The family that doesn't know the meaning of the word "cancelled" - The Simpsons!

[Reply #520 on:]

I took out a few classic-era episodes that I didn't feel were a huge priority for the list.  Although in hindsight, I did come off a whole season short of 10 seasons, so I probably could squeeze a few more classic ones in there.  But alas, I've lost the motivation to work on this lost any longer, as with most lists I create.

I chose to put those two in simply because of their influence in the Tapped Out game.  Kind of a lame reason, but that's one of the requirements I set for myself.

Never heard of it. Though I would rather just pretend those god-awful episodes didn't exist in the first place.

[Reply #521 on:]

Would anyone here actually prefer this run to the one we have?  Also, is there any way to make spoiler tags?  I'd hate to take up a whole page with this.

Apart from, maybe, "Dancin' Homer" and the clip shows, I wouldn't want to lose anything from seasons 1-8 and I'm happy to have most of 9-12, on top of that.

The perfect run, for me, would probably just be seasons 1-12 with "Holidays of Future Passed" serving as the finale to season 12, followed by The Simpsons Movie and, potentially, some movie sequels.

[Reply #522 on:]

I think you could make one good season out of the season 11+ episodes. Do that, end it with Holidays of Future Passed, boom. Perfect show.

[Reply #523 on:]

I was actually working on a list of the 50 best pre-movie episodes followed by The Movie acting as a finale, but never finished it.

[Reply #524 on:]

There's enough good episodes in the post classic era that could make a decent final Season. Not completely classic, but good enough. My perfect run would probably be Seasons 1-9, the selected episodes for the one Season, then the movie to finish it.

Anyway, TheBPB11, I'd rather just have the run we have now then your run. Your run would have a lot less episodes that would taint the show's overall run, but would still be missing a lot of amazing episodes and classic moments that would be really worth having, despite having to live through the feces of the last 15 years. Still, your list is about right for representing a compact version of show's entire run.

And now, for your random dose of Simpsons news, courtesy of the Internet thingy.

http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2014/03/04/the-simpsons-al-jean-previews-the-upcoming-lego-episode-the-return-of-sideshow-bob-guest-spots-by-daniel-radcliffe-zach-galifianakis-and-more/

*Simpsorama will air in the fall apparently (likely the Season 26 premiere).

*The 550th episode will be the Lego episode (Brick Like Me), which will be about what would happen if happen if Homer, in his imagination, went into a world of Lego, with apparently a reason why he prefers the Lego Springfield to the real one. Also apparently, the episode was thought up before the Lego Simpson sets were made. Also, the episode will show both CGI Lego animation, and the regular Simpsons animation.

*Bart will get a new teacher after the rest of Marcia's recorded appearances are aired.

*It seems like the character who will die will be murdered, likely with a murder mystery episode around it. Also, it's going to funny.

*Zach Galifianakis will play a boy in an upcoming episode this Season as a competitive eater who Lisa tries to save. Marge is worried Lisa will marry a boy just like Homer, and Homer is offended by Marge being worried by that.

*Treehouse of Horror XXV will have a segment inspired by The Others where it turns out the ghosts of the Tracey Ullman’s Simpsons are haunting the Simpsons house, with a few past characters appearing as well.

*There will be more elaborate couch gags...yay.

*Season 26 will go on all the way to December 2015. (really confused by this since they only got a 15 episode renewal, which should air without any holdovers. Either they got more episodes, or Season 25/26 will end early)

[Reply #525 on:]

*Season 26 will go on all the way to December 2015. (really confused by this since they only got a 15 episode renewal, which should air without any holdovers. Either they got more episodes, or Season 25/26 will end early)

Generally a good half of every season now consists of holdovers from the rest.

Does this mean season 26 will FINALLY be the last? Or is it just some elaborate way to move the show into a mid-season schedule?

[Reply #526 on:]

*Season 26 will go on all the way to December 2015. (really confused by this since they only got a 15 episode renewal, which should air without any holdovers. Either they got more episodes, or Season 25/26 will end early)

Generally a good half of every season now consists of holdovers from the rest.

That's what I mean. Fox renewed the show for only 15 episodes to be made for production Season 26, which combined with the usual 8 holdover episodes from production Season 25, will create a 22 episode Season, which will only go until May 2015 when aired on the usual schedule.

Really curious whether they're just making the regular 22 episode order now, or if there's going to be a weird hiatus somewhere in between.

[Reply #527 on:]

Well, if it is the end of the show, I'm sure we'd be hearing much more about it. This could potentially be some business strategy on Fox's part for renegotiating the show's contract, or possibly part of the inevitable re-tooling of the Animation Domination lineup that is to occur once American Dad wraps up its Fox run.

If it IS the final season though, I really don't see the point in getting Bart a new teacher. I mean, why even bother? Shouldn't be too hard to put out 15 episodes and simply not write any scenes in Bart's classroom.

Maybe the show's lessened episode order will boost the quality? Who knows. A man can dream, damnit!

[Reply #528 on:]

I'm guessing the reduced episode run is to try and stop the amount of holdovers, I'm also pretty sure 26 won't be the last, but I'm not sure if the show's gonna last much longer at this, somehow I'd be really surprised if they made it to 30 at this point

[Reply #529 on:]

I don't really keep up much with modern Simpsons, but I'm looking forward to the LEGO episode and, more than anything, "Simpsorama".

[Reply #530 on:]

I'd be really surprised if they made it to 30 at this point

Though that must have been said over and over again in past, it must end soon, if it doesn't suddenly get more popular. I just hope it'll have enough potential to make another movie that's even close to as good as first one.

[Reply #531 on:]

Damn it, why must we wait until Fall for the Simpsons/Futurama crossover???

I will be looking forward to that lego one though. The plot seems like an pretty original Simpsons Concept, and I hope it turns out good.

[Reply #532 on:]

Eh. It would've been cool as a THoH segment. I'll agree that it'll likely be original.

[Reply #533 on:]

I wonder if the opening sequence is redone.

And, yeah, I wouldn't prefer Simpsons being legos for canon episode.

[Reply #534 on:]

I hope that they atleast show a lot of characters in LEGO form as seeing all these characters in different styles is often the best part of these types of episodes.

[Reply #535 on:]

The most recent Sideshow Bob episode was pretty dumb. Not the worst, because there's a particular two that surpass it regarding shittyness. But it still wasn't good, either sadly.

Although I did enjoy the bit with Moleman getting crushed by the rock. Haven't seen them hurt the poor guy in a while, so it definitely tickled my funny bone.

[Reply #536 on:]

I really don't like how unrealistic the plots have been now with two last Bob episodes. Otherwise The Man Who Grew Too Much would have been good as well as The Bob Next Door.

I think Edna's character was wrapped up well.

[Reply #537 on:]

I was able to accept the Face Transplanting with "The Bob Next Door", but this one just fell flat and particularly bad. Just a really really dull and stale episode for me. Not the worst Bob episode, but still a particularly dull one.

[Reply #538 on:]

Diggs

Really boring and forgettable episode. Diggs was a pretty decent character and was voiced well, but sadly didn't get as much attention as he could've gotten. If the episode actually did something with Digg having a mental illness and Bart's reaction to it, this could've ended up being an interesting episode, but instead, they had Digg pull a prank, and that solved the plot somehow...or not. Besides that, there just wasn't anything that funny, the pacing felt either rushed or nonexistent, and it just was another pointless outing for Season 25. Ech, the couch gag was animated well at least. A 5.5/10.

The Man Who Grew Too Much

Oh God do I hate this episode. It started out watchable enough with Lisa bonding with Bob (thanks to 1 thing they had in common and Lisa's apparent amnesia about the whole "him killing the entire family thing") and Marge's church sex class plot which had some decent lines, but then it just fell into complete shit with the gene splicing plot. At least the face transplanting was somewhat plausible, but how in the hell did Bob learn how to splice his genes with fucking insects and vegetables (as a tester for monkeys no less)? And what do we get from this scheme? A small cartoony chase scene, Bob putting his entire mouth over Kearney, him trying to kill himself, then a random rake joke because why the hell not. Ugh.

On top of the really awful Bob twist, most of the jokes were random or unfunny (Rod and Todd's incest, Kearney wanting the puppet), neither plot ended well, and for a Sideshow Bob episode, there really wasn't much Bob in the episode. Overall, a 4.3/10, worst Bob episode ever.

P.S. The ending with Edna was pretty sweet. Wish they could've put it out better than just tacking it at the end of a crappy episode, but for what they had to use, it was good sendoff for her.

[Reply #539 on:]

Diggs

Really boring and forgettable episode. Diggs was a pretty decent character and was voiced well, but sadly didn't get as much attention as he could've gotten. If the episode actually did something with Digg having a mental illness and Bart's reaction to it, this could've ended up being an interesting episode, but instead, they had Digg pull a prank, and that solved the plot somehow...or not. Besides that, there just wasn't anything that funny, the pacing felt either rushed or nonexistent, and it just was another pointless outing for Season 25. Ech, the couch gag was animated well at least. A 5.5/10.

If you think the gesture of Diggs releasing all of the falcons at the end was simply "pulling a prank," then that entire episode has pretty much gone over your head. I honestly thought Diggs was a fantastic episode - possibly even surpassing Steal This Episode as the best of the season. They handled the topic of mental illness with grace and good taste (and Bart's childlike lack of comprehension on the subject was incredibly endearing), and Diggs was surprisingly deep for a one-time Simpsons character this late in the game. I didn't have any problems with the pacing either, and was constantly laughing/chuckling throughout.

As for the second episode... Yep. Pure garbage. Though Lisa and Bob actually have quite a lot in common - they're both one of the VERY few remotely cultured and intelligent people in a town full of shallow retards. I agree with you on the rest of that episode though, that was plain terrible. Just like every other Sideshow Bob episode that came after Brother From Another Series.

[Reply #540 on:]

So I watched both Diggs and The Man Who Grew Too Much.  To put it simply, they were both incredibly boring and unfunny.  The weird part is that I actually thought I would enjoy Diggs.

[Reply #541 on:]

They were both typically awful of the new run. I thought "Diggs" was a particularly bad effort with constant gags that were just abysmal whereas "The Man Who Grew Too Much" took the show into pure cartoon-science-fiction territory and was all the more ridiculous for it.

[Reply #542 on:]

Both plots of The Winter of His Content were at least unused, but it was just average, forgettable episode. Interesting, though, that when Bart became a bully, he didn't end up bullying anyone and that bullying convention was out of place anyway.

To put it simply, they were both incredibly boring and unfunny.

I agree Diggs was boring, but it had a solid plot. Fairly good altogether.

[Reply #543 on:]

I wouldn't say both plots were unused. "Bart becomes friends with the bullies" has been done countless times with slight variations. The earliest one I can think of is "The Telltale Head" but other examples include "Bart the Mother".

It was a better than average (for nowadays) episode of the show, but it still sucked.

[Reply #544 on:]

And the "Homer embraces the old person lifestyle" thing had already been done in The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons, too.

[Reply #545 on:]

Decent episode I guess (by HD era standards). The bully convention/The Warrior parody had a few good lines, though sort of just jumbled around in the 3rd act. Homer embracing the old person has been done before, but had some energy to it I guess, despite some lame jokes like the old people farting. Besides the really rushed ending and Homers plot being half assedly resolved, it was an okay episode with a few okay jokes and an okay story.

[Reply #546 on:]

American Dad did a far better parody of The Warriors years ago.

[Reply #547 on:]

I'd be surprised if American Dad didn't do anything better than current Simpsons.

[Reply #548 on:]

They didn't suck better than current The Simpsons.

[Reply #549 on:]

Ah, the old "You're better at dying" quip. Always welcome.

[Reply #550 on:]

Well this episode is pretty regular, and...

THEY KILLED OFF THE BOAT PAINTING?

The show has jumped the shark! Thanks, Matt. 

[Reply #551 on:]

Mother of God (takes off sunglasses). And then, they just replaced it with an exact fake painting of it at the end of the episode, it's Fit Tony all over again! (Also, didn't they have a closet filled with those boat paintings in one episode?) Anyway, good episode. Not really many jokes in it, but I thought the story was pretty good and the characterization was better than usual (especially liked Lisa actually acting like an 8 year old at the start). Could've been better, but still felt solid and enjoyable.

[Reply #552 on:]

Mother of God (takes off sunglasses). And then, they just replaced it with an exact fake painting of it at the end of the episode, it's Fit Tony all over again! (Also, didn't they have a closet filled with those boat paintings in one episode?)

And Snowball II in I, D'ohbot (and, to a slightly different extent, the whole Armin Tamzarian thing). Though, at least replacing a painting with a replica makes more sense than a damn character.

As for the boat paintings, there have also been multiple explanations as to its origin/backstory before, too (it was once implied that Marge painted it herself, at one point it was labelled "Scene from Moby Dick," etc.). It's a running joke at this point - ie. Marge/Lisa's pearls, the ever-changing location and design of The Simpsons house, etc. And it's also quite similar to the originally-planned running gag that would see Herman giving a different backstory for how he lost his arm every time, which was quickly abandoned.

[Reply #553 on:]

The War of Art was interesting and even good. It had lots of fast "cutting to next thing" and there was so much happening in episode, but it worked well.

I didn't even think of 'killing and replacing the painting'.

[Reply #554 on:]

Just out of curiosity, when did you guys notice a quality drop in the show?  Not when did the quality drop happen, but when did you personally notice it?

Also, when did you stop consistently enjoying the show?

[Reply #555 on:]

I was still quite young when the quality started to drop (I think about 10 or 11), but even at that age, I still noticed that something was off about the show. It was season 13 or 14 (I would've been 13 or 14... Funny enough, my age is always the same number as whatever season the show's in) when I realised that The Simpsons was no longer "good."

As for when I stopped consistently enjoying the show... Probably around season 17 onwards? I actually quite liked seasons 15 and 16 when they first came out (and originally hated season 14 MUCH more than I do now; though I think that might just largely be due to the fact that I now know how much fucking worse it gets).

[Reply #556 on:]

The War of Art was one of the better episodes of season 25 so far. It had a solid plot and even some funny moments.

Shame that Simpsorama was moved to fall. I think that episode has much more effort than any other this season.

[Reply #557 on:]

I think that episode has much more effort than any other this season.

Based on what, exactly? It hasn't even aired yet.

[Reply #558 on:]

Well, it is a crossover combining two different universes, harder to write than normal episode, so it should have more effort. And season 20+ episodes that do something different than normal episodes have been higher rated than those "normal" ones, for example Holidays of Future-Passed.

[Reply #559 on:]

Just out of curiosity, when did you guys notice a quality drop in the show?  Not when did the quality drop happen, but when did you personally notice it?

Also, when did you stop consistently enjoying the show?

Basically the start of season 13.

As a child, I was relatively unaware of a quality drop before then (or at least, I was unwilling to acknowledge one, being the sort of die-hard, head-strong fan that I was). But season 13 was just when it became too bad to bother with any more.

Nowadays, I can see a drop in quality, pretty much, every season after season 6, and by seasons 11 and 12, the show is clearly not what it once was. That said, I still by season 13 as the defining moment that the show actually became bad.