Simpsons renewed for another season

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Did we seriously get to page 5 and there is no mention of the greatest episode of all time?

Last Exit to Springfield from season 4 was a MASTERPIECE.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Exit_to_Springfield

Didn't see this posted earlier. 100% agree, that's my all-time favourite episode.

Why must you turn this office into a house of lies?

[Regulator75]

Boy, lots of memories being brought up.

One episode that has stuck with me since 1999 (not so classic) is the Tomacco one.
E-I-E-I-(ANNOYED GRUNT).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-I-E-I-(Annoyed_Grunt)

[Weiser Wonder]

Ralph: This tomato tastes like Grandma.
Chief Wiggum: It does taste like Grandma!

[ResAlien]

Shopkeeper:
Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer:
Ooh, that's bad.
Shopkeeper:
But it comes with a free frogurt!
Homer:
That's good.
Shopkeeper:
The frogurt is also cursed.
Homer:
That's bad.
Shopkeeper:
But you get your choice of toppings.
Homer:
That's good!
Shopkeeper:
The toppings contain potassium benzoate...That's bad.
Homer:
Can I go now?

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

My Ding-a-ling!
My Ding-a-ling!
I want you to play with
My Ding-a-ling!

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

[ben voyonsdonc]

It is so hard to stay relevant in pop culture. Tastes have really shifted in the 20 years that The Simpsons have been on air. It was so cutting edge and risqué at the beginning and trying to maintain that is no small feat.

The writers are trying to write for both the people who grew up on the show 20 years ago and for their kids. The tricky thing is that the tastes of the people who have watched the show since the beginning have evolved over time and their kids have radically different concepts of what is funny. How can you come up with funny stuff for both groups? It just leaves a middle of the road, bland product which still has some value but cutting edge it certainly isn't.

I appreciate what its contribution has been to TV history and will still watch the odd new episode but I don't set my PVR to record it.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

It is so hard to stay relevant in pop culture. Tastes have really shifted in the 20 years that The Simpsons have been on air. It was so cutting edge and risqué at the beginning and trying to maintain that is no small feat.

The writers are trying to write for both the people who grew up on the show 20 years ago and for their kids. The tricky thing is that the tastes of the people who have watched the show since the beginning have evolved over time and their kids have radically different concepts of what is funny. How can you come up with funny stuff for both groups? It just leaves a middle of the road, bland product which still has some value but cutting edge it certainly isn't.

I appreciate what its contribution has been to TV history and will still watch the odd new episode but I don't set my PVR to record it.

Not just tastes have changed, when the Simpsons started, no one even knew what the internet was, never mind Facebooking from your iPhone.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Family Guy really thrives on our shorter attention span with its randomness and lack of coherent plot. The Simpsons are more traditional in their plots with a beginning, middle and end. It isn't as politically incorrect in comparison to what it was at the beginning either which has dulled its edge. I don't really like super politically incorrect humour anyways because it seems cheap and divisive.

[Jake]

One of my favorite scenes is Homer making a BBQ pit... "le grill!!!??? What the hell is that!?"



Angry dad is another great episode.

[trackercowe]

Family Guy sucks. The first three seasons were good (not Simpons prime good); but ever since they came back it has been wretched. How people still go back to it is beyond me. That picture a few pages back had it 100% right. American Dad is miles ahead of Family Guy in terms of humor. AD is the best animated show on today. It's a shame it is on so late no is around to watch it. Check out "The Magnificent Steven", almost Simpsons level of quality.

A man kills what a man loves,

before it weakens him.

You can't make me kill Rosey.

You boys sure you don't want some Rosey?

- Mm-mm. - No, no thanks.

Mmm. I'm eating the face right now.

Mmm. Good cut of face meat.


You boys see these owls?

Get out of here, owls!

Stop pecking at my face!

I will not buy your encyclopedias!

I can't read your language, I can only speak it!

[JohnnyB]

I'm so glad this thread was made. It's lead to me watching a bunch of recent episodes now, and despite the recent halloween episode being awful most of what I've watched has been great. My opinion has changed about the Simpsons having totally lost it. Still witty and full of good social commentary.

[Bigtime]

I highly recommend the book 'Planet Simpson' by Calgarian Chris Turner. It is a great look at the series through the eyes of a hardcore Simpsons junkie like many of us in this thread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Simpson

[frege64]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

American Dad is miles ahead of Family Guy in terms of humor. AD is the best animated show on today.

American Dad is the best scripted comedy on TV. Absolutely shatteringly funny, and extremely edgy to boot. Stan's reminiscing about how it was really, he's pretty sure, he who seduced the priest who molested him... my God, there is nothing that comes close.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Family Guy sucks. The first three seasons were good (not Simpons prime good); but ever since they came back it has been wretched. How people still go back to it is beyond me. That picture a few pages back had it 100% right. American Dad is miles ahead of Family Guy in terms of humor. AD is the best animated show on today. It's a shame it is on so late no is around to watch it. Check out "The Magnificent Steven", almost Simpsons level of quality.

A man kills what a man loves,

before it weakens him.

You can't make me kill Rosey.

You boys sure you don't want some Rosey?

- Mm-mm. - No, no thanks.

Mmm. I'm eating the face right now.

Mmm. Good cut of face meat.

I can't believe you killed her, Barry. You're a cold sunambitch!

I won't put it with prime Simpsons, but totally agreed that American Dad is great now. I think most people gave it a chance at the start, but gave up during the first season (when it wasn't good, they tried to push the envelope too much). I think it's settled in and finally found a comfort zone, and they know which characters work (upping Steve's & Roger's role) and what don't (minimizing Klause's). It's pretty much the only show that I really try to catch on Sunday night.

[Jake]

I've never really gotten into American Dad, even the new episodes. I still watch it most Sundays, but it's still just "meh" to me.

I think South Park is the best right now.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

There are a ton of factors you can consider in regards to the downfall of what I consider the greatest show in the history of television. I am actually thinking of writing my term essay on this exact subject. Here is just a short run down of the reasons I consider.

Turn of the Millennium (Age): Obviously every show will get worse from year to year, but once the year 2000 rolled around the show seemed to lose a whole lot of steam. This is also when the show hit double digits.

Futurama: When Matt Groening, and a few other show writers/runners left to help the development on Futurama it seemed the writing quality, and plot went downhill fast on the show.

Family Guy: When the people involved on the Simpsons saw how Family Guy became "the new thing" they started trying to copy them in a way. Now the characters act, and sound very much like those in FG (Homer is a complete idiot, Lisa is a joke, Bart is a sissy, etc). I wouldn't say the show is completely like Family Guy, but the humor seems to be geared towards Family Guy fans.

Computer Animation: This may be more personal, but I just don't appreciate computer animation when compared to that of hand-drawn. It just doesn't feel right on a show that was born using hand-drawn techniques. I also don't think computer animation looks as good in the Simpsons universe.

Worse voice acting: Kind of obvious at this point, but some characters sound completely different than they did 20+ years ago. Especially regarding the women voice actors (Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, and even Nancy Cartwright). Maybe it's the constant smoking, or maybe it was because they held out for more money a few times. I will say Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer are still pretty good.

Travel much? Another thing that rubs me the wrong way is episodes that involve the Simpson family going to another country for no real reason. It just seems like a huge marketing ploy to suck up to every nationality possible. Next time they'll be in Yemen, or Luxembourg (they've been everywhere else). The New York episode started all of this, and Japan only made it worse.

Guest stars: Same thing as above. When guest stars like Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman, and even Mel Gibson to an extent came on they actually played a purpose, and seemed like they wanted to be there. Now almost every celebrity guest star appearance seems half assed. How many times do they come on for one line, then leave? It gets tired fast. This is the Simpsons, not some damn show that needs to suck up to guest stars for ratings (or at least it used to be).

New show writers/runners: My buddy is more knowledgeable on this front, but Al Jean (as noted before) was terrible. I could name a few others, but you can usually tell the good ones, from the bad.

Destroying/over using characters: Since when were Lenny, and Carl Homer's best friends? Barney, or even Flanders should be Homer's best friend, not Lenny, and Carl. Also characters like the Cat Lady, Lindsay Naegle, and Duff Man are used way too much. There are others of course, but it's 2 am; and I can't think of anymore. Also characters like Burns, Barney, and even Bart are a shell of their former selves.

Too many Lisa "episodes": In the first seasons only a few episodes you would consider Lisa "episodes". Now I swear there are more episodes based around Lisa than ever before. I have always hated Lisa; and the voice acting does not help either (even listen to Smith's awful commentary).

Message episodes/skits: We get it guys! You're gay friendly, hate George Bush, are against the Iraq war and want to save the environment. It may have been funny the first time, but now these message episodes are just weak.

Dumbing down/no longer realistic: Might be somewhat of a Family Guy factor, but nothing is believable, and everything is played for a joke. This isn't the Simpsons I grew up with.

Obvious/dumb jokes: Simpsons used to be informative, even witty at times. Now I have to force myself to laugh every episode.

It's been done to death: I really can't fault them on this one, but if they wanted to they could give us something different.

I'll add more if I can think of them.

There may be a lot of complains/concerns, but I only complain because I love. This is the show of my childhood, and I force myself to try and give it a chance. I do agree that the show is better than it was a few years back; but not even close to the first 9 seasons.

The best animated show on Sunday nights is American Dad these days. I wish more people would watch that one when compared to complete crap like FG, and the Cleveland show.

Oh, and for the record season 5 was the best. Almost every episode was a classic. Funny how for almost every show season 5 is the best (Simpsons, X-Files, The Sopranos, Married With Children, Seinfeld, and a few others).

However if anyone is interested in doing a Simpsons trivia contest let me know. My buddy, and I are always sending Simpsons triva questions. Btw, my favorite episodes off the top of my head are Homer Badman, Cape Fear, and Rosebud (Mr Burns is amazing). The worst may be the dude ranch episode (complete disaster from beginning to end).

What kind of institute of higher learning accepts term papers that discuss an analysis of the Simpsons? Do you go to Krusty College?

[trackercowe]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

What kind of institute of higher learning accepts term papers that discuss an analysis of the Simpsons? Do you go to Krusty College?

I wish, that school seemed to pay off pretty well. It's just for a communications class. Nothing to complex; besides it would go beyond just the one subject.

Btw, my brother wrote one of his main thesis' in University on the Sopranos and that was Queens. So it does happen.

http://www.academon.com/Analytical-E...Sopranos/46468

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Do you go to Krusty College?

I believe you mean Krusty's Clown College.

[theonlywhiteout]

american dad is great. roger is a great charecter, and stan is the perfect lead for the show. i never laughed so hard in my life during the scene where stan is caught for not getting his wife a gift. shes like 'and dont you even think of shooting me' and it switches to a view of stan slowly reaching for his gun but thne putting it back. classic lol.