Support NeoGAF

[Suerte]

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has indicated that he plans for the show to stay on the air for many years to come.

Despite some previous indications that the show could be reaching the end, Groening told the New York Times on Sunday that in fact he thinks "the show has almost reached its halfway point, which means another 17 years."

Groening attributed the series' longevity to "a real emotional depth to these characters," adding that the 20th Century Fox studio still seems "pretty happy" with the show.

 

[sprsk]

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has indicated that he plans for the show to stay on the air for many years to come.

Despite some previous indications that the show could be reaching the end, Groening told the New York Times on Sunday that in fact he thinks "the show has almost reached its halfway point, which means another 17 years."

Groening attributed the series' longevity to "a real emotional depth to these characters," adding that the 20th Century Fox studio still seems "pretty happy" with the show.

something tells me these remarks are "pretty sarcastic"

 

[goodcow]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[demon]

 

[Rocket9]

The Simpsons will end the day Dan, Harry and the others decide it to end

 

[tedtropy]

If this is the halfway point, then I eagerly anticipate realms of shittiness the likes of which we have never seen, as I just can't imagine the show's quality dropping any further.

 

[number386]

I have mixed feelings about the simpsons. It's defiently way past it's prime but I literally grew up watching the simpsons. I was in it from the beginning all the way from watching the shorts on the tracy ullman show, until now. It's like a part of me as I was an avid fan for all 16 + (including tacy ullman shorts) years of Simpsons existance. Hopefully they can hire better writers and some more depth reminiscent of the early years back to the simpsons.

 

[Flynn]

Matt must have turned some kind of corner. Usually he says something about how The Simpson's is about to die, then comes back a week later and soft-pedals on his remarks.

Fox must be making double deliveries with the cash dumptruck lately.

 

[lexy]

The Simpsons will end the day Dan, Harry and the others decide it to end

Yeah. I can't really see them continuing to do the show without some of their voice talents like Hank Azaria. On the other hand, considering that the Simpsons is literally the centerpiece of my TV watching experience (I can't imagine a life without the Simpsons) I will continue to watch the show every Sunday no matter how "bad" it gets.

 

[Warm Machine]

A bad episode of The Simpsons is still better than 90% of the "comedy" on TV.

 

[Willco]

A bad episode of The Simpsons is still better than 90% of the "comedy" on TV.

Not really.

 

[demon]

A bad episode of The Simpsons is still better than 90% of the "comedy" on TV.

I'm sorry, but this saying really needs to die. It might have been true ten years ago, but these days, the show is entirely average and nothing more. There is plenty of stuff on tv these days that's funnier than the typical new Simpsons episode.

 

[Warm Machine]

It doesn't use a laugh track to coax out laughs. That alone puts it above the 90%.

 

[Willco]

It doesn't use a laugh track to coax out laughs. That alone puts it above the 90%.

Not really.

 

[ManDudeChild]

I'd like to see The Simpsons return to where it was 6 years ago. I wouldn't want to see the style of the earliest episodes, as watching those again I realize they're not that great either.

 

[demon]

It doesn't use a laugh track to coax out laughs. That alone puts it above the 90%.

It doesn't use laugh tracks.......it must be funny! Seriously, not only is that bullshit, but the majority of comedy-based tv shows worth watching from the past few or so years (I'm not just talking about sitcoms) don't use laughtracks. Hell, I can't even think of any animated shows that use laughtracks.

 

[border]

I will continue to watch the show every Sunday no matter how "bad" it gets.

People like you are the reason that this show is now stuck in a painful and needless Shiavoesque state of undeath.

It doesn't use a laugh track to coax out laughs.

A funny joke with a laugh track is still better than a joke that falls flat without one.....and new Simpsons is constantly falling flat.

Hell, I can't even think of any animated shows that use laughtracks.

The Flintstones

 

[gofreak]

I want it to keep going as long as possible.

Yes, a lot of the new episodes aren't The Simpsons at its best, but they're still enjoyable, and the odd one is still really great.

All IMO, of course.

 

[123rl]

They killed off Futurama and continued making The Simpsons. If that isn't proof of just how wrong something can be then I don't know what is. Dammit...I miss Futurama

lol, I just reminded myself of South Park (sorry, I'm going to for the full definition of off-topic)

"God did all of that stuff to Jobe and ruined his life. Yet Michael Bay gets to keep making movies. There is no God!"

:lol

 

[demon]

a painful and needless Shiavoesque state of undeath.

:lol

The Flintstones

That show's, what, 40 years old now? Did it even originally have a laughtrack?

 

[Flynn]

I have a hard time watching The Simpsons.

Watching it makes me feel like someone reanimated the corpse of my dear departed mother, then proceded to cast her sad, decrepid corpse in a bukakke gang bang.

 

[Dan]

:lol

That show's, what, 40 years old now? Did it even originally have a laughtrack?

A lot of those Hanna-Barbera shows had laughtracks. I know Johnny Quest did. That's how they were originally broadcasted to the best of my knowledge.

As for The Simpsons, I can't even watch it nowadays. It's vile. I gave up a couple years ago with the episode where Marge got breast implants. That was the heavy-handed clue that told me the show I loved was gone.

 

[border]

A lot of the old, shitty Hanna Barbera cartoons had laugh tracks. Didn't they even use it on some episodes of Scooby Doo?

So fuck you Jabberjaws.....Simpsons rules!

 

[EekTheKat]

First thing that came to my mind when I saw this was a picture of Matt Groening saying this while swimming in a pool full of money from the backyard of his solid gold house.

That being said, I think by this point most people watch the Simpsons not because it's funny, but rather the show has become a safety blanket to them of sorts.

 

[Dan]

A lot of the old, campy Hanna Barbera cartoons had laugh tracks. Didn't they even use it on some episodes of Scooby Doo?

Fixed for offending adjective

Yes, Scooby Doo had laugh tracks often.

 

[Azih]

Groening's comments just broke my irony meter PERHAPS IREPERABLY.

 

[lexy]

People like you are the reason that this show is now stuck in a painful and needless Shiavoesque state of undeath.

Okay.

 

[Warm Machine]

I'm sorry, but this saying really needs to die. It might have been true ten years ago, but these days, the show is entirely average and nothing more. There is plenty of stuff on tv these days that's funnier than the typical new Simpsons episode.

Like "Joey" "Everyone Loves Raymond" "King of Queens" "Becker" "Eve" and "Moesha"

 

[demon]

Like "Joey" "Everyone Loves Raymond" "King of Queens" "Becker" "Eve" and "Moesha"

I can't think of anything other than major network shitty sitcoms either. I guess I was wrong.

And yeah, I'd rather watch Everybody Loves Raymond than a new episodes of The Simpsons. Becker is shit, though, and I've never even heard of the other ones (except for King of Queens which I've never seen).

 

[TheDuce22]

Maybe he was being sarcastic.

 

[BigGreenMat]

I'd like to see The Simpsons return to where it was 6 years ago. I wouldn't want to see the style of the earliest episodes, as watching those again I realize they're not that great either.

Are you serious? I think you really need to go back and think about what episode is from what season. Season 1 and 2 weren't that great, but there were still some fantastic episodes. Season 3, 4, and 5 were some of if not the best seasons.

 

[sirris]

If theres any justice done, Family Guy will bury it. I'll take Peter Griffin over Homer Simpson any day of the week.

The real problem is that the Simpsons has teathered itself to "rules". The show has certain guidelines. Each character is stuck in his or her respective place. Unless its a special like the Holloween Episodes, they are restricted in their world and theres only so much you can do with it till you start running dry because you can't take the characters out of their element.

Family Guy on the other hand also has rules also but much less and not as restricting. Yes the characters are who they are but they aren't restricted to the teathers like the Simpsons has created for itself. One week they may be home, the next in a post apocolyptic holocaust. The show can deviate like that. Peters head can explode in a flashback recalling a bad headache and then return to normal present situation where hes fine. Homer can't do that. If Homers head explodes on the show (again a non-special episode) then hes dead. Period. Thats why Simpsons is hurting. Its own boundries are choking it slowly.

 

[Flynn]

If theres any justice done, Family Guy will bury it. I'll take Peter Griffin over Homer Simpson any day of the week.

The real problem is that the Simpsons has teathered itself to "rules". The show has certain guidelines. Each character is stuck in his or her respective place. Unless its a special like the Holloween Episodes, they are restricted in their world and theres only so much you can do with it till you start running dry because you can't take the characters out of their element.

Family Guy on the other hand also has rules also but much less and not as restricting. Yes the characters are who they are but they aren't restricted to the teathers like the Simpsons has created for itself. One week they may be home, the next in a post apocolyptic holocaust. The show can deviate like that. Peters head can explode in a flashback recalling a bad headache and then return to normal present situation where hes fine. Homer can't do that. If Homers head explodes on the show (again a non-special episode) then hes dead. Period. Thats why Simpsons is hurting. Its own boundries are choking it slowly.

You just described why I hate Family Guy.

 

[The Chosen One]

What about... King of the Hill?

Anyway, I agree the Simpsons should be put out of their misery. As soon as the Simpsons started having celebrities playing themselves with mocking that's when the show started going downhill. I haven't watched new Simpson episodes regularly for over 5-6 years. I'm all about the reruns circa season 3 - 7.

 

[DarienA]

I have mixed feelings about the simpsons. It's defiently way past it's prime but I literally grew up watching the simpsons. I was in it from the beginning all the way from watching the shorts on the tracy ullman show, until now. It's like a part of me as I was an avid fan for all 16 + (including tacy ullman shorts) years of Simpsons existance. Hopefully they can hire better writers and some more depth reminiscent of the early years back to the simpsons.

Ugh you just reminded me how old I am... thank you dammit.

 

[Morts]

The real problem is that the Simpsons has teathered itself to "rules".

Yes, once The Simpsons realizes the truth about the Matrix it can begin to expand its horizons.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

I feel sorry for The Simpsons. Every time a new season starts, I hear my friends say, "Hey, the Simpsons was good. Maybe it'll be funny again." This has gone on for at least five years now. I must admit, there are a few decent episodes thrown in here and there. However most of them are so forgettable. They're not really bad but they're not really good either. The Simpsons has achieved a perfect level of mediocrity, its crazy.

17 more years? Pass. They should stop it at 20 or at the very, very most, 25 years. I still think the show brings in billions for Fox so I doubt they're ready to stop allowing production of the show.

What about... King of the Hill?

Amazing show. Although it probably has a couple more years tops. The characters are well written and the situations are always good but I don't want to see a good show be "Simpsonized" meaning made just for the sake of being made, not for any good ideas.

You just described why I hate Family Guy.

I thought I was alone. Family guy is so processed, you might as well call it Kraft American Cheese: The Show:

- Peter wins a contest or something weird happens to him
- Insert 5 trillion flashbacks
- Insert tiring "Stewie is a closet homosexual" joke.
- Weird gender situation, usually Peter being sexist
- Another set of annoying flashbacks

The End.

 

[Dan]

Family Guy is funny, no more, no less. The classic seasons of The Simpsons however, they strove for something higher. They were funny and filled with heart (like most of Futurama and some of King of the Hill, from the little I've seen).

I love Family Guy, but I'm much more impressed by The Simpsons at its best.
--------------

Question, anyone know if Fox owns The Simpsons entirely? Not that Groening seems at all interested in ending the show, but does he even have a sliver of control?

 

[Duck of Death]

For me, the Simpsons was at its best in the episode about Maggie's birth. That episode had loads of whacky, hillarious humor, but it also had one of the most touching messages of parental sacrifice I've seen in any form of media.

Honestly, the plaque "Don't Forget You're Here Forever" covered with Maggie's pictures so that it says "Do It For Her" gets me every time

 

[Ghost]

I get the impression that Groening is just happy to sit back and take Fox's money to put out a substandard show now, his dislike for them is well known. I imagine he figures why bother stopping the show, Fox keep sinking money into it, its still making a lot of his friends wealthy and from time to time it even makes some viewers laugh too.




p.s That first episode of the new Family Guy that got leaked was hilarious, hope it gets the viewers this time round, though having said that, a couple years off seems to have done the writers the world of good, maybe a long running set of series' would just create another 'past its best' prime time cartoon show.

 

[snaildog]

The real problem is that the Simpsons has teathered itself to "rules". The show has certain guidelines. Each character is stuck in his or her respective place. Unless its a special like the Holloween Episodes, they are restricted in their world and theres only so much you can do with it till you start running dry because you can't take the characters out of their element.

I actually think that The Simpson's problem is the opposite. They used to have mostly believable family situations with just a hint of craziness, and it WORKED; now every episode (that I've seen in the last few years anyway) is about some whacky, unbelievable adventure, and it's breaking the old "rules". You can't relate to the characters or situations at all any more.

 

[Newduck]

The whole bad simpsons ep is still better then alot of TV arguement has become true as time goes on. I don't want to see the simpsons to end completely, but its just horrid to watch now. It was one amazingly popular show that i never felt didn't deserve its success. I just wish they would do something like they did with only fools and horses in the UK. Stop the series production, and just make one feature long special per year.

Its just not really possible for a show that pretty much hasn't evolved whatsoever outside of some stupid plotpoints (maude dying, milhouse parents divorce etc), to continue to be interesting. The shows become to the point where its stuck in in a time like some sort of comic strip like garfield, but instead of having to fill three panels or so worth of humour it has to span 20+ minite episodes a year, it just doesnt work. Futurama evolved more in its 4 seasons, and The Critic did moreso in its 2, then the simpsons has in 16.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Technically, the Simpsons jumped the shark around Season 4 or so. It had some real legs for another 5 years or so after that, but I've tuned out since 2001 or so. There's really no good reason for me to keep watching. The old gags have worn thin. The new material sucks. I used to be one who said, "well, it's still better than blah blah blah" for so many years, but NO. I don't believe it anymore. It's not better than 24. It's not better than Arrested Development or Family Guy or Futurama. Put this old nag down for good, Matt. PEACE.

 

[Manders]

holy shit. imagine how bad it'll be in a few years. it's really going down the tubes. the sad part is people are still watchin this crap...myself included

 

[Pochacco]

Wasn't there a Simpsons movie in the making? Hmm.

Anyway, I doubt Groening actually meant that comment.
The voice actors would be senile by then.

I don't mind having The Simpsons still kicking. What do we have to lose with it being still on? Sure, they're kinda ruining the 'legacy' of the show, much like Michael Jordan ruined his by never being able to fully retire. But who cares - it's good TV, sometimes (not often) still great.

The Simpsons, in its prime (seasons 2-6/7 imo) was amazing, easily 10x better than what they have now, but it's still alright.

The amazing thing with the Simpsons is that they've created an entire town of fleshed out characters. It's incredible the number of characters there are. And, thanks to Matt Groening, each one of them are instantly recognizeable (even if you just looked at their silhouette!). With all the familiar faces, there's something comforting about watching the Simpsons, even if it kinda sucks now.

 

[SA-X]

Ugh, I hate this fucking show now. Every god damn Sunday all the idiots on my dorm floor put it on to watch it and giggle like dumb asses at the stupidest jokes.

Homer: "D'oh I spilled jelly on myself."
Retards on my floor: "GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA CLASSIC!"

Please Groening, kill it before I go insane.

 

[Rocket9]

Homer: "D'oh I spilled jelly on myself."

:lol

Good one. They need it put it on the show

 

[spliced]

The show has already tainted itself with years of poor episodes, yet the bitterness lives on. :lol

I was bitter for awhile, but I'm not gonna resent it for 10 years.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Family Guy is funny, no more, no less. The classic seasons of The Simpsons however, they strove for something higher. They were funny and filled with heart (like most of Futurama and some of King of the Hill, from the little I've seen).

I love Family Guy, but I'm much more impressed by The Simpsons at its best.
--------------

Question, anyone know if Fox owns The Simpsons entirely? Not that Groening seems at all interested in ending the show, but does he even have a sliver of control?

DING DING DING! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner. The show now has no vision, no point, no soul; and it hasn't since around the Tomacco episode or thereabouts, (I must go to ze lobby! /German) :lol

I seriously don't even think he's there for the show from drafting plots to finalizing and synching animation and sound any more.

 

[GG-Duo]

It's hard to believe that the creator of Life in Hell is saying that, though.

I mean, more than anyone, Groening should realize the decline in quality...