Cool News
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE finally inching forward!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with some good news for all of us longtime Simpsons fans. Yes, I did at one point own and wear my very own Bart Simpson Don't Have a Cow, Man! shirt. We've gotten multiple confirmations all day yesterday that the movie really is moving forward... Both from official executive peoples and Bart herself.
Contractmusic.com got the word on the script from Simpsons spokeswoman Antonia Kaughman. Here's an excerpt:
The show's principal voice actors have all signed on for the project and creator MATT GROENING is delighted with the script for the film.
The Simpsons' spokeswoman ANTONIA KAUGHMAN says, "Now we're going to get the best of both worlds, evidently... They finally worked out a movie team, a team of the writers, because we could never hire outside writers - they had to be Simpsons writers, and most of them were working on the show.
"They finally put this team together that has time on the side, and they've been working on the script. So the movie won't be at the end of the series - they'll be working simultaneously."
So, Groening is happy with the script, written by the cream of the crop of the Simpsons writing team. Score. Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, has also announced that they've begun work... which I assume means the voice cast is at it. Rumor has it as a 2007 release. Good ol' traditional animation. Gotta love it!
I got my fingers crossed for a great flick from these guys. They better be careful. There's a lot of Comic Book Guys in the audience looking for any excuse to proclaim "Worst... Movie... Ever!" I have faith, personally. What about you folks?
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This is gonna rock!
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Naff.
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Where is everyone?
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I bent my wookiee.
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That episode kinda soured me on the simpsons, which has been on a downward spiral for years. Hopefully this movie will reverse the trend, cuz the cliched humor is wearing a bit thin, and making people so cynical that they can't enjoy Revenge of the Sith (all the "NOOOO" whiners).
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There were two movies that I prayed would get shelved for all eternity: WATCHMEN and SIMPSONS: THE MOVIE. Well, I got my wish for one of them at least.... SIMPSONS has been terrible for the past 7 seasons (which means, by the way, that it's officially been bad more years than its been good, which is INCREDIBLY DEPRESSING), and, no, it's not better than 95% of what's on TV right now. SCRUBS, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, every damn thing that's on HBO plus a lot more is all much, much better than anything the SIMPSONS has choked out in the last six years. Yes, the show still deserves to be called "the greatest TV show ever" if only because "Homer the Heretic" is the single greatest half-hour in the history of television. But it's dead. Completely and utterly dead. The only way I'll be excited is if Conan O'Brien and Brad Bird is involved, but I highly, highly doubt it. I'll be skipping this one.
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Oh and Scrubs sucks, arrested development is funny as balls though.
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Jun 09, 2005 4:31:56 AM CDT
The "it's better than 95% of TV" argument doesn't work a
by capt. strider
As Zarathos pointed out, The Simpsons lost that claim a long, long time ago. It's sad that a second rate rip-off TV show like Family Guy actually got its act together and whipped the shit out of The Simpsons.
Oh... and the "well, it's hard to maintain the same level of quality after so many years" argument doesn't work either. It had a forgivable decline, then dropped off sharply around the 9th/10th season when Mike Scully was taking over.
Matt Groening should go on his hands and knees and beg Sam Simon and Brad Bird for help. And even that may not be enough. -
Jun 09, 2005 4:43:42 AM CDT
You're living in the past, Marge! Quit living in the past!
by monkey butler
If The Simpsons was launched today, with the episodes we've got today, it'd be off our screens within five episodes. It's just not funny anymore, and the only reason we tune in is because it's The Simpsons. Actually, it can barely claim to be that any more, the characters are so fluid and the situations so unrealistic. Marge with huge tits? Santa's Little Helper spokesdog for Duff? Death after gay marriage after complete character change (great idea, let's reveal Comic Book Guy's name, and let's have Flanders sleep with somebody outside of marriage)?
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I really don't understand it when people say the show is not as funny as it used to be. I think the problem is that it is exactly as funny it has always been. Remember when the Simpsons was considered "edgy" comedy? I mean we used to have parent groups screaming about Bart's antics, but Bart hasn't changed one iota and neither has anything else and parent groups have moved on. What has changed is us and all of the other TV that is not the Simpsons. I mean it's pretty hard to think of the Simpsons as "edgy" when you have several hours of Adult Swim on every night showing some of the most outrageous and funny comedy ever seen, Robot Chicken or Venture Brothers anyone? If you could watch the Simpsons in a cartoonless vacuum you'd see that it is just as good as it ever was, they have a formula and they stick to it. We've all grown up watching the Simpsons but the Simpsons has not grown with us. I really like the Simpsons for what it is and I do find it very funny, but when I watch Family Guy, or even Futurama, I actually laugh out loud frequently which is very rare anymore with the Simpsons.
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You talk a lot of sense. I would rather re-watch a season 5 Simpsons for the umpteenth time than watch most of the new shows once (or indeed, at all).
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Jun 09, 2005 5:04:16 AM CDT
Robot Chicken is the worst show I have ever seen. And I LOVE Set
by daddy tones
It's truly awful. Adult Swim has some of the worst shows I've ever seen
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Jun 09, 2005 5:05:43 AM CDT
The Simpsons is perfectly set up to do a send up of "Fight Club"
by shan
Homer as The Narrator, Barney as Meatloaf's character, Moe as the guy who owns the bar where they Fight Club in the Basement, Burns as the boss he can't stand, Wiggum as the police chief etc etc. The show's better set up to do a send up of this movie than Crimson Tide and it could be funny ... but as far as I know they haven't right ...? What does anyone think?
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ok, so i'd rather see a futurama movie, but if this can recapture the magic of the early years, we'll be suckin'-diesel and paying for our humble pie with fried gold.
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in the episode where Bart plays King David and finds that Goliath (Nelson) has killed his best friend. Take that Darth!
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Jun 09, 2005 5:40:11 AM CDT
I'm not normallu a religious man, but if you're up there
by gordonsalive
Its hardly the sort of movie to get physked about, but I'm pretty sure it will have longer legs at the box office then gwen stefani on stilts.
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The show has its funny moments but there hasnt been a decent Simpsons storyline in about six years. The writing of the current simpsons shows is just plain terrible. I hope the best for a movie but having the same writers on there doesnt fill me with exact confidence in the project.
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sorry you don't like Robot Chicken, but I think it's excellent. Seth Green's masterpiece. If you haven't checked it out, you should.
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All the celebrity appearances in the early series of The Simpsons were tasteful, clever and original (the Michael Jackson episode is great). Now we've got "let's build a tennis court. Wow, celebrity tennis players!". Really, watch the episode where Burns runs for governor and tell me that the humour or "the formula" hasn't changed.
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Sorry, that's the best Simpsons joke I can manage right now. That is all...
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Jun 09, 2005 7:00:20 AM CDT
I think the older episodes (series 1-5) had a distinct beginning
by gordonsalive
...with a little morality thrown in just to justify its edgy nature to parents. Nowadays the episodes seem overly fragmented and often end incomprenhsibly. That episode where Homer and Bart go scamming everyone and it ends with a court case followed suddenly by surfing??? WTF.
Its still hilariously funny at times, but the show feels skitish as it jumps around erratically from one short lived scenario to the next and then at the end has the front to let its characters announce that what happened in the episode made no sense. The current writers treat the TV series like its a pantomime, like everyone is in on the joke. There's no way that will happen for the movie... Give these guys a little more credit. -
Jun 09, 2005 7:03:01 AM CDT
Could go both ways.... upside would be 'southpark', down
by theginger twit
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End it, or give it a break.
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Yes, the show's declined in quality, but there's still nothing like it on tv for a couple of reasons: [1] It has an entire town as a cast. When Friends first started, the 6 actors counted the number lines he or she had in each script, to be sure everybody got an equal amount. The actors on the Simpsons play multiple parts, so a storyline can follow minor characters, and not just be about the family. [2] It has an 'unlimited' budget. The show's 'travelled' to Japan, Australia, Britain, Brazil, outer space, Duffland, Itch'n'Scratchy-land, etc. Live action shows can't match that, and other animated shows don't seem to have the imagination to expand outside the basic home/office/school/cafe sets. [3] A guest appearance from Paris Hilton is a major coup for other shows. For the Simpsons, it's Stephen Hawking, Stephen King, Tony Blair, U2, Mel Gibson, etc. [4] Back to the 'unlimited' budget thing, there's interesting 'camera' work on the Simpsons that live shows can't do, and other animated shows don't do. Overhead shots, x-ray shots (Homer's arm in the vending machine), tracking shots, cut-aways, inserts, split-screen, morphing, etc. Arrested Development is the only show I can think of right now that does any of this. [5] Issue-based episodes can drag, but what other show does satire these days? You'll get a joke or two about an issue on SNL or a monologue on Comedy Central, but they'll just be brief put-downs that don't explore an idea. [7] Because the show has a 'cast' of 100's, you have a real variety of characters. Other shows, live or animated, have a basic generic family, or a group of photogenic oversexed singles 18 to 29, or a group of quirky co-workers. They might have an ugly overweight sheriff or an ugly suicidal bartender or an ugly corrupt mayor or an ugly burned-out teacher or an ugly evil boss or an ugly sell-out clown or an ugly pair of spinster sisters, but those shows aren't going to risk losing audience/advertisers by basing an entire episode on them. So, in conclusion...I forgot.
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Jun 09, 2005 7:42:14 AM CDT
All of today's popular culture is still riding the coat-tail
by nadine_cross
That is all.
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Or his non-union Mexican equivalent, Senor Spielbergo? "Es muy bueno."
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...most of the Simpsons quotes I see on the internet ad-nauseum are from the last 5 years or so. And perhaps this is more of a commentary on other shows but The Simpsons IS better than most other things on TV. Unless you're in the "Who Wants to Ass Fuck an Apprentice on an Island While Being Criticized by a Limy Prick" fake reality show or "Everyone Loves the Fat, Bumbling, Retard Husband Married to the Hot Wife" sitcom or "Ultra Serious Crime Drama Filled with Has-been Former Movie Stars and Shot by a Loquatious Spider Monkey holding a Steady Cam with a Spin-Off for Each City in the Country" drama crowd. Whew.
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You forgot the "Shot in Vancouver on a shoestring budget and pray the fanboys don't notice the lack of character development and good story telling" sci-fi show.
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...if Brad Bird were to throw some of his gravitas behind it? Would that silence all you haters?
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Just in case you forgot. BRAD BIRD IS THE MAN!!!! www.cinematreasures.org
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Look, I think we can agree that the show is not at its peak and to be honest, it's hard for me to tell, because there are like three reruns a day, here, in Chicago, and the new ones and older ones just seem to blend in for me. That said, they still knock it out of the park, every so often, for me with a laugh-out loud episode. Recent ones I can think of: Homer does the PieMan superhero thing, Marge gets arrested for drunk driving, and though this is a few years ago, I think the Party Posse one is allout classic. Very topical, strangely, it was rerun a lot after the second Gulf War started. This show is still as good as any comedy on the air, and I do like Scrubs. Can't wait for the movie.
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The truncated 3 seasons of Groening and Cohen's bastard stepchild of a show are infinitely better than what's passed for the last 6 years of The Simpsons, which now suffers from "blender" syndrome.
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It jumped years ago. Personally i remember the episode when Homer goes on the run from a T.V station he promised millions of dollars too. He goes to Reverend Lovejoy who sends me to be a missionary. That episode was shit and from then on they got progressively more random. Every now and then you will get a great one, but you won't get anything near the likes of, Bart goes to work in the mafia club (all time favourite imo), homer in space. Hell even the X files one was fucking good.
For me the prablem is you can't sustain a show like that for 15 years in a vacuum. The writers have to either give up or...dun dun dah!!! Age the characters! Honestly it's the only way to get some freshness back in. -
It jumped years ago. Personally i remember the episode when Homer goes on the run from a T.V station he promised millions of dollars too. He goes to Reverend Lovejoy who sends me to be a missionary. That episode was shit and from then on they got progressively more random. Every now and then you will get a great one, but you won't get anything near the likes of, Bart goes to work in the mafia club (all time favourite imo), homer in space. Hell even the X files one was fucking good.
For me the prablem is you can't sustain a show like that for 15 years in a vacuum. The writers have to either give up or...dun dun dah!!! Age the characters! Honestly it's the only way to get some freshness back in. -
Now that would be a movie I would like to see.
Simpsons movie will suck. No one cares anymore. -
Jun 09, 2005 8:43:18 AM CDT
why not have the movie feature one of the characters having a bi
by hypeendshere
You know, have Bart turn 11.
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"Bake 'em away toys." The Simpsons is the best show ever but for about five years now, I have been totally disinterested in watching them go to some new exotic local every week. It is quite stale. My personal favorite episode is where Homer gets disability for being way over-weight.
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And the phrase "jumped the shark" jumped the shark when I read about it in my newspaper's Living section.
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Back when everyone in Earth was still watching.
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Jun 09, 2005 9:17:31 AM CDT
Just because in your newspaper, it does not mean it jumped the s
by tonywilson
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Jun 09, 2005 9:18:47 AM CDT
And i ment to say, are we going to do a favourite simpsons episo
by tonywilson
Mines Bart working for the Mafia or the one with Max Scorpio.
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is because it has just gotten to zany and out there for my taste. The Simpsons was at its best early on because it revolved around the family and situations that made you care what happened. There are some genuinly touching moments in the early seasons, yet it was extremely funny as well. Now it is just ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous. Yeah Homer has always been a doofus but the writers have just taken it too far at this point. Still I can't wait for the movie. It will be great.
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Yummy
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This topic is untouchable. Fuck anyone who says the Simpsons has dropped off. It may be different, and every show has a truely golden era in their tenure, but it is still a fucking laugh riot of a show. its comedic genius almost every time, and no one has ever been able to give me an example of how it isn't....
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...He'd be a perfect fit for the movie.
The show is not as good as it once was but I still enjoy it. Season 16 wasn't that bad actually. I'm gonna be the first in line to watch this movie, for sure. -
...because if he ain't in it, I ain't going.
(just kidding. can I buy a ticket yet?) -
The first few episodes of The Simpsons were complete and utter shit, they all revolved around Bart shouting "Cowabunga!" and "Don't have a cow man!" every five minutes and Homer wasn't funny at all, he was just really angry all the time. Oh, and the monorail episode is the best.
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Jun 09, 2005 9:55:13 AM CDT
Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that packet of powdered gravy I
by stinkfinger
NeoDurden hit the nail right on the head. The show stopped being funny when stopped being a show and started being a cartoon.
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I think a cool simpsons movie would involve a grownup Bart and his family. You could have Homer and Marge living with Bart and his family or nearby to provide the typcial Homer moments and mimic the Grandpa Simpson stuff, plus give Bart a kid that is a fucked up as he was. Make Lisa either into a successful person (like the episode where she was president) or make her into a drug addict. Anyway, the point is, the possibilities are endless. A movie that ends the series and explores the simpsons family after the kids have grown up has so many possibilities!
You could also explore the minor characters like Nelson (make him mayor or police chief), Moe could have won the lottery and bought Mr. Burns' house and Smithers now works for Moe. I tell you the possibilities are endless. -
Homer the Heretic, You Only Move Twice or Lake Terror.
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Jun 09, 2005 10:13:59 AM CDT
Alcohol... the cause of and solution to all lifes problems
by gordonsalive
Homer the sanitation commissioner is the best in my book. "I hate the public so much, if only they'd elect me... I'd make em pay.
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OK, I have a bullshit detector, and the basic premise of this article has me confused. If the script is finished and Groening loves it, why do you need to pull writers aside? Also, if they are working on the voices already, why do you need writers? This smells of bullshit to me. But, that's just me. I am sure there are people out there who can clarify this. But until I see a clip from the "movie" I am not going to believe this.
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Jun 09, 2005 10:18:46 AM CDT
hopefully the movie will have better jokes than the tv show
by josh_strapp
feel free to attack me fanboys
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...sliding off into the abyss. I read this "news" on chud.com two days ago.
DOH! -
Best episode ever.
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Family Guy is a FIRST RATE Simpsons ripoff!
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Like most of the talkbackers, I used to LOVE the Simpsons. So don't call us haters. It's just that when you get used to a certain level of quality, it's hard to take a consistent, dramatic drop. I guess that it reminds me of M*A*S*H, for those of you old enough to have watched it when it aired. I agree with most of the posters about the reasons for decline, mostly centered on the increase in gratuitous celebrity appearances -- the big warning was that horrendous episode when Homer started living with some lame-ass fucking celebrity couple. I can't even remember who, they were so lame (Sharon Stone?). The other indicator was that the citizens of Springfield became more and more cliched, and the writers lazily relied on this for jokes. Remember when the comic book guy was actually funny, because he was used sparingly? The fact that it has an entire city as a cast doesn't make it funny -- I don't see Northern Exposure reruns on 3 times a day. I can't believe that Fox is going to continue showing the Simpsons back-to-back with Family Guy, because it only points out how low the Simpsons has fallen. The Family Guy is now everything that the Simpsons used to be - FUNNY.
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I tend to poke my head in two or three times a season now just to see if it's as bad as I remember, only to find it's gotten worse. I mean, a sober Barney? Punishing the one genuinely decent, unselfish character (Ned Flanders) by gratuitously killing off Maude? Endless variations on passing off a bad joke by having a character talk about how bad of a joke it was? Endless ressurections of one-joke characters like Disco Stu? What's funny about Disco Stu? The Simpsons is about as bad as Family Guy these days, and that's so depressing, I wanna cry.
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If the simpsons movie could be half as good as the south park movie was that would kick ass. When the south park movie came out I really thought that series would start to die down but it just kept getting better and better. Maybe it'll have the same affect on this show somehow because we all know the Simpsons is far past it's prime.
P.S.- They really need to make another South park movie, especially now with all the new characters they have that would be absolutely hilarious -
The one movie I still wanna see is "man getting hit by football" starring George C. Scott,
OW, MY GROIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! -
...that the next big AICN story will be Ben Afflack (yeah, like the duck) considering doing the Aquaman movie, or a REMAKE of Hawaii 5-O. Book-em' Harry-O.
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I am hoping this is the harbinger of the series finally stopping. Then we can get to the business of getting Futurama back on regular TV again with new episodes, like Family Guy
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I'll watch it, even if it's bad I guess. I'll watch it.
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The only network shows I record are Simpsons, Family Guy, Lost, Arrested Development and The Office. So lay off The Simpsons, unless you really want Fox to replace it with Life on a Stick or Quintuplets. And as much as I love Futurama, don't bring it back. It ran out of juice, and unlike Simpsons, has a couple episodes I will turn off if they're on reruns. I can always watch any ep of Simpsons.
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Which is good as it's always an entertaing read, and with ROTS being the last SW movie, I needed another fix.
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Jun 09, 2005 12:10:31 PM CDT
To everybody who thinks the Simpsons has declined in quality...
by jefferylebowski
Get a spoon and eat my ass. The Simpsons always has been (and still is) extremely funny, well-written, and innovative. Maybe you whiny comic-book-guys are just nostalgic for the early 90s in general, when living in your parents' basements and working at Sam Goody wasn't so terribly sad.
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I'm praying that this movie isn't bullcrap, but I can tell its gonna be in the vein of the newer episodes, which is okay but kind of a bummer.
The first five or six seasons of the Simpsons were great because they were risque and edgy and borderline blasphemous and all, but they still had a heart, especially in the first three seasons, when Bart was a lovable little scamp and not the fucker he is now.
The new seasons, while still funny and all, are too much like Family Guy and not enough like The Simpsons. That's the one thing that always puts Simpsons over Family Guy in my ranking of all-time favorite television shows, the soul behind the gags that has kinda died in the Simpsons.
Here's hoping the movie brings it back. -
Yes, the quality has dropped drastically. One reason? It's easier to write well for characters when you're at least a little -- if not a lot -- smarter than the characters. And, the writers seem to be no smarter than Homer for a long time. It's one thing for a witty person to write a layered scene for a not-so-bright Homer, who is still an interesting character. It's another thing for some not-as-witty writer to come in and say, "Oh, I get it -- Homer's stupid...I can write that!" Also, a running joke around the office is "Who IS Homer?" To which we respond, ala Ian Maxtone-Graham (for example 8^), "He's whoever I SAY he is." If you enjoy the current iteration (oooh) of the show, fine. But don't say the quality is the same as it used to be.
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how much would that kick your ass?! (even tho I think Incredibles is overrated)
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I only hopes that it's closer in tone to the early seasons of the show.
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... But will still watch it.
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Look I;m not saying it;s crap. I'm just saying the quality has dropped quite alot overall since...oooh to be generous season 8. It is still a damn fine show. But the writers are running out of ideas. It means the stories become less beliavable and characters do think completly randomly, totally out of character. Everyone here who says it is as funny as it once was is living in a bubble. Either that or there standards have dropped waaaay to low for my liking. South Park, Family Guy and King of the Hill (especially the King of the Hill) are much funnier now.
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In older episodes, whenever the Simpsons would go to some event or show there'd be loads of non-characters there, basically extras who'd still have great lines. Like the guy who jumped out the window after he thought the PTA had disbanded or the guy who ate a bee because he thought it was a placebo. In the latest episodes those characters are completely gone, every time the Simpsons go to, say, a random movie it seems that all the poeple that they know have also decided to go, Apu's there, and Skinner and comic book guy and Bumblebee man etc... I agree with what someone else said, it feels so much more like a cartoon now than it ever did. Episodes have no begining middle and end anymore, what was the deal with that one where they went to Brazil and it ended with Bart doing the Samba inside a snake??
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I love it when they sing. Fave episodes: Bee-Sharps (number eight - burp! number eight - burp!) The casino episode (I'm idaho!) and burns' teddybear (damn papparazzo!). This movie will probably have enough comedic gold, and increased production values to be well worth seeing. And although the good jokes are further apart in the newest seasons, there's still plenty of quality there to enjoy.
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Cripes, I never thought I'd say those words. This coming from someone who started watching the Simpsons from the first episode.
Whoever says that the Simpsons is still a great show with excellent writing are either too young to understand, or haven't taken their daily dose of ritalin. The writing of the first 6-7 seasons (even though the first season is pretty tame and dry) was incredibly original, quotable, and above all, SATIRICAL. It poked fun at all kinds of American stereotypes, and was clever in how it engaged them.
The complete run of the "original" Simpsons ended in 1997, and since then, it has been replaced with a show that stoops to the in-your-face ass humor that is so identifiable to the A.D.D. generation of today. Not to condemn that genre... hey, Dumb and Dumber is my fave comedy, but it's become the comedy styling of a show that was never intended to be that way. The Simpsons (or the "Homer Simpson" show, as I like to now call it (... fuck, focus on someone else's antics for a change) used to be about interweaving storylines and clever wit, where now it has de-volved into consecutive one-liners and camera hogging. There are no boundaries, and the characters have become a mockery of what they once were. It's like all of the characters subtle nuances from the early episodes have come to the absolute forefront of their personalities and transformed them into an extreme (I hate that word), versions of themselves. It's really too bad. And it's NOT funny.
"Lisa needs braces" is still the tops episode in my books, by the way. -
They hit rock bottom when Homer kissed that gay guy.
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When the series was peaking both artistically and in popularity.
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Every time there is a talk back related to the Simpsons, it is a given that numerous people will post just to complain about how the Simpsons isn't good anymore. And, just as predictably, I'll come on to say that the new episodes are just dandy and the old episodes, until say the fourth season, don't hold up as well. I don't really like the idea of a movie, though. But I'm a curmudgeon like that.
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Since I do think it's funny, but not as funny as criticizing the storylines for not being as believable as they used to be. Oh well. What do I know, I'm a chump with a Beer Factor Homer t-shirt. And I tried to userid myself as Handsome B. Wonderful
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Warrants it being a film...fuck that! Big deal, they'll all go on an adventure, they'll be peril, few funny bits...yawn...
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1) PACING. Watch an episode from Season 3 or 4, and then watch a new one -- the difference in sheer speed is staggering. Everything's sped up to an incredible degree. The slower pace gave the show time to breath, now it seems like they're rushing to beg you to like them. 2) ZANINESS FOR ZANINESS' SAKE. In the "Homer goes to college" episode, creates a nuclear reaction in his training unit, and stumbles out like a lumbering, radioactive monster. This is a quick, throw-away joke that lasts four seconds. In today's SIMPSONS, this would become a major plot-point, and the entire town would have to stop him (see "Saddlesore Galactica"). The show used to go into lunacy every now and then as a sort of punctuation mark on a joke. Now, lunacy is all they have. 3) CELEBRITIES DOMINATE. In an old episode, celebrities would have a quick, random appearance (Barry White, Leonard Nemoy), or actually PLAY a different character (Michelle Pfeifer, Michael Jackson)... now, Alec Baldwin is having Homer live in his house, and the entire episode is tailored around him. Or Pete Townsend shows up, and the entire episode builds to his concert. etc. etc. 4) WRITERS AND PRODUCERS CHANGING HANDS. The reason all of the above happened? Ian Maxtone-Graham happened, who admitted to never having seen an episode when hired. Then a bunch of people left. Then the show promptly became a parody of itself, with each character now merely ciphers for whatever dumb pop-culture comments the creators want to make. Contrast Homer from LAST TEMPTATION OF HOMER with the Homer I just saw in the recent Super Bowl special -- it really has become a cartoon now.
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I think the Simpsons began it's decline for two reasons: 1) It got really religious for two seasons. Homer helping Flanders build a Jesus park. Bart becoming a faith healer. Jimbo saying that he only takes orders from his one and only lord. What the hell? The Simpsons used to be irreverant, and that made them funny. 2) The last two seasons have been nothing but episodes about Homer and Marge fighting, separating, divocing, etc. The show used to have a message that no matter what an idiot or screw-up you are, your family will still accept you. Now the show seems to be really negative, instead of funny. Who wants to watch a show where parents are fighting all the time?
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That's BULLSHIT! Ok so The Simpsons is better than...i dunno, Fear Factor? I wouldn't know, i haven't seen that show...and whenever Simpsons is on and it's a new episode i change the channel as much as i would if it was fucking Fear Factor. The Simpsons now is just another shitty show. I can't believe i'm saying that. And about the Simpsons not being edgy? Makes no difference. Family guy kicked the living shit out of the Simpsons and i consider it to carry the torch that needed to be carried, but i can still watch an episode of Family guy and an old episode of the Simpsons and laugh my ass off at the both of them. It doesn't matter how much we grow, ye olde Simpsons will ALWAYS be brilliant and edgy. Now someone go and sabotage the show so it goes away already.
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...the Simpsons jumped the shark is when a peripheral character like Comic Book Guy and a THROWAWAY JOKE like Disco Stu became MAJOR CHARACTERS with whole (multiple!) episodes revolving around them.
But was the last time you saw Mister Burns? -
Right on the money, man. You've got your facts straight. The show is absolutely luney nowadays. Just because it's popular, doesn't make it good. See Britney Spears for further evidence of that. As a sidenote, Harry, what the fuck is up with the top-left corner cartoon? Is it not possible to make a cartoon tribute to famous/favorite movies without eluding to you being torn to pieces in 5 million different ways? - Totally fuckin' classless.
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"What is it dad?"
"Tramapoline! TRAMBAPOLINE!!" -
I agree with all the comments about the show decreasing heavily in quality. South Park movie still remains to be one fo the funniest movies I have ever seen and I'm hoping they do another one after they finish the show. And David X. Cohen and Billy West have both stated that there is going to be a direct to DVD Futurama movie (possibly three of them), which is wonderful news, but seeing those in the theatre would be much more enjoyable.
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Can we all agree that this is a great show we all liked at one point? Anyway a movie might be good but without Phil Hartman the best semi-regular voice they ever had. McClure and Lionel Hutz were two of the funniest characters ever on the show. We'll remember you from such films as "Today we kill, tomorrow we die!" and Gladys, the groovy mule."
I love you, Dr. Zaius. -
Jun 09, 2005 3:28:35 PM CDT
God, a Futurama movie would be awesome... But Unless they had Co
by iamnicksaicnsn
there's no way it'll be THAT good. And as others have said, it'll probably be a celebrity-of-the-hour-cameo shitfest. Speaking of guest-stars, Patrick Stewart has rocked on American Dad, it's insanely awesome.
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Why does it seem everyone hates Family Guy? It's a good show, and definately better than the newer Simpsons, which if you look closer is trying to emulate Family Guy's style (fast, offensive, completely out of left field). They also copy Family Guy's style of lacking compelling stories (with exceptions) only with results that aren't funny. At least Family Guy makes up for it by making me laugh out loud, something TV doesn't do too often (ex: Chris watching 2 and a Half Men) any more. The Simpsons have lost it, because of incompetent writers, show-runners and so forth (like Mike "The Pitts" Scully) and the need to bring in a new celebrity EVERY FRICKING EPISODE just to get ratings. And Groening just smiles, nods and says the show is better than ever. And I thought Lucas ignored his fans! I brought Season 5 to a party recently and we watched "Deep Space Homer." While a few jokes went over everyone's heads (me and some other guy got the 2001 reference), they thought it was by far funnier than the newer episodes. About Season 5, every single episode is laugh out loud funny. All of them. Even the clip show (or is that Season 4?) is funny, and has (mother of God) a plot! I don't even watch the new ones anymore. They lost me at the Bart as a rapper episode. It's over. And I will no longer "suck at it's proverbial teet"...unless the movie is good. GET CONAN!
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"Look at those lawyers, they work in an office building, they have secretery's, and look that guy's wearing a belt. That's hollywood for ya."
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AMERICAN DAD BLOWS.
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Jun 09, 2005 4:05:54 PM CDT
Get the OLD writers involved or this will be absolute shite!
by johnnybluejeans
Ya know, the seasons 3-5 or so crew
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The Hank Scorpio episode was a classic. The possibly the funniest moment in ANY show ever was Sideshow Bob walking into the rakes. As I live in Britain and don't have Sky I haven't seen many of the newer episodes, but that one with the jockeys was just weird. And the one with that island full of strange people. Odd. By the way, does anyone have the Simpsons trivia calender for this year? Those are some damn hard questions!
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Bout 10 years ago the Simpsons got bested by South Park. Ever since then the Simpsons have travelled down that slippery slope where smut and garbage are packaged and sold to viewers at large as quality humor. The Sipmsons used to be cutting edge and witty. Now they are just a poor and tasteless parody of themselves. I have no interest in them anymore. They have betrayed their audiance, and have begun pandering to the most base levels. This proposed Simpson's movie at one time could have been glorious. Sadly while it may create new spark of interest from old fans, it will serve as nothing more than a mere death rattle, and not the beautiful swan song it could have been before they turned to the "dark side".
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...and wasn't funny until around '99. And the Family Guy is hilarious and really isn't a rip off of Simpsons. Despite being an animated show about a family, it's totally different humor.
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Jun 09, 2005 4:50:00 PM CDT
Screw Simpsons- I want a Futurama movie. PG-13 rated, to boot.
by zerocorpse
Simpsons jumped the shark a decade ago. Futurama was great, but died too soon.
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Jun 09, 2005 5:03:46 PM CDT
Bout doesn't mean exactly Dickhead. No wonder you still lov
by jethrobodine
MORON!
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Bitch all you want, you'll go and see the movie and call it ice cream. No one is putting a gun to your head to watch the show. You're just jealous that everyone involved with the Simpsons and their families can live like royalty for life from the syndication and DVD money, and you have to work at shitty jobs where complaining on fanboy sites is your only release from your cubicle and pushbutton prison-for-life. Groening, like Lucas, is laughing all the way to the bank and mocking your righteous indignation. Ooooh, it's not as good as the first few seasons. What an original sentiment. Worst bunch of whiny ingrate fanboys ever.
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Just a reminder y'all that Brad Bird cut his teeth on the Simpsons, had the equivelant of losing his baby teeth with Iron Giant, practically had teeth-whitening with Incredibles...just imagine what he might do (even as "Executive Producer") with a Simpsons movie. All you Simpsons haters go fuck yourself. Just Because.
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Jun 09, 2005 6:20:22 PM CDT
So by cream of the crop, do you mean current "Simpsons" writers?
by ribbons
Because I'd call that the cream of the crap.
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"The Simpsons" still has its moments, though they're few and far between now. Once in a while they even pull out a genuinely good episode. I think that the writers are smart, but they're also probably used to spitballing lines and inside jokes that impress one another in the process of writing but don't work at all as scripted humor.
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Marge:Homey,I thought you were Dead!!
Homer: I was,but in order to get into heaven I have to do some good deads.
Marge:Great,you can babysit maggie or mow the lawn or help me with laundry or-
Homer:whoa,whoa.. I said I needed to do some good deeds,I'm not running for jesus!!
One of the funniest lines ever in TV,the writers have been and continue to be the most funny and insightful in ALL of TV.Scrubs Sucks...I'm Out!!!! -
Jun 09, 2005 7:25:10 PM CDT
I would like to disprove a statement made by Harry Nutsack
by harrierthanthee
He or she (yeah right, we all know we're all guys here) was making an argument that it is a misconception that Simpson quality has faltered, and it just seems that way compared to new "edgier" shows like Family Guy and Robot Chicken. According to Hairy Nutsack, the reason people liked Simpson's is because it was edgy and controversial.
How then would you explain the younger generation liking the simpsons. What did I know a few years ago when I was 6 or 7 about controversy? Not much. And so what if there was cussing every now and then? The reason I watched the show, and continued to watch it into the 00's, reruns and some new episodes, is because it was funny. And sometimes they take edgy subjects and make them funny. The newer episodes take edgy topics, but they are not funny!
I think that many of those currently in control of the show are on drugs. Seriouisly under the influence. I want to be hopeful; every time a new episode comes out, I hope for the best. Still some new episodes just suck. And Harry Nutsack failed to produce any examples of good quality new episodes. I know that such examples exist, and their are a few quotable things in seasons 13 or 14. But damn do I hate potheads. -
Never try...
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I swear the single best moment in the simpsons: Homer getting the trampoline;the injury scene ala Gone with the Wind, otto breaking his back on it, Krusty pulling out the shotgun, that was classic simpsons hilarity. some great simpsons epidsodes are Grimey, the soul/uncle Moe's family feedbag, Homer the Vigilante, Boy Scoutz in the hood, and the Duffland episode( Homer and that Sandwich, never fails to bring the laughs). I was like most haters, new episodes suck, but I catch myself watching them and laughing my ass off, even if the stories ain't that good( a great recent gag is the one were Bart makes slogan T-shirts and he see's Krusty's exhbit at the convention "T shirts made for and made by kids;we pass the slavings to you" well Im still looking forward to this one, let's hope its good.
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To deathbysnusnu: Nope, I won't be paying money to see the film. I'll wait and catch it on video. YOU are the whiny fanboy with the loser job, I'm the animation professor currently on a paid 3 month summer vacation. *** To TonyWilson, Mel's Rockpile, zikade zarathos, El Vale, UES, JethroBodine: good, perceptive comments. *** To tango fett: good Family Guy comment, but your dismissal of American Dad may be premature. I hated Family Guy for years, based on the horrible first few episodes (the one in which Peter wrecks the towns cable is unwatchable). But once it hit its stride, it was amazing. So I'm hoping that American Dad continues to improve. The alien Paul Lynde is funny, but they need to lose the one-note fish.
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And as a loyal fan, I feel that they owe me.
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It's interesting that people would criticize "The Simpsons" for its desperate attempts at lunacy when they probably devote themselves to the cult of "Family Guy" which is, basically, built around lunacy. It's most identifiable characteristic is its irreverence and pop culture references. That said, it is a good show, and it does make observations about human behavior that I haven't seen on any other cartoon, or anywhere, really, that are priceless. Plus I like irreverence and pop culture references. But let's be consistent here. Just because you think "The Simpsons" sucks now doesn't mean you have to look for any and all possible reasons that it's true. It is uncharacteristic of what made "The Simpsons" great, although Conan O'Brien's most famous episode was batshit crazy ("Marge vs. the Monorail") and one of the funnier gags of recent years was based on Homer imagining himself gunning down a city full of people from a hangglider ("You can run, but you can't glide!") Again, maybe I liked that just because I like absurdist humor. I don't know why. Ask the fans of Patton Oswalt.
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I'm not sure whether times have changed or what, but Family Guy is so much edgier and funnier than The Simpsons these days. I appreciate all the laughs I got from The Simpsons, but it seems to be caving to political forces. Almost every episode now has some touchy feely Christian-flavored plot. The Simpsons has basically become Family Circus.
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Yeah, that's why a whole episode last year had the family placed in jail because Bart mooned the american flag. And PS. Maude was killed because of a pay dispute between the actress and the producer. Instead of having somene else do the voice, they killed her off. When the Simpsons went to UK, it one of the funniest shows that season. Hell, even the SHOW admits to being nonscentical at times.
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Homer's Triple Bypass has to be it for me. The line 'You're a stupid boy, Billy' and the theme song for the Springfield Police Department are just two high lights from it.
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It's funny how nearly everyone agrees that The Simpsons lost its relevancy after Season 8. Season 1 is unwatchable by today's standard, so in reality the run of the "true" Simpons is from Seasons 2-8. The show is no longer edgy, satirical, nor does it have any heart. I havent' watched an episode since Season 9, aside from a few Halloween episodes (which I might add suck now as well), because the show is just plain unwatchable. I really wish that whoever's in charge overthere would just put a bullet in this lame horse already. Spare the legacy of excellence created during Seasons 2-8, before its lost entirely! As for the movie: Why make this when the show hasn't been good in 8 years? Does anyone care anymore? Oh, and the best episode is the X-Files episode!
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It's really disappointing how bad the Simpsons has gotten since about the 1998 season. And it really sucks because the longer the show goes on, the less likely it is to see a good episode in syndication. Fox does not know when to cut it's losses.
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..how do you know that it isnt any good since then?
I mean after all..you haven't seen any? -
But the fact that I have no desire to, certainly must account for something.
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I don't believe Matt G would accept anything less from this film than us drooling fans are. I think it's going be great.
And let's all take a moment to pray that no one ever, ever, ever, tries to make a live action Simpsons movie.
Ever.
Espcially one with John Goodman as Homer (besides, as Homer himself said, "That's so obvious. It should be Gary Oldman)".
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