At Long Last Leave! - The Simpsons

[Reply #680 on:]

On NHC, 1 and 2 are considered to be very much classic.

[Reply #681 on:]

People sometimes go easy on 1-2 because they were still establishing the show. But in reality, 3-9, or maybe even 3-10, are much better.

[Reply #682 on:]

On NHC, 1 and 2 are considered to be very much classic.

Again, that's an opinion.

[Reply #683 on:]

I don't know, One Fish Two Fish Blowfish Bluefish is an absolutely fantastic episode.

[Reply #684 on:]

Of course Seasons 1-2 have some great episodes, but it's not like almost every one was amazing like in the later seasons.

[Reply #685 on:]

Yes, that's true.. Some Enchanted Evening is extremely boring, in my opinion.

[Reply #686 on:]

You have to keep in mind that it was only the first episode. They were trying to establish the show, which is probably why it lacked comedy.

[Reply #687 on:]

Comedy-wise, seasons 1 and 2 don't quite hit the marks that 3-9 do, but they're fine on every other level. I would consider 4-8 to be the absolute apex myself, though 1-9 all fall under the "classic era" label for me (and very few hardcore Simpsons fans would look at you weirdly for classing seasons 1 and 2 in the same league as 3-9, given what became of the show after that point).

[Reply #688 on:]

I'd say that the golden years are very much 3-8.

But the show was very good from season 1-11. Possibly including 12, but I want to wait until I see it again before clumping that one in there.

13 onwards is appalling.

The Simpsons Season 3-8 = Futurama Season 1-4
The Simpsons Season 9-10 = Futurama Season 6
The Simpsons Season 11-12 = Futurama Season 7

The Simpsons seasons 1-2 = n/a
The Simpsons seasons 3-4 = Futurama seasons 1-2
The Simpsons seasons 5-6 = Futurama seasons 3-4
The Simpsons seasons 7-8 = Futurama season 6
The Simpsons seasons 9-10 = Futurama season 5
The Simpsons seasons 11-12 = Futurama season 7
The Simpsons seasons 13-25 = Futurama season 8 if it had been made

Good thing the show was cancelled.

[Reply #689 on:]

The Simpsons seasons 13-25 = Futurama season 8 if it had been made

Good thing the show was cancelled.

I dunno, I kind of think that another season or two of Futurama would have outranked The Simpsons Seasons 13-present.

[Reply #690 on:]

You're probably right.

I couldn't really see Futurama possibly getting as bad as The Simpsons did. I feel like "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" is probably about as low as Futurama can get and that episode is still much better than the vast majority of Simpsons episodes from season 13, onwards.

[Reply #691 on:]

The non-Halloween triptych episodes of The Simpsons were a LOT worse than Futurama's non-Anthology of Interest triptychs, that's for sure.

Another key difference is that the Futurama writers still all really, really care about the show and its fans. The Simpsons has been phoning it in for a very fucking long time now.

[Reply #692 on:]

The Simpsons seasons 13-25 = Futurama season 8 if it had been made

Good thing the show was cancelled.

I dunno, I kind of think that another season or two of Futurama would have outranked The Simpsons Seasons 13-present.

I think the worst Futurama could get is the equivalent of Seasons 11-12 of The Simpsons, meaning they could still produce a few good episodes and have one or two standouts throughout the season, despite a few stinkers being in there. I don't think it would ever get to the quality of Seasons 9-10 of The Simpsons again though. I could be wrong, obviously.

[Reply #693 on:]

I just find it amazing that nobody has bothered to inject new life into the show for about 10 years.

In the show's prime, they used to have an unwritten rule that showrunning was like the presidency and nobody should serve more than two terms.

I honestly think that this was one of the biggest reasons that they show was able to thrive and remain so good for as long as it did.

Every showrunner brought something new to the table and they all built upon what was left before them.

Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon got the show up and running. Al Jean and Mike Reiss made it utterly hilarious. David Mirkin perfected it with even more interesting storylines and even funnier gags. Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein decided to explore the characters on a more real level, which gave seasons 7 and 8 quite a distinctive flavour, but helped to prevent it from going stale.
Then Mike Scully came along and produced arguably the worst season to date, season 9. Fair enough though, season 9 was still very, very good stuff and so was season 10, but he made things veer towards being more cartoony and silly.

Now, if someone else had come along for seasons 11 and 12, they might have addressed problems with the show. But instead, Mike Scully kept on at it for two more seasons and then they hired Al Jean again, presumably in a desperate effort to get someone from the show's golden years who could fix things, but he only made them worse and it felt like everyone making the show just stopped caring. Al Jean has been showrunning it ever since.

I'd be genuinely excited if someone else was given the gig.

Imagine if they hired David X. Cohen to showrun seasons 26 and 27 now that he's done with Futurama. I'd be so pumped for that.

I honestly think that The Simpsons could be made good again. Maybe not up to the standards of the golden days, but I think they could easily produce something on par with seasons 1 and 2. They still have a handful of funny jokes here and there. If someone just chopped out all of the awful, awful jokes, leaving a very dry show with one or two good laughs per episode, I'd probably go for that. It'd be a bit like King of the Hill.

Guillermo Del Toro's opening sequence for "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" basically proved that the show's shitty quality is purely down to the people working on it by being so good.

They should at least look into hiring guest-directors for full episodes. I'd rather see great directors taking on episodes over another fucking celebrity guest appearance. And they don't need to get huge directors for it to be interesting. Imagine if someone like Rian Johnson directed an episode.

[Reply #694 on:]

I just find it amazing that nobody has bothered to inject new life into the show for about 10 years.

In the show's prime, they used to have an unwritten rule that showrunning was like the presidency and nobody should serve more than two terms.

I honestly think that this was one of the biggest reasons that they show was able to thrive and remain so good for as long as it did.

Every showrunner brought something new to the table and they all built upon what was left before them.

Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon got the show up and running. Al Jean and Mike Reiss made it utterly hilarious. David Mirkin perfected it with even more interesting storylines and even funnier gags. Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein decided to explore the characters on a more real level, which gave seasons 7 and 8 quite a distinctive flavour, but helped to prevent it from going stale.
Then Mike Scully came along and produced arguably the worst season to date, season 9. Fair enough though, season 9 was still very, very good stuff and so was season 10, but he made things veer towards being more cartoony and silly.

Now, if someone else had come along for seasons 11 and 12, they might have addressed problems with the show. But instead, Mike Scully kept on at it for two more seasons and then they hired Al Jean again, presumably in a desperate effort to get someone from the show's golden years who could fix things, but he only made them worse and it felt like everyone making the show just stopped caring. Al Jean has been showrunning it ever since.

I'd be genuinely excited if someone else was given the gig.

I remember making this exact same argument here about 5 fucking years ago.

[Reply #695 on:]

The Simpsons Season 3-8 = Futurama Season 1-4
The Simpsons Season 9-10 = Futurama Season 6
The Simpsons Season 11-12 = Futurama Season 7

What about 1 and 2?

The Simpsons Season 1-2 = South Park Season 1-2
The Simpsons Movie = Futurama Season 5

[Reply #696 on:]

Really? I actually enjoyed South Park Seasons 1-2 a bit more than The Simpsons Seasons 1-2, but maybe that's just me...

[Reply #697 on:]

Really? I actually enjoyed South Park Seasons 1-2 a bit more than The Simpsons Seasons 1-2, but maybe that's just me...

I agree with you there, but only because South Park is a better show, IMO, than the Simpsons. I still like the Simpsons, though.

[Reply #698 on:]

South Park is a better show, IMO, than the Simpsons.

I disagree. While I love South Park, you have to remember that without The Simpsons, the other animated series on the air, including South Park and Futurama, wouldn't exist. And I think that most people would agree that The Simpsons Seasons 3-9 are better than most South Park episodes. But I respect your right to an opinion, unlike certain people.

[Reply #699 on:]

unlike certain people.

That's great!

May the luck of the Fryrish be with you.

[Reply #700 on:]

^ The Simpsons is definently more influential, but I think South Park is funnier- (with the exception of the last few seasons.)

[Reply #701 on:]

South Park is a better show, IMO, than the Simpsons.

I disagree. While I love South Park, you have to remember that without The Simpsons, the other animated series on the air, including South Park and Futurama, wouldn't exist. And I think that most people would agree that The Simpsons Seasons 3-9 are better than most South Park episodes. But I respect your right to an opinion, unlike certain people.

Remind me again, when I did not let her have an opinion?

[Reply #702 on:]

Remind me again, when I did not let her have an opinion?

Okay.

No, really, the animation on the old episodes is lovely.

Nope. Wasn't being sarcastic. The animation in the earlier seasons is pretty crappy compared to the new animation.

The really old ones, yes, but in the later part of the 1990s the animation is perfectly fine.

^ Okay Stum, that's your opinion.

It's not opinion, it's fact. You haven't even seen the late-90s episodes, so how would you know?

[Reply #703 on:]

I always think of animation as an objective thing, really.

[Reply #704 on:]

Oh, just drop it already. Everyone.

^ The Simpsons is definently more influential, but I think South Park is funnier- (with the exception of the last few seasons.)

I grew up with both, and experienced both show's "golden age" first hand. They're both very dear to me, though I also think they're beyond comparison. Different styles of humour, different objectives, different in so many ways... Apples and oranges, people. It's futile to even debate about.

[Reply #705 on:]

I agree with Beamer. Let's drop it, everyone.

[Reply #706 on:]

 Stum O' mighty has spoken.

Did you hear that "lets drop it everyone,"

[Reply #707 on:]

Beamer said it first.

[Reply #708 on:]

  Wrote it technically, and you wrote it as well, did you not O' powerful one.

[Reply #709 on:]

Shut up with this "Mighty Stum" stuff. It's extremely annoying. Just talk to me normally.

[Reply #710 on:]

Anyway, back OT, what is the best episode of The Simpsons?

[Reply #711 on:]

Season 9 Episode 6

[Reply #712 on:]

What's it called?

[Reply #713 on:]

"Bart Star".

[Reply #714 on:]

Homer becomes a football coach, it's very funny.

[Reply #715 on:]

It also features a special guest appearance. A crossover, actually.

[Reply #716 on:]

 I'll have to watch it sometimes. I haven't really watched the Simpsons in a while, but it is a funny show.

[Reply #717 on:]

As I told your friend earlier, there's a website where you can watch any Simpsons episode. You should look it up sometime.

[Reply #718 on:]

Homer is kind of a jerk in it, but not too bad.

[Reply #719 on:]

Yeah, in my opinion, Homer didn't really become the asshole that he is until Jean took over.