Topic: Remember when The Simpsons was funny? (Read 12976 times)

Will · « **on:** 30 Aug 2006, 21:37 »

I was watching an early episode today at my friend's apartment, and I forgot how hysterically funny the earlier ones were...last season had its moments, but overall I'd have to say the show is losing steam...

/that's what happens when you've been on the air for 17 seasons!
//the goggles, they do nothing!
///SLASHIES!!!!

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #1 on:** 30 Aug 2006, 21:45 »

I think they are doing the movie to try and revitilize the show and get back some viewers that were stolen by Family Guy, though to me this kind of seems like a sign that they are trying to go out with a bang

KharBevNor · « **Reply #2 on:** 30 Aug 2006, 22:15 »

Some old Simpsons episodes are pretty much some of the funniest things ever. Certainly the best comedy series America has ever produced, imo. Watching The Cartridge Family (The episode where Homer buys a handgun) with a couple of friends and a few beers once nearly killed me through laughter, as we endlessly rewound and watched Moe saying "It could have been a reaaaal ugly situation. But, thankfully, I managed to shoot him in the spine"

Electric Monk · « **Reply #3 on:** 30 Aug 2006, 22:18 »

It's an important and popular fact that shows that suck last longer than quality shows the majority of the time.

See: Firefly v. Enterprise, Spin City v. Sports Night, Futurama v. Simpsons, Friends v. Pretty Much Anything Actually Funny Ever.

Will · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Aug 2006, 22:22 »

I always thought the Frank Grimes episode was great...

rae · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 03:26 »

I still think it's funny.
The gay marriage episode was hilarious though.

Inlander · « **Reply #6 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 06:11 »

The Simpsons has been almost unwatchable for me for several years now. The episode where they went to Africa was the first Simpsons episode I'd ever seen where I didn't even raise a smile, not once. But the decline started long before then. I'm tempted to say that the rot set in after Phil Hartman's tragic death.

Here's the problem as I see it: for a cartoon, it's the strangest thing, but they've lost their comic timing. These days they try to cram too many jokes in, and too many weak jokes at that (maybe that's why?), and there's no time to appreciate them. No time to laugh at them. Compare the rhythm of the recent episodes, to an episode from the golden years - say, the Stone Cutters episode. Or the monorail episode. It's very different.

space_oddity · « **Reply #7 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 06:34 »

I think the show has lost its imaginative spark. Earlier episodes such as the Guatemalan Insanity Peppers classic weren't just hilarious, they were creative, beautifully animated, and meaningful in a completely un-sappy manner. Now that the show has become a tired search for the easiest giggle, it has lost what made it excellent in the first place.

Spinless · « **Reply #8 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 08:30 »

You know Ricky Gervais? That annoying gimp thing with a goatee that think's it's funny but isn't? Over here Sky One hyped that one episode of the simpsons he wrote a LOT. The advertising campaign was pretty huge. I don't really need to say anything about the quality of the episode, you already know everything about it. But that is the moment I vowed never to watch the simpsons on tv ever again. Even before that episode, it was still tolerable. I could idly watch watch it for 20 minutes while waiting for food or something. Even if it wasn't funny.
The characters are not the same characters they used to be.
The jokes are shit and cramped into every possible second of the show.
The script is just lazy. All the dialogue is now just setup for a bad joke.

I remember when I was 8/9 and I use to get excited when a halloween special started. Few years later, I'd groan and watch something else.

nihilist · « **Reply #9 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 08:41 »

I still watch it if it is on, because the timeslot that it fills in is pretty much dead on all other channels. Some of their jokes are a bit deeper now, you have to watch the whole thing to get it, but overall the quality is dropping. Though, you have to admit that the first few years were pretty balls as well. Animation and voice acting was pretty damn low quality. I think it was season four or five that it got pretty good.

a_cannibal_potato · « **Reply #10 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 09:23 »

Quote from: Spinless

You know Ricky Gervais? That annoying gimp thing with a goatee that think's it's funny but isn't? Over here Sky One hyped that one episode of the simpsons he wrote a LOT. The advertising campaign was pretty huge. I don't really need to say anything about the quality of the episode, you already know everything about it. But that is the moment I vowed never to watch the simpsons on tv ever again. Even before that episode, it was still tolerable. I could idly watch watch it for 20 minutes while waiting for food or something. Even if it wasn't funny.
The characters are not the same characters they used to be.
The jokes are shit and cramped into every possible second of the show.
The script is just lazy. All the dialogue is now just setup for a bad joke.

I remember when I was 8/9 and I use to get excited when a halloween special started. Few years later, I'd groan and watch something else.

I loved the earlier Halloween episodes, don't watch much TV these days, i'll keep the better memories of the simpsons close to my heart and avert my eyes from the stuff they play now =[

Spinless · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 10:20 »

Quote from: nihilist

Though, you have to admit that the first few years were pretty balls as well. Animation and voice acting was pretty damn low quality. I think it was season four or five that it got pretty good.

You're one of those people who thinks that graphics make a videogame right?
The only good actors are the really pretty ones?
If a band isn't hyped, they can't be good?

Now, I know that you don't think like that, you're an intelligent guy. But the first season of the simpsons is still a classic. Yeah, it looks and sounds dated, but the stories, the scripts, the humour are all timeless.
I'd have to watch them all again to be certain, but I think the first few seasons were the best.

JLM · « **Reply #12 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 11:28 »

One of the saddest moments of my life was realizing that not only had I missed an entire season of the Simpsons, but that I really didn't care. The writing started to lag a bit in season 11, but picked up for a few years. The past two years, though, have been just dreadful, and the humor, which used to be witty and subtle has turned towards hit you over the head "see you're supposed to be laughing here because it's funny" business. Short of adding a laugh track I don't know how much worse it could get.

nihilist · « **Reply #13 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 12:03 »

Quote from: Spinless

You're one of those people who thinks that graphics make a videogame right?
The only good actors are the really pretty ones?
If a band isn't hyped, they can't be good?

I do believe you missed the "voice acting" bit. I don't give a rat's ass for the script if it is presented in a bad fashion. So yes, the presentation of something does have an impact on the performance.

MatticusPrime · « **Reply #14 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 22:24 »

Quote from: Inlander

The Simpsons has been almost unwatchable for me for several years now. The episode where they went to Africa was the first Simpsons episode I'd ever seen where I didn't even raise a smile, not once. But the decline started long before then. I'm tempted to say that the rot set in after Phil Hartman's tragic death.

I remember the Africa episode specifically as being the one that finally drove me away from the show. I couldn't even feign interest in it after that.

And I miss Phil Hartman and the characters he voiced. Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz were veritable fonts of comedy gold.

Quote from: Inlander

Compare the rhythm of the recent episodes, to an episode from the golden years - say, the Stone Cutters episode. Or the monorail episode. It's very different.

What strikes me about those early episodes is how clearly I can remember them. All someone has to do is say "the monorail episode" or "the Stone Cutters episode" and I can immediately recall most of the jokes, and could probably replay the episode in my head if I thought about it enough. Sometimes the trigger is even simpler: "The goggles, they do nothing!" works just as well.

(Did you know it only just occured to me that Phil Hartman did the voice for Lyle Lanley on the monorail episode? I know it's obvious but for some reason I never made the connection before now.)

Trollstormur · « **Reply #15 on:** 31 Aug 2006, 22:49 »

Quote from: Electric Monk

Sports Night

"I finally get Erin Sorkin's Sports Night... it's a comedy that's too good to be funny!"
"Man, you're tripping."

Electric Monk · « **Reply #16 on:** 01 Sep 2006, 06:59 »

Quote from: Trollstormur

Quote from: Electric Monk
Sports Night

"I finally get Erin Sorkin's Sports Night... it's a comedy that's too good to be funny!"
"Man, you're tripping."

Man, I don't know what that's about. Sports Night was hilarious.

"It's a vicious circle."
"Yep. Just keeps going around and around."
"Never stops."
"That's what makes it vicious."
"And a circle."

"Danny, I've got to talk to you."
"Good, because I've got to talk to you. Who should go first?"
"Well, since I don't really care what you have to say, I think it should be me."

Ozymandias · « **Reply #17 on:** 01 Sep 2006, 07:37 »

"I'm a racist."
"Jeremy..."
"I am, I'm a terrible racist. I think all those people with the funny accents and weird skin color should go back to wherever they came from and leave this country to the people who rightfully stole it from the Indians... which they deserved."
"Jeremy..."
"I'm serious, this country is being ruined by the blacks and the Jews."
"You're Jewish."
"And I have to be stopped."

Yeah, Sports Night was frickin' awesome. Aaron Sorkin's making a new show this season called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I'm hoping it's a lot more SPorts Night and a lot less West Wing.

RylandWB · « **Reply #18 on:** 02 Sep 2006, 14:40 »

I was talking about this very issue on Thursday night and it was about three years ago when I decided I was done watchign new episodes. Thank god the DVDs are being released. It makes it easier than having to find my tapes of them.

JLM · « **Reply #19 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 02:10 »

actually yes. The peson who did the voice for Michael Jackson in that episode was...get this...

Michael Jackson.

According to the commentary, for legal reasons he couldn't use his real name, and he couldn't actually sing, so they hired an impersonator to perform the song. All the spoken dialogue, however, is actually MJ.

Quote from: bachelorchow

also (i dunno how valid this is anywhere else... i'm assuming Australia isn't the only place where trendy guys have started wearing pink tshirts for the last couple years) how good were the days when Homer was labelled insane for wearing a pink shirt. i hate people

I know, right? Remember when it was totally okay to call someone gay for their choice in clothes and have it be derogatory? Man that ruled!

Johnny C · « **Reply #20 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 11:05 »

I think I agree with Nihilist that the show hit its stride around the fourth or fifth season; the first seasons were great but from about 4th til 9th the show's episodes were consistently brilliant.

Mikintosh · « **Reply #21 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 12:03 »

Actually, my favorite episodes were around the 8th through 13th (-ish) seasons; while the stuff before it was hilarious too, I think it hit its maturity around then, and I responded to those seasons a little better. I still think the show's pretty good for one that's been on the air consistently for 17 years, but it'd probably be best for it to go out with a bang as previously said within in the net couple of years.

Just my two cents, while I can see how people can be Futurama fans, anyone who says it's better than the Simpsons can't have seen enough of the later, 'cause it's a lot more consistent.

Will · « **Reply #22 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 12:14 »

I don't necessarily say that Futurama is better than the Simpsons, but I like Futurama more...for some reason it just makes me laugh more than The Simpsons did; I'll laugh at the same Futurama episode I've seen 30 times before, and it's just as funny...some of the Simpsons - especially the later episodes - start to wear out their hilarity after a few viewings

happybirthdaygelatin · « **Reply #23 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 13:35 »

Wait a minute. Did someone a couple posts back in this thread say the Simpsons was trying to cash in on Family Guy? That is utter shit.

I agree that the Simpsons has peaked and has not been as funny but weird random one-ff was done first and best by the Simpsons.

ALoveSupreme · « **Reply #24 on:** 03 Sep 2006, 14:03 »

Brilliant in its hayday, pathetic and unwatchable for at least 6 or 7 years now.

Inlander's second paragraph towards the top of the thread put it perfectly, and the comment about "hey, this is the joke now you should be laughing" was dead on as well.

Merkava · « **Reply #25 on:** 04 Sep 2006, 15:35 »

Quote from: happybirthdaygelatin

Wait a minute. Did someone a couple posts back in this thread say the Simpsons was trying to cash in on Family Guy? That is utter shit.

I agree that the Simpsons has peaked and has not been as funny but weird random one-ff was done first and best by the Simpsons.

Actually, I think the Simpsons has been trying to be Family Guy for the last few years. It was pretty obvious to me. The jokes have all become "witty" one-liners that were not the focus of earlier seasons. The problem is FG still maintains characters, while Simpsons makes every character a would-be sharp, intelligent commentator. It's pathetic. It's lame. FG does it better.

Sure, earlier Simpsons had some one-liners, but the writing stretched beyond that. The writers knew how to write for the characters, not for the lines.

Ok, so FG copied the Simpsons format and main character archtypes, but they were supposed to. They decided that they would have to make fun of the Simpsons amidst the rest of the pop-culture references. And wait, didn't the Simpsons kind of copy the nuclear family shown in many shows before it in an effort to satirize that? And doesn't Homer work at a Nuclear power plant?

!CONSPIRACY!

TheBoredOne · « **Reply #26 on:** 25 Nov 2006, 11:46 »

I .. love the Simpsons. I make a point to watch it every Sunday.
Recently though I have noticed it's not as funny as it used to be.
It's also not as insightful either.
I can't imagine it not being on though. O.o that would be terrible.
Just please.. *please*.. make them stop doing episodes about someone taking credit for everything, even though someone else actually helped, or did all the work.

Homer took credit for Marge's handicrafting,
Moe took credit for the title of the poetry which Lisa actually thought of.

I can't think of any more off the top of my head, but I'm positive there've been more.

Otherwise I still love the show. Its tribute to Loony Toons recently was really funny

They should be more insane more often o.o

Thrillho · « **Reply #27 on:** 29 Nov 2006, 22:23 »

Here are my reasons why The Simpsons sucks now:

- Any character will do anything for the sake of a joke, including Marge who is meant to be level-headed.
- Lisa is simultaneously an immature kid and a ridiculously mature busybody. Why the fuck?
- There was a gag where Homer lists all the jobs he's had, and repeated jokes about whether he even works at the power plant any more. This makes a good point; The Simpsons has a cast of hundreds, and every last damn character - excluding those played by Phil Hartman, which were funny right up to their last appearances - is completely tired. They've introduced new characters in the last few years - i.e. the YEEEEES guy - which were funny briefly, but they're just bit-part stereotype characters who don't work any more.
- Homer continually makes horrible, horrible decisions. Earlier on it was funny because he was dumb. Since about season 12 it's been getting more and more psychotic, to the extent that Marge should have left him and taken the kids with her. Seriously. The fact that in a poll a few years back Americans voted him as the best role model on TV or some shit makes me want to vomit.
- Most of the episodes are either woefully short of gags, or crammed full of them, none of which are funny anyway.
- Even the episodes where they are taken out of context - i.e. the Hallowe'en specials which used to be the saving graces of the Simpsons because they could do whatever the hell they liked - are terrible now. My example is the 16th Hallowe'en special, which had about one good joke.
- Is Bart a good brother or a bad brother? Is he a wanker, or is her caring? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS OR CARES ANY MORE?
- Family Guy has upped the ante - Family Guy is also shit by the way - by being as offensive as possible. Now the Simpsons has to try this as well, and it doesn't work.
- They have ridiculous celebrity guest spots in almost every episode now. In the first few seasons, not only were the guests written better - i.e. George Harrison, those nine baseball players - but they were irregular and a novelty. Now, they're terrible in almost every instance. Exhibit A: Ricky Gervais. Are they so short of ideas that they have to get him to write an episode? Exhibit B: Metallica. About one line each. Totally irrelevant to the storyline.
- Here's another reason they suck - Matt Groening badmouths the Simpsons DVD commentaries on the Futurama DVD commentaries. Futurama being the better show (post-season 6).

I could go on.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #28 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 02:33 »

Everyone keeps forgetting to mention another thing that SUCKS ASS about the Simpsons: the constant, unnecessary MUSICAL NUMBERS in every show these days.

I saw a newer one which was a play off of Pygmalion in which Groundskeeper Willy is made into a gentleman after his shack is destoyed and he moves in with the Simpsons. Not only should that episode description make steam issue from your ears, but imagine one of the STUPIDEST attempts at a song I have ever heard, anywhere. Utter shit.

The Simpsons is like that pet people have that was cute and fun years ago, but now it just will not die, but the people who own it feel too bad about it to kill it. That is The Simpsons.

SeanBateman · « **Reply #29 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 13:13 »

God I hate the simpsons backlash more than I hate anything else

Gutter Monkey · « **Reply #30 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 13:42 »

I've hated the Simpsons for a while now. I saw every single episode up to season 11 or so, and after that I realized...wait a minute, this show sucks! I think you can date the moment of the Simpson's fall to when most of their good writers jumped ship to go work on Futurama.

The Futurama is dead! Long live Futurama!

SeanBateman · « **Reply #31 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 15:16 »

When Futurama comes back, if it comes back, and I think it is coming back, no matter how good it is, 25% of people who were excited about its return will immedeatly be on the internet bitching about how the new seasons do not really reflect the genius of the old seasons, and it is trying to hard to be ____ and argh agh ugh blegh we all have huge dicks up our asses and refuse to just enjoy things shit

audrey · « **Reply #32 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 15:48 »

Homer has become crappy.
He used to think he was smart, and it was funny to watch him acting like he knew everything even though he didnt.
Now he kind of realises he is dumb.
Its that self-awareness that wrecked it for me.

Guardian 452 · « **Reply #33 on:** 30 Nov 2006, 16:51 »

It's sad really how this great show has fallen. I remember a few years back I couldn't wait for the new Simpsons' season to start. I'd actually be a little upset if I missed a new episode. Now I don't even care anymore. Every now and then I'll catch one of the new episodes and once in a while I might smirk a little, but that's about it. Oh how I pine for the olden days of when Bart wasn't such a wuss and Homer's stupidity was whimsical and not so childish and revolting. Of when Homer and Marge didn't have marriage problems every other episode and Lisa was more useful than annoying.

ScrambledGregs · « **Reply #34 on:** 01 Dec 2006, 04:41 »

Quote from: Genocide Jones on 30 Nov 2006, 15:16

When Futurama comes back, if it comes back, and I think it is coming back, no matter how good it is, 25% of people who were excited about its return will immedeatly be on the internet bitching about how the new seasons do not really reflect the genius of the old seasons, and it is trying to hard to be ____ and argh agh ugh blegh we all have huge dicks up our asses and refuse to just enjoy things shit

That may be true, but I think a healthy number of those people may actually feel the new episodes aren't as good. I don't think it's ALWAYS a knee jerk reaction.

Funnily enough, I think South Park has only gotten better with time. But that's a whole 'nother thread.

Merkava · « **Reply #35 on:** 02 Dec 2006, 07:17 »

Quote from: DynamiteKid on 29 Nov 2006, 22:23

Here are my reasons why The Simpsons sucks now:

- Any character will do anything for the sake of a joke, including Marge who is meant to be level-headed.
- Lisa is simultaneously an immature kid and a ridiculously mature busybody. Why the fuck?
- There was a gag where Homer lists all the jobs he's had, and repeated jokes about whether he even works at the power plant any more. This makes a good point; The Simpsons has a cast of hundreds, and every last damn character - excluding those played by Phil Hartman, which were funny right up to their last appearances - is completely tired. They've introduced new characters in the last few years - i.e. the YEEEEES guy - which were funny briefly, but they're just bit-part stereotype characters who don't work any more.
- Homer continually makes horrible, horrible decisions. Earlier on it was funny because he was dumb. Since about season 12 it's been getting more and more psychotic, to the extent that Marge should have left him and taken the kids with her. Seriously. The fact that in a poll a few years back Americans voted him as the best role model on TV or some shit makes me want to vomit.
- Most of the episodes are either woefully short of gags, or crammed full of them, none of which are funny anyway.
- Even the episodes where they are taken out of context - i.e. the Hallowe'en specials which used to be the saving graces of the Simpsons because they could do whatever the hell they liked - are terrible now. My example is the 16th Hallowe'en special, which had about one good joke.
- Is Bart a good brother or a bad brother? Is he a wanker, or is her caring? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS OR CARES ANY MORE?
- Family Guy has upped the ante - Family Guy is also shit by the way - by being as offensive as possible. Now the Simpsons has to try this as well, and it doesn't work.
- They have ridiculous celebrity guest spots in almost every episode now. In the first few seasons, not only were the guests written better - i.e. George Harrison, those nine baseball players - but they were irregular and a novelty. Now, they're terrible in almost every instance. Exhibit A: Ricky Gervais. Are they so short of ideas that they have to get him to write an episode? Exhibit B: Metallica. About one line each. Totally irrelevant to the storyline.
- Here's another reason they suck - Matt Groening badmouths the Simpsons DVD commentaries on the Futurama DVD commentaries. Futurama being the better show (post-season 6).

I could go on.

Win.

camelpimp · « **Reply #36 on:** 02 Dec 2006, 09:21 »

Quote from: DynamiteKid on 29 Nov 2006, 22:23

- Lisa is simultaneously an immature kid and a ridiculously mature busybody. Why the fuck?

To be entirely fair, she's always kind of been like that. In the earlier episodes she's really quite immature and often willing to go along with Bart's plans. Then again, in earlier episodes she was less precious. Really, she was more like a goth/emo kid now that I think about it.

Thrillho · « **Reply #37 on:** 02 Dec 2006, 19:04 »

I withdraw that one point from the 6000000 point list I could make.

Abattur · « **Reply #38 on:** 05 Dec 2006, 21:41 »

It was funny?

TheBoredOne · « **Reply #39 on:** 07 Dec 2006, 21:23 »

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Remember when The Simpsons was funny? (Read 12976 times)

Electric Monk

space_oddity

Spinless

nihilist

a_cannibal_potato

Spinless

nihilist

MatticusPrime

Electric Monk

RylandWB

Merkava

ScrambledGregs

SeanBateman

Gutter Monkey

SeanBateman

audrey

Guardian 452

ScrambledGregs

Merkava

camelpimp