Computer Voice: Warning, problem in Sector 7-G.
Mr. Burns: 7-G? Good God, who's the safety inspector there?
Smithers: Uh, Homer Simpson, sir.
Mr. Burns: Simpson, eh? Good man, intelligent?
Smithers: Actually, sir, he was hired under Project Bootstrap.
Mr. Burns: [bitterly] Thank you, President Ford.
I consider The Principal and the Pauper to be part of the Classic era despite being part of Season 9 due to it being a holdover episode not showrun by Mike Scully.
I never liked Bart vs Australia. Haven't seen it in years so I don't recall exactly what it is about it.
And for those saying season one is no good, I've gotta say I love the Christmas episode. I can be a bit of a scrooge with a lot of holiday related stuff but I always tear up when Marge says 'God bless that man'. It's got some great gags and lines in it too!
Leaving aside season one eps when they were finding their way:
"Homer's Enemy" was horrible, though right at the end of season 8, just before the big dip in quality. Other then that,"Radioactive Man" is forgettable, as is "Three Men and a Comic Book", though neither are flat out bad.
Marge Be Not Proud, aka. The episode where Bart shoplifts a video game and it basically completely breaks Marge's heart.
Maybe it speaks to my own relationship with my own mother and how I often feel like I let her down, but I always just found the episode way too emotionally devastating, despite the eventual happy ending.
Kinda surprised to see what a divisive episode Marge Be Not Proud turned out to be. I know it got singled out in that Zombie Simpsons thing, but didn't realize the episode was so notable in general... I figured everyone just kinda forgot about that one. I wonder if the choice of Bart as the main character in a "heavy" episode affects it so much. I think Lisa can get away with being in an episode like Lisa's Substitute because her characterization and seriousness can more seamlessly translate to more dramatic moments. Even smaller moments (like the end of Lisa the Greek) get to show off Lisa's range as a character.
I've always really liked those episodes that show off Bart's vulnerabilities and weakness as a character, though. It's a nice change of pace from what he usually gets. I lump Marge Be Not Proud in the same category as Bart Gets an F, Bart vs. Thanksgiving, and Bart Sells His Soul. Marge Be Not Proud is definitely more morose in general than all of those examples, however.
Of course. But that is why it is one of the worst jokes in the first 8 seasons for me. It has always struck me as a really desperate pun, almost like I can picture the writing staff sitting around for several hours trying to come with an Enola Gay pun. Makes me think about that John Ortved book, where they describe how the staff stayed late into the night trying to think of a name for the Hap Hapablap character. They ended up landing on that name because everyone was so tired and delirious that Hapablap fever spread over the room.
Something like The Spruce Moose works great because it's an obvious play-on-words, rolls off the tongue, and you can kinda imagine what the functional difference of such a plane would be to the original. I'm-On-A-Rolla-Gay is just clunky and awkward.
Easy answer for me, Homerpalooza is pretty poor.
Yeah sure there's a few funny moments in the first half ("I used to be with it...") but it's basically the precursor to the celebrity syndrome the series would embrace with a somewhat dated feeling in general.
On top of that the whole Homer taking cannonballs to the stomach plot and its resolution is just weak.
Oh and I guess the Secret War of Lisa Simpson as well now I think about it, just not a fan.
Nah. That's been an opinion for ages. Lisa went from being moderately smarter and more responsible than Bart, but still a "Simpson", to being obnoxiously smart and preachy.
Nah. That's been an opinion for ages. Lisa went from being moderately smarter and more responsible than Bart, but still a "Simpson", to being obnoxiously smart and preachy.
Flanderization is essentially what happens when an established well-rounded and complex character has all of those complexities stripped away and they're reduced to one or two stereotypical traits in service of the plot due to lazy writing.
Take someone like Dr. Nick or Cletus that have almost always been one-note characters and apply that treatment to one of the Simpson family or other main characters. We then wind up with jerkass Homer, bitchy Marge, political know-it-all Lisa, angsty teen Bart, suicidal Moe or weak old man Burns.
This was actually something more prevalent in the Scully years (initially with Homer) but then spread to infect the rest of the cast once Jean took over and complacency began to set in to the writing room and instead of spending late-night sessions hemming and hawing over plot points to make episodes as flawless as they could be they instead spent that time debating the box office prospects of major motion pictures.
While complacency and laziness is still very much a thing, the HD era has actually steered away from characterization complacency for the most part. It still crops up quite a bit with Marge, Bart and Burns but Homer's been written pretty damn well in recent seasons... except for instances where Dan Castellaneta is writing his own scripts. Lisa's been written stronger as well. The HD era has provided some of the best material in the entire series for supporting cast players like Moe and Kirk.
So there are bright spots. Especially in Selman episodes where the story structure padding short cuts like list jokes, over-explaining jokes, over-long couch gags, opening acts that hold little relevance to the main plot, pacing issues and subplots lacking meaningful resolution are largely done away with.
Firstly, Lisa goes through an arc that all vegetarians and anyone who has a realization that goes against the status quo does. That's something very real that the episode captures well. Also, we were speaking about her becoming a different type of character in general. Lisa may have seemed preachy only in relation to her incredibly stupid surrounding characters, but she is often the sage voice of reason, which also makes it super cute and humanizing when she acts like a kid.
Secondly, Seasons 1 and 2 are good seasons, but they were a different type of show that 3-8. You can prefer season 2 to all other seasons, but that doesn't make it more like Season 3.
Secondly, Seasons 1 and 2 are good seasons, but they were a different type of show that 3-8. You can prefer season 2 to all other seasons, but that doesn't make it more like Season 3.
Allow me to interfere, biggersmaller only said Season 2 belonged in the Golden Age, not that it was anything like Season 3. For that matter, grouping Season 3 to 8 together works in terms of their consistent quality, but the ways in which that quality was achieved also varied between each other. Season 5 is a whole different beast to Season 7 which itself has an identity nothing like Season 4. If episodes as different in execution as Lisa's Pony, Homer The Vigilante, Mother Simpson and Homer's Enemy can all be considered part of the same Golden Era, why not season 2?
It's too big. The Simpsons, from Springfield, who in the same season explain to us why there aren't any pictures of Maggie in the photo albums now cause an international incident, travel Australia, worsen the incident, and then obliterate a continent's ecosystem. And then next week Homer can't come up with the mortgage payment so he has to borrow money from Patty and Selma.
Marge Be Not Proud, aka. The episode where Bart shoplifts a video game and it basically completely breaks Marge's heart.
Maybe it speaks to my own relationship with my own mother and how I often feel like I let her down, but I always just found the episode way too emotionally devastating, despite the eventual happy ending.
It's too big. The Simpsons, from Springfield, who in the same season explain to us why there aren't any pictures of Maggie in the photo albums now cause an international incident, travel Australia, worsen the incident, and then obliterate a continent's ecosystem. And then next week Homer can't come up with the mortgage payment so he has to borrow money from Patty and Selma.
I don't know...After season 5, where Marge almost drives herself off a canyon while escaping from all of Springfield's police, Bart gets an elephant, Malibu Stacy's creator assists Lisa into manufacturing her own doll, and Homer going into space, a trip to Australia raises no eyebrows of mine
Then again I've always thought it's all in the execution. All those premises are outlandish on paper but the writers made them work.
Marge Be Not Proud and A Fish Called Selma are a couple of the episodes of I dislike. Not terrible but I did skip them when I marathoned through the series.
B-but Planet of the Apes musical is one of the best moments in the series. I suppose it's quite an odd episode when you think about it.
I agree with "Marge Be Not Proud" though. As someone else said, there's a very uncomfortable feeling all the way through. It's not a bad episode by any means, but the tone of it is off-putting.
Other episodes I've never particularly enjoyed would be "My Sister, My Sitter" (the characters all become so loathsome for some reason) and "The City of New York V Homer Simpson", which I always found to be a long, negative slog with absolutely no payoff at the end.
I'm not going to count anything from season one, since it's Klasky Csupo's fault that it's so damn rough.
Of course. But that is why it is one of the worst jokes in the first 8 seasons for me. It has always struck me as a really desperate pun, almost like I can picture the writing staff sitting around for several hours trying to come with an Enola Gay pun. Makes me think about that John Ortved book, where they describe how the staff stayed late into the night trying to think of a name for the Hap Hapablap character. They ended up landing on that name because everyone was so tired and delirious that Hapablap fever spread over the room.
Something like The Spruce Moose works great because it's an obvious play-on-words, rolls off the tongue, and you can kinda imagine what the functional difference of such a plane would be to the original. I'm-On-A-Rolla-Gay is just clunky and awkward.
The security guard says to Bart "If you ever set foot in this store again, you'll be spending Christmas in juvenile hall. Capisce?" but Bart doesn't understand what 'capisce' means, so when he's imagining it later he thinks the security guard said 'catfish'.
Which is funny because Klasky-Csupo put out a video
recently going over their history as a company and they take full credit for "making the show funny."
Considering they dipped out midway through season 4 (giving them one and a half solid seasons and two weaker ones) and the show peaked at season 8 I can't say I totally agree with their perspective.
As an 8 year old, seeing the end of this episode for the first time might still be the hardest I've ever laughed at something. For that reason alone it will always have a special place, even if everything surrounding it isn't particularly great.
Which is funny because Klasky-Csupo put out a video
recently going over their history as a company and they take full credit for "making the show funny."
Considering they dipped out midway through season 4 (giving them one and a half solid seasons and two weaker ones) and the show peaked at season 8 I can't say I totally agree with their perspective.
K-C has always struck me as maybe being a little sleazy, although maybe that's just bias because most of their Nicktoons were horrible. Duckman was pretty good though.
Fun fact, they were almost the original animation studio for Family Guy until they demanded creative control over the show which Seth MacFarlene refused.
This episode has spawned the best Simpsons shitposting group that provides so many laughs so even if you dislike the episode it still is one of the greatest thanks to this.
Rock Bottom Australia for anyone who wants to know the page
I'm glad to see lots of other people not digging Homerpalooza either. It's hard for me to exactly put into words why I don't like it. Maybe it's the whole focus on Lollapalooza with nearly every reference to it going over my head. Maybe cause it feels weird seeing Homer receive physical punishment that isn't just a gag and actually wound up harming him. I really don't know*. But I do know that none of the jokes that I did understand were enough to offset the negative feelings I had for it.
*
Okay, maybe it was mostly the not getting the references part
Other episodes I didn't like:
- My Sister, My Sitter: What a shitty episode. I'm honestly surprised it was from season 8. It felt like something that wouldn't be out of place in a Season 20+ episode. Bart acting like a little shit (moreso than usual), and getting injured all throughout the episode in a pretty brutal manner was something I'd almost expect to see in something like Family Guy.
- A Fish Called Selma: The thing with this one is that I actually liked the episode for the most part, but the ending left a bitter taste. I'm not saying the ending was "bad", but rather, kind of depressing seeing Selma just literally walk out into the sunset. I did like her line to Troy about the difference between a loveless marriage and a loveless family. It was a very touching moment, imo.
- Marge Be Not Proud: Another episode where I don't think it's necessarily "bad", but rather depressing.
- Lisa the Vegetarian: Another one I didn't care for but can't exactly explain why I feel that way. There's just something..off about it. I did love the in-class movie and the killing floor joke.
As an 8 year old, seeing the end of this episode for the first time might still be the hardest I've ever laughed at something. For that reason alone it will always have a special place, even if everything surrounding it isn't particularly great.
Seeing Sherry Bobbins get killed in an airplane engine never sat right with me. Seemed a bit too grisly of a death. I would have preferred if she got attacked by vultures in mid air or got swept away in tornado or something.
Barney's "So long, Superman" gets me every time, though.
I'm glad to see lots of other people not digging Homerpalooza either. It's hard for me to exactly put into words why I don't like it. Maybe it's the whole focus on Lollapalooza with nearly every reference to it going over my head. Maybe cause it feels weird seeing Homer receive physical punishment that isn't just a gag and actually wound up harming him. I really don't know*. But I do know that none of the jokes that I did understand were enough to offset the negative feelings I had for it.
I'm glad to see lots of other people not digging Homerpalooza either. It's hard for me to exactly put into words why I don't like it. Maybe it's the whole focus on Lollapalooza with nearly every reference to it going over my head. Maybe cause it feels weird seeing Homer receive physical punishment that isn't just a gag and actually wound up harming him. I really don't know*. But I do know that none of the jokes that I did understand were enough to offset the negative feelings I had for it.
*
Okay, maybe it was mostly the not getting the references part
Other episodes I didn't like:
- My Sister, My Sitter: What a shitty episode. I'm honestly surprised it was from season 8. It felt like something that wouldn't be out of place in a Season 20+ episode. Bart acting like a little shit (moreso than usual), and getting injured all throughout the episode in a pretty brutal manner was something I'd almost expect to see in something like Family Guy.
- A Fish Called Selma: The thing with this one is that I actually liked the episode for the most part, but the ending left a bitter taste. I'm not saying the ending was "bad", but rather, kind of depressing seeing Selma just literally walk out into the sunset. I did like her line to Troy about the difference between a loveless marriage and a loveless family. It was a very touching moment, imo.
- Marge Be Not Proud: Another episode where I don't think it's necessarily "bad", but rather depressing.
- Lisa the Vegetarian: Another one I didn't care for but can't exactly explain why I feel that way. There's just something..off about it. I did love the in-class movie and the killing floor joke.
Seeing Sherry Bobbins get killed in an airplane engine never sat right with me. Seemed a bit too grisly of a death. I would have preferred if she got attacked by vultures in mid air or got swept away in tornado or something.
Barney's "So long, Superman" gets me every time, though.
For me personally they were satirising Australia fucking perfectly and hilariously for the first two acts, then took this weird right turn into corporal punishment which felt totally bizarre, probably because the thing the boot was inspired by was an incident from Singapore, not Australia.
Unless it was some super deep meta joke about how Americans can't tell different countries apart?
