Click "comments" for the fighting
April 18, 2017 1:29 PM Subscribe
Rosebud should be much higher (it's my personal #1), but all in all that's a pretty solid list.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:35 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:35 PM on April 18, 2017
And now nobody else needs to comment!
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
Worst. List. Ever.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:36 PM on April 18, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 1:36 PM on April 18, 2017 [17 favorites]
I bet if you made one of these lists and put The Principal and the Pauper at #1 there would be actual bloodshed.
posted by bondcliff at 1:38 PM on April 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 1:38 PM on April 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
The Ringer, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by leotrotsky at 1:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [17 favorites]
But to me, the show peaked with “Last Exit to Springfield.”
Yes. Yes it did.
posted by Melismata at 1:43 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Yes. Yes it did.
posted by Melismata at 1:43 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Simpsons top-10 lists come and go, and the episodes that make up the top-10 lists change with the times. But Last Exit to Springfield is always the best, as it should be.
posted by fremen at 1:43 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by fremen at 1:43 PM on April 18, 2017
Arguin' about Top 10 lists - that's a paddlin'.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [10 favorites]
neither "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" or "Mom and Pop Art" arent in the top 30, so this whole list can die in a fire.
posted by ShawnString at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by ShawnString at 1:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
Ah, conveniently arranged across 10 very long pages.
Before I clicked I figured they would either include episodes after about Season 12, and therefore be objectively WRONG, or list the majority of episodes in the first ~10-11 seasons, and therefore be largely useless. On review of the first 4 pages, it appears they've taken the latter strategy (“You could choose every other episode from the first 200 episodes for your top 100 and you wouldn’t be too far off”).
... OK first 6 pages. I refuse to consider that episodes later than season 12 could feature in the top 40 so I'm not even going to check.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017
Before I clicked I figured they would either include episodes after about Season 12, and therefore be objectively WRONG, or list the majority of episodes in the first ~10-11 seasons, and therefore be largely useless. On review of the first 4 pages, it appears they've taken the latter strategy (“You could choose every other episode from the first 200 episodes for your top 100 and you wouldn’t be too far off”).
... OK first 6 pages. I refuse to consider that episodes later than season 12 could feature in the top 40 so I'm not even going to check.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017
From the Wiki for Last Exit to Springfield: "As well, the original panelist on Smartline was supposed to be O. J. Simpson, but he turned it down, much to the relief of the writers when Simpson was later tried for murder."
Man, The Simpsons is old.
posted by bondcliff at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [18 favorites]
Man, The Simpsons is old.
posted by bondcliff at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [18 favorites]
Glad to see Season 4's presence in the top ten. One of the best seasons.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by mrzarquon at 1:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Is the color register being so off on the first illustration on purpose? Because it's headache inducing.
posted by Splunge at 1:51 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by Splunge at 1:51 PM on April 18, 2017
It's supposed to evoke Simpsonswave, would be my guess.
posted by majuju at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by majuju at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
neither "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" or "Mom and Pop Art" arent in the top 30, so this whole list can die in a fire.
Agreed and would add that the conspicuous absence of Homer's Phobia from the top 10 really burns my biscuits.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
Agreed and would add that the conspicuous absence of Homer's Phobia from the top 10 really burns my biscuits.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
I am okay with #4. Except it should be #1.
posted by chavenet at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 1:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Keep arguing, people.
In a safe, secure place, I have a coming-up-on-thirty year old copy of Mother Jones magazine. Its cover story is "Can Matt Groening Survive Prime Time?" It is all about the Life In Hell guy trying his hand at a cartoon teevee show.
It is my retirement plan. As such, keep arguing, people. Keep talking about the Simpsons and its cultural legacy. I need to cash out.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [23 favorites]
In a safe, secure place, I have a coming-up-on-thirty year old copy of Mother Jones magazine. Its cover story is "Can Matt Groening Survive Prime Time?" It is all about the Life In Hell guy trying his hand at a cartoon teevee show.
It is my retirement plan. As such, keep arguing, people. Keep talking about the Simpsons and its cultural legacy. I need to cash out.
posted by Capt. Renault at 2:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [23 favorites]
I do not agree with the inclusion of the Michael Jackson episode and the substitute teacher episode in the top ten. Two very lame, “very special” episodes.
The baseball one, though, that is a classic. “Can’t… move… arms… or… speak… at… normal rate.”
posted by migurski at 2:16 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
The baseball one, though, that is a classic. “Can’t… move… arms… or… speak… at… normal rate.”
posted by migurski at 2:16 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Regarding the top 10: Bart Sells his Soul and Homer at the Bat are two of my top five episodes. God, I am WAITING for the day in which "Who were the nine ringers that Monty Burns brought in to play on the Plant Softball team?" comes up in team trivia. I am ON that.
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer, 23 Short Films about Springfield, and Fatass Homer round out the top five. I bet that, just looking at my top five episodes, you can ballpark how old I am.
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:24 PM on April 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer, 23 Short Films about Springfield, and Fatass Homer round out the top five. I bet that, just looking at my top five episodes, you can ballpark how old I am.
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:24 PM on April 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
After the election I did a rewatch of the great seasons (2-8+1 for completeness).
"Lisa's Substitute" demands inclusion as one of the best episodes of the Simpsons just on the grounds that it's the first truly stellar episode of our greatest show, the first that really has a sense of what it's able to do (and one of the few actually good uses of a guest star).
it's a complete outrage "Separate Vocations" isn't in the top twenty, though.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 2:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Lisa's Substitute" demands inclusion as one of the best episodes of the Simpsons just on the grounds that it's the first truly stellar episode of our greatest show, the first that really has a sense of what it's able to do (and one of the few actually good uses of a guest star).
it's a complete outrage "Separate Vocations" isn't in the top twenty, though.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 2:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Arguin' about Top 10 lists
... That's where I'm a VIKING!
posted by radwolf76 at 2:47 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
... That's where I'm a VIKING!
posted by radwolf76 at 2:47 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
I don't think I need to tell all of you that ranking Lemon of Troy anywhere outside of the top twenty renders this whole two-bit scam irrelevant and says much about the mothers of whomever disagrees with me!
posted by Navelgazer at 2:55 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 2:55 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
The only way to confront a ranked list of Simpson's episodes is to tell them a story that doesn't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say.
posted by msbutah at 3:00 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by msbutah at 3:00 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
... or list the majority of episodes in the first ~10-11 seasons, and therefore be largely useless. On review of the first 4 pages, it appears they've taken the latter strategy.
For the record, the list contains two episodes in the list from Season 9 ("The Joy of Sect", #94, & "The Cartridge Family", #77), and there are no episodes from Seasons 10–whatever they're up to now.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:05 PM on April 18, 2017
For the record, the list contains two episodes in the list from Season 9 ("The Joy of Sect", #94, & "The Cartridge Family", #77), and there are no episodes from Seasons 10–whatever they're up to now.
posted by Johnny Assay at 3:05 PM on April 18, 2017
It was the best of lists, it was the blurst of list.
stupid monkeys!
posted by nubs at 3:07 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
stupid monkeys!
posted by nubs at 3:07 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Here's the whole thing, sorry for the length:
1. 4x17 “Last Exit to Springfield”
2. 2x19 “Lisa’s Substitute”
3. 4x09 “Mr. Plow”
4. 4x12 “Marge vs. the Monorail”
5. 4x03 “Homer the Heretic”
6. 3x13 “Radio Bart”
7. 2x09 “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge”
8. 3x17 “Homer at the Bat”
9. 7x04 “Bart Sells His Soul”
10. 3x01 “Stark Raving Dad”
11. 2x12 “The Way We Was”
12. 5x02 “Cape Feare”
13. 8x02 “You Only Move Twice”
14. 4x16 “Duffless”
15. 4x01 “Kamp Krusty”
16. 5x15 “Deep Space Homer”
17. 6x13 “And Maggie Makes Three”
18. 4x22 “Krusty Gets Kancelled”
19. 3x16 “Bart the Lover”
20. 3x11 “Burke Verkaufen der Kraftwerk”
21. 5x04 “Rosebud”
22. 5x22 “Secrets of a Successful Marriage”
23. 8x23 “Homer’s Enemy”
24. 3x14 “Lisa the Greek”
25. 5x03 “Homer Goes to College”
26. 6x09 “Homer Badman”
27. 8x06 “A Milhouse Divided”
28. 8x15 “Homer’s Phobia”
29. 3x18 “Separate Vocations”
30. 1x01 “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”
31. 3x10 “Flaming Moe’s”
32. 4x20 “Whacking Day”
33. 2x08 “Bart the Daredevil”
34. 8x14 “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”
35. 3x20 “Colonel Homer”
36. 5x07 “Bart’s Inner Child”
37. 3x03 “When Flanders Failed”
38. 2x13 “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment”
39. 5x01 “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet”
40. 5x19 “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song”
41. 7x16 “Lisa the Iconoclast”
42. 5x09 “The Last Temptation of Homer”
43. 4x02 “A Streetcar Named Marge”
44. 4x15 “I Love Lisa”
45. 6x19 “Lisa’s Wedding”
46. 4x13 “Selma’s Choice”
47. 6x12 “Homer the Great”
48. 4x14 “Brother from the Same Planet”
49. 5x17 “Bart Gets an Elephant”
50. 7x05 “Lisa the Vegetarian”
51. 6x15 “Homie the Clown”
52. 6x21 “The PTA Disbands”
53. 4x11 “Homer’s Triple Bypass”
54. 2x02 “Simpson and Delilah”
55. 8x18 “Homer vs. the 18th Amendment”
56. 2x18 “Brush with Greatness”
57. 3x05 “Homer Defined”
58. 6x04 “Itchy & Scratchy Land”
59. 6x29 “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds”
60. 5x12 “Bart Gets Famous”
61. 2x21 “Three Men and a Comic Book”
62. 2x22 “Blood Feud”
63. 6x14 “Bart’s Comet”
64. 5x16 “Homer Loves Flanders”
65. 6x05 “Sideshow Bob Roberts”
66. 3x09 “Saturdays of Thunder”
67. 4x08 “New Kid on the Block”
68. 7x24 “Homerpalooza”
69. 2x15 “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”
70. 3x02 “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington”
71. 3x04 “Bart the Murderer”
72. 6x01 “Bart of Darkness”
73. 5x14 “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy”
74. 2x03 “Treehouse of Horror”
75. 7x25 “Summer of 4’2””
76. 4x06 “Itchy & Scratchy: the Movie”
77. 9x05 “The Cartridge Family”
78. 6x25 “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 1”
79. 7x01 “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 2”
80. 2x11 “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish”
81. 7x21 “22 Short Films About Springfield”
82. 6x08 “Lisa on Ice”
83. 1x09 “Life on the Fast Lane”
84. 5x05 “Treehouse of Horror IV”
85. 5x19 “$pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)”
86. 8x09 “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer”
87. 7x10 “A Fish Called Selma”
88. 5x08 “Boy Scoutz ’n the Hood”
89. 2x01 “Bart Gets an F”
90. 4x10 “Lisa’s First Word”
91. 2x07 “Bart vs. Thanksgiving”
92. 1x05 “Bart the General”
93. 7x20 “Bart on the Road”
94. 9x13 “The Joy of Sect”
95. 6x07 “Bart’s Girlfriend”
96. 3x15 “Homer Alone”
97. 3x06 “Life Father, Like Clown”
98. 7x23 “Much Apu About Nothing”
99. 6x24 “Lemon of Troy” (WHAT)
100. 7x11 “Marge Be Not Proud”
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:12 PM on April 18, 2017 [24 favorites]
1. 4x17 “Last Exit to Springfield”
2. 2x19 “Lisa’s Substitute”
3. 4x09 “Mr. Plow”
4. 4x12 “Marge vs. the Monorail”
5. 4x03 “Homer the Heretic”
6. 3x13 “Radio Bart”
7. 2x09 “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge”
8. 3x17 “Homer at the Bat”
9. 7x04 “Bart Sells His Soul”
10. 3x01 “Stark Raving Dad”
11. 2x12 “The Way We Was”
12. 5x02 “Cape Feare”
13. 8x02 “You Only Move Twice”
14. 4x16 “Duffless”
15. 4x01 “Kamp Krusty”
16. 5x15 “Deep Space Homer”
17. 6x13 “And Maggie Makes Three”
18. 4x22 “Krusty Gets Kancelled”
19. 3x16 “Bart the Lover”
20. 3x11 “Burke Verkaufen der Kraftwerk”
21. 5x04 “Rosebud”
22. 5x22 “Secrets of a Successful Marriage”
23. 8x23 “Homer’s Enemy”
24. 3x14 “Lisa the Greek”
25. 5x03 “Homer Goes to College”
26. 6x09 “Homer Badman”
27. 8x06 “A Milhouse Divided”
28. 8x15 “Homer’s Phobia”
29. 3x18 “Separate Vocations”
30. 1x01 “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”
31. 3x10 “Flaming Moe’s”
32. 4x20 “Whacking Day”
33. 2x08 “Bart the Daredevil”
34. 8x14 “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”
35. 3x20 “Colonel Homer”
36. 5x07 “Bart’s Inner Child”
37. 3x03 “When Flanders Failed”
38. 2x13 “Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment”
39. 5x01 “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet”
40. 5x19 “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song”
41. 7x16 “Lisa the Iconoclast”
42. 5x09 “The Last Temptation of Homer”
43. 4x02 “A Streetcar Named Marge”
44. 4x15 “I Love Lisa”
45. 6x19 “Lisa’s Wedding”
46. 4x13 “Selma’s Choice”
47. 6x12 “Homer the Great”
48. 4x14 “Brother from the Same Planet”
49. 5x17 “Bart Gets an Elephant”
50. 7x05 “Lisa the Vegetarian”
51. 6x15 “Homie the Clown”
52. 6x21 “The PTA Disbands”
53. 4x11 “Homer’s Triple Bypass”
54. 2x02 “Simpson and Delilah”
55. 8x18 “Homer vs. the 18th Amendment”
56. 2x18 “Brush with Greatness”
57. 3x05 “Homer Defined”
58. 6x04 “Itchy & Scratchy Land”
59. 6x29 “Two Dozen and One Greyhounds”
60. 5x12 “Bart Gets Famous”
61. 2x21 “Three Men and a Comic Book”
62. 2x22 “Blood Feud”
63. 6x14 “Bart’s Comet”
64. 5x16 “Homer Loves Flanders”
65. 6x05 “Sideshow Bob Roberts”
66. 3x09 “Saturdays of Thunder”
67. 4x08 “New Kid on the Block”
68. 7x24 “Homerpalooza”
69. 2x15 “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”
70. 3x02 “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington”
71. 3x04 “Bart the Murderer”
72. 6x01 “Bart of Darkness”
73. 5x14 “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy”
74. 2x03 “Treehouse of Horror”
75. 7x25 “Summer of 4’2””
76. 4x06 “Itchy & Scratchy: the Movie”
77. 9x05 “The Cartridge Family”
78. 6x25 “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 1”
79. 7x01 “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 2”
80. 2x11 “One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish”
81. 7x21 “22 Short Films About Springfield”
82. 6x08 “Lisa on Ice”
83. 1x09 “Life on the Fast Lane”
84. 5x05 “Treehouse of Horror IV”
85. 5x19 “$pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)”
86. 8x09 “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer”
87. 7x10 “A Fish Called Selma”
88. 5x08 “Boy Scoutz ’n the Hood”
89. 2x01 “Bart Gets an F”
90. 4x10 “Lisa’s First Word”
91. 2x07 “Bart vs. Thanksgiving”
92. 1x05 “Bart the General”
93. 7x20 “Bart on the Road”
94. 9x13 “The Joy of Sect”
95. 6x07 “Bart’s Girlfriend”
96. 3x15 “Homer Alone”
97. 3x06 “Life Father, Like Clown”
98. 7x23 “Much Apu About Nothing”
99. 6x24 “Lemon of Troy” (WHAT)
100. 7x11 “Marge Be Not Proud”
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:12 PM on April 18, 2017 [24 favorites]
Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk is my personal favourite but I'm ok with it being no. 20.
posted by Flashman at 3:13 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by Flashman at 3:13 PM on April 18, 2017
that's 3 from S1, 14 from S2, 16 each from S3-S5, 15 from S6, 11 from S7, 7 from S8 and 2 from S9.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 3:14 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
81. 7x21 “22 Short Films About Springfield”
Linguo IS objecting to this ranking.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:25 PM on April 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
Linguo IS objecting to this ranking.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:25 PM on April 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
Monkey Knife Fight!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:33 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:33 PM on April 18, 2017
Weighting each episode by its rank within the top 100 on this list and adding up the scores, season 5 is the GREATEST season. But Season 4 is 98.65% as good. Season 6 gets the bronze at 84.07% as good.
posted by JParker at 3:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by JParker at 3:35 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
No "Grade School Confidential"? That's unpossible!
posted by kingoftonga86 at 3:37 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by kingoftonga86 at 3:37 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
I feel like 10 years ago this post would be well over 100 comments by now. The Simpsons is probably still my demographic's defining pop culture artefact, but our voice isn't as loud as it used to be (although you can tell there are a lot of people my age in the media from all the Simpsons references that still pop up all over the place).
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
bondcliff: "From the Wiki for Last Exit to Springfield: "As well, the original panelist on Smartline was supposed to be O. J. Simpson, but he turned it down, much to the relief of the writers when Simpson was later tried for murder."
Man, The Simpsons is old."
I just realized this week that one of the developers on my team was born when The Simpsons was already five years old. He's never known a world without them.
posted by octothorpe at 3:40 PM on April 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
Man, The Simpsons is old."
I just realized this week that one of the developers on my team was born when The Simpsons was already five years old. He's never known a world without them.
posted by octothorpe at 3:40 PM on April 18, 2017 [6 favorites]
3 from S1, 14 from S2, 16 each from S3-S5, 15 from S6, 11 from S7, 7 from S8 and 2 from S9.
It's been so long since I watched any Simpsons that any memories of relative episode quality/ranking are pretty well lost in the misty past. But the general distribution noted above perfectly matches my own interest starting to wane by the end of season 8, and I never bothered finishing season 9. So there's that.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:40 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's been so long since I watched any Simpsons that any memories of relative episode quality/ranking are pretty well lost in the misty past. But the general distribution noted above perfectly matches my own interest starting to wane by the end of season 8, and I never bothered finishing season 9. So there's that.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:40 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
The Simpsons is probably still my demographic's defining pop culture artefact, but our voice isn't as loud as it used to be
I was a superfan from the start, and yet with each passing year we get closer to the point where there will be twice as many seasons of The Simpsons that I've never seen as seasons that I have seen. We're not there yet, but we're close -- and I suspect I am not alone.
I don't even really know where to place it, in terms of generations / demographics. To me it feels (and has felt, for a long time) like a thing that ended a along time ago, in a way that no other still-running television show has ever felt to me.
posted by tocts at 3:45 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
I was a superfan from the start, and yet with each passing year we get closer to the point where there will be twice as many seasons of The Simpsons that I've never seen as seasons that I have seen. We're not there yet, but we're close -- and I suspect I am not alone.
I don't even really know where to place it, in terms of generations / demographics. To me it feels (and has felt, for a long time) like a thing that ended a along time ago, in a way that no other still-running television show has ever felt to me.
posted by tocts at 3:45 PM on April 18, 2017 [11 favorites]
There are only about 7-8 decent seasons of the show to begin with, so choosing the 100 best episodes is not highly meaningful
posted by clockzero at 3:45 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by clockzero at 3:45 PM on April 18, 2017
Also Cape Feare outside of the top 5 is fucking clownshoes.
posted by Navelgazer at 3:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 3:48 PM on April 18, 2017 [9 favorites]
I feel like the Simpsons holds up pretty well. Most of the really good jokes are dependent on timing and wit instead of cultural references. Where there are cultural references, they tend to be a wink towards the source, and not the core of the joke. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the Marx Brothers, which I think are still very funny despite being over 100 years old, on average.
23 Short Films About Springfield should be number one, Monorail should be 2, Only Move Twice should be 3, Flaming Moe's should be 4, Who shot Mr Burns is a solid number 5
I wish I could favorite it twice.
posted by codacorolla at 3:49 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
23 Short Films About Springfield should be number one, Monorail should be 2, Only Move Twice should be 3, Flaming Moe's should be 4, Who shot Mr Burns is a solid number 5
I wish I could favorite it twice.
posted by codacorolla at 3:49 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
What kind of monster puts Lemon of Troy at 99
posted by schadenfrau at 4:20 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by schadenfrau at 4:20 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
fucking clownshoes
kids these days and their zany kinks...
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:32 PM on April 18, 2017
kids these days and their zany kinks...
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:32 PM on April 18, 2017
I've seen like 10% of all the Simpson's episodes and the two I remember as being transcendental are "Mr. Plow" and "A Star is Burns." So, as long as one of these two appear in the top ten, I am happy.
I am happy.
posted by 256 at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am happy.
posted by 256 at 4:39 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
There's literally not a single episode after season 9? The last 19 years don't make the cut? I'm as cranky an old guy as the rest of ya, I love the early seasons too, but is it really that bad now? Even Saturday Night Live still hits the occasional high note.
posted by Nelson at 4:41 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 4:41 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
I was happy to see Bart Sells His Soul in the top 10. It's absolutely stuffed with funny moments, and is my favorite episode ever.
posted by spacewaitress at 4:46 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by spacewaitress at 4:46 PM on April 18, 2017
There's literally not a single episode after season 9? The last 19 years don't make the cut? I'm as cranky an old guy as the rest of ya, I love the early seasons too, but is it really that bad now? Even Saturday Night Live still hits the occasional high note.
There probably is, but who wants to wade through all that?
I'm in the demographic where I was born after the Simpsons started. One thing that makes this list interesting to me is that I seem to have an internal assumed chronology despite only ever having seen these seasons out of order in syndication here in Australia. A "preachier" or more emotionally serious episode gets mentally relegated to earlier seasons, as does a slightly poorer animation quality, while sillier plots seem like later seasons.
Looking at the top 100 list this feels like a pretty accurate heuristic but it's maybe more revealing where it fails. If you asked me to put them in order without information, I would've put "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Marge Be Not Proud" as third season, and "Mr Plow" somewhere in the sixth.
posted by solarion at 4:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
There probably is, but who wants to wade through all that?
I'm in the demographic where I was born after the Simpsons started. One thing that makes this list interesting to me is that I seem to have an internal assumed chronology despite only ever having seen these seasons out of order in syndication here in Australia. A "preachier" or more emotionally serious episode gets mentally relegated to earlier seasons, as does a slightly poorer animation quality, while sillier plots seem like later seasons.
Looking at the top 100 list this feels like a pretty accurate heuristic but it's maybe more revealing where it fails. If you asked me to put them in order without information, I would've put "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Marge Be Not Proud" as third season, and "Mr Plow" somewhere in the sixth.
posted by solarion at 4:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Any list that doesn't have "Lisa the Vegetarian" in the Top 5 is not the list for me. (#50?!?!)
posted by Betelgeuse at 5:20 PM on April 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Betelgeuse at 5:20 PM on April 18, 2017 [5 favorites]
I've made this crack before, but we're on the second or third generation of talented and funny comedy writers who literally grew up on The Simpsons, and The Simpsons hasn't managed to hire a single one of them.
There's been a lot written about The Simpsons' first decade but I'm still waiting for the longread about the last 15 years. What happened? Did the already by that time mediocre writing staff get poached to write the movie and never recovered? Is there a long-time exec at Fox who has a tight grip on The Simpsons' staffing and has absolutely no sense of humor? Do people like, I dunno, Megan Ganz run away screaming for some reason anytime someone from Gracie Films approach them?
posted by thecjm at 6:42 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
There's been a lot written about The Simpsons' first decade but I'm still waiting for the longread about the last 15 years. What happened? Did the already by that time mediocre writing staff get poached to write the movie and never recovered? Is there a long-time exec at Fox who has a tight grip on The Simpsons' staffing and has absolutely no sense of humor? Do people like, I dunno, Megan Ganz run away screaming for some reason anytime someone from Gracie Films approach them?
posted by thecjm at 6:42 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
Here is your longread, thecjm:
posted by migurski at 7:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [13 favorites]
Things have changed even more beneath the surface. The two have polar opposite senses of humor. The Simpsons trafficked in tightly plotted stories that were cynical, anti-authority social satires that often bordered on nihilism. They managed to get away with it thanks to a clever veneer of sweetness and slapstick. Zombie Simpsons reverses those priorities. It leans heavily on sweetness and slapstick, leaves plot threads all over the place, and only rarely musters even a fraction of the hilariously bleak cynicism that was a big part of what made The Simpsons what it was.— zombie simpsons: how the best show ever became the broadcasting undead (previously)
Broadly speaking then, “Zombie Simpsons” is the regular television show that remained when The Simpsons stopped being The Simpsons. There is much argument among fans over when precisely the change took place, but there is wide consensus that such a change has indeed occurred.
posted by migurski at 7:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [13 favorites]
You Only Move Twice is still one of my favorites, I'd put it about 12 points higher. The ranking of A Fish Called Selma on this list is an actual crime and should be at least a fine.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:27 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:27 PM on April 18, 2017 [3 favorites]
One day we'll look back on the Simpsons and say "Sure, seasons 1-9 were great, 10-45 were terrible, but they really hit their stride by season 50, and season 70 was probably the best television ever made! It's a shame that television stopped existing after season 82, because it just kept getting better!"
posted by blue_beetle at 7:55 PM on April 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by blue_beetle at 7:55 PM on April 18, 2017 [7 favorites]
blue_beetle, you're a hell of an optimist.
In terms of how long it will take for television to stop existing, I mean.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
In terms of how long it will take for television to stop existing, I mean.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:02 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was never a huge fan, just a casual one, but I watched it when it was new and catch old and new shows on repeats. I just don't think it's as bad now as many claim, or so much greater back then. It's not as good now, but not terrible. I remember thinking there were some pretty weak seasons years back, but I thought they came back a bit.
I think there's a lot of nostalgia going on with fans. Maybe it was super edgy in the old days because you were young?
posted by bongo_x at 8:14 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I think there's a lot of nostalgia going on with fans. Maybe it was super edgy in the old days because you were young?
posted by bongo_x at 8:14 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
What?? Heresy! Blasphemer! KILL THE APOSTATE!!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:43 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:43 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Man, The Simpsons is old.
When the Simpsons started, I read an article in our elementary school magazine (Scholastic, or something) about how Bart was a 4th grader, just like me!
I turned 37 in March.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
When the Simpsons started, I read an article in our elementary school magazine (Scholastic, or something) about how Bart was a 4th grader, just like me!
I turned 37 in March.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:46 PM on April 18, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's funny how the speed and depth of comedy changes. Mel Brooks movies used to be the pinnacle, now they just seem so telegraphed and slow; only a single joke at a time.
The Simpsons, when it came out, was unlike anything that came before it, and just brutally funny. Appalling and offensive and take no prisoners. And then it just got better.
But it too has seen its time pass, I think. As it aged it curdled, turning its characters into moronic moral monsters. Killing Maude, for example. Futurama surpassed it in depth, and now Rick and Morty is the vanguard, along with shows like Archer and Bob's Burgers, and the whole Adult Swim ecosystem. The humor seems so much better now, you've got to do more work than you used to, the writers expect more from their audience, sometimes requiring significant backstory to build and execute for greatest effect.
It's a Golden Age.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
The Simpsons, when it came out, was unlike anything that came before it, and just brutally funny. Appalling and offensive and take no prisoners. And then it just got better.
But it too has seen its time pass, I think. As it aged it curdled, turning its characters into moronic moral monsters. Killing Maude, for example. Futurama surpassed it in depth, and now Rick and Morty is the vanguard, along with shows like Archer and Bob's Burgers, and the whole Adult Swim ecosystem. The humor seems so much better now, you've got to do more work than you used to, the writers expect more from their audience, sometimes requiring significant backstory to build and execute for greatest effect.
It's a Golden Age.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:56 PM on April 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
I assumed "Homer and Apu" would be top ten. Not even the top 100? That seems crazy. My 10 year old son and I can absolutely bust each other up with quotes from that one - "Whoo Hoo! Cheap meat!"
posted by TheShadowKnows at 8:58 PM on April 18, 2017
posted by TheShadowKnows at 8:58 PM on April 18, 2017
bondcliff: "I bet if you made one of these lists and put The Principal and the Pauper at #1 there would be actual bloodshed."
And with good cause!
posted by Chrysostom at 10:11 PM on April 18, 2017
And with good cause!
posted by Chrysostom at 10:11 PM on April 18, 2017
87. 7x10 “A Fish Called Selma”
McCLURE ANKLES OBSCURITY, indeed.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:29 PM on April 18, 2017
McCLURE ANKLES OBSCURITY, indeed.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:29 PM on April 18, 2017
My favourite episode ever is Marge vs The Monorail, which is at #4, so that's fine.
My favourite Simpsons moment, however, ever is from Homer vs Dignity, a Season 12 episode which doesn't make the list at all. Lisa and Homer are talking:
Lisa: Forget about him, Dad. I'm proud of you.
Homer: Aw, thank you, sweetheart. But what should I do with all this dirty, ill-gotten money? I better throw it in the garbage.
Lisa: Well, there's lots of needy kids out there...
Homer: I see what you're saying. I need to buy a gun.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:36 AM on April 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
My favourite Simpsons moment, however, ever is from Homer vs Dignity, a Season 12 episode which doesn't make the list at all. Lisa and Homer are talking:
Lisa: Forget about him, Dad. I'm proud of you.
Homer: Aw, thank you, sweetheart. But what should I do with all this dirty, ill-gotten money? I better throw it in the garbage.
Lisa: Well, there's lots of needy kids out there...
Homer: I see what you're saying. I need to buy a gun.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:36 AM on April 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
Maybe it was super edgy in the old days because you were young?
No, it was just better in the early seasons. Really.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on April 19, 2017 [11 favorites]
No, it was just better in the early seasons. Really.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on April 19, 2017 [11 favorites]
I sure wish the Zombie Simpsons 22,000 words hadn't started off with the sentence "Zombie Simpsons is a show on the FOX Network that’s been airing on Sundays at 8pm since roughly the year 2000. " because it makes me doubt the rest of the piece has any credibility. Or maybe I'm supposed to hate read this?
posted by hippybear at 3:10 AM on April 19, 2017
posted by hippybear at 3:10 AM on April 19, 2017
Oh wait, I get the joke now. Sorry. A bit slow.
posted by hippybear at 3:10 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 3:10 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I get jokes.
posted by thelonius at 4:03 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 4:03 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
In a safe, secure place, I have a coming-up-on-thirty year old copy of Mother Jones magazine. Its cover story is "Can Matt Groening Survive Prime Time?" It is all about the Life In Hell guy trying his hand at a cartoon teevee show.
I hope I don't interrupt your retirement plans, but if you google "matt groening mother jones 1989", a copy of that article shows up on Google Books, and it does indeed provide an enlightening perspective on the Simpsons phenomena.
posted by fairmettle at 4:34 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I hope I don't interrupt your retirement plans, but if you google "matt groening mother jones 1989", a copy of that article shows up on Google Books, and it does indeed provide an enlightening perspective on the Simpsons phenomena.
posted by fairmettle at 4:34 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
"They say he carved it from abigger spoon" in Lenny's fearful quaver-whisper alone demands the vision quest reside in the top three. Add in the rest of an incredibly memorable/quotable episode, as well as some of the better animation I remember from the series as a whole? That's your number one right there.
That, and Marge proving she's Homer's soulmate in large part because she knew he'd head downhill, just perfect.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:48 AM on April 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
That, and Marge proving she's Homer's soulmate in large part because she knew he'd head downhill, just perfect.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:48 AM on April 19, 2017 [4 favorites]
Being a writer on The Simpsons today must feel like being a drummer in the 2017 county fair touring version of REO Speedwagon.
posted by bassomatic at 4:57 AM on April 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by bassomatic at 4:57 AM on April 19, 2017 [7 favorites]
Any list that doesn't have "Lisa the Vegetarian" in the Top 5 is not the list for me. (#50?!?!)
You don't make friends with salad.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:41 AM on April 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
You don't make friends with salad.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 6:41 AM on April 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
Lisa the Vegetarian" in the Top 5 is not the list for me. (#50?!?!)
Seconded. I named my (short lived) restaurant after a line from that episode. That's top ten at the very least.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:51 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Seconded. I named my (short lived) restaurant after a line from that episode. That's top ten at the very least.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:51 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Overall the list seems to emphasize plot over jokes which was not the point of the great early seasons. Boy Scoutz in the Hood and 22 Short ... both being deeply under-rated testifies to that.
posted by MattD at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by MattD at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I do like the earlier seasons better, but I still enjoy the show today and I think it's very good a lot of the time. I'll never understand the over the top hate for the new seasons. It's a different show but it's not as horrible as people say and even if it is that doesn't drag the early seasons down somehow.
Being a writer on The Simpsons today must feel like being a drummer in the 2017 county fair touring version of REO Speedwagon.
I've seen REO Speedwagon recently. It was a fun show. Sure it's not 1980 peak-REO, but I enjoyed it for what it was. I'm sure I'm also wrong about which year was peak-REO or if such a thing even exists.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 7:21 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Being a writer on The Simpsons today must feel like being a drummer in the 2017 county fair touring version of REO Speedwagon.
I've seen REO Speedwagon recently. It was a fun show. Sure it's not 1980 peak-REO, but I enjoyed it for what it was. I'm sure I'm also wrong about which year was peak-REO or if such a thing even exists.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 7:21 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Post-nineties Simpsons is like Post-nineties Weezer.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:33 AM on April 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 7:33 AM on April 19, 2017 [5 favorites]
first you get the sugar,
then you get the power,
then you get the women.
posted by bitteroldman at 7:34 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
then you get the power,
then you get the women.
posted by bitteroldman at 7:34 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
#23
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:47 AM on April 19, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by Frank Grimes at 7:47 AM on April 19, 2017 [9 favorites]
I watch The Simpsons on endless repeat now that it's a fixture on FXX, and some episodes from the early (pre-2000) seasons (and those seasons were, granted, in many ways magical, special, and freewheeling), also had a lot of humor that rings cruel, nasty, sour, and self-satisfied in a self-satisfied straight-white-male way to my retrospective ears, in the same way that most of Seinfeld and Friends and other 90s shows feel to me. That's the magic of it, will be the riposte; what are you, some kind of humorless PC police? I admit that I prefer the dopey, slapsticky, jokey, "Homer is such a doofus" 2000s episodes myself (though there were a fair share of un-PC episodes then too).
And yes, in answer to Nelson above, it really is that bad now. Has been for at least the past seven years, though there have been some episodes from this era that have grown on me (I like "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again," for instance, quite a bit).
Seems also like the movie, which came out almost ten years ago now, is an artifact that most people would rather forget if they've not already done so.
posted by blucevalo at 8:08 AM on April 19, 2017
And yes, in answer to Nelson above, it really is that bad now. Has been for at least the past seven years, though there have been some episodes from this era that have grown on me (I like "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again," for instance, quite a bit).
Seems also like the movie, which came out almost ten years ago now, is an artifact that most people would rather forget if they've not already done so.
posted by blucevalo at 8:08 AM on April 19, 2017
Maybe it was super edgy in the old days because you were young?
This isn't just wrong, it doesn't make much sense as a question. While the Simpsons was certainly subversive, in that every authority figure or institution is incompetent, apathetic, evil, or some combination thereof, it never traded on being "edgy" or shocking. In the very early years they had the "Bart's a bad kid" shtick, but that quickly got toned down as the show became more settled. That's where the host of imitators that arose in its wake failed, shows like Family Guy that thought just trying to edgy could replicate the Simpsons' success.
If anyone is interested in a really good look at the Simpsons, the podcast Talking Simpsons is a weekly chronological deep dive into each episode that's really funny and informative. Bill Oakley, one of the writers of what are probably some of your favorite episodes, is a fan and did an interview with them a month or so ago.
posted by Sangermaine at 8:48 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
This isn't just wrong, it doesn't make much sense as a question. While the Simpsons was certainly subversive, in that every authority figure or institution is incompetent, apathetic, evil, or some combination thereof, it never traded on being "edgy" or shocking. In the very early years they had the "Bart's a bad kid" shtick, but that quickly got toned down as the show became more settled. That's where the host of imitators that arose in its wake failed, shows like Family Guy that thought just trying to edgy could replicate the Simpsons' success.
If anyone is interested in a really good look at the Simpsons, the podcast Talking Simpsons is a weekly chronological deep dive into each episode that's really funny and informative. Bill Oakley, one of the writers of what are probably some of your favorite episodes, is a fan and did an interview with them a month or so ago.
posted by Sangermaine at 8:48 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
Okay, I just rewatched "Last Exit to Springfield" and ... hello there, suck fairy.
I mean, I know why it sticks with you (LISA NEEDS BRACES ... DENTAL PLAN ... LISA NEEDS BRACES ... DENTAL PLAN) but c'mon. "Marge vs The Monorail" is so ... much ... better.
posted by chavenet at 8:56 AM on April 19, 2017
I mean, I know why it sticks with you (LISA NEEDS BRACES ... DENTAL PLAN ... LISA NEEDS BRACES ... DENTAL PLAN) but c'mon. "Marge vs The Monorail" is so ... much ... better.
posted by chavenet at 8:56 AM on April 19, 2017
I've never read the Mother Jones article, but it can't possibly be as good as R. Fiore's Comics Journal piece on The Simpsons. Read it now and thank me later.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2017
posted by Paul Slade at 9:54 AM on April 19, 2017
Can I just take a moment here to complain about the self-serving intellectual dishonesty of "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge?" It's neither illogical nor unreasonable for Marge to have a problem with violence but not nudity. They're two completely different issues! It makes no sense to argue that any fair objection to one kind of content automatically validates anyone's objections to any kind of content, but it does validate the show's position that they categorically shouldn't be censored for any reason. Not that I think the show should have caved to objections to cultural conservatives---that would be terrible---but the self-satisfaction of the story's conclusion gives short shrift to Marge's totally reasonable concerns.
Also Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy is the best episode ever and I will brook no dispute. There's a clog in the torso chute!
posted by zeusianfog at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2017
Also Lisa Vs. Malibu Stacy is the best episode ever and I will brook no dispute. There's a clog in the torso chute!
posted by zeusianfog at 9:56 AM on April 19, 2017
When the Simpsons started, I read an article in our elementary school magazine (Scholastic, or something) about how Bart was a 4th grader, just like me! Ha I remember when I was the same age as Bart and my sister was the same age as Lisa...I'm 33 now. I also remember a long summer vacation debating who shot Mr Burns before the reveal was aired in the fall.
posted by littlesq at 9:58 AM on April 19, 2017
posted by littlesq at 9:58 AM on April 19, 2017
It's neither illogical nor unreasonable for Marge to have a problem with violence but not nudity.
I'd much rather humans getting out of the shower be normalized as something kids might see than humans in a state of dying/death. Maybe that's just me.
posted by hippybear at 10:15 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'd much rather humans getting out of the shower be normalized as something kids might see than humans in a state of dying/death. Maybe that's just me.
posted by hippybear at 10:15 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Lisa the Vegetarian" in the Top 5 is not the list for me. (#50?!?!)
Seconded. I named my (short lived) restaurant after a line from that episode.
Don't leave us hangin here - what was it?! 'Make Friends With Salad'?
posted by Flashman at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Seconded. I named my (short lived) restaurant after a line from that episode.
Don't leave us hangin here - what was it?! 'Make Friends With Salad'?
posted by Flashman at 10:23 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]
Like many people I have a really hard time watching the new episodes, and I think part of it is because of the newer animation. The character models seem off and the animation is boring and expressionless. Yeah the older stuff was rough, but that's what made it so entertaining - its imperfect-ness was beautiful in a way.
The Simpsons helped shape my sense of humor, and when those who helped create that had all left, that's when The Simpsons died for me. It now feels like pop culture reference after pop culture refrence, and leaning more towards lazy Family Guy type gags. Fortunately, the people who helped make it great went on to make great things: Conan O'brien (Late Night), Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Office, Parks and Rec), Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatullie, Iron Giant) and others (like those who worked on Futurama) continue the Simpsons legacy, just in different ways.
posted by littlesq at 10:38 AM on April 19, 2017
The Simpsons helped shape my sense of humor, and when those who helped create that had all left, that's when The Simpsons died for me. It now feels like pop culture reference after pop culture refrence, and leaning more towards lazy Family Guy type gags. Fortunately, the people who helped make it great went on to make great things: Conan O'brien (Late Night), Greg Daniels (King of the Hill, The Office, Parks and Rec), Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatullie, Iron Giant) and others (like those who worked on Futurama) continue the Simpsons legacy, just in different ways.
posted by littlesq at 10:38 AM on April 19, 2017
chavenet: "c'mon. "Marge vs The Monorail" is so ... much ... better."
You are history's greatest monster.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:30 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
You are history's greatest monster.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:30 AM on April 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I stopped watching the Simpsons regularly around season 10. Every now and then I'll catch a new episode and it is just so bizarre to see them set in an era with tablets and cell phones. It's like watching an episode of "I Love Lucy" where Desi uses "Find My Friends" oh his iPhone to discover the new horn player in the band is actually Lucy is in disguise.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:49 AM on April 19, 2017
posted by entropicamericana at 11:49 AM on April 19, 2017
It now feels like pop culture reference after pop culture refrence, and leaning more towards lazy Family Guy type gags
On the DVD commentary for earlier seasons they talk about how they tried to do as much of this as possible in the early years - though with older references rather than current pop culture. Then Family Guy did almost entirely references and Simpsons intentionally stopped to avoid looking the same. They decided to go back to the cutaway references and daydreams after enough time had passed.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 11:58 AM on April 19, 2017
On the DVD commentary for earlier seasons they talk about how they tried to do as much of this as possible in the early years - though with older references rather than current pop culture. Then Family Guy did almost entirely references and Simpsons intentionally stopped to avoid looking the same. They decided to go back to the cutaway references and daydreams after enough time had passed.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 11:58 AM on April 19, 2017
It's like watching an episode of "I Love Lucy" where Desi uses "Find My Friends" oh his iPhone to discover the new horn player in the band is actually Lucy is in disguise.
And schedule the remake of I Love Lucy on a 3rd tier network premiering in 3... 2... 1...
posted by hippybear at 12:01 PM on April 19, 2017
And schedule the remake of I Love Lucy on a 3rd tier network premiering in 3... 2... 1...
posted by hippybear at 12:01 PM on April 19, 2017
Post-nineties Simpsons is like Post-nineties Weezer.
Including cross-overs with pop-culture puppets.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:49 PM on April 19, 2017
Including cross-overs with pop-culture puppets.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:49 PM on April 19, 2017
Don't leave us hangin here - what was it?! 'Make Friends With Salad'?
Of course not, I'd have gone out of business even faster. Everyone knows that's unpossible.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:17 PM on April 19, 2017
Of course not, I'd have gone out of business even faster. Everyone knows that's unpossible.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:17 PM on April 19, 2017
"Tomato Soup, Served Ice Cold"?
"Not Crazy, Just Ignorant"?
"What If Somebody Wants a Non-Alcoholic Beer"?
"The Killing Floor"?
Dammit, Man, what was it?!
posted by Navelgazer at 7:29 AM on April 20, 2017
"Not Crazy, Just Ignorant"?
"What If Somebody Wants a Non-Alcoholic Beer"?
"The Killing Floor"?
Dammit, Man, what was it?!
posted by Navelgazer at 7:29 AM on April 20, 2017
I'm going with the guess A Wonderful, Magical Animal.
posted by Nelson at 7:56 AM on April 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Nelson at 7:56 AM on April 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
Magical Animal Craft Meats. For a (very) brief, shinning moment, we had "the best pulled pork in Tokyo."
Though on second thought, The Killing Floor is a solid name.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:04 AM on April 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Though on second thought, The Killing Floor is a solid name.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:04 AM on April 20, 2017 [2 favorites]
Naturally the episode about being a vegetarian spawned a popular meme for pork lovers. I particularly like the tattoos: one, two.
posted by Nelson at 8:07 AM on April 20, 2017
posted by Nelson at 8:07 AM on April 20, 2017
I've thought of getting one like those (more just the cuts of pork outline), but honestly, the split-second shot of the food chain would probably be an equally cromulent tattoo.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:10 AM on April 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghidorah at 9:10 AM on April 20, 2017 [1 favorite]
True confession: I *hate* "Homer's Enemy."
posted by Chrysostom at 11:24 PM on May 10, 2017
posted by Chrysostom at 11:24 PM on May 10, 2017
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posted by bondcliff at 1:34 PM on April 18, 2017 [9 favorites]