Simpsons 300th Episode

[Jimi]

After watching the very first episode I ever saw, my stomach was actually hurting from laughing. (It was a good episode) But Now, I'm lucky if I gigle!

[Trapezoid]

Yeah, but are you expecting not to giggle? It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts, if you tune in thinking "well... this is gonna suck".

[DGMacphee]

I agree with Chris -- The earlier episodes made me laugh out very loudly (a prime example is the Homer Loves Mindy episode. "I am tired of these jokes about my giant hand. The first such incident occured when...")

Nowadays, I hardly ever laugh.

They just seem like cardboard cut-outs who do thinks completely out of character.

Homer's developed a real attitude too, which I hate.

I remembered at once stage recenlty he was spouting out Rikki Lake-style phrases such as "Eww! Too much in-for-ma-tion!"

The thing was Homer wasn't completely dumb -- just very naive.

Look at an old epsiode I caught recently -- The one where Bleeding Gums Murphy dies:

Lisa: But he was the only person that had the same love for music that I do.
       [Maggie gives Lisa a pacifier]
      Thank you.  Oh, Dad, why did he have to die?
Homer: Well, it's like the time that your cat Snowball got run over.
Lisa: Uh huh.
Homer: Remember, honey?
Lisa: Yeah.
Homer: What I'm saying is, all we have to do is go down to the pound and get a new jazzman.
Lisa: [wailing] Oh, Dad!  [weeps]
Homer: Oh, I blew it again.
       [Maggie gives him a pacifier]
      What?  [sucks on it] Mmm...

Compare that to this sence from the episode where Homer gets a crayon removed from his brain (but buts it back inside to become normal again):

Marge:   Sweetheart, the missing crayon could be anywhere.
   [Homer crashes through the living-room window]
Homer:   Who wants lottery tickets.  [holds up two fistfuls of
   tickets]
Marge:   [resigned] Okay, it's in his brain.  [leaves]
Lisa:   Dad, how could you?  We were connecting in such a
   meaningful way.
Homer:   We were what-what in a what-what?



Also, while I was reading through this episode, I found one of the worst setups for the series.

Homer:      There's a crayon in my brain?  [points to his chest.  
      The scientist relocates Homer's hand to his head]  
      But I've had thousands of head X-rays.  How come no
      one ever noticed this before?
Hibbert:   Oh, I can answer that.  You see, whenever I picked
      up an X-ray, I'd always hold it like this.  [picks
      up Homer's X-ray photo to demonstrate.  His thumb
      falls right where the crayon would be]  My thumb
      must've covered up the crayon every time.  
      [chuckles] I'll show myself out.  [leaves]

I think the writers can show themselves out.

[Trapezoid]

All of those examples were funny, though. The first example was different, of course, but I can accept both levels of humor easily.

[DGMacphee]

The thing is, Trap, I had to SEARCH through the entire Crayon episode transcript to find that little piece -- the rest of it was fairly dull and stupid.

[remixor]

I think the writers can show themselves out.

I'm with you there.  As you mention, Homer in particular has become so gimmicky, stupid, and self-centered to the point of callousness that the whole show, which has other problems as well, is just more difficult for me to watch.

EDIT: I forgot to mention something.  I also agree about the episode setups (that crayon one was terrible).  The thing is, most of the older episodes didn't really NEED these ridiculous setups because the stories were more self-contained and didn't require such extraneous plot elements.  The crayon episode is a pretty conservative example compared to a lot of the recent episodes.

[Trapezoid]

Ya know, back in the internet's Glory Days*, people weren't compelled to complain so much.


*for future reference, Glory Days inevitably means the past.

[remixor]

But in the glory days, there were less people to complain about  

[Las Naranjas]

Although the new episodes in quality of humour can in no way compare with the echelons of it's heyday (and this isn't just nostaligia, since I watch repeats at 6 every day, as DG does [I assume] and episodes I watch for the 10-15 th time still make me laugh out loud), the new episodes can at least make me grin at least once.

I've never so much as lifted a lip except in a sneer at shows like Friends. I can in no way understand how that show is as successful as it is.

[DGMacphee at work]

Although the new episodes in quality of humour can in no way compare with the echelons of it's heyday (and this isn't just nostaligia, since I watch repeats at 6 every day, as DG does [I assume] and episodes I watch for the 10-15 th time still make me laugh out loud), the new episodes can at least make me grin at least once.

I've never so much as lifted a lip except in a sneer at shows like Friends. I can in no way understand how that show is as successful as it is.

Aye, I still watch some repeats -- Not as much as I used to because after you've watched them for the 15th time, you start to predict what happens very easily.

Ironic -- I can remember the lines from hundreds of classic episodes of the Simpsons, but I can never find my keys when I want to.

But there are some scenes that still do make me laugh out loud!

Especially that take-off of the Flintstones' intro where Homer hits a chestnut tree.

And Friends is pitiful: get six stereotype stock sitcom characters and put them in New York -- Hmm, that's pretty much most sitcoms!

[Femme Stab Mode >:D]

I like the simpsons songs.

Some men hunt for sport
Others hunt for food
the only thing I'm hunting for
Is an outfit that looks good...
See my vest see my vest
it's a real gorrila chest....

[Adamski]

The best example of how bad the show is now is the episode Gump Roast. The introductory gag is a 'parody' (spit the word) of Forrest Gump, with a feather gliding down. It reaches Homer (who's sitting on a bench dressed as Forrest) who sees it and goes 'aaaah'... to which the end of the feather gets stuck in his eye. Cue a moment of flailing around with Homer going 'argh agrh argh'... proceeding to pull the feather out of his eye which immedietly gets stuck IN HIS OTHER EYE!!!!!!!!


Danny, go fetch my gun...



edit: It's worth pointing out that this particular episode is a clip show, and consists of a lot of 'classic' moments that is embarrasing to watch with the more recent clips and filler material (Homer gets drunk and insults some random man!!!! Bwahahahahaha!

...

)

[Las Naranjas]

It had a picture of Homer jumping the shark in the credits.

The writers know it's gone downhill.

[Trapezoid]

I really truly think if something like that happened in season 3 you'd think it was "classic".
The viewers have changed more than the show.

[Las Naranjas]

I agree I have changed, since I laugh at things in the old episodes that I didn't get when I was 10.

But you can't do that with 2 dimensional new episodes, unless you count gratuitous or obscure pop culture references.

And self referencing is most evident in a decadent series.

I still watch the new episodes and hope that it'll be funny. I go in each week with a open mind. It's improved marginally sometimes, but the objectivity I attempt to give it still leads me to a conclusion.

And jeez, there's no smae in it. It had happen after 8 seasons what most have after 2. But no matter how bountiful you mango tree is, there comes a day when the fruit stop coming as sweet.

[Pumaman]

Trap, I understand the point that you are trying to make, and if you still find the show funny then I'm glad there's someone that does.

I'm not claiming that all the old episodes were perfect. There are some old episodes which I find incredibly boring, and some which just aren't funny, but on average the quality was much higher - particularly with the subtle satire.

It is undeniable that the show has gone downhill - I read an interview with one of the writers of the latest series, who admitted that he hadn't watched the show before he started work; and the executive producer was admitting that the show had got a lot more gimmicky and Homer too stupid, though I think he called it 'evolving'.

Even Matt Greoning said that he would like to end the show now - but Fox just keep it going because it makes them money, and if they're prepared to pay for new episodes, there are people out there who are prepared to write them.

Dark Stalkey's example about the feather in the eye is exactly the sort of thing we're talking about - the Simpsons has become a kids cartoon, whereas it used to be a cleverly written show for everyone. Kids watching would enjoy Bart's antics, and adults watching would get all the political satire and social commentary in the programme.


Edit: On a similar note, a programme that is still surprising me is South Park. It tackles world events head on as they happen, and usually makes really interesting points about them. The recent episode on the Iraq War was really good, I thought. Ok, these good episodes are interspersed with sillier random ones, but many of them still manage to make me think 'hmm, yeah, good point' after watching.

[Las Naranjas]

South Park had to evolve as well.

However, whilst a show like the Simpsons had to turn to Absurdist humour when desperate, South Park started off absurdist and that wore out by the third series.

And I though the show was dead then.

But credit to Parker and Stone that they abandoned the absurdist core for a satirical element (with absurdity on the side) and managed to continue it.

[DGMacphee]

Actually, I've noticed this current season of South park (4th) is better than the previous ones -- I've actually found myself laugh out loud now.

I especially like the LOTR take-off, with Butters going "My precious!!!"

[Las Naranjas]

The best part of that episode (at the risk of degenerating the thread into a quotefest) was the following exchange

Other town kids: "I cast a spell on you wizard"
Kyle" "What are you playing?"
OTK: "Harry Potter"
Cartman: "huh, Fags!"

[Trapezoid]

I see what you mean too, CJ. You all dig the more subtle humor, and so do I. I think the show's just a clever now-- only the cleverness is applied to absurdist humor instead of subtle humor. So it's not everyone's cup of tea. I just feel compelled to stick up for it, because (A.) it's taken for granted, most will admit that it's still better than most things on TV, and (B.) I get sick of reading people saying how much it sucks. It seems you can't mention the show on the Net without someone saying it's become crap, and as someone who happens to think that the show still rocks, this ticks me off after a while.
Get my drift?