Cool News
Herc’s Seen New KING OF THE HILL, The First Post-Movie SIMPSONS & The STAR WARS Edition of FAMILY GUY!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
Squandering much of the good will engendered by the franchise’s silver-screen debut, “The Simpsons”19.1 is mired like so many of the series' 21st century episodes in bizarre comedic misfires (Homer puts lotion on a firearm! Homer makes Lionel Ritchie gratuitously insert the word “beer” into his lyrics! Otto rides a giant tortoise naked!) destined to keep discerning viewers away at least one more season. The best part of the installment is its homage -- in an all-new title sequence -- to "The Simpsons Movie." Which is then immediately forgotten as Homer employs a pair of bowling shoes in a quest to overcome his festering envy of Monty Burns’ private jet. Stephen Colbert, who has already provided the voices of better characters like Professor Impossible, Tek Jensen and Ace of the Ambiguously Gay Duo, tonight turns up as Colby Krause, a not-very-good life-coach.
The good news? Fox’s Sunday premiere night gets better as it goes along. Bobby’s new interest in football traps Hank into betraying Herc and Harry and Father Geek’s alma mater in “King of the Hill.” Laugh at Hank’s angst when he must wrestle – as his son looks on – between fair play and his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help the University of Texas get into the Rose Bowl. Laugh again at a running gag about LuAnn and high-definition television.
Finally, “Blue Harvest,” easily the best episode of “Family Guy” I’ve seen to date, is an hour-long affair that mocks mercilessly the lapses in logic attending the original “Star Wars.”
It’s fair to say that Alec Sulkin (“The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn”), who scripted the episode, and Dominic Polcino (“King of the Hill”), who directed, share a far more intimate understanding of the 1977 movie than did “Spaceballs” masterminds Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan and Ronny Graham.
Polcino apes the details of “Episode IV” meticulously, to the point where at times it feels like we’re looking at rotoscoped footage of the movie itself. The actual John Williams movie score is employed so liberally one wonders if producers squandered half the season’s budget on it.
A lot of the jokes are what some have come to describe as “Family Guy awful,” as when the rebels’ X-fighter “red team” turns out to be comprised of Red Buttons, Redd Foxx and Helen Reddy. A pointless and laugh-free “Deal or No Deal” sequence arrives out of nowhere. And tellingly, there’s a lot of audience-pandering nonsense about R2D2 and what looks like a bag of pot.
Some of the best scenes, though, are hilariously pointed, as when one Death Star officer complains to another about his station’s lack of railings. And when Darth Vader points out the ease with which the Death Star’s lone point of vulnerability could be eliminated. And when Luke makes sport of Han’s Empire-vexing “maneuvers.”
Other great gags deal with Watto’s encounter with a lightsaber, Aunt Beru’s noisy tenants, the Blues Brothers movie, Magic Johnson’s oratory, and the Robot Chicken Star Wars episode of three months ago (co-created, of course, by “Family Guy” regular Seth Green).
There are loads of “Airplane” references, and Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo inexplicably reprise their roles from “Vacation”! “Family Guy: Blue Harvest” is far from perfect, but also can’t-miss TV.
“The Simpsons” 19.1: **
“King of the Hill” 12.1: ***
“Family Guy” 6.1: ***1/2
“The Simpsons”: 8 p.m. Sunday. Fox.
“King of the Hill”: 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Fox.
“Family Guy”: 9 p.m. Sunday. Fox.
Angel: Complete Series Collector's Set * Battlestar Galactica 1.x [HD-DVD] * Battlestar Galactica: Razor * Chappelle's Show: Complete Series * The Colbert Report: Best Of * Doctor Who 3.x * Dr. Katz: The Complete Series * Entourage 3.x Vol. 2 * The Film Crew: Giant of Marathon * The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo * Frasier: The Complete Series * Futurama Movie I: Bender's Big Score * Gilmore Girls: The Complete Series * Gilmore Girls 1.x / Veronica Mars 1.x ($47.99) * Grey's Anatomy 3.x * How I Met Your Mother 2.x * Jekyll: The Complete Series * Jericho 1.x * Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Vol. 5 * Lost 3.x * The L-Word 4.x * Medium 3.x * Michael Palin: Pole To Pole * MXC: Most Extreme Eliminatiion Challenge 3.x * My So-Called Life: The Complete Series * Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Vol. 12 * Northern Exposure: The Complete Series * The OC: The Complete Series * The Sarah Silverman Program 1.x * Saturday Night Live 2.x * Scrubs 6.x * Seinfeld 9.x * Seinfeld: The Complete Series * Smallville 6.x * Smallville 1.x / Supernatural 1.x ($47.99) * The Sopranos 6.x Vol. 2 * Stargate Atlantis 3.x![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=aintitcoolcoa-20&l=ur2&o=1" width=)
* Star Trek 1.x [DVD/HD-DVD] * Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete Series ($304.99) * Studio 60: The Complete Series * Superman: Doomsday * Supernatural 2.x * Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians * Twin Peaks: The Complete Series * Two And A Half Men 1.x * The Unit 2.x * Veronica Mars 3.x * The Wire 4.x * The X-Files: Ultimate Collection * Young Indiana Jones Vol. 1
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he gave info on some new episodes. one was jack black opening up a rival comic book shop. lionel ritchie singing 'say you. say me', but homer changes all the words to 'beer'... there was a bunch others, but it was a few days ago and ive already forgot the rest...
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Blah
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... was a left over from last season.
The first *actual* Season 19 episode airs in November. -
CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL
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The very fact that they called the episode "Blue Harvest" is funnier than any joke they've done on that show in a while. And I LIKE the show.
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I must admit to ignorance. Also, does anyone know of someone putting up the whole episode to watch and have a link? I had to work.
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Or something. What am I, a nerd?
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was the fake working title of Return of the Jedi, and was stamped on the reels sent to movie theaters.
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it was an easy way to tell bootleg memorabilia from the real thing.
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'Blue Harvest' was a cover name for the filming of Return Of The Jedi in the United States to throw people off the trail of it's production. They even created shirts, hats, jackets and a bunch of other stuff with 'Blue Harvest' emblazoned on them for the cast and crew to wear. 'Blue Harvest: Horror Beyond Imagination'...
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Han Solo was awesome in 3:10 to Yuma!
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are better than the best of the borefest King of the Hill.
Colberts best voice acting was of course Phil Ken Sebben in Harvey Birdman.
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Is defantly the most under rated show on TV.Its classic sitcom TV,but since its in the form of a red-neck cartoon its dismissed pretty quickly and easly.Im just glad its lasted this long.
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It has way more substance then the simpsons and family guy is nothing but pop culture parodies...might as well call it scary movie on tv.
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Every season is consistently funny, and there has been no drop in quality. Each character is incredibly well defined, and that's why it's enjoyable. Does anyone else realize what a fucking gem this show is?
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Sep 23, 2007 7:05:16 AM CDT
"Polinco apes the details of Episode IV meticulously.."
by osmosis jones
"...to the point where at times we think we're looking at rotoscoped footage from the movie." So, again, I'll ask...WHY is it funny to replicate something from a 70's or 80's movie or TV show VERBATIM?! Typical Family Guy bullshit. Reproduce some obscure bit of pop culture trash, and add drug and fart jokes.
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"Oooo, I remember that!" NOT FUNNY. Hey, I grew up in the 70's and 80's too, but, sue me, I don't find it amusing to watch Donny Most rising out of the fog for FORTY-FIVE SECONDS, only to say "Actually, it's *Don* Most now", then sink back into the fog for ANOTHER forty-five seconds. McFarlane does this at least a dozen times every episode: taking what SHOULD be a throwaway gag and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it out past the point where any sane viewer would find it remotely amusing. "POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER! POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER! POW, RIGHT IN THE KISSER!" [repeat for next thirty seconds]
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The first time I knew MacFarlane had utterly mailed it in was when there was a shot-for-shot, rotoscoped-or-whatever paddling scene from Dazed and Confused. OH MY GOD! THAT WEIRD SIMIAN DUDE IN THE OVERALLS! HE WAS IN THAT! In good news, we may be able to pay off the national debt if we fine MacFarlane $50 whenever one of his character utters the phrase "Remember the time..." or "It's like the time..."
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Simpsons isn't funny anymore, but at least it had a good 10 seasons. Family Guy was NEVER funny. Manatees can't write.
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Animated series can get out of the living room and office satirize our entire society. And one of these shows is funnier than Everybody Loves Raymond and dreck like "Back to You". By running these shows, Fox redeems itself for it's one-sided news coverage.
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And although I love King Of The Hill, I got no idea why they had to make it animated? I think it would work as live action too.
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Yeah, I forgot one word. Got a problem with that?
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This used to skewer both left and right fairly equally. about season...call it 12...it took a hard left turn and has never recovered. Not that anybody cares any longer. I certainly don't.
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The only way they get away with the show is *because* it's animated. Had this show been live action, it wouldn't have survived a season. The fact that it's animation makes all the difference.
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from the Simpsons after the superb movie. The movie was far better than it had any right to be. Maybe they should just make Simpson movies every four or five years and give the TV Show a rest.
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Shouldn't we wait to see it before trashing it?
My wife and I totally dig the Family Guy. It's probably the only comedy on T.V. that (at least once in each show) makes us laugh out loud. -
King of the Hill jumped the shark a few seasons ago, going back at least to when they inrtoduced the redneck Lucky on to the show. It can still pull out a classic now and then but most episodes are just tired now. They ran out of plots.
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Sometimes he waits for her to finish.BTW, doesn't "alma mater" imply graduation? I mean, I know that it can mean any school that one attended, but isn't implicit in that the concept of graduation? 'Cause otherwise I've got like four alma maters for undergrad (only ONE of which I actually graduated from).
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I still cant get over how many people dog The Simpsons now. Yeah,its not as good as it used to be,but even the WORST episode of The Simpsons is waayyy funnier than 90% of the shit thats on TV now. Complaining about The Simpsons is kinds like complaining about how you're tired of fucking Cindy Crawford EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
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Phil Ken Sebben owner of Sebben & Sebben on Harvey Birdman: Attorney at law
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The simpsons hasn't been funny for years now. get over it and except it.
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Harry graduated from the University of Texas? Like, actually completed his credits and graduated?
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To hell with the CLONE WARS and live-action series, I'm STILL waiting for the true EMPIRE sequel to be released! Lucas? Kershner? Anyone interested?
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has something that a lot of animated programs couldn't fathom...subtlety. Yes, Hank still has the flagpole of Texas, and the mores of the '50s rammed squarely up his ass, Bobby will become obsessed with the pop culture trend of the moment, Peggy will still believe she's the smartest person in the room (if not the entire city of Arlen), Luann will still be the sweet but naive dimbulb, and the rest. The difference is King is a parody of life, and a satire of class and culture in the South. Whereas increasingly Simpsons and since day one Family Guy, has parodied pop culture in general and in FG, specifically. But as far as funniest animated program right now, I gotta give it up to Venture Bros.
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Wow. I love Star Wars. I grew up with Star Wars. It's a part of the fabric of my life. But please, please, please stop making parodies, satires, take-offs, homages, references and whatever else to the movies. It's a cottage industry that no longer has the ability to be funny, fresh or biting. We've seen it before. Heck, as this episode points out, we've now had two high-profile ones in the last three months. Find something new.
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The Al Pacino movie, "Cruising", was just released on DVD, where he cruises gay bars while looking like a hairy monkey.
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But I kind of liked ROTJ. Of course, it was no Empire Strikes Back, which was a masterpiece. But ROTJ was still better than all the prequels...which were direct-to-video acting and writing slapped with huge budgets and "Star Wars" titles.
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That's just 80's nostalgia talkin'. Episode III boasted a better ensemble effort, inspired direction, tighter script, lush cinematography, and an absolutely majestic score. Compare and contrast the reviews on Metacritic--it's no contest. ROTS belongs with ANH and TESB, constituting the true Holy Trilogy.
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That's what made the movie so good. Last season I think they had an episode centered around Groundskeeper Willie. Who the fuck wants to see an entire episode based around what is esentially a one-note joke? Ah well, at least I have my DVD's. If this was a more perfect world, we'd all be known as the Flimpsons.
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a couple of scenes that make it inferior to "Jedi" (despite the Ewoks). The awful attempt at reminding us of the love story early on, "Nooooooooooo" (which was okay if you accept it as intentional cheese), and the robot saying Padmae "died of a broken heart" (this one is un-fucking-excusable). Plus the fact that Jedi had better actors and two previous movies that made us actually like the characters makes Jedi a better film. Sith was trying to, admirably, pick up the slack for the first two films.
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IN BOREDOM!!! HEY NOW!!!!
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*shakes Magic 8-ball* "Signs point to No."
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Everyone has nailed all of the shortcomings of hugely unsuccessful shows and movies that definitely weren't cultural phenomenons.
Really ingenious stuff - manatees wrote Family Guy? Simpsons was only good for the first 10 years? The new trilogy sucks?
I'm glad you people said this - repeatedly - because honestly if I didn't read it here I don't think I would've ever heard any of it again.
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Fuck that. Jedi keeps it simple: The good guys won. Lando got a snappy new cape ensemble. Nobody died. Sullen gen-Xers are denied the "dark" twists desired by all posers. All hail Return of the Jedi!
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for the Simpsons (which, to be fair, takes a while, given the 294 producers), I sighed loudly three times in disappointment at terrible, repetitive jokes. Fuck Season 19.
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The use of Blue Harvest has been explained, but what some of you seem to be unable to comprehend is that it isn't MEANT to be funny. It is meant to be clever or a nod to the history of the movies. Just because something appears in a COMEDY SHOW, doesn't mean it has to make you laugh, it can be satirical or a parody or whatever.
As for those of you who are blindly paying out on Family Guy, The Simpsons & King of the Hill, I bet as babies you slapped your mother's breast after feeding. Frickin ingrates!
Go read JOBACCA's post and stop your bitching and moaning. Waa Waa, it's not making me laugh, waa waa, I don't see why it's funny, waa waa, I need my comedy dished up to me as I like it or I have a tanty.
SHAAADAAAAAAP!!! -
What is that music that plays during the sequence in which Homer fills out mazes at the Krusty Burger depressed? And they play it as the musical interlude to bridge the scenes. It's driving me nuts.
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The entire writing staff should be fired. This episode is painfully unfunny. Awful. What a waste of 30 minutes.
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light up the fatty and enjoy.
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I wanted to the new Family Guy, but alas I must wait for a re-run.
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Cos the first 25 books don't have an ending, only that marvellous edition "Z" has one....
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...for the FG episode. God, I hate this show. I think you have to be from the bible belt to enjoy this.
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is family guy is far and above the horrible horrible, american dad
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Between this and Robot Chicken, let's certainly hope so. An opening credit sequence and scene actually longer than the movie itself? A FUCKING CONTEMPORARY GAME SHOW JOKE? At least get Howie Mandel to guest-voice... he's still low on funds!
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In that Syriana knock-off "The Kingdom"... when that Arab informant tells Jamie Foxx that the terrorist he's seeking is "like a ghost," Jamie should say "I ain't 'fraid o' no ghost!" which would be followed by 30 seconds of awkward silence (eating up the rest of the trailer) because the Arab dude was not a Ray Parker, Jr. fan in the 80s.
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It worked marvelously when it ripped on Star Wars, but not when it was "family guy." I love random humor but The Family Guy's random humor just misses too often. That Dirty Dancing number was awful! (I did like the Dr. Who Hyperspace bit though)
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what were the references?
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Sneaking around to Minnie the Moocher
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I'm not a fan of the show, and this episode was a good example of why. Lets just do star wars, with some lame jokes thrown in. Wow. Awful. And this got ***1/2. Are all of you guys blind and deaf?
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A fucking Grey Poupon joke???!!! Are you fucking kidding me?
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Debussy's Claire De Lune. And Family Guy still sucks dick.
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Pretty easy to do when you're just ROTOSCOPING LIVE-ACTION FOOTAGE VERBATIM. And the couch jokes were done better on Friends ten years ago. "Now pivot! *pivot*! PIV-OOOOOOT!"
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I liked the episode alot, the Han's "manuvers" bit was freakin genius, but I wish they had gone to the wall with every-single-line being a joke as opposed to, you know, just saying the lines and showing the same shot. Didn't happen all that much, but it was there. Still, awesome to see it done pretty well, anyway. Liked it alot, still good.
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Family Guy Sucks. Simpsons Sucks. Star Wars was great,but now it sucks and it sucks so bad that all my once fond memories of it now suck. Oxygen sucks. Food sucks. All the naked wimmins I gots tied up in my basement WONT suck and thats why they suck. No one knows me and I'll never do anything with my life,but I have an internet connection and its my duty to inform you that what I think sucks does in fact suck and you suck if you dont agree it sucks.
That about cover it fanboys???? (and yes I realize the absurdity of calling myself Jobacca and coming on here to call out my fellow fanboys. If you've got a problem with it,SHUT UP....you suck) -
...and I remember why I stopped watching. They did do a good job with the animation, but the rest was lame. The perverted old man bit is tired and the musical number made me cringe.
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Employing the usual "throw a bunch of jokes against the wall and see what stick" technique, most of it sticks quite well. A fantastic episode.
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Thanks for the music tip. And I have to say I was pretty disappointed overall. The best part was the reference to Robot Chicken.
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The Emperor/Vader/Luke scenes are the only thing keeping SW geeks from seeing ROTJ for the shit movie that it is. But really, were they that compelling? I watch it and just hear some Dungeons and Dragons reject cackle "Give into your hate" ad infinitum. Not exactly THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, folks. Hell, the lures Palpatine crafted for Padme and Anakin were far more interesting, and I can recall at least a dozen scenes from ROTS that transcended anything in JEDI. I say again: III, IV, and V constitute the true Holy Trilogy.
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Family Guy jokes! ~ Something-something-something 70's TV reference, something-something-something 80's movie reference, something-something-something fart/drug/sex reference.
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You're right Jobacca, the whole universe sucks...Black holes? Man, you better believe they suck!!
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thats nice of the seths to give chevy a little work; he needs to stay busy
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Hands down. I can't even discuss the good parts because it was all greatness. The funniest thing was the fact that the only part where I wasn't laughing was a throw in for Dirty Dancing so my wife would actually laugh for more than 10 seconds of the show as well. Greatness.
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I take it all back. I forgot that I have to pretend like I am sooooo much more smarter than the writers of any of this stuff. And Matt and Trey are GODS. I can't believe people are still referencing the manatee thing??? What a bunch of tools. Family Guy beacame stupid because the South Park guys said so. Wanna know why. Because they do a cable show where they are allowed to say "DICK" whenever they want. SO their show is by far a better product. Stupid South Park FANATICS!
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Fuck, I mean... Star wars references was cool 1990, when the hype was dead and star wars itself wasn't cool anymore. It was just dead. THEN was a good time for star wars jokes. The whole thing got an upswing with the prequels because it's fun to bash them. Hey, they deserve it. But can't we fucking stop now? John McClane mentions Boba Fett 30 years late makes him cool? Family guy, a show that's never been funny, does a star wars thing NOW? MY HEAD A SPLODE!
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FG was embarassingly bad tonight. The song and dance number was among the worst in the show's history. The one bright spot was the couch gag and I chuckled at the end bit with Seth and Seth.
Simpsons was ultra lame too. I agree with whoever said King of the Hill was king of the night. The laughs were so genuine. -
What did they say? Hitler invaded first?
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I usually like Family Guy, but it just seemed like an hour-long circle jerk to me.
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it sure sounded like the fat junkie...
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That was indeed drug-addled gasbag Rush Limbaugh on the radio. I kept waiting for the punchline of that joke, but it never came.
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I have ever seen, and I do not like the show to begin with.
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One last thing. Coach McGurk (from Home Movies) as well as Bender and a few other have cameos in the cantina. That was kinda cool.
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To be honest there's not a whole lot of satire to be had; there's a couple jabs throughout, but it's not exactly like they zinged Lucas but good or anything like that. Pretty solid episode though.
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shit made me laugh.
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Man, how the hell do you fuck that up? There's so many jokes you can do with Star Wars and they go with the "limp lightsaber" gag? And those Magic Johnson and "Vacation" bits proves the Matt and Trey's theory. Amazingly lame stuff.
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Of course not as good as it was in its first 200 episodes, but lower your standards people! it's still better than most things on tv. I laughed out loud at least 5 times. I'm not even counting chuckles there. Meanwhile, Family Guy continues its decline.
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Didja miss the Kid Nation talkback earlier this week? Didja need to say naughty things about the 11 year old girls?
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I go to work in 6.5 hours, I'd like it ready by the time I get there. Thanks Jimbo
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But somebody said it wasn't funny anymore -- so it isn't. Sheesh. Kirbymanly even confirms it 2 posts later. Just because they can say "pussy" on thier show they are the authorities.
Fanboy in me LOVED tonights show. For all the haters, go ahead and enjoy yourself some Thumb Wars. -
was this a covert piss take of South Park? They mentioned Robot Chicken was the highest rated show on comedy central, and that comedy central isnt even a big network.
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Family Guy fails to amuse. I do not understand why people seem to think this show is so great. I might have laughed once in the whole hour. Last time I intentionally watch that show.
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These Star Wars jokes are like 20 years-old. Its like the Seth's are getting credit for jokes that have been around a long long long time. Course for me the real geekspasms are when I hear Lucas himself ripping on Star Wars in the commentaries. That beats all the drunken college dorm humor anyday.
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I heard Robot Chicken / Cartoon Network not Robot Chicken / Comedy Central.
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Sorry, morons.
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There, I said it....it was kinda funny when it was in Toy Fare magazine but then it got old. They turned it into a TV show and it got old even faster. The jokes are always fucking obviously telegraphed moreso than Family Guy. Robot Chicken is fucking moron bait.
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For some reason, it slipped my mind. I did catch the "Family Guy" episode, and I thought it was funny. Was it great? No, but it did make me laugh. Plus, I loved the John Williams reference.
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Robot Chicken easily beat that. And Robot Chicken is only mildly funny. The first few seasons of FG are rerunning on regular tv and it makes me miss the time when the show had actual plots and funny cut away jokes instead of just lazy cut away jokes. The Doctor Who thing made me smile. And then wishing I was watching Doctor Who instead.
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I am very middle of the road and non-political, but having met both Al Franken and Rush Limbaugh, I must say there are huge differences in even their basic decency. Al Franken was smug and nasty. Rush Limbaugh was prob the nicest celebrity I've ever talked to in public. I was with my grandfather, who has never even listened to him(lol) and is a bit slow, and RL engaged him in talk about serving in ww2. Franken acted like a pompous ass. I don't get it. I would think it would be the other way around after hearing both shows.
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Darth Vader stewie was funny, tiny little jedi....hehe...should've had a "BLAST" when he got knocked off the tail of Luke.And no GIGGITY!!!!??? Dropped the ball on that one. I agree about the animation being good.
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Family Guy is like reading a blog now, or listening to someone tell you about a dream they had.
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everything to do with taht fuckin couch was good "i'm seriously taking this couch" or when he helps luke in the end "see doesnt this couch make shooting shit funner?" but they PSYCHO 98'd it a bit by having so many flying scenes verbatim, did we really need to see the exact fly shot of the falcon leaving mos eisley? or entering yavin 4? felt like they animators were jizzing themselves. also every other line was just the SW script to the letter.
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Good work manetees.
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I'm not sure how my comment figures into your post. The bottom line is-- and I don't think I'm alone here-- that episode was extremely sub-par from what it should've been. You obviously have a guy who's a HUGE SW fan. Enough of a fan to call it 'Blue Harvest' for crom's sake. But most of the episode is either an extremely, over-used lame joke or shot for shot re-do's of SW. When we saw the multiple shots of the Falcon flying into Yavin (fuck, I know that name?)... there was at least a minute there where they could've tossed in SOMETHING humor related. It stopped being farce at that moment... (and many moments before due to the lame jokes. I mean, how fucking long are you going to the milk the joke that Obi-Wan wants to fuck Luke?) Half of the show just wanted to be an animated version of Seth McFar's Star Wars. What we just witnessed was a complete, fan-boy jerk-off session. I'm guessing it was solely done just so he could have the "Family Guy" version of the Star Wars poster in his room... So, go and download Hardware Wars on You Tube. Its 20-something years old and 20 times funnier.
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The Robot Chicken Star Wars episode was soooo much better than the FG episode. It had its moments, but I agree with one of the previous posters that...it should have been more balls to the wall with non-stop jokes instead of just recreating moments from Star Wars with FG characters. Huge missed opportunity. And yeah, the Grey Poupon thing...lame. Thats the type of joke that Mel Brooks would find howlingly funny.
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But I got to see most of it last night and laughed my ass off through most of it. Some of you guys really just need to take a step back and turn off your brain and have fun. We all know a lot about film and how it's made, that knowledge can get in the way of having a good experience when watching media that we would have probably enjoyed before our "edification". If you can't turn it off you are gonna have problems enjoying most movies.
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Far and away.
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but a couple of jokes hit the perfect-score note. "Oh no! they killed John Williams! now we have to do the rest with Danny Elfman *typical D.E. music* (lightsaber beheads him). Nice references about the absurdity of some plots ("hold your fire, we detect no life forms" "What, you pay by the laser-blast?" ) and great little reference to Nat. Lampoons Vacation! ("Roll up your windows!") other than that, very hit and miss epi.
The Simpsons, nice intro! ("Will not take 20 years to make another movie") the rest... how many times have they used the homer-lost-his-job-and-don't-want-to-tell-marge plotline????
BTW, I wonder if they animated the intro a long time ago and waited to see if the movie was a hit to introduce it in the epi or keep it away in shame if the movie bombed....? -
I don't know; the problems I have with newer episodes of "Family Guy" aren't even really technical. I just think it's kind of shallow and disposable. I know, I know, "who cares; it's FUNNY," but you only say that because you watch it. You might think that Benny Hill is mildly diverting, but if somebody tried to convince you that you should carve half an hour out of your schedule each week to celebrate the virtues of people in drag being chased in and out of doors, you would probably think they were nuts. Because wacky and irreverent can only go so far before they become completely uninvolving; or to paraphrase an older, better episode of Family Guy, "ruthlessly absurd."
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It was too close to the actual film. I appreciate the work the animators did, but you could have animated it well and had the dialog less similar to the actual movie. I kept on thinking about how much better Futurama is at satirizing Science Fiction. I was surprised that I actually found the Simpson's enjoyable, although it still would have been a crap episode if it aired during the first six or seven seasons, but by today's standards it wasn't bad at all. It actually had a plot. King of the Hill was the best of the evening though. I always underestimate that show, so long as the mom isn't the focus.
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Ah c'mon, it was funny. Besides, I've seen SW so many fucking times, I don't think I could ever sit through it again in its original format. It was like watching the movie with more laughs. As for the Simpsons, all I have to say is Seasons 1-9. I don't know exactly which writers left before season 10, but the 10th season is so much different -- for the worse -- than 9 was. Not that 9 was a gem, by any means, but man...season 10 is where it all fell apart. The Simpsons has always been one of my favorite shows, but I haven't really paid attention to it in the last 5 years. It's kinda weird to say that a show I love is only slightly more than 50% good throughout the course of its run now. I like to see it as two different shows. Seasons 10-19 is another show...that ain't the Simpsons to me.
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this star wars episode of family guy was alright. it made me laugh a few times but thats bout it. most of their jokes are running jokes and well most of are enlongated basically for filler and are poorly animated. when i say poorly animated I mean like useing the same thing over and over. For example, the episode in which brian is a reading a letter from stewie which is entirely too long and the whole animation sequence for that scene is brian moving is eyes from left to right for about a minute. Mcfarlene does this constantly. oh and the flailing arm balloon gag wasn't funny the first time i saw it on family guy cuz it was on madtv. I know alex borstein is writing some of these shows but honestly it wasn't funny on madtv or on family guy x2
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Every time I see that interior of hyperspace shot in STAR WARS, all I can think of is the opening credits to the early-to-middle Tom Baker era of DOCTOR WHO.
So kudos to FAMILY GUY for finally being the first STAR WARS send-up to externalize this rather obvious gag that's been rattling around in the back of my brain for years and somehow, inexplicably, fifty million other STAR WARS parodies have managed to miss.
Oh, and I did like the BLUES BROTHERS "Minnie the Moocher" sneaking reset. That was fucking gold.
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. . . of the time I was Knight Rider's car.
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I had a feeling that this episode had Lucas' blessing! Normally, I laugh my arse off at FG, but this episode felt like it had been severely dulled down. Much like Lucas' writing. Did the Robot Chicken back-n-forth at the end, however.
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Mel Brooks was given a bunch of shit for Spaceballs parodying Star Wars when it did as being too late...20 years ago..! Whatever happened to that cartoon that G4 announced this past summer?
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I'll admit that I'm what you call a conservative-friendly libertarian, so I can see both sides of the political coin. The Rush thing was pretty funny. As for Rush, I've always heard he's a pretty nice guy. I live 30 minutes from his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. As for hosts like Rush and Hannity, I pretyy much disregard much of what they say politically. They(particularly Hannity) try to play themselves off as relatively devout Conservatives(and maybe the are for the most part), but they end up supporting the lower right to moderate Republican candidates who stand in the face of everything they preach about. The funny thing about Limbaugh is that most people think he's Mr. Ultra Right Conservative, but he's actually more of right-wing moderate. Especially, when it comes to the pop culture. The guy honestly doesn't make a big thing about language on tv, or Janet Jackson's tit during the Super Bowl, and laughs when people suggest that music makes people misbehave, etc. Hell, he doesn't even go to church. Either way, I'm not a big fan, just making observations. As for FGSW, I thought it was pretty decent. Admittedly, I've got a lot of catching up to do on past FG ep's. One of the highlights for me was the Doctor Who reference. Wonder how many viewers had no clue on that joke. I give them credit(despite the overuse of pop culture references) for doing the "Who" gag. Not since Freaks and Geeks, or an episode of Beavis and Butthead has there been reference to old school Who. There were a variety of other great jokes, and some mediocre moments. I enjoyed the John Williams moment. The thought of the London Symphony playing the People's Court theme(especially the bongo player) was dated, but hillarious. Overall, it was a funny ep, but certainly not perfect. And yes, Star Wars parodies have probably been over done.
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that made me burst into tears of laughter. My god. Funnier than the last 10 years of the Simpsons.
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You fail at life. How does Cock taste you boring cunt.
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fuck you. the end.
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Comedy is subjective. family guy is popular not only because of the off beat non sensical humour but also it's comedic timing which you can't see. suck a dick.
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was terribly UNfunny. Beautifully rotoscoped for sure, but absolutely painfully unfunny and boring. The dirty dancing bit was shit and pretty much killed the show with its lengthy number. It got maybe one or two genuine laughs out of me and one Oh-that's-fucking-cool moment with Bender and Coach McGuirk in the background of the cantina.
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It looked more like the movie to me, brighter colors, a little more depth, smoother. Like with the plane shots and such.
KOTH was pretty funny if you discount the whole thing being based in homophobia. -
You came off as being too conservative. Depend upon what circles you frequent, there is no place for you. Even being a mix of semi-conservative and libertarian gets you nowhere on both sides of the political coin. Believe me, there are plenty of intolerant idiots on both sides! I think we're seeing some that now. But, it's only an internet chatroom, so that tells you what you're dealing with. hehe I'm only kidding. Most of you are alright by me. Either way, Darkhawke, you must be hung for your conservative crimes against cyberspace! ha ha
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When is South Park coming back?
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Oct 3rd..and i believe Cartman suffers (or is diagnosed) with Tourette's......beauty.
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But it's still a pretty good show. The characters are what make the show. Writing it off as something for only the bible belt is a sign that you've never really watched it. Yes, it's all about subtlety. There are few episodes where you'll find anything "outrageous" or raunchy. Oh, and where did that "based on homophobia" comment come from??
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Both FG and this recent Simpsons -- with the plane -- used Futurama's old technique of creating computer-animated models of ships and covering them over with cartoony art and lines. BTW, I think people tend to overlook how well-animated Futurama was compared to the other animated comedy shows, and will be again.
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What's up with everyone here? I thought 'Family Guy' could do no wrong.
Its about time somebody cut off Danny Elfman's head with a lightsaber... -
His older stuff like Beetlejuice, Batman, etc was great. But his recent efforts are bland. I was always disappointed that the Spider-Man movies barely have a noticable theme. There's a common cue that you remember when you hear it, but it doesn't leave you humming the song afterwards like Superman or Batman.
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... did the Simpsons theme and the Batman score in 1989. He should have stopped then, and just performed "Goodbye-Goodbye" and "Weird Science" with guys in velveteen tuxedos in Holiday Inn lounges across the land for the rest of his life.
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i actually met rush a few times way back in his break-out period in sacramento when he started his radio show. he knew i was a flaming lib, but i liked his show then because he allowed callers to challenge him (as opposed to the non-stop dittoes up his ass now). he was always kind and interested in what i had to say. that said, his cameo had no punchline and on the air he is a revolting wretched hypocrite junkie, par for the course being a good friend of bush.
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I think the implication is that if Bobby doesn't embrace football, it puts his manhood in question. According to Hank, of course..
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The empire wasn't so bad. And it turns out the rebels were a ragtag group of terrorists led by extremists from an antiquated and outdated religion. Now that would be funny.
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...and anyone who thinks he only does the OOOPMA-OOOMPA Rota/Herrmann stuff over and over stopped listening to his music around the time of Beetlejuice. Sommersby, Dolores Claiborne, Black Beauty, Dead Presidents, Mission: Impossible, A Simple Plan? Pay some fucking respect. Would you rather be listening to Steve Jablonsky or James "Dah-dah-dah-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Horner?
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He works really hard. He wrote Pee Wee and Batman and the Simpsons. It's not his fault people can't remember the theme to Spiderman. He is the greatest film composer that has ever lived and you people need to show some respect! He also wrote the score for Edward Sciccorhands and Hot to Trot.
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Glad to see some back-up for Elfman, and mention of A Simple Plan..one of his best, moody scores..
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drewlicious - wasn't there an ep of Futurama with a news report about the terrorist attack on the Deathstar? everyone needs to lighten up on all 3 shows. they all have their good points. I have never understood how anyone outside of Texas can appreciate KOH humor.
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I don't like Family Guy because the guy's chin looks like a pair of balls.
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Damn, I wish Mike Judge would do more movies.
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Being from Nebraska last night was really funny for me. The games are pretty much like that although the outcome would have been more violent if it were Oklahoma fans visiting Texas. For some reason their fans are dicks. One thing I'll never get tired of is the many ways Bobby can horrify Hank. "No HDTV. They look too real. Luann will just walk right into it."
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1. While the dynamic Vader of ROTS and TESB had his eyes on the throne, the ROTJ Vader was completely tethered to his master and served his every whim. It's illogical, and a clear betrayal of Vader's character. (This was one of ex-producer Gary Kurtz's major bones of contention regarding Episode VI.) As it stands, there is not a shred of evidence in ROTJ to support the theory Vader is plotting a coup against the Emperor. If he was, why all the hesitation before launching him into the reactor?
2. Yes, Vader would have to be a dipshit not to have saved his son. And that's the problem with his redemption. It didn't demand anything extraordinary on his part. No remorse for all the people he killed, for the daughter he tortured, for the son he tortured. His dying words indicate exhaltation, and not penitence. All in all, it's one of the most hollow redemption arcs I've seen in film. -
Anyone who would defend ROTJ forfeits his/her right to denigrate the prequels. Even though many don't care to admit it, the flaws of TPM and AOTC were already in full display in 1983 (moreso actually, since I and II at least had friggin plots!).
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I am tired of this chap being brought up whenever someone wants to bash SW. He should have made something equal or better to SW if he could.....
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everyone knows about blue harvest....that incident basically invented the arena in which we speak right now...who the fuck do they think they are? A tribute to star wars? Thats like, whos the boss doing a star wars episode. absolute shit. referencing the films is one thing....i was busy watching ken burns war......pretty good so far....
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The Doctor Who reference floored me. Only a week ago, I watched some classic Tom Baker episodes, so the opener for that show was fresh in my brain. My friends and I lost it. Well-done on that one Seth. Star Wars, despite all its faults, is a great series. Prequels included. Lucas accomplished something literary with it. All the nitpicking is testament to that fact. Many of you need to get over your desperate need to sound smart, or cool, and learn to enjoy life a little bit. Perhaps then you can see things more clearly for what they're worth. SW is the greatest cinematic ride ever. Relax and enjoy it rather than get hung up on the plot points of this rather simple (though not simple-minded) story. Don't forget to fit in a good book now and then. Cheers.
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it's just fucking funny man. thats about it. maybe i love it so much because i'm a southerner but king of the hill has heart and it's really funny. but everybodys different in what they like and don't like... i hate anything anime', i find it utterly retarted and repetitive, thats jsut me
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Tim Burton's best films (ED WOOD aside) wouldn't have been half as memorable if it weren't for Elfman's music, and Oingo Boingo was a brilliant band (if you disagree, chances are you only heard their radio stuff). Also, I get the impression that the FAMILY GUY jab was good-natured, as we've seen one Oingo Boingo reference in FG and two in AMERICAN DAD, neither of which indicated any ill will. Hearing geeks badmouth Danny Elfman frankly befuddles me. I thought everybody loved NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, at least.
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Thought the Elfman beheading was another very funny scene. I enjoy Elfman myself. I think the idea there was simply to say he's no John Williams.
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I laughed out loud too, don't get me wrong. I just mean the reactions here, is all. But yeah, there's no comparison between him and Williams. Williams is perhaps the greatest composer ever, certainly more versatile than Elfman. But Elfman what Elfman does in his own Elfman-y way, no one does better. If that makes any sense.
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I just didn't catch that people were picking on Elfman here, though I'm not surprised. I see others backing him up though. He is a great talent and I like his scores and OB a lot.
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...if they had kept it up throughout the reminder of the episode. Just hearing that stock OOPMA-OOMPA rhythm looped over and over. I mean, John Williams and the LSO were all killed, so why did they keep playing his music? Oh, right, McFarlane just wanted to replicate the original movie as close as possible to appease his OCD-level obesession with Lucasfilm. [eyeroll]
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I don't know what I was doing laughing at something that was funny. I promise to listen to 'Dead Man's Party' and never think about Elfman decapitation based humor again.
There. -
If that was a response to me, I was refering to the Elfman haters here, not the joke itself. The joke itself was damn funny. And if it wasn't in response to me... uh, well, never mind then!
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They kissed Lucasfilm's ass too much.
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To carry through the Elfman joke would simply be beating it into the ground. Comedy is largely about absurdity, thus the reason you still hear the Williams score after they're dead. Man, you're just way off base on all this. I mean to make that literal? Okay, anyway, to wrap up, parody works better when you are close to the source material. The replicated scenes comprised half the jokes. I mean, when you catch something like where Chris as Luke returned in the landspeeder to the homestead and his hair is blowing in the wind in the same direction as it was the in the original movie, that's a laugh right there. Maybe not for everyone, but that illustrates the point. Without the OCD-level obsession, this episode would not have been half as funny. I said earlier, I'm not really a FG fan, I even share the Trey Parker evaluation of the show, but kudos to McFarlane and his crew on this one. Goes to prove that if you do what you're interested in, you'll be successful.
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Sam - Wasn't a response to you. We're on the same page.
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i'm sorry. i just don't get the appeal. a disgustingly obese guy, with an unbelieveably attractive wife, goes around and insults everyone and causes dumb mayhem, all the while telegraphing pop culture references. that's original comedy? i think i've seen that show before. several times. snooze. i have to admit that brian and stewie are the only funny things about that show. family guy is awful. worse, it's lazy. star wars parody? woah. funny. never seen that before. the best animated shows on tv? futurama. harvey birdman. metalocolypse. king of the hill (great simply because it's truly about the characters). home movies. i'm sure there are others, but those are the ones off the top of my head. i'm just tired of those tired pop culture shows. whoa! a michael jackson joke! a britney spears joke! comedy genius! not...
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No, actually, I meant that reply for scoobyx.
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danny elfman doesn't suck. he's been a genius since oingo boingo and forbidden zone. let's see john williams play satan! danny elfman just doesn't make the same type of music as john williams. but, i love his work...
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someone above said it was done in Futurarama, if so, I don't remember seeing it, but I do remember Kathrine Duke in the Space Episode of NewsRadio doing a report of "terroists blowing up the Death Star. However Lord Vader is ok",
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repeatedly.
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i noticed last season how the animation improved and they started using CGI more and more...i figured this was due to the movie and i guess they were prepping us for the new look so by the time the movie came, we'd be used to it. and so i wasnt surprised to see it again this season. i did notice family guy started using that CGI as well when it returned. i guess this throws out the "too expensive" excuse Fox once used for Futurama's cancellation.
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Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
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Great episode, though that old gay pedophile in the show needs to be shot and run over.
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Why be picky at all? It's space fantasy after all. Why not just accept everything that happens in Star Wars as possible and plausible? Do patterns of sociopathic behaviour work the same in that galaxy? Why do you think it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? So Lucas wouldn't have to explain every detail, or get hung up on plot points. The movies are an exercise in imagination, laid upon a simple story structure that's been used in every Earthly culture since the first stories appeared. Relax that cerebrum, become transparent to the transcendent, lest you miss the point of these movies altogether.In agreement with you on Elfman, the Batman soundtracks, and the Robot Chicken special (far more inventive and funny). Later.
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If Williams were to really be killed by the Sand People, they'd hire Michael Giacchino to do Star Wars, not Elfman.
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Didn't do a thing for me, and I grew up an old school star wars fan in the 80s. Seriously, all this star wars spoofing need to stop. It's starting to be about as funny and unpredictable as a knock-knock joke. I walked out of Knocked Up after an hour because of all the tiresome star wars references. Superbad I'm not even going to. If you're going to make a spoof, at least make a spoof of something recent.
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...makes you sound like The Sherminator from the first American Pie movie. Get. Over. It.
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Your tastebuds can't repel flavor of that magnitude!
Also, I disliked Family Guy before South Park made the manatee episode. -
Family Guy and king of the hill were good, not great but good.
I did not crack a smile on the Simpsons. The Simpsons, was, and I mean this, was one of the funniest shows on TV ever. But it is now, SO VERY TIRED, UNINSPIRED AND BORING.
Like with a 25 year old diseased dog, it is time for a mercy killing. -
Messed up on the subject line.
Time for me to be put down too I guess. -
The whole Darth Vader gets an afterlife thing is a major plot-hole in the entire series. The afterlife existence was something that Yoda supposedly passed on to Obi-Wan (which Yoda had learned from Qui-Gon, or whatever the hell his name was). Anyhoo, it was slapped into ROTS in order to explain the Herbert-like presence of Obi Wan after he got Ginsued by Darth. So the question should be; How the hell did Darth learn the afterlife-thingy when he had clearly seperated himself from the Jedi in ROTS? (And you don't have to be a sci-fi geek to hate plot holes.)
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