Greetings.
Today we have a question from Gavin Lee, regarding what could have at one point become the greatest show of all time, The Simpsons. But we all know how that story ended.
Usually with shark jumping it pertains to a singular moment. I think for the Simpsons the moment was really the entire 10th season. It was clear the show was no longer capable of being as great as it once was. Despite having what is arguably it's best season 2 years prior. Although if I had to pick a moment, I'd say Mod dying. It was pointless from all angles.
My favorite season is the 8th one. Although it starts off with one of the worst Treehouse of Horrors of the golden years, it delivers classic after classic. You Only Move Twice, The Homer They Fall, Bart After Dark, A Milhouse Divided, Lisa's Date With Destiny [Homer gets the autodialer], The Mysterious Voyage of Homer [where I almost had a fucking stroke trying to figure out who voiced the coyote.], The Springfield Files, and it just goes on and on.
My favorite episode is Bart Sells His Soul. I recently got back into The Simpsons, and saw that episode for the first time in 10+ years. Seeing it as an adult, I was amazed how deep it was. The writing was one of the finest examples I've ever seen as the show balanced comedy with insight, philosophy about faith and such, and giant sponge T-Rexes. It's amazing. Then on top of that you get Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag! The dank, Moe, da dank!
How say you?
Today we have a question from Gavin Lee, regarding what could have at one point become the greatest show of all time, The Simpsons. But we all know how that story ended.
Hi caliber I'm back! I've just downloaded all 24 Simpsons seasons and I'm the process of watching them all back to back (I'm up to season 5) and it got me thinking in your opinion and the blogs when did the Simpsons jump the shark what's the best overall season and fav episode? I say who shot mr burns part 2 for jumping the shark and season 3 and flaming moe's as the best season and episode!
How say thee!
Usually with shark jumping it pertains to a singular moment. I think for the Simpsons the moment was really the entire 10th season. It was clear the show was no longer capable of being as great as it once was. Despite having what is arguably it's best season 2 years prior. Although if I had to pick a moment, I'd say Mod dying. It was pointless from all angles.
My favorite season is the 8th one. Although it starts off with one of the worst Treehouse of Horrors of the golden years, it delivers classic after classic. You Only Move Twice, The Homer They Fall, Bart After Dark, A Milhouse Divided, Lisa's Date With Destiny [Homer gets the autodialer], The Mysterious Voyage of Homer [where I almost had a fucking stroke trying to figure out who voiced the coyote.], The Springfield Files, and it just goes on and on.
My favorite episode is Bart Sells His Soul. I recently got back into The Simpsons, and saw that episode for the first time in 10+ years. Seeing it as an adult, I was amazed how deep it was. The writing was one of the finest examples I've ever seen as the show balanced comedy with insight, philosophy about faith and such, and giant sponge T-Rexes. It's amazing. Then on top of that you get Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag! The dank, Moe, da dank!
How say you?
..Maude?
ReplyDeleteI've actually seen it both ways, and I swear I've seen it as Mod on the actual show. Either way, this is what I get for speaking without running it through Steven first.
ReplyDeleteIve always liked the Simpsons even after others didnt. If I had to say one episode that jumped the shark for me was the Victorian House reality show one. It was just too over the top and wacky like a Family Guy episode.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the last few seasons have been bad. There haven't been any super memorable episodes but they're good for some laughs. The really dreadful ones were during the mid-00's.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to this question depends on whether we are talking about when people realized the show wasn't as good as before, or when it became no good at all
ReplyDeleteFor a wrestling comparable, in 2002 Attitude era fans realized that the party wasn't as good as it used to be. By like 2010 and the endless Cena VS Orton matches Raw was nigh unwatchable
The episode that did it for me is 'Worst Episode ever' funnily enough where Comic Book Guy and Principal Skinner's mother Agnes start dating. I've watched the episode again recently and it isn't as bad as I remembered it but the whole scene where they're caught in bed together is just very uncomfortable still to watch.
ReplyDeleteThis thread topic is giving me deja vu...
ReplyDeleteNot sure when the jump happened, but Season 10 was the start of the decline for me. I believe that's when Mel Gibson made a guest appearance, which is fine, but that's about where I narrow it.
ReplyDeleteFor favorite episode, it's hard to pick just one, but I'll go with Cape Feare, since it's definitely in my Top 5. Sideshow Bob was always one of my favorite character, and Grammar brings his best in this episode.
Could have been? Seasons 2(Maybe 3) to between 8-10 IS the greatest show ever.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's still better than Family guy and it's associative spawn(Minus American Dad)
Best season? Definitely 8. So many classics, and my favorite episode (Hurricane Neddy) is from that season.
ReplyDeleteHIBARTYOUWANTTOSEEMYNEWCHAINSAWANDHOCKEYMASK????!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSeason 10 might've started the decline, but at least it brought to us, MAX POWER. I love this episode to death.
ReplyDeleteIn general, the erosion of the writer's is what hurt the show. Plus, it's just hard to continue to make top quality TV when you've done practically every gag and joke possible.
Regardless, I still love any episode written by John Swartzwelder and the show really dropped after he left.
The thing about The Simpsons is that a bad episode is kind of like bad pizza. It's still pretty good.
ReplyDeleteA personal old school favorite of mine is the one where Bart and Lisa write the Ichy and Scratchy cartoon, Little Barbershop of Horrors.
Yeah, they went from some of the best TV writers ever, to just really good writers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd reccomend Swartzwelders novels.
Oh, and Mike Scully. That dude made some boneheaded decisions.
ReplyDeleteProbably not considered the best, but my two personal faves are still Homer At the Bat and Last Exit to Springfield (Dental Plan! Lisa Needs Braces!)
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched new episodes over the last half decade and it doesn't seem to run in syndication are here anymore at all.
Maude dying was what started the decline for me. Of all the ways to get rid of her, a t-shirt gun? Gimme a break.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to pick a favourite season, but 5 and 8 are probably my two favourite. Season 5 has classics like "Homer's Barbershop Quartet," "Cape Feare," "$pringfield,""The Last Temptation of Homer," and my all-time favorite episode, "Homer Goes to College."
Caliber already listed the great Season 8 episodes, though he forgot "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious."
Yeah, he did. Shame, because he's a really funny writer. Showrunner? Not so much.
ReplyDelete"Homer at the Bat" is my #2. I love everything about it, especially José Canseco furnishing the lady's front yard after rescuing everything from the fire. And Steve Sax, the mur-diddly-urdler.
ReplyDeleteDay 1... never been a big fan of that type of humor (Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad etc...)
ReplyDeletefuck the MacFarlane shows--the Simpson's (at least when they started) where NOTHING like family guy
ReplyDeleteMaybe its just animation comedy in general then... never could get into South Park either.
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure yet when exactly the shark jumping moment was, but I can now safely say that I was incorrect in thinking (like many people, including the poster do) that it was with Who Shot Mr. Burns Part II, because I recently picked up Season 7 (which begins with the aforementioned episode), and it is just a non-stop showcase of classic episode after classic episode.
ReplyDeleteNed breaking open the "Emergenc Baptism Kit" + pressing the foghorn button for it to play "Hallelujah" = Spit Take.
Fav episode is def. Last Exit to Springfield, with Bart the Daredevil, Marge Be Not Proud, Marge vs. the Monorail, and Homer at the Bat close behind.
ReplyDeleteDENNAL PLAN!
LISA NEEDS BRACES!
And the "Batman" parody always kills me.
fine, but "animation comedy" is not a "type of humour"
ReplyDeleteslapstick, raunchy or situational would be an example of a type of humour
Yeah, I am in complete disagreement with the e-mailer. Season 7 is fucking great and I don't know why some people bitch about Who Show Mr. Burn's, part deux, I loved it.
ReplyDeleteYou are nitpicking, I think you know what I mean. I was going to say animation but I like other animated stuff... but I have just never gotten into any of the primer time adult animated shows (or whatever term you deem correct for them)
ReplyDeleteEven reading that made me lose my shit. Definitely one of my favorite gags.
ReplyDeleteMan! Now I have to edit these, too? I need to renegotiate my contract!
ReplyDeleteReally? I always thought it was exactly the same. Except instead of Bart they had the dog on Family Man. Its why I was never able to get into the show, it was such a blatant ripoff of the Simpsons. I dunno, just my opinion. (And don't get Mr started on South Park which was a clear ripoff of Tailspin. Ugh)
ReplyDeleteI feel like we've done Simpsons very, very recently here.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the QOTD can take a break if we're already repeating ourselves. Maybe it can tear a major ligament and have to miss six months. I just read elsewhere on this blog that doing so can be good for you.
Also, how did Simpsons preclude itself from being the greatest show ever? Obviously it fell off hard, but it still had a solid 10 seasons where it was great. That's more than most shows- even most great ones- get total. This goes back to the whole "ruining your legacy" bullshit.
ReplyDeleteSimpsons can absolutely be included in a "greatest show ever" debate. Even if the quailty fell off, that it has lasted and remained popular for a quarter of a century and going helps, not hinders, it in that debate.
The Simpson's had a heart, Family guy is one giant fart joke filled with unlikable douches
ReplyDeleteand unlike south park (rip off be damned) those unlikable douches aren't funny
I think if I had to choose the greatest episode ever, it would be "Homer's Triple Bypass" in season four. The story is great with such great humor for such a serious subject, and Dr. Nick was great in his first appearance (I think). Most importantly, it involves the entire Simpson family, and despite being a Homer episode, it isn't centered on his dumb antics like most of the later season episodes. I love the conversation Homer has with Bart and Lisa right before he goes in for surgery, with each whispering in his ear what to say to the other.
ReplyDeleteThe best overall season is also season 4. I would say it's the single greatest season of any television show, ever, to be honest. Every episode is five stars.
When did it jump the shark? I don't know. The first crack in the foundation was "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part Two", which was terrible compared to part one and bloated and silly with the Maggie payoff. But there were many great episodes after that. I'd say it was when Mike Scully took over as showrunner, and definitely when Al Jean came back and has never left. The show needs a fresh set of eyes, desperately Plus, many of the writers grew up watching the show. It has lost it's center. But it's still better than 80% of what's on TV nowadays.
Seasons five and six are the best, the David Mirkin years. Season six may be the funniest wall-to-wall Simpsons season ever, with only a few hiccups.
ReplyDeleteI think a recent question was favorite TV show or favorite episodes or something, which obviously led to a lot of Simpsons discussion. I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteMaude was killed off because her voice actor left over pay IIRC.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's a *moment* the show jumped the shark. For me, it was the conversion to "Look who our weekly guest star is THIS episode!!" How many celebrities have shown up in Springfield now? A couple per season is fine, but it seems every episode has some famous person voicing themselves, a fictional character from another property, or a character very similar to themselves.
The show needs more Phil Hartman/Kelsey Grammar/Albert Brooks-type guest stars. They fit into the universe without the character being an expy for the actor.
Great analysis and I too like "Homer's Triple Bypass", but I majorly disaree on Who Shot Mr. Burns Part II. Among other things, it has:
ReplyDelete-Tito Puente's revenge...by song
- Burns was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was then transferred to a better hospital where doctors upgraded his condition to "alive".
-Moe hooked up to a lie-detector (!!)
Also, is Maggie being the culprit a "bad" choice, given the nature of The Simpsons?
Oh, no. Dad's been drugged.
ReplyDeleteI don't pay much attention to season number but it had lost a lot of it's luster around 97 or 98 for me.
ReplyDeleteFaves are mostly your usual suspects - Marge vs Monorail, Whacking Day, Itchy and Scratchy Land, Cape Feare, Three Men and a Comic Book..
And obviously loads more, almost anything from the first few seasons, really.
Daryl Strawberry shedding a single tear because of the taunting crowd is so hilarious. That whole episode is gold, and to think Flaming Moes is right around that same time.
ReplyDeleteI believe Dr. Nick's first appearance was in Season 2, "Bart Gets Hit By a Car." He was a medical consultant of Lionel Hutz.
ReplyDeleteNo, he hasn't.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly have been able to use the fact that Maggie shot somebody before as some funny jokes recently.
ReplyDeleteRon Howards "character" on the show is friggin awesome though.
ReplyDeleteSimpsons has a heart? Where? How do you define heart? Not literally I presume.
ReplyDeletefwiw back when jumpingtheshark.com was still active, i believe the simpsons was one of the shows that had been determined never to have jumped according to fan votes
ReplyDeleteWith the possible exception of 'behind the laughter', I'd say that this episode is the last proper classic before the show fully degenerates into Zombie Simpsons.
ReplyDelete'DENNAL PLAN!
ReplyDeleteLISA NEEDS BRACES!'
*drops a pencil into your butt crack*
The Simpsons IS the greatest show of all time. Sorry, I don't buy the "it went on too long so it invalidates the earlier seasons" argument. No show has ever been better, to me, than the first 11 or so seasons of the Simpsons. Yes, I liked 10.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah there's some great ones. All the major-leaguers in the softball episode, Tony Bennett as the voice of Capital City, Barry White. It's when there's a celebrity in every episode and they're the focus of all promotion.
ReplyDeleteI think the main symptom was when they got the misguided idea that people were watching for the celebrity guest voices rather than characters, jokes, plot or satire. Worse still, they cast celebrities as themselves rather than having them playing actual characters, which almost never happened in the golden years and when it did, it served the plot. The very worst example of this (from the perspecive of an Englishman) was when they wheeled out Tony fucking Blair for a 10 second throwaway spot..
ReplyDeleteWasn't Maude killed off because of some political reason behind the scenes?
ReplyDeleteStill more famous than the ECW one...
ReplyDeleteFor me, Seasons 4-5 was when the show hit it's stride. Mr. Plow....Marge vs. The Monorail....I Love Lisa...Whacking Day.....Cape Feare...Homer Goes to College...Bart Gets Famous...Deep Space Homer. I enjoyed Conan O'Brien's input as a writer with the few episodes that he did. And you find a greater character than This Inanimate Carbon Rod.
ReplyDeleteI see what you did there...
ReplyDeleteEven though the newer seasons are mostly miss, they have gotten away from the oversaturation of celebs as themselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm still sad there wasn't some kind of respect paid to Troy McClure or Lionel Hollins. I'm sure it would've been hard for the writers and actors to do it, but those characters deserved a send off of some sort.
I still don't get why people act like the Simpsons post Behind The Laughter is an abortion. Hasn't the standard ALWAYS been for a cartoon that it needs to not induce self-harm amongst adults while entertaining the kids? Doesn't the Simpsons still achieve both things?
ReplyDeleteIt declined, I get that, but people are acting like The Simpsons doesn't even deserve to be called an average TV show anymore, that the movie was simply atrocious because it couldn't hold a full-length Kamp Krusty's jock and not based on its own merits and thats a load of horseshit. Heck, people even ripped that horse racing episode where they made meta comments that trolled their fanbase. That episode was so far ahead of its time, its scary.
"If that horse loses, we're taking a trip to the glue factory...and he won't get to come."
ReplyDelete"And what if I refuse to lose!" "We'll eat your face!" "My horse must loooooooooooooooooose!"
Those lines kill me every time.
Totally with you on Bart Sell His Soul. Absolutely my favorite episode ever as there are two classic plots on top of the opening bit.
ReplyDeleteSee though, that's the beauty Mike, if you feel like the QOTD is going with some questions you aren't digging, send one in. caliberw@hotmail.com
ReplyDelete40% of the Simpsons has been great. You put that average in any sports and no one is going to consider said person to be great. Just because it's remained popular means nothing. McDonalds has been around for, what, 50 years? That doesn't mean it's one of the greatest restaurants of all time.
ReplyDeleteYou play left-field.
ReplyDeleteYeah?
I play left-field.
So?
Are you better than me?
Well, I've never met you. But yes.
...wait a minute. This sounds like rock and/or roll.
ReplyDeleteThis could flash fry a buffalo in 40 seconds.
ReplyDelete40 seconds? But I want it now.
My favourite one is still the one where Homer becomes the union leader against Mr. Burns- just non-stop gags and hilarious stuff. The best season overall I think is Season 3, though it hit a peak around then and pretty-well maintained it for a full five or six seasons, until the 9-10 stretch when things got weaker.
ReplyDeleteMade up stat!
ReplyDeleteMade up, yes, but acurate. It's been around 24 years, 8 of which have been great. Because let's be honest, most of 10 is lacking, and season 1 was mostly miss.
ReplyDeleteYou can't say "accurate" with words like "made up", "most of" and "mostly miss".
ReplyDeleteThere are still good episodes that come out now. They're mostly miss, but you can't flush an entire season down the toilet without (a) having not seen them and (b) not taking an actual tally of good episodes over the entire run and calculating it that way.
So, not accurate.
What's even worse than that is bringing back lunchlady doris about a decade on from the death of Doris Grau, and giving her to Tress MacNeille. Which leads me onto another point that I don't think gets brought up nearly enough, namely that Tress MacNeille is a TERRIBLE voice actress. Seriously, she has MAYBE two distinct voices that she can do (at a stretch) and yet she seems to have a monopoly, not just on the simpsons, but on nearly every female character on mainstream north American animation. It's something I'll never understand.
ReplyDelete"I am familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda."
ReplyDeleteTo me, "Homer finds a new passion: dusting and polishing mixing boards," redeems anything that anyone could find wrong with that episode.
ReplyDeleteI'm Caliber Winfield, I would think you'd know by now that the laws of man don't apply to me when I delude myself into believing I'm right, even when I don't know what I'm talking about.
ReplyDeleteLionel Hollins?
ReplyDeletemy bad. corrected it.
ReplyDeleteYou've got deflecting accurate criticism with self deprecation down really quite well.
ReplyDeleteSweet merciful crap! jumpingtheshark.com is gone?
ReplyDeleteBoth of these analogies are terrible.
ReplyDeleteIf the average career for an athlete was 4 years yet someone lasted 24 with 8-10 great years, they'd be a first-ballot HOFer. And it's not like the other 16 years have been shit; they've been mediocre at worst with flashes of brilliance. High-quality shows either end early (5-7 seasons) or hang around for 10+ and have the same type of run as the Simpsons (starts slow, hot for several consecutive years, cools down for the rest of the run) in a more condensed timeline.
That episode is The Last Exit to Springfield, which is certainly a favorite amongst this blog, if the other replies are any indication.
ReplyDeleteThis. That's exactly how I felt about Joe Namath's cameo in Season 9. I mean, vapor lock? Really? That's what passes for humor? That episode would've been just fine without him.
ReplyDeleteShe has two go-to woman's voices (Skinner's mother/Mom from Futurama and generic businesswoman/newsanchor from Futurama) but she does a ton of other voices that you wouldn't expect. But they do tend to use those two extremely often.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not nearly as bad as some act, at least from the few I've seen. It's just not anywhere close to the level of greatness it used to be. They set the bar so high, it's doubtful the show can ever achieve it again. But if you lower your expectations from "one of the funniest sitcoms of all-time" and just view it for what it is, it's fine. And I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
ReplyDeleteI bet it was pretty hard for the makers of the show to turn down guests, though. For a long time, it definitely was "a thing" to be immortalized as a Simpsons character. Many celebs thought it was the cool thing to do and even lobbied for it at different times.
ReplyDeleteTrue and I don't necessarily blame anyone for it. The show still makes money, otherwise it wouldn't be on anymore so obviously it hasn't been bad for business.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the movie was pretty good and I didn't even know that people considered it simply atrocious.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it Part II that also had the classic line from Jasper, "You shot who in the what now?"
ReplyDeleteI've agreed with all your comments on this post so far, fyi. Thanks for the response.
ReplyDeleteYou totally need a theme song when coming in to discuss facts and stats. Everyone is in for trouble as soon as you arrive. For some reason the Perry Mason tv show song comes to mind, but I'll leave that up to you.
ReplyDeleteI always knew you were an extremely smart poster and a stand-up guy.
ReplyDeleteyep. tvguide bought it and immediately turned it into a redirect for their site.
ReplyDeleteno archives anywhere and wayback cant be used
lots o' peeps are pissed both at the guy for selling it and for tvguide for shamelessly using it as a redirect
You could fit everyone in American animation in a 2 story house comfortably for a party. I see the same names pop up on everything.
ReplyDeleteTress MacNeille as Daisy Duck is kind of a trip on Micky Mouse Clubhouse.
yep, politics were def involved.
ReplyDeleteshe knew too much
Yeah but you gotta grade on a curve because it was great for at least 8 or 9 seasons, and most "great" shows don't even last that long. Being nearly flawless for almost a decade secures greatness, even after it continues to suck.
ReplyDeleteYknow, I expected more out of The Time Machine Did It. Very funny but kind of unfocused. I felt like it was missing Goerge Meyer doing punch up.
ReplyDeleteIf I could come up with witty one liners, i'd go with The Who from CSI Miami... *puts sunglasses on*
ReplyDeletewhatever season that bret hart was on, the ep after his appearance is where it started to tank.
ReplyDeleteafter that, the staff just didnt care anymore. they knew theyd reached the acme with bret
in fact, matt groening told bret - with tears in his eyes - that he was the best celebrity cameo ever
and bret told matt that the any given ep of the simpsons would make his list of 1001 epsiodes that are better than anything featuring hhh
How about Homer vs. Dignity from season 12? I know a lot of people were really baffled by the whole "panda bear rapes Homer" bit.
ReplyDeleteMod is not a name. Mod is your job description on these threads. Maude is a name. Should clear up the confusion. Ask the teacher's aide for your cookie.
ReplyDeleteSeason 10 is the most notable dropoff but there are some watchable episodes there. Season 11 is pure dogshit though. "Missionary Impossible" is my least favorite episode of all time.
ReplyDeleteI actually defend the newest of new episodes more than most, I feel like they had an upswing sometime around the movie. Not as good as the glory days but no other show has been either. I will say that it really bugs me how tone-deaf they've become to Bart. Bart used to be the center of the show but now due to aging-writers syndrome they don't even understand Bart anymore, and meanwhile Homer is the miscreant child (sorta like how the South Park losers decided Randy Marsh was the center of the show). Lisa and Marge even get more episodes dedicated to them than Bart.
Gimmick theft is a serious crime.
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched a new episode of the Simpsons since ... 1999 I think? So whatever season that was.
ReplyDeleteEven though the Simpsons has declined, it's still better then 95% of the other bullshit that passes for TV these days, and over the last couple years has been a hell of a lot better than Family Guy.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, favorite season would probably be season 6, and I can't even pick a favorite single episode. I guess if I had to make a top it would be "Homer vs. the 18th Amendment", "The Springfield Connection", and the episode where Homer trips balls off the Guatemalan insanity peppers. Also, I think the Great Pumpkin thing from a couple years ago was the best Treehouse of Horror bit ("All pumpkins are racist! The difference is that I admit it."). That or Homer3D.
Lady Gaga on the show represents true, Britney-with-a-shaved-head-attacking-cars-with-umbrellas, rock bottom for the show.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm the only person who dislikes The Mysterious Voyage of Homer. I'm not a fan at all.
ReplyDeleteBy far my favorite episode is The Springfield Connection.
Even when he kicks the tortoise?
ReplyDeleteThe second half of the episode is weird, although I still love it. However, the first half of the episode at the chili festival is some of the funniest shit they've done.
ReplyDeletere: the first point....that is what I think I was thinking of in my other post. But didn't her voice actress ask for something more?
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of like how Sesame Street seems to have guest stars every day now.
ReplyDeleteThe red thing's connected to my wristwatch!
ReplyDeleteNo hustle either, Skip.
ReplyDeleteHomer Loves Flanders has been my fave for years. Homer the Heretic is excellent, as is Homer Goes to College and of course Marge vs the Monorail.
ReplyDeleteRecent episodes have refocused on Bart but they're just rehashing the same storylines. Bart gets a girlfriend, Bart gets in trouble at school, rinse, repeat. And honestly, that's my beef with the last few seasons - they're not bad per se, it's just nothing we haven't seen before.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the hallucination portion, but the rest is classic stuff. Homer vs. Wiggum in the cookoff ("He thinks he's the Pope of Chilitown!") should've been extended for at least another 7-8 minutes. They could've gotten so much out of it.
ReplyDeleteHomer's Triple Bypass is my fave too, right from the Cops in Springfield opening to Homer's fixed ticker trying to beat to the outro theme. My mother had that procedure not long before that ep, it did help me deal with it. Still look forward to watching the new episodes on Sunday nights, loved the old-timey wrestling one from this past season, but hated the online poker one. Anyone watch the Simpsons in another language? It's easier to find in French on syndication now where I'm at, and I do get amused when things get changed (Moe rips his enemies list off Pierre Trudeau instead of Richard Nixon for example).
ReplyDeleteI totally forgot about Homer goes to College that's another classic.
ReplyDeleteNEEEEEEEEEEERD!!! Hey, didja get a load of the nerd?!
ReplyDeleteI'll admit I was a big fan up until the early '00s. I would watch the repeats in syndication almost everyday. But honestly, my favorites episodes were always the early Treehouse of Horror episodes. Dial Z for Zombies, The Devil and Homer Simpson, and Bad Dream House stand among some of the best stuff the show has ever produced, and Nightmare Cafeteria is its own special blend of fucked up. I think I really lost interest in the show when the Treehouse of Horror episodes started tanking really hard somewhere in the early '00s. There was a strong balance between dedication to genre film/fiction (whether it was horror, sci-fi, whatever) and comedy, but somewhere along the way they stopped caring if the episode had anything to do with the horror concept. I mean, Nightmare Cafeteria was funny because it was so fucked up. Bart Simpson's Dracula worked because they had great source material to work from. The more recent stuff, like the Paranormal Activity spoof, just didn't appeal to me either because it was all about the wacky humor or the material they're working with just wasn't strong enough. That problem seems to be symptomatic of larger issues in the show.
ReplyDeleteIf a batter hit for .4 then I'm pretty sure he'd be considered legendary.
ReplyDeleteGenuinely great TV shows are ultimately the ones that know when to end ie. before they become an awful, souless, laugh-free caricature of what they once were.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read the thread (ain't got time for that!), so I'm probably repeating points.
ReplyDeleteThe New York episode was the Shark moment for me. It was the season premiere and I remember watching it and feeling like the tone of the show had changed slightly, but enough that it was noticeable. It also felt like they changed Homer, he went from a loveable jerk/goof to a more mean-spirited one.
I think stuff like the random celebrity cameos aren't that big a deal if they didn't change Homer. But I also don't believe they tarnished their legacy as the Greatest Show Ever with the decline in quality. They put out 5-6 seasons of gold and you can never take that away from them. No show can sustain that level for too long (Seinfeld had about 5 great seasons, Arrested Development had 3/4, Friends was never as funny as those shows).
Yea, this discussion has been played out. I think more wrestling oriented might be kewl.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly don't get enough of that around here :)
ReplyDeleteBasically the simpsons are the ric flair of tv shows. . . perfectly competent with slipping standards in the later years, with occasional brillance to the point that no one would believe its the same person/show that reached such astronomic heights of brillance with a fading physical resemblance. . .oh and cape feare(was that the title? I forget) ftw, that HMS pinafore slays me every time. .
ReplyDeleteCaliber, do you play a character to troll people, or are you really this fucking stupid? Unless you saw an episode where a guy crashed his Vespa, I'm pretty sure you're talking about the episode where Maude Flanders died.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you say shit like you don't have time for trivial things like video games because you're going to be a NYT bestselling author ("Bittorrent for Dummies"),and then you write the most inane fucking drivel. You make fun of mainstream popular shows for " poor writing" but then you write about a person named "Mod". Please just admit you're gimmick poster, it pains me to think you may be serious.
Did anyone ever figure out what really went on there? He's not credited, but it was heavily hyped and he claimed in his book that he appeared. On the commentary for that episode whoever was showrunner (I hate myself for not remembering right now!) said it was really him and Yeardley Smith said "I thought it was Hank?" Meaning Azaria. I think maybe they added a tag after Hart's recording had wrapped and they just had Azaria dub one line in or something.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not in QOTd, but we've scraped the bottom of the bottom of the barrell for wrestling questions regarding most things. Sometimes it feels like friggin' Groundhog Day around here.
ReplyDelete7 is my all around favorite season.
ReplyDelete...Pardon me?
ReplyDeleteFavourite episode is "Homer Goes to College" from Season 5. I stopped watching regularly in Season 11 thanks to "Saddlesore Galactica" (where Homer visits the land of the jockeys). At that point the show was getting ridiculous and stupidly violent. Stuff like the badger in "A Tale of Two Springfields" eating Homer's chest got on my nerves. And they ran those extended music sequences/sight gags into the ground real quick.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some of the newer episodes recently that have played around with the show's format a bit and thought they were decent. Hard to believe it's been on since I was in the sixth grade.
My two favorite episodes are "last Exit to Springfield" and the Sherry Bobbins episode both are funny from start to finish... I also thought last season was actually one of the better seasons in recent memory...
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love that one... Its just classic from start to finish with them pretty throwing everything including: Three great parody songs, Charles Bronson on the Andy Griffith Show "Now I am going to Emmit's Fix it shop, to Fix Emmit," Marge I have been watching women's volleyball... My all time favorite episode by far...
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever read the book "Planet Simpson"? It's a pretty interesting look at the series and its take on pop culture. Though the author often goes on personal tangents ("Wilco is the greatest band of all time and I'm going to devote an entire chapter to talk about it, then loosely compare them to how The Simpsons views indie & corporate relations" "I love Burning Man" "I loved Nirvana & Bill Hicks"), it's a really cool book.
ReplyDelete"From now on, you'll be Homer Thompson at Terror Lake. When I say Hello, Mr Thompson, you'll say Hi."
ReplyDelete"Check."
"Hello, Mr Thompson!"
*silence*
"Remember now, your name is Homer Thompson."
"I got you."
"Hello, Mr Thompson."
*silence*
...
"Uggh, now when I say Hello, Mr Thompson and press down on your foot, you smile and nod."
"No problem."
"Hello, Mr Thompson." *stomps*
...
"I think he's talking to you."
*facepalm*
You know, I saw that episode recently and thought about what a waste it was. Bret had, what, 2 lines?
ReplyDeleteIs that a compliment?
ReplyDeleteThat's it! You've been warned! I'm telling Scott! And if I know Scott like I think I do, I believe he'd love nothing more than getting involved in an internet squabble.
ReplyDeleteI think "jump the shark" is a harsh term. It went from being arguably the best thing in the history of TV comedy (some might argue I love Lucy for laying the groundwork, Andy Griffith, Seinfeld, etc.) to being still better than 90% of the stuff on TV. The level from season 4-9 was just incredible. Now me personally I still enjoyed season 10-16-17 a lot. It has actually been the last 4 years where it is no longer appointment TV (or for the youngsters...DVR TV).
ReplyDeleteWhat is truly frustrating for me is the only station around my area that shows reruns is so damn cheap they purchased a syndication package that only shows reruns from 2009 and onward. I guess I could get Netflix but I honestly don't have the time to watch that much stuff, plus I don't have a smart TV (4 HD tvs, no smart TVs, DOH!!) so I have to drag my laptop around and hook it up to the TV to watch streaming stuff.
Yes.
ReplyDelete