The Simpsons - General Discussion

[M. Darcy]

And the best one of all - I've said it before and I'll say it again: Democracy simply doesn't work.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

"It makes no difference which one of us you vote for. Either way, your planet is doomed. DOOMED!"

[Iboatedhere]

"But tonight I say, we must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!"

[BatmanBeatles]

Marge: That's Clinton for you. Always with the smooth talk.

[Bort]

There's always the classic democratic quote: "Hey, if you don't like it, go to Russia."

[Iboatedhere]

"Oh my God! The dead have risen and they're voting Republican."

[Spartan Girl]

I rewatched "Mother Simpson" the other weekend.  I know I already mentioned the ending on this thread, but there were other parts that deserve mention.  For instance, Mona's painful goodbye to little Homer in the flashback.  You could really feel her pain.

 

But I also thought it was kind of sweet how Mona reunited with Homer because she heard about his "death" in the papers and thought some "awful awful man" was lying in his grave.  One minute Homer and Mona are yelling at each other as strangers, then they both realize at the same time who the other really was.  It's a silly yet beautiful moment.

 

And hearing Mona's "D'oh!" after assuring Homer that he would always be a part of her.

 

God, I love this episode.

[Galileo908]

Crossover time! From SNPP:

Bart blows his nose on a sandwich that he puts into a time capsule, which, when combined with Milhouse's rabbit's foot and radioactive slime, causes a nuclear catastrophe when it is opened 1000 years from now, resulting in Bender (yes, from Futurama) going back in time to kill Bart before he can cause the problem in the first place...and never mind that it been established in this series (in "Fraudcast News") that Futurama is fictional

 

 

[mtlchick]

Fry's dog!  I didn't watch Futurama that much but that clip STILL gets to me.  

 

Definitely enjoyed this one.  Though I'm confused: are Kang and Kodos married or just brother and sister?  

 

Edit: my brother decides NOW to play the episode of Seymour waiting for Fry on Netflix.  And I'm bawling.  He has been disowned.

Edited November 10, 2014 by mtlchick

[Galileo908]

Man, that couch gag was...freaky. That's Hedonismbot for ya.

 

"Even God hates jazz!"

 

Loved Homer's "Hot To Read A Book in Bed" book.

 

Of course Bender and Homer would become fast friends. I'm pretty sure that Bender's Yaw calculations was from Futurama's side of the writing. Gotta love that this episode was both an homage to Gremlins and Back to the Future 2 (with Bender heading to the racetrack to bet on every sports event in the last 1000 years)

 

Loved all the shoutouts in both series! Pin Pals jerseys, Bart's old catchphrases (complete with El Barto at the end), "Skinner is a Weiner," Lrrr and Ndnd, Nibbler and his eating habits, and the holophoner in saxophone form.

 

Apparently Springfield is in New York, since we passed by Panucci's and Seymour. But shouldn't Seymour have not been there? Lars (back when he was still a paradox time duplicate of Fry) went back for him.

 

I really liked that ending, Kang and Kodos showing up on Omicron Persei 8 was the perfect freaking cameo.
 

Al Jean has confirmed that Bender will be shown in the basement (like the Olmec head) from now on. Hell yes.

[rubaco]

Loved it. Loved every minute of it. Yeah, even the depressing glimpse of Seymour.

 

Though I'm confused: are Kang and Kodos married or just brother and sister?

 

 

Apparently they're both female. Who knew?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Fry's dog!  I didn't watch Futurama that much but that clip STILL gets to me.

 

Loved it. Loved every minute of it. Yeah, even the depressing glimpse of Seymour.

 

That shot of Seymour still waiting for Frye outside Panucci's  -- still brings a little tear to my eye.

[Jediknight]

That was awesome.  It was also better than Futurama's run on Comedy Central.

 

Loved the ending with Homer giving Bender beer, the Seymour reference, the freemium joke (and to think South Park did it on Wednesday), the Planet Express crew acknowledging they suck at their job, and the after end cameos of Kang, Kodos, Ndnd, and Lrrr the ruler of planet Omicron Persei 8.

[ganesh]

When they opened Bender's lid to look at his hard drive, one of the things scribbled on the inside of the panel was IBM DO U? I was *dying*. 

 

I wish this was a longer one than just 20 minutes mainly because I wanted Amy and Zoidberg to have more to do, but it was fun. 

[bref]

That was fun, and I will watch it again to catch all the background stuff I'm sure I missed.

 

Favorite part: Professors Frink and Farnsworth collaborating!

[futurechemist]

There wasn't much plot to the episode, but it sure was fun.  I miss Futurama.

 

It was ironic to have a long rant on freemium games when "Tapped Out" exists.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Wow, what a great ep, and to start it off with Hedonismbot as the Simpson sofa, genius! I heart Futurama so damn much and I still miss it, I quote it on a daily basis almost as much as I quote the Simpsons.

 

I seriously did not need to see Seymour outside of Panucci's again, in that one second cameo I seriously started to sniffle and had to turn away. Other than I loved everything else and will definitely re-watch it soon. For some reason Farnsworth and Frink collaborating tickled me and of course, Lrrr and Ndnd meeting up with the "Johnsons" at the end was Awesome.

 

Being a Tapped Out addict, I LOL'd at the freemium games rant. And when the ep ended and I was in such a good mood, promptly got on Tapped Out and watched Matt Groening attempt to erase Homer with a giant pencil. :-D

 

ETA Just remembered another of my fave scenes, Bender and Homer napping together in a bro-mance way and talking in their sleep:

Bender: Kill all humans.

Homer: Start with Flanders.

Bender: Kill all humans.
Homer: Start with Flanders.

 

Hee!!

Edited November 10, 2014 by Kaboom 2.0

[elzin]

Being a Tapped Out addict, I LOL'd at the freemium games rant. And when the ep ended and I was in such a good mood, promptly got on Tapped Out and watched Matt Groening attempt to erase Homer with a giant pencil. :-D

 

My Creator is also chasing around my Homer also. I loved the rant too and it was my favorite part of a good episode.  Sky Finger is pleased.

[MadyGirl1987]

It was a good one. Good set-up for the crossover in having something done that the future characters would have to fix. I have never watched anything more then a clip or two of Futurama, so I kinda feel I didn't get as much out of it as I could. Did they even give names for most of the Futurama characters?

[hypnotoad]

Loved it! Though I wish this had been an hour (40 min with commercials) like the Family Guy crossover.

 

My favorite bit (besides Seymour still waiting for Fry) was the billboard that read: Canyonaro hybrid Now gets 11 MPG

[Miss Dee]

...Am I the only one who didn't get why the dog didn't recognize Fry when he walked by? Do i nor get it because I didn't watch a whole lot of Futurama?

[qtpye]

I really hated the episode where Marge got breast implants.  Everything from the non funny jokes, to her horror in not having a perfect body, because her proportions did not match up exactly with a cardboard cut out of Wonder Woman

[Brandi Maxxxx]

You're mixing up two different episodes. The Wonder Woman cutout was from when she started a gym.

[Taeolas]

I really liked this. "The Show that has run out of ideas meets the show that has run out of episodes." More than the Family Guy crossover, this felt more fitting somehow. Family Guy felt like it was forcing itself into the Simpsons mold, whereas Simpsorama felt more like a merging between the two (granted with a few clunky parts, some of which could be due to having only a half hour). I really wish this could have been the hour long crossover.

 

Lots of nods and pokes at the history of both shows, and Groening's work in general, and tonnes of background stuff that I'm sure I missed. Loved Homer and Bender's bro-ro-mance, and how nice it ended. I might be wrong, but won't this be the second time Bender's gone back to 3k the long way? (This time he has his whole body; I think last time it was just his head wasn't it?)

 

One missed opportunity thought. A few eps back, they had the big Couch Gag of Simpsons through the years; it would've been great if they could've had a couple of Futurama-ized Simspons around what would be the 3000 era as they jumped ahead. (Maybe put their heads in jars for a couple of frames? :) )

[elzin]

I've been watching since Tracey Ullman days.  It's not as good.  I actually stopped watching for years, it was just so painful. I have slowly come back. I am finding most of the last few years' episodes to be ok.  Not great, but not in sucky territory.  The mid-to-late 2000s episodes are much, much worse. 

 

Even just watching the Ever Simpsons Ever marathon, older episodes I had forgotten about were funny and a lot of say... 2002's were just a string of unfunny gags and a loose plotting.  It doesn't have to be as great as it was in the early days, but I just don't want it to be awful. Right now, it meets that standard.

 

Also, the early years are problematic. The animation was crappy (lots of errors, not just the stylistic suck) and now each episode, however many story problems one might find, looks fantastic. The voices are consistent. It's great the minor characters recur so often.

 

It's not my current favorite show, but it's now back into weekly rotation.  It USED to be my favorite show, and it is sad it isn't anymore, but expecting it to be that good forever is impossible. I just want it to be good enough that I don't turn it off mid-episode in disgust and/or boredom. I think some people on the "it sucks" bandwagon haven't seen some of the post-movie episodes where I find the quality has improved.

[Kel Varnsen]

 I think some people on the "it sucks" bandwagon haven't seen some of the post-movie episodes where I find the quality has improved.

That is what always makes me laugh. You will see comments on the internet about how people will say "I stopped watching the simpsons in season 9 when it stopped being good" or it hasn't been good since then or things like that. But if someone hasn't been watching for over 10 years how do they know it is not good?

[elzin]

That is what always makes me laugh. You will see comments on the internet about how people will say "I stopped watching the simpsons in season 9 when it stopped being good" or it hasn't been good since then or things like that. But if someone hasn't been watching for over 10 years how do they know it is not good?

For me, I would check back in for once in a while after I gave up on it. I always watched THOH. So if I couldn't even get into the best episode of the year and the other glimpses I saw the rest of the season, then I knew it was awful without having to waste 22 minutes each week.  Although, I think I'm rare in that and other people haven't necessarily done what I did.

[Spartan Girl]

I think most of people's problems with the show these days stems from the fact that they keep using the same recycled plot lines over and over and over and over again.  And that does get a little old.

 

As for me, I probably wouldn't have as much to complain about if it wasn't for the fact that Marge has turned into both a prissy ninny and a resentful bitch.  Actually, none of the characters are as likable as they used to be.

[JTMacc99]

I've got Grow-ning running around attempting to erase Homer as well. I go by same name on Tapped Out should anybody be looking for another friend.

 

 

Apparently they're both female. Who knew?

My kids asked me if they were both girls. My answer was, I think they are both boys and girls at the same time.  To which my children responded, "That's weird." Indeed, which I why I said it and kind of think I might be right.

 

I freaking loved this episode. "Start with Flanders." Heh.

[amensisterfriend]

I'm definitely in the category of those who think the post-S9 seasons aren't nearly as awful as they're made out to be. (And that the beginning season weren't AS perfect as they're often made out to be---even my favorite seasons, S5, S6 and S7, had a few clunkers!) I happen to love Season 15 and even much of Season 20, for example, and even my least favorite seasons have a few gems that I think are well worth rewatching. 

[amensisterfriend]

I think Season 6 is my special favorite. Next is Season 5 and Season 7 and much of Season 8 and...anyway, I love a lot of seasons, and as just noted in another thread, even my least favorite seasons have a few episodes I love rewatching. My favorite of the later seasons is Season 15, which I actually love just as much as the show's golden years. 

 

I love too many episodes to pick favorites, but nearly all of the Sideshow Bob ones rank way up there. I also tend to love ones where Lisa teams up with either Bart or Homer against the town or some other common enemy. I also agree with the people who love a lot of the episodes where Flanders plays a big role. And while I love Homer and Marge's marriage, I tend to like Marge in smaller doses---the episodes that center around her are usually among my least favorites. 

[radishcake]

 

Bart schemes to bring down his new teacher, Mr. Lassen, who is a terrible bully. Meanwhile, The Simpsons go to Burning Man.

 

[radishcake]

Looks like the theme this Sunday is Theme Parks (do carnivals count?) Starting at 4pm EST on FXX

4pm SN:19 EP:17 "Apocalypse Cow" - Bart is overjoyed when the calf he's raising is judged Best in Show—until he realizes the animal is going to be slaughtered.

4:30pm SN:9 EP:12 "Bart Carny" - A carnival worker and his son move in with the Simpsons after Homer costs them their jobs.

5pm SN:4 EP:13 "Selma's Choice" - Selma decides to take her dead aunt's advice and have children before it is too late.

5:30pm SN:6 EP:4 "Itchy & Scratchy Land" - The Simpsons visit a theme park based on the gratuitously violent Itchy and Scratchy cartoons.

6pm SN:8 EP:9 "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" - After ingesting several Guatemalan peppers during chili cook-off, Homer experiences hallucinatory visions that inspire him to find his true soul mate in life.

6:30pm SN:12 EP:19 "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" - To fulfill his dead wife's final wish, Ned Flanders converts an old, closed amusement park into a new Christian amusement park, “Praiseland.” The park flops until visitors begin having “visions.”
7pm SN:12 EP:15 "Hungry, Hungry Homer" - Homer goes on a hunger strike after learning that the owner of the Springfield Isotopes plans on moving the team to Albuquerque.

7:30pm SN:14 EP:7 "Special Edna" - When Bart gets Mrs. Krabappel nominated for Teacher of the Year, the family heads for Orlando to attend the ceremony. But Skinner fears he may lose Krabappel forever…and asks Bart to sabotage the affair.

[christycj]

I loved the couch gag in the beginning - was so surprised to see a Don Hertzfeldt opening! Can anyone tell me the name of the classical piece playing in the background? I've heard it a few times before, I think it might be Mozart.

Thanks!

[Galileo908]

Heh, they actually addressed Kang & Kodos missing Halloween. I also loved that couch gag.

 

New Zealand (The Milhouse of Australia)

 

Not Burning Man was a delight to see. It was like Hullabalooza, except with much better visuals. The tuba guy was David Silverman, longtime Simpsons director.

 

Well, didn't expect Marge getting high, but it was really hilarious.

 

So yeah, I'm just as shocked as you are that Bart's new teacher was only fired for trying to kill Bart at Burning Man. Hey, at least he ran into Sideshow Bob. As much as Bob wasn't interested, I'm REALLY interested if they ever teamed up.

[futurechemist]

What was that?  Bart's new teacher went right past funny and straight to creepy/violent.

 

And I'll admit I'm not that familiar with Burning Man, but the 2nd half of the episode made me wonder what I was watching.  I feel like Grampa "I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was.  Now what's it seems weird and scary to me"  When Homer had an extended trip, it was in the middle of the episode and served the plot.  Here it felt like the whole episode was building to the setpiece, which made it less effective to me.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Loved the explanation for why Kang and Kodos missed this year's Halloween episode. My boyfriend will readily agree as I may, MAY, also take a little more time to get ready than I should.

 

When I saw "New Zealand, the Milhouse of Australia" I LOL'd and scared the dog. Poor Millie. Oh and he said my screen name aloud, hee!

 

I actually liked Mr. Lassen and really liked Willem Defoe's performance, Smell-son and how quickly it caught on, heh heh. Someone attempting to kill Bart Simpson doesn't bother me, Sideshow Bob (yay! cameo!) has been trying to for years along with the occasional non-Bob character. And besides, thanks to Lassen we got to see Not Burning Man in all its anarchic self expression, Marge tripping, Homer in a loincloth, Lisa lettin' loose in a drum circle, Responsible Homer wondering where Maggie was, it was all good.

[Jediknight]

The Sideshow Bob cameo was amazing.

[Latverian Diplomat]

By all means, let's feed the teacher tenure myth, and pretend that a prison guard does not have better pay and benefits than an elementary school teacher. What a comeuppance(?)

 

The Burning Man stuff didn't seem to take aim at any of the real issues with Burning Man. It's a target rich environment, but they passed on all that for tuba flame throwers and a guy dressed like a phone.

[peeayebee]

I thought Marge's hallucination scenes were too long and pointless. She's was tripping. OK. Did I miss something really funny or significant about it?

[Kel Varnsen]

Pretty fun episode. I have seen enough futurama to get most of the jokes. Too bad they couldn't have squeezed some Zap Brannigan in there.

 

That said (and if I may geek out a little) there was a simpsons/futurama comic that came out years ago (at least 10) and there was a letter in it (I think from Matt Groening) where he talked about how he really struggled to figure out a way to mix the two worlds, because Futurama isn't really the future of the world of the simpsons (Fry is basically a modern day human who looks nothing like the design of anyone from the simpsons). I think in the comic he made it so that the The Simpsons was a TV show from Fry's time. For this episode I am kind of glad they just ignored any of those issues and focused on being funny. Trying to explain things would just waste time.

 

I also thought it was cool to see how the rabbits in the future started to look like the rabbits from Life in Hell.

[VillaVillekulla]

Was I tripping, myself, or did I see the Space Coyote wander by during one of Marge's hallucinations?

[MadyGirl1987]

Was I tripping, myself, or did I see the Space Coyote wander by during one of Marge's hallucinations?

Nope, i notice it as well...

[wknt3]

The Sideshow Bob cameo was amazing.

Agreed. I thought the episode was extremely meh but the beginning (Kang & Kodos! couch gag) and the end (surprise Sideshow Bob!) were amazing.

[Iboatedhere]

Marge: Now that's what I call break neck speed.

Bart: Mom, a man just died.

 

Lenny: I hate guys that just push buttons all day.

Carl: You just push buttons all day.

Lenny: You know, ever since Obama came in  you just got all the answers don't you?

 

Bart: I'm done working. Working is for chumps.

Homer: I'm proud of you. I was twice your age before I figured that.

 

Homer: If I find out who this is I'll staple a flag to your butt and mail you to Iran!

[dusang]

Marge: Now that's what I call break neck speed.

Bart: Mom, a man just died.

 

I have no idea what the context was for that but it made me laugh out loud.

[Brandi Maxxxx]

They were watching a McBain movie.

[Spartan Girl]

I really don't like "The 3 Gays of the Condo."  The story is just so stupid for a whole mess of reasons.  First and foremost, why would Marge hang on to that angry break-up letter instead of destroying it like any normal person would.  Maybe she just threw it somewhere and forgot about it but still.  And I really hated how when Lisa asked why doesn't she just apologize before everything gets blown even more out of proportion than it already was, Marge refused to because of "gender superiority."

 

Oh, and if you don't want to get embarrassed at a Medieval Nights restaurant, maybe you don't want to tell the staff you're having a reconciliation dinner like it's a birthday or something.  That's the sort of thing that most couples keep to themselves.

 

I think this is the episode when I started to really dislike Marge.

[Galileo908]

Homer becomes the bass player for a cover band consisting of Springfield fathers after Moe closes the bar to go on a trip with the owner of King Toot's Music Store

 

 

[Galileo908]

Loved the couch gag. Everyone was too distracted

 

So we finally meet King Toot, and he's voiced by Will Forte. I really liked him, but I miss that Droopy guy who Homer got Lisa's sax reed from.

 

I would eat at 'Zerz. I've had an idea for an all-appetizer restaurant, and of course The Simpsons got to it first.

 

So Homer, Rev. Lovejoy, Kirk, Apu, and Dr. Hibbert form a jam band. I, too was shocked at Apu's singing voice. Between classic rock and the barbershop quartet, he's got some pipes. Hell, I actually liked this plot. Apu gets discovered by the Sungazer much like whatshisface & Journey. And hey, Sanjay finally got to do something! I expected him to take Apu's place in the band, so kudos for having him poison the band with Kwik-E-Mart hot dogs. I also loved the gang actually getting arrested for the poisoning and all the sick band members taking their place.

 

Nice to see that Gabbo & Arthur Crandall were invited to Sideshow Mel's 45th birthday party.

 

According to Matt Selman's twitter, Genesis would not license “Invisible Touch” because they didn’t like them comparing the Peter Gabriel & Phil Collins eras of the band.

 

ETA: I liked Sammy Hagar's cameo. I just loved that last shot of him, Moe, King Toot and Apu in prison. I really wanted to see them try to escape.

Edited November 24, 2014 by Galileo908