The Simpsons

fully expect everyone to gradually die off/get fired at which point show will be entirely automated/AI-script driven

they must easily have enough voice samples of the cast on file for every possible eventuality, and god knows the scripts have felt computer-generated for years at this point, so it's gonna happen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xbyJGM1iUY

I've been listening to too much Chapo Trap House, they've referenced that gag many times

i think it would have been interesting if the characters were permanently stuck in the late 80s

― Karl Malone, Wednesday, August 30, 2017 10:39 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

iirc Homer is supposed to be 38 years old, so he is now p much a millennial

gah

Does anyone here still watch the Simpsons? I haven't seen a full episode since the end of season 10. I still really liked most of season 10, just stopped watching due to life reasons, mainly. I've subsequently heard most people say season 10 was the last good season. Either I was really lucky in choosing when to stop, or my post-season 10 perception is wrong.

So I guess my question is, when did the show reaaalllly fall off the cliff? Season 11, 12, later? I own seasons 3-10 on DVD. I'm going to start re-watching them soon, as it's been many years since I've last done so.

Here's what you missed

Lisa Simpson was killed by a massive brain hemorrhage after being struck in the head by a "non-lethal" round fired by a private security firm during a protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline in early 2016. Her death was ruled "accidental." She didn't vote.

— Jacob "Blockchain" Bacharach, LLC (@jakebackpack) February 22, 2018

I think the season 13 dvd set was when I realised, "This is actually a chore, I am not going to buy these anymore."

I've watched a few new episodes recently and imo the show is slightly less terrible than at its nadir (which I'd say was about 10 years ago) but also feels even more disconnected from 1990s Simpsons, it's just like a generic comedy cartoon now. the best jokes in the new episodes are generally bits that don't include any of the regular characters or anything specific to The Simpsons, the fact it's The Simpsons is now actively an impediment to it being any good

really weird to think that, with more than 600 episodes of the simpsons out there, i've probably seen less than half of them and that while a decent chunk of those episodes are some of the best tv ever made, i have no desire to seek out any of the ones i've missed out on

can't think of any other tv show that has that distinction

Last of the Summer Wine is the only thing I can think of with a similar ratio of great/terrible episodes

hmmm

1998, for me, was the last season with good episodes outnumbering bad; so I like to imagine that it was canceled that year out of respect for the memory of Phil Hartman.

that's one of those challops which might actually be true but which no force on earth could conceivably make me attempt to verify or refute xxp

looking again at the number of epiosodes, the % of Last of the Summer Wine that's good is probably lower than the % of The Simpsons that's good (though this will surely change if they keep making new episodes of the latter for much longer) but seriously, Last of the Summer Wine was great, certainly until Michael Bates left, and if they'd stopped it after 12 episodes or something they did with Fawlty Towers and Porridge etc then I think people would regard it as up there with them in quality.

I used to be of the opinion that it didn't matter that they kept making The Simpsons long after it stopped being funny rather than cancelling it, that the good episodes were still good so what was the problem, but it's annoying that whenever I see it on TV there's now a 70% chance that it will be one of the bad episodes. why do they even bother repeating the new episodes? just repeat the 90s episodes on a loop

soref pretty otm there. I catch an episode or two each year and they're honestly not all that bad, but they're definitely better when they're not actively trying to appeal to the old fans by bringing back one-off characters from 20 years ago. it plays like Simpsons fan-fiction now and I think the same exact crew making a totally different show would probably be a lot better, but what can ya do

last new Simpsons i saw was a retro episode where they actively ruined a beloved episode from the earlier seasons. "Kamp Krustier" revisited the season 4 episode and had a storyline about Bart & Lisa having PTSD from the experience. it was needless, unnecessary, unfunny, and ultimately pointless (the source of their PTSD was seeing a kid die, and it goes away when they realize it never happened).

i caught another new episode and in it Homer became a rap mogul and was also paired with a pet goose and the whole thing was embarrassing and tryhard

the movie was good tho. last decent thing they did

It's so ridiculous to me how easy it would be to make and market an amazing Simpsons season in the "peak TV" era.

Maybe there's just some sort of contractual deal to keep things cheap/easy/uncomplicated or some bureaucratic reason the wrong person or persons is in charge of the wrong thing or things. Ultimately, who cares tho

We dooo. We dooo.

The History of Hans Moleman:

https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/hans-moleman-simpsons-character-al-jean.html

liquors drunkened me

Jesus christ this "addressing the racism of Apu" episode is fucking painful

And racist

^^Speaking of...: https://www.thewrap.com/hank-azaria-wont-voice-apu-anymore-on-the-simpsons/

Pretty accurate.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/simpsons.jpg

Wish they'd done a few more characters (Flanders, Frink). It's been so long since I watched, I don't recognize the top middle guy.

I cannot for the life of me stop watching this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb574xupgNQ

idgi

is that a VR warp

amazing

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/the-simpsons-white-actors-characters-of-color

Come for the episode review, stay for the oddly monotone socialist tract:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P40sJOkxnac

xp How about they fire the people who defended that shit in 2018?

i like renegade cut's video on left behind.

like matt “friend of epstein” groening? good idea

https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/ae069e13

nice find, i'm getting some good ones

https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/d3574cdc
https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/c0dab63a
https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/5e80fce7

https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/677b1fdf

how I feel

https://www.thisfuckeduphomerdoesnotexist.com/p/p/15b7a155

something profoundly wrong about this, imo they should have had the characters age in real time a la Doonesbury or Gasoline Alley, Homer should be pushing 70

Homer was now a teenager in the late 90s, meaning his hypothetical birthday is later than Bart's was at the start of the show.
Homer is now younger than Bart.
HOW LONG CAN THEY KEEP IT UP THO pic.twitter.com/Ux85l8atbF

— Caleb (@NessMudkip) March 12, 2021

I think certain long-running newspaper cartoon strips are maybe the closest equivalent to the Simpsons in terms of things that were brilliant at one point, but then stagger on zombie fashion for decades afterwards - maybe the Simpsons will eventually get its own version of that woman who made Nancy good again?

(though the zombie newspaper comic strips are sometimes more interesting than modern Simpsons because they become focused on one weird crochety old cartoonist's various obsessions and quirks rather than being produced by committee)

i'd say the most likely return of "good simpsons" would be a spin-off focused on a single character that could exist outside of canon and the rules of the show and follow a single creator/pair of creators vision with a different art style. I don't know how many years away from that we are, maybe when they have to change the voice actors.

Yeah I mean South Park is also in this situation, it’s on like Season 26 or something but it’s never had an extended run that was particularly good or bad. The problem the Simpsons has is it’s been so mediocre for so long that everything after Season 8 or 9 just doesn’t register, so like if you go on Bortposting it’ll only be references to 25 year old episodes, because they just assume everyone stopped watching after that.

That said if they got a decent writing staff nobody would care but idk how many talented tv writers would want to work on the Simpsons right now

every sitcom writing class ever involves the room collaboratively writing an episode of the simpsons afaict so i think literally anyone could do it

agreed that... why would Fox change the formula now? the ratings have been in slight decline, but to me more remarkably steady for the past 20 years
https://www.ratingraph.com/tv-shows/the-simpsons-ratings-3857/

Awesome.

Holy shit, John Swartzwelder has given an actual interview. "Assembling a writing staff for a new show is difficult to do, because you’ve got to find people who are great at their jobs but who can’t find work anywhere.” https://t.co/XiJpzfI6i7

— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) May 2, 2021

Words to live by: "Write what makes you laugh. At least you’ll get a laugh out of it."

would love to read the Swartzwelder Fearless Fosdick script.

prob done on the back of the Dick Tracy movie's success? Yeah, i would've loved to see that too.

the all ighty ollar

we did a mini Treehouse of Horror marathon over the Halloween weekend, some of those were really great!

yea I've been watching them too, I remember them pretty well (I think I had like 6 of them recorded on VHS) but since they aren't in regular rotation during the other 11 months I don't see them often. I'm surprised at how fast paced they are. some of those scripts are super tight almost to the point where the plots make zero sense, not that this really matters

even with the seasons i dont like, i find i can always enjoy the treehouse of horror eps, bc being highly compressed, zany, nonsensical, and meta is part of the blueprint for those vs being an unfunny annoyance in the 'normal' eps