The Simpsons

[007]

I've been watching all the Simpsons lately. I just grabbed them, and I am checking quality & consistency.

A couple of my favorite episodes are :

$pringfield : This is the one where they build the casino. Man it's funny.
("Bart, I don't mean to alarm you, but there may be a boogey-man or boogey-men in the house."--Homer)

The Cartridge Family : This is the one where Homer buys a gun & joins the NRA.
("Waiting period...If I had my gun I'd kill you."--Homer)

What is your favorite episode?

Also, do you think the new Simpsons stuff is washed up?

[larryhead]

Don't know if I have a favorite episode, there are just too many. The end of last season and this new season have been below par though so maybe it's finally run it's course. I'd definately take a new Family Guy episode over a new Simpsons episode.

[withoutcanseco]

it'd odd, cause family guy obviously got its inspiration from simpsons (which got its inspiration from the flintstones)...but now the simpsons is looking more like family guy every episode -- which is a good thing in my opinion.

the last couple of seasons have been sub-par, but i think this season is good so far.

i don't really have a favorite episode. but my favorite season is season 3. i think.

[Diamond Vision]

hmmm...

obviously, The Simpsons has run its course. It's like what, 40 years old now? I think the end of last season was stronger than it's been for a long time. They got some new writers and seemed to have watched some old episodes and reconnected with the roots of the show. For instance- did anyone see the one where Homer blew the family's money on a RV and Marge makes him live in it? I loved that Homer got the thing from the same guy he bought his first one from in the first season. Also, over the past few years they've done a great job bringing in new characters and phasing out tired ones. Gil, the "YYYYYYYeeessss?" guy, Corky on the West Side, and more.

The show is no longer fresh. We all know it. They know it. Everyone knows it. I would gamble the series rarely gets a "new" viewer. It's one of the longest running shows on TV now.. is it the longest running animated series? They have recycled story lines half a dozen times or more. ...but it's still raking in the moo-lah.

The new season is kinda weak, so far. I don't remember what happened last week, but I'm sure I'm going to watch every episode until it's pulled from the air. Watching re-runs on weekdays Joel and I try and name the episode within the seconds of the opening line. I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode and am nerdily proud of that record. The series has a habit of going through phases, though. Does anyone remember a few years ago when the episodes all of a sudden started taking right-turn after right-turn until by the end of actI you weren't sure how you got here from where you started? PowerSauce Bars, The Simpsons Go To Africa, Homer runs a gossip website, just t name a few.

Overall, I think The Simpsons greatly outshines Family Guy. Firstly, sometimes the resolution of the animation in Family Guy is so low, you can see granulations in the lines... Secondly, while the humor is similar, The Simpsons steers their off-color jokes though social comentary to teach us lessons about being better people in the end... or at least to point out a socio-political contadictions. Family Guy's jokes are shrouded in nothing but "Here's a black joke!""Here's a misogynist joke." "Here's a gay joke!" "Here's an alcoholism joke!" "Here's a class joke!" and so on. Admittedly, there are some clever gags; Chris' monkey, the old TV Shows (the funniest joke on the show is when Peter becomes a good piano player when he's drunk but can only play theme songs to cancelled shows), Stewie's latent trans-tendencies... but after the barage of hate I get in the guise of humor in a 20 minute episode, I'm no longer interested. Family Guy is a bad show. Next time you laugh at it, think about why you're laughing. It's not funny.

You might be asking why I watch it if I hate it so. I don't. My parter loves it and never misses an episode. I'm usually reading or playing video games. I'm just grateful that he's not interested in American Dad.

Oh, and I guess my favorites are in 6th/7th season.

Matt Greoning says 6th is his all time favorite.

[withoutcanseco]

wow. you're the first person of i've ever heard of that doesn't like Family Guy. and while I respect your opinion, please respect my opinion that you're an idiot.

[slam]

i can't think of my favorite simpsons episode. just too damn many options. probably from back when conan was still involved with it, though. and it's been weak the last few years, but it's still a far cry better than most any other family sitcom on television.

most any other, i say, because the family guy has totally eclipsed it. sure it's crude, and doesn't wrap things up with a nice little moral lesson in the end, but it's funny. it's not all hate. and it's obvious the writers are all around my age, because they reference the same pop-culture shit i grew up on (snorks, g.i. joe, the keebler elves, etc). and since it came back on tv it's been positively golden. the family guy movie is Amazing.

and american dad is starting to grow on me. it's not excellent, but this season has certainly had it's moments.

now why did nbc move the west wing to sundays at 7? wtf? i thought they wanted me to watch it.

[Diamond Vision]

anyone seen Robot Chicken?

same guys, same references, no discrimination.
check it out.

[withoutcanseco]

what's this discrimination kick, dude? it's a fucking comedy, not hate propoganda. you need to relax.

[Diamond Vision]

That's what you don't get! It is hate propeganda.
It's reinforcing middle-class white male superiority but hero-izing a dullard and subjugating everyone else.

[withoutcanseco]

well that works out good for me, cause i'm a superior middle-class white male.

:huh: but whatever man, you're wasting your time trying to argue about it with me. i love the show. always will.

[larryhead]

It's reinforcing middle-class white male superiority but hero-izing a dullard and subjugating everyone else.

I don't see how this argument can't be applied to the Simpsons as well (Homer?). Besides, Family Guy is hardly 'hero-izing' a dullard... if anything they make Peter Griffin (the dad) look like the biggest ass on the show. And the mom is actually a pretty strong character.. they don't really ever put her down or make her look stupid. I don't know, to me Family Guy is just one evolutionary off-shoot from the Simpsons... it's definately targeted for our generation, but it'll never replace the Simpons because it's cruder and the humor is less accessible to mainstream viewers.

[Hans Brix]

anyone seen Robot Chicken?

same guys, same references, no discrimination.
check it out.


umm.. wow... have you watched robot chicken.... there are plenty of gay jokes/inuendos as well as racial and class specific comedy.(It's just done with old action figures) If "discrimination" is the word that you're choosing to call this, then let's be honest, all these shows have it.

What these shows are doing however, is choosing to make fun of these things, which is a staple of our generation. Shit look at Dave Chapelle's show. They're capitalizing on the fact that we find this stuff ridiculous and funny. Not serious and detrimental to society.

[007]

I've got to jump in on Diamond's side on this one.

Family Guy is occasionally funny, but all in all, I place it in the same category with South Park--mostly childish toilet humor.
Not all that funny. I'm not trying to change peoples minds, but the Simpsons is funny on many levels, while Family Guy is utterly low-brow.

[Diamond Vision]

Thanks, Bond!

[Soul Queen]

I also think the Family Guy SUCKS!

I'm confused on why people like it.? The Dad character is very annoying. I would watch an episode if someone took out a gun and shot his ass down. Maybe we can have his character shot through a cannon into the sun. Up, thats the end of the Family Guy!

But maybe thats a little extreme.

[Soul Queen]

Ooops I forgot. I wanted to talk about the Simpsons...

Season 7, 8 are my fave! The episode Bart of Darkness is really good. Thats when the simpsons get a swimming pool. I love the Halloween episode when Marge computerizes the house. It has Peirce Brosnans voice and it tries to kill Homer. That may be in a later season. But pretty damn funny.



I

[Diamond Vision]

What's the one where Lisa tries on the Country-Western-Octopus suit? that's a hilarious gag.

oh... the bear catcher episode. overall a so-so episode but some really good jokes.

Bart of Darkness is one of my favs, too. I love the play he writes and how Flanders sings "Bringing in the Sheaves" when he's stalking through the house.

[larryhead]

I love the Halloween episode when Marge computerizes the house.

Is that the one where everyone is rendered in 3D? I remember that episode being pretty weird and trippy.

:leaf: :pinkelep: :leaf: :pinkelep: :leaf:

[Diamond Vision]

That's a different one, but also a halloween episode.

In that one homer ends up in a real life "erotic cakes" shop after plunging through a rip in the 3rd dimension.

[Soul Queen]

In the computerized Halloween episode the whole Simpson house is run by a computer. One of the features is that Marge can pick the voice. It makes dinner, cleans the house. umm it has a red light that blinks. (Sorry for the terrible description. It seems I have clarified Nothing!)

The funniest part of that episode is in the end, when Homer gives the Hard Drive to Patty and Selma. It can't self destruct because Patty and Selma have stolen the switch.

[matty]

Some of my favorite Simpsons episodes, in no particular order:

1. The one where Bart leads a team of misfits to retreive the stolen lemon tree from Shelbyville.
2. The one where Homer becomes an astronaut. HAIL ANTS!!
3. The one with Frank "Grimey" Grimes.
4. The one where Millhouse gets cast in "Radioactive Man: The Movie" ("The goggles--they do nothing!")
5. The one where Homer makes the webpage and winds up being kidnapped and taken to The Island! ("Why did you think a giant baloon would stop him?" "Because shut up, that's why!")
6. The one where either Patty or Selma marry Troy McClure and he does the musical version of "Planet of the Apes."

Just a few. There are so many it's hard to remember what my favorites are.

As for favorite characters, I'd have to go with Selma and Patty, Mr. Burns, Grandpa, and Hans Moleman. What's the deal with Hans Moleman? He has the most interesting life of all the characters. He's always got different jobs, he's only 30 years old, he's died about a million times, he's king of the mole people, and god only knows what else is going on. Hans Moleman fascinates me.

[matty]

As for Family Guy, I like it. But then I'm quite low-brow. I like Simpsons and Family Guy equally, in different ways. I think it's very hard to compare the two as far as humor and writing go. Apples and oranges and all that.

[Talking Sandwich]

Moe: Aw, we're going to die and I never tasted cantaloupe.

Krusty: Eh, you didn't miss much. Honeydew is the money melon.

http://static.flickr.com/7/7075034_ee4b479d54_m.jpg

Honeydew is indeed the money melon.

[hotfoot]

One of my favorite episodes is the one where Homer bedomes Mr. Burns' rank money. Carl keeps getting things thrown in his eye.

Family Guy's funny as hell.

[withoutcanseco]

hotfoot you got one of those weird European keyboards or what?

[007]

I agree, Hotfoot. That prank monkey episode is hilarious. That is the same one where Homer dresses in the panda outfit.

[larryhead]

hotfoot you got one of those weird European keyboards or what?

lol


Somebody's been hitting the :leaf: before posting I think. :D

[conguero]

I also like Family Guy and the Simpsons in different ways.

However, I think that the Simpsons has WAY more layers to it's writing and it's animation. It yeilds a lot more references, puns and unintended jokes than Family Guy. I have to say I firmly believe that the writers on the Simpsons are a lot more nerdy (and I mean that in a very positive light) than those on the Family Guy. I can't tell you how may cultural references that would have been lost on me if it weren't for the Simpsons. I reference them either to myself or to others on a daily basis.

And the character development WAS better. Lately the show has revolved too much around Homer and his bufoonery. :homerdro: Season 16 did mark an improvement for the show after seasons 14 and 15 but it's still not on the level it used to be. The jokes in this last season were good but the season was still very homer-centric. I miss characters like Sideshow Bob, Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure (RIP Phil). Also, those still around (ie. Comic Book Guy, Krusty, and even Homer and Bart) aren't being developped with the same loving detail as they were up until rouhghly Season 6 or 7. I just don't feel any empathy for them, especially Homer, in the latest eps. The writers used to show us the lovable and human side of their characters but now it seems those characters have almost been reduced to stereotypes or tired gags.

Also, it seems like the show relies too much on special guests these days. In the earlier shows, they were brought in mainly for special episodes (I'm sure there are exceptions to this). One great example is the star power in Krusty Gets Kancelled: Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, RHCP, Luke Perry, (they even put him in hilariously degrading scenes, a HUGE star at the time on the same network), Hugh Hefner and Elizabeth Taylor!!!! In that episode, the guest stars did not overshadow the story line as in some of the more recent eps. They were quite cleverly written in.

Favorite Eps in no particular order (it's really hard to choose)

*Krusty Gets Cancelled (MATTY, this quote's for you:
<<<"Bart:Hahahaaa... Gabbo's cameraman: Hey boyo, what's so funny? Bart: well, it's...nah, you wouldn't be interested. It's too low brow. Cameraman: No, I'm quite low-brow. Bart: Well, Someone wrote a potty limerick on the men's room wall. Cameraman: THIS I gotta see! -Cameraman runs off.>>>>>

*Kamp Krusty

*The Crepes of Wrath (Bart goes to France. Note: French people ARE NOT like that. But it is damn funny)

*Day of the Jackanapes (Sideshow Bob is paroled and turns Bart into a boybomb
<<<<< Sideshow Bob: Well krusty, this is your Waterloo. Soon you'll be Napoleon Blownapart -Sideshow laughs menacingly. Krusty's lighting guy: "Ugh, terrible" Sideshow: Oh hush up, Leo>>>

*Bart the Daredevil (a good example of how we used to empathize with Homer and Bart, even though they are both dullards in their own ways.)

* Last Exit to Springfield (Homer leads the union to get the dental plan back)
<<<<Lenny: So long dental plan!>>>

*New Kids on the Blecch (the boy band ep)

If you want exhaustive overviews of the references, plot points and behind the scenes facts on the Simpsons, check out:
http://www.snpp.com/

I think I am going to start a thread just for Simpsons quotes sometime soon if it hasn't already been started. I haven't look extensively yet. I think that would be a lot of fun and a nice informal reference.

Cheers!!

[Simolean2]

:cries:

me likey family guy.....

[oldmanindaclub]

one word: Monorail