i have nothing snarky to say. the simpsons is the animated equivalent of comfort food. when it's good, it's satisfying. when it's bad, it's still something you'd order again. if groenig could just figure out a way for the simpsons to adopt Bender, it would be pretty fucking near perfect.
"Defamer combined the wit of The Onion, the breaking industry news of Variety, and the watercooler chatter of Page Six," said Penske. "It changed the way Hollywood works, and MOVIELINE.COM will take that one step further."
Good-bye, Defamer. I hardly knew ye.
Hello, Movieline.com-- Whither Seth, STV, and Kyle goest, so goest I.
You're wasting everyone's time if you're going to be some wank saying "writing's gone downhill" "this show rips" etc.
so just quit it.
Homer: OK, the trampoline was a bad idea. But you know what? At least I'm out there trying new things. If it were up to you, all we'd ever do is work and go to church.
Marge: That's not true.
Homer: Name one thing you've done in the past month that was fun.
Marge: I can name ten things! Uh...I made sloppy Joes!
Gunsmoke's episode were also an hour long, so that's a helluva lot more hours of TV produced.
While the Simpsons is hitting all time lows, most every other comedy is up this season (especially at CBS.)
And best episode in The Gamblor, it's Cape Feare. Everyone knows that. It's got Sideshow Bob stepping on the rake! And then he does it again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again!
Don't know about the replacing/replicating the voice talent thing. Human voices are incredibly distinctive, and while mimicry can work in short bursts, replacing the cast and keeping that mimicry sustained for another few years would be quite a feat- and then, people will inevitably be able to tell. And yes, I think there would be a fuss: the show sort of grew up with the Internet in the 90's its fans are famously vocal. No pun intended. Don't watch it much, at all, but the show still must be making money despite those amazing salaries. They must be worth it.
@Deskhackla at gmail dot com: AH! Thanks for sharing, Deskhack! Hooray! Does this mean we'll all be regrouping over at Movieline in the near future? I'm filled with so many emotions. I guess this doesn't mean that I'll be wandering the internet cold, alone, and confused for 40 weeks. I guess I won't finally be finishing all that work I slacked off on while I was reading/commenting at Defamer. Looks like it's back to just barely treading water at the job. Oh happy day!
But I still want a Defamer As We Know It Is Dead party. Come on, it'll be fun!
Denton would just crash the party and bring a bunch of his asshat friends over from Gawker. They would be so drunk and rowdy we wouldn't be able to have any sort of intelligent conversation.
@Juancho: that still bugs me since every fiber of my body felt bored with that show. I watched 5 full episodes I guess - intermittent, forced by relatives or girfriend - and all I wanted to see was "The one where the Central Perk explodes and everyone dies".
Considering that they all do multiple voices (with the exception of unique-sounding Yearley "Lisa" Smith), the voice cast is a bargain. Harry Shearer alone does more than a dozen. The cheapos at Fox have threatened to replace them many times, but that actually would, at long last, ruin the show for viewers who've stuck around long past its golden-years comedic peak.
@TedSez: Yeah, but if Denton replaced the cast, people would bitch for a couple weeks, then they'd keep watching because they're so used to it. There's something to be said about loyalty though.
The writing has been going downhill since the 10th season. I don't even laugh anymore, I just watch it because I've always been watching. Even so, Simpsons is only going to get bigger. I just hope they hire some new writers who can bring some life back into the series.
@Shak_0: I couldn't disagree more. There was a definite trough in the writing at approximately the time that you mention, but I believe that there has been a shaky but overall up trend in the writing. "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" was actually one of the most relevant pieces that they have produced in years.
Honestly, if they take this away, half my existence will be gone. Everyone, please stop trashing this show.
@ChillbearLatrigue: Let's just agree to disagree. I felt that the recent episodes have just been one pop culture reference after another and lack any real substance. They should have put it out of its misery a long time ago. "The Simpsons Movie" would have been a fitting finale. But then again , it's just my opinion.
@Shak_0: I agree with both of you! Allow me to explain.
The writing is clearly not what it used to be; up until around the 7th season, I was laughing out loud almost non-stop through entire episodes. It went downhill from there, until around season 13 I would go entire episodes without so much as a single chuckle. I could watch from start to finish without even smiling. It was like watching a bad drama, not a comedy, but not bad enough to be funny unintentionally. If anything, it was just cringe-worthy.
It's not as bad as that low point anymore. I can watch the newer episodes and easily mistake them in repeats for episodes from seasons 9 or 10 - when the show was on its downward arc, but still kind of amusing. It's improved to the point where it's at least no longer embarrassing to all involved. It's not all that funny, but it's watchable. The thing I still don't like about it is that the plots are now completely ludicrous while the comedy itself is pretty conventional. It used to be the opposite, in the best years. But I doubt that's going to change now.
I did really like the film and I think it was unfairly criticized. To me, it felt like an old episode, just extended and amped up and obviously also kind of ridiculous but in a way you felt it had to be to make it feel big enough to be a movie. But the jokes were laugh-out-loud funny in a lot of cases, which is something the show hasn't been in years. I would have also been happy if that was the series' swan song, but I can at least live with it if it keeps going as is.
Not if they change the actors, though. Did anybody *not* notice when Bugs Bunny's voice changed? Or Kermit the Frog's? (That even made it in as a Family Guy joke!)
02/27/09
the simpsons is the animated equivalent of comfort food.
when it's good, it's satisfying.
when it's bad, it's still something you'd order again.
if groenig could just figure out a way for the simpsons to adopt Bender, it would be pretty fucking near perfect.
02/26/09
02/26/09
"Defamer combined the wit of The Onion, the breaking industry news of Variety, and the watercooler chatter of Page Six," said Penske. "It changed the way Hollywood works, and MOVIELINE.COM will take that one step further."
Good-bye, Defamer. I hardly knew ye.
Hello, Movieline.com-- Whither Seth, STV, and Kyle goest, so goest I.
02/26/09
02/26/09
That's "goeth I".
Granted, it's not the execrable their/they're/there mistake, but still....:)
02/26/09
02/26/09
so just quit it.
Homer: OK, the trampoline was a bad idea. But you know what? At least I'm out there trying new things. If it were up to you, all we'd ever do is work and go to church.
Marge: That's not true.
Homer: Name one thing you've done in the past month that was fun.
Marge: I can name ten things! Uh...I made sloppy Joes!
Homer: That's not fun.
02/26/09
Marge: That's not true. (Sits up on her bed and is completely nude).
02/26/09
While the Simpsons is hitting all time lows, most every other comedy is up this season (especially at CBS.)
And best episode in The Gamblor, it's Cape Feare. Everyone knows that. It's got Sideshow Bob stepping on the rake! And then he does it again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again! And again!
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
But I still want a Defamer As We Know It Is Dead party. Come on, it'll be fun!
02/26/09
Denton would just crash the party and bring a bunch of his asshat friends over from Gawker. They would be so drunk and rowdy we wouldn't be able to have any sort of intelligent conversation.
Just like the new Defamer.
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
Er, shit. By Denton, I mean Fox, sorry.
02/26/09
02/26/09
02/26/09
Honestly, if they take this away, half my existence will be gone. Everyone, please stop trashing this show.
02/26/09
02/26/09
The writing is clearly not what it used to be; up until around the 7th season, I was laughing out loud almost non-stop through entire episodes. It went downhill from there, until around season 13 I would go entire episodes without so much as a single chuckle. I could watch from start to finish without even smiling. It was like watching a bad drama, not a comedy, but not bad enough to be funny unintentionally. If anything, it was just cringe-worthy.
It's not as bad as that low point anymore. I can watch the newer episodes and easily mistake them in repeats for episodes from seasons 9 or 10 - when the show was on its downward arc, but still kind of amusing. It's improved to the point where it's at least no longer embarrassing to all involved. It's not all that funny, but it's watchable. The thing I still don't like about it is that the plots are now completely ludicrous while the comedy itself is pretty conventional. It used to be the opposite, in the best years. But I doubt that's going to change now.
I did really like the film and I think it was unfairly criticized. To me, it felt like an old episode, just extended and amped up and obviously also kind of ridiculous but in a way you felt it had to be to make it feel big enough to be a movie. But the jokes were laugh-out-loud funny in a lot of cases, which is something the show hasn't been in years. I would have also been happy if that was the series' swan song, but I can at least live with it if it keeps going as is.
Not if they change the actors, though. Did anybody *not* notice when Bugs Bunny's voice changed? Or Kermit the Frog's? (That even made it in as a Family Guy joke!)