At Long Last Leave! - The Simpsons

[Reply #320 on:]

I noticed a possible reference in two season 1 episodes. Could be a coincidence, though.

In 3rd episode (Homer's Odyssey), Mrs. Krabapple warns pupils in bus:
"Now class, remember, don't stick any part of your body out the window. We all know the tragic story of young man who stuck his arm out the window and had it ripped of by big truck coming from other direction."

And in 5th episode (Bart the General), Herman tells Bart, why he has no arm:
"My arm? Well, let me put it this way: next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you'll do it."

Definitely a coincidence. Originally their plan with Herman was for him to give a different story as to how he lost his arm every time he showed up.

[Reply #321 on:]

Really, a coincidence? I find that surprising because I've noticed that reference every time I've watched season one and I've always assumed it to be fully intentional. In fact, until Quantum just pointed out both lines were in separate episodes, I thought I remembered them as being in the same episode since I always related them to each other in my mind. Herman's line just seems to be such an obvious callback to Mrs. Krabapple's warning that I never even questioned whether it might be a coincidence. I don't really see how what you said was the writer's original plan would automatically mean that specific line couldn't still have been a callback.

[Reply #322 on:]

It may have been (keep in mind, Simpsons episodes very rarely air in the order they were made) and I can't dispute the theory beyond what I stated earlier, but either way, Herman's line was the set up to a running gag they never followed through on. Even in its early days, The Simpsons was never the show to do callbacks/callforwards to other episodes so close together.

[Reply #323 on:]

If it was to be a running gag, callback is not that probable then, but it could be both as well (those were in production order too). Also, since it's not very trivial joke/thing to say, they could have used it subconsciously twice. That should be a good compromise to this.

[Reply #324 on:]

Also, Herman has had a couple of other explanations since as to why the lack of arm, although not one every episode, obviously.

[Reply #325 on:]

I hate when uber fans try to defend the current show by saying something along the lines of "It's still better than 90 percent of everything else"

Agreed.  It's not hard to be better than Dancing with the Stars, America's Idol Wants to be a Millionaire, Fake Romance the Bachelor(rette), Play Games Survivor, or that shitty show about the dance girls.  I'd rather not watch television at all if this is the comparison we have to make. 

That said there are legitimately well written series, and a few one season shows that are interesting to indulge in for a few minutes.

[Reply #326 on:]

"It's better than 90 percent of everything else" was applicable back when tv was complete horse shit for the most part, and The Simpsons was still tolerable as opposed to being actively bad. But fuck, we've been in what many have called "the golden age of tv" for a few years now, I don't even think that 90% figure would be right given just how many great shows are on the air now.

[Reply #327 on:]

Ya, even if you don't take into account all the amazing dramas on TV right now, in the comedy department alone there are plenty of shows that are loads better than current Simpsons. Louie, Bob's Burgers, Archer, Parks And Recreation, Community, Arrested Development, The Venture Bros., South Park, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Tosh.0, Workaholics, Portlandia, Futurama, American Dad, and even Family Guy are all still way funnier than new Simpsons.

[Reply #328 on:]

For me, that phrase is entirely synonymous now with "this show sucks now and we all know it" I hate hearing it even if I'm a fan of whatever show it is.

[Reply #329 on:]

Ya, even if you don't take into account all the amazing dramas on TV right now, in the comedy department alone there are plenty of shows that are loads better than current Simpsons. Louie, Bob's Burgers, Archer, Parks And Recreation, Community, Arrested Development, The Venture Bros., South Park, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Tosh.0, Workaholics, Portlandia, Futurama, American Dad, and even Family Guy are all still way funnier than new Simpsons.

I agree with most of the shows, but Family Guy and Tosh.O? No.

[Reply #330 on:]

Even Family Guy, in the state that it's in now, pisses all over contemporary episodes of The Simpsons.

[Reply #331 on:]

I think it's even worse when you realize when the show started going downhill, there were still plenty of better shows on Fox alone, let alone on other channels

[Reply #332 on:]

Even Family Guy, in the state that it's in now, pisses all over contemporary episodes of The Simpsons.

Ehh, I'm a VERY loyal tv viewer (hey, I still fucking watch The Simpsons), but Family Guy is the only ever show that became so bad I stopped watching. I still remember the episode: Patriot Games. Since then, I've probably seen maybe 3 or 4 (just on at friends' houses and so-forth) and I'm glad I gave up on it. While both shows may be bad, Family Guy is bad in a really trashy, lowest-common-denominator kind of way, which is considerably worse in my opinion.

I agree with MOST of the rest (I never saw the humour in Workaholics, Portlandia should've never had more than one season, and Tosh.O is just awful); in particular, I think - or, at least hope - that Louie and Community will be remembered as the most revolutionary and ground-breaking comedies of this period. And Arrested Development of course, though that show's cred was already pretty well-cemented, regardless of experimental, mind-bending Netflix season.

Veep should be on that list, too. And probably some other shows we're forgetting about. I guess we're only going for currently-running shows otherwise 30 Rock would be on there.

[Reply #333 on:]

For me The Simpsons were gone 10 or so years ago. Once in a blue moon I will watch the newer ones online.

[Reply #334 on:]

Portlandia should've never had more than one season

Really? I thought the first season was merely okay...the second and third seasons are much, much better in my opinion. They refined their humor and stopped doing the crazy nonsensical endings to sketches that they pulled a lot in the first season.

[Reply #335 on:]

I haven't bothered with it since the second season (which I'm not sure I ever even finished), but it was just becoming far too repetitive for my liking. It reminded me of Little Britain - just the same jokes being rammed into the ground again and again. I just don't think "hey, let's make fun of hipsters" is a strong enough premise to warrant more than a single season of a tv show (if that).

Hell, The Simpsons did it perfectly in a single episode, during one of their worst runs ever. "You brought the kids home exhausted and pretentious!"

[Reply #336 on:]

I had the same criticism at first, but after the first season they do a lot of sketches that have nothing to do with hipsters. They're still the basis of some of their sketches, but definitely not all of them.

Anyway, while I can understand why people dislike it, I've always found Tosh.0 to be hysterical. I think it's funny beyond just shock value, and that Tosh is a legitimately clever comedian. His whole douchebag fraternity air that turns a lot of people off comes off as just an act to me, and if you really pay attention you notice that he's actually extremely self-deprecating and willing to take any shot at himself.

And Workaholics is just great. The three actors are fantastic at improv and coming up with hilarious dialogue exchanges. It was probably at its best in the most recent third season. My friends and I still use the line "You only YOLO once!"

[Reply #337 on:]

I actually think the 90 percent figure is probably fairly easily true, just due to the sheer volume of TV.

It's just that that isn't actually saying anything. Ten percent of TV is a HUGE GODDAMN AMOUNT OF TV. Like, hundreds if not thousands of total programs. That's how much TV there is when you factor everything there is across the dial on hundreds of cable channels. It's a probably true but ultimately meaningless statement.

And yeah, it's also a hollow argument because there's so many good recent/current shows that there's just no reason to watch something mediocre just because it happens to be better than the plurality of the huge number of shows that exist on the airwaves.

This is basically why I gave up years ago; I was already skipping so many genuinely great shows because I was in college and just didn't have the time. I wasn't even watching The Daily Show regularly anymore, and that's one of my favorite things in the universe. Why should I keep up with a show I find to be persistently mediocre?

I know people like to use the argument that it's like keeping up with an old friend or whatever, but man, if there's an old friend I really don't enjoy keeping up with, I drop out of touch with them or just talk to them once a year to see how they've been. I don't spend one day a week with them just to keep up. Jesus. That's a lot of time and effort just to keep up with a television show that one doesn't enjoy.

[Reply #338 on:]

I generally just queue them up and knock out a few when I've got some spare time. It's good for when you feel like watching something but don't have the capacity to pay complete attention or fully involve yourself. But yeah, I certainly don't go out of my way to watch them immediately.

[Reply #339 on:]

I generally just queue them up and knock out a few when I've got some spare time. It's good for when you feel like watching something but don't have the capacity to pay complete attention or fully involve yourself. But yeah, I certainly don't go out of my way to watch them immediately.

I agree, the show is okay, I don't love it, but I don't want it to end, cartoons just wouldn't be the same. The Simpsons is an original.

[Reply #340 on:]

I generally just queue them up and knock out a few when I've got some spare time. It's good for when you feel like watching something but don't have the capacity to pay complete attention or fully involve yourself. But yeah, I certainly don't go out of my way to watch them immediately.

I agree, the show is okay, I don't love it, but I don't want it to end, cartoons just wouldn't be the same. The Simpsons was an original.

Shame on you, ShinyMetal***. Shame on you.

[Reply #341 on:]

 Cartoonlover warned me about the shaming. Its just my opinion.
Shame on you Solid Gold Bender, Shame on you. 

[Reply #342 on:]

Cartoonlover warned me about the shaming. It's just my opinion.
Shame on you, Solid Gold Bender. Shame on you.

AM I the only suspicious that Cartoonlover27 and ShinyMetal*** are the same person?

[Reply #343 on:]

s

[Reply #344 on:]

Cartoonlover warned me about the shaming. It's just my opinion.
Shame on you, Solid Gold Bender. Shame on you.

AM I the only suspicious that Cartoonlover27 and ShinyMetal*** are the same person?

 No I'm over her house we are sharing the computer. Genius.

[Reply #345 on:]

Cartoonlover27, it has come to my attention that you are fairly new. As someone who was recently in your position, I highly recommend that you learn How2PEEL. There's no need to double-post, because there is a conveniently placed edit button! You can edit previous posts that you've made and add in anything else that you feel is relevant. Welcome to PEEL, the world's largest collection of lonely internet people!

And remember:

Show spoiler

Neutopia was utter shit.

[Reply #346 on:]

Yeah neutopia did suck
Thanks and sorry for the doublepost

[Reply #347 on:]

No problem! Just remember these vital rules of PEEL

• You don't talk about PEEL
• Correct punctuation or else
• Try to not get into arguments and especially try to not argue with PEEL veterans

[Reply #348 on:]

So... has the simpsons been cancelled yet or what? Or are the producers still being idiots by continuing it?

[Reply #349 on:]

So... has the simpsons been cancelled yet or what? Or are the producers still being idiots by continuing it?

I believe they're still dragging it on.....and on...........and on................and on....................and on...................
I honestly think they're going to milk the series until every single cast member is dead, or at least until they all fake their deaths in order to get away from this now-crappy show.
I'm very glad that they aren't giving Futurama this treatment.....I'd hate to see the show fall into a vat of diarrhea like The Simpsons has.

[Reply #350 on:]

So... has the simpsons been cancelled yet or what? Or are the producers still being idiots by continuing it?

I believe they're still dragging it on.....and on...........and on................and on....................and on...................
I honestly think they're going to milk the series until every single cast member is dead, or at least until they all fake their deaths in order to get away from this now-crappy show.
I'm very glad that they aren't giving Futurama this treatment.....I'd hate to see the show fall into a vat of diarrhea like The Simpsons has.

I can diffidently admit the show is getting old and crappy, I now disagree with my other post after watching some of the newer ones, you can only keep a show for so long.

[Reply #351 on:]

I honestly think they're going to milk the series until every single cast member is dead, or at least until they all fake their deaths in order to get away from this now-crappy show.

To be fair, it doesn't seem to me that the cast (excluding Harry Shearer, who has made his opinion known publicly several times) finds the series awful; why else would they agree to take a pay-cut so that it can continue for the next however-many-seasons? Likewise, the writers and animators seem to think the show is still good.

I think the problem here is that they are conflating their enjoyment of working on the show with the fans' enjoyment of the episodes being produced, but I can't really fault these people for wanting to, er, run the series into the ground. It's an institution at this point--albeit, a battered and faltering one--and canceling it would be similar to canceling something like SNL; moreover, it's how these people make their living. I mean, I'm not actively watching the show anymore, because it is mainly awful and every new episode I see makes me lament the loss of a once-great series, but I don't begrudge those involved in its production for wanting to hold onto The Simpsons for dear life for as long as Fox allows them.

[Reply #352 on:]

Al Jean said that their goal is to get to thirty seasons. In other words, he pretty much admitted that they care more about quantity than quality (which, of course, is no secret to anyone).

[Reply #353 on:]

More quantity of episodes doesn't mean less quality of episodes, even though the quality of the Simpsons is fairly low now. We could easily see even some improvement in quality. Also, it's a joke that how long Simpsons has been/will be.

Now with 25 seasons and last 10 been the worst ones, I really feel indifferent about its cotinuing. I can keep watching new episodes, but I wouldn't mind if it was over, I might get good quality from last episode/movie. It has made to this point, so would it make a difference in harmfulness of new episodes with a little more?

[Reply #354 on:]

Look at this way: When all 500+ episodes are in syndication, when somebody from a later generation tunes in to see what all the fuss was about, the odds of them actually seeing a good episode decrease with each shitty new one that gets made.

I honestly though the show had something of a resurgence in seasons 15-16 (15 especially; it's definitely the best post-classic season by far) and I would've been happy to have seen it end after that, though ideally "season 9 being the last season ever made and the show ending on a near-perfect track record" would be the most preferable fantasy. The movie was fantastic, and even the worst seasons generally have a gem or two, but yeah, I'm a bit worried as to what the show's legacy will even be at this point.

[Reply #355 on:]

So I just found out that Simpsons are having a Futurama crossover episode in the near future.

The Simpsons existed as a TV show in the Futurama universe.

[Reply #356 on:]

Yeah, it's awful premise as they normally consider each other as fictional and yes, we have a thread about it.

[Reply #357 on:]

So I just found out that Simpsons are having a Futurama crossover episode in the near future.

The Simpsons existed as a TV show in the Futurama universe.

Maybe it'll be some kind of non-canon episode. If I'm not mistaken, "The Springfield Files" was non-canon. The plot was part of a story read by Leonard Nimoy. Something similar might happen in this crossover.

Another possibility is Bart doing something in a Simpsons episode within the Futurama universe that causes controversy and leads to a bad future, and Bender somehow traveling back in time and into the Simpsons fictional universe to kill Bart in order to fix the future.

I just hope that it's not a canonical episode of The Simpsons. Those kinds of things just don't happen on The Simpsons.

[Reply #358 on:]

Another possibility is Bart doing something in a Simpsons episode within the Futurama universe that causes controversy and leads to a bad future, and Bender somehow traveling back in time and into the Simpsons fictional universe to kill Bart in order to fix the future.

I see you also read the plot for the episode.

[Reply #359 on:]

The Simpsons existed as a TV show in the Futurama universe.

And vice versa