The Simpsons - General Discussion

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Two Emmy nominations for The Simpsons this year:

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE - Nancy Cartwright

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM

[honeywest]

Homer: "Your conscience! Lisa, don't let that pushy little weenie tell you what to do!"

 

[honeywest]

Homer: "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

Marge: "You haven't said you were sorry!"

Homer: "I was hoping the number might be zero."

[JTMacc99]

[At the dog track, Santa's Little Helper takes a shine to She's the Fastest, one of the dogs in the race. The two dogs have sex on the track while the race continues around them, and lie contentedly together afterwards.]

Homer: Awwww, so that's what's been wrong with the little fellow. He misses casual sex!

Lisa: Can we keep Santa's girlfriend, Mom?

Bart: Please?

Marge: But she's not our dog.

[The Rich Texan appears and hands Marge a dog leash.]

Rich Texan: She's yours now! Once they fall in love, they lose their racing spirit.

Marge: Won't you miss her loyalty and companionship?

Rich Texan: [guffawing] Lady, you're all right!

[honeywest]

Homer: "Oh, why do my actions have consequences?"

[Galileo908]

Quote

In a magical medieval world, Marge's mother is turned into an Ice Walker and Homer forces Lisa to use illegal magic to cure her; Lisa is kidnapped and Homer must lead a feudal uprising to save her.

We're going Game of Thrones for the premiere, folks. Looks cool.

[Galileo908]

Intro: Three-headed dragon

The intro was all kinds of awesome, and the episode was a lot of fun to see in a GOT-esque fantasy world. Of course the Van Houtens are goblins, and I enjoyed seeing Duffman-At-Arms. Everything about this world was really cool to see. I enjoyed seeing GRR Martin in the background with a sign reading "the end is not nigh."

Neat to see that all the killed off characters were on the pikes: Grimes, Maude, Bleeding Gums Murphy, even Troy McClure.

Ha, they even had a prank call to Moe. And the bit with Aslan was great, and really well-animated. Wasn't expecting a good chunk of the plot to hing on an existential crisis, but I liked seeing it.

Seeing Marge's twin brother voiced by Jaime Lannister was weird as hell.

Okay, the bread being stale enough to behead someone and the pig exploding was hilarious.

[TVSpectator]

I actually liked this episode and I didn't find it to be like a straight-up Game of Thrones parody but more like a fantasy mash-up parody with references to a lot of different media/properties in the genre. 

[VCRTracking]

Marge's mom hardly ever gets featured prominently, so it was nice to see her get her due, even in a non-canon fantasy setting.

[AAEBoiler]

Damn, my DVR either didn't record any intro or they didn't show it in my market because of NFL coverage. I did like the detail of making the music store next to medieval Moe's being "King Lutes". Also, the end credits (soft music over line drawings of the characters) were just like the end credits of the third Hobbit movie ... which I just got around to watching this past weekend.

[M. Darcy]

Quote

Seeing Marge's twin brother voiced by Jaime Lannister was weird as hell.

I need to rewatch it now I know its him.   And now I know Billy Boyd was in it. 

Aw, the end drawing about Puerto Rico got me all emotional.  The Simpsons twitter account also tweeted out info on how to help. 

[Kaboom 2.0]

15 hours ago, TVSpectator said:

I actually liked this episode and I didn't find it to be like a straight-up Game of Thrones parody but more like a fantasy mash-up parody with references to a lot of different media/properties in the genre. 

I agree, I think that's why I enjoyed it. 

I did not even recognize NC-W as Marge's creepy twin brother, wow.

Almost forgot: I laughed too damn hard at Krusty's genital snurfs especially when they threw their tiny hats in the air in celebration. I'm cackling even now as I type this. ?

Edited October 2, 2017 by Kaboom 2.0

[M. Darcy]

Article about 10/8 Broadway themed episode. 

[mtlchick]

[TDT]

Were the end credits a tribute to the final Hobbit and LOTR films(i.e sketches of people and places in the end credits)?

This was nice

[MichelleAK]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 9:42 PM, TDT said:

Were the end credits a tribute to the final Hobbit and LOTR films(i.e sketches of people and places in the end credits)?

This was nice

Yes, as noted above by AAEBoiler, it's based on the last Hobbit movie (The Battle of the Five Armies). The person singing the song at the end of this episode, Billy Boyd, also did the song at the end of TBOTFA, "The Last Goodbye" (he was also Pippin in the LOTR movies).

I enjoyed this episode. The genital smurfs (or whatever they were called) actually made me laugh out loud, which I haven't really done with a Simpsons episode for awhile.

[Snow Apple]

I'm glad I didn't watch this as it aired live. I had to keep pausing to catch all the tidbits in the background.

Cold Stone Screamery and Urban Outhouse. (Nelson Voice)Haw Haw(Nelson Voice)

Edited October 7, 2017 by Snow Apple

[Galileo908]

David's Merkins (after David Mirkin) was also a background gag I didn't catch.

[Galileo908]

Quote

Marge and Lisa turn Lisa's experiences into a pop culture hit, but they struggle with creative differences.

[Galileo908]

This was a really well-animated episode. The show needed to be fluid and work with the visuals to make the story work, and it certainly delivered. After this and the season premiere, I expect the rest of the season to be animated Clutch Cargo style to make up for what's left of the budget.

Kumiko finally got to do something?! And she was funny?! Color me impressed. "I have brought shame. I must commit furry cosplay."

That short snippet of CBG watching an unboxing video really nailed those things.

I honestly liked this story. In act 2, everyone fell in love with Lisa's story, while ignoring Marge's artwork while in act 3, Marge's style was favored over Lisa's story. It seemed like Angry Dad but with Marge and Lisa, but mostly everything worked out? I just got back from New York Comic Con, so I got a huge kick out of the Bi-Mon Sci-Fi Con segment, especially the panel. I was at the Hey Arnold panel and some woman used her question time to promote her son, "the talented young artist."

So many cameos tonight: Dan Harmon, Alison Bechdel of the Bechdel Test (and had a pretty fun gag to it), Roz Chast,  Rachel Bloom, and Martin Short as a tall weirdo (quite a change from his usual roles of tiny weirdos). That play was nuts. Well-animated nuts. I loved that not only that the play managed to capture details not in Lisa & Marge's books (like Homer's love of Sail magazine) and how it's not really addressed. Fun fact: the score is actually from Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. 

I also enjoyed Rachel Bloom's character. She actually got to contribute past the first act!

"I'M HAUNTED BY VISIONS OF MILHOUSE!!" Sideshow Mel was on fire tonight.

Edited October 9, 2017 by Galileo908

[M. Darcy]

Marge failing the Bechdel Test really made me laugh.   Was that not Marjane Satrapi herself?  I didn't see her name in the credits but I might have just missed it. 

By any chance, did anyone notice in the dream chart what dreaming about North Dakota means?  I think it was death but it was too quick. 

[opus]

3 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

Marge failing the Bechdel Test really made me laugh.   Was that not Marjane Satrapi herself?  I didn't see her name in the credits but I might have just missed it. 

 

They scroll by fast. She was in there.

[M. Darcy]

Quote

They scroll by fast. She was in there.

Thanks! I figured she had to be - why would they have someone else do her voice if they were going to include her. 

[Kaboom 2.0]

8 hours ago, M. Darcy said:

Marge failing the Bechdel Test really made me laugh.   Was that not Marjane Satrapi herself?  I didn't see her name in the credits but I might have just missed it. 

By any chance, did anyone notice in the dream chart what dreaming about North Dakota means?  I think it was death but it was too quick. 

South Dakota was sex, North Dakota was Death.

Lisa's school locker dream is eerily similar to one I still have almost every year just before school starts. And I have been out of school for many decades. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

On 10/2/2017 at 1:09 PM, Kaboom 2.0 said:

Almost forgot: I laughed too damn hard at Krusty's genital snurfs especially when they threw their tiny hats in the air in celebration. I'm cackling even now as I type this. ?

It was pretty funny.

Finally got around to watching this episode.

Fat Tony and Rev. Lovejoy were dining at King Quimby's table during the intro.

Drederick Tatum had boxing  gloves on his shield.

The heads of Maude Flanders and Frank Grimes were on pikes in the 'The Common Folk' slide, and later there were heads of Bleeding Gums Murphy, Cletus, Ned Flanders, Helen Skinner, Lunchlady Doris, and Troy McClure, 

The Lepers, Mad Men and Goblins were Hans Moleman, Ole Gil Gundersen, Sideshow Bob, Crazy Cat Lady, and Milhouse and Kirk van Houten.

The Webs at Giant Spider Acres --  A Retirement Forest

Tannery -- John Tanner, Owner
Mill -- Robert Miller, Owner
Candy Shop -- William Child-Eater, Owner

Sign on Barber Hibbert's Surgery -- It's Flu Season, Have Your Leg Cut Off !  In the intro, the Sea Captain was having his leg cutoff.

Potions behind Barber Hibbert
-- Red Potion -- Restores Health 50 rupees
-- Green Potion -- Restores Magic 50 rupees
-- Blue Potion -- Restores Both 100 rupees
-- The Strangler
-- Mundane Potion
-- Cure Moderate Wounds
-- Ent-Draught
-- Lucy's Cordial
-- Elixir of Madness
-- Barkskin # 2
-- Milk of the Poppy
-- Polyjuice Potion

Stores along the street
-- Amulet Hamlet
-- Cold Stone Screamery
-- Urban Outhouses
-- Sir Duncan's Doughed Naughts
-- Rural Outfitters
-- Barns for Nobles
-- an Apple Store -- that sold apples with a bite taken out of them
-- Banana Monarchy
-- Fool Locker
-- Restoration Bard Wear
-- Hyborian Apparel
-- Just Half-Capes
-- Victarion's Secret
-- Never 21

The guy carrying the sandwich board outside of Moe's look an awful lot like George R. R. Martin -- and the sign said 'The End is Not Nigh' on the front, and 'I'll Tell You When it's Nigh' on the back.

Recipe for P. Jackson's Overstuffed Hobbit
-- Cut hobbit into 3 pieces
-- Pack with unnecessary stuffing
-- Serves many, satisfies none.

That's a burn.

I like that Snake was being stoned for having been caught reading.

Even Spiderpig made a cameo.

Marge: "Oh sweetie. Who would want to live in a world without magic.  You'll be so bored. People would have to make up fantasy stories."
Comic Book guy: "Most of the them poorly-written pretenses for explicit sex and violence."
Marge: "Just to escape the tedious real world."
 

Edited October 15, 2017 by ottoDbusdriver

[Spartan Girl]

I was surprised by how much I liked this episode. Martin Short's character was perfect. And it was nice to remember that Marge can draw.

Marge and Lisa playing Hot Sharpie was gold, and Bart and Homer trying to go fishing a la Andy Griffith only to get beaten up by the guys whose fishing poles they stole was hilarious. Also loved the sight gag of Homer and Maggie splitting PM pizza and AM waffles.

But of course Marge reverts to form, mewling about how she's underappreciated and making it all about her. Yes, she illustrated everything but it was Lisa's memoir and therefore her story. I did like her cartoon at the end though. It was cute.

On October 9, 2017 at 9:22 AM, M. Darcy said:

Marge failing the Bechdel Test really made me laugh.   

Loved that too. Ironically, had it not been for that line, this episode was the closest she came to passing it.

[Galileo908]

Quote

Homer discovers Maggie's whistling talent and launches her baby-celebrity career; When Marge impresses Fat Tony with her interior design taste, he hires her to style his brothel.

[Galileo908]

Intro: Backwards!

Billboard: See Zombies and Ghouls. Visit your grandparents at Springfield Retirement Castle!

Chalkboard: It's Unfair to judge a president after his first 300 days

Couch Gag: Couches sit on Simpsons furniture. Freaky. Also a meta gag later in the episode (loved it)

We finally have an episode about the most uncharted of territories: How the house looks. Well, John liked the house. And also, Maggie can whistle. I really liked the animation for the whistling, esepcially for Abe.

"Warning: Zebra very well-endowed"
"String Cheese For Host Only"
"Festive Crime Scenes"

Lots of great signs tonight.

Fat Tony and the mob are always fun to see, especially watching them do mundane stuff like interior decorating. Man, Marge really got naive when it came to decorating a bordello. I thought she was better than that.

"We could both be good, like the South Park guys. But Trey does everything! TREY DOES EVERYTHING!" So true.

[Spartan Girl]

I always love it when Homer and Maggie bond. Homer's fears about Maggie turning into a trainwreck child star were very legitimate. Good thing she was saved by a growing tooth.

18 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

 Man, Marge really got naive when it came to decorating a bordello. I thought she was better than that.

Seeing as how her intelligence has decreased more every season, I had no expectations.

[xander874]

I loved the Bedknobs and Broomsticks baskets at the store. That's one of my favorite Disney movies.

I enjoyed this episode because Maggie doesn't get to do much, so it's fun for her to have a story, especially with Grandpa.

[Spartan Girl]

Krusty reuniting with his father is another good one.

[iHateAmpersands]

An hour-long special that will air this Sunday afternoon (the 22nd) at 4:30 PM ET after the FOX NFL Postgame show.

From the TV listings on zap2it:

 

Quote

A comedic ``Simpsonized'' documentary celebrating the legendary episode ``Homer at the Bat'' and Homer's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame; interviews with baseball players, historians, and sportscasters; never-before-seen animation.

The link about the induction is here.

Edited October 20, 2017 by iHateAmpersands

[ottoDbusdriver]

On 10/15/2017 at 8:30 PM, Galileo908 said:

Intro: Backwards!

Billboard: See Zombies and Ghouls. Visit your grandparents at Springfield Retirement Castle!

Chalkboard: It's Unfair to judge a president after his first 300 days

Couch Gag: Couches sit on Simpsons furniture. Freaky. Also a meta gag later in the episode (loved it)

We finally have an episode about the most uncharted of territories: How the house looks. Well, John liked the house. And also, Maggie can whistle. I really liked the animation for the whistling, esepcially for Abe.

"Warning: Zebra very well-endowed"
"String Cheese For Host Only"
"Festive Crime Scenes"

Lots of great signs tonight.

Fat Tony and the mob are always fun to see, especially watching them do mundane stuff like interior decorating. Man, Marge really got naive when it came to decorating a bordello. I thought she was better than that.

"We could both be good, like the South Park guys. But Trey does everything! TREY DOES EVERYTHING!" So true.

I liked that Principal Skinner, Supernintendo Chalmers (thank Ralph Wiggum for that), and Groundskeeper Willie were models for Marge's painting of the Scarecrow, Tin man, and Cowardly Lion.

Sign for the fountain in the Late Parent room: "If the water is gray, don't drink today".

That zebra warning at the Springfield Zoo was just so random, yet still funny.

Grandpa to the buzzard: "Go ahead, but my blood has turned to bile from watching Fox News"

Billboard seen by the Springfield Post Office: "Diamonds.  Because Money Equals Love"

Fat Tony:  "This is my new property. The original Springfield Post Office.  Jewel of the Implosion District."

Sign on the TV studio: Hot Shot Tots - Springfield Audition.  Teach Your Baby Disappointment

Hardware store name: Get It and Regret It Hardware

From Skyler Green's TV clip -- "And she was arrested twice for former cuteness under the Scott Baio Law"

Marge:  "Dim lighting. Honky Tonk piano. Anthony D'Amico, what is the repute of this house ?
Fat Tony: "Ill"

Legs putting stripper grease on the stripper pole, while Louie puts up a sandwich board that reads  'Like' us on Facebook

The book Marge is reading in bed at the end of the episode: Festive Crime Scenes

In the couch scene, Marge is the TV, Lisa is the standing lamp, Homer is the couch, Bart is the table lamp, and Lisa is the sailboat painting.

Even with the puzzle key Homer couldn't solve Maggie's puzzle.

WHIS -- the Whistle radio station

I like that Maggie still has the Happy Little Elves on her bedroom walls.

Magazine covers that Homer dreams that he will be on while faking Maggie's whistling talent -- Whistled By, Catcall Fancy, Tweeter's Digest.
Loved that while Homer got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Maggie got the Vice Presidential Medal of Envy.

[Galileo908]

This was great, much better than I expected. You gotta appreciate how they stretched out an hour, I saw at least six other episodes besides Homer At The Bat cribbed to make up the footage. I'm impressed that they included Hans Sprungfeld, Shelbyville Manhattan, and even Dancin' Homer in this.

I love how they got most of the ringers involved in this, like Steve Sax, Jose Canseco, Mike Scoscia, Ken Griffey Jr, Ozzie Smith, and even Wade Boggs (the whole special was worth it to see him defend Pitt The Elder). I wish Don Mattingly was able to talk about his sideburns, they had to drag in Tim Gunn instead. Harry Shearer wasn't involved either, commentary from Smithers and Burns was definitely missed. So instead we got lots of Wiggum, who wasn't even on their team!

Dragging in Neil deGrasse Tyson to explain the Springfield Mystery Spot was a great touch, as was "Brad Pitt" and "John Swartzwelder" played by Nick Offerman (and later as W, with just a cowboy hat).

"Jose Conseco once said the worst misfortunes are the ones that don't happen."

(cut to Canseco)

"Why would I say that?"

That was great.

[Galileo908]

Quote

Maggie becomes possessed by an ancient demon; Lisa discovers a perfect version of her family in an alternate universe; Homer cannibalizes himself.

[bmoore4026]

Watching this made me realize they have never done an Exorcist spoof before.  Surprised it took this long.  Was pretty good, actually.

And like Lisa said, that quality of animation for their Coraline spoof was excellent.

And was it wrong that I got hungry watching the last segment?  Not for me, per se, but...

[janeta]

Ha ha i love these things!  :-)

[Galileo908]

The Sweets Hereafter: This was cute and funny. Like Sausage Party, yet not as disturbing. Of course Lisa was an apple and Bart was a Butterfinger. Also, blink and you'll miss it Kang & Kodos cameo.

The Exor-sis: It took em long enough to spoof The Exorcist. It was pretty funny, but not much happened in it. Of course Pazuzu jumps into Bart and of course Bart immediately starts barking orders at it. 

Coralisa: Coraline was an interesting idea for a spoof. Loved that there was a callback to Pazuzu. And hi Neil Gaiman as Snowball. Bleh, the buttons are just as disturbing in this version as in Coraline. I really loved the designs of the Other Family.

"For a Halloween middle segment, this is amazing!" The last good one was Time & Punishment, maybe a few others.

MMM...Homer: Wow, they weren't kidding, this was a weird and gross one, but definitely inspired. Literal self-destructive behavior, and I would've thought Homer would be too fat, but apparently all the crap he eats made himself taste good, I guess? I loved that Mario Batali of all people wanted to cook him (and Barney & Comic Book Guy).

All in all, I would rank this "not the worst one."

[ottoDbusdriver]

As far as TreeHouse of Horrors go, this was not that great.

While the first act was ok, since it lingered into the 2nd act (Maggie still has a touch of the Pazuzu), I didn't really get the point of the buttons, since I've never seen Coraline.  Did they have working eyes (and mouths, and other body parts behind the buttons) ? Since they seemed to want to sew them on to Lisa and Homer.  And how come Snowball wasn't required to get buttons sewn on his eyes ?

Would that make Homer an auto-cannibal ?  Since he ate himself (and didn't eat cars).  Even with filler from CBG and others, how could Homer's body provide content for that many restaurant chains -- AND -- Chez Homer ?

[Galileo908]

1 minute ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Even with filler from CBG and others, how could Homer's body provide content for that many restaurant chains -- AND -- Chez Homer ?

Probably all the horse meat.

That's the problem with the short runtime of the segments, not enough time to go into detail about anything.

[Aileen]

I haven't watched new Simpsons episodes in years, but saw this. It was really well done and a lot of fun.

[Jediknight]

Bob Costas was hilarious in this.  Always like when he shows off his sense of humor in shows/movies, he's willing to go all out.

Steve Sax being pissed about being accused of 600 murders was great.

The whole thing was fantastic, but Costas and Sax were the stars.

[SmithW6079]

How did I miss this? Where did it air?

[Kaboom 2.0]

3 hours ago, SmithW6079 said:

How did I miss this? Where did it air?

My dvr says channel FS1 (I think it's  Fox Sports 1) will air this again 10/25 at 1:00 am, 10/26 at 10:00 pm and 10/28 at 1:00 am.

Definitely my fave Simpsons ep of the year. Big snaps to all the baseball players that participated with this along with the others like Bob Costas, NDT, etc.

[Kaboom 2.0]

How could I have missed the annual Kang & Kodos cameo?!? Damn my old, non-button eyes!

Thanks to Futurama I expected Pazuzu to have a French accent. 

That third act seriously disturbed me. 

[SmithW6079]

46 minutes ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

My dvr says channel FS1 (I think it's  Fox Sports 1) will air this again 10/25 at 1:00 am, 10/26 at 10:00 pm and 10/28 at 1:00 am.

Definitely my fave Simpsons ep of the year. Big snaps to all the baseball players that participated with this along with the others like Bob Costas, NDT, etc.

Thank you! Found the listing and set my DVR.

[Kaboom 2.0]

1 minute ago, SmithW6079 said:

Thank you! Found the listing and set my DVR.

You're welcome, hope you enjoy it! ?

[Galileo908]

I liked the structure of this special, it reminded me of THOH V: Movie spoof (Shinning), Unsettling but funny (Time & Punishment) and Dark & gross story about cannibalism (Nightmare Cafeteria). There was even a running thread. In THOH V, it was Willie getting axed in the back. Here, it was Pazuzu.

[Cotypubby]

I thought it was pretty funny that Ben Daniels was the voice of the Exorcist, as soon as they mentioned needing to get an exorcist I said to myself, "They should have Ben Daniels do the voice," and then he did! (He stars on FOX's TV version of "The Exorcist.")

(And William Friedkin was in the 3rd segment as the psychiatrist!)

[SmithW6079]

1 hour ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

That third act seriously disturbed me. 

 

1 hour ago, Galileo908 said:

I liked the structure of this special, it reminded me of THOH V: Movie spoof (Shinning), Unsettling but funny (Time & Punishment) and Dark & gross story about cannibalism (Nightmare Cafeteria). There was even a running thread. In THOH V, it was Willie getting axed in the back. Here, it was Pazuzu.

I had no problem with Skinner and the teachers eating the kids, but Homer eating himself was just too gross to be entertaining.