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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

The Simpsons

Ellis

09:03 / 28.08.01

It has been voted the best childrens TV programme ever (better than Thundercats? I think not!!)

That said, its still good after 11 years, even though the stories don't seem to have much of a structure anymore and the plots are getting even weirder and absurd than ever.
It still makes me laugh, and thats all what matters.

*I like it when the Comic Shop Man appears and points out all the continuity errors in the later episodes, he is funny.*

Has it lost its way? Should it be put down? Or are people just complaining because they have no life?

Oh yea, does anyone think that the show is in anyway SUBVERSIVE? It never seemed that way to me, but Matt Groening seems to think it is.

Geek out!
Its strange I was watching it today, the episode where Homer becomes a hippy and a piece of dialogue seemed wrong, thats how long I have been watching the programme, that you can almost anticipate what a characters reaction will be. so when Homer says "Great, I'll just go and shoot myself." It seems off.

[ 28-08-2001: Message edited by: Ellis ]

09:03 / 28.08.01

Yah, Ellis, it's like that episode of the Simpsons where... And if I only do this once a day I'm pretty proud of myself.

I like about half of every season lately and I've come to think the first couple are painfully slow. I mark the "makes sense" turning point at The Lord of the Flies episode.

Subversive? Does the pope shit in the woods?

09:03 / 28.08.01

>>>It has been voted the best childrens TV programme ever <<<

This would be great, if it was a fuckin' children's programme, which it isn't.

It's made for adults - kids watch it and enjoy it on a basic, "ha ha Homer's so stupid" level, but to say its primary intended audience is children is emphatically wrong.

But the BBC say it's for kids, which is why they cut out half of the jokes. Glad I moved to North America where I can see it in its entirety.

Which I have done in spades - checking an episode guide I came to the horrifying conclusion that I have seen literally every single episode ever - many of them several times. I still watch it twice a day at 5 and 6:30. The mind boggles at how many hours spent in front of the television that's been...

09:03 / 28.08.01

Oh, yeah, and while I do think it's still funny, some of the bizarre recent storylines and repeated use of throwaway characters is suggesting that the writers are growing desperate - they really ought to quit while they're ahead, instead of keeping it going for another 5 years and completely running it into the ground.

Then they can get to work on these rumoured cinema shorts...

Ellis

09:03 / 28.08.01

quote:Originally posted by CameronStewart:
But the BBC say it's for kids, which is why they cut out half of the jokes. Glad I moved to North America where I can see it in its entirety.

Thats funny, I prefer to watch it on BBC than Sky since Sky does heavily cut the show (whether its censorship or just so they can have more adverts I don't know) in comparison to BBC.

I always thought that the cut on the opening of the show was by the producers, and not sky. Grrr.

09:03 / 28.08.01

Does sky really cut that much?
I have to stay away from sky at the moment,The simpsonns is like visual crack.I just sit down for a minute, just until that really funny bit that I know is coming up(because I've seen this ep like a thousand times)and then it's two hours later, the evening is gone and all I've done is watch episodes of a show that I've already seen. It's almost like some conspiracy to keep me in the house and out of trouble.

09:03 / 28.08.01

(Betrays shameless ignorance:*)

I really didn't know about the cuts, Cameron - thanks for the pointer there.
I'd agree it's not a kids' show (though a lot of kids do like it), and I fear it's the old chestnut of "it's a cartoon, it must be for children". Tch.

But part of me wonders if the voters thought of it because it's one of the few shows you could watch and enjoy as a kid that you can still appreciate (perhaps moreso) as an adult... so many kids' TV shows which we might nostalgically enthuse about have been released on VHS/DVD now, enabling us all to see the painful truth : they're not really THAT good a lot of the time, and it's only the half-3D spectacles of rosy nostalgia that make us believe they are.

(That felt quite bold and provocative for my 2nd post on the 'Lith. I could be in trouble now...)

DBC

*Though not as ignorant as the people deciding to make the cuts, I like to think.

The Return Of Rothkoid

09:03 / 28.08.01

The cuts happened on Australian network TV, too; a couple of minutes, here and there, to make room for those lovely ads.

I have to say, though, that as fond as I am of the show, I've not seen it for a while. Some episodes, when I was last watching, seemed a little patchy, but I guess that happens with anything. It'd be sad if the show lost its teeth, though; I'd hope that Groening would have the sense to push for yanking the thing if it ever got truly dire...

09:03 / 28.08.01

They are starting to lose the plot a bit... It's a lot more rambly, they seem to be stretching sometimes. It's still good, though, and i spend far too long watching. Curse them and their quality programming!

I do give thanks every day, though, that the TV stations here leave the episodes completely untouched - i've never seen a bit on another channel that had been cut on the domestic ones.

Lazlo Woodbine [some call me Laz]

10:28 / 28.08.01

The writers do seem to becoming desperate, but they are doing very nicely on Futurama at the moment.

Ellis

10:53 / 28.08.01

Oh yes, Futurama is one of the best things on TV, you get the feeling that the good writers have moved on to show and left the Simpsons drowning?

Every episode is just so funny, the best episode though is the one with Nibbler turning out to be a space ranger, or the one with the Ally McBeal knock off in.

13:29 / 28.08.01

Where do you live that you get complete episodes in syndication, johnny?

04:10 / 29.08.01

quote:Originally posted by CameronStewart:
Oh, yeah, and while I do think it's still funny, some of the bizarre recent storylines and repeated use of throwaway characters is suggesting that the writers are growing desperate - they really ought to quit while they're ahead, instead of keeping it going for another 5 years and completely running it into the ground.

Part of the humor of the show is the way they DO run jokes into the ground. Sometimes they run them into the ground so hard they come out the other side funnier than ever. I have a feeling they're going to do that with the show as a whole. I hope so. If it's "visual crack," then I have to be one of the worst addicts EVER. Guess what I was doing before I took a break to go online and see what the Barbelithers were up to tonight? Yup. Stopped the tape just at the opening sequence. Maybe I'll go watch it now. Don't know what I'll do when it's all over. Finally give it up and go utterly crazy, I expect.

04:10 / 29.08.01

[YNH] - Ireland... Now, i have no documented proof that they're uncut (RTE - the national station - won't release the files

), but i've watched the show on <counts on fingers> five different stations from different countries, and have about forty episodes on VHS, and i've never noticed any cuts here. RTE show The Simpsons with (i'm pretty sure) one ad break in the middle, and one after the credits.

04:10 / 29.08.01

The Simpsons is CENSORED?!? Good lord, what do they leave out? Cursing? Lewd conduct?
(I'd pay a great deal of money to see Homer get into a typical 'doh!' situation and instead say 'FUCK!'. Just the once mind .. maybe the last show ever.)

I do love the Simpsons though. It continues to get a higher laughter hit-rate out of me than any television programme ever.

Subversive? Not by our standards I suppose, but it takes a lot more risks and is a lot cleverer than any other 6pm comedy show you care to name.
(Remember the George Bush episode? Or the Halloween one where the aliens ran for president? or the prohibition one? or .. oh fer chrisake, I could go on all day..)

Our Lady of The Two Towers

10:28 / 29.08.01

I remember a scene where the family is watching telly and Bush comes on and says his speech about wanting America to be more like the Waltons than the Simpsons and Bart replying that they were like the Waltons, they were waiting for the end of the great depression too. Now, was that from an episode, or was that done special for some other show or something?

11:32 / 29.08.01

>>>I'd pay a great deal of money to see Homer get into a typical 'doh!' situation and instead say 'FUCK!'. Just the once mind .. maybe the last show ever.)<<<

See, I don't know if you're kidding or not, but I had this argument with someone the other day - he was saying that he couldn't wait for the long-discussed feature film because they'd finally be free from the restrictions of television and be able to have the characters swear - whereas I say that although swearing can be funny, in the Simpsons it's completely inappropriate and would be the absolute last resort of desperate writers. I never want to hear Homer swear. It would ruin everything.

One joke I'm still amazed they got away with, and I'm very curious to know if this made it to the UK intact, is in the episode in which Ned Flanders, following the death of his wife, decides to try and find a new woman. Homer "helps" him by shooting a videotape of Ned for a dating service, mostly without Ned's consent. Part of Homer's tape is a shot of Ned in the shower, and although it's obscured by pixellation, it's nevertheless unmistakably clear that Ned has a monster cock that hangs down to his knees...

[ 29-08-2001: Message edited by: CameronStewart ]

Ellis

12:32 / 29.08.01

quote:Originally posted by CameronStewart:
One joke I'm still amazed they got away with, and I'm very curious to know if this made it to the UK intact, is in the episode in which Ned Flanders, following the death of his wife, decides to try and find a new woman. Homer "helps" him by shooting a videotape of Ned for a dating service, mostly without Ned's consent. Part of Homer's tape is a shot of Ned in the shower, and although it's obscured by pixellation, it's nevertheless unmistakably clear that Ned has a monster cock that hangs down to his knees...

Yes, that was in the UK one, it sure made me giggle.

Ned Flanders: 60 years old, huge penis anda body like a WWF superstar. Classic.

[ 29-08-2001: Message edited by: Ellis ]

12:53 / 29.08.01

The episode when Maud Flanders dies is the strangest thing i have ever seen on television. I'm still in some kind of shock...

13:49 / 29.08.01

Wasn't there an episode where homer did something and went "F---" with the rest of the word blotted out by flocks of birds flying away and trains and ned saying that was the loudest cuss word he'd ever heard?
That was pretty funny.
I still think that the whole "sacrelicious" bit was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Our Lady of The Two Towers

16:28 / 29.08.01

That was in the episode where Mr. Burns gets shot, Homer's motive being, no matter what he does, Mr. Burns doesn't remember his name...

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

18:07 / 29.08.01

quote:Originally posted by [YNH]:
Yah, Ellis, it's like that episode of the Simpsons where... And if I only do this once a day I'm pretty proud of myself.

Christ, I know what you mean. There was a time where someone would say "you remember the episode where Bart falls in love with the minister's daughter" and all of a sudden it's two and a half hours later and my sides hurt.

Subversive? Maybe. I remember an episode where Bill Clinton came on and gave Lisa some advice and marge says "That's pretty crappy advice" and Clinton responds "Well, I'm a pretty crappy president." Hee!

Still, the plots have been getting steadily more bizarre. But when it's good, it's gold.

01:01 / 13.10.07

Anybody know when the episode guest starring Alan Moore is supposed to air? I read that it was meant to have been on last week, but I missed it and haven't heard anything about it. Any details?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

14:45 / 13.10.07

TV Squad said 7th of October back in the Summer. But I suppose there's always some fluidity in the order these things are broadcast. Who knows, it might be tonight?

14:44 / 19.11.07

The episode with Alan Moore, Dan Clowes, and Art Spiegelman aired last night.

The first act, with the rival comic shop opening across the street from the Android's Dungeon, was brilliant. Moore, Clowes, and Spiegelman all were really good sports and sent themselves up hilariously. There's a Watchmen joke that made me burst out laughing. It's all really obscure comic nerd humour, and I recognize my bias for thinking it was the best part of the episode.

Unfortunately the comic store stuff is just the setup for the real plot of the episode, which is Marge creating a Curves-style "gym for real women" and becoming enormously successful, leading Homer to believe she'll leave him for a younger, more handsome man, which drives him to get plastic surgery. This stuff was just mediocre and sloppy.

18:50 / 19.11.07

I'm sure I was laughing out loud at the same point as Cameron. I hadn't been so amused by this show for some time. It's too bad the rest of the episode was so miserable.

20:59 / 19.11.07

I thought Dan Clowes' enthusiasm over the belt was hilarious if only for imagining him desperate enough that he's asking random 8 year olds if they know someone who could get him to write the character.

And I actually laughed louder at Moore's description of what he did with Radioactive Man ("so you liked I didn't do him at all?") than the Watchmen Babies bit.

Even if the rest wasn't really funny (the non-geek references parts -- it's Simpsons at its most 'eh' like the last years; but funnier than what I remembered the last years being), I liked at least that Marge's plot trigger being a poke at the industry's cheesecake (as well as the other jabs spread around).

"Maus is in the house!" (hehee Maus mask!)

And "a big black one" was a joke I wouldn't expect seeing on Simpsons.

23:23 / 19.11.07

scene with cartoonist over at youtube

watch it before Fox takes it down; Cameron was right again, that was very funny for us nerds.

Glenn Close But No Cigar

11:31 / 21.11.07

Full episode here

Watchmen babies!

12:05 / 21.11.07

Reading upthread, I was talking about adult-oriented jokes that were surprisingly left intact in the show - aside from Ned's giant dick and the Lost Girls poster on the wall in the Moore episode, I saw a repeat the other night that has probably the most jaw-dropping example:

When driving through the country, they pass a general-store-type establishment that has the sign

Sneed's Feed and Seed
(Formerly Chuck's)

The first time I saw that I fell out of my chair.

14:03 / 21.11.07

That's class. It took me a few seconds to get it, though, which probably explains how it got under the radar.