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Author Topic: The fans vs Ralph Leiberman  (Read 972 times)
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Yardstick2006

Bending Unit
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« on: 01-01-2006 13:20 »

Fout this on www.simpworks.com  and it cracked me up!

Believe it or not, most people out there don't go over a cartoon with a fine tooth comb. The bulk of the audience is usually watching a show (that I spent hundreds of hours making and pouring my heart and soul into) while eating, cleaning the house or taking a dump. If they follow 50% of it I'm lucky. They're happy to be entertained, but they really don't care all that much about it -- if the phone rings in the middle, they'll answer it and miss the two lines that set up the entire plot. So trust me when I tell you that they don't care if we contradict a joke from season one in order to come up with a much needed story at the end of season ten no matter how much uber fans whine about it. Pleasing the uber fan will almost never make a show better, it will just make the episode guides more consistant.

Frank; Funny, I thought pleasing your fans would be your top priority. I guess you know better.

The things uber fans care about are just as unimportant to making a good television show as are the silly things the writers care about (like dragging out a Family Guy joke as long as possible). The uber fan's comments don't really tell us how we're doing, the ratings do that. That's because the ratings tells us how many people are coming back to our show week after week (which we interperet as an overall yes or no vote for the show).

Ed; This guy trusts what ratings say. My Respect for him has dropped to….0.

Frank; I guess he has never heard of Futurama, which got crappy ratings yet is considered to be the smartest shows on TV. And with an ever growing fanbase.

Also, try to understand how difficult it is to be fresh after 17 seasons and 400 shows.

Frank; Take it as a sign, my friend.

Forget about the stories or the jokes, imagine if I asked you to do nothing else but think of a clever episode title 25 times a year for the next two decades. At what point do you think you'd start submitting titles that maybe weren't as clever as those you submitted in years one and two? Now think of each of those titles as a fully realized story that had plot, character, emotion and 100 funny jokes. It ain't easy.

Ed; *mimes playing violin*

Maybe it's time for the Simpsons to be cancelled. Maybe they've done it all. But, since we're playing around with numbers let's look at it this way. What if over the course of the next 25 episodes , the Simpsons writers will produce one or two episodes that are still better than anything else on TV. Isn't it worth the 23 bad episodes to get the two good ones?

Frank; No. I’m not going to sit through half a season of trite just for one good episode.

 I think it is.

Frank; Then you’re an idiot.

 I also think the other 23 won't be all that bad, they just seem bad when compared to the best of the best of The Simpsons. They still have good stories and a lot of good jokes.

Frank; Wow! Your right! Kill The Alligator And Run had a very good story! I guess it does not matter that it is considered to be one of the  worst episodes ever made.

When I wrote my Simpsons episode in season 13 we started with the premise that Lisa starts her own religion. We quickly realized that Bart had already done that and so had Homer. So what seemed like a fun idea had already been done twice. It became Lisa converting to Budhism. Which I think turned out to be a nice episode. but we had to work for it. And now it's a hundred episodes later. A hundred more ideas have been used up. If someone pitches that Marge starts her own religion it's been done three times, not twice.

The uberfans have been whining and complaining about The Simpsons for 10 years and its more popular now than ever. Better ratings, more merchendise. If the writers started changing the show based on the complaints of the internet nit pickers the show would be gone by now.

Ed; If it weren’t for us ‘internet nit pickers’ the show would be gone by now.

The Simpsons writers work hard but you're holding them to a difficult standard -- the great, great work they've already done.

Frank; Just because you have done great work before, don’t mean you have an excuse to pump out trite now.

So, in conclusion, I say to you: Watch shows and enjoy them. But be aware that there are hundreds things going on behind the scenes that mold television shows and most of those are more important than pleasing someone who's not watching.

Frank; I’d like to hear whats more important than making a witty, satirical show with realistic and human characters that you truly care about.


 We try to do our best." 

Frank; Try harder.


  :laff:
Nerd-o-rama

Urban Legend
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« Reply #1 on: 01-01-2006 14:14 »

Yardstick, I'm going to say this as politely as I can.

STOP COPY/PASTING ENTIRE FUCKING ARTICLES.  Please.
tyraniak

Urban Legend
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« Reply #2 on: 01-01-2006 14:27 »

Yeah, especially when you have the website link on the same exact post
Yardstick2006

Bending Unit
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« Reply #3 on: 01-01-2006 14:42 »

 
Quote
Originally posted by Nerd-o-rama:
Yardstick, I'm going to say this as politely as I can.

STOP COPY/PASTING ENTIRE FUCKING ARTICLES.  Please.
Why not?
  :confused:
~FazeShift~

Moderator
DOOP Ubersecretary
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« Reply #4 on: 01-01-2006 15:06 »

We have link threads for that, or just post the link in the appropriate thread.
Melllvar

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #5 on: 01-01-2006 15:45 »

Unless you've typed it out, I ain't reading it.  :p
DotheBartman

Liquid Emperor
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« Reply #6 on: 01-01-2006 19:47 »
« Last Edit on: 01-01-2006 19:47 »

This editorial, sans lame Frank commentary, was (as I understand it) written by Bill Frieberger, who wrote one episode of The Simpsons on freelance, and was posted on Toonzone.  I have no idea who this Ralph Lieberman is and I don't think he exists, at least as a comedy writer.
newhook_1

Urban Legend
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« Reply #7 on: 01-02-2006 00:48 »

Was he the guy who wrote "Pray Anything"?
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