Its time to do the dignafied thing, take it out back and put a bullet in its head and roll out the inevitable Millhouse spin off, contd...

Agreed, and I also think just the overall feel for the show has completely changed, its lost its soul. It's just too touchy-feely and sweet for me these days, I miss the old, sarcastic Simpsons. I have a theory that Groening must've got re-married or met some new flame a few years back and turned into a big softy (or maybe just got old and lost his edge), because that's how the shows feel to me now. It's just totally different from the 90's ones.

It's funny how I pretty much haven't watched this show in 10 years (on a consistent basis anyway), yet back from 93-98 it was easily my favourite show. Actually season 4-6 to this day could be my favourite 3 seasons of a sitcom ever. I have them on DVD and still watch them semi-regularly, it never gets old.

I have no problems at all if Simpsons gets cancelled, because frankly, the Simpsons I grew up with and loved went off the air years ago.

[Lobotroth]

Cancel The Simpsons? That's a paddlin'.

[CaptainCrunch]

And when was the last time that Homer showed his love by calling Lisa a lying scumbag?

[CaptainCrunch]

Lisa Simpson: Dad, what if I told you that you could lose weight without diet or exercise?
Homer Simpson: I'd call you a lying scumbag, honey. Why?

[Inferno]

I still watch it. But I do agree it's not as funny as it used to be.

[bradster57]

I still watch. The odd episode is still funny, but when you see an old rerun from the 90s it just hits home that the show isn't what it used to be. That being said, I would miss it if it was cancelled. It's been on most of my life!

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by octothorp

The Terror Lake episode? Yup, probably my favorite of the entire series (or certainly top 5): the rake gag, the HMS pinafore sequence, the elephants, homer's difficulty with learning his new identity, all the references to various thriller films.

Nice, that is in my top five as well. Just such a great episode.

Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, it's "Up Late with McBain". I'm your
announcer, Corporal Obergruppenfuehrer Wolfcastle. And
heeere's McBain!
McBain: Ja, thank you, ja, that's nice. Let's say hello to my music
guy, Skoey. [Skoey bows] That is some outfit, Skoey. It
makes you look like a homosexual.
[Audience boos]
Whoa, maybe you all are homosexuals too!
Bart: This is horrible.
Lisa: The FOX network has sunk to a new low.

Marge: Lisa, you got a letter.
Lisa: It's from my pen-pal Anya! [reads]
Anya: [voice over] Dear Lisa, as I write this, I am very sad. Our
president has been overthrown and
[voice changes to that of a man]
replaced by the benevolent general Krull. All hail Krull and his
glorious new regime! Sincerely, Little Girl.

Homer reads another letter and panics for a moment, but then he realizes
it's for Bart: "DIE BART DIE", again in red ink. Many letters are shown
laid out on the table, all in red ink, except for one conspicuous
letter, which says "I KILL YOU SCUM" in black ink instead of red. Homer
confesses having written it after Bart somehow put a tattoo reading
"WIDE LOAD" on Homer's butt. Everyone laughs hard, even Marge. Nelson
happens to be at the window, and he laughs too.

Wiggum: I'd like to help you ma'am, but, heh heh, I'm afraid there's no
law against mailing threatening letters.
Marge: [indignantly] I'm pretty sure there is.
Wiggum: Hah! The day I take cop lessons from Ma Kettle --
Lou: Hey, she's right, Chief. [shows him "Springfield Law"]
Wiggum: Well, shut my mouth. It's _also_ illegal to put squirrels down
your pants for the purposes of gambling.
[Shot of Eddie the cop with squirrels running around in his
pants, and a bunch of cops watching and laughing]
Boys, knock it off!
Lawyer: Robert, if released, would you pose any threat to one Bart
Simpson?
Bob: [barely in control] Bart Simpson? Ha! The spirited little
scamp who twice foiled my evil schemes and [maliciously] sent
me to this dank, urine-soaked hellhole?
Officer: Uh, we object to the term "urine-soaked hellhole" when you
could have said, "peepee-soaked heckhole".
Bob: Cheerfully withdrawn.
Lawyer: But what about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say, "Die
Bart, Die?"
Bob: [conciliatorily] No, that's German for "The Bart, The."
[The spectators laugh, understanding]
Officer: No one who speaks German could be an evil man.

Bart+Lisa: Aah! Sideshow Bob!
Bart: _You_ wrote me those letters.
Marge: You awful man! Stay away from my son.
Bob: Oh, I'll stay away from your son, all right. [evilly] Stay
away...forever!
Homer: [quaking] No!
Bob: Wait a minute, that's no good.
[Starts to walk away, then runs back]
Wait! I've got a good one now. Marge, say, "Stay away from
my son," again.
Marge: [angrily] No!
Bob: [groaning] Oh...

Wiggum: Now Sideshow Bob can't get in without _me_ knowing. And once
a man is in your home, anything you do to him is nice and
legal.
Homer: [nefariously] Is that so? [calls out window] Oh, Flanders!
Won't you join me in my kitchen? Heh, heh, heh...
Wiggum: Er, it doesn't work if you invite him.
Flanders: [effusively] Heidily hey!
Homer: [truculently] Go home!
Flanders: [congenially] Toodily doo!


Man: Now don't you fret. When I'm through, he won't set foot in this
town again. I can be very, _very_ persuasive. [reloads his gun]
[Scene change to a bar]
Man: [whining] C'mon, leave town!
Bob: No.
Man: I'll be your friend?
Bob: No.
Man: Aw, you're mean!

Agent: We have places your family can hide in peace and security: Cape
Fear, Terror Lake, New Horrorfield, Screamville --
Homer: [enthusiastically] Ooh, Ice Creamville!
Agent: Er, no, Screamville.
Homer: [scared] Aah!

Agent: Tell you what, sir. From now on, you'll be, uh, Homer Thompson
at Terror Lake. Let's just practise a bit, hmm? When I say,
"Hello, Mr. Thompson," you'll say, "Hi."
Homer: Check.
Agent: Hello, Mr. Thompson.
Homer: [stares blankly]
Agent: Remember now, your name is Homer Thompson.
Homer: I gotcha.
Agent: Hello, Mr. Thompson.
Homer: [stares blankly]
[A long time later]
Agent: [sighs in frustration] Now, when I say, "Hello, Mr. Thompson,"
and press down on your foot, you smile and nod.
Homer: No problem.
Agent: Hello, Mr. Thompson! [stomps on Homer's foot a few times]
Homer: [stares blankly]
[to other agent] I think he's talking to _you_.

Homer: Hey kids, wanna drive through that cactus patch?
Bart: Yeah!
Lisa: Yeah!
Bob: [disguising his voice from under the car] No!
Homer: Well, two against one!

Marge: [ruefully] We've left it all behind. How can you make a clean
break with your life?
Homer: Relax, Marge, I tied up all the loose ends before we left.
[Scene change to Simpsons' old house]
Abe: [knocking] Hello-o? Hello-o! You have my pills! Hello-o?
[meekly] I'm cold, and there are wolves after me.
[Howling is heard in the distance]

Homer: [cracks a beer] Ahh!
Bart: Mom, Dad, I saw Sideshow Bob and he threatened to kill me!
Homer: Bart, don't interrupt!
Marge: Homer, this is serious!
Homer: Oh, it is not.

Sideshow Bob sits in his motel room, plotting his revenge.

[dictating while writing] Roman numeral three: surprise boy in bed...
[sips his tea] ...and, er, disembowel him!
No, I don't like that "bowel" in there. [erases it] Gut him! Ah, le
mot juste.

Bart: Take him away, boys.
Wiggum: Hey, I'm the chief here! Bake him away, toys.
Lou: What'd you say, chief?
Wiggum: [quietly] Do what the kid says.



Was just going to copy and paste a few quotes, but everything in that episode is hilarious. Such greatness...

[CaramonLS]

I watched an episode for the first time in 5 years. Didn't laugh once.

Just not a good show anymore.

[Sainters7]

^^^ (to trackercrowe's)

Easily Sideshow Bob's best episode, man this show was such a quote machine back then. I have a buddy with the last name Simpson and to this day I still say "Hello Mr. Thompson" when he calls me, because of that episode. That's actually the last ever episode with the original writers.

My favourite episode that year was the gambling episode, just an absolute classic ($pringfield). From season 6 it was the sexual harassment Gummi de Milo one, and from season 4, the dental plan one (Last Exit to Springfield); probably my all-time favourite. Why must you turn my office into a house of lies?

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Tell me you've seen the episode entitled "Two Brothers From Another Series"
where Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil shows up (for picture see poster Cecil Terwilliger's avatar), voiced perfectly by David Hyde Pierce.

One of my favourite jokes of the entire Simspon's series is in that episode

Spoiler!

Bart jumps on Cecil's back covering his eyes and says "Guess Who?!" To which Cecil replies inquisitively "Meris?"

Additionally I've got the first 12 seasons on DVD, if you want them all you have to be patient and pick them up on sale every once in a while.

Did you just put a spoiler tag around a joke from an episode that aired 14 years ago?

[Kybosh]

The episode with Hank Scorpio and the Globex corporation is one of the best ever.

Also, the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit system has SMRT signs all over the place. I felt like I was the only one constantly giggling in the metro stations.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

[trackercowe]

[QUOTE=Sainters7;3309218]^^^ (to trackercrowe's)
Easily Sideshow Bob's best episode, man this show was such a quote machine back then. I have a buddy with the last name Simpson and to this day I still say "Hello Mr. Thompson" when he calls me, because of that episode. That's actually the last ever episode with the original writers.

My favourite episode that year was the gambling episode, just an absolute classic ($pringfield). From season 6 it was the sexual harassment Gummi de Milo one, and from season 4, the dental plan one (Last Exit to Springfield); probably my all-time favourite. Why must you turn my office into a house of lies?[/QUOTE]

Great picks; they'd all be in my top 10 or so as well.

I'd also include: Rosebud, Duffless, Secrets of a Successful Marriage, Bart's Comet, Homie the Clown, Homer the Smithers, Homer at Bat, and maybe the episode where Burns sells the plant to the Germans).

I actually watched the most recent episode for the first time in a while, and it wasn't terrible. Not nearly as good as it once was, but I thought the plot was at least adequate (Chalmers trying to teach Bart to be like Teddy Roosevelt). I would still watch it every time over Family Guy, or the Cleveland Show.

But, I agree with MMF that American Dad is currently the best animated sitcom on television. Stan Smith at least comes close to being as hilarious as some the characters on the Simpsons. It's a shame that AD will probably get canned well before the tripe out there on Sunday nights. AD is pretty much the only sitcom I try and watch every week; and that's saying a lot since it has to compete with Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead and Dexter on many nights.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Lobotroth

Cancel The Simpsons? That's a paddlin'.

I'd have gone with "Cancel the Simpsons? That's unpossible"

[saskflames69]

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

But, I agree with MMF that American Dad is currently the best animated sitcom on television. Stan Smith at least comes close to being as hilarious as some the characters on the Simpsons. It's a shame that AD will probably get canned well before the tripe out there on Sunday nights. AD is pretty much the only sitcom I try and watch every week; and that's saying a lot since it has to compete with Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead and Dexter on many nights.

Yep totally agree, been saying this for a couple years now. Steve's my favorite on that show, man that kid makes me laugh. I used to hate Roger the first season or 2 but he's hilarious now, especially when paired with Steve, totally AD's version of Brian & Stewie as the buddy pairing. And ya Stan's a beauty too.

AD's the only show on FOX's Animation Domination that's on series record for me.

[CaptainCrunch]

The best thing about the Simpsons are the McBain clips which when put together make one really good movie

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/81308507/

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Did you just put a spoiler tag around a joke from an episode that aired 14 years ago?

14 years, 7 months, 12 days. Yes, yes I did, better to be safe than sorry

Actually I put it in spoilers because Cowperson said he doesn't really watch the show, and if he didn't see it I wouldn't want to spoil the joke.


Additionally, I think the series peaked with Who Shot Mr. Burns, however it was still good going into the 12th season, it's also around the time I stopped watching religiously.

The odd time I catch a newer episode I think this isn't that bad, then I'll catch an old rerun on tv I laugh my ass off, I forget how great the show truly was.

The standard it's held to isn't other shows but itself. That's one hard standard to meet.


Also, one last thought. The computer animation isn't the same as the old animation. They need to change back, it's lost it's 'feel' if you know what I mean.

[Frank MetaMusil]

[flamesaresmokin]

Canceling the simpsons would be homersexual.

In all honesty its been time to go for a long time. I stopped watching at least 5 years ago and thought it was done at that time. Take solace in the fact the series has enough re runs to last another 20 years.