The Big Picture: The Simpsons Is Still Funny, Part 2

[Suicidejim]

I can't say I agree with Moviebob on this one. His views and analysis are certainly interesting, but his hypothesis that the original Simpsons episodes worked so well mostly because they were a parody of stereotypical American TV storylines is, well, a bit America-centric, really. I'm British, and I never grew up with that kind of influence (except for Friends. God I loved Friends), yet I loved The Simpsons, not because it was slyly pointing out the humour in the American pop culture of the period, but simply because I thought it was funny. Well, to be fair, I was pretty young, and seeing a man fall repeatedly down a large gorge is the kind of thing that can reduce any child to hysterical laughter.

Personally, I feel that it just got too familiar, and familiarity breeds contempt, or at least boredom, which can be equally fatal. A lot of the earlier episodes focused a lot on the family and their interactions with the world around them, but you can only explore a character so much before you've more or less explored everything, especially when they're trapped in some sort of eternal time-lock, trapped at the same age while the world around them moves on. Homer can only mess up so many times, Bart can only play a finite number of pranks, Lisa face a new issue of social awkwardness or rejection, and ventually it's going to start to get stale. This, I suggest, is why a lot of the newer episodes became simple flat-out satire (pick a popular thing, then mock that thing for the entire episode, and repeat until the season is done), because the characters themselves had been fleshed out as much as possible. The sad thing is, everything, even TV shows, have to die.

 

[General Vengeance]

Thanks for another great year Bob, looking forward to 2012.

 

[D0WNT0WN]

As soon as Bob said one of his favorite Simpsons Episodes was "22 Short Films About Springfield" I burst out laughing thinking of the "steamed hams" line.

 

[putowtin]

here in the UK you're gonna find it hard to watch anything past series 7-8 if you don't have Sky TV (damn you Murdock, you won't get my money)

Myself, I lost interest after seeing the movie... wow was that bad!

 

[EvilPicnic]

So after all this, 4 out of Bob's top 5 Simpsons episodes are from 15+ years ago...

And I can't say I agree with Bob linking the decline of the Simpsons to the decline of a US TV monoculture - I'm a Brit and the Simpson's was HUGE here despite our sitcoms and TV culture having a completely different feel. It was just very very funny. And now isn't. In my opinion.

I think the Simpsons has declined. Unlike many of the other continuing cultural milestones from my childhood (such as South Park, which hit me like a bomb at the age of 12. And Doctor Who, which for me was in the form of the Virgin New Adventures and VHS tapes) I have no affection whatsoever for new episodes of the Simpsons.

The most damning evidence for decline (at least anecdotally) is that after struggling through some recent episodes, I accidentally caught a random early episode and found it side-splittingly hilarious. And the worst thing is it wasn't even a particularly stellar early episode...

My diagnosis? What was once boundary-pushing and new has now stagnated and become the establishment. Ergo: comedic demise. Same jokes, just not funny any more.

 

[soren7550]

The latter episodes lack the well-written narrative and wit of the former. It seems that the writers are embracing cheap gags and Family Guy inspired humor. The Simpsons had a fantastic run, but I would like to see them go out with a bang rather than linger.

^This really. That and their heavily leaning on celebrity guest stars as well as the episodes that use plots from older episodes and/or utterly re-write Simpsons history.

I also don't think that it's subjective. Interviews with Groening have shown that he doesn't care as much (going as far as to disown certain episodes and remove his name from the opening credits). The plots frequently meander, trying to shoehorn irrelevant guest stars in. The animation has become wooden in favor of a "HD" effect. The Network obviously doesn't care, as evidenced by the near-firing of the voice cast.

It's not a decline in quality, it's an utter stagnation. Nothing is moving in any direction.

Yeah, the HD computer animated thing is another reason why I hate the new Simpsons episodes.


Just wondering for those who stopped watching the Simpsons: what was the episode that made you stop watching? 'That 90s Episode' was what did it for me.

Side Note - I like how Bob was going on about how the show is still great, yet out of his top five, only one was made after season twelve.

 

[AMMO Kid]

Now, I'm not exactly sure how accurate this next thought will be:

I wish they would focus on good shows like Futurama (because Futurama isn't milked dry...)

 

[Baldr]

I'm still sticking still with with the magic seven theory. A show can only stay as funny and top performance(fresh) for seven seasons, nine if it has an exceptional cast, and possibly twelve if you change up the cast or story between seasons four and six.(but at no other time)

 

[Pinkamena]

Adventure time better than MLP?

Spoiler: pony inside

Joking aside, Adventure time is really good too!

 

[Carl The Manicorn]

Bob, I love the Simpsons. They hold a special place in the pit of my soul. My father rented the first three seasons and we watched them all during the winter. So I do have to agree with you, the Simpsons is still a funny show. You know it will be a sad day when they go off the air.

As for the My Little Pony vs. Adventure Time business, well... I prefer Regular Show, but Adventure Time surely beats out My Little Pony.

One last thing though, it would be sweet if you did an episode about modern cartoons. It seems like the modern cartoon program is seeing a resurgence in these modern times. They bring the funny better than half of the junk on T.V. it seems.

 

[The Last Nomad]

I think you're alot more alone in you're opinions than you think MovieBob. Especially since that 'typical Simpsons fan' you describe in this week and last weeks episode (this is sorta a response to both since I only just watched them both) really only applies to Americans. And probably only a small percentage of them. Irish people, like myself, generally got Simpsons episodes a couple of years after they came out (especially in the early days) and as such all the direct parodies would have been lost due to time and displacement. However, I still found it to be the greatest show ever. I think that was due to the different types of parodies used in the 'new' and 'old' Simpsons. Older episodes tended to parody ideas or concepts or stereotypes seen in other shows, whereas newer episodes parody exact things, like people or events or companies, much like Family guy does.

But the most important thing that I think has happened to the Simpsons that has caused this decrease in quality is one thing: Heart, or lack thereof. The Simpsons used to be about family more so than anything else. They would go through difficulties and manage to come through together, often due to Homers Love for his family despite his stupidity. Whereas in the new episodes its more about the extreme situations they can get into that no family could go through and stay together, and they often don't explain how they get out of the trouble they got into. They characters have become more exaggerated than before also. Homer for example is much much much more stupid, and barely ever shows any emotion other than stupidity. This makes him a lot less likable. The same thing can be said about almost all the supporting characters, they too have gone to extreme versions of themselves.

EDIT: and as for the surprising amount of reaction to his one line reference to two totally different shows, they are both worse than the Simpsons... although possibly on par with the 'new' Simpsons. And none of which should still be on the air.

 

[adamthecg]

AURORA BOREALIS? In this part of the country? at this time of year? localized entirely within your kitchen?

yes.

Well may I see it?

no.


Probably my favorite line of any tv show ever.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

This episode was incredibly insightful. I hadn't thought of such a notion before.

At the same time, I don't think it defends what the Simpsons has become. If anything, I think this shows even more why the show lacks relevance and needed to die with dignity instead of being milked for every advertising and merchandising dollar down to the last drop. Still, this episode was in top form.

 

[Farther than stars]

your favorite simpsons episode was written by the guy who made futurama with matt groening.

you should talk some time about the relationship between the two shows and the incredibly smart writers that were involved in both.

Oh, that's a tough one too. What's better, the Simpsons or Futurama? I suppose you could say that Futurama is more creative, but the Simpsons covers broader and more impactful subject matter.