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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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It's always bothered me more that Bart is a geek getting bullied by Nelson and co. One week, and then is buddies with them all the next week.
Things like this were present even during classic era Simpsons, though. Likewise for cyber_turnip's example (granted, it's unfortunate that these two episodes aired so close to one another, but broadcast order can hardly be blamed on the writers).
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Box Incorporated

Starship Captain
   
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So this is happening. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-simpsons-live-show-with-orchestra-coming-to-hollywood-bowl-20140717The Simpsons will be celebrating the premiere of its 26th season this September, and to coincide with the event there will be a live Simpsons show at Hollywood Bowl on September 12th, 13th, and 14th, Rolling Stone reports. The event will be hosted by Simpsons voice regular Hank Azaria and feature Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Jon Lovitz, Beverly D'Angelo, Weird Al Yankovic, series creator Matt Groening, and many more yet-to-be-announced special guests, and Hollywood Bowl will be transformed into an immersive real-life Springfield for the occasion. The show is set to include live performances, selected scenes from all 25 seasons, and never-before-seen clips all set to the classy musical accompaniment of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. For ticket info, head over to the Hollywood Bowl website. Surprised this isn't being televised, It'd make a good Simpsons celebration special, like the 20th Anniversary Simpsons on Ice Documentary. Come on! This is why I cannot consider Simpsons episodes canon anymore. Didn't they explain the bone was stuck in his hair because he tried to dig out gum and it got worse?
And he had his bone taken out before a few times afterwards, including Bart taking it in Dial N for Nerder and What to Expect When Bart's Expecting, Mel throwing it in At Long Last Leave, and the movie where he uses it to hit the dome. For my opinion of the continuity thing, I honestly don't really mind it. The writers have already acknowledged that the show's continuity is very loose and changeable (one of the jokes pitched in Season 1 was for Herman to have a different explanation for how he lost his arm each time he appears), so I don't mind it as long as they kind of acknowledge it and use it in a well written, new way (That 90's Show isn't an example of this).
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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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« Reply #651 on: 07-19-2014 03:47 »
« Last Edit on: 07-19-2014 03:48 »
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No, not really. A character trait of Bart would be pulling pranks or struggling in school. This would fall more within the realm of character relationships. It's also worth noting that the "bullies" weren't always bullies, save from Nelson. In the early episodes, Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney are simply the "cool kids" (though granted, the show was still developing its world at the time, so this isn't quite the same thing).
And, ultimately, while Bart's relationship with the bullies changes depending on whatever a particular episode may require, it's a little more realistic with the child characters - kids switch from being friends to enemies and back on a frequent enough basis that I can genuinely buy into it on some level. Whereas, say, if Homer's stance on Lenny and Carl were to frequently change, I would have a much harder time swallowing it.
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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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What exactly did E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) do that was so significantly worse than anything the show had done prior to that point? Granted, the cat sub-plot was stupid, but it took up very little screentime, and the main plot was incredibly solid (especially given that it has a very sincere "Homer and Bart bonding" element which is quite rare for post-classic Simpsons). It's actually one of the more highly regarded season 15 episodes.
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cyber_turnip

Urban Legend
  
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I have to concur about Mike Scully's seasons. They're perfectly enjoyable - in fact, they make up four seasons of pretty fantastic television; it's just that, compared to the majority of the show that they followed, they're terrible by comparison.
Now, I'd say that almost everything from season 13 onwards is terrible, not only by comparison, but on its own terms, but I think Scully gets a lot of blame for being the one to ruin the show.
It's a shame that they ditched their whole "two-term showrunners" thing as if someone else took over for seasons 10 and 11, I think things might have gone quite differently.
Anyway, Scully's stuff is mostly still very, very funny; they just got really lazy with the story and plotting side of things.
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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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The main problem I have with the Scully seasons is, The Simpsons used to be one of the smartest shows on tv, and even at their funniest, most Scully-era episodes are just plain stupid. There's very little wit behind the jokes, and it leaves the entire show feeling as if it has no substance whatsoever. Behind the Laughter is arguably the most clever episode ever made with Scully at the helm.
And I actually felt Al Jean was leading the show back in the right direction when he first took over (season 15 may not be "classic era" good, but it does possess the same mix of humour and heart, and is still the best post-classic era season to date by a long shot, in my opinion) - but then it seems as though everyone just grew very lazy and started phoning it in, and there wasn't any new blood in charge to reinvigorate things. Look at the classic era - no show runner ever held the reigns for more than two years straight. Scully being in charge for four years was already pushing it, but Al Jean and his twelve year long (and counting) tirade is just fucking ridiculous. It's no surprise that the best episodes from current day Simpsons tend to be the ones co-produced by Matt Selman.
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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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I'd be happy to leave season 9 in tact and compress the remaining highlights of the Scully era into a single season. Episodes from 13 and 14 could be pieced together into a pretty decent single season, 15 I'd leave mostly in tact (perhaps swapping a few of the crappy episodes with the good ones from 16), then another season comprised entirely of the good episodes up until the show went widescreen, followed by another season with highlights from the widescreen era. Then maybe, just maybe, the show could end with some dignity still in tact.
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Beamer

DOOP Secretary

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The Book Job would definitely crack a top 25 Simpsons episodes of all time list for me. I absolutely adore that episode, and would agree that it is easily the best thing the show's done in the past 10 years.
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