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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 24, 2014 1:34:44 GMT -5
i heard mine earlier - "get out here, boy! thar's a doin's a-transpirin'!
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Post by Frameous on Aug 24, 2014 3:46:17 GMT -5
I haven't watched so much Simpsons since the DVDs first hit the shelves. I'm pretty much a huge fan of the first 10-13 seasons, but after that I slowly lost interest. Simpson scandal update: Homer sleeps nude in an oxygen tent which he believes gives him sexual powers! Homer: HEY! That's a half-truth!
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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 24, 2014 22:35:09 GMT -5
principal skinner with jimbo in 19th century london attire: boy for sale! boy for sale!
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Post by Weirdo Writer on Aug 25, 2014 18:36:45 GMT -5
principal skinner with jimbo in 19th century london attire: boy for sale! boy for sale! "Hey, man, is this legal?" "Only here, and in Mississippi!"
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Post by afriendlychicken on Aug 25, 2014 18:44:27 GMT -5
My line sounds unfunny out of context. In the episode where Homer buys a gun and it accidentally shots in the kitchen and causes a knife to strike a picture of Marge straight between the eyes Lisa says: "No offense Mom but that was pretty cool." Hey, I found it on youtube:
Damn that just tickles my funny bone.
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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 25, 2014 21:11:25 GMT -5
here's another one of mine -
i love that ep anyway, since they go to tennessee (where i live). that they turned the sun sphere into a wig outlet cracks me up. never been to the sphere - maybe there really are wigs up there.
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Post by Frameous on Aug 25, 2014 21:53:28 GMT -5
Oh, Diablo Canyon 2, why can't you be more like Diablo Canyon 1?
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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 26, 2014 10:00:54 GMT -5
whoa, canyonero! whoa! the thing that cracks me up most about this is the canyonero sounds like a real name for one of those beasts. i bet car companies everywhere kicked themselves for not thinking of it first.
watching all of these eps in order has enabled me to pinpoint when my interest began to wane in the simpsons. i think everyone agrees that they have gone far past the point where the show was cutting edge and genuinely funny. to me it seems they keep it going now simply for the novelty of it - it's more notable of how long the series has lasted rather than the content.
anyway, for me, i saw the change around season 10. there were still good ones i liked - bart the mother was a good story between bart and marge - something they didn't do that often, when you dish upon a star - i saw that one yesterday and forgot how funny it was. i think ron howard's part sold me the most. homer simpson in kidney trouble was pretty decent as well.
but they changed homer too much. he was dim, getting into stupid situations, sure. but there was almost always a reason behind it. then he went from that to a kid with ADD that became a parody of himself. it was never a serious show, but they just made it too stupid. they lost the sweet side. or maybe i've just been watching the simpsons almost non stop since friday night and my brain is fried.
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Post by Mod City on Aug 26, 2014 11:58:29 GMT -5
Yeah, I enjoyed the Simpsons up until around season 10, and then it started to go downhill. It's too bad, because there were some really great moments early on, aside from the first season, which is atrocious, as far as I'm concerned.
A couple of favorites from the good old days, for me, include:
Homer buying a new television. Can't find a YouTube video of it, but the dialog is still something I quote whenever I talk to someone who's looking for or talking about a new TV:
Homer: [gasps] Look at these low, low prices on famous brand-name electronics! Bart: Don't be a sap, Dad. These are just crappy knock-offs. Homer: Pfft. I know a genuine Panaphonics when I see it. And look, there's Magnetbox and Sorny. Salesman: [walking up] Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. Those are all superior machines. But if you like to watch your TV, and I mean _really_ watch it, you want the Carnivale'. [shows Homer and Bart a TV very similar to their old one] It features two-pronged wall plug, pre-molded hand grip well, durable outer casing to prevent fallapart... Homer: Sold. You wrap it up, I'll start bringing in the pennies.
The salesman lines get me every time. "Durable outer casing to prevent fallapart..." I demand that in all my household appliances.
Possibly my favorite appearance on the Simpsons was the James Woods episode where he works at the convenience store while researching a role. He's always talking to his agent on the phone while he's working, and you can always only hear Woods' side of the conversation. Of the few things I remember from that episode:
The full text from that scene has him talking to his agent about changes to his character. Woods' frustration mixed with go-get-em attitude is hilarious. "That's a pretty good explanation" is just one of the best all-time lines on the show.
JAMES WOODS: Tony, T-Tony, you're my agent, you have to do something about this. How can it be the same movie if they've changed my character from a tightly-wound convenience store clerk to a jittery eskimo firefighter? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Hmm. Actually, that's...that's a pretty good explanation. Now this gross, this'll be gross points right in this new...? Okay. Yeah, 'cause those monkeys... yeah, okay, great. Okay, look, book me a flight, rent me an igloo, and tell those dorks at the Kwik-E-Mart that boom! I am outta here, I'm a dot, I'm gone, okay? What do you mean, I gotta give two weeks notice? (tries scraping some cheese off the oven) Why you frickin', no good mother-(beep) (beep-beep-beep-beep) cheese! ...No, not you, I'm just talking to my oven.
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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 26, 2014 14:38:50 GMT -5
i had forgotten all about the new tv, mod. i wish i hadn't missed that one. yeah, woods was a great guest - that whole ep was funny.
i don't know when it was when i really gave up on the simpsons and quit tuning in for them - it's been a few years at least. when i left the house a few minutes ago to go back to work after lunch, they were just starting the 12th season. still funnier than they have been in the last few years. i'm looking forward to new kids on the blecch tonight, when bart, millhouse, nelson and ralph become a boy band.
before i left though, i caught the end of behind the laughter, which gave us this gem -
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Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 26, 2014 19:14:09 GMT -5
Like the timing of MST's glory years, I was the perfect age for the premiere of the Simpsons (age 14 in 1989). I taped every episode, even back in the Tracey Ullman days. I'd watch it live, immediately watch the tape, and then watch it again during the week. I would write trivia quizzes for my friends and recite lines until my throat was sore. I was "that guy". And just like my MST fandom, the advent of the internet only magnified my addiction.
For me, the turning point was "Simpson Tide". I remember the night that aired and the distinct feeling of "What the hell is that!?" (to reference my favorite Dr. Nick quote). Seasons 9 and 10 had some fun episodes and some pretty awful ones. But "Simpson Tide" was the moment I felt the mojo disappear and I started to hope for good episodes instead of expect them. By the end of season 10, I had stopped recording every episode. By season 12, I stopped watching every week. By season 13, I stopped watching altogether.
It wasn't so much the dumbing down of Homer that drove me away as much as the stunt guest stars and lame plots that didn't even try to stay consistent with established characterization or world building (Homer joins the Navy, Bart joins a boy band, the Simpsons build a tennis court, etc.)
But to celebrate instead of complain, here's a quote from my favorite episode: "Homer, on your way out, if you want to kill somebody, it would help me out a lot."
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Post by Frameous on Aug 26, 2014 19:29:49 GMT -5
Being a bit younger, I hung on a little longer. Simpson Tide is a great episode for my money, so I was still on board at that point. I continued watching out of loyalty for a long while, even after it began to disappoint more than delight. I can't pinpoint where it went off the rails for me, but I remember all at once plots seemed recycled and the gags moribund. I've lived on re-runs and DVD ever since, enjoying the highs of the shows zenith.
Having seen both sides of the coin, I truly feel it is better to burn out than fade away.
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Post by afriendlychicken on Aug 26, 2014 22:38:43 GMT -5
watching all of these eps in order has enabled me to pinpoint when my interest began to wane in the simpsons. i think everyone agrees that they have gone far past the point where the show was cutting edge and genuinely funny. to me it seems they keep it going now simply for the novelty of it - it's more notable of how long the series has lasted rather than the content. anyway, for me, i saw the change around season 10. there were still good ones i liked - bart the mother was a good story between bart and marge - something they didn't do that often, when you dish upon a star - i saw that one yesterday and forgot how funny it was. i think ron howard's part sold me the most. homer simpson in kidney trouble was pretty decent as well. but they changed homer too much. he was dim, getting into stupid situations, sure. but there was almost always a reason behind it. then he went from that to a kid with ADD that became a parody of himself. it was never a serious show, but they just made it too stupid. they lost the sweet side. or maybe i've just been watching the simpsons almost non stop since friday night and my brain is fried. That's pretty much the exact same thoughts I had while watching yesterdays episodes. I lasted through season 10 but somewhere in season 11 it just started jumping some minnows if not the actual shark. A few episodes I've watched over the last four hours of season 12 left me flat. Bye, Bye Nerdy & Simpson Safari were yawn inducing and the episode Trilogy of Error with the three story lines: Homer's thumb cut off/Lisa's science project/Bart's fireworks bust wasn't funny because it made no sense. And having a monkey at the end talk and state the obvious silliness of the episode just made me gag. Could that last one be the episode where the shark appeared? EDIT: Wow, looking online I see most people consider the Trilogy of Error episode the best of season 12. I couldn't bare it. Obviously to each his/her own.
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Post by nondescript spice on Aug 27, 2014 10:44:31 GMT -5
that's funny, chicken - i made a point to tune in for trilogy of error last night because i remember liking it. yeah, the ending was a bit lame; it felt like they didn't know how to end it. but i liked how it was constructed - and any show that features cletus automatically makes me like it a little more. some folk'll never lose a toe, but then again some folk'll...
i was around 21 or 22 when the simpsons really took off, and i totally got into it. had the bart simpson tshirt (i'm bart simpson, who the hell are you?") and went to the house of some co-workers to watch it on thursday nights and quip the one liners the next day.
like mr. a said, the lame plots really began to take it's toll, especially (for me) around 11-12. how many times can homer piss marge off and have to find a way to get her to forgive him - how many times can lisa face a moral/ethical crisis, how many times can bart wreak havoc? that's when they start giving the townspeople story lines - and that can easily flop for me.
i really think it was what they did to homer that ruined the show for me. for the most part, marge, lisa and bart remained true to their original characters - but making homer into an overgrown 2 year old with absolutely no control doesn't work for me. he can quit his job any time and go back any time - he can take crazy, stupid risks because he knows he's a cartoon character. i liked him better when he was an overworked dad who could barely keep up with everything, getting himself into situations for a reason, not just to remind us again that he's indestructible.
i hated that the halloween episodes got so un-funny over the years, too. they started turning for me around season 9. used to, i really looked forward to them. they just don't stand out anymore.
i also sort of agree with mr. a about the guest stars - i guess it depends on who it is. and i know mr. atari probably won't like this, but i'm thinking of putting together my top 5 favorite simpson episodes because i'm wondering what they are.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Aug 27, 2014 13:04:39 GMT -5
i also sort of agree with mr. a about the guest stars - i guess it depends on who it is. and i know mr. atari probably won't like this, but i'm thinking of putting together my top 5 favorite simpson episodes because i'm wondering what they are. The only way I won't like it is if you don't include "You Only Move Twice" or "Last Exit to Springfield" in your top 5, because then I don't know if we can be friends. Actually, if we kept it to seasons 1-10, I could easily list my top 5 and bottom 5. That could be fun. I found this article, and thought it makes an interesting point about when things changed (if you can endure a rehash of the whole "jumping the shark" cliche). I'm a big fan of "Homer's Enemy", but I think they make a good point. Especially in the description that it's when the character becomes "untethered from the reality" of the show's universe. I think we all felt it happen sometime in seasons 10-12. I liked Trilogy of Error. It was fun to see the plot work its way in and out of each character. I always enjoyed the episodes with unique storytelling like that, or the even better "22 Short Films About Springfield".
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